Where's Your Line?

I don't really talk about politics on here. That's not what this space is for, it's usually a direct route to arguments, and frankly, we're not really supposed to as missionaries. We're here to represent Christ, not a political party. Cool, I get it. Do I have opinions? Yeah. (Shocking.) But do I need to put them front and center? No. 

Social issues are a little bit different. Social behaviors are a reflection of a person's heart, their values. Theoretically, a Christian will have different values and behaviors than a non-Christian. I can't judge a non-Christian by Christian standards. They are behaving according to the old nature, and while I will do my best to introduce them to the One who moulds our values and behaviors, I can't actually force a lifestyle change (through law or otherwise) on them.

But I will absolutely hold those who profess to be Christians to a higher standard. 

I'll be disappointed in them, absolutely. We're human, and as much as Jesus has told us to strive for perfection, I'm aware of the difficulty in even approaching that, let alone achieving that. 

There is a big difference, though, between momentary lapses and willful disobedience. 

At this point, you're probably wondering what the heck I'm talking about. And by heck, I mean hell, because that's where this world is headed. 

So I came across this article. 

I am incensed. Livid. Apoplectic. I've had to walk away from this at least three times just to calm down. 

"An affirming hymnal is helping LGBTQ Christians keep the faith"

SERIOUSLY?!?!

I feel like I need to make my position on homosexuality clear. And I realize some of you aren't going to like it. I don't care. I feel like my position is biblical and that's really all I'm aiming for. 

Same-sex attraction is not a sin.

Acting on same-sex attraction is absolutely a sin.

Do not come at me with "Jesus never said anything about it." He absolutely did by affirming (yeah, I can use that word, too) marriage as a union between a man and a woman. It's a mirror of the relationship between Christ and the Church. The Groom (Christ) takes the Bride (the Church) for the purpose of a holy union that honors God. That's it. 

Is the Church a place for sinners? Yes! Jesus said, "It's not the healthy that need a doctor but the sick." But we don't go to church to keep on sinning. We go to get support and resources to STOP sinning. 

A few of the 'hymn' titles:

• A Hymn for Self-Acceptance
• God of Queer Transgressive Spaces
• Impartial, Compassionate God
• Quirky, Queer and Wonderful
• The Heart Will Choose the One It Loves

...

I had to walk away again.

• No. Just no. Self-acceptance is not the goal of a Christian life. The 'self' is not enough. We need salvation through Jesus Christ, which includes actively pursuing God's perfect plan for our lives, which is in line with biblical precepts.
• I don't even know where to start with the second one.
• God is not impartial. Did you know that? He is so incredibly partial that sin cannot exist in his presence! That's why we needed Jesus to act as our intermediary and cleanse us of our sin by dying on the cross!
• I've been called quirky. But there's nothing wonderful about being queer. Just no.
• The heart is deceitful above all things, and incurable - who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9)

Make no mistake, there is an agenda here. They want to browbeat you into not just tolerating sin but celebrating it. Make the sin the most important thing in your life. Let it be the thing that identifies you. 

Satan tried the direct approach. It failed. So he has wormed his way insidiously into our lives. In some ways, it wasn't even that hard. Just compromise on a few things here. Make a few exceptions there. It all comes down to the first Lie.

Did God really say those things? Did he mean them?

Yes. He did. And we're going to face a reckoning. If you're looking for that line you drew and realize it's a few hundred yards behind you, maybe it's time to re-evaluate a few things. What compromises have you made in the name of love?

And I'm not saying this will be easy. It effects family, friends, people we've known for years. But I would hate for judgment to come and realize that I helped 'love' someone into hell. 

The Art (and Nuance) of War

Here's the speech I wish I could give when I show off my swords during CROSS-training:


Spiritual warfare is real.

I know, you think you believe that. I might even believe that you believe that.

But I don't think you understand the reality of it. You hear the words spiritual warfare and you assume it looks like actual warfare. I apologize for some of that. I did bring swords, after all.

But I also brought my knives. Small ones, big ones, dull ones, sharp ones. Sometimes people don't know they're at war until the knife has slipped between ribs and been pulled out again. (Insert tangent on that one episode of Sherlock here.)

You think spiritual warfare is going to be obvious. Demonic possession and storming the gates of hell through prayer and split pea soup projectile vomit. It's something that is always going to be bad and depressing. It's going to be recognizable because the devil will be opposing your ministry, and obviously you'll notice something like that.

And sometimes, yeah. It'll be obvious.

Except for all the times it isn't.

Here's what spiritual warfare looks like.

*It's losing a filling on a holiday weekend when you already have 20 other things to think about but it's a constant presence in your mouth and you don't really have a dentist nor the money to fix this.

*It's being awakened by the sound of something shattering at 6 AM when you have the day off and it's your first chance to sleep in in months.

*It's your support system slowly being stripped away so that when you realize what's happening, you feel like there's no one left to call.

*It's every traffic jam and fender bender and closed street and aggressive driver and late train and confusing sign and flat tire and broken mirror.

It's finding out your friend has cancer and there's nothing you can do.

*It's driving to the wrong restaurant to pick up dinner when your week has been brutal and you just needed something hot and good.

It's a job offer for more money and security than you've ever had in your life but it means walking away from everything you've been working toward.

It's your ministry going really well and sure, it's headed in a more compassionate direction and you haven't shared the Gospel in months, but people are showing up and you don't want to make them uncomfortable by suddenly making it about God, right?

It's your kid being targeted by the school bully.

It's your kid being the school bully.

*It's not knowing if you're losing weight because your diet is working or that health problem has returned.

It's smiling at those vaguely flirty texts that were not sent by your significant other.

*It's finding a new book series or TV show that is just really engaging and so you binge it until all those things you were going to do just somehow didn't get done. 

*It's the paralyzing anxiety you feel when you pick up the phone to ask someone to support your ministry. 

It's deciding to move in together because you're going to get married eventually and it just makes sense.

*It's your work computer shutting down at random multiple times in the month preceding your trip to Washington to learn about support raising and deleting the progress you've made on preparing for said trip.

*It's your home computer dying at roughly the same time.

It's life. 

Spiritual warfare isn't something that is declared by Congress. 

It started the moment you accepted Jesus as your Savior. Satan doesn't need to make life uncomfortable for those who are already in his back pocket. But he'll come after Christians with everything he's got. And it won't always be obvious. 

It's a war of attrition. 

It is death by a thousand paper cuts. 

If you aren't living every day in a war mentality, you are losing ground.

CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!!




That's what I want to tell them.

But I'll tell you that everything starred above is how the devil is screwing with my life right now.