I heard some wise words on a Podcast earlier today. Essentially, they went something like this: “Be for the people Jesus is for.”

That immediately prompted a question: “Who is Jesus for?”

If I read my Bible correctly, Jesus in the Gospels was for the lowly outcast shepherds and the ragtag poor fishermen who became His disciples. He was also for the rich young ruler even when he couldn’t bear to part with his riches to follow Jesus.

Jesus was for women during a time when they were viewed as little more than property and had little to no rights apart from those that came with being a wife and mother.

Jesus was also for the religious leaders– even the ones He was most blunt with. He was for every single person He ever met during His earthly ministry.

How do I know? Because the Bible says that Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. Period. Not a certain kind of lost, but all the lost.

The Bible also says that God is not willing that ANY should perish but that ALL should come to repentance and faith.

So is God for Democrats AND Republicans? Yes. Gay and straight? Yes. Black and white? Yes. Gentile and Jew? Yes. Agnostic and church-goer? Yes.

God is for them all.

Does that mean that if God is for me that He automatically gives a blanket endorsement to everything I do and say? No.

While Jesus was for people, He still called them out for their hypocrisy and lack of compassion. He told the woman caught in adultery that He did not condemn her but also to go and sin no more.

That means that God is for us in the sense that He wants us to become our truest and best selves. He wants us conformed to the image of Jesus, the God-man who was the perfect reflection of God and the perfect representation of humanity.

God is for the people you like AND the people you hate. God is for conservatives AND liberals. God is for Donald Trump AND Joe Biden. Best of all, God is for YOU.

PS I’m not saying that you shouldn’t speak out against policies and actions that you don’t agree with. What I am saying is that you need to remember that all these people are made in the image of God and to denigrate them and call them names is to insult their Maker. God is for them as much as He is for you.

Here’s a list of things I’m ready to be over for good:
1) COVID-19

2) Racism in any form

3) Politics

4) Food turning to fat and not muscle

5) 5 am wake-up calls

6) Self-righteous social media posts

7) Cancer

8) Unsweet tea

9) Decaf coffee

10) Death

I could probably make a much longer list if I really had the time to let my mind go and really unearth all the stuff that annoys the crap out of me.

Some of these are in jest, but some I really do want to be over. Like death. I found out a man I respected to volunteered at Room in the Inn for over 20 years passed away recently. I’m ready to say goodbye to having to say goodbye.

Still I have this certain hope. One day, I will say a final goodbye to COVID-19, cancer, pain, suffering, disease, injustice, racism, heartbreak, lies, deceit, and death.

One day Jesus will make all things right and new.

One day Jesus will restore sevenfold all that the enemy has taken away and all the havoc that sin has wreaked on the world.

Then it won’t be over. It will only have just begun.

I can’t believe it’s been three years since my little Lucy crossed the rainbow bridge and took a little piece of my heart with her.

I remember how gutted I felt watching her waste away before my very eyes in the six days. On Thursday, June 15, I learned that she had a very limited amount of time left, and on Wednesday, June 21, I took her on her very last trip to the vet to say a final goodbye.

Part of me still feels stupid for crying so much over a silly little cat. Part of me is aware that there’s so much more going on in the world and people have lost so much more than I will ever begin to comprehend.

But I believe more than ever that it’s okay to mourn the loss of a pet. They’re the ones who are seemingly always there, a quieting comforting sort of presence in the chaotic world. They’re the ones who give unconditional love and understanding when you need it most and deserve it least.

Part of me still feels sad that she’s not here anymore. Part of me knows that I was blessed to have a loyal companion who was fiercely devoted to me for 17 good years. And yes, if I had the chance to do them all over again, I wouldn’t hesitate. Even the hardest parts and the saddest days.

I don’t really understand a lot about animals and angels, but I sometimes wonder if my little Lucy wasn’t a guardian angel in disguise.

Lucy, you were the best. I could never in a million years hope to replace you. I hope you don’t mind that I found a rescue nine days after you passed so that all the love in my heart had a place to go and didn’t have to run down my cheeks in the form of tears.

I miss you every day and you will forever remain my baby. If I have my way, I’ll see you again tonight in my dreams.

I love getting packages from Amazon in the mail. I especially love when I get the notification that my delivery is only 10 stops away.

Maybe it’s the little kid in me, but there’s still something magical about opening a package to find out what’s inside, even if you already know what it is. It feels like Christmas every single time.

I also love seeing the faces of people opening their presents when you know you finally got it right. That’s just as magical.

Maybe during this crazy polarizing pandemic year of 2020 we could do with a little less self-righteous trading of barbs and self-justifying posts and have a little more grace and generosity toward others.

If I remember how much I owe to the unmerited, undeserved grace of God, I am certainly less likely to condemn anyone else, even those with polar opposite political views.

If I remember that each person is created in the image of God and that Jesus thought enough of them to die for them (even the Trumps and Bidens of the world), then while I can certainly criticize their actions, I have no right to name-calling and judging their character.

After reading some of the social media posts, I’m thankful that God didn’t crucify me for all my mistakes like a lot of Facebook people want to do with public leaders and figures. He crucified Jesus instead in my place. He gave me the riches of His grace instead.

And yes, getting stuff from Amazon in the mail will never get old.

Since I started alternating between working from home and the office, I’ve finally discovered podcasts.

Well, I have listened to a podcast here and there, but now I am officially subscribed to several. Some of the ones I regularly check out are The Wally Show, The Brant & Sherri Oddcast, and GraveYard Tales.

That last one is a recent discovery. It’s full of tales about the spooky and supernatural. I’ve heard yarns about ghosts, tommyknockers (google it if you’re not familiar), and strange low-frequency noises.

Right now, that’s about all that I can handle. Plus, I listen to podcasts of sermons from my church and Kairos. Any more than that and my brain could quite possibly explode from all the new knowledge.

What are your favorite podcasts? This inquiring mind wants to know.

But really, you do matter. Yes you. You matter.

“To be a Christian now means
to have the courage
to preach the true teaching of Christ 
and not be afraid of it, not be silent out of fear 
and preach something easy
that won’t cause problems.
To be a Christian in this hour means 
to have the courage that the Holy Spirit gives…
to be valiant soldiers of Christ the King, 
to make his teaching prevail, 
to reach hearts and proclaim to them
the courage
that one must have to defend God’s law” (Oscar Romero, The Violence of Love).

It seems like the orthodox faith is becoming more and more unpopular. The trend is toward ditching the doctrines that make us uncomfortable and are no longer politically correct.

I believe one day American Christianity will look nothing like the faith of the New Testament, and one day the American church will be unrecognizable as the body of Christ.

But there will always be a remnant who hold fast to the true faith. They will be the ones hated and slandered and reviled, just as Jesus promised they would be. Even some professing believers will call them names and brand them as heretics and apostates.

Jesus said that if the world hated Him enough to crucify Him, then it will hate His followers. If you profess to follow the Jesus who was despised and rejected by men, yet the world loves you, then you are seriously doing something wrong.

I know many of us (including me) have gotten so adept at blending into the culture that the world no longer sees a difference. When we speak of Jesus but live like agnostics, then we take His name in vain.

Maybe it’s time that we stop being American Christians and start being Christian Americans.

Jesus didn’t call His people to be relevant as much as He called them to be faithful. Maybe it’s time for His people to repent and seek His face again, preaching the whole gospel of sin, hell, repentance, forgiveness, and salvation.

“[I]f my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14, NIV).

In case you were tired of the gloom and doom that’s all over the news and social media, here’s a little something to lighten the mood.

You’re welcome.

I’m preaching to myself as much as to anybody else. I’m not a good listener. Most of the time, I listen to respond or rebut but not to understand. I don’t really always engage the whole speaker– verbal, nonverbal, facial expressions, tone, etc. I just listen to words and not the heart behind the message.

The greatest command from God to the Israelites started off, “Listen.” In that context, listen means to hear and then put it into practice and not just add to your head knowledge.

We would do much better as a society if we spoke half as much and listened twice as often. If we could truly listen to those with whom we disagree, we might find we have more in common that we originally thought.

I heard something that convicted me. We don’t want to hear other opinions as much as we want to hear an echo of our own opinions. That’s why you see on social media people surround themselves with only like-minded thinkers and have very little tolerance for those who disagree or differ.

I’ve read some books by writers with very different worldviews than mine. I didn’t agree with a lot of what they said, but it forced me to examine what is was that I didn’t agree with and why. Was it really doctrinal or was it personal preference?

Maybe one day we will learn how to listen and not immediately shut down anything that we deem offensive or just plain wrong. Maybe we can skip the personal attacks and name-calling and realize that the battle is not against flesh and blood people but against spiritual forces.

It’s never bad or wrong to listen to someone else. We may find that we can learn something from anybody if we only have ears to hear.