baby steps & milestones

[unkaglen]

The wrong way to witness

A simple parable about speaking to people outside the faith:

Imagine that your young son goes missing, and you come to your friend, with tears in your eyes, and you tell him that something terrible has happened to your son. He may even have been kidnapped! So you ask your friend to help you find your son, to set your son free, and to bring him home again.

Then imagine the following conversation takes place—

Friend: I found your son.

You: Yes! Thank you! Where is he? Let me embrace my son.

Friend: Well, here’s the thing, when I found him, he was indeed kidnapped, but what’s more, the kidnappers had brainwashed him into thinking that they were his real family, and that this was the best life for him, and that you didn’t really love him or want him back.

You: No! Tell me that you rebuked that lie and told my son the truth!

Friend: Oh, I told him the truth alright. I told your son that he was doing wrong and bad things, that these people he was devoted to were wrong and bad, and that he had become as wrong and bad as them.

You: What have you done?

Friend: I just told him the truth!

You: You didn’t tell him the truth, you made it seem like I don’t want him, when I DO WANT HIM VERY MUCH. All you did was condemn his behavior. That wasn’t the mission. Why didn’t you tell my son that I love him? Why didn’t you tell him that I want more than anything for him to come home? Why didn’t you make it clear that I don’t care what he has done, I just want him to return to me, and we can work together to make everything else alright? 

…In the end, as we try to free those who are captive to their sin, we will have to answer these same hard questions. God holds us accountable, not just for what we say when we’re witnessing, but how we say it.

If it was your son, you’d want it done right too. If you make a mess of things, yet find yourself responding, “but I quoted scripture when I did it, doesn’t that make it right?”, the answer to that is no, it makes things far worse.

Here is what scripture actually says about speaking to people outside the faith:

2 Corinthians 5:16-20 So from now on we don’t look at anyone the way the world does. At one time we looked at Christ in that way. But we don’t anymore. Anyone who believes in Christ is a new creation. The old is gone! The new has come! It is all from God. He brought us back to himself through Christ’s death on the cross.

And he has given us the task of bringing others back to him through Christ, that God was bringing the world back to himself through Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. God has trusted us with the message, that people may be brought back to him. So we are Christ’s official messengers. It is as if God were making his appeal through us. Here is what Christ wants us to beg you to do: Come back to God!

[scripturesketches]

I used to think that the Good News of the Gospel was just that God forgives us for our sin. Later, I finally realized that the Good News is really that God loves us. 

Forgiveness is an extension of that love, but the Gospel starts with God’s love for us, not with our sin.

[lovelyscrambles41]

The Christian and Repentance - The Gospel Coalition

Christian repentance involves conviction of sin, contrition over the offense to God, turning away from sin, and turning towards a God-honoring way of life.

Relevant and needed

[chelsieautumn]

Last night, I was sick. Not, I’m gonna go to bed early sick. The kind of sick where you puke the life right out of your body. Ryan worked all night and I was alone, in bed, puking and puking all over myself, my bed, my floor. I’ve never not had the ability to get up and get a bowl or run to the bathroom, but this time, I literally could not move. I stayed curled up in a fetal position, just crying and praying and puking and being utterly disgusted with myself.

And Ryan came home at 2:30am, after working 14 hours, and found me. I kept telling him to leave, to go to the living room and I would clean up when I felt better. But he kissed my face, put me right in a hot shower, washed me off, and brought me lemonade so I wouldn’t be dehydrated.

When I came out, he had scrubbed it all. The puke from the bed, the pillows, the floor, the sheets. The puke was gone because he cleaned it all for me. And then he pulled me to him and held me in bed and told me he thought I was beautiful and I just broke. My life seems to be compromised of moments of breaking. I do not deserve this kind of love. Nobody deserves this kind of love. I am so in love with this man.

But more that anything, I am so overcome with my Jesus, who continually insists on showing me how much he loves me and how good his heart is through other people. There is so much light in this world that I must see. I am so embarrassed of myself, of my puke, of my sin, of the person Satan wants me to be. But in all my embarrassment and shame, I am so adored. That is enough to change you. That is enough to make you hope again.

[yesdarlingido]

When I was being trained for the job I have right now, which mainly consists of meeting, helping, and communicating with others, my boss told me that he’d like for me to under-promise and over-deliver, and i’ve never gotten that out of my head, because it means that being dependable means speaking conservatively and acting liberally on behalf of whoever I’m helping, and I love that. That isn’t my natural form of interaction. I dream big and I’m sloppy with my promises. I mean them at the time, but I often don’t follow through because I forget or I lose track of time–I speak optimistically, not realistically. He asked me to speak realistically and then to act in such a way that impresses optimism. I think that’s a great way to go about life–to be humble, to not overestimate yourself, to not speak in definitives, to leave room and grace for yourself to be fallible, and then when you’re able, go above and beyond what you said you’d do, because that’s how you become a reliable person.

[yesdarlingido]

GUIDELINES FOR BEING IN A RELATIONSHIP

Don’t assign blame when you’re in conflict

Don’t keep score on your partner

Speak for yourself using “I” statements instead of “you” statements

Don’t argue perceptions or facts

Don’t threaten abandonment in the face of conflict

Communicate in four sentences or less

Repeat what you hear them saying to make sure you heard it right BEFORE responding

Avoid critical remarks, blaming the other, or justifying your actions

Don’t worry about whether your partner is adhering to these guidelines–take sole responsibility for yourself and hold yourself accountable to healthy communication.

[lovelyscrambles41]

and more generally, guidelines for conflict resolution! :) 

[scripturesketches]

Anon: As a libertarian, how on earth do you keep yourself from going crazy? I feel like that's all I think about. I mean, I'm just so angry and so grieved all the time because of our government. I seriously cried tonight because of how helpless and stressed I feel about this whole national debt being our generation's burden and CISPA. I'm just completely overwhelmed. How do you find balance? How do you keep yourself from going over the edge? And how do we get the words out? I feel like an idiot running in the street screaming.

Hey Man,

It’s definitely not easy. An entity that claims it has the right to interfere with our lives, liberties and properties deserves our suspicion. And an entity that also maintains the power to do so at will deserves our contempt. So, yes, the government drives me crazy.

That’s why I say it’s a good thing I worship Jesus and don’t have to trust any of these jerks.

And that really is where my hope comes from. My ultimate authority is not the government; It’s God. And the government is just as subject to Him as I am.

God cares

The fact that the state sins is no surprise to God. In the Old Testament, God warned Israel about the corruption that comes with human authority.

And the New Testament tells us that the early church also lived under constant threat to their lives, liberties and properties. The Romans taxed. King Herod and Pilate slaughtered. And Christian citizens were imprisoned.

But the State won’t always get away with it. All secret evil will someday be revealed. And all who do evil will be judged for it. 

So someday, Obama and congress and all politicians everywhere will have to stand before God and give an answer for the properties they robbed, the liberties they denied and the lives they snuffed out - no matter how “legally” they did it.

God controls

The government can’t take anything from us that God can’t give back:

God sent Peter a fish to provide tax money.

God opened the gates of a prison for Paul and Silas.

And He resurrected Jesus after His public execution.

That’s why we’re told, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” No matter how scary the state becomes, those who belong to God have no cause for despair.

So no matter how dystopian our society becomes, I don’t fear. My citizenship is elsewhere, and my King is greater. 

God guides

But how do we live as Christians and free people under the shadow of an evil state?

We submit.

I know, I hate it too. But we have to trust that God has His reasons for allowing these governments to remain in power. And He reveals at least three of them to us:

The government does have a legitimate role to play. 

We have a message to send.

God is honored when we persevere under persecution.

And on a personal note: My faith has grown in the process.

That being said, there is a point at which submission is no longer appropriate. When the government compels us to go against God’s will, God compels us to practice civil disobedience.

I just thank God that we live in a free democracy, where submission to the government still allows for passive resistance.

So I submit to the government with honor and obedience for God’s sake - to a point. But I also speak out against its corruption, and I look forward to its judgement day.

And I will never, ever fear its power over me - because it has none.

Peace, love and Jesus, -James

[scripturesketches]

Don’t worry about knowing now what you want to do with the rest of your life. Trust me, you are probably going to change your mind a dozen times anyway.

Uncle Rob, Man’s Manual (via scripturesketches)

[scripturesketches]

I’ve been chatting on Reddit with a guy who wants to kill himself because he believes he should die for the things he has done. This was my response to Him (excuse the typo).

I don’t even know this guy’s real name, but I know that Jesus loves him and died to save him. That’s the real Gospel, and I’m sharing this story here in case anyone still needs to hear it. There is hope beyond ourselves, and His name is Jesus.

[lovelyscrambles41]

“Our hearts weren’t designed to lead. They were designed to follow.”

[peterdwebb]

100,000 notes on tumblr doesn’t mean it’s right. 

[peterdwebb]

Let’s be more concerned with building character than identifying personality.

[peterdwebb]

“Sometimes God will let you be humiliated to bring you into humility.”

— (via peterdwebb)

[scripturesketches]

Voice of the Martyrs — 50 Years of Ministry Special Issue

Favorite Lines:

“I have suffered more from the complacency of the West than from the Communists”…

I began to focus on God’s holiness and power instead of on my own situation.

I even stopped praying that I would be released from prison. I simply focused on the people God placed in my path each day and asked Him to use me to build His kingdom while I was in prison.

Jesus told us to go and teach all nations; he said nothing about getting permission…

…persecution at first seems like a cause or social injustice to be resolved, but most come to view it as an expected part of the Christian life… an understanding of the eternal victory obtained through obedience to Christ.

It is not about seeing how many people I can lead to the Lord. It is about seeing and loving people, the way God sees and loves, into the kingdom.

“There is no work without risk. It is a much greater risk to appear before God with the guilt of having allowed one-third of the world to perish without the knowledge of Jesus Christ.”

Learn more about Voice of the Martyrs.

[scripturesketches]

hey, could you order the 66 list from like hugging to sex or how ever you would list it. also, what would you say is the line when dating. out of the list, what would you say is appropriate and what isn't.

Hi Anon,

I can’t give you what you’re asking for. And I won’t try. 

Because I really want to be a Christian - not a Pharisee.

Pharisees

Jesus was always a friend to sinners, but he was openly hostile to self-righteous, religious people like the Pharisees. In fact, Matthew and Luke list Jesus’ woes against the Pharisees. (As in, “Whoh, you guys are nuts.”)

One of the biggest problems Jesus had with the Pharisees was that they added extra rules to God’s commands - as if God had only done half the job when He gave us the scriptures. Jesus called them, “Blind guides.” And He told them, “You load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.” (This is known as “legalism.”)

Jesus

Instead, Jesus emphasized the heart. When it came to purity, He said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Jesus always encouraged his followers to obey the God-given commands in scripture. In fact, He said, “If you love me, keep my commands.” But when it came to things the Bible didn’t directly address with a command, He always focussed on the heart.

Grey Areas

Certain commands in the Bible are very black-and-white: things like the ten commandments or not having sex before marriage. But the Bible leaves other things in a grey area: things like eating meat sacrificed to idols or exactly how far is “too far” before marriage.

If I were to tell you what is “appropriate” or where “the line” should be for you, I would be taking one of the Bible’s grey areas and forcing it to be either black-and-white … which is exactly what the Pharisees would have done. 

So I can tell you, generally, that purity is important, but I can’t tell you, specifically, what is OK for you to do or not do in your dating relationship.

If the Bible leaves something in a grey area, then so will I. 

Instead, I’m going to encourage you to search your heart. God has given you His Spirit to guide you. As a Christian, you know the peace you feel when you’re following Christ and you know the conviction you feel when you’re not. So use your discernment and the wisdom God gives you and decide for yourself how you will glorify Him with your choices.

Sorry I couldn’t give you what you were looking for.

Peace, love and Jesus, -James

[darcylindbergh]

the thing about everything is that it all gets easier with practice, so be careful what you practice 

[yesdarlingido]

I doubt any of you would ever say it out load, but have you come to a point where you have thought to yourself, “I have arrived.” If you think that you have arrived, you have only arrived in your own pride, and you will not be able to take another step because you have confused arrival with what it means to be stuck. If you are still alive, you have not “arrived.“ In pride, there is no growth nor a desire to improve. There is no worse person to be around than one who is stuck because they always have this subtly demeaning nature that treats others like they have to catch up to them, when the truth is that for a prideful person, everyone has already surpassed them. The best people to be around are the humble. It is the humble who have a genuine desire for growth and are conscientious in their efforts to improve. Don’t ever mistake arrogance for wisdom. Wisdom is marked by humility.

Dave Lomas, Wisdom & the Good Life (via yesdarlingido)

[scripturesketches]

A Man's Manual: My Cousin Erik

A letter from the Man’s Manual my father gave me:

Dear Jimmy,

I’ve been told that you’re about to turn 15 years of age. Can that be true? Well, I guess it can considering we’ve grown up apart from each other for all these years; there’s no telling just how grown up the other is. Anyhow, by my calendar I do believe that I’m older than you, so you know what that means? That means I get to give you some “brotherly” advise and you have to listen to me! Well, nobody is going to force you to listen, but as you turn 15 - a big step in your journey into manhood - please take the following advice to heart.

Keep reading

[lovelyscrambles41]

This is rich. Reblogging for my own sake!