Conflict and Love?

"Again I say, don't get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights.  A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people.  Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people's hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil's trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants." (2 Timothy 2:23-26)

Why is it so difficult to keep Scriptures like this at the forefront of our minds?  I don't know about you, but time and again, I find myself caught up in a direct or indirect 'debate' about doctrine, about politics, about ethics, about any number of topics that involve a disagreement about what truth actually is, and what it means for us as believers.

Don't get me wrong.  Debate isn't always bad.  The above passage tells us to 'gently instruct those who oppose the truth.' The problem is that 'gently' is all too often overlooked.  Instead, it is too easy to get caught up into heightened emotions, which in turn end to lead to arguments laced with sarcasm, hostility, even rage.  As Christians, these things are far removed from who we are called to be.  Not only are our hearts not able to be heard through our contentious voices, but we risk invalidating any credibility that we may have otherwise brought to the table.

Likewise, when we fall into this type of emotional engagement, we cease to see the other person as another child of God, but as the embodiment of evil.  As we become more reactive and aggressive, it is no wonder we find ourselves feeling attacked, which only contributes to the downward spiral.  Such arguments completely betray what Christ has called us to do.

So, what do we do?  Do we avoid any semblance of conflict?

Yes and no.

Romans 12:18 says, "Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone."

Yet, Scripture also calls us to stand for truth, to contend for the faith, and to show those who oppose truth where they are wrong.  The apostle Paul was not afraid to name names, and even went so far as to publicly confront Peter to his face when the latter began to stray from the truth he had received (Galatians 2:11-16).

I write these things today because I find myself still struggling in this area.  I want to live at peace with everyone, yet I also want to defend the truth when I see it distorted or attacked.  I want to show mercy, yet I also feel compelled to promote justice.  I am afraid, though, that in trying to find the happy medium, I am only contributing to 'foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights,' and that by quarrelling, even if it is only via Facebook comment threads, I am playing right into the devil's tactics to create further division among those who seek God with sincere hearts.

In trying to 'rescue' others from the devil's trap, I want to make sure that I don't fall into it myself.

I will be the first to admit it -- I have fallen victim to my baser nature in some of the Internet 'discussions' I've had in the past, letting my anger get the better of me, and in doing so, losing whatever ground I might have gained.  What also haunts me is that I may have also hurt others by my emotional extremes in my efforts to counter falsehood and error.

What we need to remember is that the battle is not ours but the Lord's, and that "we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12)."

Ultimately, it is as the Scripture says, "Perhaps God will change those people's hearts, and they will learn the truth."  Like Jesus illustrated in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13), and Paul reiterated in 1 Corinthians 3:5-7, we are responsible only to sow the truth, but it is God who changes the hearts of men.

Hostility, sarcasm, bitterness, and anger are not the ways to stand for truth, nor are they fruits of the spirit.

Love is.

And love is also a commandment.

And love expressed in word and deed, even when opposing others, is the one of the greatest ways we can glorify God.

This is a major part of what it means to live our lives as Jesus did (1 John 2:6).

I am still learning how to walk this out.  How about you?  Are you victorious is this area?  If so, what does that look like for you?  I would love to hear from you.

Love in Christ,
Pastor Joe

Colossians 1:12-23

Colossians 1:12-23

He (God) has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.
Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.
He is the beginning,
supreme over all who rise from the dead.
So he is first in everything.
For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions.  Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News.

How to Spot a Legalist (link)

"21st Century Pharisees have replaced circumcision and keeping of the law with a more accepted evangelicalized list of dos and don’ts.

"These pious sounding party poopers are getting Christians to doubt their salvation, get discouraged in their salvation, and trying to prove, keep and/or earn their salvation. They are robbing believers of the joy that was once theirs in Christ and replacing it with the heavy yoke of legalism (Acts 15:5-11)."

Check out this refreshing post over at ChurchLeaders.com:

http://www.churchleaders.com/youth/youth-leaders-blogs/166149-greg-stier-to-spot-a-legalist.html

Love in Christ,
Pastor Joe

Who Are You?

"What you are when you are alone with God, that you are – and nothing more. You may make a great show of love and faith in church, singing like Pavarotti or attracting the masses to your profound Sunday school lectures. But if there is no private communion between you and Jesus – frequent and deep communion – then your religion is worthless." ~ Kris Lundgaard

We Are...

We are Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
We are New York City, New York.
We are Aurora, Colorado.
We are Newtown, Connecticut.
We are Boston, Massachusetts.

We are the largest of cities.
We are the smallest of towns.

We are Republicans.
We are Democrats.
We are Independents.
We are Conservatives.
We are Liberals.
We are Undecided.

We are red states.
We are blue states.

We are the United States of America,
One Nation,
Under God,
Indivisible,
With Liberty and Justice for all.

United we stand. Divided we fall.

Forgiveness

One of the greatest stumbling blocks of Christianity is this --

Jesus says, “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins."

We think that we have to perform, to "be good," to somehow earn God's love and favor... which, of course, is impossible. Our forgiveness is a gift, freely given, received only by faith -- by taking Him at His word that no matter how big our sin, the blood of Jesus is more than enough to cleanse us.

Likewise, though, we also find it offensive to be expected to "pay it forward," to forgive every bit as freely as we have been forgiven. It's hard, it's offensive, and it's contrary to our natures that want to somehow make the guilty party pay.

But it is not only impossible ... it is the right thing to do.

Don't get me wrong. Forgiveness is not synonymous with forgetting, or with placing oneself back in harms way. Some of us have been victims of the most heinous acts. Forgiveness doesn't mean lightening the severity of what happened; or even pretending that it didn't happen at all. There are consequences for sin in this life; but when we refuse to forgive, we are standing in the place of God, and we are blocking the flow of Heavenly forgiveness, grace, and mercy to us.

But when we can find it in our hearts to forgive, something miraculous happens. Rather than releasing the offender into freedom, we are the ones who are freed. We no longer have to be chained to a memory, to a person, to an offense. When we make the to choice to genuinely forgive others, we can have the peace and joy of having a clean conscience before God, knowing that we are no longer defined by our past, by our hurts, but by who He declares us to be in Him.

In the light of His great forgiveness, all else falls away.

As we prepare to celebrate Easter, and the ultimate expression of God's kindness and forgiveness for sin, let us ask ourselves -- who are we harboring unforgiveness toward? You don't necessarily have to go to them to extend forgiveness.

Take it to the Lord, and let Him soften even the hardest part of your heart.

Love in Christ,
Pastor Joe

Two Voices Calling

“I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.” (John 10:1-5)

Who are you following -- the thief or the Shepherd? You may think we walk alone, but ultimately, we all heed one voice or another.

Love in Christ,
Pastor Joe