How's Your Walk?

 One day when I was in college, I was walking near the Library when a student I knew greeted me with a question.  At the time we were both pledging to a campus society, and as young Christians, we were both struggling with the idea of pledging to anything other than Christ.  I knew Tom was challenged by it, as I was, but clearly he was further along in his thought process than I was. I wasn't very insightful back then.  

Now I'm pretty sure my family would think I've gone off the deep end in my later years.  But perhaps that's the blessing of living a long time. It causes you to think more eternally. 

Anyway, Tom asked me a simple question, and I have carried the memory of that encounter through the past 50+ years.  So today I wrote a short lyric about that day, and if it helps you, I am glad. 

And thanks, Tom, wherever you are today. Godspeed

How’s Your Walk?

 

He asked, “How is your walk?” and it caught me off guard.

I knew what he meant but I couldn’t find words.

I couldn’t say then what I needed to say.

I had strayed much to far from my Savior that day.

 

I stammered an answer, but I knew all too well,

There were words to say what I needed to tell.

His face became soft; he looked straight in my eyes,

I could tell by his look he saw right through my lies.

 

With four simple words, with one simple greeting

He had tripped that one switch that set my soul reeling.

He reached out his hand and took hold of my shoulder,

He said, “I understand. I’ve been there too, brother.”

 

“You know, sometimes we feel like we fell off the shelf.

But the Lord understands. Don’t be hard on yourself.”

And his words gave me comfort, and we sat down and talked.

Then he asked if I’d mind if he prayed for my walk.

 

And in that encounter, I found I could find peace.

I’m not perfect, by far, but forgiven, at least.

As we walk in His promise, God has saved us a place.

Such a comfort there is knowing we’re given grace.

Press Your Own "Like" Button

"As Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the desert, in the same way the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its savior.

Those who believe in the Son are not judged; but those who do not believe have already been judged, because they have not believed in God's only Son. This is how the judgment works: the light has come into the world, but people love the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds are evil. Those who do evil things hate the light and will not come to the light, because they do not want their evil deeds to be shown up. But those who do what is true come to the light in order that the light may show that what they did was in obedience to God."
—John 3:14-21

This is a world that lives by the "Like" button. We look for approval. We want to be popular; some even seek fame. At one time or another, most of us find ourselves in situations where approval by someone matters: That proposal you are making to a company for a big sale, or that job interview. If we are not careful, we find our own opinion of ourselves becomes measured by our acceptance of others.

But God has a message for all of us: He loves us, unconditionally. That's not to say he approves of everything we do. But regardless of our activity, the scriptures repeatedly tell us that he holds us very dear.

Yes, there are many in the world who deny him. They reject his love because it interferes with their own pursuits. But know this: whether or not you believe in him, He believes in you. The most direct message communicating this is John 3:16, shown above. But as you dig deeper into the Bible, time and time again he offers compassionate love and opportunity for us to come to him.

For man, this is not a easy thing to understand. When someone denies us or rejects us, we usually turn away from them. Families become torn apart, friendships fade, business relationships end, and are seldom renewed. "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me."

But I am here to tell you that in spite of any rejection you have felt, or for that matter, have dished out, God understands. And hear me on this: He loves you anyway.

There is much inside of you that is good. Now, you can choose to let those rejections tear down your mood and opinion of yourself. My own mother had tremendous self-esteem troubles, and often told me she just would rather stay at home in bed under the covers, that come out and face a judgmental world.

God wants you to see in yourself the vast and intense beauty of the person he created you to be. There is much to be done in the world, and if you let yourself rise above the judgment of others, then you can begin to see a better you. If you seek out that person, you can make the changes that will completely change your attitude.

Personally, I can tell you from experience that I have seen this change in me. I have done some very unforgivable things in my life. I have hurt others, sometimes unintentionally, but no excuses: I blew it. But what is to be gained if I wallow in it? Shall I commit to living the rest of my life imposing punishment for it? Why? I cannot change the past. But I can learn from it, and try to live a wiser future.

Make that change. Give yourself permission to find joy. Pursue your passions, and help others do the same. Press your own "Like" button. There is much there to appreciate.

Human 2.0, or Christianity Explained

Romans 6: 1-4
"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."

My wife, Gwen, and I were discussing the point of my last writing, where I spoke about how it was impossible for humans to live a "Holy" life. And as is often the case, I realized I left a good part of what I believe out of the discussion. I realize that I was essentially making the argument that sets up chapter six of Paul's letter to the Romans. Being human, it is impossible for us to live sin free. So do we just keep on sinning?

You can see how the idea might find footing; If God, through the act of His Grace, forgives our sins, then doesn't it seem like the more we sin, the more grace we get?

Paul makes the case that if we, in true repentance for our human flaws, come to accept the gift of forgiveness, the forgiveness is a complete package, covering both the sins of our past, but also the sins of our future.

As someone who is trying to be an instrument of clarity on Christian philosophy, I do not want to write anything that would take away the real simplicity of the Christian message. There's plenty of that going around already, as misguided pastors, filmmakers, secular publishers and even atheists try to explain Christianity. I've written this before, and I will continue to believe that Christianity is really a simple faith to understand. But you also have to accept a few premises to the argument:

First,that God is real

Second, God has moved toward man in love.

Third, he became a man (flesh incarnate in church-speak) in the person of Jesus Christ.

If you can open your mind to these three ideas, then understanding the faith called Christianity is easy. The Bible is essentially a gathering of inspired documents that chronicle God's relationship with man. Oh, it says a lot more about him, such as being the creator of the universe, his omnipotence, his constant presence, and so on, but the main theme is about our mutual relationship.

First, he creates our world, and delegates responsibility for it to man (a task for which we're just beginning to understand the magnitude). We immediately show we are flawed, but rather than toss us away like the first batch of bad waffles, he decides to do something amazing. He says, "I can work with this."

So man gets to thinking we're pretty hot stuff, and we tend to forget him. So God tells us this:

"Okay, I am going to let you grow. Become a nation. Try to run yourselves. You will forget me. So I will give you some rules to follow. You'll forget them too. You want a king to enforce those rules for you? Sure, I'll give you one if you think that will help. It won't. You see, I know you. And I know your flaws. "

"So here, I'll make you a deal. After you've tried all these other things, I will come to earth in the form of a son. And yes, I know you: you will find a way to kill him too. But here's the thing: When you do try to turn your back on me again, this time you will fail. That son is going to live, despite your flaws. He is going to take on all your sins, all your shortcomings. You will insult him, strip him, humiliate him, hate him, make fun of him, beat him, and nail him to a tree. Even then you will taunt him, drain out his blood... every horror man can heap on him, you will do."

"And after all that, He (I) will forgive you. "

"Even then, after he comes back to life, after he walks among you a second time, most of you won't recognize him. After a while, He'll come home to me."

"But..."

"A few of you will realize what happened. A few of you will understand. And my deal is this: In spite of your sins, all you have to do is accept who Jesus is, admit your sins, and accept his forgiveness. If you do that, then You and I are going to be fine. You will be a new version. 'Human 2.0,' if you will. No longer bound by the sins and errors of your way, the old you dies as Jesus died. Your life is now new, changed, and amazing. Not just for this world, but for eternity."

So, now, as a Christian, you are a new creation. That should inspire you to become more like Christ. We "press toward the mark", as Paul goes on to write to the Phillipians.

Yes, even then, you will still fail. But now you know those failures (hopefully fewer and farther between) are forgiven.

So embrace the new you. You have been given a great deal of forgiveness and acceptance, and most of all, eternal love. It should inspire you to do the same for others you meet. Instead of passing judgement, you understand. You give up condemnation for loving.

You are a new person. Show the world what God would want you to be.