Belle of the Ball

One of the arguments against becoming a Christian, is that Christians are no different than the rest of the world. I disagree. They are worse. But this is just my opinion, and I call myself a Christian. That may sound harsh, but let me explain. People expect Christians to be certain way. And when they're not, it is very disappointing. Most of the time, you can find us living in the outskirts of Normalville.

You can easily spot the Cinderella Christians. They dress, act, and talk holy, but are really no different than the rest of us. They don't go to church, they go to the ball. They put on their best smile and manners, and act like they belong there. But Cinderella can't go the distance. Her disguise only lasts until noon, or 30 minutes before kickoff (whichever is sooner). For Cinderella, Christianity is not a philosphy. It is a religion, an escape, a fill-up, or a check box on an ever increasing list of things to do. Cinderella Christians are hourly and need to mind the clock. If they stay out too long, their cover will be blown to pumpkin seeds.

Cinderella wears her Christianity, but Lady Tremaine enforces the dress code. I have been turned off by many wicked Stepmothers of Jesus than I care to name. They believe themselves to be gatekeepers of all that is holy and good. They are experts in Christian living and serve us mortals as heavenly hall monitors. If you prove yourself worthy, they might even invite you over for a Christian video and show you their collection of glass slippers. The stepmothers of Christianity wear their religion on their sleeve, and are easily offended by the Cinderellas for their lack of commitment and loyalty. Nothing ticks them off more than watching Cinderella attend church AND get to go home and be casual. Cinderellas only fool other Christians, but the religious stepmothers have to fool everyone, all the time. That's not fair!

When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. As a result, other Jewish Christians followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. Galatians 2:12-13

Peter was a "Cinderella" because he ate with non-Jews ONLY when the Jews weren't looking. When Peter was in the company of Jews, he would turn his back on the Gentiles and morph into the custodian of clean cuisine. Living a balanced life is something I have to choose moment to moment. I often jump between being Cinderella and Jesus' stepmother. It depends on who I am hanging around with. So what causes us to be like Peter? What causes us to flip flop on our beliefs to the confusion of others? What makes us want to put on our costumes one minute, or sleep in our uniforms the next? What makes Christianity so irrelevant to the outside world?

I believe the answer revolves around our understanding of what makes one a Christian. For most folk, Christianity is a religion that needs to be followed. For others, it is an experience that needs to be felt. The truth is, its a position that needs to be accepted. Salvation is not conditional, it is positional.

For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:6

It is hard to believe that we are seated in heaven when we are sitting in traffic, at the laundry mat, or laid up in a hospital bed. The reason why most Christians become Cinderella or the Stepmothers in Christ is because they believe salvation is conditional. Cinderellas need to act, talk, and be a certain way so as to prove they are saved. Stepmothers think they need to maintain it every 3000 miles or else they void the warranty. THAT is when Christianity becomes a religion. Christianity was never supposed to be a religion. Religion is man's way of reconciling himself to God. Christianity is a philosophy that understands that God already reconciled man to Himself. We had nothing to do with it.

And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Romans 5:11

The Bible doesn't say we earn reconciliation. It says we receive it. But who wants something for nothing? Christians are no different than the rest of the world. One of the reasons we act weird is because we have truly received a gift, and we are having a hard time accepting that we didn't deserve it. This isn't an excuse, it's the truth. We go around propping ourselves up, exaggerating our deeds, and sometimes confusing the hell out of everyone else. We can get so crazy that no one wants to follow us into a Wal-Mart much less follow us to heaven. We can't give someone else the love of Christ if we are too busy trying to pay Him back. It is human nature to first say "What's the catch?" and then think of ways to do them favors.

Some try to earn salvation (religion), but others think they deserved it. Just like with anything free, there will always be people who believe they were entitled to it. This is a dangerous place to be as you can easily believe that some DON'T deserve it. Have you ever been around a Christian who looked down at you? Have you ever looked down at someone else, and deduced in your mind why they were "down there" in the first place? Salvation is simple. Christianity is simple. Christians and religion are not.

But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:3

Don't let the simplicity of salvation move you away from Christ. And if you're not a Christian, don't let the religion of others deter you from the love Christ has for you. If you found a counterfeit bill inside of a bag of money, would you throw out the entire bag? No, you would throw out the counterfeit. Don't let a bad experience, marriage, church, etc. keep you from accepting something genuine and beautiful. You can come to God NOW, and just as you are.

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins Ephesians 2:1

Salvation is positional, not conditional. Most of us need to shake off our religion and return to true Christianity. Christianity is not a social club of elite Jesus groupies. No one ever found Jesus. He wasn't lost. He found us, and we were as good as dead. He took our dead spirit and reconciled us back to God. What gives us the right to pull people over and give them a sobriety test before we share the love of Jesus with them?

For us Cinderellas, stop dressing up. It hurts to much to walk around in costume looking constipated. Eventually, who you really are will come out. And the fact that you tried to hide it, will end up hurting more people. Evil Stepmothers, chill out! When Christ found you, you didn't even have a pulse. No one wants to feel intimidated, made less than, or unworthy.

You are the light of the world. Matthew 5:14

The problem with being the light of the world is that we enjoy shinning it in each others eye. Oh God, heal those whom I have blinded and give me another chance to shine. I promise to tone it down a bit.

War of the Words

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Faultier words have never been spoken. Most of us are not walking around on crutches due to someone breaking our bones. However, we have been crippled at some point, because of the words of other people. The problem with words is that a lot of us don't understand its purpose. Most of us believe words are only used to communicate. We understand verbal and written words are used to share feelings and emotions as well as transfer knowledge and facts. But communication is the secondary purpose of words. Creation is its primary purpose.

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. Genesis 1:3

God spoke the very first words of our known universe. Notice, he wasn't talking to anyone. He spoke in order to create, not communicate. Words are the seeds of creation. God didn't create light by thinking about it. He didn't meditate on it. He didn't write it down and put it under his pillow or stick it on the bathroom mirror. He spoke it. God used the spoken word as the tool of choice to create and shape this world into existence.

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. Hebrews 11:3

Words not only have meaning, they have power. Words always create FIRST, and communicate second. When I give someone encouragement, I unknowingly create a feeling and emotion that translates into that person desiring to continue and exceed expectations. Even though my comment was meant to communicate praise or recognition, I ended up creating a positive and fertile environment for more fruit. The opposite happens when I give discouragement. My intention may be to communicate disapproval, but I am in danger of creating a negative environment that demotivates and causes that person to feel personal rejection.

It's not that hard a concept when you think about it. When someone receives a standing ovation or trophy, we don't expect them to stand there like their from Vulcan and acknowledge that they were just doing their job. Everyone takes it personal when they receive praise and recognition. We can't help it. So we shouldn't act surprised when people take it personally when we hit them with criticism or disapproval. We often defend ourselves by saying, "its just business." We say, "don't take it personal, here comes some constructive criticism". Constructive criticism is one of the most brainless terms in the English language. It basically means, I'm going to build up, BY TEARING DOWN! It's disingenuous, and it doesn't translate into the real world. There is no such thing as "constructive criticism" when your wife is trying on a new outfit.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21

It's interesting that God said "death" before he said "life". Perhaps it is because He already knows what we are predisposed to. I've never had to excuse myself from a family meal because someone was being too kind. I've never had to turn off the television because the news was just too good. I've never kept what God was telling me, a secret, because I knew my friends would be too supportive. When we make our pros and cons list, we don't need help on the cons side. When we want to go back to school, we have plenty of reasons why we shouldn't, and only a couple of why we should. When couples are separated, they can talk for hours about the reasons they should get a divorce, but rarely do they mention reasons why they shouldn't. We have no problems justifying why we can't do things, and we will gladly help other come to the same conclusion.

You are snared by the words of your mouth; You are taken by the words of your mouth. Proverbs 6:2

Thank God it doesn't say, you are snared by the thoughts of your mind. The Bible doesn't say that you are what you think. Most of my thoughts are not pure, honest, and good. But that doesn't mean that I am those things. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that God judges our thoughts. It says that God judges our hearts. You can't control what comes into your brain, but you can control what you think and meditate on. And you can certainly control what comes out of your mouth. Your success, prosperity, and fulfillment in life hinges on what you believe about yourself. Do you believe what God says about you, or do you believe what other people say about you?

Words, like guns, are amoral. They can be used for good as well as evil. Words can build up, but they can also tear down. Words don't know motive or intent. Have you ever had to defend yourself because you said something, that you didn't mean? Most of us have had to go back and explain ourselves, because we used the wrong words. If only words knew our heart and intentions before they decided to fly off our tongues. We've all heard the expression, "think before you speak." We don't get any mulligans when we speak before thinking. The best we can do is get out the ketchup, because it makes the crow easier to swallow. You know, Microsoft Office had some annoyances, but their heart was in the right place.

Positive confession is not the same as positive thinking. Thinking positive causes you to face the right direction, but in reality, it gets you nowhere. Positive thinking is like believing in God. Most people believe in God, but wooptido, so what? Believing in God doesn't change your life, it just means you're not an idiot. Many people have said "I believe in God", but that's not the same as saying, "I agree with God". Our eternity isn't based on believing with our brain that the life we're living isn't an accident. Our eternity is based on confession. It is based on agreeing with God. Our salvation in Jesus is made manifest by us speaking God's light into our existence. It's not a head knowledge. It's a heart knowledge. We are not what we believe in our brains. We are, however, what we believe in our hearts. God existing in our brains doesn't change us, God existing in our heart does.

For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he will be. Proverbs 23:7

There exist among us, a 'war of the words'. Some words come straight from our brains and out of our mouth. Some originate from our hearts. When disciplining my son, I often have him repeat words back to me. I know that when he says them, they are not coming from his heart. My goal is to have him repeat them often enough so that they will eventually BE in his heart. Some of us have heard negative things repeated to us so often, that they are now part of who we believe ourselves to be. Some of us have been called losers so much that we believe in our hearts that we are, and we act accordingly.

The words of our hearts and the words of our mind are in constant battle. This is the same battle that causes a 80 pound woman to look into a mirror and believe she is fat. It doesn't matter that the eyes connected to her brain see bones poking through her skin. Her wounded heart is speaking louder than her brain. We are who we believe in our hearts. Whether or not our heart is telling us the truth, is irrelevant.

So how do we fight this battle? How do we know who to believe? Do we believe what our parents, friends, and teachers say about us? Do we believe "science" and our brains. Do we believe our feelings and our hearts? The answer is simple. We believe God. Everything else changes. Feelings, people, and science are always changing. We need to believe and confess something that never changes. We need to believe what He says about us. We need to confess with our mouth, what He already said.

Most of us are carrying around a lifetime of pain and guilt, created by the words of other people. The only remedy is to create a new life using the words of God. Positive thinking won't make it better, but positive confession will. If the words of other people and your own mind got you where you are today, just think about what the words of the living God will do for your life. Don't just stay positive. Don't just think positive. Speak positive! Words are not magical, they are powerful. So powerful, that heaven requires you to SPEAK them.

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

Most people won't come over for dinner, unless you invite them first. Jesus is one of those people. He couldn't have made it any easier.

GPA of Salvation

I've had a few recent conversations with a friend regarding salvation and it's affect on our lives. I soon realized that we were on two completely different pages. I was talking about how salvation was challenging my life to follow Christ. He was talking about how his life was questioning his salvation when it wasn't.

The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8, that by GRACE we have been saved. So the first part of this verse nails down the origin of our salvation. Salvation came from the grace of God. We didn't do anything to deserve it. It wasn't our idea. We had absolutely nothing to do with it. To say otherwise would involve replacing the word 'grace' with 'merit.'

So now we know where salvation came from. Let's look at the other part of that verse so we can understand how it gets to us.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and THAT (faith) not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. Ephesians. 2:8

The vehicle of our salvation is our faith in God, and that faith didn't come from us. The faith we had to accept Christ was a gift of God. Our acceptance of the gift of faith allowed us to RECEIVE grace.

How many of you know that your life is in no way affected by me giving you 100 acres of land on Mars? Martian real estate is meaningless, because you have no way of receiving it. When God gave the whole world Salvation, he also provided the rocket ship that would take you to there. God provided you the faith to receive him. It wasn't a preacher, a book, a song. It was God, and you did nothing but hop on for the ride. Even the urge to hop on came from him. If God would not have given you faith, Salvation would be just be another piece of land on Mars.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

No one can come to me (believe in him) unless the Father who sent me draws him (provides the gift of faith to believe) John 6:44

We now know where and how salvation came. Do we know when it came?

Who has saved us and called us to a holy life - not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time. 2 Timothy 1:9

Because salvation proceeded from God, provoked by God, and preceded us, let us with confidence remove ourselves from the equation, shall we? Are we gone yet? OK, so let's move on.

If we did nothing to deserve salvation, then it would seem logical that salvation has nothing to do with being deserving. One doesn't have to fear that they have to walk the straight line of religion to maintain one's salvation. God's salvation didn't come with a maintenance plan that must be followed to prevent voiding the warranty.

I remember walking into class at the start of a school year and hear the teacher say, "Everyone has an "A", it is up to you to keep it, or lose it." That is NOT how Salvation works. God has given the whole world his son, and He has ALREADY passed the tests FOR us. Why, because without HIM, we never stood a chance of making it. Jesus secured our grade, before releasing us back into the world to change it for the better. Religion is re-taking the exam and merging YOUR score with his. Sounds foolish doesn't it? Paul thought so as well.

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Galatians 3:1-3

Friends, Jesus has taken our final exam and it was graded and stamped by God, PASSED! He then gave us the grade and declared us righteous and justified. Take the tests. Run the race. But never take the grade. Keep the one HE gave you. You will never improve on it. And don't let anyone tell you different. Get back on your feet. Get back to life. You're not disqualified. You were never qualified to begin with.