Shame, Shame, Shame

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1 John‬ ‭1:5-10

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in him. If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” and yet we walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth. If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

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Recently I had a discussion with one of my customers about the topic of shame and how it affects our lives. We do not live out the truth in our lives when we fail to confess our sins. Not just confession to God but to one another.

Without confession there can be no healing. Yet we allow shame to creep in and prevent us from experiencing life and community the way God intended for us. All across the globe there are people in churches who struggle with pornography, drugs, alcohol, over eating, gossip, same sex attraction and countless other things. Yet healing is not taking place in our community because we are so beholden to shame. Healing is a far away thing we long for but can never achieve. The Church has lost its way when it comes to shame. The world around us sees the importance of confession. How many AA meetings take place on a daily basis in our communities? How many weight watcher groups meet regularly? The world imitates what God has designed in us that can only be fully realized thru Him. We have a desire for community and healing that can only happen thru confession to one another.

For all of my teenage years I felt alone in my sin. I did not think anyone else struggled with what I was dealing with. It was not until my senior year in college that I realized that some of my friends had the same struggles as I had. Shame prevented me from talking about my issues. Yet I had friends I could have talked to, friends that if we would only confess our sins to one another could help better hold ourselves accountable. Even now it is hard for me to talk about what I struggle with, where I fall short.

Shame is a powerful thing. Shame prevents us from living life fully. There are countless young couples who wait to have sex until they are married. My wife and I both waited. But the funny thing is all of our lives we were taught how bad sex was and how wrong it was. That on many couples wedding night there is still shame and guilt after sex. Shame no one discusses. Shame for an act that is Holy in Gods eyes.

We have to overcome this culture of shame. Part of the answer is confession, another has to be how we teach about certain things. How we teach about sin in our lives. Shame has no place in a believers life that lives truth out. Do we all sin and fall short, yes. But we are forgiven, we are made righteous, we are made holy, we are joint heirs with Christ to the Kingdom. Are there consequences to sin, absolutely. But shame should not be one if we live in a community of believers. Confession heals. Shame only isolates us from another and prevents community.

Let’s Talk Gun Control

*Disclaimer* This is not a post advocating for or against gun control.

Even with the aforementioned disclaimer I can promise I will have someone comment on this post attacking me for wanting to take their guns away. That simple fact is what I really want to talk about. How did we get to the point where simply wanting to have a civil discussion about an important topic is impossible? If we are honest both sides of this debate are likely to blame.

With two of the top five deadliest mass shootings occurring in the last two months I think a discussion on gun control is merited. Yet I have a feeling both sides will do what they almost always do and demonize the other and attack them without even listening to their points. Maybe this lack of understanding and willingness to discuss topics we disagree on somehow contributes to these mass shootings.

When we foster an environment where we can not have a civil discussion things tend to escalate quickly. What needs to happen on this country is an honest discussion about gun control.

Should we ban all guns? Ban AR type guns? Pass stricter background checks? Do away with all gun control? Allow open carry? Just like with most issues the answer falls somewhere in the middle. But we can never get to the middle if we can not have a discussion. Mass shootings will continue to happen unabated and thousands will continue to die annually in this country by these attacks. There has to be a solution to this problem. I can not accept what we currently have is the best way to handle it.

So whether you support or oppose gun control can we not all agree that we need to have a discussion about it. Can we not all be adults and compromise for the betterment of our country, for our children’s future?

I Stand with D.A.C.A., I Stand with Christ

He said to him, “ Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”
Matthew 22:37

Once again Christianity in America has failed to live up to my hopes and dreams. Or more acutely the white Evangelical conservatives in the south. I can only speak of the segment of the population that I am familiar with. I fully understand that what I hear online and on social media does not speak for Christianity as a whole. But the voices of those I hear far out weigh those who are speaking truth.

For most if not all of my life I have heard how America is this great “Christian” nation. Yet where is the love of Christ? Where is the grace of the Cross? The mercy of the Lord? The forgiveness of our Savior? The compassion of Jesus? The long suffering of God? The indwelling of the Holy Spirit? Where is the message of Christ going out to the world? Not here,not now. I have spent my entire life reading and listening to what God has and wants to do here on Earth. I can confidently say this is not it.

Playing a political game with the lives of 800,000 people is not ok. These young people came to this country as children and did not understand that they were breaking the law. Their parents willingly broke the law so that their families had the prospect of a better life. How can we hold that against these young people? Better yet how can the Christian justify this?

Far too many people I know have a split worldview. They would argue that this is not about the Bible, Christianity, or Jesus. They would say this is about politics and what’s best for America. I believe the Bible teaches us that the only worldview we can have as Christians is thru the lenses of the Bible. Every action, every policy we support or stand against, every part of our lives should be viewed thru the Bible.

We are to esteem others more highly than ourselves. We are to love our neighbor as ourself. To care for the widow and orphan. To welcome the alien in our land. To love those who hate us and would do us harm. We as Christ’s image bearers are to extend the love, mercy, and grace of our Savior to our neighbor, to the sojourner, to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

White Supremacists, BLM, & The Brokenness of Society

This world is clearly broken.

By this I mean the conservative Evangelical worldview that I was raised in. How did we come so far from the message of the Gospel? Do we even care? The message of love for the other falls on deaf ears. Instead I see all over social media hate intentionally and unintentionally being blasted at the other. Jesus came to redeem the unworthy, love the unlovable, and set creation back on a path that leads to God, a path of LOVE.

What does any of this have to do with Confederate statues, white supremacists, BLM? It has everything to do with all of them. When we fail to love the other, we fail to love like Jesus. White Supremacy at its core has no room for love of the other. The message aspouced by neo-nazis and the KKK runs in direct objection to the message of Jesus. The message of the Cross. The message of LOVE. The message of these groups has no place in Christianity. The message in pulpits across the country should be denouncing this demonic, evil, belief. God created man in His image, giving infinite value to each and everyone of us including the other. There is no Jew or Greek in the kingdom of God.

Confederate statues by themselves are not bad, they are not evil. However, a large portion of our population look at them and are reminded of the hate for their ancestors. They are reminded of the hate for their grandparents and parents during the Civil Rights movement and segregation a time when they were told they were not equal. They are reminded of slavery, lynchings, Jim Crow, separate but equal, even when we those things were not equal. They are reminded of systemic racism in this country going back to the days it was founded. When a large portion of our population look at this statues they see a hatred of the other. No one is trying to rewrite history. These people are keenly aware of the History of hate towards them and their ancestors, that is not a thing that is easily forgotten. They do not see love, they do not see Jesus, they do not see the Cross, they see hate when they look at these statues. Would not the loving Christian thing be to simply remove them?

I wish I could rewrite history so these people would have never suffered at the hands of my ancestors. Is that such a bad thing? For those who say, if we do not remember history we are doomed to repeat it, I have this to say to you. If racism, more specifically systemic racism was not allowed to exist in our Christian worldview there would be no fear of repeating the mistakes of the past. If we viewed the other with Christ like love this is not an issue. The only way this is an issue is if we continue to allow racism to exist in the world. So I say to every civil authority where under your control one of these statues stand, remove them. Is your attachment so great that you can not see how the other feels? Can you not see how removing them is the better way to show love, to show unity?

BLM? Where is the problem with this movement? I honestly do not see it. The people behind BLM are not saying that only black lives matter, they are saying black lives matter also. It is well established that from the foundation of this country that white lives matter. No one is saying blue lives do not matter or that all lives do not matter. What they are saying is that since the foundation of this country that seemingly black lives do not matter. Slavery taught them that, segregation taught them that, systemic racism taught them that, unarmed black men being shot by the police taught them that, your response to these things taught them that. The other in this country is hurting, feels unloved, feels unvalued, feels hate from the rest of us. Show them love, show them how you value them, show them that to you they matter. Stand with BLM, change how society views and treats them. In doing so you may finally show the other the radical love of Jesus you profess to know, profess to believe in.

Society is broken and it is our fault. When we profess this nation to be a Christian nation but show no love for the other, we so it in the face of God who sent Jesus to die for each and every one us. When we show no love for the other we proclaim to the world that the message of the Cross does not mean anything.

I Pledge Allegiance…

There is an awful lot of news attention being given to professional athletes right now for not standing for the national anthem.  The backlash has been harsh at times as many pushback against what they deem as disrespect to the flag and the United States of America. Let me honestly ask this question, what makes not standing for the national anthem disrespectful? Just because that is how many, if not most, people here in this country stand out of respect that does not necessarily mean that standing is the only way to show respect. 

Regardless of whether you find it disrespectful or not what I really want to ask is, how should Christians view this topic?

 I have read articles saying that Christians according to the bible should show respect for America. Some even go as far as to say that it is a Christian virtue to pledge allegiance to the flag and country. 

While I have also read articles stating that Christians should place their allegiance in Christ and Christ alone. That we should never pledge allegiance to anything other than Christ.

What I want to ask is which view do you think holds truer to scripture and scripture alone? Staying true to the text and not our biases is key in all areas of Christian  living.  And if that means we should be less patriotic or more patriotic so be it. I want to stand with Christ and His word over man. 

So I ask you if you can set aside your biases and respond to this post with scripture to help me understand this topic I would appreciate it. And please if you can not remove your biases, or can not have a respectful discussion please do not respond. Your posts will be deleted. 

Wading Thru Current Events

Let me begin by saying my heart and prayers go out to those family’s who have lost loved ones in Paris and Beruit. I can not fathom the grief and the whole range of emotions they must be working thru right now. And I by no means want to make light of the tragedy they are facing. But I do want to address some issues that are directly related to current events in our world.

First, can I talk about the issue of immigration? Specifically Syrian refugees. Over the last week I have seen mass outcry over whether we as a nation or individual state should accept these refugees. The main point being argued is that we can not screen for potential Isis members. While I believe this to be a significant issue I want to look at things from the glasses of a Christian. Let me ask you what would Jesus want us as Christians to do with this topic? Verses like James 1:27 instantly jump out at me from scripture: Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

We have been charged to care for the widows and the orphans in their affliction. There are no conditional phrases like, if they are Muslim you do not have to care for them or if they maybe Isis members you do not have to care for them. We are called as Christians to care for these people. We at called to show the world Jesus and one way we can do this is Love our enemies and overcome evil with good. If we as Christians take the stance of refusing refuge to those displaced by civil war and mass murder then we are not showing love, we are not caring for the widows and orphans. You may say it’s not that simple what if (fill in the blank). It is that simple if you want to live a biblically based life caring for the widows and orphans, loving our enemies is one of those thing you MUST do.

As if I haven’t already opened a can of beans can we talk about what our response as Christians to the bombings and mass murder in Paris should be? I have been reading a book by Preston Sprinkle entitled  Fight: A Christian Case for Non-Violence that has caused me to rethink some issues. Over the years I have heard self professed Christians say things like “we should bomb the heck out of the Middle East and let God sort it out” and every time I have heard such nonsense I have thought how could anyone who ever reads the bible come to that conclusion. Let me give you one quote from Prestons book, “A large portion of the American evangelical church has been seduced, whether knowingly or not, by nationalistic militarism.” This is a huge problem because when I see Christians take the stance time and again that we should invade Iraq, Syria, Iran, the list goes on and on they are rooting this belief not in Scripture but in nationalistic militarism. This is dangerous because American values are replacing Scripture in our minds when we do this. I do not think the answer is to bomb all of the Middle East we should be advocating for good not evil.

I hope as I continue to wrestle with these issues you can take an honest look at them yourselves and look at what Scripture teaches not your American identity. America is not the new Israel, it is not God’s choosen people, it is a secular country where many Christians have replaced the bible with national pride. Get a copy of Prestons book and read thru it, find other resources for and against Non-Violence but let an honest look at scripture be what makes up your mind on these issues.

Remember if we meet evil with evil then Satan wins, only when we meet evil with good do we shine a bright light on the love of Jesus to our world

1st Time Home Buyer

Mallory, my beautiful wife, and I have made an offer on our first home. Most people would agree, I think, that this is an exciting time in the life of a young married couple. I think this can be an exciting time but not for the same reasons some may think. Are we putting down roots? I guess in a way we are but I know God has big plans for our lives part of which involves ministry in whatever location and avenue God chooses for us. So really this is just our first temporary home in a journey I can not begin to imagine. However this home does allow us to begin to raise our soon to be first child Emory and also allows us to serve at our current church through ministries as small groups in a much better way than our current living arrangements do. I am excited for our future but more than anything I hope that this House if we end up buying it will help us better serve God where we are.

Galatians 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Salvation is of God

Let me begin this post with the assertion that I do not pretend to fully understand what I am about to talk about. I have not done a good enough job studying scripture to present this as biblical truth. Instead what I am asking is those that read this post and have studied the bible to respond with biblical truth to back them up. Not logic or human emotion but pure biblical truth.

As I search for the truth the bible presents many times I arrive at a place where it is unclear to me what is the truth. But I feel thru searching for the truth and studying that some day I will understand these concepts in light of biblical truth. I can only hope God shows me the truth sooner rather than later.

Now to the topic I would like to consider, salvation. I can point back to a time in my life when a 6 year old boy prayed a prayer and felt that he asked Jesus to come into his heart. My dilemma then is was that God drawing me to him at a young age or was it my fear of going to hell. I understood minutely who Jesus was but the bible says even the demons believe in Jesus. Was this moment a God ordained event or was in human fear, the desire for comfort.

I feel like that moment was not the moment I was saved because at that point I did not have real faith in my life. It wasn’t until many years later that faith became part of my life. At the age of 16 I surrender my life to God to use how he saw fit. It is my belief that he wants me to be a preacher. At that time in my life my faith became real to me. It was not about something I learned in Sunday school but was about serving my God.

When I was in college my faith was tested by searching scripture. Mather were thing I once believe I began to question such as the “pray this prayer” to be saved mentally the church has adopted which is not necessarily presented in the gospel.

When people asked Jesus what they had to do to be saved more often than not he told them to do something. Let me be very clear with this point I do not believe there is anything we can do to earn our salvation. My point here is there can be no true faith without action accompanying it.

So Is it a moment in time, a process, or is it when you truly give your all to God in an act of faith. The bible teaches in my opinion that to follow Jesus we have to die to ourselves, our own logic, desires, and our own will.

Higher Education

I am nearing the end of my journey here at Henderson State University. I will graduate this coming May with a Bachelor of Science in General Studies. One question nags at me as I approach my graduation day, What have I really learned here in my four years here? Have you ever stopped and took an honest assessment of the quality of education here in America, specifically at our Universities? I think everyone one of us should stop and ponder this question because the price of education continues to rise.

I can honestly say I have not learned anything of any real significance. I think I could have saved the past four years of my education and just stayed home and watch the History and Discovery Channels and learned more than I have here. This bothers me greatly. I can already see some peoples minds at work thinking, “Cole you would have learned a lot more if you would have just went to class.” Let me put a stop to that right now. I have talked to many students from many different majors who all agree they have not learned anything. These people go to class and study and have come away saying they have learned nothing.

For the price we pay for our education we should be getting so much more. I will graduate with substantial student loans but did I get my money’s worth? Is the quality of education really worth that much? Let me share with you some of my experiences.

I am currently sitting in a class where my teacher is using an overhead projector and an old school slide projector in his lecture. I took a couple of classes with one professor that all I had to literally do to pass the class was click on a few hyperlinks on angel. Henderson offers classes like Wii Sports and Fitness and Camp and Outdoor Education. Teachers in the teachers college tell you that you should not give out busy work and you should do this or that as a great educator yet I have seen very few follow their own advice.
The few business classes I took early on were so boring you could die sitting there. How will we ever compete with the rest of the world when our professors teaching our students are so far out of touch.

We as a generation are getting the short end of the stick. Our teachers should be embracing new technology, implementing it in the class rooms, instead they ban computers and cell phone from their classes. We will never improve our education system until our teachers let go of the past and embrace the more modern future!!!

Let me know your thoughts on this by leaving me a comment

Tried by Fire

Most everyone I know has lost someone close to them.  My father passed away 15 years ago today.  I was just a six year old boy when he left this world, but I was a little boy who thought I needed my father still.  To the extent that I thought back then I did.  I did not have anyone who was going to show me how to do the things guys do.  I had no one to teach me the shave, how to talk to girls, never had the birds and the bees talk.  I still to this day know nothing about cars.  But what I do know now is that God took that moment of despair and he thru the years has molded me into the person I am today.  God knew that six year old boy would be to stubborn to let God mold him if he had his father still in his life.  So God took my father away.  I instead have had many Godly men and women shape the man I have become.  I remember 15 years ago questioning why God would allow this to happen to me, I still needed my father I pleaded.  I remember being mad at God and crying to him about how unfair He was to me.  I no longer question why God allows things to happen in my life the way he does.  I trust that all of the things I have gone thru and will go thru will shape me into the person that God who before the foundation of the world wanted me to become.  So every year on January 15th I take a moment to look back to remember God is at work in my life thru even the darkest of times.  I allow myself one day a year to cry and reflect on who I have become.  What I know is this, God still has a lot of work to do in my life to mold me into the man he wants me to be.  If God chooses to mold me thru tragedy again, He has every right to.  Who am I to question God, He is looking out for my best interest.