Redeeming Life Archives - Page 19 of 35

To be clear … I AM MAKING FUN OF MYSELF HERE. The following comic strip is ME from last Sunday night.

Hat tip goes to Richard Jacobson. Check out his blog and follow him on Twitter.

On Sundays, I sometimes like to post a light-hearted little comic strip that I found humorous. Last week I posted a comic strip I thought was both light-hearted and insightful. Some people thought it was neither …

In my opinion, people completely misunderstood what I had posted and why. But whatever. Such is life on the internet, where everybody is wrong except me…

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Killing Me Softly with your Jesus Songs

By Sam Riviera

31 Comments

The following is the first post in a new series by Sam Riviera called “Letters to Dad.” You don’t want to miss these …

Dad,

I remember you singing Jesus loves the little children. All the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, all are precious in his sight.

I loved that song when I was little. I loved hearing you sing it. I felt secure. Jesus loved me and my dad was there to take care of me.

You sang as if you knew him and knew all about him. He would take care of me. I was precious to him and to you.

You gave me a brand new red Schwinn bicycle for my eighth birthday. I had admired that off-brand bicycle in the window of the Western Auto store. But when you came home from work on that hot summer day when I turned eight you unloaded a new Schwinn bicycle from the car and said it was mine. I knew you loved me. I heard you tell your friend that I was your pride and joy.

Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before. Every day with Jesus I love him more and more. I remember you singing that song clear and strong. You sang it all the time.

On my sixteenth birthday mom baked my favorite cake. German chocolate. After she finished the frosting, she pounded the pork tenderloins big and flat, dipped them in eggs and cracker crumbs, just the way I like them. When you walked in the door they were sizzling in the frying pan.

“Why don’t you have any girl friends?” you asked me.

“Some of my friends are girls,” I said.

“Why don’t you have a girl friend?”

“Why do I need a girl friend?”

“I’ve been told that friend of yours is a faggot.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You were seen kissing a boy.”

“Who?”

“That kid you hang out with all the time. They say he’s a faggot. Are you a faggot?”

“He’s my friend.”

“He’s a faggot. Now I find out you’re a faggot too. You’re no son of mine.”

My birthday cake was sitting in the middle of the table. The tenderloin that mom was cooking for my birthday dinner was frying in the pan.

You grabbed my arm and walked me to the door and said “Get out. You don’t live here any more. Get out of this house and get out of this town or you’ll regret it. Don’t ever try to come back.”

Mom was crying. You wouldn’t even let me go to my room and get some clothes or my wallet.

Last night I dreamed about you. You were strumming your guitar and singing. Strumming my pain with your fingers. Telling my life with your words. Telling your shame at who I am. Embarrassing me in front of everyone I ever knew. Killing me softly with your song.

You sang as if you knew me in all my dark despair. Then you looked right through me as if I was not there. You just kept on singing clear and strong. I was dying. You were killing me, killing me with your song.

Jesus loves me, this I know. For the Bible tells me so. You told me Jesus loves me when I was a kid. You sang that song to me. Sang it clear and strong. Now you think Jesus hates me. You’re ashamed that I am your son.

You threw me out on my sixteenth birthday. All I had were the clothes on my back. I walked to the edge of town and hitched a ride.

“Where ya’ going?” the guy asked when he pulled over.

“How far are you going?” I asked.

“Cross country.”

“I’m going as far as you’re willing to take me.”

“Traveling light, aren’t ya?”

“This is all I’ve got. I lost everything else.”

You’ll be happy to know I’m nowhere near you any more. You won’t have to be ashamed of me. You can tell people I ran off. Of course we know that’s not true. You ran me off. Ran me off to hide your shame.

You never really believed the words of those songs, did you? You like your guitar and the music, right? Grandma took you to church and you learned those songs. But you never believed that Jesus loves me. I was precious only if I was what you wanted me to be. You loved me only if I was what you wanted.

My ride dropped me off in a big city a long way away from you. I slept in a park the first night. The next day a guy asked where I was from. I told him my story. He offered to let me stay with him.

That night he gave me something that he said would make me feel better. When I was feeling no pain he raped me. Just so you know.

He threw me out of his apartment the next day. I wandered the streets and found some other guys about my age. They said they would hook me up with some good stuff. The good stuff comes with a price.

Jesus paid it all. All to him I owe. You just kept on singing that song, singing clear and strong.

I live in a tent. I owe everything to my supplier. He comes by every night. I don’t have any money. That’s not how I pay. After he takes his turn, he has several other guys lined up for me. He says he has to cover his costs and make a little profit. He says he used to get more for boys than girls, but now the price is about the same.

After I’ve paid, I get what I need, just enough to last me until tomorrow. Then I have to pay again to get more.

“I don’t give you enough ice to get you so high you’ll slit anyone’s throat when you’re tweaking,” he says. “That would be bad for business.”

I’m lucky. He gives me good stuff. There’s lots of fake stuff out there now. They make it out of insecticide. One trip on that and you’re permanently ruined. I guess that would be bad for business and that’s why I get the good stuff.

Sing the wondrous love of Jesus. Sing his mercy and his love.

In my dream last night you sang to me. Sang as if you knew me. But you looked right through me as if I was not there. But you just kept on singing clear and strong. Singing to yourself I guess. Singing to convince yourself that Jesus loves you and hates me.

I doubt you ever loved me. You loved a fantasy you had created in your mind.

Keep on singing dad. Keep on killing me softly with your Jesus songs. Keep on pretending, dad.

I never had sex with anyone until the night that guy raped me. I was there because I needed a place to stay. You threw me out. Remember? Just so you know.

Jason

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Good fruits are not the good works we perform

By Jeremy Myers

10 Comments

In Matthew 7:16, Jesus says that to recognize false prophets, “you will know them by their fruits.” In Matthew 7:20 He says something similar: “By their fruits you will know them.” Many teachers and Bible scholars say that Jesus is referring to a person’s good works as the indication of whether or not they are a false prophet, or more generically, whether or not they are even a Christian.

Good Fruit Does Not Equal Good Works

Two things can be said against the idea that good fruit refers to good works in Matthew 7:16-20.

First, in the immediately following passage (Matthew 7:21-23), Jesus talks about a group of people who have all the good works, but they do not know Jesus. They are so “good” in the good works department, they prophesy in His name, cast out demons, and perform many miracles.” Surely, if good are “fruit” then these people qualify. But they do not qualify. Jesus says they practice lawlessness.

So what does Jesus mean when He talks about knowing someone by their fruit? A few chapters later He tells us. In Matthew 12, Jesus once again brings up the topic of good fruit from good trees, and this time, He specifically states that the good fruit is the good words that proceeds out of person’s mouth, while bad fruit is the bad words that come out of their mouths. So by Jesus’ own words, the “fruit” He has in mind is not the good works that a person does or doesn’t perform, but rather, the words that come out of their mouths. Jesus emphasizes this again a little white later in Matthew 15:18 when He says that those things which come out of the mouth proceed from the heart (cf. Luke 6:45). This fits right in line with what James, the brother of Jesus, writes in James 3 about the tongue.

Christian “rules” for Proper Speaking

So what does it mean to have good fruit come out of our mouths? Strangely, we Christians have seemed to reduce this teaching of Jesus down to a few guidelines:

Christians cannot use curse words or vulgar language.
Christians should try to include verses or references to God and Jesus in their discussions whenever possible.
Christians should always stick up for the truth, no matter the cost—even if what we say sounds hurtful and hateful. These three rules come from questionable understandings of Ephesians 4:29, Psalm 118, and Ephesians 4:15.

In many Christian circles, as long as we “Stand for truth no matter what!”, season our speech with Bible quotes, and don’t say “the S-word” or worse yet, “the F-word”, we are good to go.

Yet we turn around and gossip at church about the pastor’s wife. We get online and say the meanest things imaginable to people we do not know on Twitter and Facebook. We curse entire groups of people to hell because we don’t like their religion (e.g., Muslims), their lifestyle (e.g., Gays), or their politics (e.g., Liberals). We speak harshly to our wife, rudely to our children, and arrogantly to our “unsaved” neighbor. With our words, we undercut our boss at work, denounce our President as the anti-Christ, and tell police officers that they are racist pigs.

I sometimes think Christianity would be far better off if we just all shut our mouths.

How to truly have “Good Fruit”

In an age when insults are so normal we think “roasts” are cool, and cyber-bullying occurs so often we barely take notice when suicides are the result, followers of Jesus need to be a rock of love in the swiftly-moving current of curses, providing voices of hope, healing, restoration, and acceptance that have almost never been found in the church.

Good fruit proceeds out of a mouth which overflows from a heart filled with love for others.

So the next time you tap out that perfect insult on Twitter, or come up with the witty rebuttal by email, or simply want to lash out in unchecked anger at the false teacher (in your opinion) on Facebook, take a deep breath, move your finger away from the “Send” button, and remember those famous words from Thumper in the movie Bambi: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothin’ at all.”

This post is part of the April 2015 Synchroblog. Here is a list of the other contributors. Go check them out!

Mark Votava – The Fruit of Non Violent Communication
Carol Kuniholm – Fruit That Will Last
Clara Ogwuazor Mbamalu – The Importance of Success By Bearing Fruit
Glenn Hager – Juicy Fruit
Done With Religion – Can We Produce The Fruit of the Spirit?
Pastor FedEx – How Do We Bear Fruit?
K.W. Leslie – New Fruit!
Leah Sophia – Stewardship Trilogy
Paul Metler – Bearing Fruit

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I’m Becoming a Gay Muslim

By Jeremy Myers

22 Comments

Yes, it was sort of a surprise to me too. I never really imagined that I might be gay, and as I have an aversion to religion in general, I never really wanted to be Muslim either.

But as I seek to follow Jesus, I have realized that Jesus leads us into places that others fear to tread. If we really follow Jesus, He leads us to love those that many of the religious people in our culture hate.

As I listened at what is coming from many of the Christian pulpits and Christian radio stations of our country, it seemed that the two groups of people who get condemned the most are Muslims and Gays.

That is when I felt Jesus leading me to become a Muslim. And Gay.

I’ve talked with my wife about this. We’re still figuring out how the Gay part is going to work. As for the Muslim part, she just asks that I don’t demand that she wear a Hijab. I told her I might have to demand it if I end up agreeing with Sharia law.

But wherever Jesus leads, I must follow.

I never imagined Jesus would lead me to become a Gay Muslim. But He loves these groups and so do I.

I think my main challenge at this point is that, like Christians, many Muslims are pretty antagonistic toward the Gay lifestyle as well. I cannot say I have ever heard of a Gay Muslim before. So maybe one of the things Jesus wants me to do is bring love for the Gay community into the Muslim community. I believe this will be pretty easy for me to do since I am a white, western American who grew up in a Christian home.

Anyway, I’m off to buy a Qu’ran! And then I’m up to Portland to hang out in a Gay bar.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering … the answer is YES! (Hint: Today is April 1)

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Help Rescue Girls from Forced Prostitution

By Jeremy Myers

6 Comments

Rather than write a bunch of words about the dire problem of human trafficking and forced prostitution, I decided to just post some pictures and infographics. Sex slavery and forced child prostitution a bigger issue than most realize, and it is is huge problem right here in the United States. You most likely have human trafficking and child prostitutes right in your own town.