Church of North America....what are we doing?
Yesterday facebook blew up with screaming from both sides of the fence about Phil Robertson's Suspension. I get it...you're a huge Duck Dynasty fan...yup...so am I. We have their seasons, my kids dressed up as them for halloween, we have camo and lots of it....but so much time and energy went out on facebook yesterday. I'm guilty. I was pulled in by the comments people were making to one another....amazed at how Christians are treating those who are supporters of the LGBT community. My mouth dropped when I saw some statuses claiming "THEY are sinners"..."They are disgusting and make me want to puke!". I feel I could write a whole book on many things regarding this...number one being, "you just lost any opportunity to share the gospel".
But while on facebook yesterday I had this stirring inside of me...there are bigger things....
there are bigger things going on in the world....like this Christian village. Have you heard of it? It's called Sadad. It's in Syria and in late October one of the biggest Christian Massacre's happened here. Why didn't we hear this on our daily news? Because we the U.S. are the ones arming those who performed this massacre.
Find the article here.
~Romans 8:35~
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?"
I will never forget hearing about a girl who witnessed her entire family murdered. She said that here in the America we pray for God to take the pain away...but here the people pray that God would make their backs stronger to endure the pain.
What are we doing? Why are we not using the voices God has blessed us with and His Word to stand up for those being truly persecuted? To stand up for those who are starving? To stand up for those who are being sold and beaten in slavery or trafficking? Why instead are we using our voices to tear each other down. To debate things that are a waste of your time.
We are so comfortable here that really are our biggest worries freedom of speech? Because truth is...whatever we lose here on earth is temporary...we are free in Christ. I can't help but look at these pictures and not cry...not fall to my knees and ask why am I here...in comfortable America when there are children dying for your name? We have taken for granted the life we are given. How many of us get to go to a comfortable, in tact, newly build church in two days? While others? Have just lost theirs completely.....
Lord God, hear our cry. We’re crying for courage for those who endure tears and pain for the honor of Your name.
Lord God, hear our cry. We’re crying for You to turn back the hands that harm Your people.
Lord God, hear our cry. We’re crying for the persecuted body of Christ to find strength in You to stand firm in the face of harassment.
Lord God, hear our cry. We’re crying for all of Your people everywhere to offer the Hope of Good News found in the Grace-Cross of Christ without fear, always without fear, because greater is You who is in us, than he who is in the world.
Lord God, hear our cry. We’re crying for the release of faith-prisoners, for the penetration of Your Light-Word, for the real comfort of Your broken ones.
Lord, hear our cry. The persecuted members of Your very body cry. Today, we remember and cry with them. So You catch our tears, hear our cry, and answer before we even know what to cry.
And You cry too…
Our cry mingles with His, He who never ceases to cry these things…
In His precious name,
Amen
Join me in praying for the persecuted? Join me in just daily reminding ourselves how wonderful we really have it here...and that maybe we can use these voices to make great changes.
Do we really know what it means to need Jesus? To cry for him? Do we appreciate his persecution? Have we grown cold to it?
It's almost Christmas and although I love the family time and all the decorations, the smell of baked goods and the candle lit Christmas Eve service...I love the gospel. I love reading every night with my family and teaching them that this Babe we celebrate coming...came for them...he was crushed and beaten and killed for them. This cannot be something we over look...
"No ear may here his coming ... but in this world of sin , where meek souls will receive Him still, The dear Christ enters in."
We as Christians during Advent celebrate Christ coming and that is what we are purposed to do....we are called to live and prepare for His coming again....
"Truly He taught us to love one another...His law is love and His gospel is peace. Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother. And in His name, all oppression shall cease...Christ is the Lord! Oh! Praise His name forever!"
from a facebook status:
My list of what if's for Christians:
1.) What if we spent more time standing at the bedsides of the sick and dying and less time standing on our soapboxes?
2.) What if instead of choosing a posture of "us" against "them", we instead embrace the posture of Jesus which is "us for them" and "us with them?"
3.) What if instead of inventing new ways to stir the pot we instead got busy about the work of making peace?
4.) What if instead of walking around with a chip on our shoulders believing that everyone is out to get us, we instead live as living sacrifices for the cause of redemption, deliverance, and freedom?
5.) What if instead of shouting in anger, we instead took time to listen in love?
6.) What if instead of believing that Jesus invented political parties, wrote national documents, or started dogmatic religious groups, we instead believe that Jesus announced a Kingdom that no party, document, or doctrine has ever fully captured?
7.) What if we were more concerned with feeding the hungry than we were feeding the bloated egos of pundits, politicians, preachers, and personalities?
8.) What if "our" idea of "truth" was made subservient to "God's" ideal of "love"?
9.) What if we gave less energy to identifying our enemies and more energy to making friends?
10.) What if instead of defending our right to say whatever we want, wherever we want, and on whatever medium we want, we take the advice of St. Paul "Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone?"
11.) What if we really believed that mercy triumphs over judgement?
12.) that love covers over a multitude of sins?
13.) that the best way to change the world is with open arms and not shaking fists?
14.) that humility is the mark of the Christian and the same attitude that Jesus Christ himself had?
15.) that pouring our lives out as servants seems to be a better way that demanding the world serve us?
And what if instead of immediately aligning ourselves in camps of conservative and liberal, we seek instead to draw so near to Jesus that we are shaped in such a way that we don't fit well in any camp, but instead live against the grain with hearts full of hope, eyes full of joy, actions full of love, and words full of grace?
What then?
Well...who knows?
1.) What if we spent more time standing at the bedsides of the sick and dying and less time standing on our soapboxes?
2.) What if instead of choosing a posture of "us" against "them", we instead embrace the posture of Jesus which is "us for them" and "us with them?"
3.) What if instead of inventing new ways to stir the pot we instead got busy about the work of making peace?
4.) What if instead of walking around with a chip on our shoulders believing that everyone is out to get us, we instead live as living sacrifices for the cause of redemption, deliverance, and freedom?
5.) What if instead of shouting in anger, we instead took time to listen in love?
6.) What if instead of believing that Jesus invented political parties, wrote national documents, or started dogmatic religious groups, we instead believe that Jesus announced a Kingdom that no party, document, or doctrine has ever fully captured?
7.) What if we were more concerned with feeding the hungry than we were feeding the bloated egos of pundits, politicians, preachers, and personalities?
8.) What if "our" idea of "truth" was made subservient to "God's" ideal of "love"?
9.) What if we gave less energy to identifying our enemies and more energy to making friends?
10.) What if instead of defending our right to say whatever we want, wherever we want, and on whatever medium we want, we take the advice of St. Paul "Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone?"
11.) What if we really believed that mercy triumphs over judgement?
12.) that love covers over a multitude of sins?
13.) that the best way to change the world is with open arms and not shaking fists?
14.) that humility is the mark of the Christian and the same attitude that Jesus Christ himself had?
15.) that pouring our lives out as servants seems to be a better way that demanding the world serve us?
And what if instead of immediately aligning ourselves in camps of conservative and liberal, we seek instead to draw so near to Jesus that we are shaped in such a way that we don't fit well in any camp, but instead live against the grain with hearts full of hope, eyes full of joy, actions full of love, and words full of grace?
What then?
Well...who knows?
Great perspective. We are on the same page. I'm so tired of it all. Seriously considering leaving the FB world and just blogging and reaching out to the 'social media world' that way. There are so many things wrong with our broken americanized church where to begin? I know I can't change it but maybe we can set good examples? Hmm… Thanks for the thoughts.
ReplyDelete