ARE YOU NOSE-BLIND?

Is it okay to profess you’re a believer, attend a few worship services, occasionally relax and maybe read a few Christian books and call it a day?

The answer to that question is “yes” and “no”. Yes, because there will always be times when we need a break and choose to coast through a day or two. The Bible remains unopened, misplaced somewhere in the house. Our iPhone is muted. And our eyes turn sightless to the needs within our homes and the outside world. Even prayer is temporarily put on the back burner, so to speak, and you promise you’ll get to prayer as soon as your favorite TV show is over.

Speaking of television, I like the Febreze TV ads showing people “nose blind” to the smelly environment they may be living in. Apparently if we hang around smells long enough we adjust and no longer detect offensive odors hanging over our heads. The ad suggests we take action (like using Febreze!) because we get complacent with our environment. It's amazing how fast a slice of cold cuts in the refrigerator can turn and develop off-smells.

The answer to the question is also “no” because we quickly adjust to complacency and become comfortable coasting with our Christianity. There is no quick fix to believer complacency like spritzing some Febreze into the air.

In James’ epistle he reminds us that faith by itself is not enough … unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless (v2:17).

Have your coasting day … don’t get complacent … open you eyes to the needs looking into your face. But just don’t look, respond!

Here’s your question: How do you deal with believer complacency? Let me hear from you.

Robert Parlante
July 2015

Up from the Ashes

Book two in my Patch Town series is in the final stages of editing and design. The Christian fiction book title is "Up from the Ashes" and should be published late summer. Here is a preview of the back cover which gives the reader a hint of what the book is all about. Hope this piques your interest!

 "Someone is trying to harm Martin Gilmore. First a white jalopy with a missing tailgate tries to run him down. He encounters road rage involving a dark blue van. Then an oversized black truck stalks him for the final kill.

 As Martin follows clues leading to the suspected killer, he receives startling news. His young daughter Ruthie faces a diagnosis of breast cancer. Martin’s world collapses, having lost his wife three years earlier to cancer. And now will Ruthie face a similar nightmare?

 Employed by a real estate development company, Martin is drawn into a web of corporate deceit as Ruthie’s illness overwhelms him, and the killer zeroes in on him.

 Martin must confront hard choices. Be a supportive dad to Ruthie, try to live as an ethical believer, deal with his feelings for his friend Linda. In the end, Martin faces an inferno of hatred where his life hangs in balance and his trust in God is challenged."

Hope you enjoy the book. I had a blast writing it!

Robert Parlante
July 2015

Pick and Choose

James reminds us in chapter 2, verses 11 and 12: So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.

James reminds us we will be judged by the full measure of the law that set us free, not pieces of the law that suit us best or puts us in the most favorable light. Sin is sin no matter the type, size or gravity.  All sin is an offense to God.

One thing is clear in the reading of these two verses. We cannot pick and choose what we decide to believe or what applies to our life. We cannot select what criteria should be used to judge us in the world and when we stand before the Lord one day. We cannot assume we will be judged by only certain parts of the Scripture and not others   Believers whose words and actions demonstrate that they are under the influence of the world, rather than Christ, delude themselves into a false sense of security.

We all stand before God in need of mercy. We can’t earn forgiveness by forgiving others. But when we withhold forgiveness of others after receiving it ourselves, we show that we did not understand or appreciate God’s mercy toward us. The law that set us free is not like standing in a cafeteria line: I’ll take a dollop of that, a slice of this, but forget the broccoli.

Societal pressure is building around us to adjust Scriptural criteria for judging any situation. We need to stand firm and do our best to live out the full measure of the law, no matter the pressure to do otherwise.

Robert Parlante

July 2015