What ever happened to repentance?

I’ve been stewing on something for a while.  

Why don’t Christians seem to act like Christ so much any more?  
Why do we brag about our sinfulness?  
Why are we so proud of our past that we continue to glorify the devil with our words and actions? 
Why aren’t we grasping the concepts of sanctification, consecration, and holiness?

I have come to a conclusion.  In a word … repentance.  It is all but gone from the conversion experience.  

We love the part about believing and confessing that Jesus is Lord, but we seem to ‘forget’ the part about turning from our sins.  We are only preaching half of the true gospel of salvation.  Start looking up the scriptures that deal with conversion, and you will find the word repentance (or a variation thereof) in nearly every one of them. 

We can say that we believe Jesus is the son of God and died for our sins.  The devil believes the same thing.  What separates our experience from his?  Repentance.  

When Jesus healed people, what did he say to them?  “You are healed/forgiven/saved … now GO AND SIN NO MORE.”  

It was two-fold.  He was telling them that He was willing to save them, heal them, forgive them, and in response, their half of the equation was to repent of their sins.  

Sadly, people have decided to believe that ‘I’m sorry’ is all they need to say in order to repent.  That is SO far from true.  We have to make a conscious decision to turn away from our sin.  To leave it behind.  To not practice it any more.  To live differently.  To ‘sin no more’.  That is true repentance.  Not just feeling sorry for doing it, or worse yet, feeling sorry for getting caught.  

It grieves me to see how many ‘Christians’ are proud of their pet sin.  
“I’m a Christian but, I still like to _____________________”   
Insert your favorite sin.  
They have somehow decided that their lying doesn’t count, their gossiping is okay (after all, I’m only sharing prayer requests), cussing isn’t that big of a deal, drinking, smoking, fornicating, etc … etc … 

How have we missed the whole point of repentance in the church?  God has clearly called us to be holy as He is holy.  Would He command us to do that if He knew that we could not possibly be holy?  Would Jesus have told us to go and ‘sin no more’ if that weren’t possible?  Would Jesus call us to be like Him when we take on His name (CHRISTians) if He knew ahead of time that there was no way we could rise above our sinful nature?  Of course not!  

He has called us to be light in the midst of darkness, not darkness with a label of ‘Christian’ attached.  

It is no wonder that people can barely tell the difference between the church and the world.  We have denied the concept of repentance.  It’s uncomfortable.  It’s hard work sometimes.  It’s painful.  It’s messy.  BUT, if we don’t grab ahold of it, we cannot possibly bring light into the darkness.  

When is the last time you saw a moth that was attracted to a dark spot in your home?  They aren’t.  They are attracted to the light!

This morning in church we sang “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.  Hide it under a bushel, NO, I’m gonna let it shine.”  It made me think.  A good majority of our churches here in America don’t have a light to even hide under a bushel.  The adversary has done quite a job of convincing them that their candle holder is somehow putting out quite a positive light.  The truth is that they have a candle with no wick because they haven’t repented of and turned away from their sins, thereby allowing God to clean them up and shine through them.  

We, as the TRUE body of Christ, absolutely MUST begin to preach repentance.  Right now, we look, act, and sound just like the world.  Jesus did not look, act, nor sound like the others around Him.  If He had, we would never have heard about Him.  Those of us who take on His name (CHRISTians) have to be different, we have to be salt and light, we have to repent of our sins and turn away from them.  

Imagine what the world would look like if there was an obvious and easily recognizable difference between the world and the church?  I, for one, would LOVE to see that!  

Guns are not the problem. Mental health is not the problem. Pansy men are the problem.

Guns are not the problem. Mental health is not the problem. Pansy men are the problem. 

Sadly, we have several generations of men alive right now who do not understand their God-given drive and mandate to protect the innocent around them. It has been suppressed since they were small boys.

Somehow, we have managed to systematically emasculate most men to the point where when some nutcase pops up with a gun, they raise their hands in surrender and wait to be killed. 

What would Lancelot have done?
How would Leonidas have reacted?

When a man is manly enough to rush the shooter, like the ONE guy did yesterday, or the guy did on the train in Paris, etc ... it is such a big deal that they become a national hero. Why aren't there more heroes like that? Why aren't men standing up for the innocent people around them?

What if several of those male college students would have purposed in their hearts that gun or no gun they were going to STAND and FIGHT? 

The outcome may have been drastically different.

Where are the modern day warriors? 

Where are the knights of today?

Don't you suppose criminals wouldn't be so bold if they knew that men were going to stand up to them? All men. Most men. Not just an odd one here or there.

We are at a breaking point. If men don't stand up and be men, all is lost. Men of today don't defend themselves, they don't defend their families, they don't defend strangers, and they sadly don't defend the most vulnerable in our society...children. Born nor unborn.

I know I'm gonna step on some toes and upset some folks with this post. There are, of course, exceptions. I am not referring to them.

Men, stand up and be men. Please! We NEED you!

(Originally posted on my Facebook page on October 2nd.  I found it ironic how many men commented that the reason they are pansy men is because of feminists.  It was ironic because they are doing exactly what I was pointing out in the post ... not standing up and being men.  Not being bold and standing up for what is right.  Yes, feminism is a problem.  There is no doubt about that.  However, militant feminism would not have risen like it has if men had stood up and been men.  Women jumped in to fill the void when men bailed on their duties as men.  Radical feminism is a by-product of men not being masculine and manly.)  

He was TOTALLY worth the wait!

My dear friends,

God is faithful.  Be patient.  Trust Him.  He can see around the corner.  He knows what is best for you.  He loves you like no other ever could! 

Since I was about 16, all I EVER wanted to be was a wife and mother.  When I was 24 and date-raped I became a mother, but not a wife, and more or less lost my dream of finding a Godly man to marry.  I figured that I was 'tainted goods' and no really Godly man would want me.  That’s a sad place to be, trust me. 

I recognized that it wasn’t God’s fault that I was raped, and over the next 19 years, I continued to serve Him with my whole heart.  Things were not how I EVER imagined or dreamed they would be, but never once did God let me down.  Never once did He fail me.  Never once did I go without my basic needs being met. 

He continued to be faithful!  Always!  Hallelujah!  :-D

Slowly, over the years, He gave me dreams again.  He was restoring my vision and preparing me for the future, even though I couldn't see it. 

In the meantime, 120 miles away, He was wooing Wayne to His side and working out his salvation ... and I knew nothing about it! 

One week ago today, at 44 years old, He gave me a wonderful, masculine, kind-hearted, teachable, fun, hard-working, handsome, Godly man to be my husband.  Wayne was TOTALLY worth the wait! 

I love the Britt Nicole Song, “Still That Girl” where she says, ‘Sometimes life don’t go the way you planned, and there are days that we just don’t understand, ….. but what if the picture is bigger than you see, and God has you right where He wants you to be …’ 

So often, we think we are in the wrong place, or not where we should be, or not where we think God wants us to be.  What if the picture is indeed bigger than we can see?  What if that unplanned place really is exactly where God needs you to be for HIS purpose to come to pass?  Why do we feel like we need to do things on our own, within our own wisdom, according to our own limited plan?  Why do we get so impatient???

Daniel chapter 10 tells us that Daniel prayed and fasted for 21 days, waiting for his answer.  Little did he know that the answer had been sent right away.  What if he would have given up after a week, or two weeks, or 20 days?  What would he have missed out on?

Be patient.  Don’t give up one day too early!  God may have you right where HE wants you to be.  And it will be a more beautiful and rewarding place than you could have ever created for yourself in your own power.

Why are young men giving up on young women?

My 16 year old homeschooled son is wanting to take a girl bowling.  It will be his first real 'date'.  I struggled with what advice to give him to let her know that he likes her without coming across as 'creepy' (which is currently the most commonly used word to describe boys and men by girls and women).  I came up blank.   Even 'normal' gentlemanly behavior is now called into question as 'misogynistic'.

Then, this morning I read an excellent article about how feminism has totally destroyed how men and women interact.  The article had several F-bombs, so I'm not going to share it, but the concept was right on.  Boys and men are both checking out of the relationship business because there are no longer any 'rules' with women.  Porn is free and 'convenient' and the rules are easy to understand.  Video games are prevalent, and the rules are black and white. Both are HORRIBLY damaging and most men know it, but sadly, they don't care.  The potential harm from porn seems much less difficult to manage than a real live feministic and confusing woman.

Some girls smile and giggle when a guy opens a door or offers his arm or tells her she looks nice or compliments her eyes.  Others scowl and call him a creep.  Some ladies still understand that a man was designed by God to provide and protect.  A lot of ladies think that is a clever and convenient deception to somehow subjugate women.  Really?  Do you know what I would give to have a man provide for me and protect me?  Just about everything I have!!!!

How do we, as a society in whole, somehow differentiate between the two 'types' of women?  I do not know if I can tell Noah if it is okay to tell her she looks pretty, or if she'll throw out a 'yellow light' and accuse him of unwanted advances.  It's a horrible place to be.

Too many young girls have been convinced, by well-meaning parents, that they are truly a princess.  What a load of bunk!  They are normal everyday girls ... who are very much loved.  In my opinion, calling a girl that is both damaging and disrespectful.  You can be assured her teachers will not treat her like a princess.  The other girls at school will not defer to her.  And, in addition, she is raised with totally unreal and unfair expectations of a man.  She will want a man to be what she sees in a Disney cartoon as 'Prince Charming', and we ALL know, VERY well, that such men do not exist.  So, these girls are raised with false expectations and are consistently disappointed by the very genuine (albeit awkward) attempts by real, kind-hearted young men, who would treat her very well.

On the flip side, not too long ago, the 'B' word was a horrible terrible demeaning slam.  A woman would be crushed if someone called her that.  Today, it is somehow a badge of honor.  Girls brag about how much that word fits them.  They wear t-shirts that outline how difficult they will be to live with and how useless men are. They take Facebook quizzes about how 'witchy' they are, and post their high results with smiles and laughs.  How did we get to the point that the meaner and crankier and more difficult a woman is, somehow that makes her a better 'lady'???  Baloney!!!!

Why is it no longer tolerated, by the feminist movement, for a girl to just be a girl?  For her to WANT to get married to a decent, hard-working, non-handsome-prince-like man and have a family?  Why is she required to act like some sort of princess or witch in order to feel validated and important?

And we wonder why guys are turning to porn, video games, and solitude.

I feel SO sorry for the men, young and old, living in today's confused times.

Are You Feeding the Machine?

I heard an analogy the other day about a Coke Machine.

We walk up to a Coke machine looking for a refreshing soda.  We put in our quarters, push the button, and no soda drops out.  Then we notice the light is on indicating that it is empty. At that point, most of us push the coin return, fish out our quarters, and go find another machine.

Some people, however, push the button several more times … push it harder … then take more quarters out of their pocket and feed them into the machine hoping they will get a different result if they try again.

The Coke machine can represent many things.  Relationally, it can be love, acceptance, and affirmation.  Monetarily, it can be a dead end job.  Politically, it can be a party platform.

A healthy person realizes that when they are not getting love or acceptance or affirmation out of a broken relationship, the last thing they need to do is keep feeding it quarters and hoping for a different result.

However, some people cannot understand that if the machine is empty, it is empty.  They push the button harder, straighten their hair and put on lipstick, push the button again, resolve to work out at the gym every morning, push the button, move to the side trying to sneak up on the button, and push it again hoping that if they do something different it will give them what they long for.

All the quarters in your savings account will not help you get a soda out of an empty machine.  It will end up sucking you dry and you get nothing in return.  There isn’t anything healthy about that type of relationship.

Let’s look at this from a political standpoint.  We are repeatedly told that we have to vote for whoever the GOP ‘gives’ us to vote for.  We gripe about how the party no longer adheres to its conservative platform as we feed quarters into it EVERY election.  We continue to appease the owners of the Coke machine by refusing to use common sense, vote our conscience, hit the coin return, and GO FIND A DIFFERENT MACHINE!  We continue to feed quarters into a machine that is incapable of giving us what we need.

After every election, we blame our continued thirst on the ones who chose to not put their quarters into the empty machine.  Somehow we tell ourselves that if they, too, would have invested in the machine, maybe the return would have been different.  How much sense does that make?  None.

Folks, let’s go find a different Coke machine.  This one is empty.

Did That REALLY Happen on the First Christmas?

Have you ever wondered what the first Christmas actually looked like?  We've all seen the scenes in children's books, on Christmas cards, in the movies, at the mall, and in various other places.  But, are those scenes accurate?  Are the story book accounts realistic?   I'd like to share a few things Scripture says about the glorious birth of our Savior.


1.  Mary probably did not ride to Bethlehem on a donkey.  Her family was the poorest of the poor.  They could not have afforded a donkey.  That would be like a Lexus in today's terms.  We know they were extremely poor by the offering she gave for his birth; two pigeons.  That was the very least that could be offered at the birth of a son.  She most likely walked all the way to Bethlehem, unless they were able to borrow a donkey from a friend or family member, which is not stated in Scripture.




2.  There were probably not three wise men.  There were three gifts offered by them, but there was likely a sizeable procession and quite possibly 12 Magi who visited Jesus.




3.  The wise men did not visit Jesus in the stable on the night of his birth.  They traveled around 1000 miles to see him, and the word used in Matthew to describe Jesus was not the word for infant, it connotates more like a toddler.  The three of them were in their 'house' when the Magi visited and brought their gifts.  Herod did not order only the infant boys to be killed, but he targeted all boys under two years old for a reason.




4.  Mary and Joseph did not flee to Egypt immediately after Jesus was born.  He was circumcised on the eighth day, and she performed her purification 33 days after that.  They most likely returned to Nazareth where Joseph had labored for a year to build a home for his new bride.  That is likely the 'house' they were in when the Magi visited them.  There is no Scriptural proof for where they were.

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5.  There was no innkeeper who turned them away while Mary was in labor.  Scripture says that there was no room for them, and it says that while there were in Bethlehem she gave birth.  Scripture does not imply anywhere that she was in labor when they arrived.
The stable was likely a dark, damp, stinky cave.  The manger was likely a water trough hewn out of the stone in the cave.  The swaddling cloth was what they used to wipe the sweat and dirt off of the animals.
We like to make it look all roomy, and light, and comfortable (well ... more comfortable at least), but the truth of the matter is that the King of the Universe CHOSE to be born in the worst of all circumstances, to the poorest of all people, in the most humble of all ways.




6.  The shepherds to whom the angels appeared were likely young people.  It is a job (even still to this day) that is primarily done by the pre-pubescent children in a nomadic culture.  When Samuel came to anoint King David, he was in the fields with the livestock.  He was the youngest son.  When Joseph was cast into the pit by his older brothers, he was shepherding.  It is a very lowly thing to do, and the shepherd must live out in the wilderness with the animals for long stretches of time.  The men of that society rarely continued shepherding once they had children of their own who were able to do it.  It was likely quite a scattered group of rather young people who showed up at the stable on the night Jesus was born.




7.  Speaking of angels, they do not sing.  Not ever.  Scripture never even once mentions that angels sing.  They say, they declare, they proclaim.  But they don't sing.  There goes the scriptural accuracy of about half of our Christmas Carols.




8.  Jesus was not born on December 25th.  We know when Zacharias was performing his duties in the temple, we know Elizabeth was six months pregnant, and we know the shepherds were not in the fields in December.  He was likely born in September.




Jesus, the Light of the World, was conceived during the Feast of Lights.
He came to dwell or tabernacle amongst us during the Feast of Sukkot (The Feast of Tabernacles).
The Bread of Life was born in Bethlehem ... Bet Lechem (in Hebrew) which means 'house of bread' ... he was born in a bakery!

I love how God takes things so literally!  :-D

Does any of this diminish what happened that night?  Certainly not.  The God of the Universe willingly chose to come to earth as the most helpless and innocent of all human beings.  He chose to live as we live.  He chose to remain sin-free.  He chose to die for our sins.  He CHOSE that out of love for you and for me.

That is something worth celebrating!

Crazy Scary Ride in a Camaro

I'm sure most of you have seen the video of Jeff Gordon giving the car salesman the ride of his life.  It's funny.  I saw it a couple of days ago and laughed.  I even shared it on a friend's wall, but I didn't think anything else about it.  This morning, Brian sent me a PM and pointed out the spiritual lesson in that video.  These are my extrapolations after thinking about it for a bit. 

The guy gets in the passenger seat of the car.  When we decide to serve God, we are no longer in the driver's seat ... we become the passenger.  The Master Himself becomes the driver of our life. 

We go seemingly too fast around curves, we face oncoming traffic, light posts and fences in our way, ramps that don't seem to lead anywhere safe, and speeds that we are not comfortable with. 

We sit, sometimes scared crazy, in the passenger seat, while The Master drives with expert precision.  Avoiding the obstacles, sometimes much nearer than we would be comfortable with, flipping a perfect U-Turn at the appropriate times, and flying up the ramp without knowing what is coming. 

Imagine what would have happened if the salesman (us) would have grabbed the steering wheel just ONCE thinking he could do a better job of driving the car.  What a disaster would have taken place! 

The poignant part of this video takes place in the last couple of seconds when the salesman finds out just who was driving the car.  His immediate response was that he wanted to do it again.  He FINALLY realized that the man behind the wheel really did know what he was doing.  He'd probably driven that course many times in preparation for this particular journey.  Nothing changed except his own trust factor, but it totally flipped everything 

We MUST remember at all times that the Lover of Our Souls is behind the wheel of our lives.  He has our best interest at heart.  He does NOT intend to hurt or harm us.  He DOES know what's coming.  He knows what's at the top of the ramp ... that there is a long straight loading dock with a nice ramp at the other end ... even though we cannot see it when He moves us in the direction of a supposed 'cliff'.

We must learn to sit back and enjoy the ride, just as that man would have enjoyed it and whooped with joy, rather than exclaiming profanities. 

We are riding with the best driver in the history of history.  Enjoy the ride.  :-D