Justice Served!

I know some of you followed my experiences with getting a friend out of jail last week. Today was the hearing at the Polk County Courthouse. After hearing all the evidence, the judge dismissed the case! I was so happy. My friend was happy. I am genuinely relieved for him.

I have to be honest, I want there to be some sort of recourse for him to punish the one responsible for this mess. But that would be stooping to the very means that landed him in jail. I have been repeating Ephesians 4:32 like a chanting monk. I believe for my friend, he needs to forgive and take the high road putting all this mess behind him. But that's easier said than done.

Is Forgiveness Easy?

I have a friend that has had a few questions for me lately. He asked me one that I thought would be good to deal with in this format. He graciously agreed. I want to put his thoughts out here in context and then I will respond. Here is the question in context:

As a recovering Catholic, I was brought up to believe that the only way to receive forgiveness for any sin is by confession with a priest. You know the drill: one on one confession, Bless me Father for I have sinned, it's been X years since my last confession......Then the guilt trip begins. Lots of prayers need to be said for forgiveness. We also were not supposed to take communion without confession if there were any of the bigger sins that we had yet to atone for. Yes, in the Catholic church there are multiple levels of sin. Needless to say, watching all the people take communion that I had witnessed sinning (and even sinned with) this made the whole church process seem a bit hypocritical. Everything in the church seemed to teach that people need to live in fear of God. For if you are not baptized as a baby and follow all of their rules you are doomed to Purgatory at best, Hell at the worst. In your (/our) church, the message seems to be, and correct me if I'm wrong, that God is a Loving entity, and even when you do sin, if you ask God for forgiveness, you are forgiven. Sounds simply and easy enough. But where's the guilt? How can I wrap my mind around the concept that my sins can truly be forgiven just by asking God myself? That seems too easy.

Is forgiveness really that easy? I would answer by saying, it depends on what side of this issue you are on. If it is you, a sinner, then the answer is an adamant and absolute, "YES!"

But, if you are on the God side of this issue, then it would be a very sincere, "No!" Forgiveness was not easy, nor cheap for our Father God. In fact, it cost Him the very life of His Son to offer it to us. So it was not easy for God, but very, very costly and difficult.

We are no longer in bondage by man-made precepts and conditions concerning where we go to find forgiveness of sin. We get the privilege to go directly to our heavenly Father.

1 John 1:9 is very clear. We need to only confess our sins, God's part is that He remains faithful and will forgive us and cleanse us of our sins.

I want to make a few observations. One, my biggest issue with Roman Catholicism is not that they pray to Mary and other saints (even though the Scriptures are very clear to NOT do that). My biggest issue with Roman Catholicism is connected to this question. According to the Roman Catholic Church, what Jesus Christ did at the cross was NOT sufficient enough to save men.

In fact, men still have to "perform" via prayers over the Rosary and paying for masses and going to "confession" and lighting candles and countless other rituals that help one atone oneself. I frankly feel it is the most prideful, arrogant thought that would think that I can somehow do anything to help my sinful condition.

True Christianity isn't about DOING anything...it is about it already being DONE. What Jesus did at the cross was completely and totally sufficient to save me from all my sin and forgive me for all my past, present and future sins as well.

Also, confession, according to the Scriptures is not sitting in some ornate wooden box talking to a priest. In the Scriptures, the word for confession is "HOMOLOGEO" which comes from two words. Homo = Same; Logeo = words or speech. So confession literally means that I speak the same words about my sin that God does.

Which means I don't call adultery an "affair." I don't refer to internet porn addiction as "having a little problem." I get real and don't play games with God about this stuff and I call it what it is...SIN. And sin separates me from God and sickens and shrivels up my soul.

Now, even though it is not necessary to "confess" sin to anyone but God, there are some sins that need to be confessed to other people. Because if they are not, there can never be help in over-coming them.

Sexual sins, addictive behaviors, and similar sins I believe cannot be truly dealt with unless there is accountability. So when I have the courage as a man to say that I have a problem with gambling and I not only tell my heavenly Father that, but I also confess that to another brother in Christ. That breaks the hold that sin has over my life. It isn't as powerful anymore.

Shedding light on secret sins releases the shameful grip that those sins have on our hearts. And we eventually, through Christ's help and true accountability, have the ability to slay that dragon in our lives.

But I don't want to wander too far from the original question. The answer is "YES," it really is that easy to find forgiveness. But forgiveness and repentance can't be separated either. Don't think because it is easy to ask for forgiveness that is a license to keep on sinning...you must truly repent as well. And repentance is determining in your heart to not commit that sin again.

30 Days is over...

Well...we ended our 30 Days To Live Series with a bang! It was without a doubt the BEST worship service we have ever had at The Fort! For me, I usually have a manuscript, but I will practice my sermon enough that I have my manuscript as more of a pacifier than anything else. But for this service I was naked (well, kind of)...I was noteless. It was a lot of extra work and stretched me a little bit but that's a good thing.

I think the 30 Days series really struck a nerve in a lot of folks. We all tend to not think about our own mortality very often but the Bible is very clear that we should make a habit out of it. I think it's a very healthy exercise to live like today may be my last. If it was...I'd want to forgive and be forgiven, for sure!

I'm really satisfied with the 30 Days series. I think it was one of The Fort's finest moments!

I'm Back From Camp!

Wow! What an amazing experience. I had the opportunity to speak to over 70 Sr. High students at Central Iowa Bible Camp. It was really great and these were an awesome group of students.

On the first evening I spoke at campfire, at the conclusion of my message we challenged the young people to make a decision for Christ themselves, to rededicate their lives to Christ or to get courage to share their faith with someone who needs Christ.

As they quietly left campfire, they were each handed an unlit glowstick. Then they went out and sat quietly by themselves on a dark hillside. When they had come to a decision, they were to light their glowstick and bring it to a cross and hang it there. That was a really cool thing to see. Here's what the cross looked like that night...




Another very cool part of the experience was that on the campground there had been placed a very old Ford F-150 Pick-up Truck. The youth were challenged all week to write their sins anywhere on that truck with Sharpie pens. They did. They shared things like struggles with sex and smoking pot and cutting themselves and suicidal thoughts...anything and everything you can imagine, they wrote it. It was pretty cool.

They didn't know what was going to happen to the vehicle though. Well, on Thursday night, they saw what it is that God does with our sins in the most dramatic of illustrations. Look at the next few pictures in succession and you will see what they witnessed.


After this, the kids all came forward and picked up pieces of the truck to take home as a momento...something I am sure they are never going to forget. God takes our sins from us as far as the east is to the west. He literally crushes it out of our life! That was a lot of fun!

I told them I would post their picture here on my blog. Here they are, this picture was taken just before I began speaking to them the second time.