Ditching the Guilt

Sometimes I ask people, “How do you view God?” There is usually a pause, an uncomfortable look of consideration, and then an answer that seems to be very common: “Someone who is disappointed with me—even angry at me.” It’s sad, but that description makes sense when you consider how many people feel guilty because they're trying to please an angry God.

Jesus strongly criticized those who piled on the guilt.

In fact, he had strong words for those who established and enforced guilt-inducing rules and regulations. He called them some very unflattering names: Vipers. Snakes. Hypocrites. Blind guides. Whitewashed tombs. 

Yikes! Imagining Jesus using those words evokes an image very different from that of the smiling Jesus carrying a lamb on his shoulders. But that’s exactly what he called the Pharisees and teachers of the law who made it so hard for people to come to God.

Unfortunately many churches use guilt to manipulate people into giving and serving. Get the right Bible, pray one hour every morning, do your QT with the latest church resource, fast twice a week, throw away your CDs, talk to three people a week about Jesus, homeschool your children, and vote Republican. It says it in Mark 38 somewhere, right? It also says, “Thou shalt jump through hoops for Me or burn in Hell.” (Sorry, i am being sarcastic). Do it or you will feel guilty.

There’s nothing wrong with praying, fasting, sharing your faith, or homeschooling. What this comes down to is the danger of a guilt - driven church life that is only religion.  Real life isn't how much we can do, but who we get to be. If I held a gun to your head and told you to read the Bible, you can act the part but it probably won’t do anything. The tools of fear, shame, and blame will only create restrained slaves. We are freed by God  from the shackle of guilt; so too we are free from false reputations of righteousness.

God loves and accepts you unconditionally. Period. Ditch the guilt.

Are You Keeping It Real?

Imagine if I walked in the door one evening and my son said: “O, almighty procreator of our family. How wonderful thou art, who sovereignly deposits our allowance to us. Oh, the majesty of thy wonderful self! We beseech thee to come eat dinner with us.” I’d check his temperatures to see if he was sick or on something! I don’t want to hear that. I want him to say, “Hey! Dad's home. I missed you, dad!”

God wants us to be real by being authentic when we speak.

Years ago I copied the prayers of other people. I noticed they used certain words and even a special tone of voice. I imitated all the religious clichés: “Lead, guide, and direct us, O Lord.” “Bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies.” “Bless the gift and the giver.”

In New Testament times, prayers were wordy, meaningless rituals. There was no spontaneity, no genuineness. But Jesus says don’t get caught up in ritual prayer. You don’t have to use fancy language. You can’t impress God with fancy language, and you shouldn’t be trying to impress other people, either.

I love to hear new believers pray; there’s no pious pomposity. They haven’t learned the clichés yet. They just say, “Hi, God. It’s me.” That’s how you make contact with God. You just talk with your heavenly Father about what’s on your mind. Just pray your heart. Reveal yourself.

I’m not saying to be flippant in prayer, just talk with him in a genuine and heartfelt way.

“When you pray, do not use a lot of meaningless words, as the pagans do, who think that their gods will hear them because their prayers are long. Do not be like them. Your Father already knows what you need before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:7-8 TEV).

Do you find yourself being “religious” when you talk to God? Try being as real as you can when you pray, even if you’re angry at God. Be honest.

How Spiritual Are You?

I talk with many people who have a desire to be more spiritual and i think that’s a great thing but how does one go about that? The most spiritual people i know are those who serve others with love.

Loving servants pay attention to needs. Servants are always on the lookout for ways to help others. When they see a need, they seize the moment to meet it, just as scripture encourages us to do.

When God puts someone in need right in front of you, he is giving you the opportunity to grow spiritually. I think a theme that runs all throughout the scriptures is loving others. Loving others includes helping others and that should not be put at the bottom of our “things to do” list. It rise to the top!

We miss many occasions for helping others because we lack sensitivity and spontaneity. Great opportunities to serve never last long. They pass quickly, sometimes never to return again. You may only get one chance to serve that person, so take advantage of the moment.

John Wesley’s motto was: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.”

That is greatness. That is a large part of spirituality. You can begin by looking for small tasks that no one else wants to do. Do these little things as if they were great things, because God is watching.

“Never tell your neighbors to wait until tomorrow if you can help them now” (Proverbs 3:28 TEV).


How spiritual are you? What way to measure that might be to how much you help others.

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Old McDonald Had a Farm -- HAD

The picture over on the left reminds me of several good friends of mine who left Tucson, AZ and purchased a farm in the south. They were leaving the desert to become farmers, live off the land and live in Christian Community together. The change did not go very well. They didn’t have a clue what they were doing when it came to farming or living together! They wanted to have a deeper, more spiritual life but because of no understanding on how to do that they failed miserably. They HAD a farm but no longer.

Why do so many of us feel like we just have not grown spiritually very much? Are we just spiritually "thick-headed?" Are we just not "built" to be spiritual? Or have we simply not been taught what it means to be a student of Jesus?

Perhaps the church has placed so much emphasis on making converts that we have neglected to help people grow spiritually. We work hard to help people come to faith--to become a "Christian"-but can you identify any intentional efforts to help people become more like our Teacher?

Perhaps we have emphasized a wrong teaching about faith and its relationship to good deeds. Works has gotten a bad rap, while workless faith has grown more appealing-"cheap grace" as Bonhoeffer once stated.

Don’t get me wrong, i’m not against a change of venue in one’s life but it takes more than that to grow closer to God. I think it takes developing spiritual disciplines. Some of you are saying, oh, oh, I don’t like where this is going! Allow me to explain before you stop reading.

Discipline is defined as "training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior." Discipline is not part of our nature, but it is a natural component of the Christian life. In fact, almost nothing of any significance in our lives is ever accomplished without it. Spiritual disciplines can be described as those behaviors that augment our spiritual growth and enable us to grow to spiritual maturity. Stay with me on this!

My suggestion is to start with a very simple exercise. Go to a specific place where you can be alone and meditate for a period of time. You could also take a Bible or just a tablet or an iPad and record your thoughts, if you want. Relax, get away from the busyness of life for a while. I sit on my back patio in the evening with a nice cigar and pray. Whatever you decide to do, do it on a consistent basis. There are other “spiritual disciplines” of course. Feel free to add your suggestions. 


Spiritual disciplines can provide us with a rewarding life. I hope you’ll consider it.

How Open Minded Are You?

If you shut yourself off from learning something new because you have a biased view of something old, you will never be able to expand your understanding. 


This includes the way you read the Bible. But when looking at Bible scriptures, sometimes you will encounter passages that seem to contradict something else you learned or understood. What seem to be contradictions or hard places can be opportunities for you to gain a greater understanding of what the whole of the Bible is saying.

Usually, when something you read seems to contradict another passage of scripture, it is because your knowledge of the whole of the scriptures is limited, and therefore so is your view. Think of it this way: It would be difficult to write a report on the cultures of the world if all you know is what you have seen in U.S. You may have some insight into other cultures, but it would take an intense study of other cultures, preferably in foreign countries, to get the most accurate report. If you are only familiar with certain portions and concepts of the Bible, your understanding of how it all fits together will be limited. This is why you have to have an open mind when studying - you may find that there are some huge pieces missing to the puzzle as you currently know it.

Another problem with contradictions are because the original languages of the Bible are Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. If one wishes to be a careful student of the Scriptures, some research concerning the biblical languages is important. Sometimes our English translations may not be accurate when it comes to certain words.

A treasured study tool for Bible research is the Strong's Concordance. It has a topical index, Hebrew and Greek Lexicons, and you can even search for Bible verses by the individual words in them. Find every Bible verse containing the word "compassion" or any other word, just like searching a dictionary! You might be surprised at what you find when you look at a literal translation. Young’s Literal Translation is also available online too.

So...the next time you read a Bible verse, especially a controversial one, take some extra time and do a little research. If you have an open mind, you might gain a greater understanding.


Have you ever changed your mind about something you read in the Bible ?