Rambling post…what’s been on my mind…

I find myself at a loss for words.  Surprising if you know me.  Haha.

I guess I can start by trash talking.  Yesterday was, by far, the best football day that I’ve had in a LONG time.  The Patirots put a beating on the Jets 🙂  And the Cowboys…yeah, they actually took care of the Giants.  And they didn’t self-destruct at the end of the game.  Go Wade Phillips and crew!

But then I open up my ESPN page (I’m a subscriber….and a girl…I’m some man’s dream…haha) and I see that the Pats have been accused (again?!) of spying on the Jets signs.  Apparently they have some dude who videos the other team giving signals.  What?!  But…why is it illegal to read the other team’s signals?  Wouldn’t that be a part of strategy for the game?  I guess not.  If it is proven true, we can lost a draft pick or something like that.  Nice.  I still love the Pats.  And always will.  Hopefully they will take care NOT TO GET CAUGHT the next time they are spying. 

Had a tough talk with someone last night.  She’s afraid of church.  Of Christians.  We were in a church gone awry.  I left afraid, hurt, bleeding.  But over the past two years, I’ve allowed God to work on those parts.  I’ve allowed Him to go *there.*  I’m not afraid of church anymore.  I’m not afraid of Christians.  I’d certainly be heading in the wrong direction if I didn’t like church or Christians, right?

What makes Christians different than non-Christians?  Is a fear of Christians a fear of Christians or a fear of man?  Or is it a fear of Christ in other people?  Is it a fear of righteousness or self-righteousness?  Is it a fear of accountability?  Do we, who call ourselves Christians, not realize that churches are petri dishes of brokenness?  In and of myself, I am not whole.  I am only made whole by the One who gave His life for my sin. 

That brings me to another topic. Sin.  When did the church become afraid to call sin what it is?  When the government threatened to take away our nonprofit status if we have a black and white view on the world?  When we began to accept relativism as truth rather than the Word of God? 

I don’t want the watered down gospel.  I don’t want watered down truth.  I want the truth, the whole truth, so help me God.  Jesus is the ONLY way to the Father.  Any time I break the divine law, as given by God, I sin.  That means when I judge someone, I sin.  When I lust, I sin.  When I think on things that do not glorify God, I sin.  When I put ANYTHING ahead of God, I sin.  Murder is the same as lying is the same as stealing is the same as homosexuality is the same as self-righteousness.  Sin is sin.  There is no hierarchy of sin.  But…the good news is this.  If I repent of these things, if I turn away, and ask Jesus for forgiveness, I am forgiven.  He gave His life on the cross.  He was beaten beyond recognition.  He died.  He ROSE on the third day. 

So yeah.  Seminary is causing me to think.  And I think that it is messing with my perceptions.  Thank God for that.  Because my perceptions are not so good most of the time.  I want God’s perspective, not my own.

Guess I wasn’t at a loss for words.  🙂