Are You One Of The WALKING DEAD?

For everyone who was in Sunday School today, I have one thing to say: WOW. I left feeling so inspired by everything that was said, and I am excited to continue the discussion next week. I am left wondering: what exactly does being a Christian look like? Does my life reflect my beliefs? Do I project Christ to the world? Or am I only projecting myself? For those of you who missed the discussion today, I've included an abbreviated version below:

Ok, to be fair, this lesson actually came from last week’s sermon. Chip made the point that we as Christians need to live the life of a Christian, which means living differently as the rest of the world. He made a clear distinction between true Christians and those who call themselves “Christians” but only profess with their mouths not their hearts. He called this latter group the “walking dead.” Now, I’m sure Chip didn’t mean this as a reference to zombies, but as soon as he said this Robbie looked over at me, and he was smiling. He knew exactly what was going through my mind. 

Just so you can understand: I write horror stories. I also write critical work on the relationship between Christianity and the horror genre, so zombies are something I know a little bit about. By the way, here's a link to my other blog in which I explore that idea more: http://lbkroger.blogspot.com/search/label/ChristianityandHorror.

In most zombie shows, it is not always so easy to distinguish the living from the dead. After all, they all look the same (pretty much—except for the dead thing). Movies like Shaun of the Dead highlighted this fact when the main characters mistake a zombie attack for a drunk in the street. To make matters worse, much of the violence usually comes from the regular humans—not the zombies. That is certainly the case in AMC’s new TV show, The Walking Dead. That got me thinking. If humans look like zombies and act like zombies, how are they different from zombies? If Christians are to be different from the rest of the world, how can we tell if we are? How can we tell that we are not like the rest of the walking dead?

To find out, I began a quick search of the Bible. Here’s what I found. 

Here's How the Bible presents "The World":

Luke 12:29-31 

²⁹ And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. ³⁰ For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

John 3:18-20 

¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.

John 1:9-11 

 ⁹ The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹ He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.

John 7:6-8 

 ⁶ Therefore Jesus told them, “My time is not yet here; for you any time will do. ⁷ The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. ⁸ You go to the festival. I am not^[a] going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.”

John 14:16-18 

¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be^[a] in you. ¹⁸ I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

John 15:18-20 

    ¹⁸ “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. ¹⁹ If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’^[a] If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

Here's How the Bible Characterizes "The Christian":

Romans 12:1-3 

 ¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

2 Corinthians 1:12

 ¹² Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity^[a] and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace.

2 Corinthians 10:2-4 

² I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. ³ For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. ⁴ The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

Romans 8:8-10 

⁸ Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.  ⁹ You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life^[a] because of righteousness.

Galatians 5:13-26

¹³ You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh^[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. ¹⁴ For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”^{[b] 15} If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

 ¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever^[c] you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

 ¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

 ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

The Bible makes it clear that the Christian looks differently from the World--primarily because the Christian has died to self and Jesus is now the focus and guide. We do not live selfishly (which as I learned today includes the boastful quality of worrying about things that are in reality out of my control); instead, the Christian lets God lead. Easier said than done, but that is our goal.

Here's the thought for the week: How do we "give it over to God"? How do we make sure that He becomes greater while we become less?

All About the Bible

In Sunday School, we've been discussing the Bible, specifically how the canon was formed, its history as both a religious text and a piece of literature/history, and its accuracy. Of course, as Christians, we look to the Bible as guidance for how we live our lives. 

The Bible verse for the week comes from 2 Timothy:

¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, 

rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,  

¹⁷ so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 

Often, I complain that I don't know if God is leading me in a certain direction; I've often wished I could just hear Him in plain words tell me what to do. Here's the thing, though: I can hear His commandments. They are written very clearly in His Word.

I've heard this verse used by many parents, who read it as a commandment to raise their children in God's Word. This is certainly true, but because I do not have children, I've read right over this verse many times, thinking that it was not applicable to my life. Then, I took a second look. The Bible comes from God and is useful for directing my life.

Not rocket science, I know, but it was a profound moment for me. God speaks directly to me every day; I just have to be looking in His Word with open ears and an open heart. That is part of what this blog is about: finding Biblical reasons for why I live my life the way I do. 

You Know What You Love

One goal of every Christian is to have a closer walk with God. After all, isn't that the subject of every sermon, every hymn? How do we do that? We can have faith in a higher power, but how do we become closer with someone that we don't physically see?

We can pray. Jesus, while he was on Earth, made sure to take time out, away from his ministry, away from his disciples, away from the crowd, to pray. God assures us that He answers our prayers (Matthew 7:7, Matthew 21:22). How then do we hear His answers? How do we know what to do?

The answer is all at once simple and complex: the Bible.

God did give us an instruction book, though I am the first to confess that sometimes I wish it were a bit easier to understand. Sometimes I find the Bible confusing or even contradictory. Then, I really read it (read it carefully and daily, praying for understanding), and I find it is pretty simple. God loves us and He wants us to love Him.

In Sunday School this week, we discussed some Bible trivia. Here's a sample:

• What two men in the Bible never died? Genesis 5:21-24, II Kings 2:11)
• What are the 10 Commandments? (Exodus 20)
• How many books in the Bible? 66 (39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New)
• What is the shortest book in the Bible? 3 John (219 words)

This was a fun game to play, and while I didn't know many of the answers myself, I was astounded to see how many did know the answers! It was a convicting moment for me.

That started me thinking about the kind of trivia that I do know. I know a lot about literature. For example, April 23 is Shakespeare's birthday, and June 16 is Bloomsday (for James Joyce's novel Ulysses). I know the difference between a comma and a semicolon, the difference between a dash and a hyphen. I know all sorts of useless information about the B-rated horror film. I used to say that it's important because it's my job as a scholar of Gothic literature. Yes, it's important, but not as important as my walk with Christ. Yet, I don't know the most important piece of literature in my life.

As this week continues on, I hope that you will think about where your heart lies. Is it true that you know what you love?

New Year's Resolutions: Will You Keep Yours This Year?

New Years resolutions are notorious for being broken; according to some statistic;s 40 – 45% of all Americans make one or more resolutions. Funnily enough, 30% of those resolutions are broken within the first week. Have you broken your resolution already? Are you asking yourself why they were broken? Or why did I struggle to keep to my resolutions?

If you go into the derivative of the word resolution, you get two terms: resolute and resolve. Both are defined as being firmly determined to do something. The question is: are you making New Years resolutions for the sake of making resolutions, or are you determined to make them a priority in your life? Looking back at your resolutions, can you begin to put a picture together of priorities in your life? The Bible actually has a few verses with the word resolve:

Daniel 1:8 “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine …” 

This verse points to a lifestyle choice, or lifestyle change, or not putting yourself in situations that compromise your lifestyle choices.

Psalms 17:3 “Though you probe my heart and examine me at night, 

though you test me, you will find nothing; I have resolved that my mouth will not sin” 

This verse points to a struggle most of us have, and I will be the first to admit it. Sinning with your mouth could be spreading gossip or rumors, belittling friends and neighbors, or even openly attacking people. How often do we use our words to break others down? While I don't think this means you can't ever tell someone the truth, even if it may hurt them at the time (after all, I think as Christians we are to be the Light for others, which may mean holding them accountable), I think we need to always check our motivations. When we speak, is it to lift others up and to help them? Or is it to lift ourselves up?

One curious point here is that the Bible uses the word resolve as something that is a conscious and firm decision to change; it is not a "wish" that you have for the way you want your life to be.

If you are going to make resolutions they should be pro-active, and illustrate to you what your priorities are in your life. Here are five Biblical passages that you could use to justify why you are committing to certain resolutions:

Colossians 3:13 “Bear each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have for one another. 

Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” 

This verse may seem simple, but I find it is also difficult. Why not make a resolution to release resentment and move toward forgiveness: forgiveness for wrongdoing, forgiveness for a family member,  forgiveness towards an unspeakable truth.

Matthew 25: 34-40 “The the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come you who are blessed by my father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me’. Then the righteous will answer him ‘Lord when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you as a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘ I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’"

Another good thing to focus on this year is charity, doing the right thing,  and helping someone in need out. It is a paradox, but one sure fire way to make your life happier is to look outside of your own needs and help someone else with his.

I Corinthians 3:16 and 6:19-20

                3:16 “Don’t you know that yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s spirit lives in you?”

                6:19-20 ”Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy spirit who is in you whom you have received as your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.”

Exercise, diet, eating right, keeping healthy! How often have you made this resolution? Now, you can point to the Bible for the reason why you do it.

Matthew 14: 22-23 “Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came he was there alone.” 

This verse speaks to prayer life and increasing time praying to God. Again, this is one that is difficult for me, which is probably why I need to resolve to do this. I have a hard time finding quiet time, but I have an even harder time talking to God. I feel so unworthy at times, but the Bible makes it clear that it is a crucial part of any Christian's life.

Mark 12: 29-31 “The most important one” answered Jesus, ”is this: ’Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no greater commandment than these.” 

This may very well be the theme of the Bible: love your God and love your neighbor. 

As you go about this week, think about how you can begin to do this in your life. How can you make 2011 the year that you grow in your walk with God? 

You Woke Me Up at What Time?! Really?!

I must confess something.

I hate to get up early in the morning. I am, and always have been, a night owl. My mother tells me stories of how I would stay up all night as an infant, just wide-eyed and staring at her. I am sure she was exhausted and begging me to sleep! Even now, I would rather stay up into the early hours of the morning and then sleep until noon. I never much minded it. I thought that it was my duty as a writer. After all, it was just my creative personality! I could write all night.

Until I met my husband.

He is one of those frustratingly cheerful morning people. He gets up at around 4:30-4:45 every morning. He likes to get to work early. He likes to work hard. Suddenly, I felt very lazy.

My husband and I have decided that we want to have a Biblical reason for everything we do (not an easy task, but we are trying). Of course, I thought my sleep patterns had nothing to do with my faith, but I looked anyway.

Here's what I found:

In Proverbs 31, God makes it clear what a “wife of noble character” looks like:

¹² She brings him good, not harm,
   all the days of her life.
¹³ She selects wool and flax
   and works with eager hands.
¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,
   bringing her food from afar.
¹⁵ She gets up while it is still night;
   she provides food for her family
   and portions for her female servants.
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
   out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;
   her arms are strong for her tasks.
¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,
   and her lamp does not go out at night.

The character we should be striving for is one of eagerness to work (which means without hesitation or complaint). We are to work tirelessly, early in the morning until late at night. While this does apply to women, it also applies to men as well. After all, in the model Jesus gives us, the church is His bride; therefore, this could be a metaphor for the Christian lifestyle.

Jesus himself modeled this behavior, as seen in Mark 1:35:

³⁵ Very early in the morning, while it was still dark,

Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place,

where he prayed.

Jesus got up early in the morning. Perhaps He did this because He knew this was the only time He could find quiet time, or maybe He did this because He knew no one would bother Him. Whatever the reason, Jesus rose early in order to keep His priorities straight. Maybe this is the lesson. When we get up early in the morning and work all day long, we will stay on the intended path.

The Bible warns us to do this only for the right reasons (Isaiah 5:11):

¹¹ Woe to those who rise early in the morning

   to run after their drinks,
who stay up late at night
   till they are inflamed with wine.

And again, in Psalm 127:2:

² In vain you rise early
   and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
   for he grants sleep to those he loves.

The bottom line is this: we rise early and work hard because God wants us to. Ultimately, our work is futile; only God can provide what we need, but that does not give us license to be lazy, expecting to do nothing for the great reward we have been given. 

So, I am going to try this. Something new for 2011. Who knows? Maybe I'll find unexpected benefits to my new schedule. More time with God. More time with my husband. Less time feeling stressed because "I can't find enough time in my day."