Father`s Day Devo (My Senior Pastor Asked Me To Write It For Our Church Newsletter)

w. prodigalmagazine com/ jesus-called-me-the-n-word/ please read it. Its great! However it makes me realize something with the words: "how do you love someone whose actions or behaviors you find really unacceptable?". Yes the C.S Lewis quote... My dilemma is, its like spreading a fake love, i know its better to love then it is to hate. But deep down he still thinks its unacceptable, He realizes their pain and apologizes, but he doesn't accept them, so why selfless love why not respect!?

“There is someone that I love even though I don’t approve of what he does. There is someone I accept though some of his thoughts and actions revolt me. There is someone I forgive though he hurts the people I love the most. That person is……me.” - C.S.Lewis(If you can’t say amen, say ouch.) 

Wow. Awesome, awesome quote. And great article! Okay so let’s examine your quarrel with this article. So if I understand you correctly, you feel like the fact that he still finds homosexuality “unacceptable”, means that he doesn’t genuinely love them. And your proposition is that if he did love them, he wouldn’t still have a problem with homosexuality. Alright, I will give you my interpretation and my opinion and hope that it’s…somewhat useful.

The problem I see with the Homosexuality vs. Religion catastrophe is rooted in the fact that it’s supposedly a unique situation. As I see it, there are two reasons for this. 

If I believe the bible, which I do, I believe that homosexuality is wrong. This is a problem because of the age-old psychological nature vs. nurture debate, and the fact that homosexuality is currently considered to be a natural, involuntary state which remains constant throughout the lifespan. And how can you judge someone for something they can’t help? That’s why homosexuality, among all the sins in the bible, is treated as a special case by non-religious people. 

But why is homosexuality treated as a special case by religious people? I mean, of all the things to protest with picket signs, why pick homosexuality? If I’m not mistaken, adultery is still a bad thing, right? Where are the laws against that? No one’s petitioning to make that illegal. We’re not a fan of taking the Lord’s name in vain but we sure have developed a high tolerance for it! Oh and drug and alcohol abuse. There are a good many Pentecostal church kids in that category. Do we kick them out of houses and out of churches? And don’t even get me started on Christian boys and porn addiction, we’d be here all night! So WHY is there acceptance and forgiveness for all that other stuff at the alter, and not for homosexuality?

I’m actually gonna tell you why. Let me address these two issues separately.

When it all boils down, I have no idea whether I think homosexuality is a choice or not. But guess what. I DON’T CARE!  I honestly could not care any less than I do right now whether homosexuality can be helped or not. It makes no difference to how I see you. It makes no difference to how I treat you. It makes no difference to how I love you. Hypothetically, if someone really did consciously and willingly make a choice to be gay, that wouldn’t make a difference either. I mean, all the crap we choose to do doesn’t, why should this? 

To answer the big WHY question back there, it’s because church people feel like we need to “fix” everybody’s behavior. You’re cutting? Let’s draw a butterfly on your arm and work through a positive psychology plan for diminishing relapses. (That actually worked for my friend.) You have a porn addiction? Okay, make me your accountability partner and download a secure browser and I’ll get email updates on your browsing activities every week. (I actually do get emails like that.) And I’m not saying that trying to help someone who wants help is bad! I’m saying that the compulsion to modify behavior is bad. We are accepting and loving but we want to fix you. And when church people come up against something they can’t control, like homosexuality, the rules change? I mean, come on. In reality, although I’m glad for butterflies and weekly emails, I don’t have to fix anybody. I can just go one loving them and leave it at that. And those butterflies and emails, they’re not me. They’re Jesus. Jesus is the only one who can do any fixing, so I’m not even sure why I try. 

But here’s the thing. All sin is equal in the sight of God. (James 2:10). So why are people making this big stinking deal about homosexuality when some of us have so much pride in our hearts, we can’t even hear God anymore and we probably think we wrote the bible! Some of us have so much hate that our souls are corroding away inside of us. Some of us have so much lust and secrets and shame that we can barely make eye contact. And you’re gonna look at me and say “homosexuality is a sin”? No my son (Newfoundland expression). I’ve got bigger things in my own life to deal with than homosexuality. And chances are, so do you.

Secondly, I feel as though we’re reading this article through different filters and the way we perceive love is very very different. I’m sensing that you see love as an endpoint. Like I’ve got to jump through a hoop, crawl through a tunnel, pole vault, limbo and do the hokey pokey before I can love you. And you see my issue with homosexuality as an obstacle that needs to be overcome before I can love you. Maybe homosexuality is a wall between me and loving you. And I just climb over the wall. But…the wall’s still there. It’s still a big huge reminder that the path to loving you was not easy. Maybe by saying that he still finds their behavior unacceptable, you feel like he’s cheating on his love. And that’s why you called it a fake love. 

Well I’m here to tell you that that’s not the way it works at all. Love is a starting point. It’s not like “Okay fiiiine, I guess I love you, even though….” No no no. It’s just “I love you.” Period. End of story. No ifs, ands or buts. In reality, it’s “I love you becauseyou’re a person and you’re a child of God, and God loves you.” And that’s good enough for me. That’s all there is to it. There are no qualifications on God’s love! He didn’t ask to see photo ID or a baptism certificate or your report card before He loved you. He just does! That is the nature of unconditional love. And that’s how I love you. EVERYTHING ELSE in the entire world is secondary to that fact. Your colour, your size, your height, your weight, your gender, your culture, your religious affiliation, your political opinions, your sexual orientation, your socio-economic status, your income, your education, your choices, your actions, your attitudes, your behavior, your family, your upbringing, your personality and your genetics are ALL secondary to the fact that first and foremost, and above all, you are a human being, worthy of love. And I don’t have to change your behavior. My ONLY job is to love you. I think that’s what the author was getting at in that article. It wasn’t really that he had this grand revelation that changed everything, it’s more like God brought Him back to the basics.

See, I know that God loves me. That’s why I’m capable of loving myself despite the terrible things I do, the struggles I face, the mistakes I make and the people I hurt. God loved us before we were born, so we obviously didn’t earn it, and obviously nothing we do will change it. And as a Christian, I love people the same way. 

Finally, respect is one of the primary exigences of love. Please, please don’t ever think that I don’t respect you. No matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done. Nowhere in that article does it state that he doesn’t respect gay people. You’re inferring disrespect where none was implied. Furthermore, nowhere is it written anywhere that you and I have to be in 100% agreement to love each other. Just because we might come down on different sides of the homosexuality question makes no difference to how I love you. I disagree with a lot of people on a lot of things, some small, some rather large. But I love them all the same. Just because I disagree with your behavior doesn’t mean I don’t respect you, and it doesn’t mean I don’t genuinely love you. 

I hope this helps a little! Thanks for your question :)Peace and love! -Katherine 

Everything feels awful right now but it isn't really. We still don't officially have a winner, but regardless of how the presidential election ends up, I wanted to take a minute and find what lights I can in the 3 a.m. darkness. Here's what I know:

* Kentucky overwhelmingly rejected an attempt to undermine the public education system by offering private school vouchers:

Louisville Public Media

Kentucky rejects Amendment 2 to allow private education funding, passes Amendment 1

Amendment 2 to allow public funds to go to private and charter school education was rejected universally in Kentucky counties when the Assoc

* Delaware has elected a transgender woman to the House of Representatives, the first out trans person of any gender ever elected to congress:

the Guardian

Sarah McBride becomes first out trans person elected to US House

McBride wins Delaware’s at-large House seat against Republican candidate John Whalen III, a former state police officer

* For the first time in history, two Black women will be serving in the senate at the same time, and they are only the fourth and fifth Black women ever elected to the senate:

the Guardian

US will have two Black women serving as senators for first time in history

Democrats Lisa Blunt Rochester from Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland both saw victories

* New York State has passed a constitutional amendment enshrining the rights of pregnant people (including the right to an abortion), LGBTQIA+ people, the disabled, immigrants regardless of legal status, and other at-risk groups:

Gothamist

New York voters pass Prop 1, enshrine abortion rights into state constitution

The constitutional amendment faced a tougher-than-expected fight after a right-wing campaign against anti-discrimination protections.

* Democrat Josh Stein has beaten self-avowed Nazi Mark Robinson to become governor of North Carolina:

NPR

North Carolina’s Josh Stein wins race for governor over Mark Robinson

 Stein is the current attorney general and he noted his work winning opioid settlements. But it was controversy over Robinson’s inflammatory

That's everything I know off the top of my head. It's not many bright spots, but it's not zero. I'm going to try to find more and I'll add them to the post. It's the only thing I can think of to do that isn't sobbing and throwing up or looking up Canadian immigration rules.

If you know more good news, I encourage you to add it in reblogs.

“I wondered if that was why God hated sin, because of the destruction it caused. For a moment I felt awe for a God who loved me enough to hate the things that hurt me without hating me for causing them.”

—

Susan E. Isaacs (via everfleeting)

so much feels

(via forevermessiah)

thank

This is me externally processing.

My beliefs about equality and justice are, to me, the logical outpouring of Christ’s love in my life. God commands us to love our neighbours as ourselves. We are called to glorify God by loving people: indiscriminately and unconditionally. A passion for justice should flow naturally from this love. Injustice violates love. God, whose divine essence is love, is supremely and perfectly just. Our love, as Christians, would be incomplete if it did not seek to correct injustice. 

Jesus was the ultimate social justice activist. He was the great equalizer. He spent time with society’s most marginalized groups of people and never looked down on anyone for the situation or their choices. He met people where they were at. He got on their level. Jesus was not someone who stood back and regarded injustice or oppression from afar. He loved them personally and practically. He was involved in their lives. Furthermore, Jesus did not come to uphold an unjust and corrupt social system. He was radical. He was subversive. He upset the status quo. Jesus came to give sight to the blind, and to set free the captive and oppressed. Jesus is the model of social justice. 

It’s because of my deeply-rooted convictions, because of the belief in Jesus Christ that defines my whole life, because of this moral code to which I adhere, that I am so implacably passionate about social justice. This is why discrimination and intolerance offends and outrages me so much. This is why I fight for the rights of all marginalized groups. 

For the past three weeks, I’ve been teaching the gospel to children at a Christian summer camp. The curriculum I’m using is the 5 Gs of the Gospel: God, Guilt, Grace, Gratitude, Glory. When we talk about Gratitude, we talk about how people act when Jesus changes their life. People who know Jesus begin to act more like Him. And God loves people and we love God so we love people. Now here’s the kicker, for me: loving people and acting like Jesus means correcting injustice. It means feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, liberating the captive, including the outsider. It means accepting people. It means treating everybody the same no matter what their struggle is. 

YOUR GOSPEL IS INCOMPLETE IF IT DOES NOT INCLUDE JUSTICE. THE GOSPEL IS JUSTICE. JESUS IS JUSTICE. 

And here is the very big problem that I have right now. This camp that I work at is not as inclusive and tolerant as I am. I’ve talked to way too many people who think my feminist views are unbiblical. The policies of this camp regarding people who are homosexual are in the process of being decided, and I don’t know how it’s gonna go. I’m told that transgendered persons are not permitted to work there and may not be permitted to attend as campers either. Is it because “we don’t want to send the message to the campers that that kind of lifestyle is okay”? Because parts of my lifestyle in 2015 definitely weren’t okay and still aren’t and you would not want to send the message to campers that it’s okay, but I was still hired. Is it because “we just want to focus on teaching kids the gospel, and not engage in discussions about those kinds of topics”? Well this is a problem, because I believe that your gospel in incomplete without the part about treating everybody with respect and equality. How can you teach kids the gospel while discriminating against people who quite possibly need love and support and acceptance the most? 

I’m struggling with this because I think that equality and tolerance is so integral to the gospel message, and when I see an organization that doesn’t practise equality and tolerance, I feel that they are misrepresenting the gospel. I wouldn’t want to work for an organization like that any more than I’d want to attend a church that didn’t teach sound doctrine. I do not believe that those attitudes are of God. God is not about discrimination. And I want no part in it. 

Hate is not a productive response to hate. How are we to have genuine dialogue with someone when we're putting them on the defensive? How are we to overcome evil by stooping to the same level? How are we to correct ignorance by overshadowing the real issue with our ugly words? By hating those who hate us, we ensure that we will remain trapped in a cycle of hate. Just because you're hating in the opposite direction doesn't mean you're doing the opposite of hating. You're still hating. Two wrongs will never make a right. We must overcome hate with something stronger than hate. You know where I'm going with this, right? Love. Love will always conquer hate. Love is the most radical, scandalous answer to hate, because it is unnatural. Not unnatural. Supernatural. Jesus says to love those who hate you. When your love is big enough to swallow wave after wave of malice and vitriol, then you will be truly victorious. Then you will see people take notice. Then you will change the world.

How do you feel about Westboro Baptist Church and the things they do?

ASJDFGHJKLKJHGFDSTYDERTGVBHYGTF THEY MAKE ME SO ANGRY.LEVITICUS IS NOT THE ONLY BOOK IN THE BIBLE! READ THE NEW TESTAMENT!  

THE GOD YOU CLAIM TO FOLLOW IS NOT A GOD OF HATE! HE IS A GOD OF LOVE! HE LOVES EVERYONE AND HATES NO ONE! Ugh. I must admit, they drive me to violent urges. They infuriate me beyond words because they preach literally the antithesis of EVERYTHING my God is and yet they say that they follow the same God as I do. How is that even possible? How can someone spew hate and vitriol and say that it’s of God? Rest assured, it is not of God. God is love. Overwhelming, unconditional, infinite, scandalous, inclusive, all-consuming, all-effacing, sanctifying, redeeming, love. LOVE is literally the closes thing to the character of God that we have here on earth. Therefore, I ask you, how can someone be so absolutely full of hatred and be in line with God’s will? They cannot. Having said that, it is my personal belief that though they claim to be Christians, they are not Christians. Allow me to share with you one of my favourite quotes: 

Not because he and I are one, but because we are opposites, I take to me the services which thou hast done to him. For I and he are of such different kinds that no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him. Therefore if any man swear by Tash and keep his oath for the oath’s sake, it is by me that he had truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him. And if any man do a cruelty in my name, then, though he says the name Aslan, it is Tash whom he serves and by Tash his deed is accepted. 

That’s a quote from The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis. Aslan represents God and Tash represents the devil. I think this quote is extremely applicable to our current discussion, and the cruelty committed by the Westboro Baptist Church, though done in God’s name, is not done in the service of God, but in the service of the devil. That goes for all the evil deeds of misguided, blinded churches in the past, including the Spanish inquisition, the Holocaust, etc. It saddens me greatly that the one philosophy which should be completely pure of hatred and dissension - Christianity - is so incredibly corrupted and perverted in so many of its divisions. I maintain that people who truly know and love God are people of love, grace and acceptance, not of hatred and violence. How such abominations of the faith occurred is due entirely to prideful people who filter the word of God through their own (WRONG) worldview. And the saddest part of all this is that God loves the people of the Westboro Baptist Church. He loves them desperately, and He wants them to fully realize and understand the power of His transforming love for them, and for everyone, because when you know, truly know the love of God, you are never the same again. And if they actually knew God, they would not behave the way they do. My hope is that someday they will know the God they claim to serve, and that their acquaintance with Him will change everything. Sooo…there you go. Peace and love! -Katherine 

I’ll return to Biblical womanhood gladly. Because Biblical womanhood is Deborah being called by God to lead the nation of Israel into victory. Biblical womanhood is Jesus choosing a woman as the first person to whom He revealed His identity as The Messiah and making her the first evangelist. Biblical womanhood is Jesus revealing himself first to women after His resurrection, trusting them with the task of telling His disciples. Biblical womanhood is Jesus inviting Mary and Martha to sit at his feet to be taught as disciples, valuing their presence there with Him instead of busying themselves with meal preparation and “women’s work.” Biblical womanhood is Paul calling Lydia and Priscilla his coworkers in Christ. Biblical womanhood is Priscilla teaching Apollos (a man) and her name being listed before that of her husband, Aquila, when the couple is mentioned in scripture. Biblical womanhood is Paul referring to Phoebe as a minister and a leader. Biblical womanhood is Lydia founding the church in Phillippi. Biblical womanhood is countless other examples of women, valued and empowered by Christ, teaching and leading right alongside men. 

Biblical womanhood is not a few taken-out-of-context verses, written to specific audiences and wrongfully universally applied, about women remaining silent in church and not having authority over men. 

Looove me some spoken work poetry. So many goosebumps.

Is masturbation a sin?

Oi. Okay, um…I won’t say that this is a “complicated” question, per se, but I will say that it’s going to be hard to clearly explain my thoughts on the subject. So just bear with me. 

Disclaimer: because you used the word sin, I’m assuming you want a Christian perspective, which is really the only perspective I give anyway :P So that’s what this will be. 

From a biblical perspective, I think that the act itself of masturbation is not a sin, but the reasons we do it can be sinful. 

A few years ago, I wondered this very thing and I went in search of answers but couldn’t find anything conclusive. There are too many different interpretations of the bible, too many different pastors with different opinions. Since then I’ve matured (a tiny bit) and I’ve come to my own conclusions. And here they are: 

Sexual health professionals say that masturbation is healthy and, of course, they’re right. It’s necessary, in fact. Especially for guys. Male bodies are producing sperm and semen from a pretty young age, waaaaayy before they’re ready to get married and/or have sex. It needs to be ejaculated. You can’t just ignore that. So masturbation is necessary and healthy. Okay, cool. 

Also, the bible, which mentions many other sexual sins and perversions in lurid detail, does not mention masturbation once. NOT ONCE. NOT A SINGLE TIME. Isn’t that odd? Every single other sin is mentioned in the bible, but masturbation is not. Hmm…must be cause masturbation is not a sin! 

But here’s why people might try to convince you it’s a sin, and why you’re wondering whether or not it’s a sin. The bible does mention lust. It compares lust to adultery (Matthew 5:28), it repeatedly tells us to flee from sexual immorality, it speaks of covenant eyes (Job 31:1) so we can safely assume that lust is not a good thing. The catholics even put it in their seven deadly sins! 

And we have a problem because lust is a thing of the heart and the mind, and masturbation is a thing of the body, but the heart and mind are inextricable linked to the body. Therefore, masturbation is *almost* always connected to a sin, because it is accompanied by sexual fantasies about the girl/guy in our english class, or that model; or because it’s accompanied by porn. [Sidenote: porn is definitely sinful. That absolutely falls into the lust category. Also, porn is highly addictive. Like, family-ruining, job-losing addictive. And before you know it, you’re being treated for depression and ADHD when all that was really wrong with you was a porn addiction. See here.] So because we may be struggling in our hearts with lust, we will also be struggling in our bodies with masturbation. I found this quote on this website that I thought explained it rather well: 

“Specifically, if the act is done merely as a hedge against temptation and as thebody requires then there is no need for the above sinful “crutches”. This is hardly exciting, and a rote act of keeping the body in submission. It cannot be done often, as the body is not that demanding if left alone by a perverted imagination.”

So in conclusion, masturbation is not the sickness, but it can be a symptom. I rarely say stuff like this, because I’m not really an authority on…well, anything. However, I want to say it in this situation: IF you (you meaning anyone) feel like you’re struggling with masturbation, here are some things I want to tell you:

1. Bear in mind that masturbation is not the sin. You are probably suffering from some “soul-sickness”. And getting better is not about trying to go as long as you can without masturbating. Trying to go more than 24 hours without masturbating, or trying to go two days, or a week…that’s not dealing with the real issue. That’s just frustrating for you. Getting better is dealing with what’s really going on - your heart and mind are out of line. It might be a porn addiction. It might be frequent fantasizing, or staring a bit too long at that person. Whatever it is, if you deal with that, the masturbating thing will take care of itself. 

2. Don’t be ashamed. Sometimes, the church puts this stigma on sexual sins and we can’t talk about it and it’s all so hush-hush. But it’s better to talk about it than to try to deal with it on your own. That being said, talk to someone you can trust. Someone who loves you. Someone who will be discreet and sensitive and actually try to help. 

3. PRAY PRAY PRAY PRAY! We are not capable of turning off lustful thoughts at the flip of a switch. We do not have that much control over our own thoughts. We need a lot of help. And read your bible, because having your head filled with God’s word is a good way to keep impure thoughts out. 

4. Remember that God loves you and I love you no matter what. :)

Thanks for the question :) I hope that what I said made sense at least, and at best was somewhat helpful. :) Peace and love! -Katherine