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Tag: Jesus (Page 5 of 53)

The Struggle Is Real

April 22, 2024 / / 1 Comment

Ok so I should start by saying I have been a tad out of routine lately and these haven’t been nearly as often as I’d like. Got a bit busy but think we’re on the right track again.

This Sunday we landed the plane on chapter 7 of the book of Romans. It’s a chapter all about how the life of the follower of Jesus is not as easy as we would like to paint it at times. We have a tendency to think of the Christian life as some kind of surreal experience. It’s like once we “commit to following Jesus” everything in life starts going “better.” Which if you’re a follower of Jesus you know that isn’t true. In the least. The struggle is real!

Romans 7 is a raw and honest assessment of the life of the believer in Jesus. We’re at war…constantly. But not at war with one another or the world around us like we tend to display in our social media posts. We’re at war with ourselves.

If we’re honest, truly honest, with ourselves we’ll have to admit that we don’t always do the things we know we should be doing. We make up our minds about something and then get distracted. We have the best of intentions but fail in our attempts to actually do the thing we know we should be doing.

Paul, one of the rockstars of the Christian movement in the New Testament, admits to this struggle as well. And if he struggles then we should pretty much be ready for the struggle as well.

Here’s my favorite verse from this section. The good I want to do, that I do not do. But the evil I do not want to do, that I end up doing. Can you relate? I sure can.

For the longest time, it seemed as if the church portrayed the image of come inside with us and your life will be better. I don’t think that’s the message of the Bible. It sure isn’t the message of Paul here in Romans. And it is not the reality that I’ve faced in my own life.

I guess if we were more accurately to describe the life of the follower of Jesus it would be something like…come inside just as you are and realize what real love feels like. I mean seriously! If you knew everything there was about me, you would not like me at all let alone love me! But God in all his infinite wisdom, knows every little thing about me (past, present, future) and still loves me. We’ll talk more about that in the weeks to come.

I have people that are friends, or were friends(?), that just can’t see past the flaws in my character. I guess that makes one wonder if they were ever really friends to begin with or just coming alongside me for something they could gain from me? It doesn’t really matter, because even though people in this world have messed up priorities with regard to relationships God still loves me unconditionally.

Paul goes back and forth in this whole section about just how bad things really are. The struggle and the pain of trying to live for Christ only to realize the more I know Jesus the worse I see my own intentions and actions. Then he ends with what hope is there?!?!

He’s seemingly exasperated and overwhelmed. Wretched man that I am! he says! What hope does he have? What hope do we have? It’s one and the same. Jesus. Yeah I know you were expecting that answer but do you know why?

Jesus knew your past. Knows your present. And sees your future. He knows every little thing about you. And that’s why he came. When he went to the cross and said Father, forgive them for they know not what they do, he was talking about me and you. He saw the bad decision I made. He saw the website you clicked and lingered on just a little too long. He knows the lie you told or the hate in your heart for that neighbor who’s a real pain. He knows all of it! And that’s why he did what he did.

He went to the cross. He took all of those bad choices and challenging moments and nailed each one individually to the cross. They didn’t kill him. But he willingly gave his life to free you from each of those moments. It’s like taking that cool cleaner stuff to a whiteboard and removing all evidence that it was ever written on before! That’s what the cross has done.

So the struggle we face isn’t about pleasing God or having a perfect life. The struggle is the sin vs salvation fight in my heart. We’re 100% sinful but at the same time 100% saint. We’re not going to be perfect and God knows that! But we’re called to live a changed life. Coming back to Jesus for forgiveness when life goes off the rails. Then get back on track and start moving again.

I know the struggle is real but the salvation God offers in Jesus is even more lasting!

Death Is Blind

April 15, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Tall or short. Fat or skinny. Rich or poor. Black or white. Old or young. Popular or unknown. It really doesn’t matter. Death doesn’t care about any of these things. When it shows up, it’s blind to all of these peripheral matters.

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been in the presence of death more than I really care to be. From responding to emergency calls as a chaplain with the Sheriff’s office to pastoral care at life’s end for members of the church I serve, I’ve stood toe to toe with death the past two weeks on more than one occasion.

Death doesn’t care what time of day it arrives or who it comes to claim. It just shows up when the time has come. Some are prepared for it whatever that means. While others are totally blindsided by its presence on the doorstep.

One of the calls I received was a total shock to the family while the other was somewhat predicted. One was devastating and heartbreaking, while the other was filled with hope and joy for what was to come. One was calm and peaceful while the other was anything but peaceful. One was young and the other was a life well lived.

The two scenarios couldn’t be much different actually! But they still had something in common. Death came knocking and death seemingly won, at least for the moment.

In life we try to do everything we possibly can to prepare for every possible scenario. We squirrel money away for retirement. We stockpile food for a catastrophe. We have security systems to keep us safe. We even buy life insurance in the event we can’t outrun death when it does show up.

We try so very hard to control the outcome of our actions. We diet and exercise. We get good sleep and have mindfulness times throughout our week. We take vitamins or use those voodoo oils (yeah I said that for some friends but I really mean those essential oil things).

We can be healthy in every aspect of life medically speaking but when death knocks sometimes there’s nothing you can do to stop it. And it really doesn’t care.

The most recent couple of times death has come knocking it hasn’t even been during daylight hours. It wasn’t in the middle of the day when I could break away. It was overnight and interrupted sleep. Death just doesn’t care who it impacts or when or where.

Death is blind, but we don’t have to be. The most recent death I experienced was for a woman who lived a very long life. She died at 104 years old. Just a few months shy of 105 actually! And while death at any age or time really stings, she was ready. She wasn’t blind to death even though it was blind to her.

She was ready, but what does that even mean? You don’t pack a bag to get ready to die. You don’t typically put it in your day planner. But she was ready. She prepared for this day for most of her life. She did it by knowing what death meant for her.

She was a church person, as am I. She knew that death was never meant to be part of her story. But she also knew that since death was one day going to come and find her, she needed to arm herself with the only thing proven to beat death. What beats death? What beats a blind and indiscriminate killer of all?

She knew the only thing she could arm herself with was the promise of the one who died willingly and rose powerfully to give us hope unceasingly. She would always say that her life was mostly good and that the only way life could be fully good was when she was with Jesus. She knew that Jesus was her death defeater. So now she’s not just mostly good. She’s more than mostly good. And I bet she even gave death a little sassy grin because she knew what death forgot. In Jesus, life always wins and that’s more than mostly good!

Mental health is Health 

April 9, 2024 / / 1 Comment

One of the most challenging things in this world is asking for help. Especially if you’re a type A kind of personality. We like to do things our own way and blaze our trail. But sometimes there are situations in life when you just need to ask for help. You know one of those phone a friend kind of moments. 

Ok so let’s start here by assuring you I’m good! This post is a response to a situation I encountered recently where I was the helper not the one being helped. So please don’t get all weird on me. What follows is pretty important and serious stuff.

I’m not going to give any details here because it’s just not appropriate. What I can tell you is your mental health is your health. There was a time when “getting help” or “seeing a counselor” was seen as almost a sign of weakness. But in the past couple of years that has completely flipped. Now it seems like everyone sees a counselor or therapist almost making it seem like a popularity contest. 

But I want to assure you that it is not a contest, your mental health is your health. Getting help for a broken arm or blown appendix or mental stress isn’t weakness! We wouldn’t look down on someone who legit broke a limb if we saw them at the doctor. And on the other side of the coin, we don’t just go hang at the doctor’s office until something really wrong pops up. Health is health whether it’s in your arm, stomach or mind. 

One of my roles in life is that of chaplain for our local sheriff’s office. We see a ton of things in this role! And I never get a call unless it’s the worst day in someone’s life. We get to sit with a family at the tragic loss of a loved one. We go with, or in place of, a deputy to notify a family that their loved one has died. We’re also there for the officers who see some pretty tragic and awful things! 

We’re really there to listen and provide some form of support. It’s honestly what I do as a pastor but in this case it’s for the entire community. I wear a uniform that lets people know I’m with the Sheriff’s office. It’s a volunteer gig so it’s really an extension of the ministry I do at church.

Back to the mental health idea. It’s real! Depression is very real. Our jobs or relationships can cause our minds to take us places we’d never go on our own. The scenarios in which we find ourselves can play tricks on our brains forcing us to see what’s not there and carry a burden that isn’t even ours to carry. 

I’ve seen the aftermath of unchecked depression. I’ve seen the heartbreak left in its wake. I’ve watched as families have to try to recover after a husband or father takes his own life because things just seem too hard. I’ve seen children reeling in pain when their mom thought the only way out was to end her life. Mental Health is your health!

Friends take care of yourself and one another. The long and short of this post is to let you know there’s nothing wrong with getting help. Sometimes just talking through a challenging situation is enough to clear your head and let you move on. Other times you need a longer term relationship with a counselor. And there might even be a time when some form of medication is needed to help take the edge off of the stabbing pain depression causes in your brain.

Whatever the scenario, your pain is yours. Don’t compare it to someone else. Don’t just get over it. Find someone to talk to. Someone who will listen. Someone who can be an honest and balanced source of feedback.

When I enter a home to share the kind of news I share, I spend most of my time sitting silently. When the news is shared, the next thing I do is sit quietly and listen as the survivors go through layers of emotion. There’s nothing magic about it. It’s the simple process of unloading a burden and letting someone else listen.

Your mental health is your health. If you’re battling the demons of depression and anxiety, please stop trying to fight it alone. Look for someone who can sit and listen. Talk through it with someone who will care for you. There are tons of places that have qualified people to provide care for you. Your mental health is your health.

Christ In Collard Greens

March 18, 2024 / / 1 Comment

What if I say the wrong thing?

What if I don’t have all the answers?

I just need another class or maybe I can read a book that will give me the 7 steps to do this.

Have you ever heard anyone say something like this? I’m a pastor and this is the typical response I get when we talk about sharing our faith. We think we need a class or a seminar or some sort of gathering where we get the how to’s of the whole matter.

But what if we’re making it way too hard? Ok that’s not really supposed to be a question. We ARE making it way too hard. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Here’s how I know.

This past Sunday I had the chance to go with some friends to a neighboring community. It was a region of our area that was hit with a devastating tornado. They had houses torn apart, swing sets moved from lawn to street, trampolines mangled around trees or at least what was left of them.

We left church on Sunday and went over to lend a hand. But the hand we lent them wasn’t in the form of chainsaws or tool belts. We didn’t move debris, although we were prepared for that. We really didn’t do anything. But we did everything.

Instead of wielding tools and work gloves, we picked up serving spoons and paper plates. We pulled into a driveway of someone we didn’t even know yet and set up a food station that would end up feeding well over 100 people. Some came in person, others sent one to pick up food for a work crew. What we did there was share Jesus but not in the way you might think.

We didn’t hand out promotional gear. We didn’t pass out tracts or pamphlets. We didn’t even use that super corny phrase just like the grace of God this food is free.

No preaching. No teaching. We didn’t even invite them to come to church. That wasn’t the point. Instead of giving them a well thought out 7 point teaching on the highlights of the gospel and what it means for them. We shook their hands. We gave them hugs. We listened to them share their stories. We let them just come and rest for a minute. We gave them Jesus. Jesus with skin on. Jesus that looked like you and me.

There he was right in the middle of the Mac n Cheese. The Messiah and his abundant love for mankind nestled in a pile of Mac n cheese. The Beautiful Savior in hearty stack of brisket. The Prince of Peace in a pulled pork sandwich. Christ in collard greens.

God’s miraculous love and abundant grace were embedded in the simple and mundane foods you can buy at a store. We didn’t overcomplicate the matter. Did these people hear the message of Jesus living, dying and rising? Nope they sure didn’t. Did they see an example of Jesus command to love your neighbor as yourself? You better darn well believe it.

Look here’s the deal. You can hold your evangelism training seminars and convocations to teach people how to share their faith. But really those aren’t necessary at all. If you know two things you can do this anywhere and everywhere you go without much preparation at all. Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength – and love your neighbor as yourself.

You don’t need some curriculum out of a box or special speaker to come teach you how to do it. I even believe that doing any of these classes or books just makes it harder and is far more intimidating than Jesus intended it to be. Everyone can be his witness for sure but it really only takes a loving heart, hands willing to serve, genuine compassion for the people around you, and a sacrifice of your time. Let the Spirit do the rest. It’s not your job to much more than that.

Grab a plate of collard greens or pan of brownies. Pour a glass of wine or a couple ounces of bourbon. Light a fire in the pit. Tell a joke. Genuinely give a crap about the people around you. And you just might see how easily Jesus can be transferred to the people around you.

Focus

March 12, 2024 / / 2 Comments

I recently went to the eye doctor and rediscovered something I’ve known for a while. Yes I have decent eye sight and no I don’t need glasses. He told me two things that weren’t really new but were reminders for me.

The first thing he told me was that my right eye is near-sighted which means I have a harder time seeing things farther away. And while that sounds like a problem, and it would be if I didn’t have my left eye. You see my left eye has just the opposite issue. It’s far sighted which means it sees better farther away. This means, according to my eye doctor, that I have the best possible scenario for someone who’s either near or far sighted. Because I’m both! I told him I’ve always been a bit of an over achiever.

That was met with a slight eye roll and sympathetic laughter.

The second issue he mentioned with regard to my eyes wasn’t about how they can see near or far. The issued I’ve had since I was at least in grade school is that my eyes naturally see wider than narrow. That means when you hold a book and your eyes focus on that book at a normal arm’s length, my eyes have to strain to turn inward to see that book. It doesn’t hurt at all. It’s just a fact that my eyes’ natural center is much farther out than a normal person.

These two conditions combined mean that I have to focus on focusing. Most people don’t have to think about their line of sight or how to focus on a book up close or poster farther away. Not so with me. I have to force my eyes to lock in on a book when I’m hold in it up close. Then I have to make sure I let my left eye focus on objects farther away while I let righty handle that stuff up close.

Ok long intro here I know but stick with me. Focus is a huge thing for many of us. Not as much eye focus as mental focus. Ever have one of those moments when you have to force yourself to tune everything out? Studying for a test and there’s noise from your little brother filling your room? Trying to read a book and the television is on in the background because your spouse isn’t the book worm that you are?

Focus is essential and in a digital world that focus often gets even more challenging. I’ve been on zoom calls when my dog decided that was the perfect time to get the zoomies. If you’re not a dog person, that’s what we call it when the dog takes off running around for no apparent reason and can’t be stopped until she’s totally worn out. Yeah that’s a fun one!

But it’s not just outside noises that cause us to lose focus. We get distracted by the noises filling our heads. Ha that sounds funny. I don’t mean hearing voices, although maybe??? But more the laundry list of things that need done filtering through your mind when you’re trying to do something else.

I find myself doing this probably more than I’d like to admit. Sitting down to read my bible in the morning and my calendar or to do list start yelling at me. Take time to pray for those people in my life who are struggling or celebrating and yep you guessed it. I get distracted by my stomach growling, wondering if I locked my car in the parking lot, realizing I’m getting hungry, wondering if my family will make it to work or school safely. You know all the things that pull my focus away from what I’m trying to do!

Here’s the deal. There are tools that can help you with focus. I had to have glasses that acted like prisms to kind of spread the words on a book outward so my eyes didn’t have to work as hard. Then my eyes learned to adjust so that now I don’t need that anymore.

With practice and an intentional focus on focus, you’ll be able to cut through the clutter of life and see the most important things going on in the moment. So if you struggle with focus like I do, then try this.

  • Give the distraction room for a second. The more you fight the distraction the more distracting it will be. Give it room in your mind for a second to see if it needs your attention or if it can wait.
  • Write it down. After giving it a little breathing room, if you decide your invading thought is valid and needs attention just jot it down on a piece of paper or in the notes app on your phone.
  • Then leave it alone! Refocusing after a foreign invader comes in and derails your meditation can be challenging. After you write it down set the paper or phone aside and try to pick back up.
  • Breathe. Yep you need to do it anyway so why not let your breathing help bring you back to the moment right before you went all ADHD. Take a breath. Calm yourself. Let the distraction just kind of fade into oblivion. I find it helpful to really hone in on breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth. Getting full, deep breaths can be super helpful.

Whatever works for you is the process you should really try. But you’re not allowed to say I can’t focus. You just need to focus on getting focused. The more practice you have focusing through distractions the easier it will be to stay focused when those distractions creep in.

Two Faced

March 11, 2024 / / 1 Comment

Some people have a tendency to be one person in one group and a different person in another. It’s kind of hypocritical to be honest. But that’s not quite what we’re talking about here.

There’s a story in the Bible about a man named Adam. You might have heard of him from the story about creation in the book of Genesis. If you’re not familiar, he was the first person created in the Bible. He was also the first person to have a recorded mistaken written for the world to read. Well he and his wife, but there’s something about men in ancient culture that highlighted their actions.

But the story of Adam is one that actually lasts far past his recorded life in the Bible. He has an impact that actually reaches you and me to this day. That’s the point of a set of bible verses in the book of Romans chapter 5.

Adam ate a piece of fruit that he was told specifically by God not to eat. When he did that he started to see the world differently. He realized he was naked. He felt scared for the first time. He ran and hid from God in the garden. And as a direct result of his action, some animal had to die so he would have clothing. It was a pretty big deal actually.

But like I said, his actions have implications that go beyond just him. His actions affect you and me. They impact our actions, the actions of our children. The way we talk to one another. The way we see life. The way we react to stress and how we talk when we don’t get our way.

If you’ve ever driven a car that was out of alignment then you kind of have an idea what this looks like. A car out of alignment will pull in one direction or another. It makes it hard to stay on the road at times. This is kind of what happened when Adam did what he wasn’t supposed to do. His action has affected us so that we have a hard time staying on the straight and narrow road of life.

I mean think about it for a second. No one has to tell a child to talk back to their parents. No one has to teach them to say NO. No one has to give a class on disobedience. It’s like it comes naturally. We just get it. It’s part of our DNA. the Bible calls this type of reaction – sin. Sin is the act of missing the mark, doing what we know is wrong or not doing what we know is right.

Well this is just one face of humanity. God created Adam and set a perfect place for him to live but he didn’t follow the rules. Fast forward a few thousand years and turn the page to the New Testament and you’ll find Jesus. The bible calls Jesus the New Adam. It’s like the two faces of mankind.

If Adam is the disobedient and fallen face of mankind, then Jesus is the obedient and eternal face of man. What Adam did by blatantly disobeying God, Jesus essentially undid by fully obeying God even to the point of dying in our place.

The message of Romans 5 is that what Jesus did far surpassed the brokenness Adam caused. When Jesus, acting in full obedience and selflessness, willingly went to the cross he was renewing all of humanity. He didn’t do it just for Adam. He didn’t do it just for the disciples. He didn’t even do it just for you and me. He did it for all of humanity.

Now don’t hear what I’m not saying. That does not mean that everyone will be totally transformed and live this new kind of life. Actually some people will never want anything to do with Jesus. Some people just won’t care at all. The gift is there. It’s all been paid for but that doesn’t mean that everyone will be wiling to accept it.

That’s the story of the two faces of humanity. Everything needed to reverse what Adam did has already been done. It’s an amazing free gift of God’s grace. Now when we humbly rest in his finished work, we too receive that amazing gift of grace. It’s pretty much that easy!

Turbulence

March 7, 2024 / / 0 Comments

I’m not a person who flies a lot. Ok I do what I can to not have to fly. Every once in a while the destination is too far away or the timing isn’t quite right for me to drive somewhere. In these moments I have to break down and sit in a metal tube going 600mph at 37,000 feet in the air. As a matter of fact, that’s my current situation as I write this. 

When things are going well, you don’t really think about the flight. A little extra noise. A little pressure in the ears. Pop on a movie or open a book and time flies by.

I had my standard cranberry juice in front of me. A small pack of graham crackers as my in flight snack. And then it happened. 

The captain came over the speaker and announced we were moving into some bumpy air space and he needed to have the flight attendants take their seats. He then said “Ladies and gentlemen it’s going to get bumpy for the remainder of our flight so stay seated with your seat belts fastened.” 

Turbulence is the official name for that bumpy air space. And man did we find some!

The plane was shaking just about every which way you could imagine. I even had to stop typing because I couldn’t hold my iPad securely anymore. But in the end, we made it to the ground safely. Back wheels touched. Front wheels touched and before we knew it we were taxiing to the gate. 

But in the midst of the turbulence we couldn’t see the gate. We didn’t know where the airport was. We had to trust the pilot and his instruments to get us to our destination and on the ground safely. 

Life is full of turbulent moments. Things don’t always go quite as expected. We hit bumps in life and wonder if we’re going to make it to our destination. The turbulence we experience in life comes in all shapes and sizes. It can be emotional turbulence. You know the kind of broken emotional state that happens when a relationship falls apart right in front of your eyes and you can’t do anything about it. Or there’s the physical turbulence that occurs when you or someone you love is diagnosed with a life threatening illness. There’s mental turbulence that comes in the form of depression and anxiety and overwhelming stress.  There’s occupational turbulence when your boss is a real tool. And there’s more but you get the idea.

Turbulence can be found in our lives often without our even looking for it. So how do we get through it? 

Just like the pilot on my flight relied on the trusted instrumentation that has brought him through countless bumpy air space moments, we can rely on that which is trust in our own lives. For followers of Jesus, our trusted instrumentation isn’t a computer system or even some great training. It’s the truth of Scripture and the person of Jesus. 

When we let ourselves be led by Jesus, following the guidelines found in his word, we rely on the most trusted instrumentation system around. Even though we might not know how it all will end, we can trust the proven nature of God’s provision to bring us through the turbulence of life safely. 

So buckle up friends, we’re likely in for a bumpy ride. But rest assured the pilot knows what he’s doing.

Can Suffering Be Good?

March 4, 2024 / / 0 Comments

So there’s a passage in the Bible that is a bit odd for many of us. It’s found in Romans 5 where Paul says that we rejoice in our sufferings, because suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us. The ending seems mostly ok. Most people can agree with the character and hope bit, but it’s the starting point that’s questionable for many people.

Rejoice in our sufferings? What’s that about? Who does that?

Ok for starters we have to make sure we get the preposition right. It’s rejoice IN our sufferings. It’s not that we’re supposed to rejoice FOR our sufferings. There’s a pretty big distinction here.

Paul is not some masochist or anything like that. As a matter of fact, I don’t think Paul is really wanting anyone to have to suffer necessarily, let alone do it with a smile on their face. Instead, he’s saying that even in the midst of some less than desirable circumstances we should be able to find joy. We should be able to live with a different kind of perspective on life.

The second part of this that’s key is the word rejoice. Note that he doesn’t say be happy. Because that would be just weird. Happy for suffering? No that’s not going to happen. Happiness at its core has the right set of happenings that allow us to be happy. You can see it in the root word: happy…happenings.

So what is this bible verse trying to tell us?

The long and short is that suffering is going to happen in life. With that in mind we can react one of two ways. We can let suffering crush us and totally derail our lives, or we can look to the greater purpose in our suffering to see what God might be up to. What does he want us to learn?

You see the sufferings, or afflictions of life are often there for a purpose. Sometimes the sufferings are the direct result of something we’ve done. Kind of like a consequence for bad behavior. But other times the afflictions are there to help us see something differently. Still other times a moment of suffering is kind of like pruning a rose bush. If you don’t prune the dead flowers off a rose bush, you won’t have many roses. But if you trim the dead blooms off at just the right place and at just the right time, you can double the amount of blooms you have!

The same is true for afflictions in life. Sometimes those afflictions are moments of pruning. God is cutting back the dead parts of our lives to allow us to produce more fruit, to draw us closer to him, to help us see just how much he can provide for us even when life is really hard.

And I know it sucks! Pruning isn’t supposed to be fun. It’s not supposed to make us happy. Remember it’s the whole idea of cutting something away. No one wants to have things cut away from them. It’s painful! But at times, it’s necessary.

Paul isn’t saying to smile through the pain. He’s not saying that if you just follow Jesus, the hurt won’t be as bad. No that’s bad theology! Paul is saying find joy in Jesus even when the world around you sucks. Know that Jesus is still God and is still in control even when nothing in life seems to be going right. Rejoice in life even through the horrible moments of fear and anxiety because you can trust that God knows far more about the scenario you’re going through than even you do.

Suffering may not be good in the moment but in the end, you just might be able to find God working something pretty powerful out of a moment of suffering.

The Best Tattoo Ever!

February 12, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Ok so some of you are going to be put off by this post because I talk about tattoos. And that’s ok. You can read it for what it is (way more than a tattoo post). Or just scroll on past and ignore it. Either way it’s up to you.

I’m kind of a tattoo guy. Not the whole cover my face and have a full sleeve kind of tattoo guy because that’s just not me. I do have a couple tattoos and I love them. But there’s one phrase that I think would make a perfect tattoo that would raise a lot of good questions!

This week in church we talked about a bible verse from Romans 3. It’s the whole section that really shaped how many churches function today. The section talks about three key topics that are pretty churchy. I’ll unpack each of these three topics, then I’ll tell you more about the tattoo idea!

The three ideas that really jump off the pages of Romans 3 are justified, redeemed and propitiation. Yeah the last one is a doozy, so don’t worry about pronouncing it because I even have a hard time with it most days.

Justified

Justified is a key understanding found in the Bible. Justified or justification is a term indicating a declared condition. It’s not a process. That’s a huge point to understand. Being justified isn’t something that happens over time. It’s not like you’re slowly justified by something you do or something someone else does to you. Being justified happens when God declares it. And that happened on the cross. When Jesus died on the cross and paid for the sins of the world, God was able to declare mankind justified.

Now before we get all weirded out by this idea, I’m not saying that everyone is going to be in heaven. Not everyone wants to let God’s declaration be for them. Some people would like to have control over their circumstance. They don’t want to rely on someone else so they reject this innocent verdict. It’s kind of like being on trial for a crime and the judge hammering the gavel declaring you innocent, but you turning and saying Nah I’m good. I’ll just serve my jail time anyway. I don’t like handouts from anyone. Who would do that!?!? No one that’s who!

So being justified is God saying you’re innocent. Not because you did good or walked through some process, but because what Jesus did was good enough and complete enough to pay your debt for you.

Redeemed

Redeemed is the second word. This word is one we kind of know but minimally at best. Back in the day, people used to get a newspaper on Sunday mornings. In that newspaper was a stack of ads and sale fliers and coupons. People would cut the coupons and then take them to grocery stores to get discounts on goods they buy everyday. Those coupons had one purpose and could only be used at grocery stores. You’d give the coupon to the cashier and redeem it for a discount.

The little piece of paper has no value at the bank or hardware store. They literally could only be used for one thing. It cost the merchant money but saved you money. Being redeemed is similar. Jesus went to the cross and died in our place. His death was redeemed for our life. God accepted Jesus’ death just like the grocery clerk accepts the coupon.

Propitiation

Now this final word is hard to pronounce and sounds funny but it’s not that hard to understand. Sin makes God angry. He does not like sin at all. Sin requires that some payment is made. This word means that which serves as an instrument for regaining goodwill of a deity. To put that in normal human speak it means that God was angry but accepted Jesus’ death as our substitute allowing us to be in his good graces.

The Old Testament was filled sacrifices of lambs and goats and all that fun stuff. It was a pretty gross thought if I’m being totally honest. But the Bible says that God isn’t happy with the blood of all these animals. Instead a once for all sacrifice was needed. Enter Jesus who died for us and paid our price to set us free.

Ok so when you put all three of these together you’re left with a pretty cool phrase that will serve as our coolest tattoo ever idea. The phrase is best when it’s spelled out in Latin Simul Iustus Et Peccator. For those of you who don’t know Latin, the phrase means Simultaneously Justified while at the same time being a Sinner.

That is so very cool because it means we didn’t have to say some magic formula or wave a wand or be perfect or anything to get God to love us. God loves us without condition. And he loves us when we’re still a mess. He has declared us justified without any work on our part. Now, even though we’re sinners, we’re also adopted into God’s family and loved by him and declared right because of Jesus.

Coolest tattoo ever. Made right by Jesus, even though I’m a hot mess. That’s the gist of Simul Iustus Et Peccator.

Another Perspective

February 6, 2024 / / 1 Comment

Life can seem so unfair can’t it? I mean your best friend has a boyfriend when you can’t seem to even land a date. Your neighbor drives a new car every year and you can’t even afford to put gas in yours. Your coworker gets the promotion you’ve been working so hard to achieve. It just seems like everyone else gets what you’re after and it’s just not fair. You have illness after illness and people around you are always healthy.

When we compare ourselves to everyone else, or anyone else, life just seems unfair. But sometimes it’s hard not to compare. People love to post their instagram lives for the world to see. No one posts the bad stuff. Perfectly posed. Lighting is staged. Tummy sucked in. Standing on a box to look taller because everyone knows you’re short (ok maybe that would be me if I actually cared enough to post pictures of myself!) I mean does she always dress like that? Are his muscles always that defined or is the lighting just right in that pic? Comparison is a terrible enemy that can lead us to a place of brokenness and despair. 

I want to introduce a different way of seeing things. It’s not easy and it’s something that I am working on myself. Instead of asking why can’t I have this thing or be like that person, try asking what if it’s just not my time? What if my time is yet to come? 

The idea behind it’s not your time is that even though someone else gets the blessing or the good day that you have been praying for, working toward, and expecting for years, your time is coming.

Maybe it’s a job that you have applied for but didn’t get. Maybe it’s a significant other that you have been trying everything you can to find. And everyone around you seems to be married and you can’t even land a steady date. Maybe it’s having a little bit of extra cash to go out on the weekend with your friends and you can barely scrape two nickels together. Whatever it is maybe it’s not your time. Maybe your time is coming.

I know that doesn’t take away the sting of not having it. I know it doesn’t make today any easier, but when you realize that it’s not about your timing or your plans, it does make moving forward a little easier. 

And lest anyone think I haven’t had my “it’s not your time” moments, please come talk to me sometime. I will gladly share with you the plethora of moments that things didn’t go the way I had planned and I wondered the same thing you’re asking right now. 

So does life seem unfair? Yeah it sure does! I know that some days are going to be far worse than others. But when we shift our focus to a realization that my time is still coming, things tend to look different.

Here’s an exercise I do to keep me focused when life seems a tad unfair. Take a deep breath and look at your own life. Really look at it. Not looking at what you don’t have but what you do have. Make a list, even if only mentally, of the things you have in your life today that you didn’t 1, 3, or 5 years ago. They are examples of the it’s not my time principle in action. Three years ago it wasn’t your time to have those things but here you are enjoying them. 

Again, I’m fully aware it’s not going to make a husband magically appear to your non-dating doorstep or a million dollars appear in your empty bank account, but it will shift your mind from scarcity to abundance.

It’s not your time, but imagine how great it will be when your time finally arrives! That will be a day to celebrate for sure! 

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