Something Fishy

“Children are innocent and love justice; while most of us are wicked and naturally prefer mercy.” G. K. Chesterton

We are all imperfect, all in need of mercy and grace, which is one of many reasons I cringe when an author says, “I didn’t write this book, God did.” Their intent, in most cases is to give God glory, but . . . how can anyone claim such a thing?
My understanding of inspiration involves grace.
It is by God’s grace that I am who I am, that I write what I write, but I can’t credit him with my flaws. Anyone reading my books must sift the wheat from the chaff and give God glory for any bit of nourishment they find. I write for the same reason the boy in the gospel of John went fishing. And like him, I  give my lumpy loaves and very small fish to Jesus to do with them what he will.

John 6: 9-13
Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

Men and Saints: Definitions

Grace is indeed needed to turn a man into a saint, and he who doubts it does not know what a saint or a man is. Section VII Morality and Doctrine, Blaise Pascal, 1909-14 Free copy:[ http://www.bartleby.com/48/1/7.html ]

We access Grace and Sainthood through the blood of Christ.

I John 1:5-10
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

Crying in Argentina

CRYING in ARGENTINA
Governor Sanford's tearful confession yesterday was just one more public breakdown of a highly respected figure that left many scratching their heads. What leads a man with everything: power, prestige, family, reputation, to ditch it all for a few hours of sexual pleasure? I have puzzled over this question since my teens when I tried to reconcile the sin and guilt I was exposed to with the Christian values I was taught, and I have taken note of men in clerical positions who “fall from grace”ever since.
My conclusion may not satisfy psychologists, but it explains a lot to me.
I believe that in many cases, infidelity is a form of suicide. Far from being a search for sexual fulfillment or conquest, though both are involved, jumping into an illicit affair guarantees the jumper that life as he knows it will never be the same. Secrecy, fear, guilt are new sensations to the “straight arrow” that give everyday living a certain tingle. And discovery virtually assures the guilty party that his previous existence is gone forever.
Answering to a church congregation or a political constituency for everything you do, say or think, is a burden none of us could bear for long. We expect super human effort and results from our leaders. Feelings of inadequacy are inevitable, and, if a leader mistakes the expectations of his public for demands from God, his only exit strategy is complete and utter failure. God's grace is sufficient. It can make us better than we want to be, and it can give us the strength to forgive ourselves for the everyday failures so we don't have to head for the exit.

Truman "Grit" Griffin and Amy Grace Willis

Grit and Grace are the college-age heroes of my clerical crime novel, Murder by Accident: A Grit and Grace Mystery. Potential readers include Southern humor lovers, murder mystery readers and thinking Christians.
My humor is passionate and pointed at petrified American Christian practices that camouflage and smother true religion.
I am a minister’s wife and former church secretary with journalism experience and writing credits in four states. My husband and I have attended or ministered to students at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, TX; Indiana University in Bloomington, IN; Harding College in Searcy, AR; University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK; Harding Graduate School of Religion in Memphis, TN and Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL. We have attended taught in or preached for countless congregations of the a capella Church of Christ and have been affiliated with five Christian schools.

We know where the bodies are buried, figuratively speaking.

Future posts will address the oppression of women in conservative Christian churches, Biblical teachings about alcohol, grace, worship wars, instrumental music in worship, Christian unity or any other topic you can't talk about in church.