Conflicted

I spent 20 years of my youth working in jail as a Corrections Officer. That was back when I had a full head of hair and wore pants whose waist was smaller than my inseam. But that was many, many, many Big Mac's ago.

I was conflicted.

Part of me was a Corrections Officer whose job was to take unwilling customers that refused to play by the rules and impose my will on them and force them into compliance.

The other part of me was a Christian C.O. who was nudged by the Holy Spirit to live a life that reflected the glory of God.

More often than not, I was better at the first part than the second part.

I was conflicted.

One winter I had a few Inmates in North Wing that were asking good thought provoking questions about God. I was enjoying the challenge and bringing them Bible's. It was a very uplifting experience for me.

Then late on a Saturday night, a Colville Officer arrested a DUI that was less than cooperative. We tussled around and finally after a great deal of convincing, got him out of the patrol car.

He had slipped his handcuffs around in front of him and was doing a pretty good job smacking us around. Finally the Officer and I grabbed our customer and persuaded him to head down the stairs and into the jail.

About halfway down the stairs, my customer was flailing around in his drunken stupor and managed to hit me in the side of the head hard enough to ring my bell.

Well, by this time, I had tired of the festivities and Homer the clown had stomped on my last nerve so I pulled him the rest of the way down the stairs and planted him on the concrete. He continued to kick and punch until I landed in the middle of his back. This seemed to have a calming affect, at least until he caught his breath again and went back to fighting. Things got pretty frisky for a few minutes until I got him hog-tied (sorry, properly restrained).

Then I looked up and not 10 feet in front of me was, the group of guys in North Wing that I had been holding Bible study with.

Yea. I was conflicted. My worlds collided.

My head tells me that I had effectively and appropriately done my job in a professional manner.

My heart tells me that I have too many Bible verses memorized that suggest my actions were less than Christian. Perhaps my actions were appropriate but my attitude and motives were out of whack. Ephesians 4:26, "In your anger, do not sin."

What to do.... What to do....

"Never pay back evil with more evil.
Do things in such a way that everyone
can see you are honorable."
Romans 12:17

"See that no one pays back evil for evil,
but always try to do good to each other and to all people."
1 Thessalonians 5:15

Here in America, we have RIGHTS.

And when our RIGHTS are violated, we lash out, we vent, we attack, we riot, we throw temper tantrums, we run people off the road, we shoot at them, we do whatever is necessary to insure that no one ever tramples on our RIGHTS again.

"But I say, do not resist an evil person!
If someone slaps you on the right cheek,
offer the other cheek also."
Matthew 5:39

"If someone slaps you on one cheek,
offer the other cheek also.
If someone demands your coat,
offer your shirt also" Luke 6:29

So why would Jesus make such impossible statements?

Simply because He has graciously given each of His children everything they need to succeed in their Christian life. The Holy Spirit lives in our hearts to empower and guide us. God's Word in our hands to serve as the Sword of the Spirit. The church to surround us with encouragement, accountability, and build us up in the faith.

Jesus does not expect us to life like the world, because we are not citizens of this corrupt old world. Our home is in Heaven. Our Father is in Heaven. And Jesus expects us to act like it.

Whitney Houston passed away

Have you ever noticed the odd contradition that takes place when a controversial celebrity passes away? First the media explores all the unsavory possibilies that surrounded the passing. And second, in an effort to appear humanitarian, they whitewash the unsavory possibilities and focus their spotlights on the sucesses they experienced.

My sense of right and wrong spun wildly as the TV talking heads would repeatedly state their "weasel clause" (we have not confirmed this information and we do not anyone to be confused as to whether or not it is confirmed and factual). Then they would go on in their conjecture and unsavory possibilities.

So much in our world is changing on a daily basis, Twitter and FaceBook is considered a "news source". I just observed the TV news talking heads reading twitter posts. REALLY? Don't they have reporters, like Clark Kent? Sorry, I digress.

What has caught my attention is the immediate assumptions mentioned by the TV news talking-heads. I am not saying they are wrong in their assumptions (drug & alcohol abuse) but at what point do they infringe on the honor & dignity of the deceased and the grieving family?

My point? How should Christians respond to the death of celebrities?

First, do a heart-check.

I feel great sympathy for celebrities. I have friends that I rely on to be honest with me. They give me honest counsel, even when it is uncomfortable. Can you imagine having hundreds of people surround you, every moment of every day, and none of them care enough about you to tell you honestly give you a heads up when decisions are going south? Michael Jackson comes to mind.

Second, calibrate your perspective in light of God's Word.

"Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone" Colossians 4:6

"Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity" 1 Timothy 4:2

"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer" Psalm 19:14

Third, pray for their families and friends.

"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way." 1 Timothy 2:1-2

"And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words" Romans 8:26

My spiritual point for you to ponder is:
"Safety does not rest in our distance from the danger, but in our nearness to God"

Those that are far from God and lost in the jungle of this worlds confusion, needs to experience the presence of God. And to that end, we must pray.

A Christian Friend Is Close To Heaven Tonight

I just received word that a wonderful Christian lady (about my age), who has been ill for a long time, is getting ready to pass away very soon. She is surrounded by her loving family. They are gathering together to express their love and appreciation for her strength, faith and love. I just want to briefly encourage you to remember them in your prayers. Many of you won't know her but as a member of Gods family, she is "our" sister in Christ. So I leave you with a brief Scripture full of Gods hope and promise.

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints"  Psalm 116:15
A Christian facing death forces us to reflect on a aspect of death which is rarely considered.  It is the perspective of our Heavenly Father on the death of one of His dearly loved children. Often we contemplate death, like most other things, from our side. Psalm 116 tells us that from the viewpoint of Heaven the death of a saint is neither horrible or tragic but instead is, "precious." This raises the question, Why is the death of His people precious in the sight of the Lord? 
(a) Gods children are precious to Him
(b) death ends suffering and sorrow
"Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him" (Psalm 103:13). So also are we told that our great High Priest is "touched with the feeling of our infirmities" (Hebrews 4:15)
(c) death opens the door for God to demonstrate His love for His children 
"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed, for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness" (Isaiah 41:10)
(d) at death, God gathers His child to Himself 
 "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there ye may be also" (John 14:3). Precious then is the death of the saints in His sight, because absent from the body we are "present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8).

THOUGHT:  It is interesting to trace the meaning of the Hebrew word translated "precious." It is literally, "excellent." "How excellent is Thy loving kindness, O God!" (Psalm 36:7). However a Christian lives, the death of a saint is always excellent in the sight of the Lord.  It is a homecoming of a dearly loved child. 



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