Show The Children The Way

My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:

Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:

We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:

Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:

My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:

For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.

                                                                                   (Prov 1:10-11 KJV)

Having served at a juvenile correctional facility I have known a few young men who followed in their parents' footsteps with the end result ending up in the correctional facility. The parents were grieved; but, not necessarily grieved because these young men did anything wrong. They were grieved because they were caught.

That was, fortunately, only a few of the parents. Most of the parents were grieved because their children had not listened to them. They had not taken their advice to stay away from those things that would get them incarcerated or worse dead.

Most parents genuinely care for their children and try to lead them on a good path; a path that will help them to truly live abundant lives. 

Do not hinder your children; but, help them to follow in the way that our Lord Jesus has set before us.

Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.      

                                                                                       (Matt 18:4-6)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Humbly Serve

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. (James 4:10 KJV)

When men and women think too highly of themselves they are bound to be exposed and with exposure they will find themselves naked, out in the cold. There is no sin that will not be uncovered. 

If you are to serve God and God's creation, then humble yourself and remember that you are a servant. You are not God. You are not better than the people that you serve. You are also not better than the people that you serve with.

As a retired pastor, a former substance abuse counselor, a former juvenile corrections counselor, and a former bartender; I've heard enough fake stories and confessions to know that those who lift themselves up over those who they are supposed to be serving or serving with; those who belittle and attack the character of others in order to win the favor of others do so only in order to justify their own sins. 

Know this: the only justification that is to be found for sin is the blood of Jesus. We are all sinners. It would be much wiser to humble yourself and follow in his footsteps rather than the ego which rules your life and attempts to control the lives of others. You think that you are free because you can attack others. No, you are not. You are a slave to sin and you will not succeed at lifting yourself up. "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up." 

There is only one God and none of us are Him. Only He can lift you up out of the muck and mire you've gotten yourself engulfed in.

God bless each of us with tongues that do not falsely accuse others. May He bless each of us with tongues that will inspire peace.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Blood Family

It is for your sake that I have borne reproach,
   that shame has covered my face.

I have become a stranger to my kindred,   

   an alien to my mother’s children.
It is zeal for your house that has consumed me;
   the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.

                                            (Psalm 69:7-9 NRSV)

The belief that family unity is a priority no matter what can devastate individuals. When adult members of a family find themselves at odds, it can send the Christian members of the family into feelings of guilt and depression. After all; are we not to love one another? How loving is it when we cannot live in unity with our genetic brothers and sisters? So they try everything they can to please the other members of the family, including not standing up for what is right. They will even provide false alibis for those who have committed criminal offenses. Even most Christians will focus on pleasing man rather than God for the sake of blood family members. They believe that it is a part of the mandate to love one another. Watching, without any intervening, someone who is destroying themselves and others around them is not loving.

St. Paul wrote: "Am I now seeking human approval, or God’s approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Gal 1:10)

It is difficult when someone is put in the position of having to choose between doing what is right and what will keep your birth family tolerating you and your faith. I often hear stories of families who have a very difficult time even being in the same room together. In fact, I know very few families that do not suffer this division. Many times the differences that cause these breaks in relationships have to do with varying lifestyles; with varying degrees of faith or lack of faith. Christians can normally live in peace with those who have very different lifestyles than themselves. They can and will continue to love and have empathy for those they see going off on a path that will lead them to destruction. However, it becomes most difficult when the Christian is ostracized and persecuted because they will not join their family members or friends on a path other than the one that Jesus leads them on. 

When working with young men in juvenile correctional facility, they would often express their desire to return home to their families. Some of the parent(s) of those teen-age boys had introduced their sons to substance abuse. Some had their sons selling drugs on the street for them. Some beat them unmercifully for minor offenses. 

As a foster parent for teen-age boys, I heard their pleas to be returned to their parents no matter how awful their lives had been. They were convinced that their parents would somehow have figured out, in the absence of their children, that they would now start loving them and caring for them instead of neglecting and abusing them. I don't recall one case of that actually happening.

When working with these children who were fast becoming adults, I would often remind them that the blood that is thicker than blood is the blood of Christ that was shed for them. 

It can be devastating for a child or an adult not to be firmly connected with their birth families. To live with people who choose a lifestyle that persecutes those who would follow in "the way" that is more peaceful and productive is difficult. There are times when the persecuted must distance themselves for their own sakes and for the sakes of the ones they love. It does no one any good to close your eyes and shut your lips to the injustices that occur in the family or the community. Never doing or saying anything about injustices is not a solution.

It is better to speak the truth than ignore the destruction that is happening around you for the sake of peace with the one who is going down and leading others down the wrong path. Speaking the truth may indeed win you more persecutions.  But, correcting others in love may also help them turn around and go in the way that they should go.

Standing up for the truth; standing up for Jesus, will not win a lot of accolades in many families. It is not even always accepted within the visible church. But; if we do not, we contribute to the downfall of the community; we contribute to the downfall of the visible church on earth. 

Persecutions will come by standing up for Jesus. They will come even from family whom we love. When your family persecutes and even disowns you; lift up your head and remembers that there is a blood that is thicker than blood. It is the blood of Christ that was shed for you. 

I pray that this does not sound to convoluted to you. It is my attempt to remind you that no matter what the world around you thinks of you, the world was not pleased with the prophets nor was it happy with Jesus. No matter who persecutes you; whether it is firth family or friends, you are a beloved child of our Heavenly Father. You have family in Christ! You get to live life as a child of God!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Representing Christ

Does what you wear and say and do represent Christ or a false god?

"So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." 2 Corinth 5:20

What exactly does it mean to be an ambassador of Christ? How are we to represent him?

When I served as a chaplain at a juvenile correction facility, I often asked the young men, who professed to be Christian, if they were going to continue to represent their old gangs or if they would represent Jesus. I recall a story one young man shared about how he had become involved in a gang fight outside of a church. He and his friend had worn their colors to worship as did a couple of rival gang members and a fight ensured. Imagine that! They all belonged to the same congregation. After he told the story, and having heard it spoken aloud by himself, he realized what he had done. He had put his gang affiliation before God and before the family of God. He had been practicing idolatry in a house of worship. He had been blatantly representing his gang rather than Jesus in the church of Jesus Christ.

Most of us are a little more cautious about our conduct inside of a church building. We want to look and act like representatives of Christ within the context of a congregation. But, what about outside the church building? The Church is; after all, not a building. Who or what are we ambassadors for when we go out into the world?

May God help us to be more aware of our call to be ambassadors of Christ, proclaiming the Good News of his Kingdom for all who would believe in him.

God's Peace - Pr. J

No Stealing

The Seventh Commandment.

Thou shalt not steal.

What does this mean?--Answer.
We should fear and love God that we may not take our neighbor's money or property, nor get them by false ware or dealing, but help him to improve and protect his property and business [that his means are preserved and his condition is improved].
(http://bookofconcord.org/smallcatechism.php)

In times past, I served at a Juvenile Correctional Facility in various capacities. I enjoyed it very much. Although many tried to justify their actions; the youth knew why they were there. They had been confronted in a court of law and found guilty. Being able to recognize and acknowledge that one has sinned is a good first step in making necessary changes to one's life so that one can live a fuller life and that God might be glorified. As a pastor, part of my call is to visit those who are in prison. I have had the rare occasion where someone who is incarcerated pre-trial actually confesses their sins and asks for forgiveness. It is always a relief when this happens and I am able to reassure them that although they will have to answer for their crimes in this world; God forgives them their sins and through the blood of Jesus they have been reconciled to our Father in heaven.

For those who deny their guilt, it is much more difficult. I remember speaking with one woman who swore that she had never stolen anything. She was quite adamant (and loud), in spite of the fact, that she had already been convicted of credit card fraud and had spent time in prison for it, that she had never stolen anything from anybody. She could not relate stealing to using someone else's identity to obtain credit cards and then use them for her own profit. Frankly, this conversation was pretty frustrating. It is beyond me how someone can steal something, get caught, be found guilty, go to prison and still deny that they have ever stolen anything. Of course, this person did not claim to be a Christian. But, she does claim to be a "good" person because according to her she has never stolen (paper) money. Semantics! It reminds me of something my grandchildren would often do when they were young. I would make the mistake of asking them who they were talking to when they were on their cell phones. Their response was usually "no one." Of course, they weren't talking to anyone. They were texting or messaging. I had to change the question to: "With whom are you communicating?" That seemed to cover most everything they might be doing on their phones. Semantics!

Semantics won't make a thief less a thief. Either you have stolen from someone or not. It's best to be "Not!" It is also best not to be compounding the sin by lying about it. Confess and live in a way that brings peace and harmony to life with your neighbors. As Christians, we are not only commanded to not take our neighbor's property or money; we are to do all that we can to help our neighbor keep his or her property and even improve it. Whenever we do anything unjustly that would cause our neighbor to lose the use or the possession of his property we are stealing from them whether we end up with physical possession of the property or not. All the semantics in the world will not justify our sins. Only the blood of Jesus justifies.

May God help us to help and support our neighbors.

God's Peace - Pr. J