"the gods pleasure, performance, and pain"

i am sitting in barnes n' noble cafe on campus sipping on a fresh-brewed, free cup of coffee.  the barista was a doll.  she said, thank you for being patient, it's on the house.  what a complete day changer! thank you beautiful barista lady, i really want to ask where you got your flow-y flower shirt.  i am about to take my final exam for my "reading content" online summer graduate course.  i wanted to share with you a blog that i adore.  i was browsing older posts while chowing down on my bagel sandwich.

please take some time and read the blog post, "the gods of pleasure, performance, and pain."  you can get to the blog by clicking the quote in the gray textbox below.

there are no other words to describe what i have read between the lines of jeff bethke's blog, except for "thank you so very much."

if you feel led, read the blog post and then comment on my blog as to what you think.  i'm hungry for some fellowship and interaction with you.

i hope this blog post is liberating for you, just as it was for me.  the author and his wife do a fabulous job writing the words of jesus and tugging at your heart strings when you least expect it.

"forgiveness is an attribute of the strong"

surprise, surprise! i'm at the one and only strange brew coffeehouse.  i regard this place as home.  truly.  i spend more time at strange brew, on average, than any other place.  lately i have been mulling over forgiveness.  i'm not sure if the Lord has placed the concept of "forgiveness" on the forefront of my mind because there is someone i need to forgive or it is a lesson i still have yet to master (ha, will i ever!?), but getting into the meaning and reason behind forgiveness has liberated me in more ways than one.  grab your coffee and take a few minutes to reflect on forgiveness with me.

click picture for strange brew coffee

forgiving a person who has "done us wrong" is not, and never will be, an easy thing to do.  we are humans, we are imperfect, we have emotions that boil over without warning, we are impulsive beings, we have this bogus sense of entitlement.  needless to say, we have a difficult time forgiving people and simply letting go of the past.

is this true in your life?

in my life, i know this is only just breaching the very surface of truth.  i like to think of myself as a readily forgiving person, but when i dig only a little deeper, there are past issues– which i won't divulge– that have been festering in my heart and tearing up my insides because i have simply not forgiven myself and/or the offender.  as my university minister told me yesterday, if something is wrong in one area of your life, you are absolutely unable to compartmentalize it (oh, but we certainly try).  whatever is nagging you, whatever sin is shaming you, whatever you are hiding, or failing to deal with will pervade every aspect of you entire life, no matter how minuscule or magnificent.

for me, when i fail to forgive someone, i only bring others down. misery loves company as they say.  not that i even intentionally mean to bring others down, but if i am angry, everyone else better be angry with me! (my stupid sense of entitlement kicking in).  failing to forgive myself is actually worse in my life, but that is because i find myself offending myself and God more than i hurt others.  i bottle things up and when the cork finally gets loose, i explode affecting (mostly in a negative way) everyone around me, every avenue of my life is affected: running, school, friendships, relationships, and most importantly, my walk with Christ is blocked.

God has been so kind, tolerant, and patient with us (romans 2:4) that is should only be are joy to be kind, tolerant, and patient with other people.  but.....we bring in the whole human aspect of it all.  we all make mistakes, we all offend people, we all are careless with emotions, but praise jesus that he has removed our sins–forgiven us–as far as the east is from the west (psalm 103:12).  so shouldn't we delight in emulating Him directly by overlooking someone's faults against us, as He has so mercifully forgiven us?

peter asks Jesus how often he should forgive someone who has done him wrong.  Peter suggests 7 times.  okay hold up, if someone does me wrong SEVEN times, i most likely have already burned the bridge and forever separated myself from that person.  peter suggests forgiving them SEVEN times! how amusing.  peter thought he was being generous here, probably smiling and waiting for the Messiah to pat him on the back uttering the words, "well done," but what does Jesus do?  he says, "UHH....NO! HELLO PETER! YOU SHOULD FORGIVE SOMEONE 70 TIMES 7 TIMES!" (my interpretation of matthew 18:22)  this blows my mind.  sit there and sip on your morning coffee while taking in just  exactly how many times you should forgive those who "trespass against you."  490 times, if you did the math.  that is more times than i can comprehend, so basically, jesus is saying, forgive yourself and forgive everyone else as many times as it takes, forever. uh.....ok.

to get real, having our feelings hurt does more than just "hurt," per se.  it can cause us to slip into a domino effect of more sin, only further separating us from jesus.

forgiving ourselves and others is not just something we should do when we feel like it, or when we are convicted about it, or when the time is right, or when he/she asks for forgiveness first.  no, humble yourself before the King of Kings and you forgive yourself and forgive others, now, for whatever it may be. remember, seventy times seven.  there is such freedom in confession and in forgiveness, it can reunite relationships, it restores peace, it allows you to grow emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.  it certainly is not easy, but as a genuine believer in jesus christ, it is your "responsibility" or rather your joy to accept someone's apology or turn the other check in times of betrayal.

brew on some scripture
 • john 8
 • matthew 6: 14-15
 • 1 john 1:9
 • acts 3:19
 • micah 7:18-19
 • mark 11:25

we are ONE body

i'm (not surprisingly) at strange brew drinking the finest house blend in all of the world.  i am meditating on parts of our sermon yesterday.  i have tried to elaborate on what chip taught us yesterday.  lately i have been asked about my denomination, what i agree/don't agree with in my denomination, and my stance on certain issues like predestination.  my honest response? "uh.....i don't know and i don't care, i just want to love jesus more."  maybe i should care? but i still don't. (smh)  issues like that and denominational differences are not important to me.  i truly just want to love jesus more. maybe i will one day have an interest in sorting out the major differences in the body of christ, but for right now, i love jesus and want to focus on loving him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength.  so here i sit, sipping on strange brew house blend, meditating....

house blend and forgiveness

if you are like me, you are set in your ways and your views and denomination as a jesus follower.  you regularly attend your home church, rarely branching out to other denominations.  i grew up in a non-denominational mega church in indianapolis.  it was perfect for me growing up because of the enticing youth group, but past that, jesus was no more real to me than were my barbies and fairy tales.  that time in my adolescent life could be labeled "unfruitful" but i was able to learn the beautiful reality of the gospel.  my college years presented countless opportunities for me to fall and stand, fall and stand, fall and stand.  a vicious cycle of trying to be self-dependent, but after exhausting all possibilities and going through all the motions, when i became absolutely broken, jesus became real to me.

the more i seek You, the more i find You; the more i find You, the more i love You

i was forced to figure out who jesus REALLY was, or waste away lonely, broken, leading a life of pretending.  i was determined to know who jesus was and who he was not as defined by cultural "christians" and slanderous media.  i set out on my journey, meeting strong, real jesus lovers along the way.  

i was adopted into the baptist church here in starkville, and this is where i have been growing for the past few years.  however,  i attend a wesley bible study, a non-denominational wednesday night service, a methodist church when i visit memphis, and am strengthened in fellowship with presbyterian friends.  wow, how eclectic is the body of christ!

"the human body has many parts, but the many parts make up only one body.  so it is with the body of christ.  some of us are jews, some are gentiles, some are slaves. and some are free.  but we have all been baptized into christ's body by one Spirit, and we have all received the same Spirit"
 –1 corinthians 12:12-13

"but God made our bodies with many parts, and he had put each part just where he wants it.  what a strange thing a body would be if it had only one part! yes there are many parts, but only one body."
–1 corinthians 12:18-20

"if one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad."
–1 corinthians 12:26

we are the body of christ, and until we recognize that we are all working together for the one purpose of glorifying and furthering the Kingdom of Heaven, there will be no real harmony among God's people.  we all have different gifts, unique personalities, special qualities that God uses to strengthen and advance his Kingdom.  

i say "we" in the context that you are a christ-follower because true christ-followers believe that there is only one Way, Truth, and Life and that no one is able to get to Heaven on their own accord, they must believe that Jesus died on the cross bridging the gap between our hopeless existence and his eternal satisfaction.  

we are the body of christ

denominations have been fighting for years over whose theology is the most sound, whose music is better, who can acquire the most disciples, and who has the most community involvement or best youth programs.  we are the body of christ, why do any of these questions matter!? we are all working together for one cause. we are all loving the same Savior.  if we continue to bash each other, we are only creating divisions in the church.  if one part suffers, we all suffer.  instead, the body of christ should be working in harmony.  here in starkville, i see the churches working almost effortlessly together.  so many of our christian churches here partner together, even when the denominations are different.

in 1 corinthians 12:12-13, you could very easily replace "jews, gentiles, slave, free" with the different denominations of true christianity.  as i said before, i have been involved in several different denominations.  i prefer to go to a non-denominational church that takes communion every sunday, baptizes new brothers and sisters in service, sings contemporary christian music with a loud band, where the echo of turning bible pages can be heard loud, and where i can worship with brothers and sisters who love raising/clapping their hands to the Maker of all.  this is what i prefer, but i know i can grow at any church where the gospel is being preached.  though the music at my church here in starkville is not my number one choice, this house of God preaches the gospel boldly and gets in your face for real world application.  i am able to grow significantly here, and i hope my growth is evident day in and day out by the choice i make and the convictions i act on.  

let's face it.  we are all different.  would you WANT to be the same as your sister, your brother, your best friend?  of course you wouldn't because then you wouldn't be YOU!  as christians, not only are the denominations in which we choose to grow different and unique, but each individual making up the local church has unique and different skill sets and gifts.  reader, please embrace those!  see it as your duty to represent jesus in every way possible with every quality jesus has blessed you with.  because you don't possess a gift that some one else has, don't try to emulate those skills.  work with what YOU have in order to carry out your purpose in life: glorify jesus.  if you are a foot, go. if you are an eye, see.  but if you are a foot, don't try to see.  do what jesus needs you to do, you were uniquely designed for THAT purpose.

WHAT A STRANGE THING A BODY WOULD BE IF IT HAD ONLY ONE PART!

i am set free

let us never forget that there is nothing that we can personally do to bridge the gap between us and God. we must admit our shortcomings, our failures, our guilts and allow Jesus to radically transform our lives, our hearts.

there is NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING, that we can do on our own accord to be made right with God. nothing. it does not matter how many hours you log at your local shelter house, how much food you donate to the food pantry, how many times you have been over seas on missions trips, how many sundays you go to church. it doesn't matter if you completely abstain from drinking alcohol, if you call yourself a christian, if you get straight A's, if you make 6 figures, if you give all your money to the poor.  it doesn't matter if you appear to be a better person than every person around you, if you do better things than your neighbor, if you are more kind and generous and loving than every other person on this earth.   there is nothing you can personally do to bring you any closer to jesus or can cause him to love you any more or less than he abundantly does.

it is a heart condition.

you can not make your heart right with God on your own accord.  you're not perfect.  i'm not perfect. the God of israel has not given us a set of rules to abide by and IF we meet them ALL, then and only then can we be reunited with him.  NO, the God of israel has come down to meet us where we are. no other "god" can claim this. the God of israel loves us DESPITE our shortcomings, our fears and failures, our perverted minds, and our detestable actions.  he over looks our past when we come before him broken and dependent. let us never forget that our chains of slavery, our shackles of shame, and our bonds of self-righteous can be broken once and for all when we come humbly before God and confess that Jesus' death on the cross is sufficient for salvation.

 • we are made right in God's sight when we trust in jesus christ to take away our sins.  and we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done. –romans 3:22

 • for God sent jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God's anger against us.  we are made right with God when we believe that jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us. God was being entirely fair and just when he did not punish those who sinned in former times.  and he is entirely fair and just in this present time when he declares sinners to be right in his sight because they believe in jesus.  –romans 3:25-26

 • so w are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law –romans 3:28
 • for it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. –romans 10:10

 • there was a time when some of you were just like that, but now your sins have been washed away, and you have been set apart for God.  you have been made right with God because of what the Lord jesus christ and the spirit of our God have done for you.  –1 corinthians 6:11

it is for Freedom that we have been set free.

June with Jesus

good morning faith family.  i hope your june is off to a great start.  this is an older post that i wrote at the beginning of the month and failed to post until now.  forgive me.  i cannot wait to share with you all that jesus has been doing in my life.

it is interesting how through your life, you can have different themes for the various phases you go through. here are the melodies that my life is singing right now.

1. guard your heart

2. obey! obey! obey!

3. consult the Lord in everything

4. plant seeds wherever you go

june is going to be an interesting month.  i don't know about you, but i have never had a consistently solid prayer life.  when i think about it, i'm ashamed.  i spend time with jesus through reading the bible and talking with other people who love jesus about what He is doing in their life; however, i am missing one of the biggest lifelines to my savior.  if i had to rate my prayer life on a scale of 1-10, i would genuinely give it a 4.  i pray at meals and i will randomly pray either out of desperation or because something is on my mind.  when i say that i want my prayer life to be transformed, i mean i want God to do something radical.  the discipline of pray doesn't just come over night.  setting aside time to daily pray will take some pulling of the hair and sacrificing personal time, but i am finally ready to take the plunge because i am aching and hurting and longing for a deeper relationship with jesus.  

i have designated june the month to kickstart this lifetime movement.  if there is anything that is laid on your heart and you need prayer for it, please, tell me.  i am honored to pray for you and i am looking forward to the opportunity i have to pray for you and any situation you may find yourself in.  most of all, i am excited to see how God moves through my life and those for whom i pray.  

through this month of june, i hope to be able to say my prayer life has been advanced to a 5 or higher.  i just want to draw nearer to the One who has given me more than i could ever repay.  i want to talk to my Friend, i want to ask the Healer for healing, i want to be comforted by the Comforter, i want to be disciplined by my Father, i want to be lead by the Light.  i know that direct communication with my jesus will transform my walk with Him into a run.