ARE YOU GAY?
Do you know how hard it is to not be offended by that question? At least in the natural it is hard to not be offended by it. I know, because I was asked it more than a few times in the years leading up to my marriage to Karen.
You see, when we met and married, I was 30 years old. For a while my best friend, Brian, and I were roommates. I worked in a retail store in a mall that primarily sold home décor. Most of the guys who worked for that company on the local store level were gay. Add to that the fact that I rarely seriously dated and, voila, "are you gay"?
But when you think of it, that question should not really be offensive. What it meant, at least to me, was that someone realized I did not lead my life like they expected me to. And because they did not know any real, genuine, Christians, their assumption was understandable.
But why did my life make so little sense to some people that their only thought was I was gay? More to the point, why don't most single Christian men get that same question? Why is living the life God commands us to live so foreign, even in some church circles.
It wasn't always just the hard-partying, loose-living types who would ask that question. Sometimes it was people who had at least a nominal church background. It was even some who regularly attended fundamental, evangelical churches. And once someone who attended church and was highly involved there attempted to "help me" prove I wasn't.
Why?
Well, I believe part of the reason is our society no longer places a high value on high values.
Athletes cheat; like intentionally holding in football, traveling in basketball, or sign-stealing in baseball, and you can hear a loud chorus of "if you don't cheat, you ain't trying"-type defenses.
Politicians promise one thing, and immediately do another -- or "hammer" their opponents for something then do the same thing once elected. A great case-in-point would be a recent Congressional election. The party out of power made a big deal of the short workweek employed by the party in power, even though they themselves took advantage of it and only worked four days also. They promised to change that if they were elected into power, then immediately gave themselves weeks of short workweeks in a row, once even for something as "important" as watching a football game.
The real-life morality of many in the entertainment business is surpassed in its immorality only by the pretend-life of their TV and radio shows, movies, plays, and music.
And, of course, even some in the church have shown unwillingness to live by the standards God set in the Bible.
So it really should come as no surprise that someone not living down to those low standards should come under the scrutiny mentioned above. In fact, even the premise I begin with, that one might be offended by being asked if one was gay, would likely earn one a tag of homophobic. "After all", they would say, "Why would it be offensive to be thought of as gay"?
So I began to look at it as a compliment. It was a testimony to the fact that I lived my life in a manner obviously different than many of my contemporaries. And fortunately for me, I found a woman in Karen who had also lived her life to God's standards.
Does that mean I was perfect. No! I'm sure that will come as a surprise to my brother and sister. But it does mean I valued the things of God and tried to put them into practice. I wasn't always successful. And it wasn't always easy.
The question to ask yourself is, whether you are married or not, is your lifestyle so different from that of the culture around you that people sometimes make wrong assumptions? And is it really a bad thing if they do?
A SLOB LIKE US
(Romans 12:1-2) “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
What if God was one of us?Just a slob like one of usJust a stranger on the busTrying to make his way home If God had a faceWhat would it look like?And would you want to seeIf seeing meant that you would have to believe… --Joan Osborne
What if God were one of us? Living like God Himself is right here with us is an idea the Bible calls holiness. And, it was the preaching of holiness that led, at least partially, to the abolition of slavery, reform in prisons and institutions, missions for the homeless and needy, and child labor reform.
How do we accomplish this today? How do we live like God is with us? A few years ago it was popular to say, “WWJD – What Would Jesus Do? Well, if He were here in 2006, what would He do? Here are some ideas:
Instead of protesting abortion clinics, wouldn’t He embrace the pregnant teen or abortion-scarred woman?
Instead of complaining about the abuses of welfare, wouldn’t He feed the hungry and clothe the naked?
Instead of decrying the ineffectiveness of the prison system, wouldn’t Jesus visit the prisoners and care for their children?
Instead of pretending not to see someone differently-abled or developmentally challenged, would Jesus, instead, minister, “to the least of these my brothers”?
Instead of railing about how “God didn’t make Adam and Steve”, He would love Adam and Steve and let them know God loves them. Only then would He be able to help them see the truth God has for them.
Instead of pointing out the problems in “all them people”, Jesus would say it is “we people”—that there is no race distinction with God.
Instead of shunning people in sin because we “don’t have anything in common”, wouldn’t He find something in common, and create a relationship with them becoming, as Paul says, “all things to all people that I might win some”?
A burglar broke into a house one night. He shined his flashlight around, looking for valuables and when he picked up a CD player to place in his sack, a strange, disembodied voice echoed from the dark saying, "Jesus is watching you."
He nearly jumped out of his skin, clicked his flashlight out, and froze. When he heard nothing more after a bit, he shook his head, promised himself a vacation after the next big score, then clicked the light on and began searching for more valuables.
Just as he pulled the stereo out so he could disconnect the wires, clear as a bell he heard, "Jesus is watching you." Freaked out, he shone his light around frantically, looking for the source of the voice. Finally, in the corner of the room, his flashlight beam came to rest on a parrot.
"Did you say that?" He hissed at the parrot.
"Yep," the parrot confessed, then squawked, "I'm just trying to warn you."
The burglar relaxed. "Warn me, huh? Who in the world are you?"
"Moses," replied the bird."Moses?" the burglar laughed. "What kind of people would name a bird Moses?"
“The same kind of people that would name a Rottweiler Jesus."
Would we make different choices in our lives if we knew, “Jesus is watching us!”?
Holiness is the lifestyle we choose because we do know, “JESUS IS WATCHING US!”
GOOD THINGS HAPPEN WHEN YOU SHARE YOUR LUNCH
I am a servant, getting ready for my part
There’s been a change, a rearrangement in my heart
At last I’m learning there’s no returning once I start
To live’s a privilege, to love is such an art
But I need Your help to start
Oh please purify my heart
I am Your servant
--Larry Norman
There is a tale of an old German schoolmaster who, when he entered his class of boys in the morning, used to remove his cap and bow ceremoniously to them. One asked him why he did this. His answer was: "You never know what one of these boys may some day become." He was right--because one of them was Martin Luther.
We were put o the earth to make a contribution, not just to consume resources. God designed us to make a difference. And we best do that by serving others. Jesus measures greatness in this life in terms of service, by how many people we serve – not how many serve us. So, how can we be the “real” servants Jesus wants us to be?
1. Real servants make themselves available to serve.
2. Real servants are faithful.
3. Real servants think like Jesus.
4. Real servants pay attention to needs.
(John 6:9) There's a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?
We probably miss many occasions for ministry because we aren’t paying attention to the needs around us. Great opportunities to serve don’t last too long, and when they are gone they may never return again.
John Wesley said this, "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can. "
And we do this by paying attention.
A Brazilian pastor sat in the sun in his garden. It was a rare quiet moment. He was reading his Bible and praying. A tapping at the door broke the silence.
He sat silently, hoping the person would go away. The gentle tapping resumed.
Grumpily he walked to the door, opening it with a scowl behind his face. It was a street kid.
“Sir, may I please have a little bread?” The pastor almost said no. But he couldn’t. Curtly he told the kid to “stay here”.
He went to his kitchen and got a small piece of bread, returned, and handed it to the kid. “Here. Now don’t bother me again.”
Walking back toward his garden and his Bible, the pastor passed the window and glanced out. There was the boy, carefully dividing the bread into even smaller pieces, sharing them with three younger street kids.
Tears flowing, the pastor invited the kids in. Begging for forgiveness, he shared bread, milk, and cheese. He asked their names and listened to their stories. Today in that Brazilian city every street kid knows there’s a church and a pastor who will never turn him or her away.
To be a servant, we need to keep three important things in mind:
1) Be aware of what we have and thank God
2) Be aware of those around us who need what we have
3) Good things happen when you share your lunch
And being a “real” servant is just that – SHARING YOUR LUNCH.
DEAD FAITH
It is possible to be homiletically brilliant, verbally fluent,
theologically profound, biblically orthodox … and spiritually useless.
--G. Campbell Morgan
A minister was approached by a man who wanted to join the church. “But,” the man said, “I have a very busy schedule. I can’t be called on for any service, such as committee work, teaching, or singing in the choir. I just won’t be available for special projects or to help with setting up chairs or things like that. And I’m afraid I’ll never be bale to go on visitation, as my evenings are all tied up.”
The minister thought for a moment, then replied, “I believe you are at the wrong church. The church you are looking for is three blocks down the street, on the right.”
The man followed the preacher’s directions and soon came to an abandoned, boarded up, closed church building. It was a dead church – gone out of business.
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (James 2:15-17)
God calls us to an active faith. His gift of salvation should point us toward good behavior. According to the Faith in Action Study Bible, this passage gives us a three-step action plan.
1) Control our speech
2) Look after society’s voiceless and vulnerable
3) Avoid the spiritual pollution of our fallen world
When we look at the world around us, even when we look at our community around us, it can be easy to see so much pain and suffering that we think there is nothing we can possibly do to help. But we are not as helpless as we might think.
I think of a story I heard about a football team. The defensive captain would take new members of the defense by the facemask and ask them what their assignment was. They would answer, “stop the other team from scoring”, or “don’t give up a lot of yardage”, or other comments like that.
The captain would then mark out a ten-foot square in the dirt around their position on the field and growl, “No, your job is to knock down anyone who comes into your space!” If all members of the defense did that, then the overall goal of not giving up a lot of yardage and keeping the other team from scoring would be reached.
That is very much like our jobs here on earth. God has not called us to solve every problem. But He has called us to do what we can where we are. What one thing can you do to combine your faith with action?
GIVE US YOUR TIRED...
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, with conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand a mighty woman with a torch, whose flameis the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame, "Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she with silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
(Emma Lazarus)
For the uninformed, these words greet every visitor to the shores of the United States of America. Countless millions of immigrants passed by them on their way into America. These words are at the base of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
These are the words of the Declaration of Independence. This document stated the intention of Great Britain’s American colonies to self-govern. Roughly 14% of the 56 men who signed the Declaration had immigrated to America at some point in their life.
In fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
Columbus. An Italian who made his way to the Americas by way of Spain.
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Abraham Lincoln penned these words as a speech to dedicate a military cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. At the time, our country was embroiled in a great conflict over, among other things, the status of certain immigrants (so to speak).
This land is your land This land is my landFrom California to the New York island; From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters This land was made for you and Me.
In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people, By the relief office I seen my people; As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking Is this land made for you and me?
Somewhere between the opening chorus and closing verse of Woody Guthrie’s great anthem is where we are now as a society. Between the statement, “this land was made for you and me”, and the question, “is this land made for you and me?”
Some would argue that the changes to “the land made for you and me” threaten the very nature of the land. Others want to know whom the “you and me” refers to?
Our country is currently consumed with a debate regarding immigration. Now, in order to not sound like a despicable racist, some try to say it is only about illegal immigration. But, that does sound very much like a ruse to me. And we should not stoop to the “illegals take American jobs”, “illegals only take jobs Americans don’t want”, or “Americans would want the jobs if illegals didn’t lower the market” arguments. None of that is the real issue.
The real issue is can be seen in these facts from World Vision’s Faith In Action Study Bible.
- In some countries of the world over 94% of school age girls are not in school, while over 99% of girls in America are
- The average student-teacher ratio in some areas can be as high as 250 to 1, while in America the ratio is 17 to 1
- Over 90% of American adults are literate, while in developing countries the literacy rate is less than 10%
- Outside of America 5 children die of preventable illness every 15 seconds
- 1 in 7 people in developing countries go hungry, while Americans spend $20 billion a year on ice cream (enough money to feed 83 million children for a year)
- Nearly 3 billion people live on less than $2 a day
- More than 1 billion live on less than $1 a day
- But on a list of the 22 most affluent countries, America ranks last in providing foreign aid to the developing world
Is there any doubt as to why, in the words of Emma Lazarus, “the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse, the homeless, the tempest-tost” are literally dying in an effort to get to America and possibly make a better life for their family? Can we blame them? Would we not do the same if the situation was reversed, and it was our kid going to bed hungry, without an education or a hope for the future? And would we stop to consider immigration law if our family’s life was at stake?
What would God have to say on this topic? Look in Leviticus 19:33-34. Don't mistreat any foreigners who live in your land. Instead, treat them as well as you treat citizens and love them as much as you love yourself. Remember, (your ancestors) were once foreigners in the land (too).
Yes, in this era of terrorism, we need to better secure our borders. But many of those who are here illegally are honest, hard-working people. If they have committed no other crime than to be here illegally, we need to practice some civility. Give them a helping hand in their quest to provide the life for the future generations of their family that many of our ancestors provided for us. Remember, it wasn’t too long ago in our country that these statements would have possibly impacted our grandparents and great-grandparents:
- Irish need not apply
- No Chinese
- Catholics not welcome
- Jews not welcome
- Coloreds not served
Keep in mind these words of Scripture from Revelation 7:9, 21:4. After this, I saw a large crowd with more people than could be counted. They were from every race, tribe, nation, and language, and they stood before the throne and before the Lamb. They wore white robes and held palm branches in their hands, He will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever.
This land was made for you and me, whoever you and me are, wherever you and me are originally from.
JESUS WEPT?
When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he scolded them for their lack of faith in Him and their lack of belief in the resurrection. He spoke harshly to them and said, “Quit your crying. I can’t believe you. Your loved one is with the Father now, in a better place. You shouldn’t be crying for them! This is a time for celebration.”
The above “scripture” is from John 11. The setting is the death of Jesus’ friend, Lazarus. And, no, Jesus did not really respond that way I have underlined. The Bible says when Jesus saw the mourners he had compassion on them. In response to their grief, and as an outlet of His own grief, John 11:35 says, Jesus wept.
Now it does say, when He encountered Martha in her grief, He reminded her of the resurrection. But when he encountered Mary in her grief, He wept. I think he wept for her, with her, and in addition to her. But why did He not “weep” with Martha?
The clue to that could lie in an encounter with them when Martha grew upset because Mary was not helping prepare dinner for Jesus and His followers. Mary was worshipping at the feet of Jesus, and Jesus commended her for that.
So, now, when He responds to Martha in her grief, He knows He is responding to a “worker-bee” type personality. It would comfort that type of person to remember that he was not gone forever. That she would see him again. But for Mary, the tender and compassionate worshipful one, a tender and compassionate response was more appropriate.
But do you notice something? Jesus did not respond to either of these women according to His personality or needs. He responded to them according to their personality and needs. He was God. He did not need a compassionate, tender response. He did not need a lesson on the resurrection. He already knew Lazarus was about to “get up”. Why didn’t he just comfort them with that news? Because Jesus meets people where they are and comforts them in a way most appropriate for them.
Also notice that Jesus, in verse 35, didn’t “get misty eyed”, or “tear up”. The Bible says He wept. This suggests to me a “gut-level” cry. A kind of cry that says, “This was my friend, and now I am not going to have him around anymore.” Which is strange considering Jesus is God. He knew what was about to happen. He had planned what was about to happen. Is there something to be learned about our grieving process from this story? Well, duh!
I write this because in my wife’s family we have just had 3 deaths in 2 months. And the types of responses she has gotten from some of her friends has been interesting, to say the least. Is there a rule somewhere that the longer a person who is grieving has been a Christian, the less compassionate their friends can be? Or is the rule that the amount of compassion is to be directly the inverse of the combined Christian walk of the one who is grieving and their friends.
If Jesus Himself can weep with those who weep, and even weep for His own loss (no matter how temporary it was), why can’t we weep for our loss? There is an old saying that goes, “Don’t be so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good”. I think it definitely applies to situations of loss and grief. Let a person cry if they need to cry. Comfort them according to their personality. Don’t satisfy yourself with an attitude that basically says, “This is the way I would want it, so that is the way I will give it”. If we are Christians, be Christians – “like Christ”. And Christ wept.
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