I run into it all the time. when people don’t like a particular rule or law they either break it straightforwardly or they ‘reinterpret’ that law for themselves creating ‘space’ in the law for what they feel is what the law truly means. for instance if you don’t like to drive 55 but thats what the sign says you ‘double space’ the law to add your own view to it. ‘well, thats an old sign so i’m sure the speed limit is higher now they just haven’t changed the sign yet’. or ‘whoever made that law for this highway doesn’t know me. i was born a 95 mile an hour driver and cannot change so ‘55’ is just for others’.  

the same is true for the bible. genesis says God made the universe in 6 literal morning and night 24 hour days. ‘nope, its a literary device to say millions of years not a normal week.’ the bible says homosexuality is not designed or approved of by God either before the Law of Moses, in the Law of Moses or after the Law in the New Testament. ‘nope, those cultures were bigoted and unscientific and had a wrong view of sexuality. plus all those bible verses don’t take into account loving monogamous homosexual relationships.’

it is one thing to say you don’t agree with something or you will be a law-breaker straight away, but to ‘double space’ clear references and infuse your own or anothers view that supercede laws given to everyone is foolish. we follow man made laws until they are changed or suffer the consequnces no matter how we feel. we follow God’s word which will never be changed or suffer the consequences both now and later.

it is great that God has given us a manual for life that frees us to be the kind of human we were designed to be if we would just be submissive to follow it. Jesus has great things in store for us we just need to quit ‘double spacing’ his teachings and let God be God. everyone has a right to their own opinion but only God has a right to His own truth and that truth will never change and never be ‘double spaced’. may God be true and every man a liar.

I can remember growing up going to church. It was a white building with a steeple on it that had a cross outside which read ‘Jesus saves’. I can remember trying to stay awake (many times failing!) when the sermon was being delivered when I was young and listening to the old lady bang away on the piano and organ during our singing times. It’s funny. Although I said I went to ‘church’ the church was never a building but was always the people inside that I remember fondly (when I was awake! lol).

For instance. You can say you went to ‘So and So High School’ and it is true you did attend there but your real high school experiences were the classmates and teachers you had. Even if the building burned down you would’nt care except for the fact those buildings represented good (or bad) times in your life where you interacted with others.

Same with the church. The ‘church’ is a people, not a building. The building just holds the ‘church’. If the building burns down the church is not gone, it will just need a new place to meet next week! When anyone falls away from the fellowship of people in the church that is tragic. It could be from their own sin they don’t want to confront or from someone elses’ sin that has affected them, but any time someone leaves the connection with the true ‘church’ it has sad consequenses. The church is a place of instruction, encouragement and rebuke all delivered in a fellowship of love to help people see their need for a Savior and help to follow Him better.

I have seen people reject good teaching. I have seen people fall away from good relatioships. I have seen people turn away from God’s love. To cheat on their spouses. To become homosexuals. To chase after money. To satisfy their desire for fame. A good church challenges you. A good church loves you. A good church will not let you remain as you are but will push you to be what God has designed you to be. A good church will never fail at helping people to see God’s glory and chase it. Because the Church is people not programs. It is an living organism not dead organization. It lives and breathes. It moves and shakes. Like Jesus.

Though the church burns down, the Church remains. Find a good church and be there. For good.

The pedophilia of the father of the modern sexual revolution still quoted today about sexuality and sexual issues though his research was skewed.

Jesus says strange things about following Him…’Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple’ meaning ‘pick up your cross and die to your selfish desires’ and ‘If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell’. And the Apostle Paul, ‘For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.’

What does that mean?

As I was at the light getting ready to get on the freeway there was a woman walking a dog I happened to notice out of the corner of my eye. I don’t know for sure if she was particularly attractive or not but I caught myself wondering why I needed to look at all. It was a test of will to discipline myself not to even give my eyes the opportunity to find something to dwell on. Even when no one else was looking or would even probably care if I looked to observe her I killed myself. I died. Right there. That moment. What was strange was that once I murdered my will, it went away. I realized that looking at her was not pivotal to my life but NOT looking at her was pivotal to it.

Why? Because unprotected emotional desire leads to sin of the head in thought and then sin of the hand in action. Then your sinful hands destroy your physical life. Or the lives of your children. Or your friends. Sin waits in your careless moments for a chance to strike and putting that desire to death by minimizing those careless moments is a mark of godly character.

As I was getting on the freeway I changed lanes and someone else wanted to merge into my lane in front of me once I got there. I knew that if I applied my brakes I would have to slow down and there was plenty of room for me to go ahead. Plus, I have a right to be here. As I was considering allowing a potentially slower person to have priority over me in ‘my’ lane, I killed myself. I died. Right there. Instead of zooming ahead and trapping that person in the slow lane with the people who were following me, I tapped the brakes and waved them over in front of me. No big deal right? Right. Except for my selfish will. It was a big deal for that so I killed it.

Committing physical violence is easy. Any undisciplined idiot can do that. But committing spiritual violence against the part of you that takes the opportunity to sin is a tremendously difficult task that takes discipline and the power of God.

Nothing will have mastery over me except Jesus. And that includes myself.

It was a beautiful violence that will bear spiritual fruit.

Do yourself a favor and ‘die’ today. Ironically by dying to your desires you will find abundant life and a life worth living. Strange isn’t it?