Freedom is not for Sale to the Highest Bidder!

Your strengths don't give you the power to extend less grace. Your ability to stand firm, walk straight, deny desires, and hold tight doesn't give you the green light to look down, puff up, and speak death. Why does the church do this? Why do we take our abilities, our victories, our lack of shame and allow it to lead us to "point-the-finger-ville?" I don't get it. God, right now, at this time - change me. Make me a person who can walk upright in an area while embracing those who do not. Help me to know the difference between grace and pity. May I never use my victories, my strengths, and my passions as a moral compass for everyone else, as if I know what you desire to do, to change, to create in their lives. How dare I take what you have done in me and use it as a way to feel better about myself, or a way to shame others. Sometimes the church really scares me. We want to focus on things He doesn't want us to focus on. We want to draw the lines in the sand at the wrong places, while we push people away, erase any hope they have, send them running. The scary thing is - we do this with smiles on our faces while breaking our arm as we pat our own back. OH GOD, I want to be IN the world. I want to LOVE the world. I want to know what it means to live for others, loving those around me... when it's hard, when this world says it's impossible. When the pointing fingers of the church throw water on a fire almost started as they hold me back because of things unknown, preconceived ideas, or just their fear. I want to love the person in front of me, not because they are like me, but because HE loves them. Freedom for the one you judge is not about you. FREEDOM IS NOT FOR SALE TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER!!!! Freedom is free. It is for freedom that He set us free. That's it...like it or not. I want to love bigger, love for freedoms sake. Not because I am better, smarter, and not even because I love God, but because You, our perfect Daddy did that...for all. For everyone. For everyone. I want to know in my gut that your grace is either for the murderers, the haters, the terrorist, the bigots, the deadbeat dads, the drunken mothers, and the cheaters just as much as it is for the religious, the churched, and the middle class with morals. Either His grace is that big, or it isn't.

DON'T JUST VISIT GRATITUDE, LIVE THERE!

Why is being thankful so hard? Why do we all have a chip on our shoulder and think that everyone owes us something? Why? I mean, think about it. Very often, all of us, at some time or another think we should be treated a certain way, respected to the point we think is acceptable, and given the utmost courtesy and respect. The fact is: we live in a fallen world with messed up, unhappy, very much hurting people....and to some degree, I am one of them. My rudeness, selfishness, and pride doesn't look like others, so I like to think I can judge those who I perceive to look worse. I think it's sad when Christians use their "judgment" to do nothing more than judge those around them, when really, it's just because their sin is different. If you have "mastered" a weak area in your life, if you have "conquered" a burden that has been victorious in your struggle to stay pure ..I want to challenge you in something today. Instead of becoming more religious and judgmental, try to become thankful. Ask our most wonderful Father to give you a heart of gratitude, so that when others are operating out of their hurt, sin, and pride, we don't take it personal, judge, and treat them different. We live in a world where waiters take to long, the grocery store lady is rude, the bill collectors have no heart, our friends can be two-faced, and our own family members feel like our enemies. That's life. What we need is a little more thankfulness. We need people who can smile back in the face of rudeness, give a gentle answer to turn away wrath, and people who are willing to ,out of the blue, thank those who have helped get them to where they are. If you want to make a difference, try being a bit thankful for even the smallest act of kindness done for you, and stop complaining when you're not the only person on the mind of a complete stranger that day. They could have just lost a loved one, got news of cancer, or even worse wants to end their own life. I'm not making excuses for rude people, but I'm done with making excuses for believers. When we have a heart of gratitude, we are humble, and we tend to be a bit more gracious in the way we respond to the crappy attitudes of others. Knowing that I too have been saved by grace, and that pride is always lurking around the corner to expose my evil heart is a good thing. Keeping that truth in mind can keep me from retaliating, lashing out, talking evil of others, and thinking I am better than others...aka pride! I WANT TO BE MORE THANKFUL! Jesus healed ten men of leprosy, and only one came back to thank Him...only one! One of the saddest scriptures is: "Were not all ten cleansed, where are the other nine?" then He said, ...rise and go, your faith has made you well. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since members of one body you were called to peace...and be thankful! And be thankful. And be thankful. (....ok, I repeated that, not Him)! I believe there are defining moments in our lives. A defining moment in your life can be when you are nice and don't want to be. When we can live and dwell in the thoughts of gratitude, and not just visit them every now and then. Thank you for reading my "preaching moment." It's crazy how even while writing this, I am aware of my need for this word, probably even more than you!