Sweet Land of Liberty

The Christian music community has a message for us. And it's a message I've heard repeated quite frequently in songs lately. And frankly, it's sad we need it at all.

On top of this being a political season which has put our country at odds, we've also been dealt blows with COVID-19 that just won't let go, racial issues, protests and riots and a few natural disasters like wild fires and hurricanes that are wreaking havoc. So while we struggle with various opinions on the latest issues of our time, we also are getting sucker-punched by the burdens of 2020. I've found myself saying, "Well, it's 2020," every time something else crazy happens ... and it seems there's been a lot of crazy.

The sad part is, in the midst of this, a lot of folks, a lot of Christians, are forgetting to love. And that's the message I've been hearing more and more frequently on Christian radio.

 In Josh Wilson's "Revolutionary:"

Why does kindness seem revolutionary
When did we let hate get so ordinary
Let's turn it around, flip the script
Judge slow, love quick
God help us get revolutionary

"Start Right Here" by Casting Crowns says:

We wanna see the heart set free and the tyrants kneel
The walls fall down and our land be healed
But church if we want to see a change in the world out there

It's got to start right here
It's got to start right now

 

And in Danny Gokey's "Love God Love People:"

 

We're living in a world that keeps breakin'

But if we want to find a way to change it

It all comes down to this

Love God and love people

 

I hear these songs and my heart breaks. Because as Christians we have two commandments Christ professed that encompass all, which Gokey summed up in just five words: "Love God and love people." But with all the bizarreness of 2020, we've forgotten it. People have got their heels dug in so deep that they won't listen to others. Even our presidential candidates displayed such behavior at the first debate with interruptions and name calling. 

I have friends who perpetually post political statements on their social media accounts, and frankly I am weary of it. Pretty sure everyone has already decided on who they are going to vote for, and honestly I've yet to see in the comment sections of those posts, "You have opened my eyes! I have changed my opinion." But it's not just political comments. It's statements on whatever the latest issue of the week is. Sometimes I feel these folks for not one moment will attempt to walk the shoes of others around them. And I bet there are a few folks reading this right now pointing at the other guy and saying, "I know, right, they don't get it," when it's likely you don't either.

I have opinions, too. Strong ones. But if you disagree with me, I am not going to hate you. Why? Because God told me to love you. He demands it. Loving people means loving the person who looks different from you, loving the sinners, loving the poor, loving the rich, loving the criminal, loving the unborn, loving the foreigner who lives among you, loving the other political party members, loving your church family ... loving your enemies. Why? Because GOD LOVES YOU. He loves you so much that His Son died for you. You who do not deserve it. And guess what ... His Son also died for the other guy, too.

It starts right here and starts right now. Love God and love people. Be kind. Stop the name calling. Stop the constant criticism. Stop assuming what you believe is 100% right. Stop assuming God is only on your side. And just love as God loves. Please, Christians, pause, reflect, reevaluate, repent, forgive and love. I'd really like to be living in the "sweet" land of liberty again.

Fair Warnings

During this stay-at-home sheltering time with the pandemic COVID-19, my husband and I will head out to Swayback Trail in Wetumpka to get a little outdoor exercise. We will hike 4 miles of the second half of the red trail because it, blessedly so, has two sections we just love from a nature standpoint: a beautiful gully where a small stream winds through woods and ferns and a part where it hugs the coast of Lake Jordan. As there are few hiking and folks are well spread out along the trails, it's easy to maintain good social distancing. It's been not only a wonderful respite from being indoors so much but also a time of worship for us as we delight in God's creation. Since we've walked this trail some in winter and now in spring, we've marveled at the change in seasons. We saw through the barren trees to all areas of the trail in winter, but now the spring green leaves and growing brush have filled in the many gaps.

When you are hiking, it's different than if you are just walking around your neighborhood because you spend most of your time looking down. You do this so you don't trip over the many roots or rocks along the path. Any occasional glance up can lead to a potential stumble, and we've both done it. Because you are focused so much on the trail in front of you, you can miss the beauty of the expanse around you. I stop often to admire everything that is around me. As my husband is typically behind me (he's 10 inches taller than me and can see over me), he has commented that he wished I had brake lights. I probably need one of those bumper stickers that says, "Makes frequent stops."

Recently we noticed that someone had come by with red paint and painted a number of the protruding roots and stones. It made seeing them much easier when hiking. However, making any changes or unauthorized improvements to the trail is prohibited unless working through the Trail of Legends Association. TOLA doesn't want the environment impacted negatively through possible changes no matter how well intentioned. But I couldn't help but notice the analogy of it all in today's times, with our proactive efforts (self-isolating, masks, hand washing) to protect us all from potential risks.

We live during a season where we are taking one step at a time of late. Wondering how long we will be stuck at home, will we get sick, when can some of us work away from home again or work at all, wondering when we can visit each other, shake hands and hug. Our eyes are on the immediate trail in front of us as we navigate the obstacles along the way, with the occasional stop to grasp what's going on in the world around us. In the midst of this season, we celebrate our greatest holiday ever: the resurrection of our Messiah, the one Whose blood covered all my sins in the most horrific of deaths so that I could enter eternity with Him and be with my Father, praise His Name.

No matter what trail in this life we're on, no matter what our obstacles to faith, the things we've tripped over on this journey of life, Our Savior has covered it all with His blood, His sacrifice. When I have asked for forgiveness for my sins, He has granted it. Because of that, we can see our way to God so much clearer. That doesn't mean the occasional root won't trip me up, but I have the capability now, thanks to Jesus Christ, to repent and be made clean. Glory to God for Him. And it is because of Him that I am more easily able to navigate those stumbling blocks as they come.

Unauthorized or not, I am thankful for the red painted roots and rocks. While maybe not aesthetically pleasing, I've been able to look up and around me a lot more frequently to enjoy the view and lose my footing less often. And in a time when we're not quite sure what the trail ahead holds, it's nice to at least know that where you are now, has fair warnings. And to know on this Easter Day, Christ has me covered regardless.

I Want To Go To Church

For the first time in my almost 55 years (my birthday is Sunday), I was told I couldn't go to church, and I wept. Last Sunday, my husband - a pastor at our church - told me the staff had decided based on the recommendations from the Center for Disease Control with this COVID-19 pandemic and in the best interest health-wise of our congregation, that church within the building would be canceled. We would still have online church, but no one could come to church. And it broke my heart.

See, church is my family. I don't have to be there. I get to be there. I want to be there. It's where my fellow sinners, hypocrites and repenters get together to worship my Holy, Awesome, Mighty, Most High God. I'm excited to be at church. I can't wait to hear the message proclaimed, the Scripture read, the music sung and to hug on my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I can't wait to learn. I can't wait to teach. I want to know what is going on in our families' lives since I saw them last. How can I comfort them? How can I pray with them? What answers to prayer have they had this week? Give me even more reasons to praise my Lord and Savior!

My husband and I have moved many times and attended many churches in the process. Because we are so far from our children, immediate families and extended families, our church has always become family. When we had a need, our church came through for us, just as we would hope to come through for them. We all love Jesus, so I can think of nowhere else I'd rather be than surrounded by these God-fearers and faithful in worship of the one who gave His life for me. Glory, Hallelujah!

But this Sunday (and perhaps more) will be different. We can't go. For our safety, for our parishioners' safety, we are staying home. We will listen to the message, like everyone else, online. Frankly, we can listen to as many messages as we want online at home. Could be a perpetual sermon Sunday. But as all consistent worshipers know, worshiping corporately is Holy Spirit super-charging. When I feel like I'm alone in my sin or circumstances, I'm reminded by the faithful that they are struggling, too. When I want to lift my hands in euphoric worship of the One True God while stirred deep in my soul by voices lifted to Him in precious harmony, I look around me and see the many around me bursting with that same pure presence of our Creator. I get my energy and passion boosted each week (sometimes several times a week) by this fellowship. So to hear that I couldn't just tore me up.

A couple days ago I heard the song Church (Take Me Back) by Cochran & Company Worship on the radio. The chorus goes like this:

Take me back
To the place that feels like home
To the people I can depend on
To the faith that's in my bones
Take me back
To a preacher and a verse
Where they've seen me at my worst
To the love I had at first
Oh, I want to go to church

Yep, more tears. Then there's the bridge: 

Oh, more than an obligation
It's our foundation
The family of God
I know it's hard
But we need each other
We're sisters and brothers

https://youtu.be/3eTOcrWu8mQ
 

Oh, I want to go to church. I want to go to church. I want to go to church. These Sundays when I can't, my heart will be hurting. Church is not an obligation to me. I won't get to Paradise any faster because I'm there each Sunday. But I want to be there. For me, worship is a tiny taste of Heaven every single week. 

For those who have never been, when you get the chance, don't miss it. For those who left for some reason where their feelings were hurt because of some other sinner within the building, when you get the chance to go back, don't miss it. For those who come twice a year at Christmas and Easter to make appearances for family sake or meet some inner obligation, when you get the chance to go back regularly, don't miss it. For those who go once or twice a month and feel that's enough to get your worship on, when you get the chance to go back every single Sunday, don't miss it. Don't miss it!

Because when it's not there, you will.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3hMWqYEAHg&feature=youtu.be