Mercy and Grace, Judgement and Love

I had a conversation yesterday with one of my friends that took me back in time, back to another life. 

A life time ago....
A warm summers day, the sand is warm beneath her feet. The water coming and going, one wave after another is rushing, then retreating. The air is thick with humidity. The sea gulls are above in the sky, they are below running toward the water as it leaves. A young woman dressed... hardly dressed at all, she is alone by the water. Her only companion is her beloved dog who seems to protect her from her stupidity as guys are driving by, then turning around to take another look. She seems brazen as she buys the lie of her young illusionary power. She seems indifferent. She thinks she likes this. She has forgotten. She has buried her emotions, her dreams with the constant flow of beta blockers that she keeps flowing through her veins. She is dying, but she believes she is living.

Another story, someone else's life....
A young mom, she is one of the viewed leaders of the church. She teaches and she preaches, but on Saturday night the bar is calling. The house is loud. Children are fighting. The announcers on the TV are reaching highs and lows as they anticipate the next play. There he is, just sitting there, lost in some game while her world is reeling. The keys, the car, the bar, this is her chance to have a pretend moment. A get away into another life that she dreams about, maybe this time she can turn her dreams into reality. The escape that is constantly right at her fingertips, but that is always just far enough that keeps her straining.

Two different women. Two different situations. How do you see them? Are they the same? Are they different? How do you treat them? Do you treat them the same or do you treat them differently? The one similarity, they are both lost.

Some people say that you treat everyone the same. They say, you give this person this, and that person the same thing because you must keep it fair. I say that is a lie. That is an excuse some use so that they will not be held accountable for what they are doing. Others use this excuse because in order to deal with people as individuals, you must get to know them. You have to get personal and personal is the part that is easiest to avoid. And lets face it, no on wants to be that person calling anyone out. For those of us who really know ourselves, we know we all mess up, we have all sinned.

"It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, 'You must remove the evil person from among you,'” 1 Corinthians 5:12.

But then you say, "Jesus said, If you judge other people, then you too will be judged. See the log in your eye. You have enough of your own stuff. Do not judge... period."

That too is false. Take a good look at the scripture, Matthew 7:1-5. He is not saying, not to judge, but how. Yes, we must first take a good look at ourselves. I used two very different, but similar women. The first was not someone seen as a leader, but as someone lost. The second woman put herself in a position of leadership at a church, but was also lost.   "Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly.  Indeed, we all make many mistakes." James 3:1

The difference was their message. What they were themselves proclaiming to live. This is so touchy. This is the hard part about being in a family, learning to love. Sometimes love is all about grace and mercy. Sometimes if you treat another person the same way, you become an enabler and are the cause of their destruction.

Someone recently made a comment on one of my blogs, "The challenge for me now is to know how to love others as they are, but not to enable them to continue on as they want to be." This is the hard part of growing. As I have traveled through this life, from the beach, to the teacher. I have had to handle situations differently, but gently. I have not gotten them all right, but I must deal with them anyway. Learning and stumbling along the way, but my heart is trying. As young men and women come into my home I must handle them with mercy and gentleness, but the same? Now that would be a shame. Each person is beautifully unique. I would not be showing them their value if they were treated equally. What value is a diamond if it is looked upon as just another piece of cut glass? Would I be showing the seasoned Christ follower, the one who knows the scriptures by heart, any sort of love if I treated them and expected the same from them as I would the drug addicted person on the street? Is that love? What is love? You know the person individually. We are to see others as Christ sees us and He knows us personally.

The problem is that we get our love and mercy confused. We judge the world. I see Christians on my college campus pointing their fingers and shouting at my kids about sin. That is no sort of love and not a part of my God. And at the same time, I see other Christians saying do not judge as one of their leaders is leading in a most despicable way toward the grave. There is balance in love. Sometimes we take the most unclothed, cover them with mercy and grace, till they are warmed with love. And other times we must step up to the hard plate and call someone out. But both are act of His love. This is why we are to get to know our Lord. Daily reading His words so that we are not confused about our roles in His world.

"The people who influence us the most are not those who detain us with their continual talk, but those who live their lives like the stars in the sky and “the lilies of the field”— simply and unaffectedly. Those are the lives that mold and shape us." Oswald Chambers

New Birth or Rebirth?

The house is still.  What do I hear? The tic of the clock.  A bird is beginning to wake.  The house stretches and quakes as the earth is warming.  The coffee maker just sighed.  A dove is calling.  My breath seems loud against the stillness.  What do I see?  My chair stuffed full of pillows around me.  An afghan blanket that was woven for me when my first son was born, covers my legs.  My coffee is snug between two of my pillows.  My always blooming plants are stretching toward the sun. The window that protects me from the cold outside is big right next to my sitting area.  The shadows are no longer shadows, but trees and houses coming into view as the light is peaking over the horizon.  A small rabbitt moves steadily along the curb, going toward his hiding place.  The day is approaching.  Am I in a play?  Is this my stage?  Is the dawn the opening of the curtain?  Who is behind the curtain, backstage?

In New Birth or Rebirth, by Ravi Zacharias, this is one of the main topics, along with many others.  Have you ever been in a play?  Opening night is a really big night.  Your heart is pounding, your mind is racing. "What if I forget?"  "Who is here?"  So you peak around one of the curtains trying to get a glimpse of the audience.  There are many things that should be asked as we enter the play; For the actors:  What is my message?  What are others going to do with their lives after they are impacted with my role?  For the director/writer: What am I really trying to say?  How has this changed the mind of my crew as they have learned my words?  For the audience: What are we seeking as we seek our entertainment?  How is this play going to affect me when I leave?  Is it going to become my reality?  So many more questions.... In this great conversation Krishna and Jesus talk about their similarities and their differences.  Just a glimpse...

Krishna: Because I believe all of life is a leela-a play, a drama.  The universe is simply a cosmic puppet theater for the gods.  We are simply actors on a stage.  Roles and duties are all divinely assigned and beyond human control.  Backstage there is always a different script.  And I know there's an audience.  There's always an audience at a play.
Jesus: We may disagree on the idea of a puppet show, Krishna- there is always a choice, a will, a decision.  Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.
But the subject of a man listening, I would agree-when man seeks, he finds, and when he knocks, the door is opened to him.  So lets continue our discussion, for I too want to talk about he nature of who you and I are and what we teach.  That is why we are talking today, you and me, for the sake of the man whose ear is pinned to the curtain.  His soul is struggling.  He is desperate for the truth, Krishna..  Let's speak of these things for his sake, not for the sake of argument between you and me.
Krishna:  Agreed.  There is no need for you and me to argue.  You and I are complete in ourselves...

As the great conversion between Krishna and Jesus continues throughout the book, my mind and heart continually returns to the play.  No we are not puppets in a drama for the gods to be entertained.   But we are being watched and the world is our audience.  As I try and sift through the different things that I am continually hearing, things that are good and right, I cannot get lost in the closeness of them.  "Truth is powerful and truths that are almost truths are deadly and seductive.... Just because two things have one thing in common doesn't mean they have everything in common.  The heart of humanity and the provision of God are the two central points we must understand."

Are we willing to ask the hard questions?  Do we really want the answers?  Is this life reality, or are we just part of a cosmic play?  Are others watching you and learning from you on how they are going to live out their life?  What path are you directing them toward?

Jesus: Truth will always divide, Krishna.... A single minute difference in the ecology of the world and you will end up with death.  If you believe one lie, you are often led down the path of many lies... That's the difference between a drama and reality.  Reality cannot be wiped out by a whim.  Look at that truck.... and at its shadow on the sidewalk.  Now tell me this; would you rather be run over by the truck or by its shadow?... Is the shadow real or imaginary?... because the truck momentarily blocks out the sun, which creates the shadow.  You don't judge by the shadow; you judge by the light.
That's the story of the gospel.  When I died on the cross for you and for every person born onto this earth, the truck of the judgement and penalty of the law went over me so that only the shadow of death would pass over you.  You still have to face the pain of death, but I have paid the price.  It was I who was crucified, but my disciples are still troubled and heartbroken by the shadow of death.

And the story continues..... What is your understanding?  What part are you playing?  Who is your audience?.....

Masonry

I love to discover new things about my God.  One of the things that I was turned on to several years ago was Ray Vanderlaan, Follow the Rabbi. Mind blowing things that can only be seen when you enter the world, the culture, the people.  In one of his teachings he discusses how Jesus probably was no carpenter, but a stone mason.  As I listened to him, I could see.  I can see this so much easier than I can see a carpenter working with wood.  Especially since when you see Israel you don't see forests, but deserts and lots and lots of rock.  How often did Jesus refer to wood when he spoke?  I can't recall many, if any.  Turn that around to rocks.  Now that one is all over the bible Old and New Testament.  Just passages that refer to cornerstones, there are at least 10.  And referring to Jesus as the cornerstone in the NT Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10-11, Luke 20:17, Acts 4:11, 1 Peter 2:7.  Now I could go on and on and I could gather more examples of stones; Mathew 16:18, when Jesus calls Peter the "Rock", 1 Corinthians 10:4 Jesus as the spiritual rock.... Seriously, do we need to proceed!  I'll let you look it up yourself ;)  Lets get to the issue....

Last night at L!VE  I had a friend of ours, Kaine Leonard owner of Rocky Mountain Masonry, come and speak to everyone about masonry and lessons he has learned along the way.  He started by telling everyone how in college he was an extreme gravity biker, adrenaline was his rush.  He would take his 40lbs bike up to the top of mountains, often using ski lifts to get there, then fly down the mountain at top speeds.  What a ride. He then graduated from Western with a geology degree and discovered that working in a cubical was not going to work for him.   Masonry was calling him, but his first lesson was Pride.  He had a college degree, an extreme biker and now was reduced to a grunt laborer.  With this new role he had to force himself to plow through taking each moment by moment task and completing it with integrity as the low man on the totem poll.  And this is how his masonry life began.  With pride being toppled from the beginning.  

A quick summery of other life lessons:  

*Take each step moment by moment.  You cannot rush through and complete your job.  It takes time to do it right.

*Put your blinders on.  You cannot look at the enormous job set before you.  You start with the rock in hand.  Focus on the small task and you will soon look around to discover that you have accomplished more than you realized.

*Rock doesn't care.  If you mess up or break a rock, don't loose your cool.  It won't help anything, the rock doesn't care that you did it wrong.

*Perfect product/perfect material.  You don't have to have lots of tools and a huge supply of rock, what you have is sufficient.

*Work on your knees.... enough said

*Work smarter, not harder.  If you go at the rocks before you with all of your strength the entire working day, you will burn out fast.  It is about being smart with what you have now.

*Patience- go with the flow.  This is not a race to see who can make it down the mountain first.  It is about a slow and steady adaptability.

*Sometimes when you do everything right, it still seems not to work.  You can't give up.  It is about a new day, same job.

*You can be so proud of a job you have done.  You think you did it without error, but when you return to that job after learning more, you discover that as you look at your past job, you didn't know as much as you thought you did.  You look at the job you did and discover things with a new eye.

*Work from the outside in.  You cannot start a task of smoothing a rock from where you want to end. You have to start from the outside, chipping away small pieces to finally achieve the rock you desired from the beginning.  You cannot see it and start there.  You see it, then work your way in.

So many life lessons in just a short amount of time.  As we travel through this life, doing the slow and steady work before us God is teaching us.  He is showing us who we really are and teaching us to work better.  The most important stone is the cornerstone.  This one is vital for any building. "The stone the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone."  We get so used to the rush of life.  We see the race and want to be the first to cross the finish line.  When we learn from our Lord, we see that it is not about fast, but efficient.  You cannot rush through.  You cannot focus on where you want to end, but you need to have miopia, nearsightedness.  Today, work slowly and diligently.  Do not get overwhelmed with the big construction sight, but pick up you rock and start chipping away piece by piece.  Allow Christ to be your cornerstone and you will have a secure and well built building.  Another little note that Kaine added, we laugh a lot on the job.  When you are entrenched in the work set before you, you laugh.  Enjoy this ride....  

My Biggest Mistake

The other day I put a post on FB that asked others, "What is my biggest mistake."  I had some responses that said things like pride, jealousy, laziness, naive, self pity, addiction, with a few colorful remarks that made me smile as well.  While I may have all of these things as part of my character these are not my biggest mistakes.  My biggest mistake has really never been some thing that I have done.  It is not a lie, cheating, divorce, sex or drugs.  No my biggest mistake still haunts me.  I still fear my biggest mistake.  I am not afraid of going out and doing drugs again.  I am not afraid of being tempted in a bar to get wasted and go home with some random guy.  I am not afraid of.... you fill in that one.  I am not afraid of many things.  I'm getting too old. I'm a wife and a mother and I hope that my walk with God has brought me past that.  I have grown with Him and I am no longer haunted by the same things that used to haunt me.  And besides all of those things really only involve me.  I am not afraid of most all things that only involve me and my personal struggles.  No the thing that I consider as my biggest mistake, that thing that still drives me because I never want to become that again... Enabler. 

If you look enable up in the dictionary or the thesaurus you will find words like empower, approve, and  facilitate.  All of these words seem very good, but sometimes your greatest strength may cause the most destruction.  I hope now that I can use my greatest strength to bring others up, but there was a time when my greatest strength was a tool to bring others down.  Let me give you the best and easiest example I have... my ex-husband...

In my previous marriage I was my husbands biggest enemy.  It all started with simple little things.  He didn't want to go to church.  Well I really didn't want to either, so we didn't.  He wanted to play music full time, so I came up with the idea of living in a camper at the KOA.  He quit his day job and we lived very cheaply.  I'm not going to bore you with more details that you already know.  I'm the one to blame for I did not hold to a higher standard in my life.  I brought that standard down and became his enabler, his dealer, his.... fill in that blank... I became his "sin".  

In Deuteronomy 4 Moses is giving his farewell speech to Israel.  He is calling them to remember.  He is  reminding them that they are to follow God so that others will want to follow them.  So they can help become part of the redeeming factor of the world.  They were designed to be a vehicle to reach other nations.  With our limited view, it may not look like this is what their ultimate job was, but remember "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son" ... 
“But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren.  Never forget the day when you stood before the Lord your God..."(4:9,10).

My biggest strength is also my biggest mistake.  I never again want to enable destruction in someone else's life.  I am not responsible for what they do Oswald explains this nicely, but I do not want it to be known that because of how I acted in their life they are now destroyed.  "If a child gives in to selfishness, he will find it to be the most enslaving tyranny on earth. There is no power within the human soul itself that is capable of breaking the bondage of the nature created by Yielding."  

The challenge for me now is to know how to love others as they are, but not to enable them to continue on as they want to be.  It is about coming up higher to how He originally created us to be.  For we are the apple, the little maiden, the little man of His eye.   I am not responsible for others behavior like an amateur providence... and amateur is all that I would be.  It was my own selfish desires that allowed me to enable that same fault in others.  In holding myself to a higher standard, I hope I can enable others in a good way this time.  This is my time. My time to allow my greatest mistake to become my greatest strength, just like He originally intended!

Hearts True Agenda

The other day I read a post that a friend of mine posted on FB. "Do we need to be part of the 4-walled church? Explain." With that my week of thinking, searching, listening started. My travels did not take me where I was expecting to go. My first turn was what directed my search. My first turn ended up bringing me full circle in the end.

Ravi Zacharias, "Lotus and the Cross" a conversation between Jesus and Buddha. In this book there are several characters and as you read, the conversation takes you on a trip through life questions. A very good read I must say... Anyway, toward the end of this book Jesus is answering a heart question and this is where I paused. Their was a Samaritan woman who came to draw water in a well where Jesus was resting. He started to dialog with her, which was her first red flag, Jews never talked to Samaritans. “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her. “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”

Another turn. I opened my bible to John 4 and camped there for a while. What was the heart question? What was the answer?

“Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”

The question was positioned in a specific place, but was this her real question or was it something different that I had never noticed before? So many questions, yet what was the real question that only Jesus could see? What was it that made her run and tell everyone that she had found the King? What was it that she was trying to divert His attention away from, yet couldn't?

"But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

I have always missed this answer, for I was looking at it for an answer. This is where I landed and this is what opened my own heart to my own questions and when I ask them. In the mix of His answer, He called her heart out..."true worshipers", "spirit and in truth".... her question wasn't sincere, but a diversion. He had shown a spotlight on who she had become and it hurt. With that pain, she tried to take the focus off of herself and redirect Jesus' mind to concentrate on what others concentrated on, how to worship. But this wasn't sincere at all! Her heart, her pain had been exposed and anything that she could grab to take focus off of her was her goal. She was talking to no fool. There was a deeper issue. What was this issue, we will never know for the conversation was interrupted, but she had had enough to know that this One was different.

With courage from her heart being exposed, she went and shared His story, through her story, with the rest of the village and all of her surroundings were transformed. "Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, 'He told me everything I ever did!' When they came out to see Him, they begged Him to stay in their village. So He stayed for two days, long enough for many more to hear His message and believe. Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard Him ourselves. Now we know that He is indeed the Savior of the world.”

So many times throughout this life we come upon questions that are not really questions at all, but diversions to get the focus off of us and on a topic instead. I am the master of this. If I start to get pressured into telling others how my health is holding up (or failing) I divert the conversation away from me and change topics! I don't want to talk about this, it is work, I struggle with doing what I need to do in order to live and I divert the topic away from health... Every time! I am not saying this is what my friend did on FB, but it did bring me to a very important conclusion. What is it that we often are trying to hide from others? What is it that we do not want to see ourselves? What is it that God is trying to get us to look at within our own hearts that we keep trying to look away from? Are we asking questions in truth, or is there an underlying agenda we are seeking? Are we brave enough to allow Him to expose our hearts, so that we can heal?

Just Within Reach

Step into the story with me. 
They had been a slave for generations, but now they had been free for two years. Two years they have been learning how to trust in their Leader, but all too often two years is not enough.  They are standing right in front of their paradise, their promised land and they are succumbing to the situation.  They are starting to look  back on their past with fond memories, instead of seeing it for what it really was.
Now is the time.  
They are to go and look at what they will be rewarded with.  They are to go and see exactly what needs to be done in order to achieve their new life of freedom living.  They go and come back with conflicting reports.  Ten are overwhelmed with what lies ahead.  Two are confident that God will do for them what they cannot do and through Him they will have success.  The ten, the naysayers, bring discouragement upon the entire camp.  Their voices ring loud with the feelings that  were already brimming in from their wilderness camp out.  The excitement from the journey of being set free was wearing off and all any of them could think about was returning to their former life of slavery.  It did seem much easier.  For what any of us remember about that life is illusionary, unless we are diligent with the truth.  They do not want to hear about how life can be different.  They do not want to hope any longer.  So in order to stop the voices who are reaching for the promise, they pick up stones to beat them into silence.  (Numbers 13-14)

I have found myself within this wilderness journey.  It is one of the hardest parts of my traveling life, learning to live obediently.  They had journeyed for two years and during this time they had a job.  They were building and sewing together, each one with his specific assignment.  But now that part of their training was coming to an end and they were ready to go back to the only thing any of them had ever known.  God works differently.  It wasn't time to go back, but to move forward.  For me, my wilderness camping lasted almost one year.  One year and now I was to marry the man God had chosen for my life.  One year of trying to learn to listen to the correct voice.  One year of trying to do things differently, but often stumbling along the way.  One year of trying to make him flee.  The naysayers are all around and trying to decipher truth between their voices and my own messed up voice within was almost deafening.  So often we pull away in order to hear better, but the truth is that the naysayer within only becomes louder.  We feed the voice that appears to be easier, instead of taking that hard and terrifying step to say "I do".  

It is hard to step forward.  It is so hard to take that arm and trust that where you are being led is a good place.  The promise land was right in front of them and God was telling them to Go, but the voices of the defeatist was screaming No!  And they were defeated for they stopped.  They were too afraid of the challenges they saw before them.  For man, let me tell you, what you are promised does not mean you do not have to work.  They were promised a land flowing with milk and honey and they were standing within reach of grasping their reward.  They tasted the fruit and they held their large bounty between them, but ultimately, what we harvest, we are first going to have to plant.  He will give us samples, but He does not want a lazy bride and His bride needs to show Him appreciative love.  He needs to allow her time to see that she can trust Him.  He needs her to see that if she will step forward, He will do the heavy lifting, but she needs to learn to battle for them.  But, these people, chose not to listen.  They chose to turn and go the other way, a way that was to take them 40 years to journey.  A way that would ultimately take most of them to their grave.

As we travel on this path of life, who are we going to listen to?  Are we going to listen to the naysayers, those who cannot understand why we would want to go His way?  Are we going to do the hard work in order to gain our reward?  Are we going to take those hard steps forward to accomplish our goal?  Whatever we are called to do, it is never always easy!  I so often want to give up and turn around.  I do not want to go back into the slavery that I once knew, but I so often want to believe the lie that a different path would be better.  But I cannot.  I cannot turn from what He has placed in front of me.  I know that whatever He has for me in this life is much better than anything I could manufacture on my own.  I must trust.  I must push through the trials and continue in this fight.  I must battle to to accomplish what He has ultimately already won.  For really, my life is not about me!  It is about others who are on this journey with me and am I helping them to see what He has in store for His people, or am I becoming part of the opposition,  part of the naysayers?  How am I leading?  Am I leading by a good example of endurance, or am I part of those who give up?  For whatever I am doing, others are following... No matter what!  Its not about me... It never is!

Continue!  Do not give up!  You can do it!  What is the path He has for you?  If you will continue to take those steps forward toward His desire, I promise, you will never have those same regrets other paths have taken you down.  Continue!  Do Not Give Up!

Cannabis Bliss, Truth and Lies

Romans 12:2, "Do not allow this world to mold you in its own image. Instead, be transformed from the inside out by renewing your mind." (The Voice Translation)

The other day I went into my favorite gas/burger joint. It is popular with many, mainly the college crowed. I walked in and ordered my families meal. While waiting for our take out, I decided to do a little reading. There is a magazine rack that blocks most other people from your view. This was perfect since I was in my polka dot fluffy sweat pants, an old t-shirt and the place was packed. As all of you know Marijuana is legal in Colorado. The magazine rack was 2/3rds full of magazines like High Times, Skunk, Cannabis Culture, but I landed on Treat Yourself. They were featuring an article on MS and Cannabis. I took the magazine, grabbed a chair, hid behind the rack and began reading. The article was very informative as it discussed how MS affects you neurologically and I was agreeing with everything, especially how vitamin D helps heal you. Then as the patient began talking about Cannabis, I began going "there". I love weed! I love to get high and allow myself to zone out. Throughout my drug years, I found nothing I liked more than marijuana.  X, ACID, popping whatever pills anyone gave me, the one I enjoyed most was this green herb.

I was lost for a moment in the "I have what it takes to really get me some again. And really who is going to challenge me on this one. I have all the material sitting right in front of me to help me with my case!" Then I rounded the corner to the last paragraph of the article and quickly I snapped back to reality. The "patient" began talking about how Cannabis helps him with his moods. How without it he is naturally cranky because of his condition, and this helps him better cope so that he can be a more productive family member and cannabis helps him enjoy all of them more. With that the lie was revealed! I have walked this pathway before and I know what marijuana does to you emotionally. That is the side effect that he did not understand why people don't talk about more often, because in his fog, he does not see that it is actually the weed that makes you a miserable wreck when you don't have it. If you are ever around a pot smoker, you will see that they are extremely touchy unless they are high. It does not help them get their natural emotions under control. It actually causes them to become more sensitive and the withdraws from not being high causes them to be, well, impossible.

Mixed with some truth, there was a lie. Being able to decipher truth from the lie that was told takes knowledge. With me it happens to be personal experience, in this case, I am not saying to try! Now I do not want to take all the time in the world to tell you all about the side effects and all that happens with marijuana. This topic really isn't about weed and I am not trying to pick a fight with a bunch of pot heads. I am saying that we all need to be aware when we are letting ourselves go "there". We can so easily be swept away with the truth of a subject, then when the truth gets mixed with lies, we just may believe them too. "Do not allow this world to mold you in its own image. Instead, be transformed from the inside out by renewing your mind."

We all have something that lures us into wanting to justify what we want. We have those moments of justification, all because we wanted to act that way or do that thing, whatever it is. There s something that entices us to treat others poorly, because "we were hurt." We need to disappear in front of the TV and ignore our families (every day/all night) because "we have had a long day and we need a break." The hard part is deciphering the truth. What is it that I am giving up in order to this thing? Who is not getting my full love? Who am I really?

"Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.  Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.  Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.  Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.  When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality," (12:9-13).

As we walk through the day there are going to be many things that seem right to us in the moment.  If we will keep a clear mind and truly look at what we hear, we will be able to see the truth.  Not all lies are easily seen, because they are mixed with truth.  If there wasn't some form of truth mixed in, no one would believe the lie.  God calls us to use our minds.  He does not want us walking around like zombies just going with the flow of the moment.  He calls us to be intellectual, using well what He has gifted us with.  The hard part is taking a really close look within our own hearts and seeing the truth about what we want and are giving up in order to get it.  I do not want to give up true intimacy with my family in order to have what I desire.  If I will keep a clear mind, I will be able to do what my heart truly seeks.  I will be able to have relationships that last and I will be a positive influence on others around me.... And if I will take a truthful look into my true hearts desire, that is what I truly want.  I do not want to settle for something that will leave my heart impotent, but full!