Judge and Jury

I use to believe that God could convict the guilty and not sentence them, then I had this thought is it God who sentences a person or the person himself? I’m wrestling with the subject of repentance and forgiveness which I believe is connected with the subject of conviction and sentencing.

Growing up I would always watch movies that had protagonist and an Antagonist very clearly to, movies like Indiana Jones and the early Batman movies. It was in these films as an 7,8, and 9 year old I learned what evil was and I learned what Good was. What’s even more compelling now is looking back and seeing the fate that the evil one chose, he chose his own sentence, his own death and so on, all there downfalls was pride he would much rather believe that the lie that he was righteous than to let go and repent of his own actions we all still want to be right don’t we? We want to believe in our own realities and our own characters around us, we want to believe that we are the best father, son, co worker, boss and pastor in the world and everyone else is trying to play catch up with us. Then something interesting happens when we fall into our own human nature.

At some point your going to slip up and make a mistake and sometimes these mistakes affect the lives of so many people that an intervention is called for, it’s the moment where you come home one night and your whole family is waiting to talk to you about something. This puts you in a very interesting and compromising situation doesn’t it? You can hand over all that is wrong and seek reconciliation or you can take on a harder grip and run away or even worse ignore the issue at hand, we all want to avoid things don’t we? This reminds me of the story of Pharaoh, he had a choice he could let God’s people go or he could be a stubborn old Mule, this becomes his path as we read in Exodus. His heart becomes hardened and he ends up killing himself in the process, not by suicide but by stupidity and ignorance.

God is calling us into a life that is free, when we are caught he is inviting us into a life that is so much more free than the one we have created. May God reveal this to you on this day, may you see that Jesus is about freedom. It’s all about becoming free and not hardening your heart.

Grace and Peace be with you.

Calling All Peacemakers

On a Monday Morning like this one you have more questions than answers, questions like why does Cancer exist? Why is there no peace on earth it seems at times? Or why do I hate the holiday’s especially when this is the holiday where we should be celebrating the life of sacrifice some 2,000 years ago. On most Mondays I wake up a day after the busiest day of the week for me, brew some coffee and get started on the new week. Today however I’m trying to figure out how I can be a better peacemaker.

Last night at the X where I Pastor we talked about bringing peace on this earth, how can this be when we have troops in Afganistan heading out a week before Xmas? Or when we cant give proper health care in our own country and Insurrance Company’s can turn you down for proper coverage because they won’t make money on you? I have to admit that all the above anger me that is when I turn into my flesh, but isn’t there another way? Cant there be peace in the midst of all this hell that seems to exist on this earth? What would it look like if we were a movement of peacmakers, we brought peace to our surroundings and those who need it most?

For me this becomes personal, for those of you who know me well you know I don’t have a great relationship with my father and most of that comes because of moral failure. This post is not about exposing my Father’s nakedness though because I think there is a deeper question to ask here, this is about tuning into an energy beyond my own and seeking a better way, perhaps a way of peace and Love. I will be spending 5 days over Xmas with my dad and I have to prepare my heart for that environment, I have to be ready to be a peacemaker rather than a War Mongler but that’s not going to be easy is it?

Whether you are dealing with illness or strained relationships, or maybe your like me and you can’t figure our why we live in a country that is so fast to bomb and make War? Whatever it is you know like me that we need to bring peace in all circumstances, we need to be peacemakers because Christ himself was a peacemaker. When Christ came to change the world he did something very interesting, in past the world was changed and revolutionized by the sword and chariots and not much has changed to today has it? Rather he came and lived a life of peace and sacrifice, he didn’t use a sword he didn’t say an angry word to the Ceaser rather he sacrificed his own life and gave us the example for what a peacemaker is and does. How can we be peacemakers? You can be a Peacemaker by listening, by being quick to listen and slow to speak and judge may we do these things and be these kinds of people especially at this time of year.

This world will not change until we embrace God’s call to be Peacemakers, he is calling all Peacemakers because whenever something significant happens it’s through peace. Look at Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, and what about Jesus. He is calling us out from comfort into a life of revolution and significance, he is calling us to be peacemakers. He is calling ALL PEACEMAKERS!

WONT YOU JOIN HIM?