Monday, 16 May 2016
Sunday, 15 May 2016
Friday, 13 May 2016
on the radio
My radio interview has been broken down into chunks, two of which go out this Sunday. and more the following Sunday.
Thursday, 12 May 2016
Tuesday, 10 May 2016
what did they learn?
Alcohol was strictly prohibited at the college that I attended, even
off campus. When I turned 21, some of my girlfriends and I thought we
would “be bad” and go out for a drink. The four of us split one
cocktail and we giggled about how “rebellious” we were being.
Someone among the group felt it was her spiritual duty to rat us out (give me a break) and the next day we were each called to the dean’s office. Oh what a predicament I was in. If I tell the truth, I would get kicked out of school my senior year of college for sharing one drink with four girls at the age of 21. I am a truth person to the core of my being, but I had watched great Christian girls get kicked out of Bible school for similar behaviors.
I was honest with my parents about what was happening and they advised me to keep the truth to myself. They had just spent thousands of dollars putting me through college and were not about to see their daughter get kicked out of school for such a small crime. I regretted not obeying the rule because I was now in a place where I had to lie. Oh how I wrestled within my soul.
I was faced with two commandments: Honor they father and mother OR lie? I chose to honor my parents and their investment and thank God I did because the girls who admitted the truth got kicked out of school. I know lying is wrong, but the heavy spirit of legalism I was under was even worse. I strive to never put myself under the authority of legalism again, as it was crippling to my soul and even served as a stumbling block for me to sin.
This is one of those stories where I am oh so thankful for the grace of Jesus Christ and that by His sacrifice I am forgiven for my sins! I will strive not to lie for the rest of my life, but I am certain I will lie again and anyone who says they won’t ever lie again is a liar. The love of Jesus surpasses all of our mistakes and sets us free to be in a genuine relationship with Him. He does not see our sin any longer if we are in Him and He is in us. He doesn’t just love us, he likes us despite our human flaws.
The above is from a blog. On the surface, it seems like an injustice. However the person who ratted on them, I wonder where they are now and what their relationship is with God? She must have know that her confession would cause trouble and result in them being expelled and yet she did it. I do not think drinking in itself is wrong, but this college had such a rule and it was only for the duration that the student is there. One learns discipline from rules, even ones we do not agree with.
the person who ratted, had a much more tender conscience. the writer of this has still not learned the lesson in humility. Many of us have to endure rules we do not agree with and sometimes not for a short duration. I live under a rule, I do not agree with, but does it cause me hardship? NO.
One can appear to be serving God, yet be a mighty rebel.
Someone among the group felt it was her spiritual duty to rat us out (give me a break) and the next day we were each called to the dean’s office. Oh what a predicament I was in. If I tell the truth, I would get kicked out of school my senior year of college for sharing one drink with four girls at the age of 21. I am a truth person to the core of my being, but I had watched great Christian girls get kicked out of Bible school for similar behaviors.
I was honest with my parents about what was happening and they advised me to keep the truth to myself. They had just spent thousands of dollars putting me through college and were not about to see their daughter get kicked out of school for such a small crime. I regretted not obeying the rule because I was now in a place where I had to lie. Oh how I wrestled within my soul.
I was faced with two commandments: Honor they father and mother OR lie? I chose to honor my parents and their investment and thank God I did because the girls who admitted the truth got kicked out of school. I know lying is wrong, but the heavy spirit of legalism I was under was even worse. I strive to never put myself under the authority of legalism again, as it was crippling to my soul and even served as a stumbling block for me to sin.
This is one of those stories where I am oh so thankful for the grace of Jesus Christ and that by His sacrifice I am forgiven for my sins! I will strive not to lie for the rest of my life, but I am certain I will lie again and anyone who says they won’t ever lie again is a liar. The love of Jesus surpasses all of our mistakes and sets us free to be in a genuine relationship with Him. He does not see our sin any longer if we are in Him and He is in us. He doesn’t just love us, he likes us despite our human flaws.
The above is from a blog. On the surface, it seems like an injustice. However the person who ratted on them, I wonder where they are now and what their relationship is with God? She must have know that her confession would cause trouble and result in them being expelled and yet she did it. I do not think drinking in itself is wrong, but this college had such a rule and it was only for the duration that the student is there. One learns discipline from rules, even ones we do not agree with.
the person who ratted, had a much more tender conscience. the writer of this has still not learned the lesson in humility. Many of us have to endure rules we do not agree with and sometimes not for a short duration. I live under a rule, I do not agree with, but does it cause me hardship? NO.
One can appear to be serving God, yet be a mighty rebel.
Self examination
Matthew 7:21-23New International Version (NIV)
True and
False Disciples
21 “Not everyone who says to me,
‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the
will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on
that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive
out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I
will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
I find these words of Jesus very
sobering. They should cause all of us to
examine ourselves and ask the question, “ Am I a true believer, or have I
deceived myself”? You will notice that
these people whom he is talking about actually prophesied and did miracles in
his name. They will think that they know
Jesus only to find out too late that they were wrong and he whom they claimed
to serve will say that he NEVER! Knew
them. Not once you were a Christian and
then fell away ( real ones are secure in the lord) but that right from the
start they were never true disciples.
It also shows that doing mighty
works is no guarantee of God’s acceptance.
You will note that it is their works that they are claiming makes them
belong to him.
We have to remember that contrary
to what the TV commercials may say when we are told, “ WE are worth it”, we are
not worth it. God in in his love has
provided a sacrifice for us even when we were his enemies. He did not have to do that.
I do not think we should take
these verses and use them to judge other people who profess Christ. What we should do is take these verses and
use them to shine a light into our own lives and if there is anything we find
there that is in doubt, then we need to address the issue before it is too
late.
Self-examination is a good thing.
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