What Would Jesus Support? Jimmy Carter Speaks for Jesus

"I think Jesus would encourage any love affair if it was honest and sincere and was not damaging to anyone else, and I don't see that gay marriage damages anyone else," Jimmy Carter

And Jesus would have supported Adultery between consenting adults

And Jesus would have supported sex outside of marriage (premarital sex)

And Jesus would have supported couples living together without being married

And Jesus would have supported abortion on demand for any reason

And Jesus would have supported the use of recreational drugs

And Jesus would have supported: cheating on exams; lying on tax returns; stealing from big corporations; lying by politicians; false witness by thugs in high profile cases; pornography on our TV's; computers, and phones; prostitution; sexploitation of young children; and idolization of our stars, cars, and other shiny objects.

Who are we kidding?

In a country where over two thirds of the population claims to believe in Jesus, the other third seem to be very, very busy promoting things Jesus would never have supported.

Jimmy Carter has done a lot of good, and failed on many fronts, too. Like most Christians. This may be his worst moment.

Are you hiding behind a mask?

“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’” (1 Samuel 16:7 NIV).

During Lent, many Christians choose to give up something. Chocolate, soft drinks, junk food, bread and red meat are just a few of the things given up during this time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter.

Recently, I learned a 13-year-old girl at our church has given up wearing make-up for Lent. Men, you may not be able to relate, but for women, especially a young teenager, this is a sacrifice. 

Addie’s mother shared the following on the second day of Lent: “Feeling very blessed! Last night at our Ash Wednesday service, the girls were talking about what they were giving up for Lent. Addie said she was giving up make-up. ‘Wow,’ I said, ‘that is a big one.’ I then realized today they are taking wrestling pictures. (Note: Addie is a wrestling cheerleader) I told her it would be okay to wear make-up for the pictures. She looked at me and said, ‘Mom, if it is in God’s plan that I not have make-up on, then that is what I will do.’” 

Our true identity is found in a relationship with our Heavenly Father.

When I read this post on Facebook, I was not surprised. I know this family and their dedication to living a Godly life. However, I was amazed and touched by this 13-year-old girl’s willingness to give up wearing make-up, even for a yearbook photo, to honor her commitment to God. 

How would you describe true love?

“I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me”—Matthew 25:34-36 (MSG)

If you were asked to describe true love, how would you answer? Look up the synonyms for love in a thesaurus and you’ll find the following words close in meaning: affection, appreciation, devotion, emotion, fondness and friendship, along with several others. But these are man’s words.

 

I like the definition for love found in God’s Holy Word: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a).

 If we don’t love, how can we, as Christians, be the light He calls us to be in the world?

From a secular viewpoint, love is often associated with the physical aspects of a relationship and the expression of that love through gifts such as candy, flowers and cards as seen on Valentine’s Day. While there’s nothing wrong with these things, from a Biblical perspective, true love is found in the spiritual. True love is not just between a man and a woman but is found in all of our relationships when we seek a higher calling.


Although we don’t usually associate Jesus’ words to His disciples in Matthew 25:34-36 with love (see above), I think it’s an example of the calling we have on our lives if we seek to love our fellow man, even our enemies. As Christians, we are to be God’s representatives to the world. He tells us plainly in Micah 6:8: “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

 If we don’t love, how can we, as Christians, be the light He calls us to be in the world? I like the version of this passage found in “The Message.” In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus said, “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”

When we reach out to others, even strangers, we are witnesses to His great love. When we provide for the physical needs as well as the spiritual needs of others, we become His hands and feet.

Isn’t that the definition of true love?

For more inspiration from Carol, check out her blog at www.carolaround.com. 

Why on Earth Am I Here?

“A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps”— Proverbs 16:9 (RSV).

Have you ever wondered why you’re at a specific job, living in a particular place, how you ended up married to a certain person or even why on Earth you’re here? If you’ve ever had questions like these and didn’t have the answer, maybe it’s because the Lord was directing your steps.

Sometimes, it’s only by looking back years later that the answer is revealed to us. Other times, we experience an “AHA” moment.

In 1971, when I enrolled in college, my plans were to pursue a degree in elementary education. When I sat down to discuss classes with my assigned advisor, he said, “You’re going to have a difficult time finding a job after graduation because there are too many elementary education majors.”

His statement led me to change my major to secondary education with an emphasis in English, my favorite high school class. While I’d never taken a journalism class, I decided to enroll in one the first semester as an elective. I loved it and eventually changed my major to journalism education with a minor in English.

After teaching for several years at the high school level, I came to realize it was God’s plan all along. Although I’ve been retired from education for 10 years, I still stay in touch with, and am able to minister to, many of my former students.

If Jesus understood God’s plan for His life, shouldn’t it be your goal to let the Lord direct your steps also?

Recently, a friend shared with me about her sister’s “AHA” moment when God revealed to her why she was at a particular job. Webster’s dictionary defines an “AHA” moment as a moment of sudden realization, inspiration, insight, recognition, or comprehension. My friend’s sister had been questioning why she was there until she was led to minister to a fellow employee who was distressed about a family member’s pending incarceration. My friend’s sister could relate because she, too, has a family member who is incarcerated.

Pastor Adrian Rogers says, “Indeed, your scars may be your greatest ministry. Just as the scars of Jesus convinced Thomas, perhaps your scars will convince someone today.”
As Christians, we sometimes question our calling. However, our first calling is to know Jesus. How can we know Him better? He calls us into an intimate relationship with Him, meaning we need to spend quality time getting to know Him through reading and studying scripture, praying and meditating on His Word, sharing fellowship with other believers and becoming His ambassadors.

In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus says, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you.”

This scripture reveals our true calling, answering the question, “Why on Earth am I here?”

Author C.S. Lewis wrote, “In Gethsemane the holiest of all petitioners prayed three times that a certain cup might pass from Him. It did not.”

If Jesus understood God’s plan for His life, shouldn’t it be your goal to let the Lord direct your steps also?

Read more of Carol's encouragement at www.carolaround.com where you can sign up to receive her weekly encouragement and get a copy of her first book free.

 

What Kind of Person do you want to become this Year?

“Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy”

—Ephesians 4:24 (NLT).

In her 1908 classic, “Anne of Green Gables,” author Lucy Maude Montgomery said, “Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”  Although each day is full of promise and expectation, New Year’s is the only day we celebrate with fanfare and excitement. Then, as the days pass, we often find ourselves forgetting January 1 isn’t the only day we can start anew.

When the calendar changes from one year to the next, we’re filled with hope and the possibilities that await us. We’ve made mistakes in the past and vow not to revisit them. But then, we stumble. We vow to make changes on the first day of each year, but our motivation wanes as we get caught up in the mundane.

Former UCLA Basketball Coach John Wooden once said, “If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.”

Recently, a relative lamented the many mistakes he’d made in his failed marriage. He was heartbroken and taking all of the blame upon himself. Although he had been raised attending church, he had drifted away. As his marriage crumbled around him, he said, “I’ve never felt so lost in my life.”

Then, he admitted he had not been putting God first in his life. Since that realization, he has returned to church, was baptized and is now seeking God’s will each day. During his baptism, the pastor did something unique. While denominations differ in their baptismal rite, I delighted in this pastor’s choice. It was a full body immersion with the pastor laying my relative backward into the water, then lifting him up and placing him face forward into the baptistry. 

It's only through God's Holy Spirit we can become a new person.

Explaining the symbolism of this method, the pastor said, “When being placed backward and then forward into the water, it represents a letting go of the past—or the old man—and moving forward, filled with God’s Holy Spirit.”

What Does the News Say About the Latter Days?

Top News Stories of the Day 

UFO’s, Economic Collapse, War, and More

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UFOs sited in Missouri, man attaches dynamite to a dog and blows it up (for you dog lovers, the dog survived and is being taken care of by a Good Samaritan who renamed him Rocket), a man bites off parts of another man's face, Greece's economic woes may eventually impact banks in the U.S. and an emergency U.N. meeting is called to deal with the crisis in Syria—these are just some of the news items of the day.

If I was an alien on a UFO visiting, I think I would hightail it and find another planet on which to take a vacation where there was more peace and less war. On a more serious note, how is it possible to listen to the news stories that bombard us day in and day out and not become depressed or despondent?

Many years ago at a Christian writer's conference, an editor asked me what I do for a living.

"I provide closed captioning for television," I told him. His eyes lit up as if there must be plenty of writing material in those juicy stories.

I laughed at him and shook my head. What good stories could I write? Oftentimes the news left me depressed. Perhaps the same sentiment was felt by Nathanael in John 1:46 when he commented about Jesus’ birthplace, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?"

But my response to that editor has always bothered me. Can I not find good in the world if I look for it? Does God not bring good out of evil? Can He not redeem the worst story I have ever reported?

Sometimes at night when I'm falling asleep, I will think back to something I captioned during the day and will be troubled. I won’t be able to get a disturbing image out of my mind. Perhaps it's Satan's way of attacking me—after all, if He can make me doubt God's love and providence, how effective can I be in my witness?

In my limited wisdom, all I can feel or see is the pain and suffering inflicted. And while I despise someone else’s gross behavior, as a sinner, I am just as guilty at hurting others. Sometimes I wonder how God tolerates it all. How can He not get angry? If I have a righteous indignation in my limited understanding, how much more so does God become angry?

In I Corinthians 2:7, the Bible speaks of God having a secret wisdom—a wisdom that is hidden, that not even kings and presidents and premiers can understand. Not only that, but He says that He “destined” to give that wisdom to us even before time began.

The Bible also claims that Jesus would not have been crucified if the rulers had understood what it was they were doing. That means it was necessary that the people not understand what happened to Him as even today we don't understand many of the things that happen in the world.   

When I am closed captioning and wonder, how could God let that happen, I remind myself that I am thinking this way because I don't have the wisdom of God. It's not like God sits up in the heavens wringing His hands and wondering how mankind screwed up His planet. Not only does He know, but whatever He has planned for us far surpasses even the most horrendous event that can happen in our lives.

It takes a lot of faith for those roots to go deep into the human heart. I Corinthians states, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him." That means physically and mentally we can't know, but God has revealed it to us by His Holy Spirit.

In Matthew 24:12, when referring to the latter days and the signs of the end of the age, Jesus stated, "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold..."

It's very easy to read this and flippantly think, "Oh, I would never do that. I will always love my neighbor, my family, my husband." No matter what happens, can we believe that? Is our love greater than that murdered child or broken heart or abused animal? Is God's love greater still? Even if I don't understand it now, it is enough to know that someday I will.

As Peter said in John 6:68, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." My faith must be strong enough to stand up to the worst of humanity because Satan is relentless. His fate is sealed and he has nothing to lose. Whenever I start to doubt, again, I remind myself it is God who holds the words of truth.   

One thing we can do in response to the news is be an intercessor. God never tires of hearing our prayers. Some of those suffering souls that get reported in news stories may not know the Savior, but we know as Christians the one who holds their future. We can be assured that God's love is deeper than their pain and great enough to reach across states, oceans, and continents.   

On a grander scale, I fear not so much a battle with weapons of mass destruction as I do the war imposed on Christian principalities and beliefs—Sharia law, government intrusion on privacy, and the validation of same sex marriage, just to name a few.

In light of that, some upcoming topics may make you uncomfortable. Please feel free to leave comments as I love to hear from you.

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To follow Lorilyn Roberts on her blog, visit  http://LorilynRoberts.blogspot.com.