Poetry #1: "The Regeneration of Man" by Heath Walton

The Regeneration of Man

O, what a prideful being!
Plagued by sin and darkness of heart!
Who is man to imagine that he can resuscitate himself?
Deceived! Again, I say, “Deceived!”--
O, how our Divine Father detests sin!
In indulgence, Man becomes completely estranged!
Estranged! Again, I say, “Estranged!”--
O, how majestic is our God!
Willing to exchange a throne for Man’s Transgression!
Holy! Holy! Again, I say, “Holy!”--
O, how we have suffered your sting all the days that we breathe!
Who else can reap such trepidation in the depths of man?
But why fear? Again, I ask, “Why Fear?”--
O, blessed hope that prohibits the sting!
Death is no more! No more!
Again, I say, “No More!”

broken over others' brokenness

     I have recently been engrossed in the book "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy: A Righteous Gentile vs The Third Reich." I promise you that by the end of the summer I will do an in-depth review of this book, but I currently want to post about something I have noticed that I have been lacking in my own life. Bonhoeffer, through his travels around the world, always seemed to be broken over others' brokenness. He, for example, saw the plight of the African-Americans in the mid 1900s and was amazed at how a country that claimed to be one founded upon the principles of God could allow such an atrocity. Little did he know that in Germany, the same thing on a bigger scale was beginning to erupt. However, Bonhoeffer--an outsider--was given the opportunity to look in and see that something was wrong. Lately, I have noticed that not only in the Church, but in my life, that there is little to no brokenness for others. The reason is very simple--self-absorption. We have become the center of our selfish mini-worlds. Ego has replaced the very heart of being a Christ follower. Now granted, there is some issues that I have with people who follow simply a social gospel [if you don't SHARE the gospel, all the work is in vain]. However, at least they are doing something. Christ did not sit back and strategically plan how to draw people into the Church. He was on the front lines. He was in the trenches. He was at the table with sinners and tax collectors. We have become the Pharisees who pick and choose who should be allowed to follow Christ. How dare we. How dare I. From this moment on, I am going to go reach others for Christ. I am going to go at least attempt to make disciples. I am going to go and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am going to go preach the Word. The Word is the only source from which we can know true salvation. This is our purpose. Don't believe me? Matthew 28:19.

No Sugar Added INTRO

Over the next few days, I will be making a series of articles available through my blog entitled, "No Sugar Added." This is nothing but a look at the Gospel in its rawest form, with no cliche's, no step-by-step methods on "How to get saved," none of that. Just simply, purely, the Gospel. I hope that you will enjoy it. Please leave comments after they are posted and let me know if you agree or disagree, if you like or don't like, or if you understand it or don't understand it. I will be glad to clarify or discuss. -Heath

The Pragmatic Gospel

Let's pack the church with as many people as possible. Let's draw them in with various activities and outlandish stunts. Let's give the people what they want. After all, our success is counted by how many people are present at church. So this is the purpose of the church? To give the people what they want? Don't want to confront sin? Fine. All of our sermons will be light hearted and make you feel good about being in church. Don't want to talk about the expectations of a follower of Christ? Fine. We will sale you short by telling you that as long as you sign this card..you are saved. So this is the purpose of the Church. [note: sarcasm...as this is in fact a direct opposition to what the Church is supposed to be...but sadly, it's what it has become.]

The New Day

There is a line in one of my favorite worship songs that says, "and I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way that He loves us." It was only recently [after about 1000 times of singing it] that I truly grasped the power in that line of the song. For years, I have let my mind and heart dwell on past mistakes that I made. It was as if I did not believe the scripture where it says that "God is faithful and just to forgive." I did not really grasp that God throws our sin as far as the East is from the West. Then I realized, I had been humanizing God. I also realized that I had not forgiven myself for all the horrible things I had done. Then one day, as I was singing "How He Loves," it clicked. One of the tools the Enemy uses is a sense of being rendered useless. Then I remembered David. David messed up big time when he had the affair with Bethsheba and then had Uriah killed intentionally. David kept hiding his sin over and over...trying to brush away his tracks so as to not be caught. God knew his heart. God revealed his heart through a prophet. David owned up to his sin. Did David spend the next years lying there [like a corpse at a wake]? No. David begged forgiveness, asked God to give him a clean heart and a clean slate. God was faithful and just and forgave him. This is a big part of the hope of the gospel. That God will forgive if we ask. Futhermore, If God has forgiven us...we need to learn to forgive ourselves as well. Don't let Satan bind you in the oppression of harbored guilt. Be released from the chains knowing that our God does not lie...therefore you are forgiven if you ask and if you forgives others for their sins as well. Each new morning produces a brand new day...don't dwell in yesterday, stay focused and stay the course. Pursue Godliness.

a deadly cancer

NOTE: THIS WILL BE VERY BLUNT

There is no good form of cancer, right? No one sees the report from the doctor and says, "Yes! I got lymphoma!" [If they do, they have issues beyond my expertise]. We have a cancer spreading through the Church today [that has really been infecting us since days past]. This cancer is gossip a.k.a. slander a.k.a. [as my father would humorously phrase it] diarrhea of the mouth. Gossip in its rawest form is casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, involving details that are not confirmed as being true. A study has shown that there has been a cure for this condition. The cure is to take a big dose of Extra Strength Shut-Up. Gossip does nothing but causes quarrels. It is a sickness. It is a sin. The true remedy for this is Christ--not the dose of sarcastic medicine [although that helps]. What does the Bible say about gossip and slander?

Leviticus 19:16 – “Do not go about spreading slander among your people. Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the Lord.”

Proverbs 11:13 – “A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.” 

Romans 1:29 – “They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips.” 

1 Timothy 5:13 – “Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to.” 

Matthew 7:1 – “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”  

Proverbs 18:8 – “The words of gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man’s inmost parts.” 

A few signs that you may be in denial about gossip:

Do you always seems to be in the latest drama?

Do you speak ill of people behind their back?

Do you always feel people are out to get you? [note: they wouldn't be if you wouldn't gossip]

Do you betray/ get betrayed by your friends?

Truthfully, examine your life. If you are a gossip...repent and turn from that sin. Let's start loving people and building them up rather than tearing them down to make ourselves feel better. OBEY CHRIST.

Forgiveness [it's kind of a big deal]

  One of the hardest things for fallen man (and woman for you TNIV fans) to say and mean is "I forgive you." Some will cheaply throw this phrase around while still harboring the same resentful feelings of borderline hatred that they held to prior to the making of the statement. While others openly harbor resentment and refuse to ever let these words cross their lips. Perhaps the greatest faux pas on this blog post lies in the subtitle..."It's kind of a big deal." Forgiveness to God is a very big deal...in fact we find that it has very strong implications if we refuse to do so.

            For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,  but if   

                 you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

 Matthew 6:14-15 

  

 In a slightly less-than-reputable song called, "Forgiveness," less-than-mediocre actress, Anna Faris sings, "Forgivess....is more than saying sorry..." Thank You Anna...this is so true. God is not concerned if you merely say "I'm sorry," or "I forgive you," He wants your heart to be in congruence with your words. Funny things is, this is a standard that Christ upholds in many situations. Ever the antagonists, the Pharisees constantly questioned the motives of Christ because his outer appearance looked different from their holier-than-thou masquerade. Christ, however, saw through their pious fashion and saw that their hearts were filthy. But I digress. If we say we forgive someone, we must forgive them. In fact, I would urge people to be quick to forgive. I realize that this is easier said than done. Yet, if we keep in mind that despite our wretched state, God saw fit to forgive us and extend grace, we mind find it easier to do the same for others. We have ALL sinned. If I have sinned against you in any way in my past. Let me be the first to apologize. I have been immature, deceiving, inconsistent with the faith that I claimed, hateful, spiteful, and slandering. For that, I beg forgiveness. Once again, I digress. We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We all deserve eternal hell. Yet, Christ extends grace and mercy because He knows that we are sinful individuals. We should strive to be Christ-like and forgive. If we do not forgive, our heavenly Father will not forgive us. That is Biblical. Pretty serious, right?

 

Dear Facebook Friends...

This article was written as a response to some of my facebook friends' posts regarding politics and the government...enjoy!

The Christ-like Approach to Politics

Social Networks have rapidly become a primary method of communication that transcends generations. It seems, with the invention of status posting, that our everyday lives are now being lived out as a narrative. Not only that, social networking has now made the opinions of people—good and bad—easily accessible. Lately, with the upcoming elections, Christians have become more vocal about subjects such as homosexual marriage, abortion, and other hot topics. Some, unfortunately, have confused taking a stand on moral preservation as an excuse to slander our country's leaders. This is not only immature and unhealthy, it is strictly forbidden according to scripture.

In Romans 13, the Apostle Paul urges followers of Christ to be subject to their governing authorities. He reminds us that God is the ultimate authority and that those who exist in office are appointed by God. He warns that whoever resists these authorities, resists what God has appointed and will incur judgment. In Titus 3, Paul not only reiterates these statements, but expounds upon them. He elaborates that we should be ready for every good work, speak evil of no one, avoid quarreling, be gentle, and show perfect courtesy toward all. He reminds us that we were once foolish, disobedient, easily led astray, slaves to our passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. Then, one glorious day, the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, and he saved us, not by our works, but according to the mercy and grace that He so richly blessed us with. He then goes on to say, with this truth in mind, that Christians should devote themselves to good works, which is excellent and profitable for people.

It is here that Paul urges followers of Christ to avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, because they are unprofitable and worthless. To accent the seriousness of this subject, he suggests that we confront brothers and sisters who stir up such division. After warning them once and then twice, if they still continue in useless quarreling, to avoid them because they are warped, sinful, and self-condemned.

Our duty as followers of Christ is not to spend our God-given time slandering our president, but rather confronting the real issue. My pastor once said to me, “The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart.” The real issue is not abortion, homosexual marriage, or even Barack Obama. The real issue is that we live in a sin-fallen world. There is only one remedy for sin. It is not our constant badgering of our country's leaders. The remedy is not found in protests and petitions. The remedy is in Christ Jesus alone. Our job is to share Christ with a lost and dying world. We are to be the agents who bring peace and hope to a lost and dying world. One of the greatest tools that the Enemy uses is distraction, and he uses it brilliantly. We have lost sight of our true mission—abandoning it for useless second tier issues. Christ came to save sinners, and we should be the light that Christ has called us to be.

In conclusion, as followers of Christ, we should live quiet, respectful lives because this pleases God. We should not ignore these sensitive issues, but instead be wise in our approach to them. If you do not agree with the President's stance on different issues, speak with your vote. That is the beauty of democracy—everyone has a voice. This is the Christ-like approach to politics.

-Heath Walton