Far worse stories than yours will be heard and celebrated in heaven!

Listen, music is important to your spiritual life, as it is to mine. Incredibly so. Songs by Christian artists prepared me to encounter the Holy Spirit. So I’d like to share this with you, a special playlist I prepared for my sister in law, who just became a follower of Christ a few weeks ago. (Can you hear the angels sing?)

Here it is:

“Shine On” — Needtobreathe
“Stand” — Kendall Payne
“Your Way” — Adie
“My Heart Goes Out” — Warren Barfield
“Let Them Hear” — Ginny Owens
“Betrayed With a Kiss” – Steave Deal Band
“Committed to the Call” — Kim Hill
“Breathe Your Name” — Sixpence None the Richer
“Turn Around” — Jonny Lang
“Show Me” — Over the Rhine
“Rain Down” — Rita Springer
“Stand in the Rain” — Superchick
“Show Me Love” — Building 429
“All Around Me” — Flyleaf
“Strength of My Life” — P.O.D.
“Holy” – Nichole Nordeman
“Omega” (remix) — Rebecca St. James
“You Decide” — Fireflight

All these tracks are found on iTunes.

-Terry

What if I stumble /
What if I fall /
What if I lose my step /
And I make fools of us all /
Will the love continue /
When the walk becomes a crawl /
What if I stumble /
And what if I fall

Oh, the pain! The misery!! Yeah, I know, DCTalk did it too, but you gotta show love for the Charlie Peacock.

1. You’re probably right about how people are going to view you after your rants, etc. The world’s view of us is partly due to our own professions of perfection, and when we fall from the virtual pedestal, a typical response is “and you call yourself a Christian”. Perfection is our goal and scripture urges, compells, even commands that we be perfect even as He is, but it is a destiny, not where we are now, it is a pursuit, but as 1 Cor. 13:12 says, “For now we are looking in a mirror that gives only a dim (blurred) reflection [of reality as in a riddle or enigma], but then [when perfection comes] we shall see in reality and face to face! Now I know in part (imperfectly), but then I shall know and understand fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have been fully and clearly known and understood [by God].” And of course, just before that in verse 10 it says “But when the complete and perfect (total) comes, the incomplete and imperfect will vanish away (become antiquated, void, and superseded).” Both from the Amplified Bible
2. In 1 Chronicles 21, it speaks of David taking a census of the land, something that was detestable to God, because David did it in reliance upon his resources and not upon God’s. So God was going to punish Israel and David for this act, but gave David and ultimatum in 3 options, as to how he wants God to punish. Then David said an interesting thing in verse 13, “And David said to Gad, I am in great and distressing perplexity; let me fall, I pray you, into the hands of the Lord, for very great and many are His mercies; but let me not fall into the hands of man.” So even David understood that people, humanity is less forgiving than God. So while the world has every right to demand that those who profess to be Christian act like it, it is equally true that God is certainly more gracious and forgiving, and if you are trying to please God, then failure is bound to occur, and God meets it with forgiveness.
3. However, this is not the last word. Not only does the world expect more, it deserves more. There is something so healing and so redemptive when God rebounds in a situation like this. You get to go back now and go to all those whom you’ve failed to show Christ, and show Him at work in you, by going to all of them, especially individually or in the manner it happened, perhaps corporately, to ask their forgiveness for your failure to uphold the character of Christ. When a parent tells his child, I’m sorry, that is so healing for the child. There is no room for justification in your actions because your surrendering your right to be right. You’re admitting that you missed the mark. And that brings healing. Thus, in this case. It’s okay that they saw you fail. But now, what they don’t expect is for you to come humbly, crawling on your knees figuratively speaking if need be, and asking them for forgiveness. It doesn’t matter whether they give it to you or not either, but that you do your part. It doesn’t matter if they are not your brothers in Christ (although, someday they may be), but if your brother offend you, or you them, then go and make it right as far as you are concerned, before you offer your gift to God. Please note: the only time that you don’t offer an apology is when the truth is about Christ. About Him, the scriptures in Romans says, that the preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. Otherwise, you certainly will be working on your ‘testimony’ before them the rest of your life. “And they have overcome (conquered) him by means of the blood of the Lamb and by the utterance of their testimony, for they did not love and cling to life even when faced with death [holding their lives cheap till they had to die for their witnessing].” Revelation 12:11 Amplified Bible
Finally, my brother, this morning as I sat with my son, eating breakfast and watching “Veggie Tales” The Rumor Weed Episode, a verse given at the end appeared and I felt it was the verse I was looking for to conclude my thoughts for you…no my encouragement for you. It’s Proverbs12:18 “There are those who speak rashly, like the piercing of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Amplified Bible. Or in the NIV, “Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” and in The Message it reads, “Rash language cuts and maims, but there is healing in the words of the wise.”

Yes you spoke rashly with reckless words that cut and maimed, but go now, be wise and bring healing to those who need His love. He’ll surely give you the words and the love to be Christ to those who need Him.

Your brother in Christ,
Daniel Mendez