August 11, 2021

 

Words and Actions

 

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

– 1 John 3:18

 

We know exactly what to say. We’ve got the answers memorized so completely that others just know our hearts are true. But what happens when things don’t go according to our plan? How do we react when we don’t get our own way?

 

I look around and it breaks my heart. We hurt God so deeply with our hardness. We judge others harshly and call ourselves justified. We condemn their actions while putting ourselves on a pedestal of light. Hypocrites. We are hypocrites.

 

Neither political party is either all right or all wrong. How quickly we side with one or the other, pulling out verses to support our cause while ignoring the whole truth. We simply don’t want to love and do good to people unless they are like us, believe as we believe, and agree with everything we say. How sad.

 

If you are condemning abortion and condemning the poor, then this applies to you. Both are wrong. Is that just my opinion? No. It’s in the Bible if we look at it’s entirely.

 

The same is true of many other issues. We condemn homosexuality but we have no issues with divorced people remarrying. We don’t label them as adulterers because they are like us. We understand and extend grace. We refuse to even contemplate that God created the homosexual just as He created the divorcee.

 

We insist one is a choice and the other a mistake. How do you know? You don’t. But it forms a convenient excuse for not loving the very people God has called you to love.

 

What would happen if we actually starting seeing people as they are? We are all created in God’s image and He desperately wants us all to accept Jesus’ sacrifice and be saved. Honestly, we’d rather some people not join us in heaven one day and that truth speaks volumes about the condition of our hearts.

 

Your mouth may preach the loudest sermon anyone has ever heard, but if your actions don’t live that truth then your words are empty of the Spirit and, therefore, useless.

February 11, 2020

Does His Walk Match His Talk?

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. – Matthew 7:15

Do you believe everyone who claims to be a Christian actually is a Christian? It’s not a trick question. A simple yes or no will do.

Most of us realize that not everyone who professes faith actually is a person of faith. Jesus warned us about such people. But sometimes it’s hard to see past a person’s proclamations and really look at their actions. We prefer the lie because it makes our lives so much easier when perceived actions align with what we desperately want to know as truth.

Let’s make one thing clear. Only God knows the hearts of each of us. Only He truly knows if someone is saved by belief in Jesus or is just playing a part. It’s not about being “good” or “smart” or “successful” as judged by worldly standards. It’s all about Jesus. That’s something really basic that we sometimes brush aside in an effort to see the best in people.

Here’s another truth: someone who truly believes shows that belief by changed actions. No. Our actions don’t save us. Only Jesus does that. But faith changes us from the inside out so others should see a difference in our words and our behavior.

I don’t understand how people who loudly proclaim their Christian faith can look at President Trump and proclaim him as a man of true faith. His words line up perfectly with what we believe except his actions repeatedly tell us something else.

I also don’t understand how these same people can look down on those who don’t support Trump and question our faith. Some go so far as to say Democrats are atheists and only Republicans are true Christians. They don’t see their black and white judgements as contrary to biblical teaching. They don’t see the holes in their own faith as they look down on the poor, the elderly, the immigrant.

Here’s another truth: Neither political party gets it all right or all wrong. We can only pray and vote the convictions of our heart. But to praise a man who lies, degrades women and walks and talks with an arrogance that belittles anyone who disagrees with him? His words may proclaim Jesus but his actions repeatedly tell us something different.

February 9, 2020

What About You?

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. – 1 John 4:11

He rarely makes a political comment. It’s just brings too much controversy. But he made an exception. The wrath was quick and vicious. Why can we no longer have a civil conversation about politics? Why must hatred always rear its ugly head?

We turn politicians into idols. We allow ourselves to be drawn away from Jesus, all the while telling ourselves that we’re doing His will. Hatred is never Jesus’ will.

Others insist that they love everyone then they turn to ugliness if someone disagrees with them. Didn’t we learn anything from Jesus’ time on this earth? Haven’t we understood His teachings about love? Thank God Jesus didn’t treat us the way His self-titled followers treat those who disagree with them.

Don’t be misled to believe that only one political party loves and honors Jesus. None of us get it all right or all wrong. It’s impossible to truly to defend the innocent – such as an unborn child – and condemn the very immigrants God told us to welcome. It’s not about laws; it’s about heart. God looks at the heart.

I really don’t care what your political beliefs might be. Many of my close friends and I disagree on political issues. So what? Love remains. Respect remains. Discussion remains. We are only able to love and grow in our faith when we can truly hear and be open to opinions that differ from our own.

Do you think this doesn’t apply to you? That’s what the Pharisees thought. They were so busy being “right” that they missed the Messiah. What about you?