ClydeStyle

Category: Free Will

  • On the other side of Jesus


    Justice is a hard thing to demand.

     

    I mean, how do I have the right to justice when I’m wrong too? Justice is defined as: The quality of being just; fairness. The principle of moral rightness; equity. Conformity to moral rightness in action or attitude; righteousness. I can be righteous … for an hour, a half day, 72 hours maybe. It doesn’t take long for me to end my righteous streak — and that’s the problem.

    One of the greatest examples of hypocrisy is for someone to cause harm from being careless. Especially if you catch me on one of my righteous days, I can really stir up trouble and make you feel two inches tall by rebuking your behavior and telling you how wrong you are. I can do this without ever thinking about my unrighteousness.

    I’m reminded of the two thieves that were literally hanging with Jesus. The thief on the one side of the savior began to mock him like he heard the crowd do. He said: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

    Once we reach the other side of Jesus, we get a far different disposition. The thief on the other side of Jesus said, “Don’t you fear God … since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

    I want to stay on the other side of Jesus. I want to remember who I am and where I stand before him. I am a sinner saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. This salvation is impossible for me to obtain, but it has been gifted to me by the father that I may not brag. I’ve been made over and thank God that JUSTICE has been replaced in my vocabulary with GRACE.

    And you only reach this point when you cross over to the other side of Jesus.

  • The importance of types in scripture

    A few weeks ago, I began teaching a class on types in scripture.  By types I mean that an Old Testament story is somewhat of a mirror to a scenario today. We often don’t associate or connect the Old Testament and the New Testament together this way, but we really should. There is much to be learned by “things written aforetime” (Rom. 15:4).

    There are several types portrayed in scripture between the time of Adam and the Law of Moses. I would like to expound on five. First, God’s action toward Adam and Eve in the garden as he made provisions for his people and gave them purpose.  This is something he does for us in Christ today. Christ was our provision and we have a purpose in our life that centers on doing his will. Second, even when God put Adam and Eve out of the garden, he taught them a lesson on the consequences of sin. Because of their sin, something died. Physically, God shed blood from animals to cover their sin. This practice would continue until Christ died on the cross. Many bulls and goats died because of the sins of God’s people. And all that blood could do is what it did on Adam and Eve’s exodus from the garden – cover their sins.

    Third, Cain and Abel is one of the oldest lessons in the bible as it relates to man. Abel’s offering was based on God’s revelation; Cain’s offering was based on man’s imagination. This lesson is played out every Sunday as so-called religious people attempt to worship the Father “their” way and not God’s way. Many are responding to the gospel by man’s imagination instead of God’s revelation. This is a powerful lesson that man must learn before Jesus returns.

    Forth, Enoch, the bible says, was translated so that he didn’t see death and it was all because of his faith. Our faith works exactly the same way in that Col. 3:13 tells us that we are translated into the kingdom of his dear son because of our faith. Enoch’s testimony will always serve as a wonderful type for us today in that it was said of him before his translation, that he pleased God. We then learn, in  Heb. 11:6, that without faith it’s impossible to please God. Enoch was a man of faith and because of his faith he was translated. And today because of our faith so are we.

    Fifth, we have to say a bit about Noah. There are so many types when we discuss Noah. My favorite is the comparison of the Ark to the Church. Both places work much like the inn in the story of the Good Samaritan. The inn was the place where Christ would keep his souls saved until his return. The ark served that purpose and the Church today does as well. Do you see any other types in the bible during the time spanned between Adam and the law Moses gave?

  • Leave marriage out of this

    I have been having a hard time with gay marriage.

    It’s not that I mind that people of the same sex come together. I believe that since I don’t trust our government to tell me what to do, I don’t think our government should try and tell others what they can or cannot do. Morally I have issues with it because I believe the Bible to be the absolute truth. But the key phrase that I said was, “I believe.” I’m not trying to force my religious beliefs on anyone.

    I’m the type of Christian that if you want to know what the Bible says, I stand ready to give you the answers. I’m not going to club you over the head with my Bible,  nor am I going to try and convince you to follow my Bible. The reason is because my Bible says you have to believe and obey from the heart.

    The God I serve is pro-choice. Pro-choice in the sense that He allows everyone freewill. He would never do anything to prohibit your freewill and your freewill doesn’t checkmate His perfect will. Basically, you choose to do what your heart really desires and His judgment will reign in the end.

    With that said, I am bothered by the use of the word marriage.

    I know what a marriage is and I know that gays wanted their significant others to be able to get medical benefits and such. I totally understand that. To make this happen, the insurance industry practically forced them to seek marriage instead of just allowing them to appoint the people who are able to get benefits.

    Should it matter who gets benefits?

    To greedy insurance companies, the answer is yes. They were trying to avoid allowing us to designate who we want to give benefits to.

    I said all that to say this:  instead of gays entering into a “marriage,” why couldn’t we just call it a “union?”

    Doing it this way allows the true intention of marriage to stay pure and its defining elements to remain intact. Jesus said, “Have you not read that He who made them in the beginning made them male and female.” (Matt. 19:4) This is what He meant when He said,”…what God has joined together (a male and a female), let no man separate.”

    The use of the word “union” would be generic enough to allow any two things to come together: a chicken and a cow… a pig and a frog…peanut butter and chocolate – and even two men or two women.

    Let union ring!

  • Can you love me?

    I’ve been pondering a question all week.

    I’ve been thinking whether or not it is easy to love me.

    Arrogance makes you answer the question too quickly and say, “Of course it is!”

    But in your most inner thoughts, when you get really serious about answering this question, what do you come up with?

    The first thing I thought about was what criteria I would use to really determine it:

    • Would I base this on the grounds of how often I attend church services?
    • What about how much money I make?
    • Or whether or not I can remain faithful and committed in a relationship?
    • Do my possessions make me easier to love?
    • What about my political views?
    • Am I easier to love if I have the heart of a servant or a leader?
    • Would I be easier to love if I were completely fit?
    • What about my intellect?
    • Would I be easier to love if I were smarter?
    • What if I were more attractive?
    • What if I were cleaner?

    The list could go on and on.

    So if I were to answer the question seriously, I would have to look at some standard of love.

    I chose to use Jesus Christ – since most people in our country show some allegiance to Him. The Bible says God is love, so in the case of the Son, He would have to be love, too.

    John 3:16 say, “For God so LOVED the world that He gave … .” It would appear that giving is a great place to start. If I could give unconditionally of my time and my means, this would make me easier to love because of the way I give.

    I think another important characteristic is sacrifice. It seems that a person who can be selfless would literally draw people to himself. This must be an important aspect as well.  I’m obviously still pondering this question. However, if I was to look at the other side and assume that it was difficult to love me, could I be honest and admit that it’s difficult?

    Why would it be difficult? Because I feel entitled and I want others to serve me, I make it difficult to love me. Because I feel someone owes me something or I’m not happy with my life and I want others to suffer because I’m not happy. Or because I think that I’ve done some great thing in the past and now I’m owed. Like say if I raised a family, maybe now I feel that my adult kids owe me something.

    Bottom line is this: We are going to one day stand before the judgment seat of Christ and we will have to give an account. When that time comes, can we say that we were lovable or unlovable?  This is our choice and I choose to be lovable. I choose to make a difference in the lives of the people that I come in contact with so that they will be better people, too. I pledge to let my light shine to honor my Father in heaven.

    If you choose the latter, I hope today you change. If not, I pray that He has mercy on your soul.

  • We have no right!

    I have been waiting to weigh in on a topic that is near and dear to me. I’ve been wanting to say something, but I wanted it to be received well so I held my peace. Sometimes it’s good to let certain things settle a bit before saying something about it. I am an avid basketball fan – especially NBA basketball.

     I actually love all sporting events, but I think over the years I’ve changed. Games are great to watch. I’ve even had an occasional bet on a game. I guess I’m a fan of sports because of how well I know that sports has changed many lives – both good and bad. The potential for lives to be changed for the better is almost worth all corruption that happens.

    Sports have been the way some folks learn about life. It has been the ticket for some to go to college, become millionaires and even turn lives around. Sports have allowed us to witness the God-given gifts of men and women who excel through various levels. To watch Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan play basketball or Venus and Serena Williams play tennis or Usain Bolt run or Michael Phelps swim – well, you get the picture. Sporting events bring sports fans a lot of joy.

    Recently, LeBron James decided to jump into free agency and sign a multi-year contract with the Miami Heat.  The reaction from Cleveland was clearly over the top. Once the announcement was made, Cleveland Cavs fans burned their LeBron James jerseys in the street. I was in Westlake, Ohio a few days ago and they were selling shirts which called the superstar the “Lyin King” among other things. I had not seen this much hatred since the owner of the original Browns football team decided to move the team away from the city. Ugliness ensued and the fans were left without a professional football team for a while, but the city was able to retain the Browns name.

    Because of our love for the games and the passion that goes with it, I have found Ohioans to be very loyal to their teams. There are people who cheer for Ohio State that never even went to college. This was a shock to me coming from Michigan. I mean, I love the Maize and Blue too, but I’m not going to get into a heated argument after a game. When I first came to Ohio, a Buckeye fan keyed my car after U of M beat OSU because my car sported a Michigan license plate. I thought these people were crazy. They’d ask me each Saturday who I was rooting for and I would always say, “the Broncos” after my alma mater WMU. I would tell them that the game didn’t matter to me and that I just hoped we see a really good game. Even members of my former congregation would express their likes or dislikes on Sunday morning as to who won or lost Saturday night.

    My point here is this: As fans we have the right to cheer or boo; to have favorite athletes and choose whose jersey we will wear. But when we start wishing ill-will toward our fellow man or wanting to do bodily harm to an athlete, we have crossed the line.

    Earlier this year, now former UT coach Lame Kiffen left the school for the head coaching job at USC. UT fans showed their displeasure by publicly threatening his family, harassing his children and making statements like they hope his plane crashes on the way to USC. One fan said online in a statement, “Everyone is so upset now about this, but we need to let it go, it is out of our hands. Lame Kiffen’s day will come, just like the good ol’ book(Bible) says you do a good thing and you shall be rewarded, but you do bad thing and you will not be rewarded. Look on the positive side, we will get a better coach and our team will be #1 this year!” This quote is mild except for the obvious lie told on the Bible here. The good ol’ book as this fan calls it never says anything about good work always yields good rewards and visa versa. I though TN was the heart of the Bible belt?

    This problem is widespread and we need to get a handle on it. If a professional athlete chooses to leave your hometown and go with another team and a few days later you are still stewing about their decision and raising your blood pressure as a result – or if you are getting so angry as to have thoughts of harming the athlete, you need help.

    LeBron James is gone, Cleveland! You were not robbed and he does not owe you a thing. He made a choice that he felt was in the best interest of his family. Be thankful for the time you had him for. Be glad that a world class athlete played for your favorite team and gave his all. Be thankful that you got to witness such a talent. And above all else, remember that it’s a business and no one has to get your permission to do anything. When it’s all said and done, those of us who love sports are just fans. No more, no less. And we need to start acting like fans.

  • Part 1: Is my heart right with God?

    We have many examples biblically and in our daily lives of the challenges and triumphs of serving God. Sometimes we have to sit back and be honest about the answer to this question: Do we really want to serve God? This is one of those questions that we should be honest with because God already knows the answer. Without embarrassing myself or any of the folks I counsel, let’s review how hard it can be through the eyes of the first family.

    God gave Adam and Eve dominion over everything that He created on earth and entrusted them as keepers of the Garden of Eden. Adam was clearly given instructions on how to serve God and what God’s expectation was within their covenant. There is sufficient evidence that Adam instructed Eve regarding service to God, as her conversation with the serpent reveals instructions regarding the forbidden fruit – her mate would have been the only person to tell her. (Gen. 3:1-5).

    The Bible does not reveal to us exactly how long Adam and God shared this covenant relationship before Eve was created, but arguably Adam definitely knew the benefits of this union and enjoyed the splendor of serving God and being obedient to His word.

    Unfortunately, Eve was deceived and Adam turned from leader to follower and the two were alienated from God and sin separated them. The covenant had been broken and the relationship drastically changed. In this state, it would have been better for Adam to have never known the covenant relationship with God rather than experience it and lose everything. Said Peter in 2 Pet. 2:21: “For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.”

    We have the same opportunity Adam and Eve had to glorify God. We receive arguably better things than they did, considering the fact that the world is a bit more advanced than in their day.

    Nevertheless, as they struggled to maintain a relationship that is pleasing to God, we do, too. And we don’t do it for the same reason they didn’t – we lust from our eyes, we lust in our flesh and we’re full of pride. Satan knows these things so he attacks us through one or all of these three.

    If you read the conversation between the serpent and Eve you will see these three things in play:

    • Eve saw that the fruit was good (lust of the eye)
    • Eve saw that the fruit held the key to wisdom that could make her like God (pride of life)
    • Eve’s answer to the question of why they were at that tree in the first place (lust of the flesh)

    Adam and Eve could eat from any tree save this one. It was in the midst of the garden. Wouldn’t you think that it would be easy to avoid? Why couldn’t they stay on the outer banks and never go into the midst of the garden to be tempted regarding the tree?

    The challenges we face in the flesh lead us to second guess what we know to be right or wrong. It is literally how we are drawn away.

    Can this process be avoided?

    Next week we’ll examine Cain and Abel and draw some meaningful conclusions about them and the lesson that comes from their story.

  • God – Pro Choice?

    Remember when life was a little easier?

    I mean long before we were frightened by the turn of the century – you remember the time I like to call the duck tape/water scandal. It’s as if someone hit the fear switch and that became the new method of control.

    Suddenly, we now had to be careful about what we said, what we saw and what we did.

    Even our words have changed.

    I’m old enough to remember the theme song to The Flintstones. When the lyrics said, “you’ll have a gay ole time,” no one had homosexual thoughts about it. The word gay had a different meaning then. It just meant happy. Now I guess it means happier.

    I remember when I could say that the word “ain’t” wasn’t in the dictionary! Well, it is now.

    Word usage is very important today.

    I say all this to point out that as we continue to change – and change is good – we need to be careful of what we choose to fight against. Many Christians end up on the wrong side of politics – meaning that sometimes we have to choose whether we’re going to be political or spiritual.

    I was having a conversation with a woman who felt that God hated abortion and that the people who participate in it will surely go to hell. I asked her if she was sure about that and she said definitely! She then proceeded to tell me that I shouldn’t be questioning her since I stand in a pulpit on Sunday mornings.

    I asked her if she wanted to have this conversation as members of a political party or as members of the body of Christ.

    She said, “Both.”

    I said “That’s impossible.”

    The reason is because of the definition of words.

    Words like “pro choice” and “socialism” (I will discuss socialism in another post) take on different meanings depending on the context of the conversation.

    This intrigued her.

    She said, “Since we’re both Christians, let’s talk about it as members of the body of Christ.”

    Great idea!

    Biblically, God wants us to use our intellect. We were created differently from the other animals for this purpose. All Christians agree that we were created in the image of God – everyone doesn’t understand how – but we agree that we are definitely created in His image (Gen. 1:26, 27).

    Being created in the very image of God gives us the right to choose – to make our own choices and to suffer the consequences for our mistakes – whether they’re good consequences or bad ones.

    Some people think it would have been easier for God to just omit the trees that He told Adam and Eve not to eat from. Being in the image of God necessitates the need to use the intellect we’ve been created with. God gave Adam and Eve an opportunity to use their intellect.

    That’s what choice is all about.

    What do you think happens when someone (people, the government, the schools – or anybody) takes that right away?

    How many people in the Bible were given choices by God?

    A better question might be: how many people from the Bible must I name who God gave choices to for you to believe that God is pro-choice?

    In fact, of the 66 books in the Bible, it would be quicker to name the people He didn’t give choices to.

    Can you name anyone in either of these groups?