Monthly Archives: February 2014

Luke 5:32 – “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Here I go again. Looking to challenge the old mindset and laws of the Pharisees. Christianity. It’s such a dangerous word. To be Christ-like. Is that even possible? I’m gonna go ahead and say no. We can follow in His footsteps, we can have relationship with Him. There’s a reason Christ has such a powerful impact. It cannot, nor has it ever been duplicated. God’s ONLY son. Therefore as “Christians” aren’t we supposed to be something different? We are repentant sinners. We are STILL sinners, just sinners with remorse seeking restitution. Does this separate us from the world in which we live? Maybe by our choices, but our core is the same. Does that mean that we are without any new sins once we’ve accepted His blood? No. Where, please show me is the idyllic Sinner’s Prayer in the Word? Where is the formula that shows what we get for His ransom? Christianity is the leading force driving the lost from the church. Treading on shaky ground here folks.  Jesus didn’t waste his breath on those that would not receive his love. Nor did he spout endless debate with those that were “above” the law. God’s law is of perfect love and acceptance for all. No one is above His judgment, yet He ushers us in with a heaping good-faith gesture of grace. His grace alone is what brings our hearts nearer to Him. There is no condemnation for those that choose grace over death and emptiness. There isn’t time to be afraid of judgment. The judges of this world are clearly not qualified because they cannot see beyond political viewpoint, color of skin, financial kickback, sexual preference, and the list goes on and on and on. Jesus didn’t waste his time in the courts. It was spent with the prostitutes, the diseased, the condemned. What the world sees as unfit and unlovely, He sees as beautiful and full of value. I’m not sure I want to be considered or gauged as being Christ-like. That is such a tall ivory tower to fall from. I want people to see me as a girl that longs for intercession, as a nomad on a journey. I want the world to share with me in joy of a love so perfect, from such great sacrifice that it oozes from all who are brave enough to taste it. There is nothing you can do to earn His love. You already have it. Right where you are. Bloom where you are planted.

Go forth and hug a stranger!

There’s a pasture directly across the street from my neighborhood with a herd of cattle constantly grazing. Like a postcard sits a beautiful barn, weathered fence posts, shade trees, two deep blue ponds, and grass that bends at the will of the wind.

I don’t know if you’ve ever watched cattle and their behavior, but for as far back as I can remember, I’ve felt bad for them. They always have their faces toward the ground. They aren’t spending their lives looking around, soaking it up, and enjoying everything that God has made for them. These cows have such a beautiful home. What kind of life is that? They’re missing out on all of it.  It occurred to me, maybe there is more to this than meets the eye.

My great uncle Theron was a cattle rancher in the small town of Idabel, Oklahoma. He had so many heads of cattle. The little bit of exposure that I’ve had to ranching is that all you have to do is call the cattle and they’ll come home. All my uncle had to do was honk the horn of his old pickup truck and they would come. They would come to their master.

With all this in mind, I now think that there are two ways to look at cows. They are either missing out because they’re not taking the time to enjoy the world, or they are focused on what God created them to do which is head down, being focused on the task at hand and being fed, and then when their master calls them, they come. They come to him. They’re living out their calling. Is it possible that even the creatures of the earth can hear His whisper? How often do we take the time to step back and observe the natural world around us and witness the hallelujah of birds singing in trees? What about bearing testament to the glory of a line of ants marching?

Let us be not focused on worldly pleasures but on His calling, His beautiful charge for our lives. Let us live fully and wholly in Him. Let us not waste our lives on things that have no true value. Let us make ready for the sound of His voice, so that we may know it and can run to Him unabashedly when He calls us home.

Now when I drive past the field, I see worship. How now, brown cow? I am thankful. I am present. I am listening.

1 Corinthians 7:17 – “Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them…”