Gay Marriage: How should I respond?

I know; I’m a little late to the game. Every organization under the sun has already responded to the Supreme Court’s recent decision regarding gay marriage. I think some of them must have prepared their response ahead of time since they had their posts and comments up so quickly.

I like to process and analyze information. I’ve found my responses are better if I take time to prayerfully think things through.

So here goes…

Two Different Issues

We have blurred the lines in the current debate but it actually addresses two separate issues. The first one is a gay relationship and the resulting behavior between two individuals; the second issue is what many are calling gay marriage. Two issues require two different responses.

Gay Relationships

These types of relationships are sin. To deny that is a gross distortion of God’s Word. However, before you start yelling that in someone’s face, remember that all sexual relationships outside of a husband and wife are sin. Our society – even our church society – seems to forget that.

They are also no more sinful than lying to your boss, having a prideful and arrogant spirit, failing to trust God can take care of you, or being stingy with your time and resources. We can’t demonize gay relationships when we are so willing to overlook what we like to classify as “lesser” sins. They’re all the same because they all separate as from a personal relationship with God. And we’re all guilty of them. I encourage you to read Romans 3:19-26.

Some people like to say gay relationships aren’t sin because they’re listed in the Old Testament Law and that doesn’t apply today. Yes, we praise God for the life and death of Jesus who provided us with a New Covenant that no longer requires the sacrifice of animals in an ongoing inadequate attempt at being made right with God. However, the Law still defines sin for us (Romans 3:20). All those things listed in its pages are still sin. We now rely on Jesus’ sacrifice as the final and eternal atonement for our sin rather than the blood of animals that could never accomplish the job. I encourage you to read Hebrews 9:1-10:18.

Some people like to say gay relationships aren’t sin because Jesus never addressed them directly. Jesus is the Word made flesh, however. You can’t separate the “words in red” from the whole of Scripture. You can’t decide the words He spoke while on earth are truer than all the rest of the words from Genesis through Revelation. I encourage you to read John 1:1-18.

Gay Marriage

Gay marriage can’t exist. A civil union can but not a marriage. The state can recognize a civil union; both God and the state recognize a marriage. God will never recognize a marriage between two gay individuals. It has nothing to do with whether you think He should or what it means if He does or doesn’t. I base the rejection entirely on the fact that God said a marriage is between one man and one woman. Any variance outside of that is sin which takes us back to my earlier points. I encourage you to read Genesis 2:20-25.

I didn’t make the rules so I can’t change them. In fact, none of us did so none of us can change them. God made the rules and we don’t get to change them just because we don’t like them. We can choose not to follow them (again, sin) but we can’t change them.

So how do I respond to this change in our nation?

It was a sad day for me when the Supreme Court announced this decision. Others rejoiced. My sorrow and their joy have nothing to do with who’s right or what’s right. But we’ve already discussed that.

My initial response – like many who hold to the truth and authority of God’s Word – was the concern of a coming judgment on our nation. After all, our courts have decreed that God is wrong and they know what’s best. God doesn’t take too kindly to that kind of self-exaltation. I encourage you to read Isaiah 14:9-15 to see how that attitude worked out for Satan.

On the other hand, I realized, our courts decided it was ok to abort unborn children over forty years ago. It’s a similar situation where the Supreme Court decided they knew better than God as to the creation of human life. So far, our nation hasn’t seen a fire and brimstone response to that decision. We’re missing approximately 53 million of our citizens who would be my age and younger which is a reason to mourn. I know our nation would mourn them if they had died in a natural disaster or war. Yet, because we slaughtered them in the womb, we don’t mourn their absence. But I’m getting off the point which is that God hasn’t struck down our nation because of that Supreme Court decision.

Then I remembered a Bible verse. “And just as it is appointed for people to die once – and after this, judgment – so also the Messiah, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him” (Hebrews 9:27-28).

Here’s the connection – God’s Word promises a judgment of death for those who sin. However, that judgment doesn’t come in the moment of our initial sin. For example, God doesn’t strike us dead the first time we lie to our parents as a child. Our sin guarantees the coming judgment but God withholds the judgment until a certain time when we die once because of sin. Ideally, in that intervening time, the offender will recognize their sin, seek God’s forgiveness and readily available grace, and accept Jesus as the source of salvation from the judgment for their sin. If the offender never seeks that forgiveness, then the judgment of death is certain.

I think this applies to our nation – and any nation – that exalts itself above God’s Word and authority. We sinned as a nation in 1973 when we decided it was ok to kill our unborn but judgment wasn’t swift and immediate. We sinned again as a nation last week when we decided homosexuality is ok and is included within the definition of marriage. We’ve probably sinned other times in our history but I’m focusing on these two here. God’s judgment of our nation may not be swift and immediate but it is certain unless, as a nation, we humble ourselves before God and seek His forgiveness. His grace is ready and waiting for our nation as much as it is for the individual. If we choose not to seek it, however, judgment awaits. I encourage you to read Psalm 9.

How should I live as Christian in this nation?

The Supreme Court’s decision didn’t change the answer to this question. We live the same way now as we should have been in the past.

We love our neighbors which has nothing to do with whether or not you agree with their sin of choice. After all, we all sin (Matthew 22:39).

We extend grace to those who sin because God has done the same thing for us (2 Corinthians 1:12).

We should show love and good works, come together in worship, and encourage one another (Hebrews 10:24-25).

We should act justly, love faithfulness, and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8).

We should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44).

We should rejoice in persecution as we suffer as did Jesus, our Savior (John 15:20).

I could go on but the list would be extensive. None of it would include a call to hatred or condemnation on our part, however. I encourage you to read the New Testament.

I'm Too Busy: How will God view our excuses when eternity comes?

The church is full of hypocrites.

A God of love would never send people to hell.

Everyone has their own truth and their own path to God.

My teacher told me God doesn’t exist.

I went to church when I was little so it’s all good. Or, I’m a member of the local church so it’s all good. I’m covered.

I’ve done too many bad things. God doesn’t want me.

I’m a good person. God will let me in.

I can take care of that some other time. I’m too busy right now.

I don’t feel like it.

All that Bible stuff is too hard. I’ll just wing it.

I went to church but someone there made me mad. I won’t go back.

I’d go to church but someone already there hurt me. I’ll never go somewhere where he/she is at.

They are just after my money. They don’t care about me.

We’ve all heard these excuses for why people reject Christianity. We’ve probably even said or thought some of them ourselves.

I’m not even going to offer a rebuttal to them. Instead, I’m going to skip the debate and go straight to the point. I’m going to focus on the heart of the issue. These are all excuses we use so we don’t have to face the truth. However, when the moment of truth comes, our excuses won’t matter one single bit.

I’m not going to sugar coat this or try to make it politically correct. I’m going to put it out there and leave the rest up to you.

You will stand before God at some point. He’s not going to consider your excuses and make allowances for them. God won’t say, “Yes, I know. The church was full of hypocrites so I understand why you didn’t go. Please, enter into eternity with Me.”

You’ll never hear, “Your teacher told you I don’t exist so it’s not really your fault that you rejected Me. We’ll blame your teacher instead. Heaven awaits you.”

God isn’t going to look at the calendar on your smartphone and reply, “Wow, you’re right. You were really busy with your career and your children’s activities and civic responsibilities and taking care of your home and still trying to fit in some fun stuff. I can see why you never took time to learn about Me. Sure, we can make an exception. I have a spot prepared for you in heaven with Me.”

Do you see where I’m going with this?

We throw out excuses for our rejection of God’s truth as if they’ll make a difference in our eternal outcome. We actually think God will consider those excuses as valid “Get out of jail free” cards in a cosmic, eternal Monopoly game.

I mean, after all, God is love and His is a message of grace, right?

This is God’s Love

“God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10).

God is a God of love. As Creator of the universe, He has the privilege of defining love. He defined it as a sacrifice made by one person for the benefit of another person. He played it out by sacrificing Himself to pay the penalty for our sin so we might receive the benefit of forgiveness and eternity in heaven.

This is God’s Grace

“Since by one man’s trespass [Adam], death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. … But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:17, 20-21).

God is a God of grace. Grace doesn’t make excuses and exceptions to get around the truth. That’s called lying and deception and they’re trademark signs of Satan, not God. God’s grace recognizes our sin for what it is without excuse. Instead, He forgives it completely and totally because of the blood sacrificed by Jesus.

A difference exists between excusing an offense and forgiving one. To excuse an offense means to pretend as if it wasn’t actually offensive or didn’t hurt you. To excuse an offense gives power to the offender. To forgive an offense means to recognize that the person’s action was wrong, it did hurt you, but you choose not to hold it against them. To forgive an offense gives the power to the one offended. The latter is God’s grace.

No one will hold your hand

When that moment comes and you stand before God, I won’t be there to hold your hand and offer false promises of security. Your excuses won’t be there still promising false justification. That moment will be between you and God alone; all that will matter is what you did with the message of love and grace offered by Jesus. Did you accept it or did you excuse it away?

Please click here to read a full explanation of what it means to accept Jesus’ gift of love, grace, and salvation. It’s eternally significant.

The Rock: Rejecting the truth to follow a lie

“Pay attention, heavens, and I will speak; listen, earth, to the words of my mouth.

“Let my teaching fall like rain and my word settle like dew, like gentle rain on new grass and showers on tender plants.

“For I will proclaim Yahweh’s name.

“Declare the greatness of our God!

“The Rock – His work is perfect; all His ways are entirely just. A faithful God, without prejudice, He is righteous and true” (Deuteronomy 32:4).

Gentleness and tenderness build to a dramatic proclamation as Moses declares to the people a new name for Holy God.

The chapter continues with powerful words to the people as they have allowed corruption and deceit to permeate their lives. They did so despite all that God had done for them. He created them as God but He also sustained them as would a Father (verse 6). He pulled them out of desolation to make them His chosen people (verses 9-10). He was God to them – Most High over all other gods (verse 12). He blessed them in abundance (verses 13-14).

And yet…, 

I shake my head as I see myself and our culture in their response.

Despite all God did for His people, they gorged themselves on the provision rather than the Provider. They became fat and bloated on it (verses 15). They ignored the God of their fathers as they followed after foreign gods and deceptive demons (verses 16-17).

“They ignored the Rock who gave them birth; they forgot the God who gave birth to them” (Deuteronomy 32:18 paraphrased).

They ignored the Rock – and the response didn’t go well for the people of Israel (verses 19-27). They never realized weak earthly attacks couldn’t come against them “unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up” (Deuteronomy 32:30).

They followed their little idols not realizing that “their ‘rock’ is not like our Rock” (Deuteronomy 32:31).

And yet, despite all their gorging selfishness and their love affair with the idols of Satan, “the Lord will indeed vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants” (Deuteronomy 32:36).

Why on earth would He do such a thing?

God’s mercy and grace pour out on His people because they are just that – His people. Their sin is ugly – horrifying, really – but Holy God cut covenant with them. If He went back on His word and didn’t provide for them, then He would be an untrustworthy liar. That’s not going to happen. Not only that, but if He doesn’t protect them, then those who brought down His people would take credit for their destruction. Or, in other words, Satan would get the glory for bringing the defeat of God’s people. Again, not going to happen. (See verses 26-27. Did you notice the italics on provide and protect? Remember those words because they’ll be important in the next part of this series.)

“See now that I alone am He; there is no God but Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal. No one can rescue anyone from My hand” (Deuteronomy 32:39).

Why do we care?

We care because we see ourselves in the Israelite people. God didn’t only create them – He created us. He didn’t only sustain them as would a Father – He sustains us. He pulled us out of desolation and chose us as His people – adopted in as children of Abraham. He is our Most High God with abundant blessings.

And we said, “Screw it. I don’t care. I want my own way. I want to pour my passion into the ‘rocks’ because I know better than the Rock does.”

Even still, He has compassion on us. Even still, He provides with the Rock of living water in the desert. He protects us in the cleft of the Rock. This is going to get good…please continue on for the next part.

Priorities: Figuring out what's real and worth it

Talked to Jimmy on the phone yesterday about some problems – the normal stuff like not enough money, not enough time, why won’t the kids behave, why so much stuff is falling apart. We wrapped up our conversation with our normal “good-bye” and “love you” but this time I also thought, “I’m so thankful he’s not part of the problems.” He’s what holds me up through the problems as he reminds me of important things like trust and faith. Hopefully I do the same for him when problems are firing at him.

I’ve also been acutely thankful for my girls over the last couple days – not for what they’ve done but because of who they are. They’re my daughters, my family. That’s enough to bind me to them forever.

I think that’s why this post by Glenn Beck on Facebook this morning struck something inside me.

What is real and worth it beside family?

You can see from my opening comments how important family is to me. Yes, it’s real and it’s so worth it but it’s not “the most important project of all.”

Here’s the rest of his list… Work, parenting, shopping, finances, outside activities, church work, spouse, friends, and extended family. And oh yeah, still find time to read Scripture and pray.

There it is – tacked on the end just in case we manage to find time – is the most important of all.

We may lose our job. Tragedy may strike our children, spouse, friends, or extended family; they may be gone in a heartbeat. The money may disappear completely. Outside activities and yes, even church work, can crumble away. Are we ready to say in those moments – when these horrors strike our own existence – that God is in control and that is enough?

Personal loss, natural disaster, economic failure, job markets, housing and community, and relationships will all come…and they will go. God doesn’t do that though.

He doesn’t “change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17 NIV).

He is “the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End” (Revelation 21:6).

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

How do I do it?

That’s the next big question, isn’t it? I’m first to admit that sometimes it’s hard.

Those hard times prompt the phone calls to my husband like I talked about at the beginning of this article. Or a friend. But they also prompt me to fall to my knees in prayer. Scripture promises, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken” (Psalm 55:22).

My husband is a great man who can point me to Christ but he can’t solve all my problems. I have some incredibly wonderful friends who have been there for me often over the years. They also can’t sustain me, though. It’s got to be God.

“I called to the Lord in my distress, and I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice and my cry to Him reached His ears. … He reached down from heaven and took hold of me; He pulled me out of deep waters. … The Lord was my support.” (Psalm 18:6, 16, 18; Hover here to read Psalm 18 to see the power of God’s deliverance when we cry for help.)

We can’t only cry to God when the problems hit, however. We endure the hard times because we walk in relationship with Him all the time. We read His Word… no, we study it. We know it. We allow it to transform us from the mess we used to be into the person He created us to be.

Seven Roles, One Woman talks about this quite a bit from a woman’s perspective. It’s hard to balance being a wife, mom, businesswoman, friend, servant, homemaker, and oh yeah, a child of God. We try to juggle all of them and keep everyone happy. In the end, though, balance starts to come when we realize that being a child of God isn’t an “oh yeah” that we tag on at the end.

It’s the foundation upon which all the others rest…

• It’s the love needed to be the wife (or husband).
• It’s the grace mandatory to being a mom (or dad).
• It’s the wisdom desired to be a business person.
• It’s the kindness essential to being a friend.
• It’s the compassion required to be a servant.
• It’s the sacrifice important to being a homemaker.

Being a child of God is the power to make it happen because “He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).

And if Glenn happens to read this - or anyone else trying to figure it out with very real scars in their own life - please know I didn't ignore that part of the original Facebook post. That's some hard stuff as well and maybe something to save for another time.

Good & Evil: Who we are in a world of evil

Boko Haram, a Muslim extremist group in Nigeria, butchers Christians. “Butchers” isn’t too strong of a word; it’s morbidly accurate as the group slices and hacks at the bodies of the non-Muslims. They stop only long enough to determine if the sufferer is ready to renounce Christ and pledge allegiance to Allah. You can read more at VOM’s article, “You can’t kill my soul,” but I warn you that it might make you feel something – a churning of the stomach, a shudder of the spine, an inexplicable urge to fall to your knees and pray for someone in a far off land.

Evil is nothing new; persecution began when God accepted Abel’s sacrifice but not Cain’s resulting in Cain’s murderous assault on Abel (Genesis 4:1-12). Nevertheless, it is part of our current world. How do we face it? How do we respond to bloody stories that don’t fit with our comfortable church-pew Christianity?

I found some help – even some encouragement – in Psalm 37. I hope you’ll take a minute to read it now; all you have to do is click on the link. (Can I be honest here for a second and point out that a lot of people in this world would weep tears of joy for such easy access to the word of God?)

We’re going to take a look at Psalm 37 over the next four weeks. This article will consider who we are, the next two weeks we’ll look at what we do and what God does, and then the fourth week we’ll discuss the outcome.

Who are we? Characteristics of the righteous

I pulled this list of characteristics out of the text of the chapter. Let me start by saying that I dealt with some serious conviction while I did so. You know what I mean – those “Ouch” moments when you read God’s Word and the Spirit points out somewhere deep inside that you aren’t quite living up to what God is asking of you. Yeah, those. But here we go –

When confronted with evil, a child of God is…

37:1, 7, 8 – Not agitated. A confrontation with evil shouldn’t make us burn with anger. That’s hard, isn’t it? When I read the above article from VOM about the beheading of a little boy, anger burned within me. By all accounts, evil is spreading and prospering. Earthly armies can’t stop it but eventually Christ will. Trust me, evil doesn’t prosper and find victory in the end.

37:1 – Not envious. At first thought, why would we be envious of evildoers? But, let me admit, envy flickered in my mind when I found out the ISIS army has $2,000,000 a day in income just from the oil fields they’ve conquered. But again, their success is temporary.

37:6 – Righteousness that shines like the dawn. This isn’t me showing off all my good works to make sure everyone sees them. My righteousness is in Christ; if it shines like the dawn then that is Him in me shining out to the world. That’s a good thing.

37:8 – Not angry nor enraged, in addition to not agitated. Keep the breathing under control; don’t spew words of poison. Stay steady. If you believe God is in control then you should be under control.

37:11 – Humble. Remember, Christ’s righteousness shines through us, not our own goodness. Honestly, we don’t have any goodness on our own anyway. He’s in control. As a child of God, we lay aside our own pride and positions to advance His kingdom.

37:18 – Blameless. We’re not perfect; we’re not sinless. The idea behind being blameless is to be complete or whole. Christ in us – His joy and love manifested in us – completes us.

37:21, 26 – Gracious and giving. We can’t hold tight to what God has given us. When we see evil, our response is to help, reach out, give, and extend grace to those who hurt as a result.

37:22 – Blessed by God. God chose to look on us in favor. He chose to come before us with the greatest gift possible – the life of His Son. He chose to restore us through the sacrifice of that Son. We are blessed.

37:30, 31 – Wise, just, and know God’s instruction. This is another one we can only claim because Christ works in us and through us. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

37:37 – Man of peace. Evil – characterized by pride, anger, rage, greed, and foolishness – leads to restlessness, destruction, and death. But a child of God knows peace even in the midst of evil.

I don’t know about you, but this list will stay with me this week as I see evil become more prevalent in our world. All of these characteristics are contrary to how the world says we should live. If we can implement them in our lives, we can make a difference. We can live the difference. We can shine the righteousness of Christ in a world of darkness.

Please click here for the next article in the series.

The Line in the Sand: 4 ways to recognize Jesus' true identity

My daughter and I unintentionally wore matching shirts today. We each went to our respective closets to dress this morning and came out wearing our t-shirts from VBS this summer. VBS (vacation Bible school) was a lot of fun at our church this year. We used Lifeway’s Agency D3 curriculum – a spy-themed week in which our Special Agent kids investigated the truth of who Jesus really is.

Our high-energy VBS week wrapped up so we prepared for our next big event of the summer. Missionary friends are staying with us for a few days while they are home in the States. Michael B., the husband/dad part of this crew, spoke at church on Sunday. He didn’t know we had wrapped up VBS only a week earlier with a focus on who Jesus is. And yet, the Spirit led him to preach on the question, “Who is Jesus?” After all, as our friend said during his message, “Missions is the job of getting the gospel to and making disciples of those who have not yet heard. Central to that message is the identity of who Jesus is.”

This recent focus on Jesus’ identity reminded me of some Twitter criticism I received a few months ago. I tweeted the following from “Everything We Need,”

To which I received some of the following,

To be honest, in four years of publicly posting my thoughts on Jesus – freedom in Him and living for Him – this is the only criticism I’ve received. It makes sense though that the rejection would come in response to a declaration of who Jesus is. After all, our view of Jesus’ identity defines us as His followers; it is the line in the sand that separates and distinguishes us from all other religions.

Who is Jesus?

Few people deny the existence of Jesus. After all, the non-biblical historical evidence of a man from Nazareth named Jesus who caused quite a disturbance in Roman controlled Israel during the first century is extensive. But do we care? And if we do, why?

I didn’t come up with these reasons. They’re pretty standard to Christianity. I’m presenting them here as Lifeway publishers did in their Agency D3 VBS…

• Jesus is the Son of God.

Many people are fine with saying Jesus was a man from Nazareth; they aren’t OK with saying He is God. The above mentioned tweet is a perfect example of this. However, God Himself spoke from Heaven and declared that Jesus was His Son. “And there came a voice from heaven: This is My beloved Son. I take delight in Him!” (Matthew 3:17).

• Jesus is more than just a good man.

Several religions view Jesus as a good man. He did good things for the people around Him, lived a good life, and taught some good ways to live. But He is more. Those good things He did were miraculous. It is a good deed to feed over 5,000 hungry people; it is a miracle to do so with only five loaves of bread and two fish. It is a good deed to help people with medical problems; miracles occur though when the dead are raised back to life. Teaching people to trust is a good teaching; it is a miracle when you teach them while walking on water. Read Mark 6 for more.

• Jesus was a dead man.

That may not seem like a significant point. After all, everyone dies. Some people like to think that Jesus didn’t die on the Roman cross, though. A Roman crucifixion was one of the most brutal executions ever known. The Romans knew what they were doing. No one came down off their cross until soldiers had proven they were dead. The issue really isn’t whether or not Jesus died – the Roman officials made sure He did. The issue is why did He die? How was He able to predict the time and method of His death? The Roman centurion who beheld Jesus’ dead body on the cross answered these questions when He declared, “This man really was God’s Son!” (Mark 15:39).

• Jesus is a living man.

Like I said, everyone dies. Thanks to Jesus, a few people have even come back to life only to die again later. Only Jesus the Messiah resurrected Himself from the dead to never die again. He lives in Heaven even today. Read Luke 24:36-48 and Acts 1:10-11.

Is it undeniable?

My original Tweet declared that Jesus is God’s Son and I went on to say that this is undeniable. One response declared Jesus not to be God while the other points out that over 70% of the world’s population disagrees with me. So is it undeniable?

The answer takes place in two different times. One is here and now; the other is there and then.

As the above tweeter mentions, about 30% of the people in the world have already realized they can’t deny the true identity of Jesus as the living, miraculous Son of God. They have stood at the foot of the cross, like the Roman centurion, and declared, “This man really was God’s Son!”

For the other 70%, hopefully some of them will join the 30% in the here and now. But if they choose not to recognize Jesus’ true identity here and now, the decision awaits them there and then. And then they too will realize they cannot deny Jesus’ true identity.

Build your Walls with Water - not Rock

I prayed for someone the other day.

For my story, it doesn’t matter who it was or what the issue was. But I prayed that their walls would come down – that God would continue to chip away at them until He brought them crumbling down around my loved one.

Guess what Bible story came into my mind as the words came out of my mouth…

Yep, Jericho and her infamous crumbling walls.

And then I remembered a study I did once upon a time based on a question a friend asked me…

Why did the walls fall in Jericho? Why did God use that method to conquer Jericho?

When I studied out the answer, I loved what I found. But then I forgot about it until God brought it back to mind the other day. I think He must have saved it for now.

The first use of the word wall (Hebrew: chowmah) is when the Israelites crossed the Red Sea. God built walls of water on either side of the people as they crossed through on dry ground (Exodus 14:22). Many people today – even non-religious types – have heard the story of this famous miracle.

It was the same way in Joshua’s day. Forty years had passed by the time Joshua and the Israelites were ready to conquer the city but the people of Jericho knew the story of what had happened with the walls of water. Rahab – a prostitute enlisted by two Israelite spies to help them – told the two spies that fear fell (Hebrew: naphal) on the people of Jericho when they heard of the walls of water (Joshua 2:9-11). They encountered the power of God through this miracle yet they let terror rule rather than humble themselves before God. They trusted in their rock walls (Hebrew: chowmah).

Fast forward to after the scouting mission but before the conquest.

Joshua also encountered the power of God when pre-incarnate Jesus appeared before him. Jesus came as “commander of the Lord’s army” with exact instructions on how to conquer the city of Jericho. Joshua's response was to fall (Hebrew: naphal) prostrate before the Lord. He humbled himself and asked God what He would have him to do (Joshua 5:13-6:5).

You probably know how the story of Jericho ends. It’s almost as popular as the parting of the Red Sea. In case you don’t though, the Israelites march around the city of Jericho for seven days. At the end of their march, they blew their shofars (trumpets) and the people shouted. God brought the walls crumbling down.

What God can do

God’s power isn’t confined to what we think is normal. He can do what He wants to do. He can build a wall out of water; He can make a wall of rock crumble into pieces. The real question is what we are going to do about it.

What we do

When the people of Jericho encountered the power of God, debilitating fear and terror fell on them. They panicked.

When Joshua encountered the power of God, he fell humbly before Him. He offered himself in service to do whatever God asked him to do. He conquered.

When you encounter God, are you going to put your trust in the works you have done – in the walls you have built? Or, are you going to humble yourself before Almighty God and trust Him? Are you going to panic or conquer? 

Protect the Children

Permit me to introduce you to George and Alice. Like many older couples, they spend the colder months of the year in a southern location and the warmer months in their native northland. Unlike many older couples, George and Alice are Canadian geese.

A sign of spring’s imminent arrival for our family is George and Alice’s arrival to the pond in our front yard. Canadian geese mate for life; this particular couple has returned to our pond every year for almost ten years. When they returned the second year, my family decided to name them George and Alice.

Their routine is the same every year. They first defend their territory in our yard from any other geese who feel our pond might make a good nesting spot. Once everyone is convinced to leave them alone, Alice begins building her nest on our pond’s small island. Within a short time, she has a nest full of eggs. She takes her place on the nest – rarely leaving and then only for a short time. George spends hours a day standing guard on the shore watching for any predator who might decide to attack Alice or the nest.

If all goes well, a few weeks later we all have the joy of watching George and Alice swim around the pond or walk around our yard with their little flock of goslings. This was our scene only a few days ago.

I watched them quite a bit this day. Experience has taught me they leave the pond within a couple days of the eggs hatching. So, I knew this was probably my only chance to see them this year. And besides, they’re just so stinkin’ cute.

I quickly realized that George and Alice spent much of the day fighting off predators from their young babies. They were constantly alert; always focused in many directions. After all, the goslings were as vulnerable as they were cute.

Our cats would stalk them – hoping for a chance to pounce. But, mama or daddy would always spread their wings, lower their neck, and honk so as to scare the cats back to the deck. A turkey vulture would circle over their heads wanting to grab up one of the babies. One of the protective parents would fly into the sky in full attack mode, letting the predator know that these babies weren’t going to become prey. Even other geese would try to get to the babies. In fact, they were the worst offenders. Whereas the cats and the turkey vultures learned after one or two attempts, the other geese stayed after the goslings for most of the day.

Mother’s Day is right around the corner; its approach reminds me of my day watching these parents and their baby geese.

George and Alice’s protection of their young was extensive. One parent stayed in front and one in back as they walked the goslings to the sand pit in our yard, to the neighbor’s driveway on the other side of the pond, and floated in the water. They knew an enemy could come from any angle; they were ready. They knew their babies wouldn’t stand a chance without them.

Moms and dads, our children need our protection as we begin to take them out in the world. Predators may lurk among their friends. Schools might be corrupting them. Their internet and phone activity could be taking them down a bad path.

Are we watching from every angle to make sure they are safe? Have we taken time to get to know their friends? Do we scripturally evaluate the curriculum taught them in school? What about the school lessons which aren’t from the established curriculum? Are we turning a blind eye to their internet and phone activity? Are we teaching them how to recognize and respond to these types of attacks?

It’s a lot. I know. I’m struggling right alongside you in this attempt to raise godly children in a world that would desire they turn out anyway except godly.

And you know what – those goslings will come back with George and Alice next year. They’ll be grown by then. At that time, George and Alice will shoo them away so they can begin their own adult lives. George and Alice will have taught them all they need to know and they’ll be ready to survive and thrive on their own.

What area do you struggle with in protecting your children from a non-godly influence? Or, how do you protect and train your children to deal with the world’s attacks?

The Word of God

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).

So, “in the beginning,” when “God created the heavens and the earth,” the Word was with God and was God. The fullness of the Word of God already existed at the creation of the universe. Mind-blowing.

If you’re Jewish, when you hear the phrase “the Word of God” you probably think of the Torah or the Tanakh. If you’re Christian, you probably think of the Holy Bible. The Old Testament - or the Tanakh in Judaism – is the oldest part of the Bible; but it wasn’t yet written at the time of creation. Indeed, Job, the oldest book of the Old Testament, wasn’t written until around 1500 BC – long after the time of creation.

All of this brings me to something that has built in my mind for years – something I have started calling the unity of the Word. Here it is – don’t limit the Word of God to a book you take to church or that sits on your bookshelf. The Word of God is that book but it is so much more.

Jesus

John 1:1 says the Word was with God and was God in the beginning. John also wrote a few verses later that “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14).

Only One person in all of humanity’s history fits that account – Jesus Christ.

Power

Power is part of the unity of the Word of God. Jesus’ words were directly from the Father (John 14:10). As He spoke the Word of God to the people, “they were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority” (Luke 4:32) or had “power” in the King James Version.

The Word of God is power to create. The Creation story is in Genesis 1 and 2. The words “God said” appear ten times in those chapters; each word of God created another aspect of our world and the universe. Galaxies, planets, soil, oceans, animals, plants, and even people all exist because God spoke them into existence. The Word of God created.

The Word of God is also power to destroy. The book of Revelation frequently refers to the words of Christ as a sword reserved for those who reject and rebel against Him. “Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.’ He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty” (Revelation 19:15).

Truth

Many times the Word of God is referred to as the truth but perhaps the simplest example is, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). Jesus also is the truth. He left no doubt on this issue when He declared, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

Our secular mindset has moved so far away from the possibility of one Truth that we have lost the importance of this reality. Here’s the thing about truth, though. What we may or may not believe about truth doesn’t change the fact that it is the truth. Truth is truth regardless of whether we choose to accept it.

What does this mean for me?

First, it’s a package deal. We can’t separate Jesus and the Bible from power and truth. We can’t accept the truth of the New Testament and Jesus’ life while we deny the truth of the Old Testament. We can’t say the Bible is truth and yet deny the power inherent in it. We can’t say Jesus was only a man and not God as that would deny the truth, God’s power, and the Bible. If you claim to believe any one of these things, then you have to believe all of them.

Second, it’s all about Jesus – in ways I can’t even begin to wrap my mind around. It’s not all about me. Or you. But you know what? Even though it’s all about Him, He loves YOU, He wants YOU for His own. He who is “far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way” (Ephesians 1:21-23).

The Bible Series - Homeland

Episode 2 - Homeland was epic! Did you follow along on the live tweets or on the Grow Barefoot Facebook page? We had fun at our online watch party.

As many have noted, many of the stories are missing from The Bible mini-series. Producers Mark Burnett and Roma Downey have done well at portraying the stories with a fair balance of biblical accuracy and dramatic interpretation; however, the scope of the entirety of God's Word is just too vast to include all of it in a mini-series. A society that thrives on 140-character tweets would lose interest before we even got to Daniel in the Lions Den.

What's important to remember is that the Bible isn't a series of stories. It is a story. Singular. It is the story of God's relationship with man. A relationship that was perfect until the created rejected and disobeyed the Creator. From that point on, the whole Book points to the coming Savior who would restore that relationship; who would renew the love story. That's what I'm hoping to see in the coming weeks.

Jericho - Rahab and Joshua

The battle of Jericho was one of many battles that brought the Israelites into the Promised Land. I loved Rahab's words, "You have a God who commands the winds and parts the seas. How can we fight a people whose God can do that?" Amen, Rahab. Here's the answer - you can't. "For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you the victory" (Deuteronomy 20:4).(/span>

The first question that came up from the movie was during this part. Someone asked, "Why did the walls fall?" I hope to find a possible answer as to why God chose this method to conquer Jericho. When I do, I'll post it in the comment section below.

Joshua: "If we obey the Lord, anything is possible!" Absolutely, Joshua!

Samson

Samson was a Nazirite known for his God-given strength. "The angel of the LORD appeared to [Samson's mother] and said, 'You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines'" (Judges 13:3-5).

Even with his incredible strength, we recognize as they said in the movie, "Our strength comes from God." The beauty of Samson's story comes toward the end. Samson messed up when he let his relationship with Delilah rule his heart over his vow to God. Yet when he sought God, repented of his sin, and asked forgiveness, the relationship was restored. God empowered him once again. From the movie, "Lord, if I'm yours, remember me now. Strengthen me once more."

Samson lost his eyes by the hands of the Philistines during his time of weakness. As awful as that is, there's something to it. After all, sometimes we see more clearly when we don't use our eyes.

The question from this part of the movie is this, "Is Samson a type - or a foreshadowing - of Christ?" Look for the answer as soon as it's available in the comment section.

Samuel

"God is our only King!" Loved that line from Samuel in the movie. The Old Testament prophets were a very no-nonsense group; Samuel lived up to this. I loved their straight-to-the-point comments.

God used Samuel to anoint both Saul and later David as the first two kings of Israel. The question was asked of me during this part of the movie, "Why did they pour oil on Saul?" I'll answer that later, too.

For now, remember this line from the movie, "What the Lord gives He can take away." God blesses and removes blessing according to His own sovereignty. Live grateful for what He has given.

David

The story of David in the movie was epic right from the beginning. I absolutely loved the part where Goliath yelled out for someone to fight him. As all the Israelite warriors cowered in fear, David stepped out and said, "I'll do it." God doesn't work through the strong and mighty of this world; He uses the small and ordinary to make known His power and majesty.

As David stepped out in faith to the battle before him, we all sat riveted as we waited to see Goliath fall. With God on your side, a small rock strikes a deadly blow.

David was a man of honesty, a man of integrity. Nothing showed this more than his refusal to kill Saul. David had already been anointed as the next king, yet he knew God had also anointed Saul. David knew better than to strike down God's anointed. As he said in the movie, "He's one of the anointed, it's up to God to decide his destiny."

As we all probably know, the lust of the eyes and the flesh brings down the mightiest of kings. David is no exception. Even then, after adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah, God's mercy and forgiveness awaited David. Who can comprehend the vastness of God's unfailing love? His anointed fell and yet God is faithful.

Finally, the best line of the movie came at the end. "A king is never above his God. You were to rule in His name, not your own." Samson, Saul, even David - they all fell when they sought their own desires rather than those of God. God blesses and protects those who serve in His name, not their own.

So there you have it - a few of my key thoughts on The Bible series, episode two "Homeland." What did you think? What was your favorite part of the movie? What part would you like to discuss? Be sure to leave a comment below!

Other articles in this series:
The Bible Series - Beginnings (Episode 1)
The Bible Series - Hope (Episode 3)
The Bible Series - Mission (Episode 4)
The Bible Series - Passion (Episode 5)