Where You're Told You Just Shouldn't Go

It's time to do some more late-night writing. Here are a couple Scriptures that I read today along with other verses I've read the past few days. (It's amazing how God reveals new things to you each time you read His Word)

"¹⁵ To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. ¹⁶ They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.^"   Titus 1:15-16

I've got to say, I have a hard time with these verses...not because of what they say so much, but because of what I've been taught by churches all my life (and didn't understand until I was an adult). We are often taught, as Christians, not to judge others. This comes from the Scripture, Judge not lest ye be judged... But, that Scripture, if you read the entire context, is talking about hypocrisy. It is saying, "Hey, don't judge others when you yourself are doing the same thing (maybe secretly, but still the same!) or you will be judged too...only worse because you were judging them for the exact same things!" Since those are my words and not the Bible's, here is what the Scripture in Matthew actually says:

" ¹ “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

   ³ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." Matthew 7:1-5

Now, that being said...the Scripture in Titus is convicting to read anyway (along with other similar ones in other books), but if I know people who match this sad description, and need to be corrected gently to change, what then? We've been taught so much by the out-of-context verse about not judging others, even though Jesus Himself said we would know Him by His fruits, that it's easy not to say anything out of fear we will be accused of being judgmental...  And there are even harder verses that tell us we need to correct them gently, and sometimes even stop associating with them that they will be convicted...this is hard stuff! Especially today, when this kind of thing is SO common!

So here it is....Do you claim to be a Christian? If so, have you read Jesus' teachings, and follow them? There's a lot there... 
See, becoming a "Christian," "getting saved," or becoming a "Christ follower" starts with believing, accepting, cleansing, repenting, and following. 

Believing isn't enough by itself...
"Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.²⁰ You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?" James 2:18b-20 (read that whole thing, it's good!)
 The Bible is quite clear about that...it also covers good deeds without faith and how useless that is.

There's a point that believing also needs to become accepting... this is the point that most churches call the Sinner's Prayer. It is acknowledging that God is GOD, Jesus is the Son of God, He died for you and to cleanse you of your sins, and rose again, then accepting Him as your Savior, confessing your sins and that you are a sinner who deserves hell, asking for forgiveness and cleansing, and inviting the Holy Spirit to come in and take over.

A lot of people think it ends there, but it doesn't, that is just the beginning of it all. Then comes the repenting part.... The following is Webster's definition of repent: "To turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one's life. 2. a : to feel regret or contrition b : to change one's mind..." You regret and you CHANGE. Turn away from ungodliness and become pure...

"¹ Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.⁵ Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶ Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. ⁷ You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. ⁸ But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹ Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ¹¹ Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Colossians 3: 1-14

Finally, follow Christ's example daily, not because you HAVE TO DO IT, but because you are in love with Christ and WANT to do it. "11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." Titus 2:11-14

If this is you, then go ahead and call yourself a Christian, saved, or Christ follower. Otherwise, you bring judgement on yourself by claiming to know God, while denying Him by your actions, and make yourself even more guilty by leading others astray in the process. I pray God will open your eyes, ears, mind, and heart.... THERE IS SO MUCH MORE. God IS alive and IS active; He sees you, knows you, and you CANNOT hide from him....not even your deepest secrets and thoughts can be hidden from God. He knows.

From a Foster Momma's Heart to Yours

I have had some time to do some deep thinking about some things, and recent happenings have made me think about it more.

I was trying to think of a way to describe to a biological parent, how it feels to be a foster parent in a way they could understand. A lot of times I get questions of, "Does it feel the same as it would if they were your child?" "Do you think it's different for a biological parent?" "I don't know if I could ever love that child as much as I love my own...do you?" etc. I have a hard time with letting people know how I feel (I'm not a feelings kind of person anyway) about my foster children...especially since I'm open to adoption. I finally came up with something that could describe it...and forgive me if this is too much for you to take. Being a foster parent is like... think of your baby, your child, your little girl or little boy...how much do you love them? I would hope you would say you love them more than you could ever begin to describe, which is how I feel. Now, imagine your child is playing on a railroad track and there is a train coming. You would gladly throw yourself in front of that train to push the child out of the way, knowing it could very well kill you in the process.....but you're tied down and can't do that.

Painful image, but I think it gets the point across. That is seriously the best way I can describe the difference between good biological parents and good foster parents (note the good ones).

A while back there was an article going around facebook. All the moms were liking it and saying how relieved they were to read it. I read it, but didn't know what I thought about it... It was an article from a mom who was stopped in a store and told to cherish every minute of being a parent. It then went on to say things about how it is ok not to love and cherish every minute of it, and quite frankly is normal not to do so. (Please understand, I'm really not bashing on this article.) Although I agree that in most cases, it is sadly true that we don't love and cherish every minute as parents, I can't say it is ok or that it should be normal. In fact, I think it should be abnormal. We all have our moments, but seriously, let's think about this.

At the beginning of my foster parenting, I had a lot of those minutes of totally not cherishing and loving it...when a baby is going crazy and you just want a minute of sleep, it can be tough. But something changed that for me. We lost one...we lost one to a very horrible and terrifying situation...we had to watch that train hit while being tied down. Something changed in me when that happened. Something that I wish had changed before that. The reality of being a foster parent set in. I realized that at any moment, any minute, my precious foster children could easily be taken away in that very same way, and I would have to watch that train hit all over again. It was at that time, I changed.

Every second, every minute, every hour, every day I have with these children is a HUGE, beyond belief blessing from God. And EVERY SINGLE MINUTE is something to be cherished forever. It is a gift. And at any minute, it can be taken away from me forever.

Since then, even in the crazy times, even in the middle of the night when they just won't sleep, even when you have a million things to do and they just want YOU, I love it. When I catch myself starting to grumble or feel frustrated, I remember reality, and I give them a big hug and kiss and thank God for every minute of it. I thank God for every minute I have with them.

Biological parents, please understand... Your child CAN be taken from you at any minute too. This life is no guarantee for you or for your children. I watch as I see parents take it for granted that their children ARE theirs and nothing can change that....but forgetting that we have no control over time, life, or what happens. Love your children EVERY MINUTE, love EVERY MINUTE with your children no matter what, and cherish every second you have on this earth with them, because it is a gift from God.
(Note: do not move on to the next section if you need time to think about this.)

From One Spouse to Another

Now to the part that hits the hardest for me right now... love your spouse, love every minute with your spouse, and cherish every second you have on this earth with them, because it is a gift from God. I am now learning and pray changing in this part as well. It is easy to take your spouse for granted, and it is true that the ones you love the most and are around the most are also the ones you can hurt the most and treat the worst. But the cold hard fact of this life is that it is not guaranteed to last here on this earth for very long...not even another minute is guaranteed on this earth. Do you treat your spouse in a way that if tomorrow they are gone, you would have no regrets? Do you treat them in a way that if tomorrow you are gone, they would have no regrets? It saddens me to think of my answer to these questions. I am praying and working today to change this now.

(Note: again, do not move on to the next section if you need time to think about this.)

From One Christ Follower to Another

Take it even further... love everyone in your life, love every minute with everyone in your life, and cherish every second you have on this earth with them, because it is a gift from God. As believers and followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to love one another...love our neighbor as ourselves, love everyone around us, love everyone not around us...LOVE. "...The greatest of these is love..." We are to blaze Christ's Love to everyone. Love everyone in your life, love every minute with everyone in your life, and cherish every second you have on this earth with them, because it is a gift and opportunity from God. (Remember Matthew 25:31-46 & 1 Corinthians 13)


Note: I separated these three thoughts because I don't want them to blur together and take the seriousness and need for change out of each one of them. I even considered making them separate posts. Please try not to blur them together.


Sources: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glennon-melton/dont-carpe-diem_b_1206346.html; www.biblegateway.com