Salvation...It's God's Call, Right?

Holy smokes Batman!  I am astounded at the negative comments that my previous blog and yesterday's show has received.  The sticking point seems to be salvation, sin and whether we can lose our salvation.  At least that seems to be my interpretation from the comments I've read on this blog, facebook and emails sent to me.  So, let's get into it.   First, I do believe that whether we agree or disagree we all have a right to an opinion and to respectfully disagree.  I also know for a fact that it is easy to read or hear something I said or even Matt said and misinterpret it.

I believe that salvation is a heart issue.  I believe that God and only God knows your heart and knows if you made a serious declaration for the Lord and his salvation.  I do not believe that God turns his back from a sincere believer who falls into sin.  I think of addicts who battle their demons every day, some days winning, some days losing.  They believe but battle their sin like a dragon slayer.  If someone slips, knowingly sins yet believes that Jesus died on the cross for them, are they not saved?  This is where I say, salvation is heart issue between you and God.  He and only He knows your heart and whether you truly believe that He is the one and true Lord and that He died on the cross for your sins.  He died before we were born and yet He died knowing that we were sinners and would need his salvation in order to stand before God.

I don't believe that salvation is easy, but I also don't believe that it's an obstacle course.  I don't think that you can lose you salvation, like you would lose your keys or sunglasses, but I do believe you can choose to reject Christ.  Once again it comes down to a heart issue.  Only God knows our heart and our decisions.  We may look at someones life and see a disaster and a life that looks anything like a Christian, but do we know the heart?  I say no, only God knows the heart.

I have never said or will say accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and go hog wild with sin.  Yet, reading some of the comments that is what some believe I am saying.  I believe that when you accept Jesus you do NOT want to sin.  You want to flee from your old ways and become a new creation in Christ.   But who of us since accepting Christ has lived sin free?  No one.  If that is the case can we really judge each others sins and hearts?  I say no.  Yes, we look at some of our brothers and sisters and wonder how they can make the choices they may make and say they're a Christian.  BUT, do we know their heart?  No, we don't only God does.  We know what we see and we judge.  I write this as someone who has been this judgmental - legalistic Christian.  Yep, I was just as guilty and I am ashamed at how much judgement I threw out there.  Then my life changed, I as a believer fell into my own sin, knowing it was wrong and yet sinning and still believing in Christ.  That's when it hit me, only God knows a mans heart because only He knew mine.  That was years ago and it is also the basis and fuel behind the type of show I do.  

This show is a heart show.  It's having honest heart to heart talks, learning and seeing each other's hearts and yet leaving the judgment of our hearts up to God.  That's why I welcome all opinions, although I won't agree with every one, I do agree we all have a right to our opinions.  I also challenge you as I challenge myself to listen with a loving heart and an open mind.  You never know when God will use others to speak to you through them.

God bless and much love xo
Melissa

Who Are We To Say Someone Won't Be in Heaven?

Who are we to say who will and won't be in heaven?  I've noticed a huge trend since the death of Whitney Houston and that is the speculation about whether she'll be in heaven or not.  On the show, I received calls loosely quoting scripture about if she (Houston) were a Christian then the fruits of the tree would show it and so on.  I've heard scripture quoted, misquoted and twisted around to make the point that she couldn't be a Christian and continue living the life of sin she was.  Really?

If you think I'm a huge diehard Whitney fan, you're wrong.  What upsets me is the judgement from Christians about who will and won't be in heaven.  I have a serious problem with this.  Who are we to say that someone won't be in heaven?  I believe that God's word is true and complete.  I believe what is said in Romans 8:38-39  38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I believe that young or old, when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior that we are His.  That nothing can separate us from his love and eternal salvation.  I do not believe in a hierarchy of sins, I believe that we are all sinners and that my sin is no different or better than yours.  I believe that Christians are just as easily subject to addictions as non-Christians and that addictions are sin that is equal to any other sin.  Therefore, how can we say that a Christian who professes Jesus as their Savior, yet dies while actively suffering through their addiction won't be in heaven?  That doesn't sound like the grace of a Lord who died on the cross for our sins.

What I do believe is that if you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, He is the only one who will judge you and your life.  He is the only one who knows our hearts.  I also believe that as believers we throw  out judgement too easily and too harshly.  A pastor of mine once said, "...If we could truly comprehend how awful hell is, we would never lightly say that someone might be there.  We would never wish that on anyone."  If we start judging each other's lives and salvation, aren't we doing just that?

xo Melissa

How Will Your Life Be Defined?

What defines our life?  Is it what we accomplish or how we live it?  Is it or should it be a combination?  Is it fair that so often a life full of accomplishments can become defined by demons or addictions.  When I heard about the death of Whiney Houston this weekend, I felt sad.  Sad that such a talented woman wasted away and never appeared to be able to overcome her demons.  When she tried to stage a comeback, it was obvious to anyone listening that the drugs had taken their toll on her voice.  Her addiction to her ex-husband Bobbie Brown (she called him her drug) seemed to take her down a road that she didn't recover from.  The fact that she sold over 170 million records gets lost in the story.  That is sad.

When we die what will our life say about us?  Are we living the life we were meant to live?  Are we living a life with meaning?  I love what Switchfoot says in their song Dare You to Move,  "...Tension is here between who you are and who you could be, between how it is and how it could be."  I believe that when we are living the life God has called us to live there is an underlying peace beneath the chaos.  I also believe that we are all here for a reason and purpose.  That may sound simplistic, but I believe that many of us are living the lives we think we should and not the ones we truly desire.  

I like what Rick Warren wrote in The Purpose Driven Life:  What on Earth an I Here for?  “Time is your most precious gift because you only have a set amount of it. You can make more money, but you can't make more time. When you give someone your time, you are giving them a portion of your life that you'll never get back. Your time is your life. That is why the greatest gift you can give someone is your time."   I'll take this a step farther and ask, what are you spending your time on and do you like what you're seeing?  Six months ago, my answer was no.  I felt that my life was going in a direction that I wasn't proud of and my time was being stolen from my family for a job and money.  I found myself self-medicating to make the exhaustion and physical stress go away.  I wasn't the woman God made me and I wasn't the mother or wife I desired to be.  I kept asking God for clarity and let me say, he is very CLEAR when you ask this prayer.  That's why today I am in Christian radio.  I may be working harder then ever, but I know that this is where God has called me to be.  What is it for you?  What do you want your story to be?  "Are you who you want to be?" -- Switchfoot
xo
Melissa
 

Standing on the Ledge of Faith

I feel like this woman, standing on a ledge looking out onto endless possibilities and yet being afraid of just high up and far out this ledge is.  To give an analogy, I feel like I was told to climb this great, beautiful mountain and after working really hard, I finally made it to the top.  Phew! Now to really see all that God has I have to step out to the farthest ledge.  Problem is I want to stay away from the ledge and just see the view from here.  God, "Keep going...you're not there yet."  Me: " That's okay, I can see a lot from here."  God:  "Hey silly, my view is from the ledge and you did climb all the way up here, so why not take a look."  Me:  "Good point, but I'm afraid."  That's the thing that trips me up and embarrasses me every time.  I'm afraid.   I truly am afraid of heights, so it is that same sick to my stomach feeling, but this fear is rooted in much more.  I'm afraid of failing, afraid of being less than perfect and did I mention that I  hate change and really hate surprises.  So I stand here, where God has told me to climb and start worrying...What if the ledge crumbles, what if the view isn't worth the risk?  What if my fear is bigger than my faith?

This is where I am right now.  Yep, I made the climb but I'm standing on top of the mountain afraid to move.  I heard God tell me to get climbing and I was psyched and took off!  Now though the high of the climb has mellowed and an amazing view is in front of me but it requires standing on a ledge of faith that isn't as big as I once thought.  In fact, the fear at times is bigger and that makes me feel ashamed.  "The Lord is my light and salvation, whom shall I fear?"  Psalm 27:1.  Shoot, I hate it when scripture makes it so clear and makes me see my shortcomings.  It's clear, but I'm human and I'm still afraid.  So, what do I do?

To my friends who say, "Just pray."  I say duh.  I do pray, I do believe and I do know that God made me exactly this way for a reason.  Yes, I'm afraid, yes, I hate heights and surprises but I also hate giving up.  I know I need to get out on that ledge.  I know I need to see God's vision and keep looking at it.  I also know this means that my faith has to grow so that ledge also grows, because leaving the ledge, leaving God's vision isn't an option.

So, here is my plan.  It all goes back to a classic theologian, Bob(Bill Murray) from 'What About Bob'.
Baby Steps.  Baby steps to the ledge.  Baby steps to looking out.  Baby steps to staying on that ledge. Baby steps that by standing still on the ledge that God will help grow my faith and diminish the fear.

xo
Melissa

Diets + Eating Disorders = Disaster

As I logged into my new app, 'My Fitness Pal' I realized something sad, I wanted to lie to myself.  You see no one else sees the information I put in.  The app allows you to put in your weight, your goal weight, how fast you want to lose the weight (1-2 pounds a week) and then tells you how many calories you should have a day.  Your job is then to enter every single thing you eat or drink.  Hence, the problem.  When I want a cookie, I don't want to have to put it in my food diary.  Why?  Shame.  I feel ashamed for wanting a cookie or anything unhealthy because the whole point of the app is to help me lose weight.  The real problem is that I've realized that losing weight and being a recovering bulimic/food addict mix like oil and water.  Yet, I truly believe with God's help and grace that there has to be a way to mix these two seemingly un-mixable things.

I often hesitate to share my journey with food and addiction because of shame.  Shame that it's the one area of my life that at times has been unmanageable.  I have been working a wonderful 12 step program, but it still is a battle and from what I've heard always will be.  There are no easy answers from a food addiction/eating disorder because unlike other addictions you still have to eat.  If it were drugs, alcohol, porn, gambling, etc. you make a clean break.  You never can have any or you might slip up.  My friend said it best, with food you must 'dance with the devil' at least 3 times a day.

My point in writing this and sharing my journey is to live an authentic life and maybe encourage you if you struggle with the same things.  I am trying to lose weight for the first time in my life that doesn't surround vanity issues.  Yes, I want to look good but I honestly desire to be healthy and start occupying a healthy body.  For me, this means losing some weight.  It means not freaking out when I see a scale, not justifying every food I eat, not feeling shame over desiring and sometimes indulging in some favorite foods and for me, most important not feeling defined by the number on the scale.

There is so much more I've learned since my eating disorder roared its ugly head at 13, but I'll save those for later blogs.  For now, I'll keep sharing my journey and invite you to please share it with me if you want.
Faith, hope & healing xo Melissa