Listening to shame
Brene’ Brown does it again, but this time she’s on the big stage. Her follow up to her TEDx talk on vulnerability is once again a surgically precise analysis of what haunts the human heart. While she does not wax-theological it is not difficult for those of us who are determined to free the world from the power and curse of sin to see the connection. Shame is sin’s executioner that kills the soul slowly. When Jesus died on the cross and was raised from the dead He not only defeated death and sin, but He freed us from the executioner’s grasp.
To quote Brennan Manning, “God loves you as you are, not as you should be.”
I am a victim and an assailant. I have been abused and have been the abuser. I have been lied to and I have been the liar. On one hand I can point out the road you should travel and on the other hand I can choose a different road. I would rather hide than be seen, and yet wish to be known and loved. Many come to ask for my advice, and I am often the last one to take it.
The good news is that Jesus died for me anyway.
He died for you anyway.
We no longer must die at the hand of Sin’s executioner, but can live abundantly joyful even in the face of death.
Thanks be to God!
Kony 2012 on CNN
The Kony 2012 movement has caught fire and landed the Invisible Children organization on CNN, CBS News, and even in the context of the White House press briefing. There have been some folks who have brought up questions about the financial stewardship of this organization. They are legitimate questions. Here is their answer.
Cravings
Cravings are a part of being human. I often crave chocolate, steak, or an ice cold beer. I also crave things, especially gadgets, and I crave positions, like being a lead minister. Giving in to cravings on occasion isn’t a bad or evil thing. Always giving into them and even to the point of excusing your behavior on the basis of your craving is fueled by sin.
In the Old Testament in the book of Numbers we come face to face with what cravings can do when they consume us and turn into language that reveals a heart that not only flees God but spits in His face. It’s the language of entitlement that likes to use words like “deserve.”
The Israelites, freed from slavery, find themselves in the wilderness prior to their first encounter with the Promised Land. In seemingly a short amount of time they begin to grumble about the fact that manna is their ONLY source of nourishment.
“4Then the foreign rabble who were traveling with the Israelites began to crave the good things of Egypt. And the people of Israel also began to complain. “Oh, for some meat!” they exclaimed.5 “We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted.
6 But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna!”” (Numbers 11)
When the Israelites long for Egypt and crave the things of their life of slavery it is always a really bad sign. God in effect gives them what they want, and in the process sends a plague along with quail and it seems to only kill those who “craved meat from Egypt” (verse 33-34).
I’ve often confused my cravings with God’s desire for me. I’ve often cried out, “What is taking so long?” I’ve often acted on cravings and excused them with “I deserve,” and today I am convicted that it is all Egypt and I am reminded, I’ve been freed from Egypt and have power over my cravings.
What is it you deserve? What cravings are you excusing? Where might you need the grace of God to redeem you and remind you that you have been made free?