Thoughtful Tuesday

"The church is not the field for evangelism, but the force for evangelism"



 

Palm Sunday

 

 

Put your palm frond in the air and wave it all around!

Here we are at the start of Holy week. Jesus is coming into town today,

and everybody is waiting for the King.

 

     When you were a child and got hurt what did you want to happen? Think on that for a minute. What do you remember happening when you were hurt (physically or emotionally), upset, or sick as child? Did your parents attack the boy who broke up with you? Did they publicly humiliate the kids who made fun of you? Did they sue the doctor when you got sick? No..... They loved you.

     They loved you and healed you; whether you were rocked, held, given a band-aid, soup, medicine, or sang to you. You needed love. You needed to be comforted and humanized.

 

     When Jesus came people were looking for a king; armor wearing-vengeance seeking-warrior king. They wanted someone to come in and put down all other nations and raise them to their glory and status. In today's language, they weren't going to be a third-world country. They were going to be the richest, strongest, and most desired nation of all. So what the hoo-ha was he doing on a donkey?!

     They expected a king, not The King. This man who rode into town on a donkey was going to overthrow the entire system and save everyone?  One man, woman, and child at a time. He saved them with love. When we have been wounded what do we truly seek? Not the smiting of a king, but the love and understanding of The King. Jesus brought people to him by acts of love, not shows of power. He refused the demons to speak because they knew who he was. He did not want people to come to him because of his relation, position, or any of that stuff. He wanted people to choose him out of love. He fulfilled the needs of the many, and what were their needs? Acceptance, to be humanized, to feel loved, and to be appreciated.

We all deep-down want the true love of someone who will lay down their life to save ours.

Some knew when Jesus rode into town on a donkey that he was their King.

 

     If Jesus was alive today, right this very moment, would he still be put to death? Would His words in today's world be any different than they were then? Would He be loving people, healing people, humanizing people, and railing against what is so wrong with our world?

 

You do understand that Jesus had a choice, right?

There came a moment when he had to decide:

If I continue doing this I will die. Or I can stop. Stop loving everybody, stop healing, stop telling people about God... and I can live.

Jesus chose to die to prove that he loves you above his own life.

Ignored and not-so-Christian...

That was my Facebook post last week.

 

     Does everybody feel ignored at some point? I hope so. No offense, but I don't want to be the only one to have ever felt ignored. It was so hard to work on my paper that day. I just could not get myself to write anything that reflected my normal love.
     Why is it so hard to go to God or act Christian when we feel pushed away in the earthly world? It's not like we're to establish our worth on earthly things/affection. "I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world." -John 17:14
We are in the world, but not of the world.
     How in today's age do we feel ignored? I have 152 friends on Facebook, right?
Random trivia: When did Americans start to become more isolated???   A: The invention of air conditioning. Americans went from sitting on their front porches to sitting inside. Then came radio, TV, cell phones, computers, the Walkman, CDs, and finally in 1992 the first text message. Then, at some point after that we got MySpace, YouTube, Facebook, Netflix, Twitter, Instagram, online dating, etc. How in the world can I feel so isolated with all these people and things to keep me occupied? Feel where this is going? We have become creatures of distraction and instant gratification.
     You want to know something weird? When I feel ignored and I am not able to get anywhere for some people interaction- I isolate myself further. I ignore those who are ignoring me, and go off by myself. Mostly to try and convince myself that I didn't need their attention, and so I don't talk about them when I'm in that negative mood. Sometimes to try and find my happy place, and restore my self esteem. Not enough times am I trying to find my balance, one-on-one time, and love with God.

     Let's define ignore...

Ignore: v. 1) refuse to take notice of or acknowledge; disregard intentionally 2) fail to consider

 

     How does a child feel ignored? Their parents do not play with them, acknowledge them, talk to them, or spend physical time with them. "Mommy is always tired." "Daddy always works."

     How does a significant other feel ignored? They do not talk/text/call (communicate), acknowledge, or spend physical time together. What are we too busy doing? Work, friends, school, phones (apps), Facebook, hobbies, or gaming (mmorpg). [It must be stated that I am not bashing anyone. I am human, and have well qualified for all of these distractions at one point or another. This is written from personal experience as well as observations from my circle of peeps/community/etc.] 

     We also get ignored at work, with friends, in public at stores, while driving, with extended family, and so on. Being ignored hurts, and it personally makes me really mad. I think it's my number one tick. Someone refusing to acknowledge me...grrr. Some will say, "maybe you're too demanding and need to learn patience." Possible, patience is not a strong suit of mine, but in a world of instant gratification does anyone have patience? We as humans need physical, engaged relationships. It's a given. Everyone is ultimately looking for somebody to be close with, whether just a super BFF or a spouse, we need that companionship. As we develop more and more ways to "technologically advance" ourselves we are in the same token isolating ourselves. Then one day we look up and ask, "what is our world coming to?" We can't "understand" how our children are loosing basic morals, can't socialize, or refuse to leave the house; but we're pushing the next great game in their face or next fantastical phone that does everything for you into their hands. [Another clarification: I am not an anarchist looking to send us back to the stone age!] Technology is great. I do love it, without it I would not be posting this while listening to YouTube in the background...

     Are you seeing what I am saying though? It's not just our children either. How many people in relationships feel ignored in favor of work, gaming, school, or even Netflix? Now what does the ignored party do? They find something else or somebody else to fill the need.

 

     Now let's back up some paragraphs...

"Not enough times am I trying to find my balance, one-on-one time, and love with God." "Why is it so hard to go to God or act Christian when we feel pushed away in the earthly world? It's not like we're to establish our worth on earthly things/affection."

True. That goes against what you said about humans needing affections. No. It does not.

     We need/want affection, but we are not supposed to place the entire world on that sentiment. Our worth is not even based on human affections. Those are comforts for the earthly world. We are to realize in those moments of being ignored that we aren't feeling God. We're going to say it again: When we feel ignored we are not feeling God. I'm not saying we are never going to feel ignored ever again as a Christian. What I am saying is that we have to realize what is happening in that moment. "I feel ignored- my husband hasn't texted me back all day." Ok, now what? "I feel really sad and mad, but I remember John 14:27 (Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.)." We have to strive to remember to go to God when we feel ignored. God does not ignore us, pray or read the Bible. Scripture has power if we turn to it.

     Believing in God or being a Christian is not an instant fix. We expect for things to come easier; especially the ability to be more disciplined in reading our Bibles and praying. I expected this instant discipline that I would be reading my Bible every day for 15minutes, at least. That never happened, lol. Just like getting dressed- unless you do it, it doesn't happen. I had to pull myself out of the lonely pit last Friday. I had to remind myself why and who I was writing my paper for. I had to get my Google-Fu going and search for verses to remind myself that I was not ignored nor am I ever truly ignored. Lastly, I looked around and realized that it has become very easy for us to ignore everyone but ourselves, and it is something that we humans have done to ourselves.

St. Patrick's Day!!!

 

I LOVE ST. PATTY'S DAY!!

 

     Otay, now that I have that out of the way, lol.  What is it about St. Patrick's Day? Should a Christian enjoy St. Patrick's Day? That's like suggesting we celebrate Mardis Gras- gasp!

     My maiden name is McEnulty and my mother's side is Wiley... very Irish roots over here. I have always loved St. Patrick's Day, and have always been very proud of my Irish roots (red hair, white complexion, freckles, and all). Last year I was working on putting together a "Blessed not Lucky" party for the kids at church when I learned so much about the truth behind St. Patrick.

     It's funny how America has turned it into a day to get drunk on green beer or a day to celebrate Irish heritage. Who knows what St. Patrick's Day was really? 

     St. Patrick's Day was set on March 17th, the day he died. "He drove the snakes out of Ireland." I can't count how many coloring pages I did on that growing up in school. Going at it from a Christian point of view though- what in the Bible does a serpent/snake represent? St. Patrick was given his sainthood for his missionary work in Ireland. He spread Christianity, and in the same token "drove out" pagan religions. That's what is meant by driving the snakes out of Ireland. He was converting people to Christianity from druidry, mainly. As he walked through Ireland preaching Christianity he used the shamrock, something which grows in abundance there, to teach about the Holy Trinity.

 

     I have never gone out on St. Patrick's Day beside lunch. Honestly, I try to be home as soon as I can on this day because drunk drivers do concern me. I do celebrate it though. I dress in green to the nine's and decorate the house to celebrate my Irish history. Since last year though it has taken on a new meaning... He was a missionary. A boy who was kidnapped and put into slavery. Who ran away when he felt the calling of God, and went on to become the largest Christian movement in Irish history! How awesome is that!!

     Have a smile today to know that 90% of the U.S. celebrates St. Patrick's Day and have no idea it's a "Christian" holiday. Know that they don't understand it. People today think they know our history- they don't. Be a missionary today... tell them what it's about. Is it time to drive the snakes out the United States....??

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

 

A little encouragement for the day...

"Sponge Theology"

"A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart,

and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.

For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of..."

-Luke 6:45, NIV

 

Sometimes we don't really know someone or ourselves into we're put

into a position that "squeezes" us.

 Stress, anger, sick, children, etc...

     What we absorb is what we put out. It reaffirms the fact that what we watch, participate, or associate with becomes a part of us, and that eventually it will come out in our actions or words. "Watch what you say- kids are around." It's not just children. We as adults are even more guilty of our actions because we purposely put ourselves into that environment. We absorb the language of coworkers, we absorb how we dress by what we watch or who we're with, and we absorb how to treat people by those we are around. Then, when we're stressed or frustrated or even get into a fight the language that we've been absorbing comes out because we are squeezed. The treatment of family in stressed situations comes out because of how we treat people at work or with friends. What we wear or say come out from what we watch or listen to. 

     Everybody is a sponge! We absorb and hold on to everything. Then, we eventually expel it. It's human. What matters is what we are absorbing and expelling!! As Christians we are to absorb Christ and expel His love and how we are transformed by that!

Are you a dirty sponge?

 

  

 

*I read this wonderful little idea from Mary Southerland (Girlfriends in God) in a daily email I get, but these are my words/view on it.*



Dynamic Duo!

     Right now I think churches and Christians in general need a Dynamic Duo- a Preacher and a Teacher! Right now God is trying to open the doors and show me my role in this world. I was shown this one day:

Preacher= changing hearts / Teacher= changing Minds

     Hmmmmm... I want to do both, but I really like teaching people the logic of the Bible and letting common sense lead them to thinking. When you look at the world today and the future generations you realize that they are closing off theirs hearts more everyday. "Be rational," "the heart is fickle," or "your heart will get you in trouble." Kids are being taught to not be so emotional. How can you change their heart when they are turning them off? Change your thinking and your mind will follow... Then the heart will have an experience and follow as well.
     My sister is a good example- She feels like her feelings have betrayed her so much already (in her young life) that she will not make choices based on her feelings no matter what they are.  She makes the choice that is the most reasoned out to her. Even if it is not always the smart choice...just whatever makes sense at the time.
     People need to be taught that the Word of God makes sense... all the time!

50 years of marriage...

     Working on my grandparents vow renewal invitations got me thinking today. Marriage is such a rare thing. The true meaning of the being married... does it have any relevance today?
     I look at my own marriage and sometimes wonder if we'll make 10, lol.  The idea of being together forever is not a true concept in today's world. That whole "people are more in love with the idea of love" is overriding the idea that people are going to have to live with another person, talk, share, try, and work together.  It feels the sanctity of marriage has been robbed. Is the best anyone can hope for is to find a baby-parent you trust enough to share a place with until you can't stand each other anymore?  Hope that the "kids will understand when they're older"?
      My grandparents showed me what it means to be married for 50years. In the idealistic way growing up as a child, and now as an adult in the deeper meaning of being honest and sharing everything. I am the generation of "broken homes". Divorced parents were so common in my classmates growing up I didn't think anybody would ever marry when they grew up. I am scared that my son is so far removed from the generations where relationships meant something that he won't understand the concept. I pray I can uphold my grandparents legacy of marriage/relationship for my son, and myself. That I can make my marriage a positive influence for him, and something for him to be proud of.