Good News for Those Trying Harder

This book was written by the pastor of my church in Greeley. I've heard messages based from this perspective that have really changed me and brought me life. So while it can stand alone as a good book with a very worthwhile message, to me it also represents the impact this message has had on me over the past 28 months or so now. It has brought me from a place of "trying harder" to understanding, though as of now only on a superficial level with still much to practice, that I cannot live "the Christian life" in my own strength. God's blessing and strength are not dependent on my performance. One of the most liberating new ideas of all this is that "we are not only justified by faith; we are also sanctified by faith." (173)

So often we have areas of our lives in which we have posted a "No Trespassing" sign to Jesus. The guilt, the shame, the fear we feel keep us from every letting Jesus get near. Ironically and sadly, it is often this shame that will lead us back into the sinful behaviors of which we are so ashamed. Sin always thrives in secret. But imagine what might happen if you choose to come to Jesus in that moment, to welcome His presence as you are raiding the refrigerator, or looking at porn, or exaggerating the truth. What if you choose to be aware of His loving presence in the midst of that sin? (170)

He goes on to explain that this does not mean thinking of Jesus as a Big Brother-like figure. This leads to shame and guilt, which can be powerful motivators in the short-term. But we really need is the heart change that comes from hearing the twin melodies of brokenness and faith. First, recognizing our sin for what it is, and then, after seeing how awful it is, looking to our Savior, not our own efforts for faith. I need to see that he is right there with me, saying, "I love you. I know why you are doing this, but it will not fulfill you the way you think. I am here to offer you motivation & a better way." And this can only happen by gazing upon Him, by meditating on His words to me, by drinking deeply of him- in other words, practicing His presence, as Brother Lawrence taught me.

The Heart of Racial Justice by Brenda Salter McNeal & Rick Richardson

I'd had some exposure to the ideas in this book... but some of them were new to me. And I can't say that I wholeheartedly agree with all the viewpoints and methods proposed by this book, but the truth is-- it's very good to hear a different viewpoint about something I don't think of enough. It is a good reminder of something I do believe strongly- that God designed for many nations to know him and for this to bring him glory. He is glorified by groups and cultures worshiping him in unity but not in ways that look identical.

And I believe that is our sinful brokenness that has caused those with power to use it to harm. And too often in America, in particular in my culture as a comfortable, I-haven't-done-anything-like-that, upper middle class person of a great amount of privilege, we don't even try to consider what it is like for other people...... we don't like to think about these tense, gritty, issues that make people like me feel guilty. But it is essential- because I am called to be united with my brothers and sisters in other cultures, and also to fight against injustice as a Christian. So now the most difficult question arises- how?