Ramblings on Royalty

Just some random ponderings today. About royalty. Ponder, ponder.

A few things led down this trail. First of all, I am reading the Game of Thrones books. The basic theme of this fiction series is royalty- what does it mean to be royal, who has the best claim to the throne, and all the battles, victories, sorrows and manipulation that go along with that. Of course there’s way more to the series than that, but that’s what led me to ponder royalty.

Second, there is a song on the radio that catches my heart every time I hear it. When I actually listen to the words, there’s nothing in it that I should be drawn to as a believer,  but it gets me thinking about royalty every time I hear it. 

Both these things, and also the craziness that always is happening around the celebrity of the moment. That makes me think about royalty, too. 

All these things come together to create in me a holy frustration. Did you know that celebrities in North America are referred to as ‘Hollywood Royalty’? The thing is, we have no royalty in Canada or the USA, because we are fairly young countries. Yes, Canada still has ties to the monarchy in the UK, but we also celebrate actors, musicians, and politicians as if they are royalty. The thing that frustrates a lot of people about this form of ‘royalty’, is that they didn’t do anything to earn it, generally. You become Hollywood Royalty by being popular. I mean, you don’t even have to BE an actor, musician, or politician to become Hollywood Royalty. Think of Paris Hilton, and the Kardashians. Oh, and let’s not forget athletes- with their HUMUNGOUS paychecks for a couple year career. So, is it being rich that makes you Hollywood Royalty? Attractive? A famous name? A famous spouse? A billion hits on Youtube? And why does this ‘royalty’ frustrate me so much?

But hey, let’s be fair- what about REAL royalty? What did Queen Elizabeth II do to become royal? Not a thing. She was born into a royal family. If you go back far enough, all the original ‘royals’ are just people who rose up and crowned themselves, or were crowned by popular vote. Seriously. Read the history of the monarchy in England. They can claim that GOD ordained them and anointed them to be royal, but we all know how true that is. Some of the kings and queens over the past thousand years were not representing God in the way they ruled, that’s for sure.

Why do I even care about the issue of royalty? Because the Bible says that WE are royalty. We are kings and queens in God’s Kingdom. (Insert appropriate scripture here. Hee hee.) As I was pondering this today, I was thinking that I really have no right to get irritated with Hollywood Royalty because, guess what? As believers, we did NOTHING to earn our royal title either. It’s not about what we did to become royal. That would be religion. It’s all about what HE did to make us royal!! That’s Grace!!

It’s kind of funny, in a sad sort of way, how people lose their minds over Hollywood Royalty- especially when Hollywood Royalty blunders, and people realize that celebrities don’t deserve the pedestals we put them on. It suddenly becomes painfully obvious that they are just as human as the rest of us. Their sins are just WAAAAAAAAY more public. I almost feel sorry for the celebs, but then again, this is the life they chose for themselves. In fact a lot of the celebs STRIVE for it. And then the stress and pressure cause them to fall apart, usually in front of the whole world. Some people seem to thrive on these tragedies. Just look at how much Miley Cyrus has been talked about on Facebook and Pinterest since the VMA’s. OMG. She’s human??? She makes bad DECISIONS??? WHAT?!!? (I make fun, but I seriously feel sorry for her. She needs prayer. And to keep her tongue in her mouth, unless she’s eating ice cream or licking a lollipop. Appropriately.) 

Back to the point. ‘Real’ royalty didn’t do anything to earn their royal position, either. It’s all about blood. Queen Elizabeth II is royal because her father was royal. And his father was royal. (And so on.) But like I said earlier, that line does lead back to someone ‘common’ eventually.

Our Royal position in God’s Kingdom is about Blood. We are a part of God’s royal bloodline now- not by our own works or striving, but because Jesus made the way for us. He brought us into His victory, and seated us on His throne. We are co-heirs to His Kingdom with Him. This is something we did not build with our own hands, it’s not a kingdom that will fail.

Maybe that’s why the song is so refreshing. Because it’s an acknowledgement that we will never be royal through our own striving and our own gifts/talents. We can just be who we are- be the person God created you to be. The sweet thing about that is how it removes the popular vote in our lives. How freeing is that??

I’m starting to ramble.... But one more thought... I love Youtube for one reason. It gave people a platform to show that they are just as talented, funny, beautiful, etc. as the Hollywood Royalty. I love getting lost in the weird side of Youtube sometimes, because it makes me realize that I am not alone. There are people out there just as crazy as me. (Scary, I know!!) There are people with the same quirky sense of humor, same love of bizarre beauty. And we don’t have to strive to be popular in front of the nation. We can just be who we are. I feel like that’s what this tug in my heart has been about. Being royal in God’s Kingdom is about identity. You don’t have to remind QEII that she is royal. It’s who she is. It’s her identity. And she just knows it. In her core.

And now, two disclaimers: For that one thing I love about Youtube, there is soooooo much that I don’t love about Youtube. It becomes a different sort of popularity contest at times, and we can attach our self worth/identity too much to social media, and how many ‘likes’ we get. Not to mention the  platform it gives people to comment negatively on videos, etc. But, that is a whole other rant for another day. Also, I do appreciate a lot of celebrities, and think they are very, very talented. The way we put them on a pedestal is most of the problem, not who they are. One of the reasons they make the bad decisions they do, is because it seems to be what the public wants and what will gain them more notoriety. I’ll leave it at that. BLESS YOU, YOUR GRACE!!!

It Must be Sunday... Time for Online Debates About Grace!!

I tried to resist today, but I found myself weighing in on a stupid Facebook debate. It was one of those deals where a friend of mine had posted an inspirational youtube video of John Denver reciting the Lord’s Prayer. It was sweet and uplifting. And yet somehow it sparked a long drawn out discussion immediately on how John Denver is in hell because he ‘rejected God and died not believing in Jesus.’

Now, I don’t want this blog post to turn into a similar debate, but I did want to vent a little of the deep sadness I have felt since reading those comments. This person went on to say: ‘Good luck with Him in Heaven, because luck is what you would need and I don't do luck and have more confidence in grace than most..........but........I don't deny God and His Ability to send anyone to hell as well as heaven and the testimony of JD is tragedy not of mercy, grace or salvation.’- after another commenter had pointed out that we may be surprised at who is in heaven. Well, I couldn’t resist. And by the time I read this comment, I was angry. How can someone claim to have ‘confidence in grace’, and then claim that God sends people to hell? 

So I commented on his comment. I should have waited and calmed down, but instead I said exactly what I was thinking. 

‘You don’t believe in grace if you believe God sends people to hell.’

Well. It didn’t take long for someone to counter that little comment. In fact I was told I should read my Bible, because ‘it’s all there.’ (Grrrrrrrrrrrrr....) I wasn’t going to respond to this comment, because the commenter had previously not even been a part of the conversation. But this little comment made me even angrier. It frustrates me SO MUCH when people throw that comment into their silly online debates. It always sounds to me like:

“If you read your Bible, you would just see that I’m right.”

or

“Just read your Bible. You can’t miss it.”

or

“Read your Bible. You must not, if you don’t agree with my opinion.”

Ugh. So I responded that I do read my Bible and that I find it rude that she would assume I don’t simply because we have differing opinions. And it spiraled further into meaningless discussion from there. I won’t bore you with any more ‘and THEN she said...’ You get the picture. Let’s just assume that I was the victor with my witty retorts, and let’s face it- because I’m right! (and ever so humble) 

All this to say that the sadness I felt is because we tend to completely miss the point. The John Denver video was wonderful. And I hope it touched someone who needed a lift in their faith today. Whether John Denver is in heaven or hell, God knows. Should we boycott him now because we think he didn’t make it? Of course not. God’s Word still stands. So why use an online platform like Facebook to debate his final destination? When we argue over theology and how things are worded and who’s in and who’s out, we are not winning any of the lost. I think they probably steer as far away from Christian posts like this as they can, because we can’t even agree on a video of someone reciting the Lord’s Prayer! 

And PLEASE don’t tell me to read my Bible so that I can agree with your opinion. I could just as easily have countered the scriptures thrown at me about judgment and punishment with the far more abundant scriptures on grace and love. But what would be the point? 

I must confess that I still feel a lot of sadness over this discussion. Not because I felt personally attacked, but because it felt like they were attacking the character of my very best friend. I felt like shouting at them that if they really knew the Father that they would never accuse Him of sending people to hell. (I mean, read your Bible people!! It’s all there!!) Really. God is love! After I extended the olive branch to my ‘opponent’, and told her I didn’t want to argue with her, she couldn’t resist one last PARAGRAPH of comment to try and sway me to her opinion. Or save me. Maybe she was trying to save me. ;) 

She ended by explaining to me that God has to send people to hell for their punishment just like a parent would have to send a naughty child to their room if they’ve done something wrong. That the child will not willingly go, the parent has to send them.

*SIGH* 

How can you take a few scriptures that are supposedly about hell, and completely miss the overwhelming evidence that God is FOR us and not against us. And punishing your child by sending them to their room is one thing. Sending people to eternal torment in flames is something else entirely! (In my opinion.) That doesn’t sound like the discipline of a loving parent to me. It sounds more like child abuse. Now like I said, I don’t want to drag the previous debate onto this forum, but I do think discussion can be healthy- if both sides are willing to hear the other out. That’s probably what irritates me the most with the ‘read your bible’ comment. It’s like saying: ‘I don’t need to say another word. God will argue for me.’ Like I’ve said in previous posts, I think it’s healthy to ask ourselves why we believe the way we do. And where did that belief come from. And if you haven’t figured it out by now, any verse can be interpreted in many ways! It all depends on what paradigm we view that scripture through.

The reason I felt sad is because of the tendency in believers to think the worst of their heavenly Father. He loves us so much. ALL of us. Including John Denver- wherever his final destination may be. The cross was the overwhelming, abundant, awesome, (insert infinity of positive verbs here) display of that love. Don’t render that finished work powerless in someone’s life by convincing them that God is not for them, cheering them on, longing to spend eternity with them! Don’t make God a distant judge. Let Him be what He is. Our ever present help in times of trouble. Our comforter. Our Daddy. He is Our Father in Heaven! It’s about what He did for us, not about what we have to do to get to Him. Don’t turn the cross into a religious work. That’s not grace.

So much more I want to say about this, but it’s late and I really just want to spend the rest of the night leaning into His arms and talking about it with Him. I welcome your comments, but let’s keep them loving. If you can’t keep them loving, I suggest you read your Bible. ;)

Wednesday Afternoon Ramblings

Well, I was almost suckered in. I was starting to have that niggling thought in the back of my mind that I need to 'seek God more'. You know, that guilty feeling that goes something like: "I should be DOING more! God feels so far away! I should be a good little Christling and spend more time reading the Bible and worshipping, so I can feel His presence!" Stop it. That is a lie from the pit.

The thought that you are distant from God is an illusion. The enemy would like nothing more than to get you chasing your spiritual tail, trying to achieve something you already possess. Seriously. He's devious like that. And unfortunately, it's not been too difficult to get most of us on that hamster wheel. 

The glorious truth is that Jesus will never leave you or forsake you. Ever. He is just as present in your life now as when you fell down at that conference and felt tingles and goosebumps and cried out in your spirit: "This is it! The presence of God is here!!" Yup, the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is sitting there reading this blog with you right now. RIGHT NOW. Very present. Very real. Very tangible. 

"But Erin, I don't feel it." Doesn't mean it isn't true. The truth is that you can access this fact by faith. We walk by faith and not by sight. We know that scripture says you are seated IN CHRIST. He said He will never leave you. You are a citizen of heaven. Here. Now. 

Once we climb onto that hamster wheel of trying to earn God's presence through prayer or worship or devotions or good deeds or ANYTHING, we have given up grace for the law. Am I anti-prayer, worship, devotions, good deeds, etc.? Of course not! I am opposed to religious works, and that is what all those 'good' things become as soon as you are operating out of duty instead of desire. And don't be decieved: the desperation you feel to be closer to God can come from the enemy. Any time there is the seed of insecurity or neediness in your thinking, it is not from God. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, etc.

You are a house of prayer, worship, devotion, good works. That's who you are now, not something you have to do. You are the 24/7 temple of God, and He loves dwelling there! Be aware that you are constantly in Him and with Him, and watch how it revolutionizes your walk. No more seeking. No more striving. Just resting in His love. Then your prayer, worship, devotion, etc. flows from that place- any time, any place. Amen. Now that's good news.

Is the Gospel You Are Preaching Good News?

We, as humans- especially believers, it seems- want to see justice. We want to see people get what’s coming to them. I believe that is the very reason that Christians today preach the gospel they preach. Let me tell you, more than half the time, the gospel I hear preached is NOT good news. It is based out of that very desire I mentioned. It is based out of liking that we’re on the in, and the ‘others’, the sinners are on the outside of God’s love. This is not the gospel that Jesus preached, or commanded His followers to preach.

In Luke 4, we see the story of when Jesus went to Nazareth and declared His mission to His ‘home church’. He stood up and read from Isaiah 61. Here’s what He said: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then He rolled up the scroll and stepped down. Seems pretty straight forward. I know as a believer you have probably read this passage many times and felt very encouraged by it. You may go to Isaiah and read it there, and feel even more encouraged. But there’s a problem with that. We get all excited about Isaiah, and we include the line of verse 2: ‘and the day of the vengeance of our God...’ It makes us feel righteous and like we are on the ‘right’ side. ‘See! The day of vengeance is coming, and I’m gonna be okay because I know Jesus!’ The problem is that Jesus didn’t include it in his declaration. He stopped at the year of the Lord’s favor. Why?

First of all, let’s remind ourselves that Jesus only spoke what He heard the Father saying- so the Father didn’t say it was part of Jesus’ mission. Did you know that in the Old Testament, the ‘day of the Lord’ is called ‘great and terrible’ or in other translations ‘great and dreadful’? In the New Testament, in the book of Acts, Peter calls it the ‘great and GLORIOUS day of the Lord’! Hm. What changed?

The covenant changed. Our mandate as believers has changed. When we go out proclaiming the good news, it should be that we are in the time of God’s FAVOR- we should be binding up the brokenhearted, freeing the captives, and comforting those who mourn, but we should not be telling people that there is a day of judgment to be feared, because Jesus didn’t. His message is LOVE, MERCY, and GRACE. Under the old covenant, it was a dreadful day that was coming, because who could overcome sin by the law? Who could stand in God’s presence on that day while a slave to Sin? Jesus came and set us free from Sin, so now the day is great and glorious! Something to look forward to! 

And being free from sin is only part of the good news, not the whole deal. We focus way to much on trying to convince ‘sinners’ that they sin, so that we can save them from hell. Better news is what Jesus went around preaching: the Kingdom of God is at hand! Or another way to say it, the Kingdom of God has come to earth! It is now among us, full of power and peace, just waiting for us to tap into it by His Spirit! If your message is not full of love, and hope, and peace, and mercy, and grace... is it really good news? And you may feel like pointing out people’s sin is good news, but remember the opening paragraph of this blog. Is it because it makes you feel better about yourself to know you are in, and they are out? Don’t get offended. I’m just wondering what our motives are when we preach a gospel full of judgment and vengeance.

A couple of final thoughts. The New Testament is full of Love. We are commanded to love. The law is summed up into two commandments: Love God, love people. (Mark 12:30-31) Paul said that he could be the greatest prophet, most charismatic believer- the one who would be manifesting and falling down under the power of God- but if he didn’t have love it was useless and fruitless. (see 1 Corinthians 13) The gospel you preach may be as true as it can be, but if you are preaching it out of a motivation other than love, please stop. People can tell when you are not motivated by love. I suggest you read through the New Testament starting at Acts, and read the gospel that was preached. It was rarely about pointing out people’s sins, but all about Jesus and how awesome He is!

A few years ago, I noticed that there was a strong mindset in the church of ‘us vs. them’. The saved vs. the lost; the believers vs. the unbelievers; the righteous vs. the sinner. It really bothered me. I don’t believe it is healthy, and I don’t believe it is how God views the world. So I asked Him how he sees ‘us and them’. He said: “Mine.” Our message to people first and foremost should be that God loves them with an everlasting love. He is for them, not against them. He is waiting with open arms to bind their broken heart, release them from the things that hold them captive, and to comfort them in their grief. This is not a ‘rose-colored glasses gospel’ that many Christians have attacked as causing believers to become disillusioned once times get tough in their walk. Jesus said we will face many trials, but to take heart, because He has overcome them all. It is truly  good news that God’s love is unconditional and for everyone. It is helping people wake up to the fact that they belong to Jesus and He is truly their friend. I hope this is coming across the way it burns in my heart, because the really effective gospel will be the one that represents the Way, the Truth, and the Life. None can come to the Father except through Jesus, but this is not an ‘us vs. them’, ‘in or out’ statement. It’s that we all need the Kingdom to bust into our lives, and He has made that possible through Christ.