My Immodest Past (and The Modesty Survey)

I don't remember how or when it was that I stumbled upon The Modesty Survey, but I do remember that it was a great encouragement to me, a little convicting, and it gave me some motivation in an area of my life I had been neglecting for quite a few years.
As a little bit of background for you, when I was a toddler my mom put me in jeans. I just didn't like the feel of them pinching my middle, and lavished in the praise I received from everyone I met when I wore dresses. What toddler doesn't like to be told she looks like a princess? So one morning my mom was getting me dressed and I told her I didn't want any more pants at all. Only dresses. I think it took a while before she realized I was serious. I wore sweatpants to bed when all my nightgowns were dirty and rarely did I wear any sort of pants for day-clothes. My dear Nana made my sister and I each a new dress each Christmas and Easter so I wore my pretty made-with-love dresses everywhere all the time. It just felt right. Then when I was a few weeks shy of my 13th birthday we moved and I had to start all over with making friends. My first friend, and for a long time my only friend, lived on a ranch. Baling hay and branding calves were all in a day's work for her, and being in her company I began to be invited to ride horses and such, and she would add, "And um... wear jeans, OK?" because she just couldn't imagine how I'd be able to do anything safely in a dress. So I bought jeans. And wore them when I was visiting my friend. And despite still doing farm chores in dresses at home, pretty soon, when the majority of my public activities went from being done in dresses to being done in jeans, I just only really kept up with buying a dress that fit for Church. The majority of my wardrobe became jeans and tank tops. Practical for sweating out in the sun riding horses but not really modest. But I wasn't thinking of that back then. I am ashamed to admit that my focus was not on being modest. I was becoming a hormone-laden teenager and began to dress to draw the eye and unfortunately I got it. I had alot of guys trying to flirt with me until they realized I wasn't going to do what I was advertising (by my attire) for. I can't say as it really hit with all clarity until I was much older. Teenagers are by nature (or culture?) very insecure, selfish, and attention-seeking. Despite being a Christian, I was no exception. I thought that if boys didn't flirt with me and try to get me out of my clothes then I must be ugly. I was told that they would do just that if I were to show more of myself by wearing less. And so I did. But I always felt uncomfortable, fidgety, and guilty when I was not wearing a modest outfit.
For a little while in my mid-teens, my parents started driving 2 hours to church every weekend to go to a Mennonite-like church. We were expected (by my parents) to wear long dressed and a bandana on our heads to church so as to not offend the congregation or cause their younger members to stumble. I remember that despite the brevity of our time with that congregation, seeing the other teenaged girls dressed so contrastingly to popular culture, and also contrastingly so full of confidence and joy and beautiful radiance, it made a deep impression on  me.
I did not immediately switch back to all dresses. In fact it was long after I was married, and not too distant in the past, when I began to wear skirts often once again. I did have a slow journey to more modest pants-and-shirt wearing before I wound up back in skirts. Part of what propelled me back toward modest dress was the previously mentioned Modesty Survey. I think I was feeling convicted about modesty from a sermon I heard and did a search online to find out if a woman in pants is really a stumbling block to a man! I didn't really expect to find a clear answer, so imagine my shock when I found The Modesty Survey! The quotes, the details, the honesty and vulnerability of the men... well it's really something that I think will blow you away or boost your modesty resolve as it did for me.
Click HERE to view The Modesty Survey for yourself. First take note of how many signatures there are of men supporting us women in choosing to dress modestly. I love that. This is a survey of 1,600 teen boys and men. First click on Overview and read about the men who took the survey and how to read the survey. Then go back and click Survey Results. Select a category from the left column and a "question" from the right column and scroll down to see the graph results and statements from men on this concept. Hearing how some men feel about some types of dress, and about modesty and women in general, brought me to tears. Tears of hope and regret. If only someone had showed this to me as an insecure teen! How much of those awkward guilty fidgety days spent out in public trying to look like a piece of hot sex so I would be worth something (backwards much?!) would have been avoided! How much confidence would I have gained and inner beauty been able to shine through if I had only known! And yes my Daddy did try to tell me how guys think but I wasn't really close to my dad and with the whole world telling me otherwise, I honestly didn't believe him. Or maybe I didn't care, or didn't want to. I thought that whatever his ideas and opinions were, they were of people my dad's age. He wouldn't know anything about what real guys my age now this decade think. Times have changed... I wish there had been a Modesty Survey for me back then. But it's not too late to raise my daughters to be confident modest women! I wasn't raised to wear dresses, grew away from my parents, was expected to date and wear makeup. My parents' change of heart on these matters didn't come until I was around 16 years old. But my own daughters are still tiny. I have a head start at being able to nurture modesty and confidence in them. I have the advantage of knowing now that what I do now and in the future affects my future relationship with my kids, whether they will try my and their father's words of experience on life.

I am drafting a sort of statement of modesty for myself and my girls. It's a work in progress. Perhaps I'll share it in my next post. :)

Halloween - Part 4: My personal beliefs, some Q & A

If you have not yet read the preceeding 3 parts of this 4-part series, then I must request that you do so before continuing. It is a series for a reason and is in the order which I have presented it for a reason - it will make the most sense if you read it as it was meant to be read.
*(This is an updated repost of a series I did last year)*

Part 1: Jack-O-Lantern, Stingy Jack, Jack the Smith
Part 2: Origins - All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day
Part 3: How it all ties in, Christian response

PART 4:
I would like to open this post where I left off in Part 3- with the scriptures I noted there. They may help you to understand why I believe what I do.

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1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Deuteronomy 18:9-12 When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you.

Ephesians 6:12-13 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Joshua 24:15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

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And if it seems offensive to you to serve the LORD, choose once and for all whom you will serve; the gods of your ancestors, or the gods of those in whose land you reside... but as for me and my lineage, we will serve the LORD.
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What are my personal beliefs regarding Halloween?
Well, I believe that it is a celebration that pleases Satan. I think that children dressed as demonic creatures pleases Satan. I think that carrying out the pagan religious ceremonies of setting out Jack-O-Lanterns and acting out the distribution of sweets to bribe the evil spirits to move along is pleasing to Satan. I think the fact that Christians don't know (or don't want to know) what what they are doing represents when they take their children Trick Or Treating gives the devil a big ol' happy boost. I think that when children act out being an unholy being it is spiritually unhealthy, even harmful to them. I think that even if a child is dressed as an angel or Superman they are still acting out the story of demons visiting homes to threaten tricks if not presented with a treat.

How were my husband and I raised regarding celebrating or not celebrating Halloween?
When I was a child my family did not celebrate Halloween. We would lock up our animals and pray that some cult or prankster wouldn't get ahold of them and torture them for the glory of the evil one. We would sometimes leave the house and go eat dinner out to avoid the bombardment of costumed kids incessantly beating at the door demanding candy. Sometimes we would turn out all the lights and watch a movie, but they would come anyway and shine flashlights in our windows and beat on the door for a long time. It scared us kids to have our home assaulted that way. I never slept well that night.
When my husband was a child his family did celebrate Halloween. He has two older brothers. They dressed in costume and went trick or treating. His family never gave any thought to it, just thought of it as harmless and did it because they'd always done it and it was fun. My husband was raised in church, good Christian boys from a good Christian family. His family still thinks of it as harmless fun but my husband has now, as an adult, been convicted against celebrating it.

Did I ever feel deprived by not being allowed to go Trick or Treating?
Yes and no. Not really. I felt deprived of the chance to dress up in a way and at a time that was not glorifying to Satan. This deprivation would have still been there even had I been out trick or treating. I would still have felt like I would have been more proud of my costume if it were done somewhere, somehow, that would glorify my LORD. I also felt deprived of the chance to glutton myself on free candy. Lol! A very shallow and childlike thing to pout over of course, so I got over it after just a few Halloweens. My family was too poor to buy candy. I imagine my kids will not have this problem since my husband and I are not so poor we can't afford some sweets. ;) And even if they do feel deprived of treats, that is NOT a sufficient reason to participate in something we don't feel right about.

What about Church Harvest Parties or Trunk-or-treats?
Well, I went to a Church Harvest Party (Church costume event for Halloween to keep kids off the streets) when I was about 11. I felt so betrayed when I stepped inside this house of GOD and saw little witches and demons and fairies running around with Jack-O-lantern buckets! In the CHURCH! My little 11 year old heart broke and I felt positively sick to my stomach. I had been under the impression that the purpose of the Harvest Party was to have something for the Christian kids to do on Halloween that would be glorifying to God instead of Satan and when I saw that it was just a big trick or treat party in the Church I started crying and wanted to go home. I told my parents I didn't ever want to go to another Church Harvest Party. I felt morally raped.
My husband tells me that a trunk-or-treat was what his childhood Church did. People would park in the Church parking lot and open their candy-filled car trunks and the kids would go from car to car trick-or-treating. Basically still trick or treating in the pagan traditional manner except with cars instead of houses. Still carrying jack-o-lantern buckets, dressed in costume, going from car to car repeating the intonation "trick-or-treat!"
I think that Christians should pray carefully about these alternative activities just as they should pray carefully about the pagan-traditional ones. See what God tells you. I don't know if one can find an alternative in a church or group that is truly glorifying to God rather than just being a tamer version of the pagan celebration these days.
We won't allow our children to participate in anything where there are children and/or adults dressed up as evil things or even some seemingly innocuous mythical creatures, so this would eliminate Church Harvest Parties like the one I attended as a child as an alternative for my own kids. I would love to have a non-Halloween costume party where the children could dress up in wholesome costumes and the focus would be on something other than candy. It would be a plus to me if it were not even ON Halloween, since I'm not looking to celebrate Christianized or tamed Halloween, I am rather looking for an outlet for my kids to enjoy dressing in costume and socializing with other kids in an uplifting way that is glorifying to God. I was browsing a blog back in 2009 where the blogger just did a Harvest Party and I thought it looked wonderful and like so much fun! Wish I still had the link so I could show you. The kids dressed as historical characters and gave a presentation on their character.

What do I think about other Christians celebrating Halloween?
Frankly I think that it would be wrong of me not to present my fellow believers with the truth of the origins of Halloween in case they do not know. I have a very difficult time conversing in public. I'm the oldest of 3 siblings and, strangely, the only one who is cripplingly shy in public. My brother is not going to win any socialite awards but he gets along more than passably well with other humans. My sister could win socialite of the century; she is chipper and witty and friendly. I seem to be the only one who did not inherit any one-on-one communication skills! So when I get asked by friends and family, "Why don't you celebrate Halloween? It's just harmless fun, right?" I can't seem to express clearly what I'm trying to say. I have a whole speech ready the instant they are out of sight but when conversing one on one it's like I revert back to the vocabulary level of a toddler. That is one reason why I decided to write this blog series on Halloween, originally posted in October of 2009. I am so much better at expressing myself in the written word when I have the time to do so. So now when I get disbelief, scorn, dirty looks, or questions or whatever I will be able to direct people to my blog to answer the burning question, Why don't we celebrate Halloween? The other reason I wrote this is because there are alot of dear friends with whom the subject has never come up. Like I said before, I believe it would be wrong of me to not present the origins of Halloween so that people know. If I believe God wants me to do something and I do not do it, it would be a sin. As for what other people do with it after I tell it... that is between them and GOD.

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Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. -James 4:17
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What should I do on Halloween?
Well, you know, I just don't know. I will admit I'm still in prayer and pondering on this one. Should I hand out tracts and candy? That kind of makes me uneasy because then I'm opening the door of my home to 'monsters/ghosts/demons/witches' in front of my vulnerable children. Even if the babies are in bed, the whole symbolism of trying to evangelize kids dressed as scary evil things by playing along with something I believe is wrong seems to be contrary to scripture. Be ye IN the world but not OF it? But is hiding from them or avoiding them the right choice? I don't know. I really don't. I was reading HERE that if our only “light” to our neighborhood comes by celebrating Halloween, via trick or treating or handing out candy, than something is really wrong! If you have any thoughts on this dilemma I would love to read them and add them to my ponderings. ;) We have lived in this town since 2005. The first Halloween I think we went out to eat, the next year we handed out tracts and candy and the trick or treaters were almost all dressed as hellish things or chopped up murder victims and they scared the poor dog half out of her mind which led to barking which scared baby Chicklet half out of HER mind and the poor little boy dressed as a demon whom my 50-pound pit bull was barking at was scared about out of HIS mind too. The next two Halloweens we just watched a movie with the lights out but the kids here are awfully rude and foolish and beat on the door anyway even with the porch light and inside lights out. In 2007 they were throwing things at our house because we wouldn't answer the door. In 2009 we posted a sign saying we do not celebrate Halloween on our door for those kids who ignore the porch light being out, but half of them just ignored the sign too and beat on the door yelling and roaring. But if we go out to eat everyone is dressed up in the restaurant with gory dead body parts and skeletons hanging around the food. Not what I want my kids to be seeing, and not what I like to view with my dinner. *sigh* I really am not sure what we will do this year yet. Stay home and have a family movie night most likely, and hope the neighborhood kids don't try to vandalize our home or scare our kids this year.

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Respectful, calm comments, spoken with Christ's love, are welcome. Any comment that comes across as rude, disrespectful, evil, mean spirited, or playing 'devil's advocate' literally, will be deleted at my discretion. It's my blog and I reserve the right to delete as I see fit.

Keeping them innocent just a little longer...

**This post is for ADULTS ONLY**
We explain to Chicklet when we encounter something immoral or inappropriate that this is not something we do, but in this day and age there are unfortunately too many things that cross the line and while we as a society are becoming numb to the perversion that is so prevalent, our little ones are becoming innocent victims. Think about it, how many times do you notice what's happening in the commercials when you're watching tv that's supposed to be "family friendly" in the evenings? Honestly it's hard to pay attention isn't it? Your show goes to commercial and you turn to the hubby to discuss what you think is going to happen next, and meanwhile the kids are playing on the floor nearby and look up just in time to catch a crude remark, nude shot, or a dirty teaser for that show you swore you'd never ever let cross the airwaves into your home. I will admit that I've heard and looked up just a little too late one too many times. Well one time IS too many IMO. My kids don't need to see an ad complete with a shot of Shakira's crotch spread in wide view in a bikini during American Idol. Hmph even *I* do not want to be subjected to that! Eww! Very eww. I'd personally rather just not have the TV at all. Okay maybe just set up for DVD's so I can watch Christy and Anne of Green Gables when the mood strikes. ;) But I could do without the Shakira crotch aD or Lady Gaga's sex dance in the middle of a show that's not supposed to be risque'!
And so can my kids! They can do without the constant barrage of filth streaming in from every venue outside our doors, coming in through the tv, radio, books, magazines, etc.
Mamas, we're the GATEKEEPERS. When we're admonished in the Bible to be keepers of the home, the original word was a cross between a word meaning to work in the home and a word that was used to refer to a guard or gatekeeper who would prevent the enemy from entering the city. We are to keep our homes in more than one way- we are to work at taking care of the home and those in it, and we are to GUARD our homes from the enemy. Oh mamas, we have SUCH an important job! Our children's minds are the future and our job is to guard what enters them. This is something that should be near and dear to every mother's heart: to protect their child from the advances of the enemy. For now they are our babies but someday, if we keep them from being broken down before they grow up strong in The Lord, they will grown into strong straight arrows for God!
Now, I don't think I can totally sheild my kids from all the mess that is the culture we live in, but you can bet I'll do my best to protect them from things that will weaken them as much as I, in God's strength, can do so. So if we're in the checkout line and Chicklet, whom I've begin to teach to read, sees "57 s** positions that'll blow his mind" on the cover of a magazine, she's not going to know the meaning of that word and she's going to ask about it and 3-4 years old is too young for that much discloseure. It will not strengthen her to know about s** at age 4. Or 5. or 6... It will just serve to open a mental door of curiousity that is like a magnet. Ever notice that as soon as you buy a certain kind of car you start seeing them everywhere and think to yourself, "Huh! I never noticed that many of these around before!"? This is because the brain has a magnet in it for things you are interested. Once that door of the knowlege of the existence of something is opened in a mind, especially a child's mind, their brain finds little tidbits about that subject everywhere. In everything. Things that would be overlooked before are taken in like a flashing neon sign. Once your child notices magazine covers have things on them that they don't know about, their brains are on high alert for new magazine covers or any other media that will fill in the blanks. Especially if they know that these things are not for little eyes and ears. Just like your toddler wants to eat off YOUR plate the same food that is on his plate because it's just better when it belongs to a grown-up, for a child hearing that ___ is a grown-up topic and they will learn more when they are older, their brains are in seek-mode trying to figure out the missing bits. And a little curiousity can lead to finding out things that are too heavy for their little minds and hearts to fight against. Why do so many 12 year olds get pregnant and have abortions? Why do so many 10 and 11 year olds sleep with their boyfriends or become addicted to pornography? Why do so many 8 year olds think they need to wear a tube top to the mall and a string bikini to the pool? They see; they are smart enough to decypher the message that pop culture is sending out: 'less modesty/purity makes you more desireable and being desireable is EVERYTHING in life.' Everywhere they go your kids are seeing skanky women in their undies on magazine covers and tv screens and billboards. I want my daughter to be who she is, who God made her to be, without being innundated with constant pop culture, KWIM? Even if that pop culture is "no that bad" it still entices my chid to pay attention to pop culture - that open door magnet thing. Just look around and who do 6 year olds want to be? Hannah Montanna? They want to be someone from pop culture. They don't want to be Florence Nightingale or Gladys Aylward, the door is opened to pop culture and next thing you know they want to grow up to be Lady Gaga. And the brainwashing starts from the cradle as they are seeing the advertisements on TV and in the checkout line and everywhere we go.
So how are we supposed to combat that? What is the next step? I think that daily taking our mission as gatekeeper seriously by being in prayer about everything we allow into our homes is a great start. We can't prevent them from being exposed to anything impure, but we can innoculate them with a firm foundation in the Bible and pray over them constantly. And we can take little and big steps whenever the opportunity to do so arises to preserve their innocence.

HERE's a post by a concerned mom of mostly boys with a terrific idea! I hope you will take a moment to check it out and consider taking a stand in this manner also. I plan to next time I'm in WalMart. Just remember that you catch more flies with honey... ;)
Making a family friendly checkout line will not prevent my daughter (or subsequent children) from growing up in "the real world" as much as I WISH it could, but it would help to protect a little bit of her sweet little girl innocence for just a little longer and I'd stand in line an extra hour for that. ;)

Feel-Good Theology

PART 1: Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged
PART 2: Religion and Legalism
PART 3: God Bless The Pioneers of New Ideas
PART 4: Incorrectly Politically Correct
> PART 5: Feel-Good Theology
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If you have not read the first 4 posts related to this one, especially Part 4, then I advise you click above to read them in order now before continuing so you have a full picture of what I'm talking about.

If someone elses beliefs, or them telling you their reasons why they made a choice, make you feel guilty or defensive for the choice YOU made, then you need to take a good hard look inside yourself and find out why. Because if you really were 100% confident of your choice then it wouldn't make you feel guilty for it just because someone else picked a different path. I don't care how many times someone gives me their reasons for NOT believing in God, it never makes one bit of impact on how much I LOVE JESUS and how thankful I am every day that I believe in Him and love Him and that He loves me! Because deep in my heart I know that choosing to love God was the right choice, I never have any guilt or doubt about whether or not that was the right choice. Ditto for circumcision. It doesn't matter what anyone else's reasons are for circumcising their son, hearing those reasons doesn't make me feel one iota uncomfortable, or guilty, or questioning whether it was the right choice that I did NOT circ my boy. Ditto for vaccinations. I so strongly believe that vaccines are harmful not only to individuals but to society as a whole that when someone tells me 952 reasons why it's so important to vaccinate, I've already worked them all out before ever making a choice so not a single one of those 952 reasons makes me feel guilty or question my choice- I have 952 reasons why it's so dangerous to vaccinate! I am 100% against abortion in ALL situations no matter what the circumstances- if it's a human it's got a soul and in God's eyes not only does it have all the same human rights as you or I, but it doesn't yet own the burden of hell-deserving sin that all adult humans own. Therefore no matter how many arguments or scenarios I hear about that excuse abortion, it doesn't make me feel guilty or unsure about my stance on abortion. I know what I believe. I know why I believe. I truely believe what I believe. So if I were to get all mad at someone for presenting a clear and complete explanation of why THEY believe what they believe regarding something in which I believe the opposite that they do, then that would be wrong of me. Firstly if I really was confident in my choice then it wouldn't hurt my decision to hear what they believe. Secondly to think it's my right to forbid them their responsibility to do what is right by standing up for what they believe in would be just as wrong. This does not exclude my countering their statement of belief with one of my own though. ;) It merely means that they have the moral duty to tell me why they believe they are right about it, as I likewise have the moral duty to tell people why I believe what I believe.

So, please, for all our sakes, beware the politically correct disease of "just shut-up" thinking that has poisoned every nook and cranny of our culture, from the White House to the Church to the alley on the wrong side of town to your own home. If you don't believe in it enough to stand up for it, then you have no business telling those who do to stop standing up for it. Believe what you believe, and LIVE IT. We're all human, we all slip up, but don't let it make you forget who you are and what you believe.

And always remember to say it with LOVE or it means nothing. Your motivation for telling people something goes so far toward whether they hear it or not. I too need to keep this in mind more when speaking.

1 Corinthians 13:1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

Incorrectly Politically Correct

PART 1: Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged
PART 2: Religion and Legalism
PART 3: God Bless The Pioneers of New Ideas
> PART 4: Incorrectly Politically Correct
PART 5: Feel-Good Theology
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To get a complete picture of what I'm trying to say, you should read parts 1-3 as listed above before moving on to this one. :)

I have been blessed that in most of the things our family has chosen, I am not among the first "radicals" to walk this road and so it is therefore pretty easy for me to find support. But there are some new concepts that I'm apparently one of a very small, nearly nonexistant portion of the population to believe during my own little piece in history. Like the politically correct thing. I have actually never met anyone (yes NEVER met ANYONE) who didn't believe to some degree that it's wrong to tell other people if they're doing something you consider wrong because it might step on the toes of their culture or religion or thier personal code of conduct. That it's wrong to offend anyone so we should all just let everyone else think say and do anything they want to without making it known that we feel they are in the wrong, lest we hurt anyone's feelings. Now if you've read the earlier post that I've now dubbed Part 1, then you have an idea of where I'm going with this next.

If someone is doing something that you think could harm them or their kids it's wrong not to say something because you're too busy trying not to encroach on anyone's beliefs. If I had a religious, cultural, or personal belief that stated that the safest place for my 20 month old was in the front seat of the car without a carseat, would you be willing to do what's right and inform me of the dangers of that so that I would at least have a more balanced information base before deciding what to do or would you refrain from it because it would just be so wrong to tell anyone that something they've chosen to do might not be the best choice?! At least if you've warned me then it's not your fault if I get in a car accident and my kid dies, but if you never warned me then it could be partially your fault- you could have saved a life but chose to be politically correct instead. Once you've presented the other side then you are no longer responsible for their decision, and hey there IS the chance that something could happen in which the only safe place for my 20 month old IS in the front seat of my car with no carseat! So it's the person's choice in the end, but it's our responsibility to tell someone if something you think they are doing is potentially dangerous and then you will not be responsible if something bad happens because you chose to kiss-up instead of do what's right. The BIBLE (James 4:17) says that if you know what is the right thing to do and you don't do it, then you're sinning. If you know you should say something but don't want to offend anyone so you don't say anything, then you have sinned. What THEY do with the info is THEIR choice and they have the right to choose whatever they choose, and maybe they are right and you are wrong after all, but if you really believe what you claim to then act like it. I'm not saying a continual harassment of this person each time you see them, but I AM saying that you have the responsibility to present to them what you believe is right and a clear explanation of WHY one time before you have the right to wash your hands of the situation.

If you believe something, then you stand up for it. Do you believe it's wrong to protest at someone's feuneral? If you saw people protesting at a feuneral it would make you mad and you would be talking about how wrong it is, becuase you really believe it's wrong. You wouldn't bite your tongue because you might offend the race, religion, or culture who was protesting it. You would say that it's wrong, period. If your concern over not forcing your anti-feuneral-protest beliefs on anyone outweighs your concern for the wrongness of the harassment of the greif struck family then you are not genuinely deep down convinced that it's actually flat out wrong, are you? Because if you knew in your heart without a shadow of a doubt that it's wrong, then nothing would keep you from defending the family and speaking out against feuneral protestors- not even concern over possibly stepping on the protestors (or their supporters') toes.

If you don't have a stance one way or another on a topic, like say you don't think it's wrong either way to recycle or not recycle, then you would have no business trying to convince someone else that they should or shouldn't recycle. I'm not saying that if they're asking you can't refer them to something you read somewhere on the subject or that if you're still working it out in your own mind you can't be involved in a discussion about it in the interest of settling your own mind about it one way or the other. What I'm saying is that if you don't really believe in an absolute about something then you have no place helping/encouraging/or demanding anyone else make up their mind about it until you have your own mind made up. Likewise if you have no firm belief either way then you have no business telling anyone who DOES have a firm belief one way or the other about it to hold their tongue. You telling someone not to stand up for what they believe in is just as much of a sin as it would be for them to not stand up for what they believe in. I believe that to not defend what you believe to be right is like denying that you believe it at all.
In the Bible it doesn't say that to be saved we need to Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and don't deny that you do if someone asks, and thou shalt be saved. No, it says in Romans 10:9-10 "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." It doesn't say that just not denying it will suffice, it states that you must actively verbally confess your beliefs. I think that if it's that important to God that we don't just merely not deny Him, but that we actively confess Him instead, then it must be an important component in having a belief. If believing something inside and just not denying it verbally was enough to make a belief a true belief, then it would have been good enough for God.

On the flip side harassing someone after the fact is IMO WRONG. If they have already made thier choices and something bad happened, for you to go and say you told them so or to then pick that moment to enlighten them on your beliefs and why they "chose wrong," then I believe that is cruel, arrogant, and selfish. There is a time and a place for everything and the time and place to tell someone what they would have could have should have done is NOT when they are greiving over it with that very track of coulda should woulda guilt playing on repeat in their head. It is NOT helpful to tell someone why you believe this or that is wrong when the opportunity for them to benefit from it has passed. Reminds me of Job's "friends" tormenting him after he lost everything. Just because some of the stuff they said was true didn't give them the right to be jerks - I think Job already knew that God had a reason for letting this happen, he didn't need to hear his healthy happy friends tell him stuff he already knew and belittle his problems. If you tell someone they shoulda wore a seatbelt after they are already paralyzed from the neck down, all it does is cause them pain and the evil one just loves it when you kick them while they're down and rub salt in their wound. It's too late to help them with pro-seatbelt sentiments so all you're doing is hurting them. THAT is the right time to shut up and be supportive of them as a person. Never endorse their having done something you believe wrong of course, because that would be DENYING what you supposedly believe in, but after the fact is not the time for an explanation of why you believe what you believe regarding that subject unless they ask.

Please click on Part 5 listed at the top of this post to read the conclusion of this batch of thoughts. :)

God Bless the Pioneers of "New" Ideas

PART 1: Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged
PART 2: Religion and Legalism
> PART 3: God Bless The Pioneers of New Ideas
PART 4: Incorrectly Politically Correct
PART 5: Feel-Good Theology
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(I began this post as a single post, but I felt the need to say so much more that I wound up dividing it into several posts to fit in everything that was on my heart to say. Then I realized that if read as a series including 2 of my previous posts it would more fully explain what I'm trying to say. So that's how yesterdays post grew into the behemoth series I'm reposting it as.)

I'm sure some think I'm totally radical after reading my two earlier posts listed above as parts 1 and 2, but I feel like someone who has been half asleep and am finally waking up! It's so easy to overlook things that are the cultural norm when holding things up to the light of the Word. We would think to pray and read about something that there is controversy active in our country about, because we know that there are two sides to it and therefore know that there's a decision to be made about what we think about it. The things that are a cultural norm however are the tough ones. The things that EVERYONE (or almost everyone) believes are different however. It doesn't click in our brains that there is possibly anything wrong with it because everyone and their dog thinks one way. For instance celebrating hollidays. The whole world celebrates hollidays. Have you ever stopped to wonder if God wants us to celebrate hollidays? For most of us I think the answer is likely no. It's just something our timeperiod and culture does. Everyone does it. So we don't think to question it. What about birth control? I know that 15 years ago I didn't know and had never even heard of a single soul who questioned the "fact" that birth control was okay and not only a valid option for all but it was important to use it to be a good steward of your lifestyle. But there were a few crazy radicals who woke up from mere acceptance and realized that just because it's the cultural norm, just because it's endorsed by the church, doesn't mean that it's necessarily what God endorses! And so they loooked into it and now, I'm sure you know of the Duggars on tv if nobody else, I think we've all heard of or know someone who has come to the conclusion that birth control is not only NOT actually endorsed by God, but may even be AGAINST what God does endorse. If a "crazy" few hadn't questioned the cultural norm, then more and more people would not have questioned it until quiverfull is now a growing movement that is surrounded by much controversy but is gaining more and more acceptance. The same goes for homeschooling. Back in the 70's and 80's if you homeschooled, people reacted with horror and called CPS! Most adults hadn't ever thought about the existance of homeschooling, let alone the possibility of it being a viable option. If a "crazy" few hadn't kept fighting for the right to do what they felt was the better way to educate their kids, while the rest of the world scorned and looked down on them for something THEY believed was the FAR INFERIOR way to educate children, then homeshooling would not be so widespread today and those of us who have chosen to homeschool would still be hiding our children during school hours and warding off visits from CPS.
*As an aside, I have nothing against teachers and it hurts me when public school teachers automatically assume that I hate them or think they're evil just because I homeschool. This is so far from the truth! I think the SYSTEM is a flawed system run by an atheistic new-world government by forcing people who do not believe in it to pay for it and then using it to brainwash our kids right out of their faith in God (among other things). The teachers themselves, yes, they work for the flawed machine, but they are overworked and underpaid and I have the greatest respect for anyone who can teach a bunch of disrespectful and troubled kids who are not their own. I can teach my kids because I love them and their best interests are always at the front of my mind. Other people's kids though I don't know if I would have that unique quality to see through their behavioural issues and love them enough to teach them as though they were my own. So while I am against sending my kids to the big government atheist machine, it does NOT mean that if you are a teacher that I have any less respect for you than I would for a fellow homeschooling mother! And if you're a Christian teacher in a public school, then I pray God grants you grace and blessings to shine for HIM because YOU might be the only Jesus some of those kids ever see and I know how hard the government machine tries to restrict you so you won't be able to shine. And to my knowlege, MOST homeschool mothers have nothing against teachers and are hurt and confused as to why public school teachers assume that our choice to homeschool means that we hate them.*

I have been blessed that in most of the things our family has chosen, I am not among the first "radicals" to walk this road and so it is therefore pretty easy for me to find support. (Now, there is nothing new under the sun, and there was a time when things like birth control and public schools were unheard of concepts as well, because "the only new thing is history we have not learned." When I refer to something as being a new concept, I am meaning that it is a new concept to the people who are alive in this current piece of time which I'm talking about.) There are things that are not so widely progressed yet though that are more difficult. Home birthing for instance is accepted and supported in some US states but in others it is something that midwives can go to jail for and finding a homebirth midwife is actually done through an underground network. Thankfully in my state Midwives don't have to hide, for which I'm thankful. But there are some new concepts that I'm apparently one of a very small, nearly nonexistant portion of the population to believe during my own little piece in history. Like the politically correct thing. I have actually never met anyone (yes NEVER met ANYONE) who didn't believe to some degree that it's wrong to tell other people if they're doing something you consider wrong because it might step on the toes of their culture or religion or thier personal code of conduct. That it's wrong to offend anyone so we should all just let everyone else think say and do anything they want to without making it known that we feel they are in the wrong, lest we hurt anyone's feelings. Now if you've read the earlier post that I've now dubbed Part 1, then you have an idea of where I'm going with this next.

Religion and Legalism

Legalism is a bit more complex than some people think I believe. What might seem legalistic to some might not be, or vice versa. Some might see me as a legalist because I now wear a headcovering, when that's just not so. It's something I struggled against and ignored and excused and took lightly at various stages of my life. Now for the Amish (most of them) I believe it is legalistic because they do it because that's the rules and they have their rules about what types of headgear are deemed headcoverings and what types are not deemed to be headcoverings... for instance the Bible says that a man should never pray with his head covered and a woman should always cover her head when praying- The Amish interpret that to mean that the woman must ALWAYS cover her head in readiness for prayer but there is a double standard. Amish men wear hats which the Amish have decided are not "headcoverings" by their customs! So for women the passage is taken literally and constantly but for men it is taken neither literally nor constantly -they made up new rules to suit themselves. Amish woment don't wear a headcovering or not wear it out of a heartfelt leading from The Lord, they wear it because those are the rules. That is legalistic. Again, I don't think that all of them are this way, just that alot, likely most, are because this is how they are raised. I'm sure some do what is right for God rather than because of the Ordnung. God bless them for it! It's very hard to find a right attitude about something you have been raised to do religiously or legalistically because you have some internal sense of pride in the fact that you always do it right. God looks at your motives though and if your motive is pride and/or habit- not good. (I wonder is it better to do the right thing for the wrong reason like the Amish or the wrong thing for the right reason... I don't know.) I wear a headcovering now because after all that running around it and toying with it for so long (putting my hands over my ears and making excuses as to why it didn't apply to me or to my time period or culture or...), I finally got into a deeper relationship with God and then it CLICKED that it wasn't about the rules (following all the rules just because they are the rules is called RELIGION and religion is legalism! I don't want Religion, I want a Relationship!), it was about something I do for my creator to say, "I love you and I respect you!" Just like you don't have to get hubby's opinion before you go places or buy things, but you do it because you want him to know that you respect and love him. If he were to force you to do that or you do it out of fear then that's like legalism, but when you do it from your heart it is not legalism, it's something truly beautiful - a sweet relationship!

In the Old Testament, they attained salvation by legalism. They followed the rules and made a sacrifice (another rule) to attone for any rule-breaking. In the New Testament, we were freed from legalism by the ultimate sacrifice of Love. The parallel in our personal lives; our relationship with HIM replaces legalism with Love. We're still following the same rules, but a right motive conveys love, a wrong one conveys pride. As a parent, which means more to you: when your kids do what you tell them just because it's the rules, or when you see that they are doing what is right because they love you?

PART 1: Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged
> PART 2: Religion and Legalism
PART 3: God Bless The Pioneers of New Ideas
PART 4: Incorrectly Politically Correct
PART 5: Feel-Good Theology
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Judge not, lest ye be judged...

... it doesn't mean what you think it means. This is something that really bothers me and makes me so sad to see this phrase used as a scapegoat all the time! People don't even know what that means so they apply it to any occasion when they feel they are being told what to do by someone who has different beliefs. 'Judging someone' doesn't mean telling them something they're doing is sinning or is wrong or is unhealthy... Judging someone means you're deciding whether they should go to heaven or hell based on your view of their life's works. I mean think about it, what does a Judge do? A judge pronounces the final fate of the accused. The judge is not the accuser, the plaintif. Obviously it is not our place to judge who can and cannot enter the pearly gates and if we spend our lives judging in our minds whom should be allowed or barred from heaven, or what punishments people deserve for the things they do in life, then we have been too busy being legalistic to focus on the truth of God's Word and will likely not have had the time to build the relationship with Christ needed. Therefore the harsh measure of judgement which we meeted out mentally to others will wind up being our own judgement in the end. THAT is what I believe that verse means. What goes around comes around. The Bible does NOT tell us that if we see someone who is doing something that is contrary to scripture, that we are not supposed to encourage them to right that. In fact quite the opposite, we are told that we should exhort each other to do Christ's will, that if a brother(or sister) is sinning and we cannot get them to listen to us when we call their attention it that we should then take an elder with us next time. The Bible does not condone being "politically correct."
BUT, lest anyone take this to mean I actually think that we are Biblically supposed to get all preachy and start yelling at everyone from our pedestal that they're living in sin and better straighten up or else... let's not forget that without compassion and love our words are empty and meaningless, and that he who is greatest shall be least and he who is least shall be greatest. I do believe we are supposed to tell people when they are doing something God's word teaches against, but I believe that when you're confronting someone with something like that it should be done with love. And if you don't really have a Christlike love for the person whom you are confronting, then you are likely not going to make any positive impact at all and will likely do more harm than good. So before confronting someone I think you should pray for Christ's love to fill your heart for that person so that when you are speaking to them you are speaking in love as Christ wants us to do.

> PART 1: Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged
PART 2: Religion and Legalism
PART 3: God Bless The Pioneers of New Ideas
PART 4: Incorrectly Politically Correct
PART 5: Feel-Good Theology
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"Keepers at Home"

Before you read the rest of this you should go read THIS POST because my post here is in agreement with that one and reading that one first will compliment and clarify what I'm talking about here.

I think that in the Bible in Titus 2, the phrase "keepers at home," the part that people aren't tracking with is not the HOME part. It's pretty much agreed that the meaning of that is that women need to make sure their house is kept up. I think it's the KEEPERS part that people don't understand... at least it was for me at one point. People see "keepers at home" and think "housekeeper" as in maid, servant, whose duty is to cook and clean and carry out orders. Well if that's all a woman's good for then count me out! Who would sign on for that? It sounds like some sort of mindless slave. The thing people can't see is that "keepers at home" doesn't mean a maid. It means a gatekeeper of the home. A guardian of the environment which we call home. Being a keeper at home is a high calling indeed. It's not a maid, it's so much more beautiful than that! The Keeping part means guiding, guarding, and tending. It doesn't mean merely cleaning. We are to guide our children as they learn and grow physically, mentally, and spiritually. We are to guard against bad things coming into our home- like a gatekeeper keeps the enemy out of the city, so we should keep the ultimate enemy from entering our homes. We are to guard our home environment and our children from evil influences. And we are to tend our family like a gardener tends his vegetables. We are to nurture and encourage our little sprouts, and fertilize our relationships, prune out bad attitudes/clutter/anything that chokes the life out of a family like weeds, and cultivate good soil for a family to grow and thrive in by blessing our families with our attitudes and the work of our hands. The work of a keeper at home is not mindless servitude. It's an exciting and challenging daily adventure, a challenge to guard and bless those that we love. Being a keeper at home would seem to me to be more focused on being a spiritual thing, and is not just a physical do-the-dishes thing. Of course having a tidy house and dinner planned out will improve the spiritual atmosphere of the home, but that's not the whole package. It's just the icing on the cake.

Halloween - Part 4: My personal beliefs

If you have not yet read the preceeding 3 parts of this 4-part series, then I must request that you do so before continuing. It is a series for a reason and is in the order which I have presented it for a reason - it will make the most sense if you read it as it was meant to be read.

Part 1: Jack-O-Lantern, Stingy Jack, Jack the Smith
Part 2: Origins - All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day
Part 3: How it all ties in, Christian response

PART 4:
I would like to open this post where I left off in Part 3- with the scriptures I noted there. They may help you to understand why I believe what I do.

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1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Deuteronomy 18:9-12 When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you.

Ephesians 6:12-13 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Joshua 24:15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

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And if it seems offensive to you to serve the LORD, choose once and for all whom you will serve; the gods of your ancestors, or the gods of those in whose land you reside... but as for me and my lineage, we will serve the LORD.
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What are my personal beliefs regarding Halloween?
Well, I believe that it is a celebration that pleases Satan. I think that children dressed as demonic creatures pleases Satan. I think that carrying out the pagan religious ceremonies of setting out Jack-O-Lanterns and acting out the distribution of sweets to bribe the evil spirits to move along is pleasing to Satan. I think the fact that Christians don't know what what they are doing represents when they take their children Trick Or Treating gives the devil a big ol' ROFL. I think that when children act out being an unholy being it is spiritually unhealthy, even harmfull to them. I think that even if a child is dressed as an angel or Superman they are still acting out the story of demons visiting homes to threaten tricks if not presented with a treat.

How were my husband and I raised regarding celebrating or not celebrating Halloween?
When I was a child my family did not celebrate Halloween. We would lock up our animals and pray that some cult or prankster wouldn't get ahold of them and torture them for the glory of the evil one. We would sometimes leave the house and go eat dinner out to avoid the bombardment of costumed kids incessantly beating at the door demanding candy. Sometimes we would turn out all the lights and watch a movie, but they would come anyway and shine flashlights in our windows and beat on the door for a long time. It scared us kids to have our home assaulted that way. I never slept well that night.
When my husband was a child his family did celebrate Halloween. He has two older brothers. They dressed as scary and evil things and went trick or treating. His family never gave any thought to it, just thought of it as harmless and did it because they'd always done it and it was fun. My husband was raised in church, good Christian boys from a good Christian family. His family still thinks of it as harmless fun but my husband has now, as an adult, been convicted against celebrating it.

Did I ever feel deprived by not being allowed to go Trick or Treating?
Yes and no. Not really. I felt deprived of the chance to dress up in a way and at a time that was not glorifying to Satan. This deprivation would have still been there even had I been out trick or treating. I would still have felt like I would have been more proud of my costume if it were done somewhere, somehow, that would glorify my LORD. I also felt deprived of the chance to glutton myself on free candy. Lol! A very shallow and childlike thing to pout over of course, so I got over it after just a few Halloweens. My family was too poor to buy candy. I imagine my kids will not have this problem since my husband and I are not so poor we can't afford some sweets. ;) And even if they do feel deprived of treats, that is not a sufficient reason to participate in something we don't feel right about.

What about Church Harvest Parties or Trunk-or-treats?
Well, I went to a Church Harvest Party (Church costume event for Halloween to keep kids off the streets) when I was about 11. I felt so betrayed when I stepped inside this house of GOD and saw little witches and demons running around with Jack-O-lantern buckets! In the CHURCH! My little 11 year old heart broke and I felt positively sick to my stomach. I had been under the impression that the purpose of the Harvest Party was to have something for the Christian kids to do on Halloween that would be glorifying to God instead of Satan and when I saw that it was just a big trick or treat party in the Church I started crying and wanted to go home. I told my parents I didn't ever want to go to another Church Harvest Party. I felt morally raped.
My husband tells me that a trunk-or-treat was what his childhood Church did. People would park in the Church parking lot and open their candy-filled car trunks and the kids would go from car to car trick-or-treating. Basically still trick or treating in the pagan traditional manner except with cars instead of houses.
I think that Christians should pray carefully about these alternative activities just as they should pray carefully about the traditional ones. See what God tell you. IMO if the Church Harvest Party had turned out to be what my hopeful little 11 year old heart had expected, it would be a great alternative. If you can find an alternative in your church or group that is truely glorifying to God then I would be all over it!
We won't allow our children to participate in anything where there are children and/or adults dressed up as evil things so this would eliminate Church Harvest Parties like the one I attended as an alternative for my kids. I would love to have a Harvest Party where the children could dress up in wholesome costumes and the focus would be on something other than candy. I wouldn't mind in the least if it were not even ON Halloween. Perhaps when my kids are older I will host such a thing for other Christian families looking for an alternative fall activity. Hmmm the possibilities! Of course I will have to discuss it with the hubby and do some praying... I was browsing a blog just this morning and the blogger just did a Harvest Party and I thought it looked wonderful and like so much fun! The kids dressed as historical characters and gave a presentation on their character. What a terrific idea! Do any of you host or attend a wholesome alternative to Halloween? I'd love to hear about it!

What do I think about other Christians celebrating Halloween?
Frankly I think that it would be wrong of me not to present my fellow believers with the truth of the origins of Halloween in case they do not know. I have a very difficult time conversing in public. I'm the oldest of 3 siblings and, strangely, the only one who is cripplingly shy in public. My brother is not going to win any socialite awards but he gets along more than passably well with other humans. My sister could win socialite of the century; she is chipper and witty and friendly. I seem to be the only one who did not inherrit any one-on-one communication skills! So when I get asked by friends and family, "Why don't you celebrate Halloween? It's just harmless fun, right?" I can't seem to express clearly what I'm trying to say. I have a whole speech ready the instant they are out of sight but when conversing one on one it's like I revert back to the vocabulary level of my 3 year old. That is one reason why I decided to write this blog series on Halloween. I am so much better at expressing myself in the written word when I have the time to do so. So now when I get disbelief, scorn, dirty looks, or questions or whatever I will be able to direct people to my blog to answer the burning question, Why don't we celebrate Halloween? The other reason I wrote this is because there are alot of dear friends with whom the subject has never come up. Like I said before, I believe it would be wrong of me to not present the origins of Halloween so that people know. If I believe God wants me to do something and I do not do it, it would be a sin. As for what other people do with it after I tell it... that is between them and GOD.

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Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. -James 4:17
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What should I do on Halloween?
Well, you know, I just don't know. I will admit I'm still in prayer and pondering on this one. Should I hand out tracts and candy? That kind of makes me uneasy because then I'm opening the door of my home to 'monsters/ghosts/demons/witches' in front of my vulnerable children. Even if the babies are in bed, the whole symbolism of trying to evangelize kids dressed as scary evil things by playing along with something I believe is wrong seems to be contrary to scripture. Be ye IN the world but not OF it? But is hiding from them or avoiding them the right choice? I don't know. I really don't. If you have any thoughts on this dilemma I would love to read them and add them to my ponderings. ;) We have lived in town 4 years now. The first Halloween I think we went out to eat, the next year we handed out tracts and candy and the trick or treaters were almost all dressed as hellish things or chopped up murder victims and they scared the poor dog half out of her mind which led to barking which scared baby Chicklet half out of HER mind and the poor little boy dressed as a demon whom my 50-pound pit bull was barking at was scared about out of HIS mind too. The last two Halloweens we have just watched a movie with the lights out but the kids here are awfully rude and foolish and beat on the door anyway even with the porch light and inside lights out. Year before last they were throwing things at our house because we wouldn't answer the door. But if we go out to eat everyone is dressed up in the restaurant with gory dead body parts and skeletons hanging around the food. Not what I want my kids to be seeing, and not what I like to view with my dinner. *sigh* I really am not sure what we will do this year.

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Respectful, calm comments, spoken with Christ's love, are welcome. Any comment that comes across as rude, disrespectful, evil, mean spirited, or playing 'devil's advocate' literally, will be deleted at my discretion. It's my blog and I reserve the right to delete as I see fit.

Just a little more of our freedom sucked away by Uncle Sam

Watch out bloggers who review things and do giveaways! Someone somewhere realized we bloggers are a significant force in the cyber world so you know what that means? We get rules to control us. They'll start small, but they do have to start somewhere.
New Blogging Rules by the FTC Effective December 2009
This is how they take away our freedoms, people. They make just a few more rules, rules that sound "reasonable" so you'll go along with it and not make a stink. Then next time they take away just a little more, and you figure, hey, there's already rules so one more annoys me but what can I do? So you ignore it. Then they apply the rules to something else, something bigger or more important, and well hey, the rules are the same rules just expanded to include something else, redifined shall we say, so they don't ask your opinion and wouldn't care if you had one anyway. That is how we got where we're at and in 20 or 30 years we are so gonna regret this. *sigh* :(
Okay stepping down off my soap box now.

Sunday, September 20th, 2009

I am a tad bit busy this afternoon and also a wee bit short on inspiration due to being up with kiddos all night and feeling quite tired. So I hope you will forgive me, instead of writing a new post right now I'm just going to refer you to a post from one of my other blogs for your daily dose of fresh reading material. ;)


Some believe that once you're 'saved' you're saved no matter what you do afterward. I just read a comment on another blog that said the person didn't get, "...how Jesus would allow someone who committed unthinkable crime and denied Him all their life, get into heaven JUST for saying a simple prayer when he was 8." Well I agree- that pretty much sums up why I don't believe the once-saved, always-saved philosophy. But on the opposite end of the spectrum I don't believe that God yanks your name out of the Book of Life every time you make a mistake and you have to say the sinners prayer again to get put back on the nice list. I also don't believe loss of salvation has anything to do with you getting snached away from God, but that you leave Him of your own accord. So here's what I get out of my Bible on the subject;
Saying a prayer in and of itself will not get you to heaven. Good works will not get you to heaven. For by FAITH through grace we are saved, not by WORKS lest any man should boast. That means just being a good person won't get you to heaven. Why? Because ALL people have sinned. Every one. The wages of sin is death - that means any sin - but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus. The wages of robbing a bank is death. The wages of murdering is death. The wage of thinking a lustful thought is death. The wage of sassing your mama is death. All sin is sin. Sin cannot enter heaven because God is holy and sin cannot be in heaven with the holy God. So if you sin, even an eensy weensie bit, you cannot go to heaven. And obviously everyone on this earth has sinned at some point whether they realize it or not. So the only way to heaven is to have Someone pay your way in for you, since the price of a ticket to Paradise is one pure and blameless, sinless human life. And there is only One who can pay that price for you - Jesus. So you have to believe that Jesus is who He says He is because if He's not, then He can't afford your ticket either.
And if you truely believe that Jesus is Who He says He is, then you will want to please Him. You will be thankful for him paying the price you could never pay so you could get into heaven.
Say you're waiting at the gates of the Superduperbowl, and the tickets are so expensive that there's only one man on the planet rich enough to buy tickets- the only son of the owner of the Superduperbowl arena. If you try to go through the gates without a ticket, you would be arrested. So say someone comes up to you and offers to pay for your ticket. He says he's the son, the only man on earth who can afford your ticket and he wants to pay for your way in. You won't accept the gift if you don't believe he is who he says he is, right? You would mock him and laugh and say, "Hey no way dude, I have a plan to sneak in or bribe or beg or whatever because you can't possibly be THE SON! Haha! You're probably just trying to make me look like a fool!" But if you DO believe he is who he says he is, you would feel so grateful that he would do this for you asking nothing in return that you would make conversation with him, try to get to know him, try to please him, try to express to him somehow how very grateful you are! You would want to tell everyone you met about how wonderful this son is! You would want your friends to get into the game with you! You would be so happy and excited! You would not leave his side and if you did, if you stumbled or forgot yourself and acted like an ingrate or were rude to him, you would apologize, ask forgiveness, and keep trying to do better, thankful all the way that he did not go back on his offer every time you messed up!
Now lets try a different hypothetical. Let's say you didn't really believe he was the one he said he was, but you pretended to. You might have even convinced yourself at the moment that he was the one, but then you got to doubting and overthinking it and decided to go your own way. Or you did believe at first but then decided that making nice was too much trouble, you'd rather go off with your friends and do what makes you feel good and hang out with people who like to bash the son with words and actions. If you are not with HIM at the gate because after accepting his offer you decided to go your own way, how can he pay for your ticket? He can't! You left him! Or what if someone tells you he can pay your way but they are not the son. Maybe they claim to be, maybe they claim to be someone else of power who can get you through the gate. Well no matter how much you believe in them, how good and nice you are, and how far you follow them, if they can't pay the price of one sinless, 100% pure human life for your ticket, then you're not getting in that gate.
Does that make sense? If you believe in Jesus, you will want to do what is right to please Him. If you fall he's not going to change His mind and leave you there alone of course. He'll hold out His hand to you to help you back up. But if you decide to stay on the ground and not get up, or go your own way, or follow someone who cannot pay the price, then you're not going to be able to get in that gate! The sinner's prayer isn't a wristband for the county fair. The event IS HEAVEN; the *journey* there isn't what we're buying a ticket for! The journey is for getting to know the One who is paying our way. Because if you don't know Him by the time you get to the gate, you won't have a ticket.