Scripture Notes: Mark 7 (Check Yourself)

“Jesus replied, ‘You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’  For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.’  Then He said, ‘You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition.’”  -Mark 7:6-9

I had a friend tell me once that her husband was cheating on her.

Then another friend.

Then another.

There was little I could do but pray, and pray I did.  My initial response was to be defensive for my friends, because I want to protect.  But my God-sensor told me to beware of being judgmental.  You don’t see what I see, He would whisper to my heart.

But God (I should've known not to start a prayer this way…), he is spouting Your name and Your principles off everywhere He goes!  How can someone who is doing something so blatantly against Your Word (cheating) proclaim Your Word (to be faithful)?

Of course, my defensive prayer was not surprising to God.

And His response?

You don’t see what I see.  You weren't there when I told the donkey to speak to Balaam (Numbers 22), or when I blinded Saul and renamed Him Paul for my glory.  You know that I don’t need a perfect person to work for me.  You know this, because you know you.  Despite your flaws (I've had many conversations with God about these), you make yourself available and I use you. 

If I can insert a hash tag, #epiccomplaintfail

Okay, okay, so I won’t judge.

Judging the person makes me just as guilty as them at that point because of what Jesus said in these very verses: I will find a loophole in God’s law to justify my own perspective for my own benefit or “to hold on to my own tradition”!

My responsibility lies in the same place as it had before my conversation with God: pray for them.  My job is to be Judge, not yours, He says.  Your job is to be in love with Me.  I’ll lead you down the right paths. Besides, this case is too big for you to handle.  Don’t worry, I've got it.

When we finally choose to worship God with our actions and not just our words, we will find tremendous freedom from the need to judge and justify.  And when we choose to check our actions against what the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) should be producing, we will probably find the root issue of our surrounding problems.  As Jesus later said, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you.” (vs. 20)

Let’s fill our hearts and minds with the good fruit and uproot the bad that tries to defile us.  Let’s get back to the basics of Christ’s immense love for us and the sacrifice He made before we jump to the justification of our defenses.

Let’s practice a little more grace today.

Thoughts with Terry: the Sunday Christian and the Daily Christian

Times with my buddy Terry are always edifying.  We meet for lunch, pray over our food and the table, and are mindful of ways we can bless people around us.  Most of all, we dwell on the goodness of God.  Here is a peak at a topic we most recently discussed.  Feel free to join the conversation with a comment below...

What is it that separates a Sunday Christian from a daily Christian?  

The short answer: our awareness of God.  

If we are truly aware of God in our life, we are more mindful of whether or not we are pleasing Him.  No, it doesn't mean we are perfect, but it means we have a holy reverence for Him, an understanding that He sees and knows all, and that we are ultimately accountable to Him alone.  It can change our attitude and our response to external (or internal) chaos, but if we don't stay mindful of His presence, we are quick to do something that may not please Him.  Human nature is to sin.  Human nature covered by the blood of Jesus is to repent and be forgiven.

Today, let's walk in forgiveness of each other because of the love God has shown us.  And let's remember that "nothing in all creation is hidden from God.  Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable." (Hebrews 4:13)

  

The Weak, the Fatherless, the Poor, and the Oppressed.... and My Response

Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. (Psalm 82:3)

The Team and I in Moldova, October 2010, working with Phillip and Chrissie Cameron at Stella's Voice

Tonight, some of my friends and I discussed the account of Israel in Judges 19.  It's a tough story.  It's the sin of the movie "Taken" in Bible times.  It's vulgar, painful, brutal, and ugly.  It's a modern day horror story.  

I have read it before, but life's twists and turns have given me a totally different perspective.  A big supporter and promoter of anti-trafficking movements and causes, I read the account last night and asked God: "What did this woman do to deserve that treatment?"

The answer? Nothing.  She didn't deserve the treatment at all.  

Then why?  I want to ask God this question.  OK, I did ask God that question.  "Why did You allow her to be used and abused like that?"  

My friend Phillip Cameron feels the same way about the ugliness of trafficking.  When telling his account of a girl named Stella (read the full account here), he says "I just can’t come to terms with the callousness and systemic wickedness that permitted such an awful thing to happen to anyone..."

I don't have the answer to this "why" question whether it is regarding this unnamed concubine, a girl in Moldova named Stella, or any other people that are currently being used and abused in hell holes all around the world.  All I have is anger for the act.  All I can do is pray for protection for those who are not protected, mourn for the hurting,  and beg God, in His mercy, to shut down the evil hand that compels those acts.  

My meeting was difficult tonight, because I came away with another perspective, but my heart still hurts.  My throat was still swollen with choked-back tears as I read the story with my friends again and thought of the people I've heard first-hand stories of in Moldova, in Florida, and in Ecuador, all on the brink of death after similar encounters with this evil.  

I can be positive every day and search for good in everything, but there is no denying the fact that evil exists in this world in very real ways to people I see every day.  Don't mistake my search for joy in life with my realization that this pain is a very, very, real thing to many, and it is not fair.  

So I have a choice.  Where do I go from here?  What do I do with this burden?  Well, I tell you about it.  I make you aware of this hidden, yet common, brutality, and that there is no excuse for the behavior.  I continue supporting and promoting movements, causes, and organizations that fight trafficking (see some links below).  And I look for every opportunity I have to stand up for the weak and wounded, while trusting in the power of God to apply justice where justice is due.

And until heaven, I do what I can to see others find freedom that, truly, cannot be found except by a miracle of an All-Powerful God.  

Please, PLEASE, help fight the cause of the weak, the fatherless, the poor, and the oppressed of our generation.  

Useful Sites:

Humantrafficking.org

Kaleo Kids and Dunamis

New Hope Trust

One Way Out Ministries

Southwest Florida Human Trafficking Coalition

Stella's Voice

US Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP)

(Thanks to Pastor Phillip Gonzales for his insight on the story in Judges...)

The Cost of Garbage in New York

When my brother first moved to New York, he shared with me that the local town he lived in charges $2 for each bag of garbage he puts out to the street.  On top of that, if it is not tagged in a certain way, they would not take it.  $2 does not seem like much, but the cost can certainly add up.  Still, I thought it was quite comical to hear him tell of this "inconvenience".

The way my mind works, I quickly thought about how we have to pay for the garbage in our minds that we want out too.  We pay with stress, emotions, frustrations, peer-pressure, and lost friends when we choose to live a life righteously.  It's not much different from the rest of humanity, except when you make a decision to live righteously, you gain an abundance of peace in your life that you'd never thought possible.

Peace comes from being right with God.  If I'm struggling with peace in my heart, I first ask myself what I might be doing that is not honoring Him.  Everything about my peace returns whenever I make a choice to live "righteously" (in right standing with God) again.

Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:7)

Tupper Lake, NY

Brilliantly Pure starts out Ugly

In May, I had the incredible privilege of touring the great country of Israel with some dear church family members.  We stayed in Jerusalem for a couple of days and then made our way to the western side of the Sea of Galilee, where we stayed at a beautiful resort in Tiberias.  I certainly enjoyed the entire trip, but having a thing for water, you can imagine why I soaked up Tiberias...

Looking South:  View from our Hotel in the Afternoon

And if the afternoon was not quite soothing enough, perhaps you would fall in love, like I did, with the invigorating sunrises over the Sea of Galilee....

Sunrise over the Sea of Galilee - Looking due West from the Resort

Little do many from our trip know, however, that there was something even more beautiful happening within my room.  Late one evening, a woman from our tour came to my room and prayed with my roommate and I.  We talked for a while and discussed life.  And we prayed hard.  We prayed hard, the three of us, to break down walls and seek God for turning points in our life.  And we broke down walls, spiritually speaking.

My prayer that night was to see Jesus' face more clearly in my life.  I want to focus on what is right and push aside what is wrong so I can "achieve my destiny", if you will, according to God's plan for my life.

My prayer wasn't bad.  But my prayer requires an answer that is not quickly forthcoming.  How much have you lived, like I, hoping for an answer to really just slip out of nowhere?

Recently I read an old devotional entry from Smith Wigglesworth's Devotional dated May 20:

"In the melting pot, He removes the skimmings until His face is seen.  When the metal reflects Him, it is pure."  

Remember how I mentioned I wanted to see Jesus' face more clearly?  Well I finally figured out the key to this task: Give God time and expect some heat.  There's always fire involved in a purification process.

So I'm doing that.  I'm choosing to make changes in my life that will give me more focus on the One I love and that will help me develop that lasting relationship where, even when the burner's on and I'm boiling, I'm still getting brighter.  This is why I can be called brilliantly pure: because I'm choosing to face the fire for the gold.

Will you?

Abortion, the Holocaust, and Salvation

Isaiah 1:18
Come now, let us reason together....

I'm not a fan of trickery or fooling people.  I'm very passionate about people knowing Christ and committing their lives to Him, but no change comes from deception.  This is why I so appreciate Ray Comfort's approach with people.  Give him a chance - he may come off as pushy at first, but you will see towards the end that he was only provoking conversation.  There's no commitment card signed by people in this video, only thought-provoking conversations that encourage people to make an informed decision in their own time.

I also appreciate his down-to-earth approach at the fact that we are all sinners - none of us are perfect, none of us are worthy of God's favor.  But we have a "parachute", we have a "bridge", we have a "lifeline", and that is Jesus Christ.

I encourage you to watch this video if you have not.  What are your thoughts?

The In-Between

Seasons in life resemble a story.  We have an intro, a plot, a climax, a resolution, and the end.  That's how every season goes. This ebb and flow of a season can bring about physical and mental sickness from the roller coaster ride of emotions we all go through (right mom??).

Then, there's always the in-between time.  That time between the end of one season and the beginning of another.  All the waters are steadily flowing - no major cliffs or rocks ahead.  But we can be sure that there are rough waters coming. These rough waters always bring about change. 

Now I'm not a huge lover of change.  There's a lot of comfort in knowing something is stable and working well.  I have a good job.  I have a good family life.  I have a good church.  I have a reliable car.  Yada yada yada....

The change factor is so painful.  It just is.  It rips us from these norms and most times, the pain is totally worth it.  Sometimes it's not.  However, I really believe change is what we make of it.

I chose today, while faced with anxiety, to praise God.
I chose today, while frustrated with illness, to keep working on (and believing in) healing.
I chose today, while my schedule changed, to be excited about the different opportunity.

If we stay in that in-between place and refuse to face change, we will be sitting pretty until the sun rots our skin.  (Go with the metaphor, people... :))  But as we move with calm and turbulent waters, we become more beautiful and we are saved from lack of purpose.  And we also learn that, oftentimes, there is no "dropoff ahead", but rather, a very lovely place of new life.

And if ever you doubted that God can use [seemingly bad or hard] change for good purposes, don't.

Miriam chose, while babies were being killed, to trust her baby Moses to the God who controls the water.  And her son became the rescuer of an entire nation from slavery.

Harriet Tubman chose, to stand up for justice and took a beating for a fellow slave at a very young age.  Later, God used her to rescue slaves in America for many, many years.  She knew what a beating was like and was able to face it head on when it came.  She was unafraid of it anymore.

Mary chose, while facing incredible ridicule, to become mother to the Savior of the world - and later watch him die for the world.  Would she have changed her mind if she could go back?  I don't believe she would consider it for an instant.


Let's move from that in-between place.  Let's not let fear of change keep us from pulling our shoulders back, looking toward heaven, and letting God walk us through it gracefully with strength and purpose.

Giving time to Anger

Ephesians 4:26 (MSG)

Go ahead and be angry.  You do well to be angry-but don’t use your anger as a fuel for revenge.  And don’t stay angry.  Don’t go to bed angry.  Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.

I was talking with a new friend today.  A very positive person, I wondered how they would answer the question:  what makes you angry?

It’s easy for me to assume something makes everyone angry.  And perhaps that’s still true, but my friend’s response got me to thinking about what I possibly waste on anger.  

Let me explain – 

Anger should always only be temporary.  The Bible talks about letting go of the anger because if we do not, the Devil will have a place in our life to step in and control us like a puppeteer.  

So my challenge to myself is this: don’t go to bed angry.  Also, never give anger more than a moment’s thought during the times that it does come around.  

Every moment angry is a moment for the Devil to move closer to me, and that’s the last thing I want. No dancing with the Devil for me, sir.  No thanks!

And what do I waste?  I waste time to praise and thank God.  It seems like only moments now, but when I get to heaven one day, I don’t want to have wasted a single moment on anger when I could have invested it in my Lover, my King, my Savior.

Anger Management Class...

A Dowry Downfall

I just found this video online via ABC News.  Please pray for the country of India and the oppression of women and girls that happens simply because of the cost of a dowry.  And please do what you can to support organizations that help combat abortion by making way for other options such as adoption.


From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

- Crystal

Women Pregnant With Girls Pressured Into Abortions in India - ABC News

Redemption (II)

Redemption is such a powerful and soothing word.  Redemption implies that someone has done something wrong, and that they do not have what it takes to make things right.

Psalm 49:15 NLT
But as for me, God will redeem my life. He will snatch me from the power of the grave.

Redemption in this life means I have done something worthy of death itself, yet I don't have to die.  Not because I am so powerful to avoid death, but because someone has paid the price I owed.  This someone is God through Jesus Christ. 

Oh, how desperately I need this redemption all too often.  I need to be redeemed from myself!  Plus, I don't want to live a life of doing things wrong. 


I've grown up in church and done my best to follow God my entire life.  I've realized how bad of a person I am on my own, and how much I need Jesus as my eternal savior.  And I have accepted Him as such.  Yet I still do wrong.  The decision to accept salvation has not made me exempt from being human.  I need redemption just as much as the next person.  I need help to make good decisions and to quickly forgive those around me. 


We're all headed for the same place - a courtroom.  And nothing will be hidden here.  HOWEVER, if I chose Jesus as my attorney, my records are sealed, and the accusations against me are blotted out.  Any objections to my innocence are overruled when I've repented and been redeemed.  Redeemed.  This is my judgment.  I have been found in the wrong, but I have been redeemed.  And this is why, as a Christian, I can say, "I am set free".

Follow Up: America and Illicit Industry

This is a follow-up blog from my post on September 28th, 2011.

Dare I say I'm proud of American families?  Well, I'm certainly thankful to God for conviction He placed on the hearts of families that "play" together.  And yes, by "play", I mean "watch t.v.". 

The notice recently came out about NBC's TV show "The Playboy Club", being cut after just 3 episodes.  According to Reuters, the Parents Television Council stated, "We're pleased that NBC will no longer be airing a program so inherently linked to a pornographic brand that denigrates and sexualizes women".

Here's the full article from Reuters:  Parents Television Council Crows About 'Playboy Club' Cancellation

For the record, I'm no follower of the Parents Television Council, and so I don't promote their work in general.  I appreciate what they've stood for in this instance, though.

Here's the call from Parents Television Council to its followers regarding 'The Playboy Club': 
Stop NBC Airing [of] The Playboy Club

Most of television is driven by numbers, so we're told.  I wouldn't disagree.  But, I'm not naive enough to believe that God had no part in it.  I'm also not naive enough to believe that Satan is no longer king of the earth.  I am, however, gutsy enough to believe that people are still moved by the things that God cares about - whether they know this as the reason or not. 

Inside each of us is a place where God, alone, can fit.  And in this God-spot, there is a piece of His spirit infusing us with Him as we allow Him to do so.  It's a spirit-transfusion, and it's constant.  This is the place where the injustice of allowing degrading t.v. shows and abusive situations continue is questioned and is fired up.  This is  the place where, when we've located it within ourselves, we know that we can make decisions based on what we know to be true there. 

There's a God-shaped hole in all of us
And the restless soul is searching
There's a God-shaped hole in all of us
And its a void only He can fill

-Plumb, God-Shaped Hole 

 

Learning about Judgment

I have been reading Joyce Meyer’s book Battlefield of the Mind* for about a year.  In chapter 13, she talks about loving other people and how our judgment denies our love for them.  She recounted a story about how she couldn’t figure out why she was so sick during one of her later pregnancies, but that God reminded her of how she had judged another lady a few years before for the exact same condition.  Only, she was condemning the lady for a lack of self-discipline.  When Joyce realized this, she confessed that she had been wrong and was back to health in no time.  

It was just a page.

All it takes sometimes is a few words to remind us of our own deficiencies, doesn’t it?  

I was greatly moved by this passage, because it challenged me to think about my own past and times I’ve judged people, later struggling with the very same issue they were struggling with.  Needless to say, I was quickly reminded of how imperfect I am.  

I wouldn’t call myself someone who is quick to judge others, but it is obvious I can be, and I have been.  Seldom have I met a human being that is not quick to judge.  It’s not intentional, but it’s certainly evident. 

For just as you judge and criticize and condemn others, you will be judged and criticized and condemned, and in accordance with the measure you [use to] deal out to others, it will be dealt out again to you. Matthew 7:2

My prayer today, then, is this:

Lord, PLEASE make me aware of the times I start to judge someone!  Help me to remember that I do not ever see the big picture, and please warn me to stop before I complete the act.  I do not have the “luxury” of judging others since I am just as easily in the wrong.  Make me aware, every time, of your advice in Matthew 7, and give me grace to look past the situation and love the person no matter what.  Thank you for your reminders of how to better love others, and better serve you. 

Do you have a special reminder to help you make good decisions in these “judgment times”?  What advice can you give based on your experience that has helped you walk away from a judgmental situation?

*Meyer, Joyce. Battlefield of the mind: winning the battle in your mind. Faith Words Edition. Pgs 139-140. (c) 1995.

Purchase details here: Battlefield of the Mind at ChristiansBest.Com

America and Illicit Industry

Just found this quote on a Yahoo! article, a comment made by LeAnn Rimes' husband Eddie Cibrian, a star in the new t.v. show "The Playboy Club":

"When we come on to the set, we get transformed into this world that we're trying to bring to America, to kind of give a glimpse of what it was inside this Playboy Club. So it's fun," he said.*

I have no hate for Mr. Cebrian.  Perhaps it is because I have been out of America, and seen the ugliness of illicit industries such as pornography, but this statement saddens me greatly.  Is this the voice of America: to make pornography a bigger part of our world?  An actor's words are heard and seen by untold numbers of people.  Is he speaking for America?  He is not speaking for me.

But if I turn on my t.v. and watch this show, I am supporting not only the show, but the actor, the director, the writers, the network, and the message.  I cannot knowingly support such.  Not when I've seen young children and women who are thrust in the middle of sex slavery, heard their terror stories, and seen the devastation it's causet them.  It's unthinkable.

Have you ever seen the movie "Taken"?  What happens in this movie is real.  This happens to hundreds of thousands of females every day all over the world.  Most of them end up in America.  We're already in a bad spot.  Why make it worse?

Because this world is fueled by the intentions of a fallen angel.  And the allure of fame, fortune, and power are too much for some to walk away from.

So what can I do?  I can not watch the show.  I can post this blog.  I can explain to people why I won't watch the show if it comes up in conversation.  Most importantly, I can pray to combat the root issue: the intentions of that fallen angel. And I can rest in the promise that the One who speaks through me is even greater than the one who is using Mr. Cibrian.

And knowing that you, as a reader, may have no interest in the ethical dilemma this presents, look at the economical.  Hypothetically, say you indirectly participate by watching this show.  You pay the salary of the director and all other entertainment participants, you pay for the ideas from the pimps, you pay for the abuse to the enslaved, you pay for their voyage to America.  Then, you pay for their healthcare, their housing, their potential drug usage (as many are forcefully addicted by the traffickers), their recovery, their usage of public facilities, and, very quickly, their death costs.  You lose money overall, because you think you're only paying for a cable bill or an internet bill now, when you are the one who foots the bill for their cost of living eventually.

"...every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.... You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them."    I John 4:3a,4-5



*See the full Yahoo! article here: Eddie Cibrian Defends LeAnn Rimes: She 'Eats More Than I Do Sometimes'