Pointing the Finger.

 

Christians Pointing the Finger.

I’ve often been disheartened by Christians in the news media pointing their fingers at those they deem, “Sinners.” Of course, it’s never about greedy people or those who are oppressing the poor, no it’s usually  sexual sins they are worried about.

But what did Jesus say about that? Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.  For John came to you in a righteous way and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. Matthew 21:31,32

I once heard someone say, “Some Christians would criticize the Lord Himself if they went to heaven.” I believe that because Jesus was criticized constantly when he was here on earth. I’m going to give examples of the finger-pointing towards Jesus. I will also record his replies.

As Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”  Matthew 9:10-13

Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue,  and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out?  How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So, he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.  But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.

At a different time:

But the synagogue leader was indignant that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. “There are six days for work,” he told the crowd. “So come and be healed on those days and not on the Sabbath.”

 “You hypocrites!” the Lord replied. “Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it to water? Then, should not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be released from her bondage on the Sabbath day?”

When Jesus said this, all His adversaries were humiliated. And the whole crowd rejoiced at all the glorious things He was doing.  Luke 13:14-17

Then some Pharisees and teachers of the Law came from Jerusalem to Jesus and asked him, “Why is it that your disciples disobey the teaching handed down by our ancestors? They don't wash their hands in the proper way before they eat!” Jesus answered, “And why do you disobey God's command and follow your own teaching? For God said, ‘Respect your father and your mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses his father or his mother is to be put to death.’ But you teach that if a person has something he could use to help his father or mother, but says, ‘This belongs to God,’ he does not need to honor his father.”  Matthew 15

 As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him.  And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.”  But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”  Matthew 9

 

When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for ^fI must stay at your house today.”  So, he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.  And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man 

came to seek and to save the lost.”  Luke 19

 

There were times when the believers in Jesus pointed the finger at other believers:

Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. Mark 12

While Jesus was in Bethany reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke open the jar and poured it on Jesus’ head.

Some of those present, however, expressed their indignation to one another: “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for over three hundred denarii (a years wages) and the money given to the poor.” And they scolded her.

But Jesus said, “Leave her alone; why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful deed to Me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them whenever you want. But you will not always have Me. She has done what she could to anoint My body in advance of My burial. And truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached in all the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”  Mark 14:3-9

In Nazareth, Jesus’ home town, the people there hated what Jesus was saying so much they tried to kill him.  “When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath.  And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.  But walking through their midst, he went away.”  Luke 4

Jesus was criticized even while he hung on the cross, suffering physical and mental pain:

The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”

The soldiers also mocked Him and came up to offer Him sour wine. “If You are the King of the Jews,” they said, “save Yourself!” Luke 23:35-37

As soon as the chief priests and officers saw Him, they shouted, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

“You take Him and crucify Him,” Pilate replied, “for I find no basis for a charge against Him.”

 “We have a law,” answered the Jews, “and according to that law He must die, because He declared Himself to be the Son of God.”  John 19

Seeing how many people hated Jesus, pointing their judgmental fingers at him, do you think this is something believers in God should dare to do? It shows how completely wrong their judgement was and how they hated that which is good.

Did Jesus criticize the Romans? Never. But he did criticize those who, instead of loving people, pointed the finger of hate at people. Jesus drew people to himself with his love. I’m sure everyone could see the love in his face and words. Yes, he asked people to repent. We need to see how much we need Jesus, and if we think we are okay, why would we need him?

We are all capable of great sin. We all sin, we all hurt people. We may not even want to, but we do. With Jesus in our lives, he will whisper to our hearts and change us. We won’t be perfect in this world. I think God does not make us perfect in this world or we would become proud. We would take credit for it and our souls would be ruined. St. Paul said he was not perfect, but it was something to strive for.

I loathe the way Christians in power want to force the whole country to become Christian. This is not possible. God wants a willing heart. I think he is capable of knowing if someone is faking it. If Christians had lived like Jesus, many would have been drawn to God. As it is, we have pushed them away.

If people study history any longer, they would know the result of religious force and the uniting of Church and State. It always ends in persecution and death. But this is where we are heading. Gays, news reporters and anyone who doesn’t go along with their brand of religion will be persecuted and eventually be put to death.

This is coming, but we can have hope if we cling to God. He will walk through the fire with us. He will give to us eternal life in a place we were created for. Do we feel so comfortable in this world? That’s because we were made for a better world where there is peace, goodness and love. We will be part of a  family with God as our father and Jesus as our brother.

“You’re Not a Christian if…” Fill in the Blank.

This is not Tim Keller, just a guy. Lol

Tim Keller is my favorite preacher, but I have heard him say many times that a person is not a Christian if he thinks, says or does… fill in the blank. This has always upset me but I overlooked it because everything else in his preaching is so deep, helpful and meaningful.

I heard him say it again last week. I listen to his old sermons on podcasts. Finally, I thought I should write my opinion on this. It’s just my opinion that I have come to through 53 years of being a believer in Jesus.

I was raised in a strict, evangelical, Bible believing religion. When I became a Christian at 19 years-old I thought the same way as Dr. Keller. If someone was smoking, drinking, partying etc. then they weren’t a Christian. They didn’t have a relationship with God. I was legalistic and judgmental.

I was also super critical of myself and felt guilty over the least little think I did wrong. I thought I could be perfectly like Jesus, but this didn’t happen. I was changed, the Lord changed me so much in wonderful ways, but I still felt hounded by guilt. I think it was because my church was horrified by any sin and never told us that if we messed up, which we would all the time, we were still okay with God and he would forgive us over and over.

It took years for me to understand the grace and forgiveness of God. I love how Jesus said, “If someone sins against you 7 times in one day and asks you to forgive, you must forgive him.” Well, God must feel the same about us and our sins.

One thing someone might say, “If you don’t love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself, then you are not a Christian.” I don’t believe that. I believe this is something to strive for through prayer. I myself have been through times when I have hated God, gotten mad at him, or questioned his goodness. I have doubts and fears all the time, yet I know I am a Christian.

Loving God is complicated. We think of love as a feeling, whereas it is an action or principle. I have had feelings of love and admiration for God many times, but this comes and goes. I want to love everyone as myself, but I don’t always do it. I pray for this teaching of Jesus to be in my heart every day and I should trust he can do it.

I know a Christian who hates people, so she says, yet she has done so much good for people she has met, people she doesn’t even know. She has been hurt by people since her childhood, so she has no trust. But the Bible says even Jesus didn’t trust people because he knew what was in their hearts.

Does she feel love for God, no, but she believes he is the God of the Universe and is all good. She says she never wants to make a decision without asking him because she has learned how she messes things up, but God doesn’t.

I think loving God and all people is something we must learn all our lives. It’s a long process called Sanctification. It is like Jesus said about our spiritual growth, “The earth produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head [of grain], then the mature grain in the head.  Mark 4:28 Crops don’t spring up overnight and we don’t become like Jesus overnight. We have a lot to learn.

I think I’ve learned more about God in the last ten years since I retired from babysitting my grandchildren. I had a lot of time to myself. God showed me some things about myself I didn’t know and wasn’t happy about. He also showed me how he is enough for me. I don’t need anyone or anything more than him. It’s not that it’s been all roses. I’ve gone through long illnesses and another death in my family. Also, recently some conflicts with my daughters that were not pleasant and I got angry and sinned against them by yelling. Didn’t know I had that in me either, to tell the truth. The Lord showed me my sin and I asked for forgiveness, but I’ll tell you I didn’t think it was that bad for two days! Yes, at 73 I am still a sinner for sure, yet Jesus loves me just as I am.

I remember when my mom lived with me, I could see God was teaching her things even though she was in her nineties! I thought, “Man, he never stops!” When she was in rehab for her hip operation, she was acting terrible, threatening people and refusing treatment. I was afraid she “wasn’t a real Christian” and would be lost. But God spoke to one of my daughters and said to her, “Call your mother now and tell her, her mother is going to be saved.” So, she did. She also said, “God sure is loud!” Lol Yes, I guess he can be sometimes. See, I was judging my mother while God was accepting and loving her.

There are many verses in the Bible that tell us we are saved, not by our works, but by our faith in Jesus’ death for us. I know in many churches, including my old one, you can’t get baptized until you stop sinning and sign a paper promising to keep all the teachings of the church. In the Bible, people were baptized right away. All they had to do is believe. We are so far away from that simple faith, and maybe some of the books of the New Testament even sound like we have to be so perfect. I don’t know, I just want to believe the simple things Jesus taught and not worry about my salvation and judge other people about their salvation. Jesus said we will know if teachers of the gospel are good by their fruits. I’m going to list the fruits of the Holy Spirit. These are words of love we should aspire to.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Galatians 5:22-23, NIV

 

 

 

The Outcast. Homelessness and Mental Illness.

 

I have a sister who lives at a campground. Some of the sites are for permanent residents and the rest are for campers. She lives in a motorhome. After living there for awhile, she found out a man lived on the property who did odd jobs for the owner of the camp and its residents.

She asked this man if he would clean off the roof and do other tasks for her. She got to know him and realized he wasn’t quite normal. She found out he used to be an executive at a large corporation, but his young wife had died of cancer and he had a nervous breakdown. He told her he was in a hospital for a few months and was better for a time. A few years later, he had a girlfriend who also died, in an accident I think.

After that, he was in a permanent depression and just couldn’t cope with life at all. He lost his job and was homeless for a long time. Somehow, he got a small camper and lived in that. He came to her campground and asked the owner if he could live there by doing odd jobs and he told him he could.

My sister knew him for at least five years but told me he was going downhill. He started going to a psychiatric hospital occasionally. Later, when she would ask him to work for her, he forgot or took a few weeks to do it. Eventually, he quit doing all work.

Around that time, they started talking about God. She bought him two Bibles, one a graphic novel type and another regular Bible. She spoke to him of what God had done for her and how she loved being a Christian.

He told her all the Christians he had met were unkind to him, especially two people at the park. They had promised to pay him a certain amount of money and then cut his pay in half after he was done. He said he had tried to go to churches, but the people there didn’t want him. He said he was surprised she was a Christian because she was nice to him.

A few months later, she found out the owner and manager had kicked him out because he wasn’t working enough and his site was messy. She doesn’t know where he went.

When I think of that man, I think of the word, “Outcast.” Then I think of Jesus, a friend of outcasts and who became one himself. I also think of mental illness and how misunderstood it is.

As I’ve written before, I have a mental illness and my sister told me most of the homeless people she met have had either a physical or mental illness. They are people no one knows what to do with. They are without a rudder in this cold world. People look down on them and ask, “Why aren’t they working? They look healthy enough to work!”

I’ll tell you why. They probably can’t concentrate, they may be terrified of people (like me), they are afraid to work because they know they will make mistakes and people will yell at them, and they can’t bear the thought of that. (me) Their memory isn’t good. They will forget what you told them to do, or misunderstand instructions. (me) They don’t have a car, bus fare, clothing. They are sometimes so nervous they cannot speak. (me)

If I didn’t have a husband to support me, I’d be homeless myself. Well, my daughters would take me in. I am blessed that way. My family understands my illness and loves me.

I’m writing this because I wish so much that the world would do something for these people. I know how complicated that is; although I did read about a city in Canada that built apartments for all the homeless and made it a law they couldn’t live on the streets. It has worked out wonderfully and is actually saving the city money. Maybe it isn’t as hard as we think. We have a terrific Premier in BC, where I live. He is doing a lot for the homeless. I admire him.

Well, I said what was burning in my heart. Here are some verses from the Bible about outcasts.

The blind man Jesus healed:

They answered and said to him, "You were born entirely in sins, and do you teach us?" And they cast him out. 

When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, He found the man and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

 “Who is He, Sir?” he replied. “Tell me so that I may believe in Him.” “You have already seen Him,” Jesus answered. “He is the One speaking with you.” “Lord, I believe,” he said. And he worshiped Jesus.   John 9:34-38

A parable of Jesus:

So, they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.   Mark 12:8

God speaking to Israel:

If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there he will take you.  Deut. 30:4

I will make the lame into a remnant, and the outcast into a strong nation. Then the LORD will rule over them in Mount Zion from that day and forever.  Micah 4:7

Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.   Zeph. 3:19

Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, with no one passing through, I will make you majestic forever, a joy from age to age.   Isaiah 60:15

Those who hurt the poor:

What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor?” declares the Lord GOD of hosts.   Isaiah 3:15

What sorrow awaits the unjust judges

and those who issue unfair laws.

They deprive the poor of justice

and deny the rights of the needy among my people.

They prey on widows

and take advantage of orphans.

What will you do when I punish you,

when I send disaster upon you from a distant land?

To whom will you turn for help?

Where will your treasures be safe?

Isaiah 10:1-3

 

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Hear God's Words on Justice.

Photo by: "Carlos Delgado; CC-BY-SA" 

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.   Psalm 89:14

Some people wonder where God's justice is in this world. The problem God has is he must work through his people to have justice on the earth. This is earth, not heaven, where justice reigns. Evil people outnumber the godly people and therefore there is injustice and horrible crimes committed every day. God does reach out himself to save many people's lives, but he can't turn this world into a heaven. Not yet. Evil must be played out to its bitter end so it never rises up again in the universe.

Isaiah, a prophet of God, wrote about the people of his time who questioned God. They asked him, “Why have we humbled ourselves and fasted but you have not noticed?” They didn’t understand why their prayers went unanswered.

This is God’s answer, “On the day of your fasting you do what you want and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast like this and expect your voice to be heard on high!

Is that the kind of fast I want? Do you call this an acceptable day of the Lord?

This is the kind of fast I desire: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set free the oppressed. It is a day to share your food with the hungry, to provide the poor wanderer with shelter. When you see the naked, to clothe them and not turn away from your own flesh and blood.

If you do this, your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear. Then your goodness will go in front of you and I will bring up the rear. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help and he will say, ‘Here I am!’

If you get rid of the burden of oppression that goes with pointing your fingers and cruel words, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.

The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and strengthen your body. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a stream whose waters never fail.”   Isaiah 58:3-11

But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.   Amos 5:24

This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place.   Jeremiah 22:3

Can You Be a Christian and Not Love God?

The last few weeks I have either heard or read Christians say, “We don’t obey God because we want to be saved, are afraid of him or want something from him. We obey God because we love him.”

This always gives me pause because of the number of years I have not felt love for God. I first gave my life to him because he showed me through a dream that I was lost. I saw Jesus returning and wasn’t ready. That dream terrified me.

My grandmother gave me a book about God and I loved it. Then I went to an evangelistic meeting. I enjoyed that also, but when they asked if anyone wanted to come forward to give their lives to Christ, I didn’t do it until the last night. That was the night the preacher talked about Jesus and his death on the cross for us. I felt love and gratitude and walked up to the stage to give myself to Jesus.

So, I guess I could say I came to God through fear and then love. But the love feeling didn’t last. Because of my church’s teachings, I started feeling very afraid to sin and believed God would turn away from me if I sinned. I don’t remember any teachings about how we will sin and how God will always be there for us.

So, I was afraid. I became legalistic too and looked down on those who weren’t as “good” as I was. I’m not sure how you can have both feelings, but I guess I went back and forth between them. When I did sin or make a mistake, I couldn’t pray for days because I felt so guilty.

I then learned about, “righteousness through faith,” from a new preacher in my church. This was wonderful news to me and I embraced it. I felt at peace with God for quite a few years.

But then some traumatic things happened in our family. I couldn’t understand why God would allow such pain. I felt repulsed by the way he ran the world and let people suffer. Not just my family, but everyone in the world. I was filled with anger towards him. I walked away from him.

Four years later, when I came back to him, I had read books on why God allows suffering. These books had helped me a lot and I could understand why things were the way they were. But love? No, I didn’t feel love for God and for the most part, I didn’t really believe he loved me.

This went on for years, and the thing is that even though I didn’t feel love for God, I wanted to be a good person and I knew God was the only way to be that. I felt as Jesus said, I hungered and thirsted for righteousness. I cared about justice, mercy, forgiveness, love, compassion, generosity and patience.

I loved what God stood for, but it was so hard for me to equate that with a person in heaven. Maybe because men had hurt me all my life, I couldn’t think of God in a loving way.

So then, if I took to heart what these Christians say about obeying God because I felt love for him, I would have given up in despair. But I learned from Joyce Meyer not to rely on my feelings. They are fickle and unreliable.

One of my sisters feels no love at all for God. She was angry with him for many years. But God wouldn’t let her go. He called her, he bugged her, he chased her until she reluctantly gave in to him. She worships him every day. She is learning about him every day. She is growing every day. There is a huge change in her, although she cannot see it, I do.

In fact, the way God has dealt with my sister has made me love him. Not many people love her. One reason is she always says the truth of what she thinks or believes. She doesn’t let people get away with bullshitting her. She is direct and pulls no punches, but that is one of the reasons I love her so much. She is straight with me; I don’t have to guess where she stands.

I’ve told her I think the thing God loves most about her is her honesty. She doesn’t want to hurt people with honesty, that is just her personality and most people don’t like it. But God does. I know he does, and oh how that makes me love him.

I only started having consistent “feelings” of love for God the last few years. I became a Christian at 19 and I am now 69. It has been a long wait for me. I had moments of that loving feeling, but they didn’t last. Now, it feels like my heart will burst with love and the joy of knowing God. It was worth the wait; I’m so happy.

I wrote this for those who have no feelings for God and think they should. I’m sure God understands feelings and knows they can’t be counted on. I think he wants us to worship him because we admire what he stands for: truth, faithfulness, justice, kindness, forgiveness, mercy, long-suffering, tolerance, and most of all love.

But honestly, I believe God will take us any way he can get us. He loves us that much.

What Did Jesus Say About the So-Called Little Things.

Photo by Povlin

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Povlin2001&action=edit&redlink=1

Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne…

Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’

Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink?  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?  When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’

And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’”   Matthew 25:31-40

The other day, I was reading these verses and then went to see what Bible commentators had to say about them. I was disappointed to see a couple of them said something like this:

“If God will reward us for doing these small things, what will he give those who did the harder things and those who preached the word.”

Hmm, well I disagree with them. I think Jesus did mention the hard things. What is easier, to preach or share your last meal? What is easier, to give out pamphlets about Jesus or drive a distance to visit someone in jail? What is easier, to be a pastor or look after people who are sick and even take them into your house to care for them?

I think, that as usual, God’s thoughts are high above our thoughts and his ways above our ways. And I also think that this has been the problem with the Christian religion through the ages.

If the Christian churches had put suffering people first, the gospel would have been preached first in actions, and then in preaching. If a person is loved and helped by someone, with no other agenda than to help and love them, they would then be open to the good news of Jesus, for that is what he did and the common people loved him.

Yes, the common people loved him, but the church leaders hated him. They were jealous of his popularity and afraid of losing their power. I see church leaders like this today.

When Paul wrote about the church leaders who are around at the time of the end, this is what he said about them:

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Having a form of godliness, but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people."  2 Timothy 3:1-5

 There are people like this leading churches and governments today. It is easy to spot them because though they say they are Christians, their actions and words betray their hearts. Jesus told us to be careful of whom we listen to. He said we will know them by the fruits of their lives. May God open our eyes and hearts to know the truth and follow it.

(You might wonder who I think I am by writing this stuff. Me too. I am nobody. I just write what my heart is full of.)