Broken Glases

Writing re-visited.  I wrote this in 2011 and as I read it this morning it resonated with me. Today's edits are in green.

Have you ever tried to look through someone eases prescription glasses?   The world takes on funny shapes, your stomach turns a little, and your feet don't hit the ground exactly where you thought they were going to.  I'm sure you have heard the expression "looking through rose colored glasses", meaning seeing everything in a good and positive light.  We all have our own pair of glasses on some are rose colored, some are the wrong strength, some are so dark we can not see truth.  Some days it seems i am seeing through broken glasses...

The life we have lived, the people we have encountered, our own internal voices, and our current situation all affect the way we see things in our lives.  We don't always realize it because the color or the strength of our glasses change so slowly that it seems normal and we don't realize we are not seeing reality.   We can not change how our lives have been altered in the past by people and situation,  we can not change how we view life.  We also can not change the way others view life because of the glasses they wear.

When glasses get broken we know it immediately...  one little scratch, bend, or smudge can alter our view in an instant.  So it is with life, one little incident can show us immediately that we are not seeing reality.  Sometimes we choose to ignore the broken glasses and continue to look through them, over time we become accustomed to the flaw and don't even notice it.   

Eventually our eyes get tired,  strained, and we decided it is time to do something about the broken glasses we are wearing... so it is with life.  We get tired of doing the same things day after day expecting different results.  

I, my friends,  am tired of the eye strain... I am worn out with all the glasses I wear that don't fit anymore.  Life it to short to live in a vicious circle of making the same mistakes over and over.  Its time for a change!  

Isaiah 55:6-9   "Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.  Let the wicked forsake his way, and the evil man his thoughts.  Let him turn to the Lord and he will have mercy on him, and to our God and He will freely pardon.  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord."

Help me to look through the eyes of the Lord.

Life has a funny way of bringing us back around to cleaning our glasses of the smudges put there by time and experience.  Although today my life is much different and the turn it took 3+ years ago was for the positive there will always be a time to see through clear lenses and see through the eyes of the Lord.  

Christ died for ALL!

Yes I said it and I believe it... Christ died for all. Some would lead us to believe that He only died to save certain denominations, sub-groups, races, etc. but I have it right from the Word of God that he died for all who believe. 

Righteousness Through Faith
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Romans 3:21-28

And more than that... Justification/Salvation are a matter of the heart, not the label we put on ourselves or others.

 Easter is a very important time of the year for Christians. We proclaim that our Lord has been crucified, buried and Risen from the Grave. And we believe that he has endured the Cross to take away our sins, that we may have everlasting life.1 Corinthians 15: 20-22.  

These texts and many more like them have no hint of qualification for being Christian, for gaining eternal life through the death and Resurrection of Christ, apart from belief in Jesus Christ.  A matter of the heart...

A matter of the heart my friends....unfortunately many hearts have been damaged and made to believe that they are unworthy of the Love of Christ.

I am speaking directly to those of us who have been damaged by this judgement when I say You are Loved!  Christ wants you to believe,  He wants to know you.  He wants you to know that your sins are covered and there is nothing you can to that will separate you from the love of Christ.  Read Romans 8:31-39

Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture Romans 8:35 The Message

Happy Easter everyone.  Rejoice in our Savior knowing you are LOVED!

Faith, Freedom, and a Law about Neither

I was going to write a blog today but I think she about says it all!

I am not what I would call a gay rights activist. Maybe more of a civil rights activist. 

She is right when she says where will this end! Freedoms in this country are getting fewer and farther between. You take my rights away to gain your own and soon yours will be gone as well. 

As the Bible says.... None are without sin. Not One. Will there come a day when we can refuse service because we THINK someone is alcoholic? Gluttonous? Lying? They look like they might steal something? Muslim? all in the name of Religious Freedom? 

Read the blog by this wise woman and take her challenge. You don't have to be gay or pro-gay marriage to know that this legislation is wrong. SPEAK OUT TODAY

Gay Cheeseburgers in Kansas: Faith, Freedom, and a Law about neither