Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Don’t Give Up On Anyone

“And the King will tell them, ‘I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’” -- Matthew 15:40

The tweet was plain and simple, much like I imagine the man. Denver Moore died peacefully in his sleep and was now with Miss Debbie in heaven. Two lives forever entwined because one woman refused to give up on a man who had already given up on himself.

One of the best books I’ve ever read is titled Same Kind of Different As Me. Denver Moore and Ron Hall, Debbie’s husband, wrote it. The book alternates between Denver’s story and Debbie and Ron’s story. Of course, they all come together. It’s one of those things that happen when someone dares to step out in faith and follow where God leads.

How often do we do that? Probably not nearly as often as we should. We’re full of excuses and easily discouraged. But God never said following Him would be easy.

Debbie Hall found her way to a place helping the homeless. And she refused to give up on a man everyone else had said was too hard, too far gone, to help. Denver Moore was a tough case but she touched his life, and his heart, with her unfailing gift for sharing Jesus’ love with someone others wouldn’t have bothered with.

We get so caught up in our own lives, our own desires, our own issues, that we can’t see beyond them. We want to do good. We know we’re supposed to care for others. We’re okay with that so long as it’s convenient, doesn’t cost any money, and we don’t have to get dirty. Caring for someone who is homeless is all those things and more.

I am amazed sometimes at all of us. We don’t won’t to forgive people who have made mistakes. We blame them because they can’t get past those mistakes when the truth is we’re equally to blame because we can’t get past their mistakes either. We keep expecting them to fail. We forget that God can change anyone. And God never, ever gives up on His children.

At our church we have a new program titled Celebrate Recovery. It is a fabulous outreach that has brought some wonderful people into our congregation. People who probably wouldn’t have joined us without this program. It is our goal, our responsibility, to always make them feel welcome and wanted. To help where we can, to accept, to care.

One of the hardest things in the world is to look beyond ourselves and see those who are alone and hurting in the world. Whatever the reason for where they are at, God tells us to reach out and love them as He does. In whatever way we can, for however long it takes.

Because Debbie Hall didn’t give up, Denver Moore is with her and Jesus in heaven right now. And that was worth it all.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Reflect Jesus Outward

“You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’” -- Matthew 15:7-9

The question was from his heart. He wanted to know what we’re supposed to say when an nonbeliever questions a God who does such awful things. Excuse me? Not my God!

But I understood where he was coming from. There are many awful, tragic things done in God’s name. Wars have been fought in His name. Governments are overthrown in His name. Mass suicides are organized in His name. Mothers murder their children in His name.

Anyone can claim to do something in God’s name, by God’s direction. That doesn’t make it true. And that’s what we need to tell people who question a God they think approves of such awful actions.

God is loving and kind. Does He punish those are do evil? Absolutely. Does He punish His children who stray? Without a doubt. But all He does comes from a place of love. He is fair and just. And He forgives those who repent. He restores those who stray.

Of course, most Christians -- or those who claim to be believers -- don’t start wars or murder people. It doesn’t mean we live our lives as we always should. We stumble and fall. We treat people unkindly. We argue. We get snippy with the store clerk. We cut off other drivers in traffic. We fail Jesus every day.

We are called to live our lives to a higher standard than others. We are called to reflect Jesus’ light outward and to view the world through His eyes. And sometimes we don’t. Our actions can cause others to turn away from God. Our behavior leads others to blame Him for our choices.

If you were the only Christian someone would ever see, what would that person think being a Christian means? If you were the only Christian someone would every know, what would that person learn?

Everyday “Christians” go about their hypocritical lives, giving nonbelievers excuses to never hear what God has to say. You can help negate that by living your life so that others see Jesus’ light reflected outward from your heart to the world.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Let Others See Jesus In You

"These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." -- Matthew 15:8

My Great Aunt Murl had a wonderful saying: Pretty is as pretty does. We all heard it again and again over the years. Her meaning was clear. It doesn't matter what you say you will or won't do. What matters is what you actually do.

Jesus talked about something similar. The Pharisees were far more interested in their rules than they were in actually knowing and serving God. It's like showing up for church every Sunday and forgetting all about God the other six days of the week. One day a week doesn't make you a Christian. It just shows you to be a hypocrite.

How do people know you are a Christian? Can they recognize you by your actions, by the words you speak, for the compassion you show? Or do they turn away from God because they see someone hard and unfeeling, focused totally on self and gain at any cost?

Probably they see someone who is somewhere in between. We all slip up. We all get impatient at times. We don't always show our happy face to the world. Sometimes we don't want to be bothered by someone else's problems. Imagine what our fate would be if Jesus had shared that attitude. Pretty horrifying, isn't it?

My cousin has a church tag on the front of her van. She says that many times she's wanted to react to another driver but she tries to remember that tag. She represents her church and, really, all Christians. We all do. People who don't know Jesus look to us to see what He looks like. What are we showing them? It might only take our having one bad moment to turn someone away from Christ forever. That's scary.

Don't be the person who speaks Christianity with her mouth but fails to live her faith day by day. Live your life in such a way that others see Jesus when they look at you.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Follow Jesus And No On Else

"He replied, 'Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.'" -- Matthew 15:13-14

Another study reporting yet another decline in Christians who actually know what being a Christian is and act on that faith. And yet another round of criticism aimed at the "feel good" mentality of some who no longer feel welcomed by mainstream churches

It's so easy to criticize others because they refuse to join your club. Jesus was an outsider. We tend to forget that sometimes. He challenged all the religious leaders during His time on earth. He threw out the money changers. He forgave sinners. He healed on the Sabbath. He did God's will -- regardless of what those religious leaders claimed.

So now we've got religious leaders blaming the downturn in practicing Christians on others. They claim we're too lax. There's nothing lax about John 3:16. Either you believe or you don't. Either you're looking to Jesus for salvation or you're heading to hell.

The rest are just rules created by men. Like the so-called dress code. The Bible doesn't have a dress code for people who attend worship services. Unless, of course, you're talking about a heart code. God wants us to come to Him and worship Him with a heart filled with love for Him. He's really not checking to see if you're wearing a suit or jeans.

The Bible also doesn't say that certain music is better than other music. Everyone has their own opinions. Again, God cares about our hearts. He wants us to worship Him with gladness and to honor Him with our voices. Whether it's contemporary or traditional doesn't matter.

Jesus welcomes all of us. He doesn't exclude those who are single or divorced, those who are childless or of a different color. Jesus doesn't check your bank balance or require a good address. He cares, once again, about your heart. But people who attend churches sometimes care about those other things. They sometimes cause others to feel excluded and unwelcome because they are different.

I understand we can't have a Sunday school class for every type of person. And, for smaller churches, it's really not practical to have both contemporary and traditional services. But when people feel unwelcome in God's House because of our rules, we need to reevaluate ourselves. We're pushing people away from God, not drawing them toward Him. It's easy to point fingers. It's far more difficult to look in the mirror and recognize that part of the reason people are pulling away from Christianity is because of the Christians they see.