I’ve been thinking on the topic of why Jesus came – why He did what only He could do this week. It is Good Friday and all.

He came to offer Himself as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Only He could do that. We can never be good enough. We can never do enough to earn the forgiveness and atonement that only His death provides. Ever. Without His death, and subsequent resurrection, we might as well all pack it in, because it’s game over – quite literally. Forever.

And yet He chose to come, knowing full well what awaited Him. Religious leaders hated Him. Sinners loved Him. He didn’t allow the status quo to stay the status quo. He was eccentric, to an extent. I mean, come on, who spits and makes mud and then proceeds to rub said mud into a blind man’s eye? That’s just weird. But it worked.

He wasn’t afraid to mix it up with the lowest of the low, the most unclean of the very most unclean. He met them right were they were and offered them something better – eternal life. All because of His sacrifice. All they had to do was accept the freely-offered gift.

Which takes me to Tiger Woods. When all is said and done, in my opinion, he will be hands down the greatest golfer of all time – whether you measure greatest by number of wins, dollars won on the PGA tour, Major wins, etc. I think he’ll have the complete resume to make his case.

That being said Tiger has made his fair share (and then some and then some) of mistakes in his personal life. Grave mistakes. He’s admitted as much publicly, even stating he though the rules didn’t apply to him. Hey, at least the guy was honest about it. He thought he could get away with his lifestyle because of who he was – the power he held. Well, sin always has a way of finding you out, no matter how powerful you are.

I’ve gotten into some heated discussions about Mr. Woods recently. The words scumbag, jerk, and so on are used quite often. Guess what? He’s a sinner, just like you and me. He just lives in the unfortunately reality of having his sins broadcast to the whole world. Perhaps before judging we should take a moment to be thankful all our dirty secrets aren’t on display for the entire world to critique. It’s funny how we rate sin on our own scale of what makes us the most uncomfortable. It’s a human tendency. We all do it. Certain sins are ranked “worse” in our minds than others. I don’t know how it all works, but sin is sin. Period.

Tiger fell. Hard. We all do. We all need the grace only Jesus can give. I can’t speak to whether Tiger has sought or accepted that grace. That’s between him and God.

However, Tiger is a perfect example of precisely why Jesus came. Why He endured the pain and agony of the cross – to make us right with God. He did what only He could ever do by becoming the sin sacrifice you and I could never hope to pay.

It is my hope that today you have either accepted that sacrifice or will do so ASAP.

I remember the day like it was yesterday. My dear friend, John Loux, had stopped over to my house one day to chat before moving out of the area. I really didn’t think much of it. Man, was I in for a surprise.

If memory serves correctly, John mentioned that he had already spoken to my parents (this should have been a clue something was up), and that he had something he needed to share with me. I kid you not when he said (my paraphrase), “Jared, when I saw you walk onto the stage last week to play drums God told me you had a problem with pornography.” Talk about your Truth Bomb. I sat there a little in shock, ok a lot in shock. I really wasn’t sure how to react. I had been caught, and I knew it. Worse off I got caught just by someone looking me in the eye. Boy was I mad. I was mad at John, mad at mom and dad, mostly mad at God, and mad at myself for getting caught.

As I look back now, I’m eternally thankful for a friend like John who listened to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and confronted a sin in my life I thought I had pretty well hidden. As with almost any sin, my road down the path of pornography started fairly innocently, either with the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition or a Victoria’s Secret catalog, and it progressed rapidly from there. I was hooked. There’s really no other way to put it.

It’s hard to put into words just how addictive pornography can be. I’ve never done drugs, so I can’t speak to their addictive qualities, but I’ve heard it said, and I believe studies have been done, that show pornography is more addictive than crack cocaine. I would 150% agree with that statement.

It got to the point where basically all I thought about revolved around finding pornography and the releases associated with it. It was really a dark, dark time in my life.

My parents were, of course, crushed. And they came down pretty hard on me, but I know now it was out of love. TV was off, computer access was incredibly limited, etc. They also had me see a counselor, which was one of the best things they could have done for me. I ended up making a life long friend and worked with the man who eventually officiated my wedding. The counseling definitely helped, but there were still weak moments along the way.

Have you ever bargained with God? Have you ever promised to not do that one sin that trips you up every time again? Yeah, I’ve been there – a BUNCH of times. Each time I was determined that I was going to beat pornography or that I had beaten it. But I didn’t. And you know what? I’ll never be able to beat it on my own. It’s way too powerful.

My goal in writing this painfully personal post is to help open up peoples’ eyes to the very real, very ugly truth of pornography in the church. It’s there. You might not think it’s there. You probably don’t want to think it’s there. You might not think men in your church struggle with lust, but they do. We’re all human. Guys are wired as visual creatures. I’m not really sure why, but that’s how God made us. And just to prove my point, let’s do a quick rundown of some “famous” people in the Bible:

1. Job – had to make a pact with himself not to look lustfully at women
2. David – BIG time problem with lust, which ended in him making a mess of his life
3. Samson – lust cost him his eyes and eventually his life

There are other instances, but those are 3 people who came to mind in less than a minute. So, our struggle is not unique to today’s day and age.

It’s weird how pornography addiction works. I have a friend who once told me that sometimes just seeing snow falling makes him think of cocaine and makes him want to get high. Pornography is the same way. You’ll see something in a commercial, or the way someone is dressed, or a comment or (fill in the blank) and it triggers that need to “get high”, if you will. It’s crazy how addiction works that way.

I want to speak to fathers for a minute. The influence you have in your children’s lives is monumental, especially in the life of your son(s). What he sees you allow he will think is acceptable for him as well. You can speak against pornography and lust until you’re blue in the face, but if your actions don’t match your words, he’ll definitely follow your actions. I am SO thankful my dad had such a firm stance on this issue. I knew what I was doing was wrong, partly because I have NEVER seen him entertain anything close. He set a strong example in my life. One that I failed to live up to in this area.

Now that I have my own son it’s even more important that I lead by example for his sake. I don’t want my actions to send a message that contradicts what I’m telling him. The example of a father is a powerful, powerful thing. It is our responsibility to “man up” and be the leaders God has called us to be, no matter how hard the struggle.

Now, to the ladies. It’s important you really try to understand how we crazy men work. Please don’t make things any more difficult for us than they already are. Please pray for the man in your life who faces the temptation of lust literally everywhere he goes – movies, TV, music, magazines, the book store, grocery store checkout, you name it. Talk to him and be open and honest with him. And if/when he admits he has a problem, don’t nail him to the wall. Yes, it hurts to know the person you love has fallen into this trap, but love him. Talk to him. Work with him. Pray with him. Pray for him. Pray for him. Pray for him. He is your man to “go to bat for” before God’s throne. So do it. And support and love him. Did I mention love him? Love covers a multitude of sins. God’s love, flowing through you, will be used to release the chains of bondage in his life. I guarantee it.

I’m so thankful for Danielle. She has been an amazing support system for me as I work through this issue as life goes on. I’m pretty much convinced, unfortunately, that it’s something that will never go away in this lifetime. It’s pull can get less and less, but it’s a temptation that’s always there. We’ve had some awfully difficult talks, and there have been times where my actions in this area I know have broken her heart, but she has been faithful to me and loved me through each failure. I know FOR SURE that I wouldn’t be the man I am today without her love and support and understanding when it comes to this issue. She is my best friend, and knowing she has my back means the world to me.

Pornography is a terrible thing that can literally wreak havoc on a life, but that’s the thing. It doesn’t just touch one life. It has the potential to, in one way, shape or form, affect the lives of almost everyone involved in your life – your wife, your kids, your friends, your church family, your work – you name it. That’s the scary thing. And when one domino falls, the path it leaves in its wake can and most likely will be brutal.

So, if you’re battling this addiction currently, get help. Get help. Get help. Get help. Did I make enough of a point there?

GET HELP. Seriously. Find someone you can trust to talk to. Share with them. Don’t be afraid “to get real” with them, because it might possibly save your life and the lives of those you hold dear. And keep giving the issue to Jesus in prayer. Again, and again, and again, and again. It takes time, and it’s not easy at all. I’d also recommend finding great worship music to immerse yourself in. There is a certain power in music, especially worship music. And fill yourself with the God’s Word as well – always a great tool against any temptation.

Most of all, if you’re dealing with this issue, don’t be discouraged. Others are too. I know you’ve probably heard that before, but now you know it’s true.

Our text last week was the parable of the sower, from Mark 4:7-20

“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed.⁴As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it.⁵Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow.⁶But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died.⁷Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain.⁸Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”⁹ Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

¹⁰ Later, when Jesus was alone with the twelve disciples and with the others who were gathered around, they asked him what the parables meant.

¹¹ He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secret^[a] of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables for everything I say to outsiders,¹²so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled:

‘When they see what I do,
they will learn nothing.
When they hear what I say,
they will not understand.
Otherwise, they will turn to me
and be forgiven.’^[b]”

¹³ Then Jesus said to them, “If you can’t understand the meaning of this parable, how will you understand all the other parables?¹⁴The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others.¹⁵The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away.¹⁶The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy.¹⁷But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.¹⁸The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word,¹⁹but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced.²⁰And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

 

I know that was a long chunk, but it’s such a good passage. I’ve always read this parable as being about Christians and non-Christians and how we accept the Word of God and what we allow His word to do in our lives, and while that’s true, I believe there is more to the passage.

As you probably know, if you’re a regular to the blog, I have a pretty strong sense of right and wrong. I’m passionate about  what I believe, sometimes to a fault. Sometimes my need to be right gets the best of me (ok, ok a lot of times). I feel a strong need to convince people of the “error of their ways” when I really feel like something they think or believe doesn’t seem to line up with God’s truth, revealed in the Bible. I really do try to do it in the nicest way possible, but sometimes I fail.

A couple times last week I ran into situations where I felt the need to defend my beliefs until the bitter end. One conversation turned out ok. The other, not so much. In my stubbornness I may have done more harm than good. It’s hard to say.

I get especially stubborn when it comes to spiritual / moral / Biblical issues. Don’t we all to an extent?

Anyway, I went on that little tangent because it relates to the sower parable.

It struck me during our mens group last week that not only does the soil metaphor apply to the acceptance of God’s word and salvation, it also applies to the acceptance of spiritual / moral / Biblical truths and principles. The parable simply mentions sowing the seed, not watering it, not trying to care for it and “force” it to grow. None of those things. Just sowing the seed. Just spreading the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Just sharing our beliefs and thoughts on different topics, without ramming them down people’s throats. Not making fancy pants arguments until we’re blue in the face and we’ve finally convinced someone of the “error of their ways.”

Now, I’m not saying that as a cop out for not sharing the Truth with people – far from it. It’s more of just a heads up that people are at different points in their life and the journey that God has them on. There will be different levels of acceptance. Different issues that must be dealt with. The rocky soil isn’t going to see things the way the thorny soil does, and the thorny soil isn’t going to see things the way the good soil does.

Like it or not, that is reality. I found myself so incredibly frustrated and wiped out last week because I was trying to make that figurative seed take root and grow in places it just wasn’t going to grow at that given moment. And that was a hard concept for me to accept. I may have been better off moving to other soil and planting there rather than trying to win. I forgot for a moment (or two) that it wasn’t my job to make that seed grow. Besides, I couldn’t even if I tried. Only God through the Holy Spirit can make the seed of truth grow in someone. All I can do is plant and share, plant and share, plant and share. It’s on Him to make it grow.

Moral of the story – keep sowing, keep spreading the truth, keep loving people where they’re at – honor them even, keep being the light God has called you to be. It won’t be easy – trust me on that one. You’ll make some enemies along the way, I guarantee it. People will say things about you that are flat out not true, and it will hurt, and you’ll want to stop speaking up – don’t. You’ll forget that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, and you’ll have to force yourself to remember. Remember, Jesus made the religious leaders of His day so mad, they ended up having Him killed. Should we be surprised when sharing the Truth creates a few enemies for us?

I’ll leave you with a passage from Galatians 6:7-10:

Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.⁸ Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. ⁹So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. ¹⁰ Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.

Your daddy misses you. A lot. And you wouldn’t have even been born yet. I wanted to write to you mostly to make myself feel better.

I don’t know what it’s like in Heaven or how it works. I hope you have gotten a chance to meet your older brother – Enoch. I really hope so. I’m sure if you have you guys are best friends.

I hope you get to meet Joel Stephens and that he takes good care of you guys until we get there. And that you all get to play baseball together as often as you want.

I hope you get to meet Great Grandma Barden. She would have loved you so much. She was quite the character, not unlike your mom.

There are so many people I hope you get a chance to meet, but I don’t know how it works. I don’t know whether you’ll know them or not. And that doesn’t matter. Jesus is there, and I can’t even imagine what that must be like. The fun you must be having every day, but I’m pretty sure they don’t even have days there.

I miss you. A lot. Did I say that already? And I feel guilty that I didn’t want a little girl. How foolish and selfish of me.

Mostly I feel pretty angry lately, and I think it’s because losing you has hit me like a ton of bricks, and I don’t know how to deal with it sometimes. Sometimes I get mad at your mommy and Fitzy, but it’s not their fault. Sometimes I just get mad, and I don’t know how to deal with it, but that’s not your fault.

I don’t understand why we don’t get to have you here with us, and that’s ok. I’m glad that you’re in a much better place. Better than we will ever be able to imagine.

I just needed you to know that I miss you, dearly. And I needed to know it was ok to feel that way.

I love you.

Daddy

1. Our attendance at 2 churches
2. A perceived inappropriate relationship

As many of our friends know we’ve gone on 2 Facebook “breaks” recently.  Mostly due to issues mentioned in previous blog postings. These last 4-5 weeks have been incredibly emotional, and there have been a lot of things going on behind the scenes that contributed to those decisions.

This last “break” was probably more serious, at least at the start. It became apparent to me, though, that I didn’t want to be off Facebook because of the perceptions of a handful of people. I love being on Facebook. I love interacting with friends and family. I love being sarcastic and bantering back and forth.

Probably some of you would love for us to not be on Facebook, if for nothing less than to not blow up your News Feed and Ticker. But we both love being able to share with friends and family. Whether it’s sharing our pithy comments, sharing photos and videos of Fitzy, sharing Danielle’s amazing photography, or sharing blog posts and the love of Jesus, we love sharing it with all of you.

We decided, at the advice of a dear friend, to start over with fresh accounts. Man, was that a pain. We both wanted to use the same email addresses as our old accounts, so you first need to add another address to each account. Then confirm that address. Then make that address the primary address for the account. Then remove the old address. Then deactivate the account. Oh, and if you want to delete the account? That’ll be at least 2 weeks. Sheesh. And don’t get me started on deleting friends once you’ve activate Timeline. It literally took me 2 hours to delete 40 people once.

So, we’re back. Trying to stick to some boundaries. Trying to enjoy our friends and family without worrying about everyone’s perception of us. Well, maybe the Rock Star doesn’t worry, but I do.

As a younger Tiger Woods once said, “Hello, World.” Or in our case, “Hello, Facebook.”

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the concept of being full of grace and truth.

Warning – Truth Bombs to follow.

Jesus was full of truth and grace. Case in point, the woman at the well. She admits she has no husband. In John 4:17-18 Jesus replies, “You are right when you say you have no husband. ¹⁸ The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

Woah, Truth Bomb dropped. In today’s vernacular, Jesus basically says, “Yes, you have been a whore, but at least you’ve been honest about it.”

This sort of “brutal” honesty is something lacking in the modern church, in my opinion. So many times we here “don’t judge me”, or “careful, you don’t want to judge someone.” Many times people refer back to John 7:3, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye.”

In today’s church we seem to avoid calling things for what they are, for fear of hurting someone’s feelings, judging, etc. I think we have the concept of judging messed up. I see judging as looking at someone who dresses differently or looks differently and coming to a conclusion about them, without knowing all the facts. That’s just one example.

It’s not judging to say, “hey, you really sliced that drive there, Tiger.” It’s truth based on an observation.

It’s not judging when your brother/sister is clearly living in sin and you point it out, lovingly and gracefully to them. In fact, your doing them a favor.

The trick is to find the balance between truth and grace. Too much truth with no grace leads to hopelessness on the end of the one being Truth Bombed. Too much grace without truth leads people into a false sense of themselves that’s not grounded in the reality of their situation.

Truth: Jesus calls Peter Satan when He gets in the way of God’s plan.

Grace: Jesus restores Peter to fellowship after the resurrection and builds His church on Peter.

Truth: Jesus confronts the woman about to be stoned by the Pharisees.

Grace: Jesus turns away the Pharisees and saves the woman’s life.

I could go on and on with different examples of the balance between truth and grace in Jesus’ life. Jesus was truth, and he was grace.

For a cultural reference, look at the example of Whitney Houston. Now, I don’t mean to disparage the dead. However, let’s take a look at her life. Was she an insanely talented singer? Definitely. And apparently gave her life to Jesus at some point. Nobody knows that for certain except God and Whitney.

But let’s also face the facts – she was a drug addict the past 10+ years of her life. That’s no condemnation or judgment of her. It’s just a fact. No different than saying, “Barack Obama is the current President of the United States.” I find it a little odd that death tends to make us look at people through rose-colored glasses. Again, no slap at Whitney. But she had issues. Issues that someone in her life should have stood up against and seen that she got help with. I don’t know, perhaps they did. But it seems that all too often when it comes to celebrities their inner circles amount to nothing more than “yes men” who enable them.

What a tragic loss of life at such a young age. I think it’s fair to say that Whitney battled demons. We all do. There is nothing judgmental in that statement. It’s just a fact.

Today, take a look at yourself. Ask yourself, “am I dropping too much truth on people with no helping of grace to go alongside?” Or perhaps, “am I showing so much grace that I’m shielding someone from the truth of their situation – a situation that definitely needs the truth to shine through?”

May we all strive to be like Jesus – full of truth AND grace.

26 “In your anger do not sin”[d]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.
I have dealt with a lot of anger recently, and since writing appears to be therapeutic for me, I figured I’d get some of it out here.

WARNING: continue reading at your own risk.

There have basically been two incidents that have spawned a lot of these anger issues.

1.) Our second miscarriage

Although having Fitzy helps out so much, it still was a total emotional sucker punch for me. Danielle was more prepared because she felt something was wrong. I tried to reassure her several times that everything would be ok. I don’t know how many times I did that while we were pregnant with Fitzy, and everything turned out wonderfully.

I know people have meant well when they tell me that Fitzy will help, and I am thankful for all you who have said that to me. But it still sucks. It just plain sucks.

Do you know how many people are out there that shouldn’t being have kids that seem to pop them out like it’s nothing? Do you know how painful it is to lose 2 children you never met but somehow love with all your heart when people couldn’t care less about their children? I don’t even know how to put it into words. It’s so incredibly frustrating and painful.

I am very thankful for friends and family who have tried their absolute best to help during both our miscarriages. Although the circumstances surrounding each were different, they were still incredibly painful. Sometimes there are no words that can be said to comfort. And that’s fine. We’re all only human, and there’s only so much we can do.

We do have hope in God that things will get better and that He works all things together for our good (Romans 8:28). I know that. I get that. But, let’s be honest, sometimes even knowing that truth with all your heart doesn’t seem to be enough when you feel like your heart is being torn apart.

Don’t get me wrong. That truth is enough, but sometimes it certainly doesn’t feel like enough.

2.) The second issue is something I’m fairly sure I’ve never had to deal with before, and it’s been a real thorny issue.

I was recently accused of having some inappropriate interactions on Facebook. This was one of the reasons we took a break for a week.

The accusation hit me like a ton of bricks. In my mind the interactions I had were by absolutely no means inappropriate.

I appreciate my friend looking out for me and my marriage, and I assured him that there was nothing going on.

But the fallout has been rough. And that’s putting it lightly.

Have you ever felt like you couldn’t be yourself? Because that’s how I’ve felt over the past few weeks. I catch myself second guessing almost everything I say, especially on Facebook, for fear that it might be misinterpreted and cause even more problems. It sucks that I feel like I have to change who I am because of other people’s perceptions of me and my actions.

I think, to an extent, this whole incident has made me much more angry than the miscarriage. Or maybe just a different kind of angry.

It got to the point where I totally freaked out on Danielle one night, which was part of the inspiration for this blog post. This situation has caused a lot of stress on our marriage that we’ve never had to deal with before, and things have gotten “real” a time or too in dealing with all the feelings, etc. brought on by it. The good news is that we are stronger and have a better relationship because of this situation.

Here’s the thing.

For many years I have had more girl friends than guy friends. Growing up, almost all throughout school, I hung out with my cousin since we’re practically the same age. And who did we hang out with? You guessed it, her female friends. That pretty much continued all the way through high school, where I picked up even more female friends, probably because the ratio was pretty stacked in the girls’ favor, at least in our class.

This might get me some grief, but I basically describe myself during this time as the non-gay stereotypical gay friend that girls have.

Fast forward to college. My very first friend I made was during my Spanish class, which just so happened to be taught by a German. In our advanced Spanish classes it was basically me and another guy friend and then all girls. Then we attended FCA and CCC where the ratios were also heavily in favor of the girls.

Danielle has a lot of amazing friends that I’m also friends with. It just seems to be how it’s worked out.

I would love to have even a couple really close guy friends. I mean the kind where you can just lay it all out there and say whatever you want, without fear of being judged, etc. At this point I haven’t found those people, but I have made some great friends in the past year or so and those friendships are continuing to develop.

I know I need those guy friends. Danielle and I are both aware of becoming “too close” with a guy or girl that’s not each other. Respectively. We talk about those things. Having safe guards in place to not get in those situations. Because the reality is. It happens. To people you never thought it would.

I feel even less amped up about this issue as I come to the end of the blog post, so thanks for being part of my therapy.

I LOVE that line.

So, this past weekend, I’ve found myself the “victim” of the Facebook block on 2 separate occasions. I figured I would share the circumstances and some observations.

Block #1

Oh, Facebook Ticker, I love you and sometimes loathe you at the same time. I already have a propensity to throw my $.02 in on occasion, and the Ticker just feeds that propensity. The other day I noticed that my cousin, Cody, had chimed in on a wall post by a famous Florida radio personality. The post was something to the extent of, “women have it way harder then men. Men can’t possibly understand. Women should be treated better than men, due to the fact that they are women.” Now, this is my paraphrase.

Cody countered with some comments highlighting the value / worth of men, and basically got virtually stomped on for it. At this point I decided to chime in.

Here’s my thing. We’re all created equal. Period. None of us are better than anyone else. We are all commanded to treat each other as Christ would. The end.

And that was the point I tried to share. Well, one lady went off on me, how I was lucky that my wife / significant other hadn’t decided to get a hysterectomy so she didn’t have to deal with the burdens of womanhood. Now, we’re currently going through our 2nd miscarriage, and I just about went through the roof. Half a dozens replies floated through my mind before rational thought prevailed and I offered what I thought was a calm and honest response.

When I checked the post later I realized I couldn’t see any of the woman’s responses, but I could see replies from other people. I had been the recipient of the Block. Now, Danielle chimed in later on with some awesome responses.

Block #2

On the heels of the emotional posts last night regarding the death of Whitney Houston, I noticed one fly through my Ticker from the page of a well known Pro Life proponent. She had mentioned that she was praying for Whitney Houston’s soul.

I’m sorry, but I don’t find evidence that once someone has stepped into eternity our prayers can effect where they spend said eternity. Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians 5:8 that being absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. In Hebrews 9:27 we read that man is destined to die once and then face judgment.

Perhaps there is a purgatory. I can’t say for sure. But why in the world would you want to gamble your eternity on whether or not purgatory exists. That’s a bet I don’t want to take.

When I went back to the post later on I noticed that I couldn’t comment and that all my comments had been deleted.

I had received The Block.

Now, I get it. This post sounds like I’m just whining about getting blocked by two strangers on Facebook. That’s really not the point I’m trying to make.

Danielle recently posted on the topic of criticism and our ability to hear and handle the truth, even when it hurts. I couldn’t agree more.

Let’s tie this back to the Bible. Let’s take a look at Matthew 16:21-23.

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.²² Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

²³ Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

 

In the words of a TV character, “Oh, snap!” Jesus just dropped one of the biggest Truth Bombs ever on his boy Peter. He called him Satan. It does get more harsh or true than that.

If you would grant me some artistic freedom, let’s fast forward a couple thousand years to see how this might have played out if Jesus and Peter used Social Media.

Jesus Tweets / FB posts: I must suffer many things at the hands of man and be killed.

Peter replies / comments: No way, Jesus! That’s not going to happen!

Jesus: Get behind me, Satan!

Peter blocks Jesus from posting on his wall and then hides Jesus. Who does that guy think he is anyway? Peter definitely stops following Jesus on Twitter and blocks him there too.

Peter posts on his Facebook, “can you believe what Jesus called me? He called me Satan. The nerve of that guy.” He Tweets this to all of his followers and causes a rift in Christianity that never completely heals.

Instead, what does Peter do? Well we don’t know what his exact reaction was, but we do know he was ready to lop off ears in the Garden of Gethsemane. Sounds like he handled Jesus’ harsh words pretty well.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

And lest you think I can lob truth bombs and not take them, believe me, in the past few weeks I’ve handled more than my fair share.

Remember Jesus’s words, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free…”