notes from lisa...

 I wish we could be a color-blind society; acknowledging and accepting of all cultures. Skin color has nothing to do with who any of us are. Unfortunately, that reality is not a lived experience in this nation. Skin color tells nothing of the heart within any of God’s children.  Black Americans (others, too, but I'm speaking about the experience that I know, at the moment) have longed to fit in, but were never invited. Whenever we have shown up, we're reminded that we cannot be a full participant. There's no permanent seat for us at the table. Our "seat" is brought in and removed, based on our adherence to the (invisible, but very real) line that has been drawn for us in America.  (Please don't stop reading--this isn’t a post about race). It's about how we must be reconciled to God and one another [ 1 John 3:10 GNT  " Here is the clear difference between God's children and the Devil's children: those who do not do what is right or do not l...

     Most, if not all of us have traditionally been taught that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for sexual immorality. That is not quite accurate. [Ezekiel 16:15 is a really good example of the sequence of sin]--that the beginning of sin is pride , arrogance and not caring for or about "your sister". Read, slowly Ezekiel 16:48-59, *verse 56, NKJV].       What I think we miss with this simplified reason for the destruction of sin (in us) is that all sin has a root. If we deal with the root it will positively impact the health, growth, and well-being of the entire organism--whatever or whomever that may be. Sodom and Gomorrah didn't start out with sexually deviant behavior... no one does . We have to first think that we know what's best for us--only then, will we do anything to achieve and maintain our comfort. That’s pride. " Anything " is all the sin that we struggle with; not understanding that, sins are a symptom  (of something much deep...

 Let me start by saying, if that's the way you choose to give that's totally up to you. Tithing (or not tithing), isn't a Heaven or hell issue.  Tithing according to the Mosaic Law was always agricultural unless the giver had to travel a great distance. Then, money was acceptable. Money existed long before the Law was given. If God meant for money to be tithed, wouldn't He have required that rather than agriculture when He gave Moses laws regarding the tithe? Money was used as early as Genesis 23, by Abraham...so, well before Moses. Grace (or New Covenant) giving is sacrificial.  There's no mention of continued tithing after Jesus died, buried and rose. And, when Jesus talked about the tithe in Matthew 23:23, He wasn't speaking in positive terms. He was talking about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees who liked to make a show of everything they (supposedly) did for God. The Pharisees were over the top in everything-- just read that chapter as Jesus rebuked them. H...

I'm not interested in changing your mind. I just want you to consider a few commonly held beliefs.  I had some crisis moments in my life--a whole bunch! In looking back, I realize that those crises were necessary to humble me enough to see that I don't have all of the answers (imagine that!). It took trouble and discomfort for me to see Jesus and to begin to grasp the magnitude of His unspeakable Gift. I learned that everything that I was so sure about--particularly Scriptural things, were not necessarily as I (thought) knew them   to be. I was so sure of myself (and full of myself, too).  Then, life got real...really real; and hard, too. In the midst of my storms, I ran to God's Word for the answers to my prayers. My prayers weren't answered the way I assumed God would answer them. I think I forgot about His Sovereignty. You see, I had been getting information from unreliable sources about my situation and the way God works. So, I was "naming and claiming" ...

 Laws don't add up to righteousness... ever . Do we make laws, for the purpose of drawing men and women to God; or is it really about our comfort in this world? "For if a system of law had been given which could impart life, then righteousness (right standing with God) would actually have been based on law.  But the Scripture has imprisoned everyone [everything—the entire world] under sin, so that [the inheritance, the blessing of salvation] which was promised through faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe [in Him and acknowledge Him as God’s precious Son]" Galatians 3:21 [Amplified Bible]. If our goal is the salvation of the lost, we're most assuredly going about it the wrong way. Soul winning is accomplished by the "Good News" . The Gospel (Good News) is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ; and that is all . God is not impressed with our gimmicks, our laws, our politics or our church membership. He just isn't. He does...

 I'm not sure Jesus would approve of the way we treat our neighbors.  I think Fred Rogers was onto something with his little song, "Who are the people in your neighborhood...they're the people that you meet each day...". But, our neighborhood is global, and our neighbors include all of humanity --"even unto the ends of the earth". It's easy to lose track of that fact, when you can't see and may never know someone.  Still, if we recognized the world as a neighborhood and everyone in it as our neighbor--because we are ALL "made in the Image of God and after His Likeness ". Each person is the apple of God's eye. I love what Max Lucado wrote: "If God had a refrigerator, YOUR picture would be on it". We seem to have trouble making the connection between ourselves and others who may look, speak different than us--or have cultural differences that we may not share or understand. When we forget that those people who may be very dif...