Forgiveness is a curious thing, especially in today’s culture. It was the topic for this past week’s message at LifeChurch East Valley. As soon as the pastor announced that he would be speaking on forgiveness, God began to flood my mind with past thoughts on the subject.

The first story that came to mind is found in Matthew 18. Peter approaches Christ with this question,”If my brother sins against me, how many times should I forgive him. Seven times?” Jesus responds,”No, not seven, but seventy times seven.” I think in the American church we have changed Jesus’ words to say something more along the lines of,”No, not seven, but seventy times seven…and if their offense doesn’t put me in a position that would require me to forgive them again.”

So this is just something that I’ve been wrestling with after the message this weekend, not a concrete idea, but just that an idea:

Are we to forgive, but not forget?

That’s what it seems most of us think about forgiveness. But from what I’ve read, this story and others, I’m convinced that forgiveness has a bit to do with forgetting the offense. I’m reminded of the story of Hosea. Hosea, a prophet of God, is commanded by God to marry a prostitute. God tells him that she is going to cheat on you and leave you, but you are going to love her and forgive her and take her back. What a picture for us of unconditional forgiveness and love! In the message this weekend, Miles Paluden drew a relationship between one’s reaction to being wronged before Christ and the reaction Christ said was better. Here’s the gist of what he was pointing to:

It was an eye for an eye and tooth for tooth, but after Christ, our reaction is forgive because you have been forgiven.

In light of that, does Christ forgive and remember what we’ve done wrong. I know that we will be held accountable for our lives, but does Christ treat us differently (like we often treat those whom we “forgive”) when we’ve been forgiven? In all accounts of forgiveness I’ve read, never do I remember seeing conditions being placed on what is offense is forgive-able, or the offender treated differently because of the offense.

So, is it wrong to forgive and forget, or is it the only way to truly forgive? Thoughts?

It’s that time again! Would You Rather Wednesday. So here is today’s Would You Rather:

Would you rather…
Be deaf, but have above average eyesight or be blind, but have above average hearing?

For me it would have to be being blind, but having above average hearing. Being a lover of music, I couldn’t imagine living without it. Music infiltrates every area of my life, it seems. So to be able to hear it that much better (or worse, depending on who’s playing it ;^)> ). There’s mine…what’s yours?

Hello all! I’ve decided I need something to spice things up around here…and keep me posting regularly. I figure probably one of the best ways to learn about people is the old road game “would you rather.” And since this is the start of Would You Rather Wednesdays, I thought a question about starting would be a good way to kick it off.
So, would you rather…
Start a new job or pick up a new hobby?

For me in my current position, I would have to say starting a new job. Not because I don’t like my job, but more that there are jobs out there that I would enjoy more.

So which would you rather?

So it’s been a little bit since my last post. Figured I should probably update this thing. Hopefully I will be able to make some more frequent updates and visual changes in the coming weeks.

Today I came over to my parents’ house; this has been my routine for the past 2-3 months on Wednesdays.  On Wednesday mornings I come over, give Dylan a hug before he heads out to school and wait for the little man to wake up. Until that happens, I usually end up with about an hour or two of surfing the web and reading blogs that I usually miss out on since Niece and I don’t have internet at our apartment. Just means frequent trips to visit the rents :^)>

Anyway, back on topic. I visited my friends over at Collide Magazine, if you’re interested or on a team of designers/tech folks for a church, they have some awesome resources. On the front page this morning I found this article entitled “The Idiot’s Guide to Church Burnout.” I was curious, having had this feeling of “burnout” in places that I’ve served. Here are some key points I took away from the article or I have experienced:

• Burnout was never something I saw coming

But it hit me like a ton of bricks. I loved being at the church, with my friends, “serving the LORD,” stacking chairs (a little Tim Hawkins reference…Click here to “get it”) I never thought that I could, or would, become burnt out.

• The root cause of burnout had nothing to do with being tired, overworked or underpaid

This was the one that really disturbed me. I had no idea what was causing me to be burnt out. These are the three big things that usually cause people to become worn out or just want to quit altogether, but none of them fit for me. Was I tired, overworked and underpaid? Sure, but that wasn’t the biggest issue. As the author of the article, Gary Molander, puts it, I wasn’t “living the exact dream God [had given me], while making a difference in the world.”

Here are a few things that I experienced while I was burnt out (points from the article, but I totally experienced these)

• I lost grace

I also lost patience…with everyone it seemed. I couldn’t help but be frustrated with everyone and everything.

• I dreamed of other occupations

I thought that if I could just work “there” or work with “those people,” my burn out would go away.

• I didn’t believe anything noteworthy was being accomplished

I honestly couldn’t see that I was making any difference at all. I felt like I was at a dead end and the end was nowhere in sight.

There was one thing from the article that really jumped out at me and I have to share, just in case you have time to read this but not the other article.

• “I discovered that I needed to stop following the principles of Jesus and start following His person”

This one is still something that I am dealing with. It’s easy to know all the right words to say and do, but when it comes down to it, who is Jesus. Not just who you know him to be from the Bible or historians. But who is he to you? That’s a question I wrestle with daily, knowing that the answer is worth the time I spend thinking on it. Which do you follow, the principles of Christ or the Son of God? (I know they are linked, but only one is really worth following with all of your heart)

Well, those are my experiences and things I took away. Go read the article, if you haven’t already, and tell me your thoughts!

I’ve heard many times in the past couple of years that people are ok with Christ, but Christians ruin it. Obviously this bothers me, being a Christian. So, if we all have heard this, are we changing? In my experience, when you hear the same lesson over and over in life you have not yet learned it. So if the message continues to be that we are in the way and not a catalyst, I think it’s safe to say that we haven’t learned the lesson. Why? Do you think Christians are still in the way, or do you think that perception is changing? If not, why are we not changing. What is our motivation for not changing? What do you think?