Notes to My Siblings

I usually tend to write about things that bug me. In case you hadn't noticed that yet. Today's Soapbox: Stuff can't be "Christian". There's no such thing as a "Christian" band. There's no such thing as a "Christian" song. There's no such thing as a "Christian" movie. There's no such thing as a "Christian" home. Now, before you jump down my throat with cries of heresy, hear me out. My Greek is limited to Blue Letter Bible, but as best I can figure, the Greek for "Christian" is transliterated as Christianos . It is a proper noun meaning "Christian, follower of Christ." The Greek word is used three times in the New Testament. The first use is in Acts: Acts 11:26- For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians . It should be pretty obvious from the above that it's people who are Christi...

11  “Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, 12  lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, 13  and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14  then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 15  who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, 16  who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. 17  Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ 18  You shall remember th...

I do that a lot. If I just.... ...had a job I loved, then I would find fulfillment in work. ...wasn't so tired all the time, then I could be more useful in ministry. ...was married, then my job wouldn't be so important. ...could do something fun, then I would be happy. No. Nothing will quench the unsettled and unsatisfied feeling besides Jesus. "I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.   I can do all things through him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:11b-13 (Sidenote: it doesn't work to be mad at God that your life isn't how you want it. And, quite frankly, it doesn't help the situation in the least. Don't bother to try.)

There are a lot of heated articles going around on the internets these days. Most of them have to do with controversial and emotionally charged moral issues. A new trend is to use scripture to prove points. Now, I'm all about scripture, and I completely agree that it makes your arguments bulletproof...  provided you use it correctly.  Which is where the problem comes in. Context. Context. Context. The Bible doesn't just say any old thing that you conveniently want it to at the moment. It says something specific, and most of the time it's really not all that gray. I promise. For examples, below are a couple verses I've seen thrown around lately to prove points. Underneath each verse I'll summarize what the user used the verse to say, and then under that I'll tell you what the verse is talking about taking context into account. Ready? You'd laugh if it wasn't so dang sad. John 10:16- And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring t...

"I'm so thankful for the Word of God that continues to, day by day, guide my steps and give me just enough light for the step I'm on." -Abby Hickey of Little Birdie Blessings I'm so thankful for my friend Abby and her encouragement. She has consistently texted me a scripture verse at least 4 times a week since last October. I can't begin to count the times when the verse she has sent has been exactly what I needed at the exact moment I needed it.  The day I was annoyed with EVERYONE on the road and EVERYONE that called in to work: "Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, and patience." Colossians 3:12b The day I was agonizing over decisions affecting the future: "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans." Proverbs 16:3 The day I was going have a second interview and would possibly have to make a decision and I had no idea what way to go: "Whether you turn to the right or th...

It's Easter Sunday night, and since about noon today, most of what's run through my head has been "oh man it's almost Monday again" and "I didn't get a weekend this weekend, and I won't have one next weekend..." I lost the wonder of the day by noontime. I must confess I've been a bit spiritually dry lately. I read, I study, I pray, but I have no wonder. I don't marvel at the insane obedience of Jesus Christ to die in my place . When I see the cross, I haven't instantly seen... ME on it. I haven't seen that I deserve to be there. Me. I deserve to be there. I deserve to be whipped, beaten, spat on, mocked, jeered and killed. Me. No matter how many people I am nice to, no matter how many things I "sacrifice", no matter how good I am at anything, it's not good enough . It will NEVER be good enough. God demands perfection. Perfection. So much perfect that you and I can't even imagine that much perfect because ...

"...the ladies are all really hard workers. They see the value in earning their own living in an honorable way and taking care of their kids. They sew two times a week, and many of them work other odd jobs for extra income. They don't have electricity in their village, and they have to walk to the wells to get clean water. They are all working hard at sending their kids to school, and two of them are going back to school themselves to finish! They have learned to care about each other, and share and give..." "...they don't have electricity, and they have to walk to the wells to get water..." It seemed like that's all she'd picked up from my whole paragraph about my week in the Dominican Republic with the Cercadillo Project . Then, she says: "Maybe they should come to America. Would they ever consider doing that?" As if America is the panacea for all that ails the world. As if we have it all figured out. As if going without electrici...