If the Law ( or laws ) could make us holy, then Jesus would not have needed to die on the Cross. No state-appointed law is going to make us clean for Him. He is SO HOLY that we don’t stand a chance. If we could make ourselves holy, then Jesus died for nothing. I think Paul says that quite eloquently. At any rate, think on it. It IS extremely tempting to think that finger pointing and condemnation will make another person BETTER, but it doesn’t work. Only the BLOOD of JESUS CHRIST can make any one of us WHOLE again. Without Him, not one of us is CLEAN.

– Carley Evans, July 25th, 2013

No Matter How Small ( by Carley Evans )

U.S. Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. (Photo credit: The Library of Congress)

Today I clapped my hand over my mouth and tears welled in my eyes as I heard the gay men’s choir burst into song. The song sung by the men was our national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” I was in my car, driving home from work, listening to NPR as I usually do. Some reporter was defending the positive nature of the coverage of the historical moment when “a group of people came together to grasp” its rights under the Constitution of the United States. No matter how you view marriage, that people who live in the United States are constitutionally protected is undeniable. (This is why babies should not be aborted, by the way. They each have a constitutional right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Those rights outweigh any parent’s right to privacy!)

Every citizen of the United States of America has a right to pursue happiness. If you don’t believe this is the truth within our system of government, then you may be more comfortable in a different country.

I heard someone say that the Supreme Court was “out of control.” I wondered, “And whose control is that?” God is always in control, so that argument fails right there.

That the Supreme Court is not controlled by religious zealots ought to make us thankful. If only Christians controlled members of the Supreme Court, then the constitution would be at risk. So many Americans do not subscribe to the Christian lifestyle or to its core belief – that Jesus Christ came to earth from heaven to die on a Cross in order to save the world. If the Supreme Court was controlled only by the Christian Right – the conservative membership – then many people would be denied their right to pursue happiness.

Why is it that Christians ( not all of us, mind you ) want to throw stones at particular groups of people? Why the enormous focus on homosexuals?

I ask this because I find it hypocritical that Christians accept divorce and marriage to another person as part of the fabric of our lives rather than viewing the remarriage as adultery ( in many cases, at any rate. ) Before you protest that I am judging; I’m not. I’m only saying what Jesus said, “Let him who is without sin throw the first stone.” I don’t know about you, but I find I always wind up opening my hand and allowing that stone to fall to the ground.

And so, today, I cried when I heard our national anthem sung by men ( this was a men’s choir, by the way ) who have finally gained a measure of equality in this – our great – nation. A citizen is a citizen, no matter how small. Thanks to Dr. Seuss.

“Born Blind and Deaf” by Carley Evans

(Photo credit: Javier Q.)

Imagine if you will being born blind, unable to see. You live in a world of darkness. And what if you are also born deaf, unable to hear. You move in darkness and silence, unaware of light, unaware of sound. Your world is emptiness.

Imagine a Man comes to you. He touches your eyes, then your ears. You suddenly see and hear. You see His face; you hear His voice. He is Love, and you are fully aware that your world has changed forever in a moment because He touched you.

Now what if this same Man walks by you, and leaves you in your darkened, quiet state. Suppose He has a perfect reason for doing this, one you don’t know and couldn’t understand even if you did know.

Now imagine other people try to tell you about this Man, how He has given them everything. How would they tell you? You are blind; you are deaf. Still they try because He is everything to them. But you can’t see or hear that He is Love. You are blind; you are deaf. You are lost.

Remember how He touches you? When the Man touches you, you are able to see and hear and believe. Only a fool would not believe once the Man gives sight and hearing.

Imagine.

Our Schizophrenic Abortion Mentality

I listened with some interest this morning to NPR and later CNN as radio and television newscasters commented on the conviction of an abortion provider for poor and downtrodden pregnant women and girls in somewhere, America. His name is of no importance to me, frankly.

What is important to me is the schizophrenic nature of America’s view of abortion and murder. Somehow we are appalled when a spinal cord is snipped to kill a child the mother of that child came to the abortion clinic to rid herself of. Somehow it’s okay to chemically burn an unborn baby alive as long as the child is out of sight inside the mother’s womb. But let that same unborn baby emerge from the womb and the snipping of the spinal cord with a pair of scissors is suddenly horrendous and murderous.

This makes no sense to me. How is it murder now if it is not murder a few moments before? And how is the mother (or father) of that child not then the murderer?

We are truly schizophrenic. We work to save unborn babies in hospitals while we strive to kill them in abortion clinics.

Like I said, this is far from common sense. Common sense says that a baby – whether wanted and protected or unwanted and unprotected – is still a baby, and as such, has civil rights as promised, but yet to be secured, by the Constitution of the United States.

Conviction versus guilt

Orestes Pursued by the Furies, by John Singer Sargent. 1921. The erinyes represent the guilt for murdering his mother. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Is there a difference between conviction and guilt?

I heard that guilt is a good thing. But, I maintain that guilt is never a good thing. Instead, conviction is the good thing that leads us to change our behavior – either via apology and often through restitution. On the other hand, guilt leads to self-loathing and inaction. Guilt comes through demonic forces aligned against the Christian. The demon whispers, “Look what you’ve done! You worthless creature. How can anyone love you? Why would God forgive that?!”

Conviction comes from God, the Holy Spirit. He whispers also. But His whisper is gentle, a reminder that your guilt is taken care already through the shed blood of Jesus Christ but that apology and restitution are your tasks. God says, “Go and tell your neighbor you are sorry, and if you took from him, give it back and give something more for good measure.”

Therefore, I say, guilt is not of God. Conviction is.

Reality Is Enough ( by Carley Evans )

Obesity Campaign Poster (Photo credit: Pressbound)

Watching one of my fav sit-com reruns this morning as I try to overcome a lousy headache. Intermittently, as we all know, come commercials. I was just burdened with one advertising DANCE MOMS showing a morbidly obese woman dressed all in black, cocking her head back and forth in slow motion while screaming at her tiny, skinny daughter dressed in tights and sequins.  Of course, there are other shows – that granted I’ve never watched – with similar advertisements: THE VOICE, AMERICA’S GOT TALENT, DANCING WITH THE STARS, REAL HOUSEWIVES (of numerous cities), THE FEAR FACTOR, BRIDEZILLAS, QUEER EYE FOR THE STRAIGHT GUY, SWAPPING WIVES (or is it houses?), NEW JERSEY something or other. See, I can’t even get the titles correct.

Some shows that are reality based I have watched. I’ve seen TOP CHEF, KITCHEN NIGHTMARES, PROJECT RUNWAY, and DIRTY JOBS. Some of these I find educational as well as entertaining. For example, I’ve learned a lot about the working world from DIRTY JOBS and I’ve learned why I don’t cook from TOP CHEF and why I don’t ever want to own a restaurant from KITCHEN NIGHTMARES. I’ve learned that the world of designing clothes is cut-throat from PROJECT RUNWAY.

But, I don’t ever want to watch Kim Kar – I can’t spell her name and refuse to ‘google’ it. I don’t care to watch mothers abuse their children or women bitch about each other or brides bust their friends or people engage in dangerous stunts for the sake of thrills or fear or whatever! I also don’t care to see people belittled or praised beyond compare on television talent shows.

At any rate, television bewilders me. I’m sitting here watching FRASIER as Frasier and Niles attempt to write a book on sibling relationships. I enjoy this type of program only because I like the characters and the smart scripts. The other television show I watch is M*A*S*H for the same reasons – I like Hawkeye, Colonel Potter, Radar, Klinger, Charles, BJ and Margaret. If I didn’t like these characters, I’d turn the box off.

Tell me, why does America like mean people who are real?

They Hate ( by Carley Evans )

 

Anaclasis – A Haunting Gospel of Malice & Hatred (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

This morning I realize why I don’t like church. I don’t like church because of the sometimes invisible, sometimes highly visible people inside the building who spout evil rather than good, who obviously hate rather than love. The pain I feel inside church is unimaginable. I used to try to ignore it, deny it, justify it. No more. I fully embrace this pain, this incredible disappointment in people who claim to know who Jesus is. I pause because I know how hard it is not to hate these hypocrites –right back at ya!

 

But, I recall Jesus dies for them, too. His agony on the cross is proportional to the level of their hatred.

 

Who do they hate? So-called Christians in church hate sinners. They hate “the least of these.” And they hate socialists, communists, homosexuals, abortionists, murderers, the poor, the disenfranchised, the lonely, the mentally ill, the homeless, the lost. Oops. In short, they hate themselves.

 

Losing Nothing ( by Carley Evans )

(Photo credit: epSos.de)

“Every day, people seek profits for the investments they make in time, in effort, in monies. Every day, some people win — what seems to them — “the whole world.” I’m not sure Jesus equates winning the whole world with loss of one’s soul. Rather, I think Jesus implies one’s focus ought not to be on getting “the whole world”, but on getting a relationship with Him so as to keep one’s soul.” (Carley Evans — hey, that’s me!)

Do you make mistakes? Do even really small mistakes in timing have terrible consequences for you? I imagine your answer is “yes” – or “maybe” – to both questions.

I made a simple mistake this spring that is going to cost me a certain amount of money over the next year. The mistake was simply a momentary distraction that turned out to be extremely unfortunate financially.

Still, tonight I read my own words from GRACE PARTAKERS and realize that compared to sustaining a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, this loss of money is akin to the loss of nothing!

“Whenever I” ( Jeremiah 20: 9, NEB ) by Carley Evans

“Whenever I” ( Jeremiah 20: 9, NEB ) by Carley Evans.

via “Whenever I” ( Jeremiah 20: 9, NEB ) by Carley Evans.

Surely We Know ( by Carley Evans )

Surely we each know the pain of life — the unexpected loss of job, the devastating illness or infection, the sudden or prolonged death of loved ones, the demise of self through dementia, the agony of self-loathing and self-doubt, etc. etc. etc. No one is immune. Some pretend to be immune, but no one is.

So, why can’t we say a prayer for each other? Right now!

Thanks! And many blessings!

May God meet all your needs in His perfect way and in His perfect timing. In Jesus’ Name, amen!