It's been over a year since I worked at the LifeWay in Atlanta that used to be the Berean Store. In that brief time, I have many memories of conversations with people that I will probably talk about the rest of my life.
One time I was at the Point of Sale counter checking a woman out of the store when she said, "I think we need a picture of a black Jesus."
Keeping the conversation going, I said, "If you want a more accurate picture of Jesus, you would paint him as a middle eastern man since he was Jewish and from Israel."
As the conversation progressed, she said, "Well, Jesus was a spirit anyway."
"No he wasn't," I said, " he was a man with a body."
"But we're not supposed to have graven images." Then we ended the talk and she left.
Then one of my co-workers said, "I agree about Jesus being portrayed as Israeli." Then she gave the example of someone painting a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr. as a white man. It's just not accurate.
But beyond all this, nobody knows what exactly God the Son looked like when he came to earth.
And there are people who blasphemously accuse God the Father of breaching the second commandment to not make graven images by sending Jesus. But these same people think it's okay to paint a picture of him when they don't know what he looked like.
Then it also just brings up the issue of whether making a painting of Jesus is a breaking of the second commandment. I actually think it is. Not that I enforce it much. I have a picture of a "Laughing Jesus" in my old bedroom that is now Tim's office/man cave which I also use, too. It does portray him as a middle-eastern looking guy. And I would never bow down to it or worship it.
I do agree with Calvin that to portray God in any way is breaking the commandment when God is invisible. And agree with me or not, it is plain that if you do attempt to draw Jesus, it won't look like him as we don't know what he looked like. Am I going to get on the case of people that do have them, knowing that I myself have a picture? Or get rid of my picture? Probably not, but it is good to know. I also rejoice that God the Spirit always leads me to righteousness whether gradually or even painfully. And in the end, I'm happier knowing that he has made me right with himself.
What does this have to do with CR or me trying to recover from co-dependency? Not sure yet. Any suggestions? I've been pondering it all week. It's in the Ten Commandments. And ultimately, God wants us to follow them for his glory. Our recovery is a result of that glory. Recovery from us and back into his Paradise.
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
3 H Club: the First commandment
The first commandment: You shall have no other gods before me.
How can this help if you are recovering? A lot of personal problems can all be traced back to someone having a god that is not God.
Let's see, at CR, I'm in the co-dependent and anger group. What is co-dependent? The short answer is that I want to help everybody. How can this be a worship problem?
Suppose a friend is having a hard time finding a job and you want to help. I suggest something, but that person says no and still has a hard time finding a job. As a co-dependent, I would want to expend effort and time going through the job-search process with that person while at the same time, I need to focus on my own healthy job as a CCS afterschool worker and as a wife to Tim. How is this a worship problem? I'm not trusting God to deal with the situation but relying on my own means, making myself the idol.
Let's go for a more national issue. Suppose abortion is still legal and that my tax dollars are still funding Nazi-ish organizations such as planned parenthood when smaller agencies who work to keep children alive and mothers from having to go through the permanent trauma of having an abortion can barely keep their lights on. Do I get angry or do I trust that God hates this more than I do, that Jesus was more innocent than even these victims, or do I simply act like God is not there? Do I lose hope knowing that this is still going on, or do I rejoice that God saved at least one life if not more because someone came to my pregnancy resource center and talked to me and he protected me from putting my foot in my mouth?
What if your issue is something not caused by sin, like cancer or losing someone to cancer? Or is it a result of sin. My mom died 6 years ago through cancer. Did she sin? Did I sin, or did her parents sin? Not exactly, but you know who did sin? Our first parents, Adam and Eve sin, and that is why cancer now exists in the world and why people die and will keep dying until Christ returns. And why is this? Because Eve and Adam thought that they knew better than God and decided to eat the one fruit he said not to eat when they had every other option available.
So, yeah, all our problems are because of idolatry and making gods when there is only one God who revealed himself through Christ and still lives in believers through the Holy Spirit.
How can this help if you are recovering? A lot of personal problems can all be traced back to someone having a god that is not God.
Let's see, at CR, I'm in the co-dependent and anger group. What is co-dependent? The short answer is that I want to help everybody. How can this be a worship problem?
Suppose a friend is having a hard time finding a job and you want to help. I suggest something, but that person says no and still has a hard time finding a job. As a co-dependent, I would want to expend effort and time going through the job-search process with that person while at the same time, I need to focus on my own healthy job as a CCS afterschool worker and as a wife to Tim. How is this a worship problem? I'm not trusting God to deal with the situation but relying on my own means, making myself the idol.
Let's go for a more national issue. Suppose abortion is still legal and that my tax dollars are still funding Nazi-ish organizations such as planned parenthood when smaller agencies who work to keep children alive and mothers from having to go through the permanent trauma of having an abortion can barely keep their lights on. Do I get angry or do I trust that God hates this more than I do, that Jesus was more innocent than even these victims, or do I simply act like God is not there? Do I lose hope knowing that this is still going on, or do I rejoice that God saved at least one life if not more because someone came to my pregnancy resource center and talked to me and he protected me from putting my foot in my mouth?
What if your issue is something not caused by sin, like cancer or losing someone to cancer? Or is it a result of sin. My mom died 6 years ago through cancer. Did she sin? Did I sin, or did her parents sin? Not exactly, but you know who did sin? Our first parents, Adam and Eve sin, and that is why cancer now exists in the world and why people die and will keep dying until Christ returns. And why is this? Because Eve and Adam thought that they knew better than God and decided to eat the one fruit he said not to eat when they had every other option available.
So, yeah, all our problems are because of idolatry and making gods when there is only one God who revealed himself through Christ and still lives in believers through the Holy Spirit.
Monday, August 31, 2015
Hurts, Habits, Hang-ups, and Contrived Means
It's been a while hasn't it? Yes, I was blogging, and then my life got busy with working at my church's school and doing music and generally tending to my husband and family. Such is the cycle of women who have blogs.
But I have a thought that I want to think out loud. Over the summer, I decided to start attending my church's Celebrate Recovery program. CR is a place where people can come sort out their "hurts, habits, and hang-ups." It is basically Alcoholics Anonymous but it's based on Jesus and it's for people with all kinds of issues. In fact, only 3% come needing help with alcohol or drugs. I've never been on drugs, alcohol, and mostly kept all my sin on the inside my whole life. I'm just there because I was born, I'm a sinner, and I've been redeemed by Jesus.
That's not the point, however. It's only a tangent. This past Saturday was Charles Finney's birthday. The infamous preacher who influenced many people such as Billy Graham and Keith Green in their evangelistic methods. The problem with Finney, however, is he was not a believer. He did not believe that Jesus's death on the cross paid for the sins of redeemed man. In fact, he did not even believe that man had original sin. He only needed to find the right path for living, and Jesus provided that example. Billy Graham and Keith Green, while true believers who preach the true Gospel, followed the methods of this man who never went to seminary and only believed that revival was not a work of the Holy Spirit but in his own words, a result of "contrived means."
I think that if Finney had a true disciple today, it would be a man that the world loves and who impresses me from time to time. That would be Rick Warren. Rick knows the Gospel, and loves Jesus, but sadly, his methods can be boiled down to things men and women can do to improve their lives with Jesus simply as a sponsor and a guru and nothing more.
Why pick on Rick? Because I genuinely love the guy and I think he has good ideas. Why bring up CR? Because it started at his church, Saddleback.
I like CR because it provides a safe place for me to talk about all my past issues and find healing. It's like having a counselor but, it's free and I don't need insurance.
Where can CR improve? As a woman who follows Reformed theology, a la John Calvin, and who believes this theology truly follows the Bible's teaching, I want to take what I like from CR, and include it in what Jesus has already established in his Church.
CR already involves creeds and memorized prayers. Granted, they are their 8 Principles based on the Beatitudes according to the Message Bible, the 12 steps based on AA but with Jesus as the focus, and the Serenity prayer written by Reinhold Niebuhr who had terrible theology (but don't get me wrong, I like the first half of the prayer, the part that ends up in greeting cards). Martin Luther thought it much better to simply pray to the Lord by remembering the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed (not Scripture but a precise nutshell of what we believe), and the Lord's prayer, and to pray to the Lord for his grace in following his commands and living out his Gospel as a result of his saving work in our lives.
Perhaps I can examine all of this and see how it could simply lead to true recovery in the Lord and not just following his principles without looking to him. I suppose I can start such a series on my blog but you must also remember that I don't blog consistently these days. May the Lord help me.
But I have a thought that I want to think out loud. Over the summer, I decided to start attending my church's Celebrate Recovery program. CR is a place where people can come sort out their "hurts, habits, and hang-ups." It is basically Alcoholics Anonymous but it's based on Jesus and it's for people with all kinds of issues. In fact, only 3% come needing help with alcohol or drugs. I've never been on drugs, alcohol, and mostly kept all my sin on the inside my whole life. I'm just there because I was born, I'm a sinner, and I've been redeemed by Jesus.
That's not the point, however. It's only a tangent. This past Saturday was Charles Finney's birthday. The infamous preacher who influenced many people such as Billy Graham and Keith Green in their evangelistic methods. The problem with Finney, however, is he was not a believer. He did not believe that Jesus's death on the cross paid for the sins of redeemed man. In fact, he did not even believe that man had original sin. He only needed to find the right path for living, and Jesus provided that example. Billy Graham and Keith Green, while true believers who preach the true Gospel, followed the methods of this man who never went to seminary and only believed that revival was not a work of the Holy Spirit but in his own words, a result of "contrived means."
I think that if Finney had a true disciple today, it would be a man that the world loves and who impresses me from time to time. That would be Rick Warren. Rick knows the Gospel, and loves Jesus, but sadly, his methods can be boiled down to things men and women can do to improve their lives with Jesus simply as a sponsor and a guru and nothing more.
Why pick on Rick? Because I genuinely love the guy and I think he has good ideas. Why bring up CR? Because it started at his church, Saddleback.
I like CR because it provides a safe place for me to talk about all my past issues and find healing. It's like having a counselor but, it's free and I don't need insurance.
Where can CR improve? As a woman who follows Reformed theology, a la John Calvin, and who believes this theology truly follows the Bible's teaching, I want to take what I like from CR, and include it in what Jesus has already established in his Church.
CR already involves creeds and memorized prayers. Granted, they are their 8 Principles based on the Beatitudes according to the Message Bible, the 12 steps based on AA but with Jesus as the focus, and the Serenity prayer written by Reinhold Niebuhr who had terrible theology (but don't get me wrong, I like the first half of the prayer, the part that ends up in greeting cards). Martin Luther thought it much better to simply pray to the Lord by remembering the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed (not Scripture but a precise nutshell of what we believe), and the Lord's prayer, and to pray to the Lord for his grace in following his commands and living out his Gospel as a result of his saving work in our lives.
Perhaps I can examine all of this and see how it could simply lead to true recovery in the Lord and not just following his principles without looking to him. I suppose I can start such a series on my blog but you must also remember that I don't blog consistently these days. May the Lord help me.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
My True Caretaker
Ephesians 5:22-24 is the passage that says that husbands should love their wives the way Christ loved the church. Christ gave up his life for the church. Christ, the Church's only husband, has exclusive right to worship and adoration from his bride.
Revelation 12 is that odd passage about a woman who gives birth to the Christ child and a dragon set to destroy both her and the child. Well, the dragon did destroy the child, but the Child came back from the dead and has defeated the dragon. He now can take his bride, the woman distressed by the dragon, and live happily ever after.
All people know that Mary physically gave birth the Jesus. If we take the passage literally, then it would be taking about her. This being a vision given to John about salvation and the kingdom's consummation, this is actually more than Mary. It is the whole Church. Just like Mary's son happens to be her own Creator and Redeemer, so we are the reason Christ came to earth. We carry his Holy Spirit in us as his redeemed. In a sense, we gave birth to him, but he is our Creator, Sustainer and eternal Husband.
In some odd way that defies human logic and relations, the Church is both my mother and myself while God is my Father, and Jesus, who is God the Son, is my husband and brother.
A true local church will allow you to be wed to your husband. You have doffed the name of your former household and taken on the name of Christ your king. Therefore, the church needs to allow you direct access to your husband since we no longer need a mediator between us and God the Father. We should not have to go through anybody other than Christ to get to Christ. Not a priest, pastor, elder, deceased person, mother, grandmother, father, etc. You have complete privilege to come into Christ's presence because Christ was slain by the dragon and then defeated that same dragon by rising from the dead and taking his power. He did this for you the Redeemed.
On my wedding day, Chad who officiated stood by Tim as they watched my dad light a candle in the front of the chapel. Chad told Tim that the candle symbolized the truth that responsibility for my care no longer falls on my mom and dad. It now falls on my husband, Tim. Therefore, if I'm in trouble, I will go to him before I call dad and trust him to take care of me completely. We need to love our Lord the same way but only better. Tim may fail me, and I may fail Tim, but Jesus will always succeed for us and bring us to our proper home. We simply need to let go and trust.
Revelation 12 is that odd passage about a woman who gives birth to the Christ child and a dragon set to destroy both her and the child. Well, the dragon did destroy the child, but the Child came back from the dead and has defeated the dragon. He now can take his bride, the woman distressed by the dragon, and live happily ever after.
All people know that Mary physically gave birth the Jesus. If we take the passage literally, then it would be taking about her. This being a vision given to John about salvation and the kingdom's consummation, this is actually more than Mary. It is the whole Church. Just like Mary's son happens to be her own Creator and Redeemer, so we are the reason Christ came to earth. We carry his Holy Spirit in us as his redeemed. In a sense, we gave birth to him, but he is our Creator, Sustainer and eternal Husband.
In some odd way that defies human logic and relations, the Church is both my mother and myself while God is my Father, and Jesus, who is God the Son, is my husband and brother.
A true local church will allow you to be wed to your husband. You have doffed the name of your former household and taken on the name of Christ your king. Therefore, the church needs to allow you direct access to your husband since we no longer need a mediator between us and God the Father. We should not have to go through anybody other than Christ to get to Christ. Not a priest, pastor, elder, deceased person, mother, grandmother, father, etc. You have complete privilege to come into Christ's presence because Christ was slain by the dragon and then defeated that same dragon by rising from the dead and taking his power. He did this for you the Redeemed.
On my wedding day, Chad who officiated stood by Tim as they watched my dad light a candle in the front of the chapel. Chad told Tim that the candle symbolized the truth that responsibility for my care no longer falls on my mom and dad. It now falls on my husband, Tim. Therefore, if I'm in trouble, I will go to him before I call dad and trust him to take care of me completely. We need to love our Lord the same way but only better. Tim may fail me, and I may fail Tim, but Jesus will always succeed for us and bring us to our proper home. We simply need to let go and trust.
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Stunted Trees
Back in February, Tim and I went to Panola Mountain and took a guided tour up the mountain. At the top we saw these amazing trees that had grown through the rocks. Turns out that the mountain had actually stunted their growth, but the State Parks of Georgia do what they can to preserve them.
Today, with Tim out of the country, I went to the park and walked the trail with my brother Andrew. Seeing a toddler in a 25-year-old man's body trail along with me was so relaxing. Autistic people like Andrew are considered inferior in society and even a waste of resources. These people are usually the same people who want to save the stunted trees on top of Panola. Which is more valuable in the long run? Definitely the Andrews. You don't know joy unless you get lost on Panola's Watershed trail and help your brother down big steps and try to protect him from tripping on tree roots.
Desiring God made an excellent article linking Bullying with Abortion. The main idea behind bullying is to prevent people from making other people feel inferior based on race, religion, disability, beliefs, etc. What they always forget is that this applies to developmental stage, too. Most abortions are aimed at people like Andrew, the stunted trees. Planned Parenthood goes to the most impoverished neighborhoods, the neighborhoods with the most racial minorities. Doctors can abort a baby simply for being the wrong gender. Only 8% of Down Syndrome kids are born.
How is this not bullying? Why is it wrong to cut down a stunted tree on a monadnock but perfectly alright to pass laws that can euthanise amazing people like my brother? Why can't people see the amazing uniqueness caused by their challenges? Sometimes I even hypocritically think like these people when it comes to people who have terrible personalities and do nothing but sit and watch TV and eat and try to boss other people around. We are all to blame for this. How can we take the most annoying person we know and try to see his or her uniqueness and cherish that?
Today, with Tim out of the country, I went to the park and walked the trail with my brother Andrew. Seeing a toddler in a 25-year-old man's body trail along with me was so relaxing. Autistic people like Andrew are considered inferior in society and even a waste of resources. These people are usually the same people who want to save the stunted trees on top of Panola. Which is more valuable in the long run? Definitely the Andrews. You don't know joy unless you get lost on Panola's Watershed trail and help your brother down big steps and try to protect him from tripping on tree roots.
Desiring God made an excellent article linking Bullying with Abortion. The main idea behind bullying is to prevent people from making other people feel inferior based on race, religion, disability, beliefs, etc. What they always forget is that this applies to developmental stage, too. Most abortions are aimed at people like Andrew, the stunted trees. Planned Parenthood goes to the most impoverished neighborhoods, the neighborhoods with the most racial minorities. Doctors can abort a baby simply for being the wrong gender. Only 8% of Down Syndrome kids are born.
How is this not bullying? Why is it wrong to cut down a stunted tree on a monadnock but perfectly alright to pass laws that can euthanise amazing people like my brother? Why can't people see the amazing uniqueness caused by their challenges? Sometimes I even hypocritically think like these people when it comes to people who have terrible personalities and do nothing but sit and watch TV and eat and try to boss other people around. We are all to blame for this. How can we take the most annoying person we know and try to see his or her uniqueness and cherish that?
C-bomb: Harry Potter spoilers
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban has a bizarre time travel sequence that also reminds me of the Reformed tension between predestination and free will. Harry and Hermione are lost in the woods. These scary Dementors arise and try to kiss out Harry Potter's soul. Harry tries to do his Patronus charm but can't. Suddenly a stag Patronus comes and saves Harry.
Not too much later, Harry and Hermione go back in time and wait for their past selves to get to the same point. Harry sees the Dementors preying on himself on the other side of a lake and wonders why that stag Patronus has not come. Then he realizes that he sent the Patronus to himself! He then sends it and saves himself.
In JK Rowling's world, Harry was destined to send his Patronus to save himself. It was already planned. At the same time, Harry had to make the decision to send his Patronus. The whole of history was already planned, but Harry is still responsible for his decisions. He still has a free will.
It will always be a mystery, but the Bible teaches it and I believe it. Acts 13:48, "And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed."
Not too much later, Harry and Hermione go back in time and wait for their past selves to get to the same point. Harry sees the Dementors preying on himself on the other side of a lake and wonders why that stag Patronus has not come. Then he realizes that he sent the Patronus to himself! He then sends it and saves himself.
In JK Rowling's world, Harry was destined to send his Patronus to save himself. It was already planned. At the same time, Harry had to make the decision to send his Patronus. The whole of history was already planned, but Harry is still responsible for his decisions. He still has a free will.
It will always be a mystery, but the Bible teaches it and I believe it. Acts 13:48, "And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed."
Thursday, May 14, 2015
C-bomb with fandom spoilers: Link and Zelda
I started reading the Legend of Zelda manga series. I don't have time to play the game, but after putting together a puzzle of the map of Hyrule, I decided I needed to explore those places.
To the dismay of some people, the first book, "The Ocarina of Time," reminded me of the Calvinistic struggle between God's sovereignty and man's decisive responsibility. Link, the main character, travels to Hyrule Palace to see if he can help solve the darkness that has come over the land caused by the evil Ganondorf. He meets Princess Zelda who claims she dreamed of a green angel who dispelled the darkness over the land. He was destined to be the Hero of Time, and on learning that he collects the three stones that make the Tri-Force that summons the goddesses and opens the Temple of Time so that Link can play the ocarina, sleep for seven years and age into a teenager, and win against Ganondorf.
So, it's rather pagan, but it goes to show that everyone knows they do not completely control their lives, but they still have a responsibility to carry out their purpose in life. Link did not decide to do nothing while he became the Hero of Time. He actually worked to find the stones and then to fight Ganondorf.
In the Bible, you can see this same tension. In Romans 4:3, Abraham is credited with righteousness because he believed. He believed simply because God gave him a promise and chose Abraham to bless the world through that promise.
At the same time, James 2:14-17 talks of people who wish to end poverty and hunger but do nothing to help the people. "Faith without works is dead." Abraham became righteous because God chose him, but he waited mostly patiently for 75 years until he could have a son with his lawful wife Sarah. Yes, he tried to help God by having a son with another woman, but despite his flaw, God sustained his faith so much that he was willing to sacrifice his long-awaited Isaac on an altar as a burnt offering because God told him to do so. No questions asked. He just packed up and went to Mt. Moriah, and then God pre-enacted Christ's crucifixion and resurrection by sparing Isaac and sending a lamb to take the punishment for Isaac's sins.
I'll do another geeky illustration of this in my next blog.
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