Nudgings: Trying to hear what God has to say

My husband (whom I love) and I have chosen to not celebrate Halloween. This means, in the most general explanation, (for our daughter also) no trick-or-treating, no giving out candy, no jack-o-lanterns, and no Halloween parties. This decision is a tough one...I loved doing these things growing up and to not do them now often leaves me feeling left out. But we will stick with this decision because it is a matter of being true to our beliefs and living a life that is consistent with them. So, here is my explanation for our decision....

To begin, let’s look at the origin of Halloween. (By the way, the majority of this information, unless otherwise noted comes from wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween, and while I don’t consider that site to be without error, I found much of this information repeated on other sites dedicated to the day of Halloween.) Halloween has its roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain. On this day,

“The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin...allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family's ancestors were honoured and invited home while harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm.”

“Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. All other fires were doused and each home lit their hearth from the bonfire. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames. Sometimes two bonfires would be built side-by-side, and people and
their livestock would walk between them as a cleansing ritual. Another common practice was divination, which often involved the use of food and drink.”

Another holiday that has also influenced the celebration and recognition of Halloween is the Christian (more specifically, Catholic Christian, as most other denominations do not recognize this day) All Saints’ Day, a day commemorating those who have died and are in heaven because of the belief that they watch over us and intercede on our behalf (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%27_Day).

Before even considering the practices of the day of Halloween, the origins give me reason to abstain from the day. Because of my belief in Jesus Christ as my Savior and Son of the Living God, the LORD, there is no need to try to trick evil spirits, for He protects me from evil (Psalm 23, Psalm 121, 2 Thessalonians 3:3, to name a few biblical references to this principle). There is also no need for any kind of cleansing ritual, as we have been made “holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10, also see 1 John 1:5-7). And, thirdly, divination is very clearly not okay for Christians, as stated in Deuteronomy 18:10-11. Lastly, the connection with All Saints’ Day is also something that I do not believe in--it is not mentioned in the Bible that those who pass away before us will intercede on our behalf, but rather Jesus and the Holy Spirit intercede for us (Hebrews 7:24-25, Romans 8:26-27). So, the origins of Halloween are certainly not something I can promote in good conscience as they are, at the least, not consistent with my Christian beliefs and, at the most, in opposition to my beliefs.

The practices of Halloween give further red flags. In regards to “trick or treat”, “the word ‘trick’ refers to a (mostly idle) ‘threat’ to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given” (wikipedia). Jack-o-lanterns originated as a way to ward off evil spirits. And as for the costumes,

“What sets Halloween costumes apart from costumes for other celebrations or days of dressing up is that they are often designed to imitate supernatural and scary beings. Costumes are traditionally those of monsters such as vampires, ghosts, skeletons, witches, and devils, or in more recent years such science fiction-inspired characters as aliens and superheroes. Another popular trend is for women (and in some cases, men) to use Halloween, as an excuse to wear sexy or revealing costumes, showing off more skin than would be socially acceptable otherwise.” (wikipedia)

And perhaps the most prevalent aspect of Halloween is its theme of things that go bump in the night (also known more simply as “scary things”): haunted houses; ghost stories or other frightening tales; horror movies; pranks; and imagery including death, evil (for example, the devil or demons), “the occult, magic, or mythical monsters” (wikipedia). Furthermore, the giving of candy or other treats, in my opinion, leads to attitudes of selfishness (try eating some of a child’s candy), gluttony (the many stomachaches are proof here), and greed (what child hasn’t said or demanded, “I want more candy!”).

The best way to explain how these practices go against my life as a Christian is to look at what we as Christians are called to be in the Bible. First off, we are called to be, “a people holy to the Lord...chosen...to be His people” (Deuteronomy 7:6). Holy means set apart...different, if you would. I’m sure many Christians have also heard that we are to be “in the world but not of it”--God chose us out of the world but we do not belong to it any more (this point makes me think of the stickers you see on a lot of cars around here--NOTW, “not of this world”) (John 15:19). As such, there are times we must do things differently...so much so that the world might hate us (also John 15:19). This principle includes being modest (1 Timothy 2:9), humble (Ephesians 4:2), kind (Ephesians 4:32), and giving (1 Timothy 6:18)--a few characteristics that can be difficult to find amidst Halloween celebrants. Further, we are instructed to not give way to fear (1 Peter 3:6) and are reminded that in love, there is no fear (1 John 4:18). If we are not to give way to fear and if we are to follow after God, who is in His very essence LOVE (1 John 4:7-9) and in love there is not fear, then should we promote or take part of activities meant to instill fear? In conjunction with this idea, how do the two greatest commandments to love God and love others (Matthew 22:36-40) fit within the practices of Halloween? I would say they are incompatible. And lastly, Philippians 4:8 states “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” It is hard to find these characteristics in the origins and practices of Halloween.

Thus, we have come to the conclusion that we’re not going to do Halloween. Are we saying that you should do the same? Not necessarily. I do hope, though, that blog posts such as this will maybe spur you on to think about the things that you do in your life and why you do them. Do you do them simply because it’s the thing to do? Or do you do them because you believe that it is what would make God happy? In all things, we are to praise Him and give Him glory. That is what matters. That is how we should evaluate our choices.

To God be the glory. Amen.

Lately, my husband (whom I love) and I have been reading through the books of Kings (1 and 2) and Chronicles (1 and 2) as we read the Chronological Bible (highly recommend it). As we've been doing so, something has stuck out to me (a nudge, perhaps?). For the most part, we have been going through the kings of Israel and Judah and the Bible categorizes the kings, usually as "he did evil in the eyes of the Lord" or "he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord". But, a couple of times, there is an additional clarification. The most recent occurrence of this in our reading was in 2 Chronicles 25:2, where it says, "He (the king Amaziah) did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly."

Wholeheartedly. Hmmm....

It's interesting because there is a distinction when you look at the instances where "wholeheartedly" or similar wording occurs, such as here with Amaziah and earlier with Jehu (who "did right" in eyes of God in 2 Kings 10:30 but one verse later in 2 Kings 10:31, "was not careful to keep the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart"). These men are blessed by God for doing what is right, but there is also either discipline given to them or a lack of further blessing for not continuing wholeheartedly. For Amaziah, 2 Chronicles 25:27 tells us that from the time Amaziah turned away from the Lord, others conspired against him, and he was eventually killed. In Jehu's case, his descendants sit on the throne for four more generations but it seems that Israel's reduction in size is partly due to his lack of wholeheartedness. Now, both of these men seemed to turn away from God, so maybe some of the meaning from the original Hebrew has been lost (I'm not a scholar and will not attempt to do that study here--it is beyond the purpose of this post). But I wonder if we shouldn't also consider our hearts? Are we following God wholeheartedly?

Am I merely following the ways of the Bible because that's what I have been taught to do or is my heart in it--fully in it? 1 Chronicles 28:9 tells us to "acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever." I wonder if some of the times that we feel "far" from God if we haven't lost some of our heart to something else.

Perhaps this is where it is important to ask God to search our hearts and lead us into right ways (Psalm 139). Because I don't think we can objectively search our own hearts nor know how to get back into wholehearted obedience on our own. So this is my prayer--that God would search my heart and help me to love and serve Him wholeheartedly.

It's been a while. A long while. But I hope to return to blogging. I have a topic in mind that I will be working on shortly (first need a book to come in to the library), but in the meantime I wanted to just say hello and comment on the the past year or so of my life. A big part of it was having my daughter. In many ways she has taken up a lot of my time but now we are at a stage where I am gaining a little more room again. And that has led to more pondering. And perhaps a few more nudges.

To go back to my introduction post from the very beginning, "There is hardly ever a complete silence in our soul. God is whispering to us well nigh incessantly. Whenever the sounds of the world die out in the soul, or sink low, then we hear these whisperings of God. He is always whispering to us, only we do not always hear because of the noise, hurry, and distraction which life causes as it rushes on." (A.W. Tozer) I probably was too busy in the past year to really hear God. But I am listening again. I am slowing down. I want to hear. And so it is with that desire that I re-enter the world of blogging, but perhaps more importantly, I re-enter the world of listening to nudges.

The sermon I heard this last week reminded me of a book I read, and I guess you could say I was "nudged" by God and Lacie to post my thoughts. So here it goes........

I think that both the sermon and book were a great reminder, and a reminder that we all need, about the freedom that comes with truly understanding God's love for us. And that that love trumps, or better yet doesn't see, all the mess that we make of our lives.

The book is called Zippered Heart by Marilyn Merberg, who happens to be my favorite Christian writer. In the book she's talking about the two compartments of our heart, the right side....which we allow everyone and God to see cause we think it's all the acceptable things about us. And then the left side, which is the side of all the "ugly" thoughts, actions, words, feelings that we have or have had that we keep locked up nice and tight. Cause if we were to allow God or other people to see the left side, they would for sure not like or accept us.

So....onto her quote......"Here's the bottom-line truth I keep having to remind myself of: At the moment of conversion to Christ, Satan lost the battle for my eternal soul. But he'll never stop the daily war he wages against my spiritual well-being, my peace, my security, and the sure knowledge that I am loved beyond measure by my heavenly Father in spite of the shame that sometimes drapes itself around my inner being. God intends for me to be free of shame and to discard the denial habit. But to do so, not only do I need to believe that He truly does mean for me to experience daily peace, security, and the assurance of His limitless love, but I also need to carefully examine the pileup in my heart's left side so I'll know specifically what is keeping me buried in shame and exempt from abundance."

I love this quote and Wayne's sermon reminded me about how God doesn't see a left or right side of my heart, he just sees my heart and loves me. It also helped remind me to recognize that Satan plays dirty and he'll try daily make me split my heart into two sides and make me think that I should hide the left side from God and from the people around me. BUT he's SOOOO wrong, God doesn't see the left side, he just sees me and loves the whole me.

I have been thinking lately…

I am something of a rebel. I don't like to do things they way everyone else does them. I like songs about rebellion in one form or another. I am an enemy of conformity.

This has often left me in awkward positions. As a pastor and in my personal life I run across people who define their faith in conformist terms. These terms usually come from the holiness rulebook of Christianity. They require a certain mindset, a universal belief system, and common practices. Being a Christian means that we take up these commonalities and live in them, even when they don't jive with the Christ we encounter on a regular basis. A whole world has sprung up on this premise. There are Christian businesses, Christian music, Christian books, Christian schools, Christian movies, Christian action figures, etc which exist to feed this idea. Sometimes it feels as if being part of these things makes us more Christian. Poppycock (see, a rebel).

I decided to search the Bible and do some research into conformity. Here is a definition

Conform. This word in Rom. 12:2 is the translation of sunschematizō (συνσχεματιζω) which means "to assume an outward expression that is patterned after something else, which outward expression does not come from within and is not representative of one's inward nature, but which is assumed from without."

The word "conformed" in Rom. 8:29 is from sunmorphoomai (συνμορφοομαι) which means "to bring to the same outward expression as something else, that outward expression proceeding from and being truly representative of one's true inward nature." Paul's desire was that he would be brought to the place where he would become, both as to his inner heart life and also as to the outward expression of the same, like his Lord in His life of death to self and service to other.

-Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament : For the English Reader (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997, c1984), Studies in the Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament: p.52-53.

Conformity is also used in 1 Peter 1:14 and Phil. 3:10.

It seems that the scripture tells us not to take on outward expressions of worldly systems that stand against our inner nature. Scripture also calls us to allow the new heart that God gives us to be expressed outwardly. We become like Christ while remaining the unique individuals that God created us to be. We are transformed in our hearts and souls rather than conformed to a system.

How different is Christian culture from the "world"? Could it be another system? What if my inward nature that God is creating in me is rebelling against Christian culture? Could this be what Rom. 12:2 is talking about?

I have found that Christian culture is an easy target when you speak of it in general terms, but a sacred cow when it gets personal. Question a personal belief or direct elements of the system and you get a lot of feedback, most of it negative. I am tired of being judged when I admit that I don't listen to a ton of Christian music or that I don't enjoy most Christian movies. I find some value in things that don't come with the Christian brand. A song got me thinking about this recently. It is a (non-Christian) song by Sum 41 titled "Fat Lip". Here is the lyric that started me thinking.

I don't wanna waste my time

Become another casualty of society

I'll never fall in line

Become another victim of your conformity

And back down

The song is escapist and I think the rest of the lyrics are rather ridiculous (even offensive). Yet the chorus caught my attention. I conform too much to things that do not match my inner being. I am tired of the Christian label. Is it possible to speak of God without the Christian worldly system hindering the way? Is there more to Christianity than a label?

I don't want to back down anymore. Conformity is an enemy of vision, passion, and joy. My desire is to be what God has created me to be. I cannot sacrifice that to please that which is labeled "Christian". God is larger and more powerful than any label or system we try to put Him into.

P.S. I am not throwing the baby out with the bathwater here. There is a lot of good stuff inside of Christian culture. There is also a lot of junk (just like secular culture maybe?). I am just tired of being pressured to conform to the restrictive label.

"Rock what you got, rock what you got
Don't ever let them make you stop
Rock what you got, light up the lot
No one can rock the way you rock."

These words come from a Superchick song, "Rock What You Got". They resonate with some thoughts (nudgings, if you would) that I've had previously. And while I'm not sure the song was meant on the literal level (I assume it's meaning is more an aim at living your life on your own path), I'm taking it at it's literal level here. Because I believe that no one can rock the way you or I have been made to rock. God has made us each with an ability to rock (or worship) in a unique way. So, off of that thought, here it goes...

I grew up in a church that was pretty restrictive from my point of view regarding worship. You did not move during church-you sat very still. And you certainly did not clap during the music. To this day it is very rare that you will see me clapping during the music, even if everybody else is. It is hard for me to overcome that barrier. But if I were to worship from my very core, I would be a danching fool, singing at the top of her lungs.

I get frustrated with worshipping at church. I hate that we are all (or is it merely I?) encumbered by the cultural standards of both our specific church and our culture in general. For instance, in my church people don't really raise their hands or sing melodies or harmonies that are not an original part of the song. In our culture, we don't generally do our own dance to the song we are singing. To me, this leaves our worship in church shackled. We are held down and held back by these societal restrictions. I hate it. I want to sing with my whole being. I want to dance to the song even when I may look silly to others. I want to lift my hands when I feel like it. I want to worship unshackled. I think this is what God wants from us too. But am I willing to be that person who lifts her hands when no one else does? Am I willing to really be vulnerable in the midst of others? Or do I sacrifice genuine worship to feel accepted? Too often I do the latter. What will it take for my shackles to come off?

I've been debating this a lot lately. Because more and more I feel the urge/nudge to lift my hands during a song, to cry tears of joy and love...but I don't. I think this is an area of my life that God is nudging me. It is a challenge that I'm not sure I can accept or conquer. I've been thinking of sitting in the back of the church where nobody can see me for the first week or so, just to take a little pressure off. And then maybe move up a row every week or two as I become more comfortable just being me. And trust me, I don't have skills...if I rock what I got, it's not the culturally acceptable dancing--it will be me rocking as only I can uniquely do. :)

So what do you think? Do you think we can rock what we got? Can we worship without the cultural shackles?

Welcome to our new blog, Nudgings. This blog is simply a place for me and a few of my friends to share the things that we think God is teaching us. I like to call them "nudgings" because for me, that is often how I feel when God is teaching me something--it is a nudging to do something or a nudging toward understanding of a biblical truth. My thought has been that while learning from and grasping my own nudgings from God can benefit me, wouldn't sharing those nudgings with others and learning their nudgings as well be even better? So, here is my attempt to become part of a small community of fellow believers who share with each other what God is doing in our lives and hopefully learn from those things along the way.

Right now, I intend to keep this blog public, although as you can see, I am going to be going by "Nudgling". If someone else comes across this blog and would like to share, I will serve as a moderator of sorts and will consider the topic/writing and then potentially share it under my own label with credit given to the original sender (topics of this sort can be emailed to nudgling@gmail.com).

Along those thoughts, then, I will end this introduction with a closing thought from Frederick W. Faber:

There is hardly ever a complete silence in our soul. God is whispering to us well nigh incessantly. Whenever the sounds of the world die out in the soul, or sink low, then we hear these whisperings of God. He is always whispering to us, only we do not always hear because of the noise, hurry, and distraction which life causes as it rushes on.

May we seek to quiet the noise of our lives and hear the whispering, the nudgings, of God.