First let me deal with some religious devils. Penis. Did that offend you? Good. The source of the offense needs to be exposed. The idea that somehow the medical term for a body part is inherently filthy is a demonic doctrine straight from the pit of hell. It is the carnal thought patterns stuck in your head that cause you to either fear or hate the penis. It may have been trauma or tragedy that taught you to disdain that body part or it may have simply been religious ignorance. Either way, God created it. Satan did not. Take a minute to get over it if you need to. I'll wait.
So what's the big deal about the penis? Well, like everything else about our body, it represents an aspect of God and relationship. He told me to look at it from a mechanical perspective first. The penis serves the purpose of connection or joining of one person to another. We are all familiar with this concept. A power plug has prongs on it that jut out so it can be connected or joined to the power-giving wall socket. God said in Genesis that a man will leave his parents and be JOINED to his wife. The two shall become ONE FLESH. The penis is one part of the connector that allows for the joining. The man gives, the woman receives. A connection is made and life is the result!
But there's more to it than that. God told Abraham that the sign of His covenant would be circumcision. What is circumcision? Well, every male is born with a sort of sheath of skin, like a hood, that covers the tip of a penis. Many don't realize it but while the foreskin is in tact, the tip of the penis is protected and remains extremely sensitive. When exposed by the pulling back of the foreskin, the penis, and therefore the man, is extremely vulnerable. The act of cutting away that layer of protection causes the tip of the penis to be FOREVER EXPOSED.
Now, circumcision no longer serves any purpose in the Kingdom. God said it would be a "sign" of the covenant. Since Abraham's time we've learned that all the signs pointed to the life we now live in communion with God. Circumcision was a prophetic picture, a living parable, of the way in which we are to come into the Kingdom and the way in which the Kingdom comes into us. Just as God commanded Abraham that any convert or newly purchased slave would have to be circumcised as a sign of their new identity, anyone entering the Kingdom of God because of Jesus would also have to be circumcised in the place with which they are joined to their love: the heart.
In Deuteronomy 30:6, God prophesies "The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live."
Paul says in Romans 2:29 "But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God."
Nothing is more important than our connection to Him. And without a completely vulnerable heart, we are unable to love Him as He desires. Sexual perversion is exceptionally heinous, not because it's twisted, but because of what it has twisted. Modesty and purity in our bodies was always meant to mirror modesty and purity with our connection to God. Though we can live without shame, we cover the parts of our body that we use to connect to our spouse because they are intended and set aside specifically for that person and that person alone. In the same way, we have a secret place, or marriage bed, with God. We have intercourse with the Lord in the spirit. He enters us and we enter Him and bliss and life are the result! The New Testament calls it fellowship and communion. We are told that in His presence if fullness of joy. What parallel in the natural does that sound like? We keep it secret and covered so that we remember it's only meant for Him. It is a sacrifice we make, just as in keeping our privates covered until married, that honors the one with whom we connect.
So, before you discuss the penis, understand that heaven does not see it as a weapon or a toy. Heaven sees it as a sign that points to inevitable and permanent joining.
Friday, May 8, 2015
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Replacement Therapy and Prayer
Sometimes the best way to learn something new is to deprive yourself of something old. Take handwriting, for example. People who lose their dominant hand in an accident eventually learn to write with their other hand. They have no choice. But did you know that you can do the same thing by discipline? If you are right-handed and want to learn to be ambidextrous, you can train yourself to write using your left hand by refusing to use your right! When we deny ourselves something for a period of time we can learn to do something completely new.
I wonder if the same principle holds true in the spirit? Jesus said we ought not do things for the praise of men. If we do, that praise is all we will ever get for our efforts. If we want true and lasting joy, we need to learn to have all things seen by our Father in heaven alone. But in a world where each of us were taught to have not only our sense of approval but also our sense of what's true subject to the judgement of people, how can we ever hope to learn to live our life in front of an audience of One? It's simple: Replacement Therapy.
If you read Isaiah 61:3, you'll notice that God keeps saying "I'll give you THIS instead of THAT." It seems to be His way. He replaced sin with righteousness, death with life, evil with good. He isn't a God that takes but a God that replaces! You trade in your substandard way for His excellent way and you become more like Him in the process. But how? Well, that's the part that requires trust and patience. You see, He won't give until there's an empty slot in your heart. Jesus said, "Let him first deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow Me." The word "first" is important. I can't receive His gift of fellowship until I give up any chance of fellowship with men. Admittedly, that's a long process. And He never wants to replace fellowship with men by excluding all men from our life. He just wants first place in the hierarchy. But that's another topic for another time.
What does this mean for relationship with God and what do I do about it? Good questions. What it means is that if we are to go deeper in the knowledge of Him, we need to make room. God is big. He takes up a LOT of space. How do we make space? Easy, deny yourself what you get from men and continue to seek Him. I used to think it was wise to tell people to pray different, but I was wrong. God showed me that people pray based upon their audience. He said, "If you pray knowing that you will discuss that prayer with someone at some point, it affects the way you pray." He told me, "Share none of what you say to Me with others until I say otherwise." When I asked Him why, He said, "Is prayer about your relationship with Me or your relationship with them?" He got me there.
Eventually I got to a place where I no longer admitted to or agreed to pray for anything openly to people. I would still minister to people in prayer in public but my time speaking to God became so private that nobody could tell what I prayed for or even how I prayed for it. I shared neither the purpose nor the outcome of my prayers. It was like I was a secret agent for the Kingdom. My secret place was so secret that not even my family knew when or if I was in prayer. An amazing thing happened in this time. I stopped having discussions about what I'm believing or praying for with other people and started having them directly with God. If I prayed and nothing seemed to be happening, I didn't ask anyone for help or advice or encouragement, I took it directly to The Management. No matter how frustrated I became, I made it His situation to deal with, face-to-face.
It was nerve-wracking at times. I would wonder if maybe I was doing something wrong. But I took Him at His word. He said He'd never leave me or abandon me. He said that Holy Spirit is my Teacher and that He would lead me into all truth. All of His promises inspired and encouraged me to lean directly upon Him to direct, mold, and shape my prayers. If He could not or would not lead me through this thing, well, then I was wrong about Him to begin with. Would He prove Himself strong on my behalf? Would He get messages through to me? Would He teach me Himself if I purposed to rely only upon Him? I didn't know for sure but I was tired of half-measures and double-mindedness. It was time to sink or swim, in Jesus' name.
He did not disappoint. In fact, one of the first things He said to me was, "Finally! Now we can get down to business." Understanding and revelation flowed. When I positioned myself to receive ONLY from God, He began building my trust in Him like never before. That's right, He earned my trust. I made Him my plan A and I burned the bridge behind me. There was no plan B. I was His or I was finished. I set out on this new journey to learn about prayer and I ended up learning about the person and character of Holy Spirit.
The biggest revelation I got was how intentional and cooperative God wants to be with us in prayer. I have heard many popular and respected speakers say that Holy Spirit wants to pray with us. The idea here is that we should not be firing off petitions we came up with ourselves but that we should ask Holy Spirit what He wants to pray about and then simply join Him. I also learned that not everything requires prayer. I've gotten into the habit of asking God, "Should I pray about this?" If He responds in the affirmative, my next question is, "What should I say? Should I declare or proclaim or petition or should I just rejoice? What's on Your heart for this situation, Lord?" There have been plenty of times when He's said to me, "This situation is already handled but I need someone to deliver a word of encouragement." There have been other times He's said, "I need you to go in person and love the people in that situation. I'll give you more detail when you get there."
So, ask Him if you should maybe try this out? Resolve to tell nobody when or if you are praying for them or anyone else. Don't discuss what you pray about or when. Don't ask for help from people in how to pray or when to pray. Deny yourself the benefit of your brothers and sisters in prayer for a time. Like Peter when he stepped out of the boat, it may seem insane but it may also afford you the chance to partner with Jesus in doing something you've never done before. If this idea delights you, give it a shot! If not, don't worry about it. Take what you can use and leave the rest. He is a better teacher than I am and I can assure you that He's doing a great job with you.
I wonder if the same principle holds true in the spirit? Jesus said we ought not do things for the praise of men. If we do, that praise is all we will ever get for our efforts. If we want true and lasting joy, we need to learn to have all things seen by our Father in heaven alone. But in a world where each of us were taught to have not only our sense of approval but also our sense of what's true subject to the judgement of people, how can we ever hope to learn to live our life in front of an audience of One? It's simple: Replacement Therapy.
If you read Isaiah 61:3, you'll notice that God keeps saying "I'll give you THIS instead of THAT." It seems to be His way. He replaced sin with righteousness, death with life, evil with good. He isn't a God that takes but a God that replaces! You trade in your substandard way for His excellent way and you become more like Him in the process. But how? Well, that's the part that requires trust and patience. You see, He won't give until there's an empty slot in your heart. Jesus said, "Let him first deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow Me." The word "first" is important. I can't receive His gift of fellowship until I give up any chance of fellowship with men. Admittedly, that's a long process. And He never wants to replace fellowship with men by excluding all men from our life. He just wants first place in the hierarchy. But that's another topic for another time.
What does this mean for relationship with God and what do I do about it? Good questions. What it means is that if we are to go deeper in the knowledge of Him, we need to make room. God is big. He takes up a LOT of space. How do we make space? Easy, deny yourself what you get from men and continue to seek Him. I used to think it was wise to tell people to pray different, but I was wrong. God showed me that people pray based upon their audience. He said, "If you pray knowing that you will discuss that prayer with someone at some point, it affects the way you pray." He told me, "Share none of what you say to Me with others until I say otherwise." When I asked Him why, He said, "Is prayer about your relationship with Me or your relationship with them?" He got me there.
Eventually I got to a place where I no longer admitted to or agreed to pray for anything openly to people. I would still minister to people in prayer in public but my time speaking to God became so private that nobody could tell what I prayed for or even how I prayed for it. I shared neither the purpose nor the outcome of my prayers. It was like I was a secret agent for the Kingdom. My secret place was so secret that not even my family knew when or if I was in prayer. An amazing thing happened in this time. I stopped having discussions about what I'm believing or praying for with other people and started having them directly with God. If I prayed and nothing seemed to be happening, I didn't ask anyone for help or advice or encouragement, I took it directly to The Management. No matter how frustrated I became, I made it His situation to deal with, face-to-face.
It was nerve-wracking at times. I would wonder if maybe I was doing something wrong. But I took Him at His word. He said He'd never leave me or abandon me. He said that Holy Spirit is my Teacher and that He would lead me into all truth. All of His promises inspired and encouraged me to lean directly upon Him to direct, mold, and shape my prayers. If He could not or would not lead me through this thing, well, then I was wrong about Him to begin with. Would He prove Himself strong on my behalf? Would He get messages through to me? Would He teach me Himself if I purposed to rely only upon Him? I didn't know for sure but I was tired of half-measures and double-mindedness. It was time to sink or swim, in Jesus' name.
He did not disappoint. In fact, one of the first things He said to me was, "Finally! Now we can get down to business." Understanding and revelation flowed. When I positioned myself to receive ONLY from God, He began building my trust in Him like never before. That's right, He earned my trust. I made Him my plan A and I burned the bridge behind me. There was no plan B. I was His or I was finished. I set out on this new journey to learn about prayer and I ended up learning about the person and character of Holy Spirit.
The biggest revelation I got was how intentional and cooperative God wants to be with us in prayer. I have heard many popular and respected speakers say that Holy Spirit wants to pray with us. The idea here is that we should not be firing off petitions we came up with ourselves but that we should ask Holy Spirit what He wants to pray about and then simply join Him. I also learned that not everything requires prayer. I've gotten into the habit of asking God, "Should I pray about this?" If He responds in the affirmative, my next question is, "What should I say? Should I declare or proclaim or petition or should I just rejoice? What's on Your heart for this situation, Lord?" There have been plenty of times when He's said to me, "This situation is already handled but I need someone to deliver a word of encouragement." There have been other times He's said, "I need you to go in person and love the people in that situation. I'll give you more detail when you get there."
So, ask Him if you should maybe try this out? Resolve to tell nobody when or if you are praying for them or anyone else. Don't discuss what you pray about or when. Don't ask for help from people in how to pray or when to pray. Deny yourself the benefit of your brothers and sisters in prayer for a time. Like Peter when he stepped out of the boat, it may seem insane but it may also afford you the chance to partner with Jesus in doing something you've never done before. If this idea delights you, give it a shot! If not, don't worry about it. Take what you can use and leave the rest. He is a better teacher than I am and I can assure you that He's doing a great job with you.
Friday, January 23, 2015
Jesus The Liberal
Does that title make you cringe? There was a time when it would have made me vomit. I've since learned some things about God. The most important of which is that He existed before man began creating political labels. Read this definition of the word "liberal" and see how many of those fit the Jesus written about in the gospels.
So, recently God has been talking to me about how those who love Him have completely missed His point and allowed themselves to become entangled in the affairs of this world. They've been baited into a debate that is crafted to distract us from the real issue by playing up the horror and tragedy of consequences in the natural. The only people who have the capacity to create real and lasting change have been taken captive by politics. It's a sinister strategy that attempts to keep us so carnally minded that we are spiritually ineffective. Constant exposure to horror, loss, tragedy, and carnage, elicits a fear or hate response from us and we make war against human beings in the name of God. The message coming from the world is so shocking that it traps us into a cycle of reacting. But you did not so learn Christ. The Kingdom is responsive, never reactive. So how do we break the cycle? Perhaps we need to look at the root of the ills of our society instead of just the symptoms. Maybe then the solution will be clear.
John 15:12
So, recently God has been talking to me about how those who love Him have completely missed His point and allowed themselves to become entangled in the affairs of this world. They've been baited into a debate that is crafted to distract us from the real issue by playing up the horror and tragedy of consequences in the natural. The only people who have the capacity to create real and lasting change have been taken captive by politics. It's a sinister strategy that attempts to keep us so carnally minded that we are spiritually ineffective. Constant exposure to horror, loss, tragedy, and carnage, elicits a fear or hate response from us and we make war against human beings in the name of God. The message coming from the world is so shocking that it traps us into a cycle of reacting. But you did not so learn Christ. The Kingdom is responsive, never reactive. So how do we break the cycle? Perhaps we need to look at the root of the ills of our society instead of just the symptoms. Maybe then the solution will be clear.
Abortion
This is a huge huge huge wedge issue for many Christians. Of course God hates the death of the innocent. But that's another topic for another day. Suffice it to say that God is completely against the taking of life--period. And He tells me that everyone knows in their heart that life begins at conception. It's only open for debate in the court of public opinion. People have the ability to get together and agree to a lie that allows them to justify almost anything. Get a person alone and the truth of what they believe is more likely to come out.
I was shocked to find out that God didn't want to correct the people who were OK with "a woman's right to choose". He made it very clear to me that knowing right from wrong is not the issue. You can know all the right there is to know and still be unable to live it (see Romans 7 for more). No, He wanted to correct those who are supposed to be able to hear His voice. On them is the responsibility for knowledge of mercy and grace. To know the mercy of God and not give it to those who do not know it grieves Him. Does this sound odd? Who did Jesus rebuke, the ignorant or the learned? Who did He call the "den of vipers"? Remember that to know what is right and not do it is sin.
He said some really provocative things to me. He said that He is pro-choice. I was like, "Uh... God, that can't be You talking.". He said, "If I wasn't pro-choice, would women have even the ability to choose? Son, your choice is the one thing I have always denied Myself." Does that mean abortion should be legal? Of course not. It means abortion has exactly zero to do with a woman's right to choose. Even before it was legal a woman could choose to abort her child. So, what's the point, then? The point is that He is willing to suffer and die to protect our ability to choose Him. He is willing to endure the loss of the innocent to honor His own word. He will not restrict our will.
Does this mean He wants abortion to continue? Of course not. Don't be a tool. He told me that the christian strategy for abolishing abortion was way off the mark. It's not kingdom-minded. The kingdom is never reactionary and is always responsive. Even more, the kingdom is previous. The kingdom sees what lies ahead and responds before it happens. How many times in the bible did God tell someone what was going to happen before it happened? That's how He operates. God is proactive about everything. He says things like, "Do this SO THAT this will happen". He's planning ahead. So how does this relate to abortion? I'm glad you asked. The way to stop abortion is not to make it illegal but to make it unnecessary.
Does that mean God is pro-contraception? Nope. Unwanted pregnancy is the leading cause of abortion. But it goes deeper than that. What is the leading cause of pregnancy? Sex. What's the leading cause of sex? Here's where we get into a tricky situation. Sex between consensual adults isn't the only cause of unwanted pregnancies. There's also rape, incest, and disease to contend with. All of them, including promiscuity, can be summed up by one word: unhealthy. Whether it be the unhealthy mind of a man who commits rape, the unhealthy self-esteem of a couple who create an unwanted child, an unhealthy genetic code that creates a malformed fetus, it's all just a lack of health. Unhealthy hearts and minds come together and create "unwanted" children. God have mercy on us. Unwanted people.
Let me ask you this: what if we found some way to legally and physically mandate that no woman ever aborts her unwanted child ever again? What then? Have we really solved the problem or just fed our religious pride by making the world bend to our will? Is there any method by which we can eliminate unwanted people except to murder them? What if we found a way to raise the value of the average person in the eyes of everyone so that nobody ends up being unwanted? What if we lived our lives in such a way that the formula HUMAN = WANTED is the universal norm?
You'd think that God in all His wisdom would have told us how to do such a thing... Like, what if He gave us a command that was a one-size-fits-all solution to all problems BEFORE they start?
You'd think that God in all His wisdom would have told us how to do such a thing... Like, what if He gave us a command that was a one-size-fits-all solution to all problems BEFORE they start?
John 15:12
"This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you."
But how does loving someone keep them from getting an abortion? Please remember that we're talking about stopping abortion before it becomes a possible choice. We are talking about creating a culture in which things like abortion are as abhorrent to the public as cannibalism. We are talking about helping our species become so incredibly healthy that we would never engage in or suffer from things that create unwanted people.
So how does love eliminate rape, disease, incest, and sexual promiscuity?
What causes a man to rape a woman (or vice versa)? Behavioral scientists say that rape is caused by a desire to control, conquer, or have power over another. For whatever reason, the perpetrator feels an overwhelming desire to exert dominance over another in a sexual way. It's more about power than it is about sex. Behavioral science also tells us that perpetrators are not created in a vacuum (with the exception of neurological abnormalities). Perpetrators are a harvest that was sown as victims. A male who was raped or molested has a much higher chance of doing the same to others. Why? To regain some sense of wholeness, purpose, identity. A victim will either become a perpetual victim, a perpetrator, or free. So what determines where a person ends up on that spectrum? All things reproduce after their own kind. You sow trauma and trauma will grow and then it will sow again. But there is one seed that will outgrow, outperform, outyield, and outlast all others: Love. Someone who has been freed from the cycle of rape will always relate some story about how love set them free. Tenderness, mercy, forgiveness, transparency, trust, patience, kindness are all the things that short-circuit the vicious cycle. Consider Jesus and the woman caught in adultery. Does this mean we should just pat rapists on the back and tell them Jesus loves them and then let them go off and rape again? No. It means there is a limited window of time when these men are in jail that we can teach them about their true identity. We can help them face what they've done with patience and kindness, man-to-man, so that they believe and are set free. Are you going to prisons to stop abortion?
Incest is more difficult to see in the natural, but the prescription is the same: love them into truth. Yes, any perpetrator must pay the cost of what they've done, but that shouldn't stop us from loving them into truth. Tender care should be given to the victims so they understand that the selfish act of their perpetrator does not define them. A long-term relationship based on trust and acceptance has to be established with such a person so that they can see their own value through your actions towards them. Be sure it's not about putting "another victim saved" notch on your belt. I'm talking about creating life-long relationships here. I'm talking about adoption.
What does love have to do with disease? Everything. If you are like me, you believe in the authority God gave each of His children, through Jesus, to heal the sick. Disease must always go. It's not the will of God and each of us has to contend for the faith to eradicate it. But how many of us are willing to make it our personal mission to heal a diseased child in the womb? How many of us are willing to do it knowing that nobody will ever know? Are you willing to search your heart to even see if you have the capacity to make the diseases of the unborn more important to you than your own children? Can you believe Him to change your heart if you weigh it and find it lacking? What would it look like if we all had the same reputation as John G. Lake? But that's not the hard part for us. The hard part of us as a church is to admit that we do not yet see the frequency of miracles it would take to replace the doctors who treat children in the womb. Can we confess that we need to grow in faith for the sake of the unborn and be responsible and accountable for that? Can we simply say, "I believe, please help my unbelief" and then get our hands on some broken babies?
Finally, how does love stop sexual promiscuity? This one has gotten so so so far away from us. As Christians we've shouted the letter of the law from the rooftops and indulged in judgement of anyone who would dare ignore our self-righteous warnings. Parents kicking children out of the house instead of teaching them the honor and beauty of fighting to retain virginity so it can be given as a gift to their spouse one day. We speak death over those who have and promote sex and then we reap a harvest of death in our entire culture. Those with the most spiritual power are causing the most spiritual damage and then have the gall to chalk it all up to "the last days".
No, the cause of sex outside of God's design is simple: lack of love. There are many natural answers for having sex. We all feel like it or have been through a time in our lives when we did. But why do so many give in? Why, with all the potential consequences, do so many risk even their own lives for a momentary feeling? Well, scientists would say "self-esteem" but God says, "who do you think you are?" It comes down to identity. We make all of our choices based on who we think we are--our perception of our personal value. Tell me, how will the people out there with a wrong identity ever find out who they are if we don't show them? How can we tell them if they disdain our reputation? Why in the world would they ever believe anything we say about who they are in God's great plan if we don't love them first?
If we are going to carry His name, we should probably imitate Him like dear children. He had every right to be indignant with us but sacrificed Himself instead. He went even to the point of death to show how much He values us. And He understood that love breeds love. He Himself fell to the ground and died, then He sprung up and bore much fruit. He came to us gently and lowly of heart. He was goodness personified. It was His peculiar goodness in the face of abhorrent evil that gave Him so much credibility with the lost. The goodness of God drew all men to Him. We have to do the same. We have to set aside this horrible habit of treating His lost children as the enemy and love them as if they were our very own. We must adopt them into our family, whether they change their ways or not, so that they can feel the trust and security that so far has been denied them. Maybe then they will see our love and believe that God truly sent Jesus to save us all.
Any good military strategist would tell you that it's a bad idea to fight an enemy on his home turf. If you have the choice, always fight the enemy on YOUR terms and not HIS. So let's stay out of the political arena. The political is rooted in the world and the whole world lies in the sway of.....who? So don't enter his arena. Don't argue with men. Stop the battle before it starts by loving it to death. We've done this with suicide, drugs, alcohol, abuse, poverty and many others. Christians have shown a clear ability to break the cycle of death with a preemptive strike of loving self-sacrifice. Why not do it again here, with abortion? Why not dedicate yourself to revealing the love of God to such a degree that people will value their identity over their need to feel good?
But how does loving someone keep them from getting an abortion? Please remember that we're talking about stopping abortion before it becomes a possible choice. We are talking about creating a culture in which things like abortion are as abhorrent to the public as cannibalism. We are talking about helping our species become so incredibly healthy that we would never engage in or suffer from things that create unwanted people.
So how does love eliminate rape, disease, incest, and sexual promiscuity?
What causes a man to rape a woman (or vice versa)? Behavioral scientists say that rape is caused by a desire to control, conquer, or have power over another. For whatever reason, the perpetrator feels an overwhelming desire to exert dominance over another in a sexual way. It's more about power than it is about sex. Behavioral science also tells us that perpetrators are not created in a vacuum (with the exception of neurological abnormalities). Perpetrators are a harvest that was sown as victims. A male who was raped or molested has a much higher chance of doing the same to others. Why? To regain some sense of wholeness, purpose, identity. A victim will either become a perpetual victim, a perpetrator, or free. So what determines where a person ends up on that spectrum? All things reproduce after their own kind. You sow trauma and trauma will grow and then it will sow again. But there is one seed that will outgrow, outperform, outyield, and outlast all others: Love. Someone who has been freed from the cycle of rape will always relate some story about how love set them free. Tenderness, mercy, forgiveness, transparency, trust, patience, kindness are all the things that short-circuit the vicious cycle. Consider Jesus and the woman caught in adultery. Does this mean we should just pat rapists on the back and tell them Jesus loves them and then let them go off and rape again? No. It means there is a limited window of time when these men are in jail that we can teach them about their true identity. We can help them face what they've done with patience and kindness, man-to-man, so that they believe and are set free. Are you going to prisons to stop abortion?
Incest is more difficult to see in the natural, but the prescription is the same: love them into truth. Yes, any perpetrator must pay the cost of what they've done, but that shouldn't stop us from loving them into truth. Tender care should be given to the victims so they understand that the selfish act of their perpetrator does not define them. A long-term relationship based on trust and acceptance has to be established with such a person so that they can see their own value through your actions towards them. Be sure it's not about putting "another victim saved" notch on your belt. I'm talking about creating life-long relationships here. I'm talking about adoption.
What does love have to do with disease? Everything. If you are like me, you believe in the authority God gave each of His children, through Jesus, to heal the sick. Disease must always go. It's not the will of God and each of us has to contend for the faith to eradicate it. But how many of us are willing to make it our personal mission to heal a diseased child in the womb? How many of us are willing to do it knowing that nobody will ever know? Are you willing to search your heart to even see if you have the capacity to make the diseases of the unborn more important to you than your own children? Can you believe Him to change your heart if you weigh it and find it lacking? What would it look like if we all had the same reputation as John G. Lake? But that's not the hard part for us. The hard part of us as a church is to admit that we do not yet see the frequency of miracles it would take to replace the doctors who treat children in the womb. Can we confess that we need to grow in faith for the sake of the unborn and be responsible and accountable for that? Can we simply say, "I believe, please help my unbelief" and then get our hands on some broken babies?
Finally, how does love stop sexual promiscuity? This one has gotten so so so far away from us. As Christians we've shouted the letter of the law from the rooftops and indulged in judgement of anyone who would dare ignore our self-righteous warnings. Parents kicking children out of the house instead of teaching them the honor and beauty of fighting to retain virginity so it can be given as a gift to their spouse one day. We speak death over those who have and promote sex and then we reap a harvest of death in our entire culture. Those with the most spiritual power are causing the most spiritual damage and then have the gall to chalk it all up to "the last days".
No, the cause of sex outside of God's design is simple: lack of love. There are many natural answers for having sex. We all feel like it or have been through a time in our lives when we did. But why do so many give in? Why, with all the potential consequences, do so many risk even their own lives for a momentary feeling? Well, scientists would say "self-esteem" but God says, "who do you think you are?" It comes down to identity. We make all of our choices based on who we think we are--our perception of our personal value. Tell me, how will the people out there with a wrong identity ever find out who they are if we don't show them? How can we tell them if they disdain our reputation? Why in the world would they ever believe anything we say about who they are in God's great plan if we don't love them first?
If we are going to carry His name, we should probably imitate Him like dear children. He had every right to be indignant with us but sacrificed Himself instead. He went even to the point of death to show how much He values us. And He understood that love breeds love. He Himself fell to the ground and died, then He sprung up and bore much fruit. He came to us gently and lowly of heart. He was goodness personified. It was His peculiar goodness in the face of abhorrent evil that gave Him so much credibility with the lost. The goodness of God drew all men to Him. We have to do the same. We have to set aside this horrible habit of treating His lost children as the enemy and love them as if they were our very own. We must adopt them into our family, whether they change their ways or not, so that they can feel the trust and security that so far has been denied them. Maybe then they will see our love and believe that God truly sent Jesus to save us all.
Any good military strategist would tell you that it's a bad idea to fight an enemy on his home turf. If you have the choice, always fight the enemy on YOUR terms and not HIS. So let's stay out of the political arena. The political is rooted in the world and the whole world lies in the sway of.....who? So don't enter his arena. Don't argue with men. Stop the battle before it starts by loving it to death. We've done this with suicide, drugs, alcohol, abuse, poverty and many others. Christians have shown a clear ability to break the cycle of death with a preemptive strike of loving self-sacrifice. Why not do it again here, with abortion? Why not dedicate yourself to revealing the love of God to such a degree that people will value their identity over their need to feel good?
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