My Dad

WHOOOOOOAAA!

That was the sound I often made while flying through the air after my dad would throw me off his shoulders into the pool landing with a big splash! He'd toss all three of us, my twin sister and older brother, around like a sack of potatoes!  I loved it.  For me it was better than any water slide or diving board.  

Being thrown off of dad's shoulders was a memory that I'll never forget.  

To me, he was the strongest guy I knew.  Quite honestly, my dad was a strong guy, always working out at the YMCA, pumpin' iron as he would say.  Maybe thats where I get my love for working out?  (I almost said love for fitness, but to me fitness incorporates proper nutrition and dads usual lunch of bologna sandwiches and pork rinds is not how I roll these days! ha!)

Maybe it was the times in church when my twin sister and I would fight each other for who got to sit on dad's lap that Sunday, or the countless hours he spent with me working on softball, basketball and golf.  He even taught me how to kick field goals, telling me about the one time "back in the day" he made a 54 yard field goal in the Air Force.  The guys called him "slow", because, well, the as they say, the proof is in the pudding.  Somehow I turned out pretty fast.  I guess the "slow" genes skipped a generation :)

My dad always went out of his way to make fun of me and my sister.  Back in high school to us it was a mortal sin to wear anything from Walmart and so my dad would go out and purposefully buy Walmart jeans and shoes then flaunt them like a supermodel whenever our friends were around. Every time I gave him the death glare he didn't care it only made him try harder!   

My dad always taught me the value of a dollar.  Which I still carry on to this day, so really, I'm thankful he flaunted Walmart jeans and Dr. Scholl's.  In the end it taught me a lot about what's really important.  

My dad grew up poor, his father passed away when he was nine and his mother never re-married and so it was just my dad, his brother and my grandma.  They made it work, together, but not without some struggles.  Because my grandma had to work so much to provide she'd come home and cook for the boys, but I imagine in her exhaustion would find herself burning the food a lot.  My dad to this day still loves to eat burnt food.  If there was ever a burnt cookie, it went to dad, because that's what he prefers.  

When I was in high school we were asked to write a paper about "our hero".  I wrote about my dad.  For me, high school was a terrible time.  I dealt with depression and felt terribly lost and hopeless, but my dad was always there for me, believing in me, praying for me and encouraging me.  His love was what got me through most days.  He was so patient.  I am so thankful for my dad.  

My dad showed me how a Father is to love his daughter.  Sure it wasn't perfect and my dad is not a perfect man, but he is a good man who would do anything for his children.  I'm certain of that.  He sacrificed so much time to spend with us, invest in us and encourage us.  

My dad's love for me reminds me of God's love for me.  My earthly father has given me a glimpse into who my Heavenly Father is and for that I am so grateful.  

Today my dad turns 65.  Over the years I've seen him grow so much in his faith and I'm praying for many more great years with my dad.  I still have so many things to learn from him.  He's still the one I go to when I need advice about guys! And if I ever do get married I'll need him to walk me down the aisle :)

Happy birthday dad.  I love you!  And I'm so thankful for you.  

Cultural Exegesis: Mother Monster

Six years ago, Stefani Germanotta didn’t have much of a voice to teenagers, but now, as Lady Gaga, she’s a household name.  She’s a gifted and talented woman.  She’s got a big crowd of followers too. Should we as adults be concerned?

The Lady Gaga Story

Lady Gaga, grew up in the Catholic School system-attending Covenant of the Sacred Heart.  After high school she enrolled in New York University where she dropped out after her freshman year to pursue music full time.  She hit it big when she signed a deal with Interscope records and dropped her first single “Just Dance” which quickly shot to #1. 

She quickly rose to the top in 2008 with three number one hits off of her debut album.  Becoming an overnight success she dropped an EP in 2009 that only furthered her success as an international superstar.  Her second studio album, “Born This Way”, was released in 2011,  selling around 8 million copies worldwide.  Just this past year in 2013 she released her third studio album, “ARTPOP” which is receiving mixed reviews, but her fans continue to remain loyal to her.  

What’s the draw?

Is it the outfits?  She has worn some crazy outfits, dressing up as meat, or with a crazy amount of Kermit the frogs on herself, but that’s not the real reasons kids are drawn to her. 

In an article in the Guardian magazine we can have a greater understanding as to why so many teenagers are drawn to this woman,

To her hardcore fans (or "Little Monsters"), she's not only the greatest pop star on the planet, but a sort of cult leader whose mantra of self-love, implemented on her last album Born This Way, acts as their Bible. (2)

Selling out all over the globe, Gaga looks at her adoring fans and see’s young people who are hurting with a desire to be accepted and loved.  She has been given a platform through her music to speak to the generations of teenagers that feel like they never quite fit in.  She often shares how she was bullied in school, which a lot of kids can relate with and so they feel a connection with her through her music and her story.    As quoted earlier in The Guardian Magazine these kids are looking to her as their leader.  She calls her fans “little monsters” and they adoringly call her “Mother Monster”.  They look to her words as their source of truth.  They allow her lyrics to become their voice and through it their minds are being shaped by the words that she preaches from her music.  She even believes that she has revolutionary potential,

Someone said to me, 'If you have revolutionary potential, you have a moral imperative to make the world a better place.' And my fans are a revolution. They are living proof that you don't have to conform to anything to change the world."(3)

I find it really ironic that Lady Gaga is quoted as saying that she doesn’t believe her fans have to conform to anything in order to change the world when in reality they are conforming to her message. 

Gaga told Elle magazine that she writes about what she knows: sex, pornography, art, fame obsession, drugs, and alcohol (1).  It seems to me like Gaga’s got something more to say to our teenagers than “Just Dance”.

Although her music has a great draw to young people.  It doesn’t offer lasting hope.  One young fan wrote a tribute to Lady Gaga thanking her for the impact she’d made upon his life right before he took his own life.  He shared how the song “Born This Way” spoke to him. (4)  Although the song spoke to him, it certainly didn’t offer true healing from his pain. 

The Message

What exactly is Mother Monster’s message then that is spreading to her little monsters all over the globe?

Gaga admits that her life experiences have shaped a lot of the messages she sends in her music, I had really tried to hide a lot of my pain from my past in the last few years," she says towards the end of the interview, whereas at the Roundhouse a new song, Swine, is introduced with, "My heart, my skin and my pussy felt like trash. (2)

She also shares in an interview with Rolling Stone, This huge wound that had been inside of me for so long that I had buried in drugs and alcohol and older men and over and over in a cycle of just unhappiness with myself and looking outward to fix it, to numb it. My fans forced me to respond to it."(3)

A lot of kids can relate with a wound inside of them.  Gaga chooses to fill that wound with sex, alcohol and drugs.  She even admits to feeling like trash, which a lot of kids can relate with as well.  To her life is really just one big party and we can see that through her music in songs like “Sexy Ugly”

Everybody wants to be like us,
Filthy glamorous.
We know how to party
Sexy ugly.
Rock like us, silly and gorgeous.
Real Hot Body
Sexy ugly.

She said she feels like trash and the message comes across loud and clear in songs like “Do What U Want”.  In a duo with R. Kelly where the song becomes overtly sexual, Gaga spreads a message that your body is just something to be used.  It’s no wonder she feels like trash.

You can’t stop my voice, cause

You don’t own my mind, but

Do what you want with my body

She also sends messages to teenagers about who God is.  Growing up in the Catholic school system she’s created some of her own thoughts about Jesus.

In the most Biblical sense,
I am beyond repentance
Fame hooker, prostitute wench, vomits her mind
But in the cultural sense
I just speak in future tense
Judas, kiss me if offenced,
Or wear an ear condom next time

I wanna love you,
But something’s pulling me away from you
Jesus is my virtue,
Judas is the demon I cling to
I cling to

She goes on further to share her own thoughts about what God would have to say about human sexuality.  In her song, “Born This Way” she supports all types of sexuality encouraging her listeners to accept the fact that they were born bisexual or homosexual.  God makes no mistakes and so they can’t help it that they were just born that way.    

I'm beautiful in my way
'Cause God makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way

A different lover is not a sin
Believe capital H-I-M (Hey hey hey)

The message is coming across loud and clear.  Life is all about pleasure.  It’s all about sex and God is not the ultimate source of truth, you are.  God shouldn’t be feared, so we should feel free to embrace the party lifestyle and live our life however we please. 

Lady Gaga impresses a message of pure destruction on young people that is filled with deception, encouraging teenagers to explore their sexuality, let others use their bodies however they please and make life into one big party.  yet we let our teenagers listen to her music without a second thought.   I’ll admit the tunes are catchy, but the message is catching the hearts of young people in the wrong way as they buy into the message she is sharing.  

How Should We Respond?

As Christians we need to practice wise discernment when it comes to the music we allow our children to listen to.  I believe there a few guidelines that we as adults can follow;

1.     Understand that there is an enemy.  I believe one of Satan’s greatest tools for deception is through music.  Music has a way of connecting with people in a way that is unique unto itself.  We must recognize as Christians that some music is purely demonic.   Satan has an agenda and there are such singers like Lady Gaga whom he is using to get his message across. 

2.     Affirm Lady Gaga’s gifts.  She obviously has been given some great gifts musically.  There is no question that she is a talented woman.  However, we should be teaching our children that our gifts are to be used to further God’s kingdom for His greater glory.   These gifts were given to her by God, but unfortunately the choice has been made to use them for evil instead of for good. 

3.     Understand that the type of music your child listens to is a window into their world.  If your child feels a connection with someone like Lady Gaga why is that?  Are they hurting?  Do they feel like an outcast that no one understands and they feel a certain connection with someone like Lady Gaga who dealt with rejection and being bullied herself? Are they confused about their sexuality?  Don’t take these realizations lightly.  The music your child listens to can you help you better understand their world and their struggles.  Then, ask them why they listen to certain music.  Try to understand where they are coming from and why.

4.     Set boundaries on the music you allow your child to listen to.  It’s ok to be the bad guy, you’re the parents and one of your roles in raising your child is to protect them from things that would be harmful to them.  We know that ingesting poison would be a terrible idea for our children to do, so of course we would keep them from doing that, but what about the poison that can distort their minds through music?  It’s our role as adults to keep them from ingesting that poison.

5.     Recognize that the music industry does not have your child’s best interest in mind.  The mainstream music industry is out to make money.  That is their number one concern.  Their influence has nothing to do with helping raise whole, healthy human beings.  It has everything to do with doing whatever it takes, even if they know the message is fleeting and harmful, to make as much money as possible. 

6.     Find Christian music that is similar to the style of music your child likes.  As a Youth Worker I have had multiple experiences where after introducing a student to a Christian band they are blown away with how much they like them and often make the comment that they like the Christian music better than the mainstream stuff.  Students often don’t know of other music out their because its never been introduced to them and so we as adults need to have a good grasp of the Christian music out there that is life giving and full of the gospel message.  Just make sure its up to date and not the band you use to jam to “back in your day”.    

7.     Take your children to the Bible.  If they are listening to music that is contrary to scripture they are going to be confused about what the right worldview is.  Take them to the Bible and help them understand it.  Teach them what God’s word has to say.  Don’t just tell them their music is bad; help them understand why.  Kids don’t often see the “bigger picture” of things and we as adults need to help them understand the fullness of God’s plan for our lives.  In doing so they’ll better understand why God would want to keep them from listening to certain music.

8.     Recognize that children have been wounded.  We all have a deep longing to be loved and somewhere along the line a child has experienced some type of heartache that they will try to remedy.  They will follow the popular ways of the culture and the message that Mother Monster tries to preach to them if we don’t give them the hope of the gospel.  As parents and mentors we need to be teaching our young people the truth of the gospel.  Jesus came to set them free and to heal their wounds.  This message offers so much hope and we have the joy of sharing it with those who are desperately hurting. 

9.     We should share Lady Gaga’s compassion to reach the hurting. She makes it quite clear that she wants to try to reach out to those who have been bullied or have been made to feel like an outcast.  We too should have the same approach.  We can learn something from her in that regard, but we obviously need to have a different approach with our message. 

10. Realize the real problem is sin.  We live in a fallen world where sin has come in and tainted what God had originally made good.  We have a responsibility now as Christians to help redeem music and bring it back to the goodness God intended for it.  We can’t play around with sin though and expect not to get burnt by it.  Allowing our young people to listen to music like Lady Gaga’s will only set them on a slippery slope, even if its just one or two songs.  Help your child instead recognize that God has called them to a great purpose in helping redeem music and use any gifts they might have musically for God’s glory. 

Summary

Lady Gaga has been given a stage, a microphone and a platform to speak into the lives of young people.  We as adults need to understand that there is an enemy who wants to pull out kids away from the truth.  Satan wants to use people, like Lady Gaga, to preach destructive messages to our kids.  Let’s not fear the battle, but lets engage the culture.  Seeking to understand so that we can reach out children with the truth of the gospel message.  

Bibliography

11. .people.com/people/lady_gaga/biography/

2 2.  theguardian.com/music/2013/sep/03/lady-gaga-people-think-im-finished

33.  rollingstone.com/music/news/deep-inside-the-unreal-world-of-lady-gaga-20110609?page=2

4 4.  dailymail.co.uk

He's roaring like a lion.

Fearing God is a lot like following a lion into battle.  You feel safe knowing that the lion is for you, but at the same time you know this lion could rip you to shreds at any moment.  Let us not forget that God is powerful, strong and set apart.  "Fearing God" doesn't just mean respecting or honoring Him.  Fearing God is the realization that an all powerful God could at any moment wipe us out, but because of His grace He chooses not too.

Let us tremble before the Lord who has the power to do away with us, but at the same time is full of mercy and compassion.

A wrong view of "fearing God" will make us believe that God is a wimp and not someone that we should really fear.

Yes, those who are in Christ need not fear for God's wrath no longer falls on them, but that doesn't mean they are exempt from God's discipline when they rebel in sin.  A right view of an all mighty, powerful God will keep us from grievous sin.  It will cause us to hate our sin all the more when we tremble before the God who is rich in mercy.

Do not make light of the fear of the Lord.  In doing so, you will make God out to be a wimp and surely, God is no wimp, but a strong, mighty lion, full of compassion and mercy.

"They will follow the Lord; he will roar like a lion.  When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west." - Hosea 11:10

7 reasons why you shouldn't be friends with your kids

7 reasons why its a terrible idea to be best friends with your child.

1.  They won't respect you

Kids whose parents are more concerned about being a friend than being a parent will soon find that their kids will not respect them.  
2.  They will have a hard time respecting others in authority over there
3.  They will become selfish and entitled
4.  You won't be able to speak truth in to their life
5.  You will be unable to discipline them
6.  They will like you for all the wrong reasons
7.  They will become your boss

Stillness

I often find myself diligently seeking God the most when I want an answer from Him.  Maybe you've been there too.  I wonder though, if sometimes God doesn't give us an answer, because He wants us to be still.  

Stillness.  

It's so rare in our world today.  We're so busy, our minds are always engaged, our cell phones are always right beside us, twitter beckons us to come and tweet something and our minds are always distracted.  

Maybe the answer to our question is just to be still.  It's to sit in His presence, trusting and knowing that He is God.  I think it's in the stillness where we truly find who were are in Christ.  It's in the stillness that we sense His peace, we experience His joy and we are able to be in true unhindered fellowship with our Father.  

In the stillness I recognize that Jesus Christ is more than enough for me.  I feel His heart being tethered to mine and his healing invading the deep hurts of my heart.  I realize that no matter what card I've been dealt in life I can hear God say in those sweet moments of stillness, "Be still and know that I am God"- Psalm 46:10

How did Jesus do ministry?

What does it really mean to be an influential leader in the church?  Are we really doing it like Jesus did?  Did Jesus base His success off of numbers or off of faithfulness to making disciples?  Was he a flashy guy with a big stage and lights or a humble man, faithful and obedient to know and love God?

In a culture where the modern day Pastor is called more to be a big, flashy personality then he is called to be faithful and obedient to loving God, serving his family, and making disciples I wonder if we can learn something from the life of Jesus. 

I love what Dick Staub says in his book, The Culturally Savvy Christian,

"It also occurred to me that as a world changer, Jesus was not very strategic. He arrived in a small, somewhat inconsequential country, spent three years with twelve uninfluential men and a broader gathering of unknown men and women, and oh, by the way, changed the world. I decided that either Jesus was doing something wrong or contemporary world changers were."

I'm done basing the success of my ministry off of numbers.  People always ask the proverbial question, how many kids did you have there? I want them to ask me instead, did the students meet with God? Were they impacted in a way that grew their faith, caused them to repent and make decisions to run from sin towards Christ? That to me is true success, not the numbers. Who cares how many were there if no one was moved by God.

I want to pour into the lives of a few, or more only if God would have it, taking the time to invest and disciple those who will go out and do the very same thing someday. 

Making disciples who then go and make disciples.  As a minister of the gospel that is what I'm called to do.  However, my first priority is to love God.  God can only pour out of me unto others what I've allowed Him to pour into my life.  Jesus Christ must be my greatest joy, my deepest treasure and my focal point.  I need not worry about numbers, but my call is to be faithful, for God's glory.  Amen!

Jesus....

Jesus Christ is a fountain of life, a rushing wind that stirs within our souls, brings light to our eyes and calm for the hurried heart.  

He makes all things new, repairs what what was once broken by sin and revives the heart once lost in despair.  

His hope is everlasting, his joy is a delight and his peace is un-surpassing.  He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and He reigns for all eternity!  

Those who trust in Him will never be put to shame!

Pain....

The older I get the more pain I seem to experience in this life.  Whether it be a broken relationship, a betrayal, a loss or a disappointment, we all experience pain.

To be quite frank, pain stinks.

Sometimes its that gnawing feeling of hopelessness in your gut.  Other times it's that overwhelming sense of despair or depression that you just can't seem to shake.  It might come in waves, it might come when you least expect it or when your day was actually going pretty good, but there it is again, pain.

So, what do we do with pain?

Well, I suppose we could medicate it.  Lots of people try that method, masking our pain with alcohol, popularity, success, sex, or pills.  You name it.  Yet, pain still lingers.  It's still there in the mornings when we wake up, even though the night before for a brief moment it was sucked away in a sea of our own self-medication.

I've found that in my deepest times of pain, if I look towards a true healer then I can be made well.  In a strange way I become thankful for the pain, because it caused me to depend upon a source of wholeness and healing.  As I drink from rivers of life in the midst of despairing loss my heart is at peace.

Peace.

I want peace.

Jesus says, "come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest"- Matthew 11:28

Rest.

The opposite of struggling, and worried.  Rest for your wounded heart and wholeness for your soul so discouraged and hurting by the pain you've experienced.  Self-medication just doesn't seem to cut it.   Yet, Jesus says, to lay it down, all of our pain, struggles, worries, disappointments and shortcomings before His feet and He will bring rest.

Jesus came so that you might be set free.  Come to the healer today and be made well.  He has the power to make all things, even your wounded heart, brand new.

Stop rebelling, turn around, admit that you've been doing it all wrong and cry out to the healer, place all your sin and failures before Him and be set free.

"Jesus said, I came that they may have life and have it to the full"- John 10:10

"Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead and you shall be saved"- Romans 10:9

Wandering

Many of us wander through life with no real purpose or destination.  We are uncertain of where we’re headed.  We spend countless hours dreaming up a better life.  In the midst of our confusion we seek to find purpose in the dream that others made for us, because quite honestly, we aren’t really sure how to really live out our dreams, because it seems like when we do they never really fulfill us like we thought they would. 

So in order to fill that deep longing in our souls we pursue the American dream; success, money, a family, relationships, you name it, but if we could be quite honest we’re still just as depressed at the end of the day with all these things in our lives. 

Then maybe the answer is to seek whatever gives us the greatest pleasure, so we run after what makes us feel good and we immerse ourselves into sex, alcohol or we put ourselves in positions where due to our pride, we feel pretty great about ourselves, but in the long run that doesn’t work either. 

I used to wander. 

I longed to be loved and feel beautiful, so I chased after boys and thought if I had a cute boyfriend on my arm that I’d be happy, but I always did and I felt just as empty.  I thought if I were thin that meant I was beautiful, but no matter how thin I got I still felt ugly when I looked in the mirror. 

I hated my life.  I believed that I was worth less, that my life had no purpose and that I would never amount to anything.  I felt so ugly.  I hated the thought of another day.  I didn’t see the point in life.  I was wandering and everyone was telling me where I needed to go to find happiness, but that just wasn’t working. 

On the outside I looked like I had it all together pretty good.  I was successful at sports, I did well in school, and was on the fast track to going to Millikin University to play golf for the school and get a college degree. 

Yet, I was miserable, hopeless and depressed.  Maybe you can relate?

Ironically though, in my wandering, I was found.  I remember the day, July 30^th, 2002, 11 years ago.  I’d grown up in the church and I knew all about this Jesus guy who others had told me had died for my sins and was the Son of God.  Quite honestly, before that day I didn’t really get it.  I’d never come face to face with the reality that yes, I was a sinner, I had done wrong and before a Holy God it is only by His mercies that He has sent Jesus to die for me on my behalf, so that I could be set free from my sin and restored back into right relationship with God through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. 

I remember what I was wearing, Doc Marten shoes, American Eagle jeans and one of my favorite tops with blue and red stripes.  The fact that I remember what I was wearing speaks to the how powerful this moment was to me in my life considering I don’t remember what I ate for lunch yesterday. 

I was tired of wandering.  I was tired of the restless nights, crying myself to sleep, I was done with the feelings of despair and hopelessness.  My way of living life wasn’t working.  I was finished with me running the show.  Something drew me to this Jesus, something told me that in His hand that He held the keys to my freedom. 

I saw Him in my sister, she had joy, hope, purpose and peace.  I longed for those things and I came to realize she had all of these promises and more, because of Jesus. 

It became so clear to me that night as the Youth Pastor shared a message with all of us.  He said, we’re all dirty rags because of our sin and the only way we can enter into Heaven is to have a clean rag and the only person that can wash our rag clean is Jesus. 

For the first time it all made sense.  I had made a mess of my life and I needed forgiveness. I needed a healer. It was in that moment that I said,

“God, I’m so tired of living life on my own, please, wash this rag clean and help me start a new life through Jesus Christ”. 

Even as I type those words my eyes well with tears as I recall that moment.  In an instant everything changed.  I knew that my life would never be the same.  It was as if someone lifted a great burden off of my shoulders and for the first time I could walk in true freedom. 

I wasn’t a prisoner anymore to despair and sadness.  Something inside of me sprung to life.  It was Jesus.  He captured my heart, invaded my soul and put a new song in me. 

Jesus, oh what a wonderful name.  His love set me free, His peace became my hope and His joy became my crown. 

I had been made brand new.  I had become a new creation through Jesus Christ (2 Cor 5:17)

Sure, life has still had its ups and downs.  I’ve experienced some very painful things in life these past 11 years as I’ve walked with Jesus and have experienced sadness, yet my life is anchored and founded upon a solid rock.  Even in the midst of great pain I know that my hope is found in something that cannot be shaken.  I place my hope in the person of Jesus Christ and I find that in my pain He brings healing. 

Are you wandering?  There is good news for you.  There is a healer and His name is Jesus!

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free - Galations 5:1

My sin isn't that bad....

The Christian who believes that their sin isn't "that bad" is terribly deceived.  Sin in all forms is offensive to a holy, set apart God.  

The Christian should be quick to deal with their sin.  They should not treat it as if it weren't that big of a deal.  In not dealing with seriously with sin they slander the son who was crucified on their behalf.  Who are you to tell God that your sin isn't that big of a deal?  

Stand before him and tell him that your sin isn't that bad.  See if in that moment you feel the same way when you aren't even able to speak for fear of the God who is set apart, holy and righteous in all He does.  

Should we fear God?  I say, yes.  A healthy fear of God will help us to deal rightly with sin.  If we have no fear of Him, if we see no need to tremble at the very thought of His power, His justice and His might then we will see no need to deal in earnest with our sin. 

The reasons the world screams hypocrite is because quite frankly, we are.  If my sin is more important then pleasing my God, then yes, we have certainly forgotten the son who was murdered on our behalf.  

God is not ok with the pride in your heart that lives to take control.  The world watches and wonders if there is anything to this Jesus and they need to see Him reflected in you.  An un-repentant Christian is like using a fork to eat soup, its useless and is not being used for the purpose which is was created.  

God has created you to make much of Him, to lift high the name of Jesus and to be set free from all of your burdens.  His love for you is endless, His own son was slayed to set you free.  Deal in earnest with your sin and watch as the God of the universe starts to set you free from who you once were and starts to use your life for which it was created.  

God by His grace rescues us by His mercy.  He offers a way out so that we do not have to sin.  He offers new life in Jesus Christ who came to redeem all those who are far off.  Yet, we should not take for granted the grace of God, but should live in light of the weight of what we have been rescued from.  We should daily be asking God to search our hearts and see if there is offensive way within us.  

By way of application we should seek to;

1.  Pray that God would show us when, how and why we sin.  When He shows us our sin, we need to humbly repent and ask to be changed by the Holy Spirit.

2.  We need to surround ourselves with people who know us well enough to call us out on sin and hold us accountable to walk in newness of life away from sin. 

3.  Replace sin with holiness.  We need to fill our minds with the word of God.  We should study it, memorize it and let it change us from the inside out.  

4.  We need to take sin seriously and realize that is offensive to a holy God.  

 "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"- Romans 6:1-2