I am a “comfortable” Christian. There I said it….I’m not proud of it – but now the truth is out there.
I love God, believe in His Word and I am constantly amazed at His sacrifice for me. But when it comes to standing up for what I believe in, I get quiet. I don’t want to offend anyone, step on someone’s toes…and if I am honest, (sigh) lose readers here.
I do want this to be a place of encouragement, where I can share my faith journey and hopefully give light to someone who is hurting. But God doesn’t call us to be silent about His Truth’s.
Facebook and the media have exploded recently over talk of equal rights and supporting gay marriage and supporting the woman’s “right to choose abortion”. Talk of Victoria’s Secret and their new “line” targeted at young pre-teen girls….As a society we want to make sin, of all kinds, “ok”….to sweep it under the rug, and I honestly feel sick at times about all of it and wonder what kind of world we are raising our kids in?
Here we are just a few days from Good Friday and there are more people changing their FB picture to an “equal” sign than showing reverence for the sacrifice that Christ made for us.
I think for many of us (even me included at times), we fail to reflect on just why we have “Easter” to celebrate in the first place.
And we fail to consider that Christ made such an unimaginable sacrifice on our behalf.
Because of our sin.
Romans 3:23 “For ALL (my emphasis added) have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.”
That includes me – trust me, I am all too aware of my daily sin. I sin with my attitude towards my husband and my children, I sin every time I get angry and hurt someone with my words. I sin when I am unkind and unloving, judgmental and “conditional”….the list goes on and on.
I am acutely aware that even as a “Christian”, I am a sinner in need of daily grace.
But I don’t have to stay in that pit. There is hope!!
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
THAT my friends should be our FB status. That God, a God with all power and authority – who could literally crush me at any moment, loved me so much that he gave the ultimate sacrifice – his only Son, to be scourged and beaten to within inches of His life, to be nailed to a cross, to die for the sin of all mankind – then and now, past, present and future.
Can you even wrap your arms around the weight of that?
And how do we show our gratitude?
As a society, we look out for Number 1. We are selfish and self-centered. We want what we want, when we want it. We are told that the Bible is a book of the past and shouldn’t be honored in “modern times”, God is being removed anything “Public” as to not offend someone with different beliefs….and we just take that sacrifice and spit in the face of it as we bathe in our sin of “what’s in it for me”.
Hear me on this (if you are even still with me) I recognize that any finger it may seem I have pointed at you there are 3 more pointed back at me. I have been guilty of the same. I am NOT judging you. I can love the sinner and hate the sin. But I have been convicted of these truths in recent days and can’t stay quiet about it.
You see, through trials I didn’t think we would survive, and in good times that seem too abundant, God has reached in and touched my soul in a way that I can’t fully explain. He has made beauty out of what was once ashes and I can no longer walk unrepentant.
Acts 3:19 “ Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord”.
Yes God sacrificed for me and in humbleness I must do the same. Turn from my sin, my pride…repent and follow Him with my whole heart.
And walk unafraid. My only concern should be how my heart is with God and not how many people “like” my page, or “friend” me and “follow” me here.
Lord I come to you ugly and broken, filled with more of the world and not enough of You. Give me the strength to be fearless in You – no matter the cost. Thank you for caring enough about me to send Christ to this world so that there isn’t an “end” when I die. Only hope and promise. Thank you for reminding me what is really important in this life, I can’t express my gratitude enough Lord.
Isaiah 53:1-12 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression[a] and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.[b]
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes[c] his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life[d] and be satisfied[e];
by his knowledge[f] my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,[g]
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,[h]
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
*** I am attaching a link to the end of this post to a YouTube video from the Passion of the Christ movie. As a warning this is NOT a scene for young children to see – it is the “whipping” scene…and it is difficult to watch. But doesn’t that make Chris’t sacrifice so much more amazing? I am humbled and awed at His love for me…..***
AMEN! You have just put into words what I have been feeling and haven’t been able to get out yet. I have been sick with a virus for two days and couldn’t believe all of the things I saw on Facebook this morning. I too have been a quiet Christian, trying not to hurt anyone’s feelings but I feel God calling me out. It is time to stand up for what is right and to remind people what he did for us. The ultimate sacrifice!
Yes M’am! It was a hard post for me to write too. I don’t want to lose the few readers I have. But I think that we have to make a stand. We are allowing everything to be taken over and it’s only going to get worse if we don’t start speaking out. You can’t continually throw a sin in God’s face without trying to really repent and work on it. We are ALL sinners. We are. I sin everyday but I also try to work on it and get better and not repeat the sin. And yes my attitude is my biggest one. It is and I admit it. And I work on it. It is becoming very hard for me to keep my mouth shut right now and let things pass.
Amen! Proud of you for writing this and proud to be your friend!
My friend, you are brave and I am so proud of you. You have challenged me to quit ignoring things but instead to be brave and speak Truth. Way to go! 🙂
So proud of you for your obedience!!! That’s big! Keep stepping out for God!!
Amen! I found your blog through Better Writers, and love that you tied in the equality movement. When I realized what that was about, I wanted to paraphrase 1 Cor 6:11, “And such WERE some of you, but NOW you’ve been washed and been made holy!” Good for you for speaking the truth and encouraging others to do the same.