Category: Lies we believe

The Number one “Rule” of Modern Christianity-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace- Jeremiah 6:13b-14 NIV

Life is full of unwritten rules. 

An unwritten rule is an expectation no one really needs to be told about. For example, we all understand it’s not okay to roam through a public space like a subway or a movie theater with music blaring out of a speaker. There are (to my knowledge) no signs telling people they can’t play their music in these spaces. We all just know better. Because we all know better than to break unspoken rules, when someone does, people judge. 

It’s just how it is. 

Christianity has its own fair share of unwritten rules. There are things we simply do not do in Church world. No one treats communion like a buffet, grabbing enough juice to quench their thirst or enough bread to tide them over until lunch.  Some of the unwritten rules in church world are biblical, others, not so much. One really prominent unwritten rule in church world is: 

No negativity allowed! 

The love of the positive (and aversion to the negative) is reflected in the following “rules” Christians are told to follow:

Christians should only preach and speak about what they’re FOR not what they’re against-

Churches should stick to preaching the gospel only because social issues are not relevant to the gospel-

A good Christian is always kind and never hurts anyone’s feelings-

It’s a terrible sin to speak against “the Lords anointed”-

All of the above rules are well-intended, a few even have Bible verses to back them up. Each one is meant to encourage kindness, cooperation, unity and inoffensiveness. 

All good things. 

But are these “rules” biblical? 

Nope, nope and more nope.

No one should seek to be unnecessarily offensive, nor should Christians preach about social issues to the exclusion of the gospel. It is not okay for believers to hurt people on purpose, slander Christian leaders or criticize good programs designed to help people (2nd Timothy 4:2, Ephesians 4:32, Hebrews 13:17, Isaiah 5:20). Those things are all wrong. Period.

However. 

 It is also true that Jesus routinely addressed the hot-button issues of His day. In the process, He made a lot of folks really angry (Matthew 19:1-10, Luke 20:20-25, Mark 7:10-13, Matthew 20:16). Jesus also openly criticized people, including religious leaders (Matthew 23:1-33, Luke 11:37-53). I suspect Jesus hurt a lot of feelings and yet, God the Father had nothing but good things to say about Jesus (Matthew 3:17, Mark 9:7)

Furthermore. 

There are many instances in the Old Testament where God had nothing good to say about some dearly loved prophets. These “prophets” angered God because they insisted on preaching messages of blessings and positivity when God had declared there would be nothing but a giant load of judgment and trouble for His people (Jeremiah 6:13-14, Jeremiah 14:14, Ezekiel 13:9, Lamentations 2:14, Isaiah 44:24-25). 

The problems with choosing to dwell entirely on the positive are countless. For one thing, it puts a lot of limits on what Christians can and can’t talk about. Any subject that makes people uncomfortable or angry is out. This eliminates much of the Bible and all discussion of sin. It also means Christians can never speak up about social issues, even really evil social issues. If seventeenth century Christians had chosen to only speak a positive, happy message, slavery might still be legal. Our aversion to speaking the negative is one of the key reasons there are so many bad leaders in positions of power in our churches. If one believes its poor form or sinful to discuss problems with a leader’s bad behavior, the silence that ensues gives that pastor plenty of space to keep doing what they’ve been doing. In every church or Christian organization where there has been moral failure there has also been an unspoken (sometimes spoken) rule against saying anything unflattering about the leader.  Never discussing the negative also limits the spiritual and personal growth of individuals. In some churches, spouses (especially women) are discouraged from any negative talk about their spouse’s behavior— even if the behavior is clearly wrong or even abusive. Instead spouses are encouraged to pray that God would speak to their husband or wife. This presupposes the person in question, who is walking in sin is going to listen the Lord when He speaks.  Those folks are denied growth opportunities because their closest neighbor (their spouse) is prohibited from confronting their sin. 

Sigh.

 Instead of insisting on positive vibes only, Christians ought to make a commitment to actively seek God’s best for all people in every situation. Seeking the best means we cover every difficult or potentially thorny conversation in prayer. Seeking the best demands we become biblically literate so we know an answer to prayer when it comes. It means there will times when we keep our pie holes shut because the issue at hand is not really critical or worth offending someone over. Other times seeking the best means saying what needs to be said as kindly as possible, even if offense is taken (Ephesians 4:15, Philippians 1:9-11). Seeking the best for others means we do the hard work of learning to discern right from wrong. It means we remember unsaved people naturally find the gospel and biblical truth offensive (1st Corinthians 1:18, 1st Corinthians 2:14). Loving people and seeking their good means we break the rules by preaching the gospel and speaking against social evil. It means we tell the truth because if we really love people we don’t want them to spend eternity in hell because they lacked pertinent information concerning right and wrong. 

That would be the most unloving thing ever.

Does “Judge not” Mean what we all Think it Means?

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

Do not speak against one another, brothers and sisters. The one who speaks against a brother or sister, or judges his brother or sister, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. – James 4:11 NASB

 Judge not lest you be judged (Matthew 7:1) is without question, the best known, most memorized verse in the history of history. Bible believing Christians as well as those who have never darkened the door of a church know it by heart.  Precious few hesitate to whip it out anytime a discussion veers into any sort of moral judgement call about any activity under the sun. 

But what did Jesus really mean when He said “judge not”? 

Is Matthew 7:1 really a blanket condemnation of condemnation? Is Jesus flatly forbidding the making of moral judgements? 

Nope.

 Jesus made all sorts of hard and fast judgments concerning all sorts of issues. Those issues include (but are not limited to) divorce and remarriage (Matthew 19:1-10), those who refused to care for aging parents (Mark 7:6-9), murder (Matthew 5:21-22), unforgiveness (Matthew 5:23-26) and adultery (Luke 18:19). Moreover, the entire New Testament was in a very real sense written by Jesus (John 1:1-3, 1st Timothy 3:15-16). The New Testament includes all sorts of passages that make judgments concerning a myriad of behaviors and attitudes (1st Corinthians 6:9-11, Galatians 5:19-21, Colossians 3:8-10, 2nd Timothy 3:1-5, 1st Thessalonians 4:3-8). Furthermore, Jesus is God, if He was concerned about the Bible coming off as judgmental He could have easily done something about it. 

Seriously. 

 The notion that Jesus somehow forbids moral judgments concerning right and wrong is absurd. Matthew 7:1 is (in my opinion) more about making assumptions (which are really just judgments) concerning how and why people end up in certain situations. Jesus wants us to understand no one can really know anyone else’s backstory. Therefore, it is totally inappropriate for anyone to make judgments about who does and does not deserve to be in a particular situation. 

Individuals have always tended to assume every mess or bad situation is a consequence of sin. Jesus confronted this thinking head-on in John chapter nine. Jesus and His disciples met a man born blind. The disciples just naturally assumed that the man was blind because someone sinned. They weren’t sure if it was the man or his parents but they KNEW someone in this situation must be a terrible sinner. 

 Jesus responded with: 

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him”-John 9:2-3. 

 Christians today are every bit as inclined to believe people in difficult situations “did something” to deserve their misery as those in Jesus’ day.  This is because the modern-day church has been intensely impacted by the enlightenment and modern psychology.  

The enlightenment was a period of scientific discovery that impacted every sphere of life. Prior to the enlightenment individuals were utterly clueless as to why stuff happened. Superstition was the norm. This was not good. Prior to the enlightenment many people groups were convinced a baby born with red hair (who didn’t have a parent with red hair) was a bad omen. The vast majority of people believed illness was the result of sin and judgment.

Enlightenment scientists taught that things happen for a reason.

Thanks to the enlightenment now we know recessive genes can be tricky and illness are caused by microorganisms called germs. Modern psychology sought to explain the roots (or reasons) for human behavior. Freud normalized the idea that everything we do is directly related to our childhood experiences. The western world has been deeply impacted by the teachings of Freud, they literally color how we see almost everything (Colossians 2:8). 

It’s not wrong or sinful to believe there are explanations for why things happen. It is wrong and sinful to assume that we know the “reason” why certain things happen, it is (in my opinion) a direct violation of Matthew 7:1. There are scenarios that breed judgement concerning the backstories. Some of those include:

Divorce

Cirrhosis of the liver 

Problems with their adult children 

Getting fired 

In the case of divorce, our assumptions will depend a little bit on our life experiences but typically we tend to assume the woman wasn’t a good wife or the man was abusive. We assume no one ever gets cirrhosis of the liver unless they’re a raging drunk. We assume issues with adult children are always due to bad and/or abusive parenting. Everyone assumes one ever gets fired unless they “deserve” it. 

I have been deeply convicted of my own tendency to make these kinds of assumptions. I do not believe I am alone in this. We all do it. However, truth-be-told, none of the above are universally true. Sometimes bad things happen. Period. Anytime, we make an assumption concerning a backstory we quickly lose our compassion. Or we stop listening to the hurting person and look for opportunities to instruct them on how to fix the problems that we believe got them in the bad situation in the first place. When we do this, we often end up giving advice that’s not related to the person’s problem and it ends up isolating the hurting person (Colossians 3:12, 1st Peter 3:8)

However.

Because we know Jesus we do better. We can learn to withhold judgment, we can take the time to really listen to their stories without assuming anything at all. We can love them like Jesus loves them.   

The Real Reason Holiness Matters-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment


Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God- 2nd Corinthians 7:1 NIV

Holiness. 

It’s a weirdly contentious subject these days (more on that later).

The Bible defines holiness as being separate from sin and/or being set apart and dedicated to the service of God (Genesis 2:3, Exodus 40:9-10). Holiness falls into two categories. The first is: 

Behavioral holiness- 

Behavioral holiness is what we see (for the most part) in the Old Testament. In some ways this type of holiness is less about inside-out-righteousness that comes from the heart and more about conforming human behavior to the will of God.  

Here’s the thing:

People are by their very nature fallen, sinful and powerless to do good from the heart. (Genesis 3:1-24, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Jeremiah 17:9, Romans 7:25, 1st John 1:8). No one but God can be righteous without a great deal of help from God. That being said, even sinful people are capable of managing their behavior, so that’s what people did pre-Jesus if they wanted to please God. Humans in the Old Testament followed rules, modified their behavior and avoided things on the naughty list in order to be good enough to be in a relationship of sorts with a completely HOLY God (Exodus 3:5, Exodus 22:31, Leviticus 6:17). Most of the Old Testament law is basically just a big rulebook telling people how to be “good enough” in their actions. It was a system filled with all sorts of issues. However, the system was essential until Jesus showed-up and changed the whole structure of how people relate to God (more on that later).

The other category of holiness is:

Positional holiness- 

When humans put their faith and trust in Jesus they become positionally holy. When Jesus died on the cross, He became a substitute for us (2nd Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 3:11-14, 1st Peter 2:24, Romans 3:23-25). This was necessary because God is totally holy and totally just. Because God is just He can’t just ignore the most serious thing ever: sin (Romans 5:12, 1st Corinthians 15:56). Because we all sin, we all deserve to die and be punished eternally for our sin. However, because God is totally loving, Jesus took the bullet (metaphorically speaking) we all deserve (Romans 4:25, Hebrews 2:14). All we have to do to avoid the penalty of death is to put our faith and trust in Jesus and the work He did on the cross.  The fancy pants theological term for this exchange is propitiation.  When we choose faith in Jesus, Jesus takes our sin and unrighteousness, in exchange we are given the righteousness of Jesus and the Holy Spirit has a guide and helper.  When God sees us, He doesn’t see our sin, instead He sees the righteousness of Christ. The fancy-pants theological term for this exchange is justification (Romans 4:25).  Because this kind of holiness is accompanied by the Holy Spirit it has the power to actually change our hearts, something behavioral holiness alone could never do. 

There are Christians who believe there is no need for Christians to modify or change their behavior in any way. These folks believe that because God has forgiven all our sin, we can keep on sinning without problems or penalty.  Some even believe it’s legalistic to insist on behavioral holiness. This is remarkably horrendous theology because it ignores two critical issues: the point of salvation and the nature of God 

The point of salvation is not simply to rescue our sorry tail ends from hell, although that is one of many benefits’ salvation offers. Salvation is mainly about restoring humanity to a pre-fallen state and a pre-fallen relationship with God (Genesis 1-2, Revelation 21:3-5).  Once we are justified (made positionally holy) our primary task is to get to know God on a personal level and (with the help of the Holy Spirit) let go of all the behaviors and attitudes that marked our pre-Jesus life (Colossians 3, Romans 12, 2nd Peter 1:5-11). The fancy-pants theological term for this process is sanctification. The more sanctified we are the more like Jesus we become. 

It’s a beautiful thing.

However, these are not the only reason behavioral holiness matters. The other reason has to do with the nature of God and the reality of salvation. God is totally holy. There is zero sin in Him (Leviticus 19:2). Once a person becomes a Christian, the God of the universe literally lives inside them (I know, it’s crazy). This means that everything we do God becomes a part of. Paul touched on this idea in his letter to the Corinthian Christians:

 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. 1stCorinthians 6:15-17

Paul insisted Christians avoid sexual immorality, not because it was icky. But, because every time anyone has sexual relations outside of the marriage covenant they force the Holy Spirit (God) to become an unwilling accomplice to their immorality. Anytime we sin in any way, we force a holy, righteous God into our sin. When we gossip, lust, commit sexual immorality, think unkind thoughts about others, practice injustice, lie or steal God is right there. We are forcing a holy God into unholy situations.

Yikes. 

This is how a Christian grieves the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30).  It is critical we understand God does not abandon us when we sin post-salvation (John 10:27-29, Romans 8:38-39). God is not mean. He is patient and kind. He is also quick to forgive ANY repentant sinner. That being said, progressive sanctification (the process of becoming holy in our attitudes and behavior as well as our position) is fundamental to spiritual maturity and growth because virtue, holiness and righteousness make us like Jesus (Romans 6:13-16). When we become like Jesus it pleases the Father. 

Every child of God wants that.

The Idols We are Okay With-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Even while these people were worshipping the Lord, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their ancestors did- 2nd Kings 17:41 NIV

I have known a lot of Christians over the years, all sorts of people who love Jesus and have dedicated their lives to serving Him. Jesus is their God and they are His people (John 10:2-4, Matthew 16:24). 

 Not one of these God-fearing people had a little statue somewhere in their house they bowed down to (1st John 5:1). The notion of a born-again Jesus follower bowing down to a statue is unthinkable to modern Christians.  Even the most broad-minded of Christians know better than to get mixed up in that kind of pagan monkey business.

However. 

This does not mean contemporary Christians are in the clear when it comes to idolatry. People are people and at the root of the human condition is a propensity towards idolatry (Ecclesiastes 1:9, Psalm 106:36, Jeremiah 2:5). We are just a bit more discreet and sophisticated in our acts of idolatry. 

An idol is anything that takes the place where God rightfully belongs. Idols steal our devotion and fidelity away from God and direct it towards something or someone else. An idol can also be an activity, thing or substance we get something out of that we should only get from God. I’m talking about things like security, comfort or feelings of wellbeing. The whole issue of idolatry is complicated by the sad reality that an idol is often a good thing we are giving too much space to in our lives.  The problem with idols is that they blow us off course spiritually and lead us away from Jesus, sometimes without us even knowing it. 

We all need a good self-check now and again, especially when it comes to this issue. The four idols that sneak up on us are: 

Marriage- 

Marriage is a noble, good, God-ordained thing (Proverbs 18:22, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Ecclesiastes 9:9, Mark 10:6-8, Hebrews 13:4). I would never argue against marriage in a million years. That being said, many Christians have some really messed up ideas about marriage. There are those who genuinely believe a person cannot be complete or whole unless they marry. If this were true Jesus would be insufficient because He never married. Moreover, many Christians put their marriage first to the detriment of their relationship with God. They will forgo obedience in some area or put their faith on the back burner in an effort to please (or appease) their spouse. Still others, willingly tolerate all kinds of sinful behavior (adultery, abuse, lying, drug and alcohol addiction) in their spouse simply to keep the peace.  All of these behaviors give marriage a place it was never intended to occupy.  The apostle Peter encourages those who find themselves unequally yoked in marriage to put their faith first and live exemplary lives in the hopes of leading their spouse to Jesus (1st Peter 3:1). It is critical we understand God gave us marriage to make us better not as a safe harbor for our worst tendencies to run wild. If marriage isn’t leading us towards greater holiness, it’s probably an idol. Some adjustments are needed. Pronto.

Kids-

Making our children into an idol is nothing new. Eli the priest allowed his sons to have first place in his life.  (1stSamuel 2:12-4:11). Many parents have followed Eli’s lead and made their kids their everything. Parents worry endlessly about their kids comfort and happiness to the detriment of their character. Parents are oftentimes so concerned about damaging the relationship with their kids they refuse to discipline or confront clear and obvious sin. This is not good. We should always do our best to be kind to everyone, including our kids. That said, our call as parents is not to have a “great relationship” with our kids (adults or youngsters). Our call is to lead them to Jesus and sow godly character traits into them.  We can’t do that if we are more concerned with their feelings towards us than we are the state of their souls. 

Addiction- 

An addiction is not just a bad habit, nor is addiction simply an outgrowth of trauma, an indicator of poor coping skills or genetic predisposition that’s run amok. Addiction does have emotional, physical and genetic factors. However, ultimately addiction is a deeply spiritual issue. The addicted person always receives something real and tangible from the addiction, usually a sense of peace or an ability to cope or some other feeling of wellbeing we should only get from God. The addict pays for their peace or ability to cope by becoming physically and/or emotionally dependent on the substance. Eventually, the addict grows to love their addiction more than they love God or anything else. Choosing to live a life free of addiction also means we have less idolatry in our lives. 

And finally:

Boundaries.

Boundaries can be a good thing. A boundary is simply a limit we put up. Everyone needs a few boundaries in their life. Even Jesus said “no” sometimes (Mark 1:35-38, Luke 10:38-42, 2nd Corinthians 12:7-10, Acts 16:6-10) A boundaryless life is a fast-track to resentment, bitterness and disillusionment with God and people.  Boundaries are good and healthy until they become more important to us than obeying Jesus and doing the hard things He asks us to do, things like serving, honoring our parents and working through relational issues. When boundaries become a reason to say “no” to things that are obviously God’s will, they are an idol. 

Here’s the thing:

With the notable exception of addiction all the above-mentioned things are good things. God does NOT want anyone to dump their kids, divorce their spouse or scrap the whole notion of boundaries just because they let their love for those things get out of hand. Instead, He wants us to get into His word, find truth and the pray for wisdom in putting all things in their proper place. 

What is the Key to Receiving God’s Blessing?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Blessed are those who fear to do wrong, but the stubborn are headed for serious trouble- Proverbs 28:14 NLT

God’s blessing.

Good people and not-so-great people alike all want God to bless their lives, families and the country they live in. Ne’er-do-well’s who’ve never darkened the door of church and folks who wouldn’t know a Bible verse if it bit them on the backside have been known to ask God to bless them, their country, their family and their livelihood.  Heck. In my country we want God’s blessing so badly we demand it on our currency. 

So.  

Exactly, what does it take for God to bless a person and/or their country?

There are many people who genuinely believe getting the right person elected will get the job done. Others believe the key to God’s blessing lies in the Church loving people and working to bring about justice in this world.  

Both feel like really good answers. 

Getting the right person elected sounds awesome. Electing a man or woman who loves God and knows right from wrong sounds like a good plan.  Finding someone who is willing to do the right thing even when its hard sounds like a solution that could lead this messy muddle back to a place of blessing and good things.

 It worked in the Old Testament so why not today? 

Getting the Church to healthy place where the people are loving their neighbors and doing justice also sounds like it could be the win we need to get the blessing machine working again. After all, it’s all stuff God has made clear He is definitely into blessing (Psalm 11:7, Psalm 140:12, Matthew 22:36-40, 1st Corinthians 13:4-7, James 1:27). 

However. 

God tends to give nations the leaders they deserve (Judges 3:12). This country and the people in it haven’t exactly set themselves up for an amazing, wise, godly leader who is able to rally the people into voluntarily doing good and honoring God. Seriously. We live in a nation where half the people have proven they want the right to end a pregnancy anytime, for any reason more than they want economic security. This reality has been confirmed repeatedly based on who and what the people routinely vote for. God cannot bless a people with that little regard for righteousness and stay true to who He says He is in Scripture. Period. Furthermore, the Old Testament leadership pattern was not great. Israel had a habit of devolving morally and spiritually. Then, because He’s good God would bless Israel with a godly leader. The people would straighten-up and fly right (metaphorically speaking) right up until the minute the leader died.  Then the people would all go back to doing all the outrageous, wicked stuff they were doing before the godly leader came along. As a result, the inevitable was delayed but it always became a reality.  

Loving people and laboring to usher in biblical justice IS a really good thing. Nonetheless, many have forgotten there can be no authentic biblical justice without authentic biblical righteousness (Psalm 33:5, Isaiah 1:21, Isaiah 59:14, Micah 6:8).  They work in conjunction with each other. The biblical justice crowd is often unwilling to call people out on the sin that prevents biblical justice from becoming a reality. 

Sigh. 

If an individual or nation wants the blessing of God it is critical they position themselves for blessing.  Literally, no one in the history of forever has positioned themselves for a blessing simply by asking for it, voting for the “right person” or doing one small portion of God’s will. Nor is there anyone righteous enough to get blessed by doing whatever seems right to them in the moment. 

Intentionality is the key.  

Blessing always begins and ends with the actions and attitude of God’s people.  When God’s people live life according to God’s rules they position themselves and the culture they live in for blessing. It’s important to note that Christians cannot force anyone to live righteously (1st Corinthians 5:12-13). Attempting to do so always fails, in a big way. Nor, does God cease to love His people when they fail to according to His rules. God’s love for His own never ceases (John 10:27-29). That being said, when Christians choose to lead the way and honor God with their lives and bodies God blesses. Genuine revival and tangible blessings are always the result of obedience (Acts 2:38-47). 

We could use some of that right about now.

Seriously. 

For a generation, well-intended but tragically misguided church leaders have attempted to eliminate legalism by teaching God’s “grace” is a gift that allows for Christians to live any way they wish with zero negative consequences (Titus 2:11-12). As a result, many believers have all but forgotten there really is a “right” way to live the Christian life (Romans 8:4-5). The ugly consequences of our willful amnesia are unfolding in our culture. The church is literally the body of Christ, do when the church fails at biblical living the culture has no reliable guide for how to do life God’s way. 

This means the whole world is literally feeling the pain of our folly.

 The world will be blessed when Christians from every tribe and nation return to a form of living that leads to blessing, justice and human flourishing. God has graciously shown us the way in easily understood passages such as Colossians chapter three, Romans chapter twelve and 2nd Peter 1:5-11. 

It’s up to us go to those passages and do what we are told.

How Should Christians React to Blasphemy?

Lisa M. Price3 Comments

You must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives- Jude 22-23 NLT

The Christian response to the opening ceremonies for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games exposed a deep and growing rift in Christianity.  When you get down to heart of the matter, the rift centers around how Christians ought to interact with a post-Christian culture.

 Some were angry, and not just at the weird display of crudeness and blasphemy. This group has had enough of Christianity being the one religion it’s okay to use as a punching bag. They point out (correctly) that there are no activists mocking or vilifying anyone else’s deeply held beliefs. Public scorn is reserved only for Christians. These folks believe it’s high-time Christians start standing up for themselves and fight back.

On the other side of the divide, are those who think Christians should ignore any blasphemy directed (deliberately or inadvertently) at the Christian faith.  These folks feel pretty strongly that any criticism, of any kind, directed at unbelievers sends the message that God (and His people) do not love them or want them anywhere near the Church. 

This group points out (correctly) that Jesus often associated with sinners and nearly all of His disapproval was aimed at self-righteous religious people who judged sinners mercilessly (Matthew 9:9-13).  They also note (correctly) that Christians are commanded to love everyone, including blasphemers (1st Corinthians 13:1-13, Matthew 5:43-44, Luke 6:32-35, Luke 7:36-47). Therefore, any and all disapproval of a non-Christians behavior should be hidden from view in the name of “kindness” and “love”. This group sincerely believes showing disapproval of sin will cause sinners to reject Jesus.

Yikes. No one wants that. 

So, is Christian disapproval of bad/blasphemous behavior really the fast-track to total rejection of all things Christian?

Well. 

I have some personal experience I feel is relevant to this discussion. 

I grew up in a messy non-Christian home, by the time I hit my teen years I was a jumble of chaos and sin. I knew nothing about God or the Bible. I never even thought about God or the Bible, I was a post-Christian girl long before post-Christian was even a thing. 

I was also a bit of a wiseacre.

I worked at a fast-food restaurant, mainly on the front register.  I almost never wore a nametag, mostly, because I didn’t want customers to know my name if I made a mistake or offended them in some way. One day, one of the managers happened to notice I wasn’t wearing a nametag. I was told to put one on, pronto. 

So, I did.  

However, I did not put my name on the nametag. To my (now) eternal shame I put “GOD” on my nametag in all caps (and YES, I am now VERY aware of how blasphemous that was). Some of the customers and all my co-workers thought it was hilarious, so I left it on. My idiocy started a bit of trend. Almost all my co-workers began putting crazy, absurd names on their nametags, stuff like “Big Bird” and “Abraham Lincoln”. The managers were oblivious, all they saw is that we were wearing nametags. No one bothered to look at what they said. 

It was all great fun.

Until one day, a lady came through my line, saw my nametag and went deathly pale. She looked me in the eye and said in the kindest, gentlest, most alarmed voice you can imagine: “sweetie, you need to take that nametag off. There is a real God who is very powerful and He is very offended that you put His name on your nametag”. I don’t remember what I said to her, I do remember feeling shocked she would care about something I saw as just silly fun. 

I did not become a Christian that day.

 However, her gentle demeaner and concern for my soul had a huge impact on me. For the first time in my life I thought about God, and what He was all about, and what else I might have done to offend Him.  All of a sudden, out of nowhere I felt super ashamed about the nametag (although at the time I had no idea why). I took the nametag off after my shift and never put it back on (1st Timothy 1:13). 

All that to say.

I do not think it’s a good idea to let people blaspheme God without some kind of a reaction. Silence indicates an absence of disapproval. Most people (not all) who blaspheme God have no idea what they’re doing (Luke 23:34). Some really do hate God and are doing their level best to be offensive (Acts 7:51, Hebrews 10:29), most aren’t. The vast majority are just attempting to be witty, or trendy, or outrageous. Very few actually understand how dangerous their behavior is from a spiritual perspective (Leviticus 24:16).  They are fools (Psalm 14:1). It is our job to gently guide them to the truth about God (Jude 22-23). 

However. 

When we talk to people we can’t be rude or hateful. We must communicate with our words and tone that we care about the souls of the people we are talking to. 

Nor can we make it about us. 

Our disapproval cannot be about our feelings, our firmly held beliefs or our rights. It has to be entirely focused on our God (1st Samuel 2:2). We have to tell people there is a holy, kind, patient God who loves them beyond all reason (John 3:16-18, Psalm 68:4-6, John 5:24). We also have to tell people that His patience is not without limits. People need to know there will come a day when all people will be called into account for their words and deeds (Matthew 12:36, Romans 14:12, Romans 2:15-16).  However, all this must be done in a spirit of gentleness and humility (Philippians 4:5, 1st Peter 3:15).

Takeaways from the Book of Job-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Despite all this, Job did not sin, nor did he blame God- Job 1:22 NASB

NO ONE actually LOVES the book of Job. 

There are those who wax eloquent about the literary merits of the book. However, when pressed, even those folks admit there is little to love about the actual story. It’s just kind of sad. 

It goes like this: 

There’s this really awesome guy named Job. Job does all the right things. He loves God and his family. Job shuns evil and is honest. Job worries about the spiritual condition of his kids and does his level best to be an all-around stand-up guy in every area of his life (Job 1:1-5, Job 1:8). 

God digs him.

Then one day, out of the blue, Satan rolls up uninvited to what appears to be some sort of an angelic roll call (Job 1:6).  Satan informs God he’s been roaming the earth looking for decent people he can accuse of evil (Revelation 12:10). God proudly points to Job as an outstanding example of humanity. Satan immediately accuses Job of only loving God because God has blessed Job with all sorts of good things (wealth, property, good health, a great family). God tells Satan Job’s love for Him is genuine. 

God and Satan make a deal.

God tells Satan he can take everything from Job except his life (Job 1:12). Satan gets the job done in short order. Job loses his wealth, his health, his home, and even his kids all in the course of a few hours. The only thing Satan doesn’t take is Job’s wife, which is kind of a bummer because she’s not exactly supportive. The most encouraging thing she does in the whole book is to tell Job to “curse God and die” (Job 2:9). Then Job’s friends, (the worst friends ever) show up to “comfort” Job.  They accuse Job of all sorts of secret sins and give him oodles of misguided advice. Then, just when you begin to think they are never going to stop harassing poor Job, God shows up and sets everyone straight.  (Job 38-41, Job 42:7-9). 

The story does have a happy-ish ending

God restores Job’s fortune; his family shows up to comfort him and in time, Job is blessed with seven sons and three (really pretty) daughters. Job lives a long life and he continues to be an upstanding guy who pleases God (Job 42:10-17).  

It’s good stuff. 

Nonetheless, (in my opinion) the happy ending is obfuscated by the utter gloominess of the account.  All that being said, Job’s story is in the Bible because there is much we can learn from it (2nd Timothy 3:16). The book has value whether we are going through something terrible or helping someone who is. Following are six take-aways from the book of Job:

There’s more to our trials than just pain- 

Job teaches that all trials serve some sort of a purpose. Normally, the purpose goes beyond proving the devil wrong about something. God uses trials to teach us and mold us into the image of Jesus. We get the most out of a trial when we choose to keep our hearts soft towards God and continue to seek Him in the middle of our pain and confusion (Job 1:22, 1st Peter 1:3-7, James 1:2-4). We need to understand, like Job did, that the point of this life is to prepare us to spend eternity with God and sometimes trials bring about that end (Job 19:25-26). 

Not all truth applies to every person or situation-  

Job’s friends were jerks (Job 42:7-9). Nonetheless, they were not wrong about every single thing they said, they were actually right about a lot of things. However, none of what they were right about applied directly to Job (Proverbs 18:13, Proverbs 18:17) They were convinced God must be punishing Job for SOMETHING. Nonetheless, Job was one-hundred-percent blameless. The book of Job teaches the importance of truly understanding all the particulars of a situation before we make judgments about the people involved (Proverbs 18:21).  

Sometimes it’s better to listen rather than speak-

Job’s friends made a mistake most people make at some point: they were quick to share their “wisdom” without hearing what was being said or understanding the particulars of the situation. When someone is hurting sometimes all they need is to feel understood (James 1:19, Proverbs 13:3, Proverbs 20:12). Once a person feels heard and cared for they will be more willing to hear and apply any advice that should be given.

God doesn’t always give answers but He’s still good-  

Job had a lot of (really good) questions for God and God never answered a single one of them.  Zilch. Zero. Nada. This does not mean God didn’t love Job or care about what he was going through. The book clearly teaches that God loved Job and blessed him for his faith and obedience in spite of some pretty gnarly circumstances. He does the same for us. 

Praying for the jerks who hurt us pleases God-

It just does. Job 42:10 proves it. The second Job got done praying for his awful friends God blessed Job with twice what he had before. God hasn’t changed. He still loves it when we pray for awful people who don’t deserve our prayers.  

And finally:

We should assume that our faith-filled response to pain is all God really wants from us when the very foundations of our lives are shaken (Psalm 16:8, Psalm 112:6, Hebrews 12:28). Job teaches that God richly rewards those who praise Him in the midst of the storms of life (Job1:21). God loves faith (Hebrews 11:6, Matthew 9:20-22, Luke 17:6) and there is no greater expression of faith than choosing to praise, honor and glorify God when there appears to be zero reason to do so.

Attitudes that Indicate Serious Spiritual Problems-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother and sister– 1st John 3:10 NASB

According to Merriam-Webster one definition of culture is:

The set of values, or social practices associated with a particular field, activity, or societal characteristic.

Christianity has a culture. 

The particulars of the cultural practices of Christianity vary somewhat from church to church. In some churches people dress more conservatively than in others. In many denominations raising hands in worship is considered a sign of piety. In others it’s thought to be peculiar. In some churches only certain Bible translations will do, in others all translations (even the kind of sketchy ones) have merit. 

Differences notwithstanding, 

The way Christians dress, relate to one another, conduct themselves in worship services and the even the words Christians use to describe shared spiritual experiences are all fairly universal. What we do and don’t do is deeply rooted in church culture. As a result, one does not have to be around the Church for very long to know what’s okay and not okay. 

This is not necessarily a bad thing. 

God has ordained standards and norms of behavior for His holy people (John 13:34, Romans 12:10-16, Romans 15:7, 1st Corinthians 1:10, 2nd Corinthians 13:11, Ephesians 5:21, Ephesians 5:3, 1st Corinthians 5:11, Hebrews 13:1-8). There is nothing wrong with a community of believers having standards and norms, as long as those standards and norms are biblical, God honoring and life-giving to the people involved. A wholesome, healthy Christian culture creates an environment where God is glorified and people feel welcomed and esteemed. When it’s done right culture is a beautiful thing. 

Unfortunately, the culture of Christianity is also easily mimicked. Spiritual fakery can happen without so much as a smidgen of heart change (2nd Corinthians 5:17) and without any self-awareness whatsoever. Sadly, a person can spend their whole lives copycatting the culture of Christianity without realizing that they don’t actually know Jesus (Matthew 7:21-23, Matthew 25:31-46). Yikes. 

So, how do we know if our Christianity is the real deal or just a cultural copycat? 

Truth-be-told, it’s not always easy to tell who’s who and what’s what in Church world.  Many times, the mimickers have even fooled themselves. However, there are some clues we can look for in ourselves and others. Any of the following five things indicate there are some problems that need spiritual attention (more on that later). 

To the average mimicker…  

Sin is not problematic- 

A genuine Christian detests sin—especially when they see it in themselves. Anyone who is not horrified by their own sin is probably not the real deal (Romans 12:9, 1st John 1:4-6, 1st John 3:6). 

Double-mindedness is routine-

A double minded person lives with one foot in the world and one foot in the church (1st John 2:15-17). They behave like Christians when they are around mature Christians they want to impress or fool, but when they are with immature Christians or non-Christians, the performance ends, then they behave pretty much like any other heathen. Ultimately, double-minded people are inherently unstable spiritually and oftentimes emotionally as well (James 1:6-8). Unfortunately, double-minded people do immeasurable damage to the kingdom of God, immature Christians and the reputation of every serious believer in Jesus (Matthew 13:36-33). 

Repentance is for heathens-

Repentance is not a one and done.  Regrettably, some genuine Christians and all mimickers have bought into the lie that repentance is a one-time admission that one is a sinner with no further repentance required. Nothing could be further from the truth. The entire Christian life is meant to be a life of ongoing repentance. Repentance begins with a change of mind about what’s okay and not okay. Right thinking about sin leads to a renewed mind that leads to behavioral and attitudinal change (Isaiah 30:15, Acts 3:19, Matthew 3:8, Romans 12:1-2, 2nd Corinthians 7:9, 1st John 1:8-10). This does not mean Christians have to go back, remember and repent of every single sin they ever committed. It does mean a real Christian lives a life of self-examination and is quick to repent of any sin they see in their lives (2nd Corinthians 13:5). 

Zero inclination towards the spiritual- 

 Christians love God, the Bible, learning about God and the Bible and spending time with people who love learning about God and the Bible. Christians also want the advice, counsel and guidance of other believers, so much so, that they will go out of their way to avoid worldly advice or counsel (2nd Corinthians 6:14). A mimicker tends to avoid personal Bible study, does not enjoy spending time with mature, godly believers outside of church and has zero discernment when it comes to taking worldly advice. Anytime, a “Christian” lacks an appetite for the things of God it indicates a big problem.  

Here’s the thing:

Christians are not called to be busybody fruit inspectors. It’s not our business to decide who’s saved and who’s not. That’s God’s arena. 

That being said. 

Christians are advised to be careful about the company they keep. Paul cautioned the believers in Corinth to avoid those who claim to be Christians but do not live like it (1st Corinthians 5:1-13, 1st Corinthians 15:33). Jesus frequently warned His followers to avoid the Pharisees (the original mimickers) because their influence was spiritually deadly (Matthew 23:1-3, Matthew 16:5-6, Matthew 23:15). That said. It is absolutely critical we routinely assess our own lives and ask God to reveal signs of spiritual problems. Literally, anyone can take on the cultural behaviors of Christianity without experiencing real heart change. Our lives reveal heart change when we hate sin enough to turn away from it. When we live lives free of hypocrisy and love God, His word and His people. If those characteristics are present in our lives we know we will be spiritually productive on earth and warmly welcomed into God’s kingdom (Matthew 25:23, Luke 19:17)

The Truth about Trials and Hardship-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison – 2nd Corinthians 4:17 NASB

Okay, so.

Unless you’ve been hanging out in a cave with no access to the internet for the last decade or so, you have likely picked-up on the fact that our culture defines love entirely in terms of “being nice”.

Love is not love unless it is expressed in a completely non-judgmental manner. It is no longer loving to show even a smidgen of disapproval. It is categorically not okay to rebuke or criticize anyone, nor, is it okay to ask someone to do anything hard.  

This whole messy muddle has impacted how we understand God. Many Christians see God as the ultimate gentle parent. God is typically presented as sympathetic, mild and super worried about the feelings of humans. Most believe God would never do anything insensitive or harsh. He for sure would not ask anyone to do anything they were not were super ready to do.

Well.

 I definitely had some of those beliefs challenged this week. It happened as I was reading through Matthew fourteen. I came to the story where Jesus (and Peter) walk on water in the middle of a violent wind storm (Matthew 14:22-26). 

Truth-be-told there were a couple of things in this story I had never really noticed before, despite having read it umpteen times.  This first thing that caught my attention is that Jesus made (NKJV, NIV, ESV) or insisted (NLT) the disciples get into the boat. I read it in a bunch of different versions and it’s clear: Jesus didn’t suggest, encourage or recommend their late day jaunt across the lake. Jesus literally compelled (NASB) them to get in and row. 

I also noticed that, after making get onto the boat, Jesus left. He jetted. Seriously. He flew the coop. The text says after getting the disciples settled in the boat He went up to the mountain to pray by Himself. 

As evening rolled around some brutal winds started to toss their little boat around. Jesus showed up sometime between 3:00 and 6:00 in the morning, He apparently just sauntered out onto the lake, scaring the bejeebers out of the disciples and then He (rather ironically) tells them not to be afraid. 

Then Peter, always the showoff, says to Jesus:

“Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water”

So, Jesus commanded Peter to go onto the water. Apparently, everything was cool for a little while, until Peter took his eyes off of Jesus, looked at the wind and got scared. His fear caused him to sink like a stone. The minute Peter asked for help Jesus stepped in and pulled him out of the water. 

However.

Jesus did not do what one would expect a gentle parent to do. Jesus did not give Peter a cookie and a hug and tell him he did awesome in spite of his lack of success. Instead Jesus says:

“You have so little faith,” “Why did you doubt me?” (NLT)

It feels a little harsh Jesus. 

This story got me thinking about all manner of things. 

Mostly, I spent a lot of time wondering why Jesus would force his disciples/friends onto a boat headed for a storm and then criticize them for their fear and lack of faith. After all, I would not classify Jesus as a big meanie, so, there had to be at least one reason for what appears to be a serious lack of compassion.  

I also wondered if there’s some personal application we might glean from this story. 

It occurred to me that because Jesus is God, He knows and knew EVERYTHING.  Therefore, it is logical there is more to the story than meets the eye.  It’s interesting to note that four chapters earlier Jesus explained to His disciples in no uncertain terms that tough times were coming and that they would need to be ready (Matthew 10:17-23). 

Maybe, just maybe, Jesus wasn’t being mean or insensitive or cruel. Perhaps, Jesus was simply preparing the people He loved most for some much harder things He knew were coming. Things like leadership positions in a messy new movement, opposition, jail time, harassment, persecution and even martyrdom (Acts 8:1-3, Acts 10-11). Maybe, as Jesus watched Peter flailing around on the water He was thinking to Himself: “dude, you think this storm is scary? Just wait till you’re standing in front of Nero”.  Maybe, forcing the disciples into a storm really was the best way for them to learn to trust Jesus in the even tougher stuff that was coming? 

Let’s say this is true.

Then the implications for us are fairly obvious. God is not the quintessential gentle parent, that said, He is the best parent ever. He sees what’s coming and he does everything in His power to prepare us for what lies ahead and like a truly great parent God is far more interested in what we become than in our immediate comfort and ease. 

It’s our job to cooperate with God. 

We do that by choosing to view our trials and difficulties as a gift from a loving Father rather than punishment or something to endure (James 1:2-4, 1st Peter 1:5-7, 2nd Corinthians 4:17, 1st Thessalonians 3:3). When we do, we willfully position ourselves to be transformed into someone truly glorious (2nd Corinthians 3:18, Romans 8:28-30). 

The New Idol Worship-

Lisa M. Price2 Comments


Little children, guard yourselves from idols– 1st John 5:21 NASB

I will not lie. 

I find many of the opinions expressed in public forums deeply troubling.  As a general rule, people from every walk of life have become meaner, more illogical, more merciless and more pigheaded in their opinions concerning pretty much every topic under the sun (Proverbs 29:22). 

No matter the topic. 

People have always gotten worked up the over “hot-button issues” like sex, politics and religion. However, now folks get just as worked up over trifling issues as well. An article entitled, “The Ten Ugliest Colors to Paint a Bathroom” is sure to create a hullabaloo when seemingly ordinary people become completely unfettered from reason and good manners because the writer judged their color choice “ugly” or “outdated”. If a young wife wants advice on getting her husband to help with household chores, many will simply advise her dump the bum and move on. If a person believes something to be true it becomes “their reality” or “their truth” regardless of contradictory evidence. No one is permitted to drag logic, science, God or the law into any discussion regarding an individual’s “reality”. If a person believes themselves to be a cat the world is obliged to provide them with a litter box and a drinking bowl. 

No questions asked. 

Even more alarming, there is zero mercy for parents (Exodus 20:12, Ephesians 6:10). If the parents of an adult child politely choose not to affirm and/or celebrate their adult child’s choices the parents are swiftly declared toxic and given the old heave ho. Overnight society has devolved into a carnival of dysfunction and a cavalcade of vindictiveness. It certainly feels as if the Apostle Paul was on to something when he wrote these words: 

In the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly- 2nd Timothy 3:1-5

A few short years ago it would have been a stretch to say this verse applies to a more than a few grumpy weirdos. Now it feels like the apostle Paul has been scrolling our social media feeds. The current state of affairs begs a couple of questions, including:

How did we get to a place where people are so opinionated and insistent their opinions are the only correct views? 

Why is rudeness and even cruelty suddenly okay with so many people? 

Why are so many adult children no longer speaking to their parents?

Why do. people believe everyone has their own little reality?

Trigger warning: 

I suspect that what follows will be offensive to some. So here goes: we are where we are because of idolatry. The idolatry our culture has embraced with wild abandon is not the run-of-the-mill kind of idolatry one reads about in the Old Testament. Modern humans actually invented a new idol (Romans 1:30a).

It’s our feelings.

Our tendency to make feelings into a god we worship is reflected in every aspect of modern life. Everything we do is centered around how ideas, situations and people make us feel. 

If a pastor “offends”, members of the church start looking for a new church where the pastor understands them. Few churches share the gospel anymore because effective evangelism always involves telling people the hard truth that they are filthy-rotten sinners who need to be saved from their filthy-rottenness (Numbers 34:14, Romans 3:23, 1stJohn 1:10).

God forbid anyone hear that little bit of bad news.

 If someone is the least bit annoying on social media or in real life we are encouraged to “unfriend” them online and in-person (Ephesians 4:32). If a spouse disappoints in any way, the world tells us to dump them and find someone who gives us good feels and understands our needs.  If a historical fact makes a minority uncomfortable, society will cheerfully remove all evidence of said history from the public square. Parents and teachers have quit telling kids “words can never hurt them”. Instead schools have aided and abetted the madness by helping kids to hide from ideas and people that make them feel uncomfortable or bad about themselves. Parents have worked their tails off to make childhood as idyllic as possible. Then everyone wonders why the little nippers don’t feel like growing up and taking adult responsibility for anything (Proverbs 13:21, 1st Corinthians 13:11). 

Sigh.  

Fidelity to the god of our feelings comes at a high price. It has ended polite civil discourse. It has broken up families, made it impossible to effectively call out sin and left an entire generation of young people emotionally and even intellectually crippled. 

Yikes.

The only way to deal with an idol is to cast it down and reverse course before it’s too late.