Verse of the Day - Hebrews 10:23

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.
~ Hebrews 10:23 (NIV)

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My mom has macular degeneration, which is a degeneration of the central portion of the retina. It has diminished her vision greatly in the last few years, with no firm cure for the "dry" form of this disease. One of the interesting (no, I'm not morbid) quirks about how this disease manifests itself is that part of the image viewed can be distorted, or swerved, like this (called the Amsler Grid, which is used to screen for this disease):





The distortion she lives with would drive me to distraction! She said sometimes when she looks at people, their faces are rather contorted and squiggly -- maybe for her, it's comic relief, I don't know! :-)

The hope we profess as believers in Jesus Christ is our reliance on who He is -- the Son of the Living God -- and what He did for us when He died in our place for our sins so that we could be restored to right relationship with God. Swerving from this hope will lead us to all manner of deception.

Oprah, for example, has swerved from the Bible-based beliefs she was brought up with in the Baptist church she was raised in. When you listen to her, you realize that her Jesus is distorted from the One that God presents to us in Scriptures. His image gets very squiggly when you listen to the New Age influence that she has embraced. No longer is Jesus the only way, and our spiritual target is no longer the Creator God but some spiritual "light", or whatever you want to call "it". (I only highlight Oprah because she is visible. She is only one of many in this world who have not held unswervingly to the hope that is clearly defined in the Bible.)

Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except by Me." (John 14:6) He also said that if we trust in His sacrifice for our sins, we will have forgiveness and right relationship with God throughout eternity (John 3:16). These are the straight lines on God's Amsler Grid. When we skew His gospel with half-truths and distorted theology, we get a very different image of Jesus, and our hope becomes rooted in pop theology rather than absolute truth.

But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. ~ 2 Corinthians 11:3-4 (NIV)

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. ~ Galatians 1:6-7 (NIV)

If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. ~ Deuteronomy 13:1-4 (NIV)

It is easy to see Jesus with a skewed image if we do not know and understand the truth God lays out in the Bible. I pray you can be challenged to dig into His Word and grasp with a tight grip the straight line of Jesus Christ. He is our hope, and our only salvation!

It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is "the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone." Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. ~ Paul, speaking to the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, in Acts 4:10-12


Love,
Joelene

Verse of the Day - 1 Peter 2:17

Show respect to all men. Love the Christians. Honor God with love and fear. Respect the head leader of the country. ~ 1 Peter 2:17 (NLV)

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Things are really gearing up for the 2008 Presidential elections here in the good ol' U.S.A., and if you thought mud was slinging for the Democratic ticket these past few months, just wait! Between now and November '08, it's gonna get ugly between the parties. It always does. Digging up dirt from candidates' closets, accusations and insinuations flying like bullets meant to kill. It can just leave a bad taste in our mouths. But, I ask you: Are we any better?

I realize this is a free country and we can say what we want about our leaders without risk of imprisonment, but I'm amazed at the number of Christians I hear slinging mud along with the rest of America! When did we decide that slander and hatred was okay? Do politics give us the right the throw away our image of Christ?

Whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, you are under the authority of our President. And you have a 50/50 chance of your guy getting into office. If he doesn't win come November, what will your attitude be toward the man who takes the solemn oath next January? God says to respect the "king" or ruler in government. What does that look like here in 21st century America?

Okay, I may take some flack here, but here goes. It is my unofficial estimate that most Christians are registered Republican. (psst...it might shock you to know there are Christian Democrats in the world...I even know one as a personal friend! :-) And when Bill Clinton was in office, what was the general discussion around the church water cooler, huh? Sometimes outright hatred came out of the mouths of believers in Christ. And seemingly partisan-based! If Bill had been a Republican, I wonder how much Christian sympathy he'd have gotten when he fell from grace. How would Republicans have rallied around him if he stood under a different partisan banner?

It's wrong to slander and discredit. Period. God says that our attitude for our leader (whether Republican or Democrat) should be one of respect. I, for one, believe that America will vote a Democrat into office in November. I don't have a crystal ball -- that's just my guess. So, for those of us who register under the elephant banner, what will our attitude be? Will we commit to praying sincerely for our new President, knowing it is one of the hardest jobs in the world, or will we simply grumble and backbite against him, tuning into conservative radio programs that rail him, getting in our holy huddle and saying, "Don't blame me, I voted Republican..."?

I may sound harsh here, but believers in Jesus have a responsibility to show the love of Christ, and for some reason, politics always brings out the worst in people. As Christians, we seem to be no different. Why is that? It's a shame, I tell you, a shame.

Our current President claims an open faith in Christ. And Christians have rallied around him in prayer like no body's business! And that is honorable and needful. But what will happen to the prayers of the saints if a man of another faith--or no faith--enters the White House? Will it be Oh, Lord, why have you brought this tragedy on our people?...Or will it be Oh, Lord, give him wisdom and guidance as he seeks to lead our people?

Respect the head leader of the country, James says.

I wonder what would happen if we threw our bi-partisanship out the window and began to pray diligently for both candidates between now and November. Pray for their strength and endurance during what will surely be a very long five months. Pray for civility in the campaigns. Pray for their families, because this job takes a terrific toll on more than just the candidates. Pray that they can hear the voice of God in the midst of the campaign chaos.

Whoever wins needs God's help and our respectful prayers. They don't need divisiveness and disgruntled folks stirring up slander and rebellion. Yes, I realize that we won't always agree with his decisions or policies. Yes, we have the right to judiciously petition through the electoral process when we feel strongly about issues. But God says Watch your heart! Don't forget you are my child, and you represent Me. And, by the way, I love your President and I pursue him just like I pursue you. Don't forget that, my child.

Let us show God's amazing love in our political conversations. Let them be sprinkled with grace and hope as we seek to respect our head leader -- whoever that might be.

Love,
Joelene