When Hearts Become Stone

When Hearts Become Stone

Between the Waters: Part 3
September 28, 2025

Exodus 20:1-2

I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.  You must have no other gods before me.

~ Exodus 20:2-3 (CEB)

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This week we’re looking at the Ten Commandments given to the Israelites in the wilderness.  They are often used as weapons against a more secularized world, but we too easily forget that these were commands given specifically to God’s people.  They were not for Egypt, or Assyria, or even the Cannanites. 

In fact, the first few commands would not even make sense to those who are not already followers of God.  How can “Have no other gods before me,” for example, have the same meaning to an athiest, a Buddhist, a Hindu, or anyone else who does not already identify as a follower of this God?

God begins by reminding the people that He has rescued them from slavery in Egypt and He is making them into a new nation, a different kind of people who live by a different set of values than any other nation then or now.  

As God’s people, this is the way we are called to live, but too often I think we get distracted by trying to enforce the rules on everyone else that we completely miss the point of first setting people free from whatever holds them in bondage so that they can live fully in the love and mercy of the God who saves.

excerpt from The Lost Message of Jesus, Steve Chalke

A few years ago I was taking part in a live debate on the BBC’s Radio Five Live, Drive Time show. One of the stories the program was covering was on the issue of adultery. As we chatted the presenter chipped in, “Why is God so miserable? Why has he got such a downer on everything we do?” And then, building into a real anti-God kind of rant, she added, “Don’t do this and don’t do that. Don’t commit adultery. It’s pathetic.”

I interrupted her with a question. “Does the Bible really say, ‘Don’t commit adultery?’”

 “Yes, it does,” came her rapier reply.

 “Well, I’ve never read that bit,” I said.

“You know very well it’s in there,” she retorted. “In fact, it’s in there twice. It’s one of the Ten Commandments.”

“Oh, now I know what you are talking about,” I exclaimed. “It’s just that I didn’t recognize it at first because of the tone of voice you were using.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“You’re absolutely right,” I continued. “God does say that we shouldn’t commit adultery, but not in the way you’ve read it. You see, before he gives any of the Ten Commandments he introduce himself as the God who loves Israel. He lets them know that his is for them not against them. He wants the best for them. God didn’t sit in heaven making a list of all the things he knows human beings like to do and then outlaw them all to spoil our fun. Rather he knows the pain and heartache that we will cause others and ourselves if we pursue agendas that are contrary to the way he made us to be. The Ten Commandments is a loving God saying, ‘Look, I am the God who loves you. I’m on your side. I got you out of slavery. I’m the best deal you’ve got going for you. Trust me. Don’t steal. Don’t lie. Don’t abandon me. Don’t commit adultery because if you do it will unleash destructive powers that will slowly overshadow you, destroying you, your families and your society. Trust me. Don’t be stupid.’”

The presenter looked at me in astonishment. Quietly she said, “No-one has ever explained it to me in that way. That makes so much sense.” Within minutes the phones were ringing with dozens of people all saying the same thing: “Why hasn’t anyone ever told us this before? I’ve been going to church all my life and no-one has ever explained it to me like that.”

• How does this story resonate with your own experience of the Ten Commandments?

¿ God Helps Those Who Help Themselves ?

¿ God Helps Those Who Help Themselves ?

Half-Truths - Part 4
(based on the book by Adam Hamilton)

July 27, 2025

Psalm 18:6, 16-17, Psalm 121:1-2, Philippians 2:12-14
see also: Daniel 9:15-19, Ephesians 2:4-10

However, God is rich in mercy. He brought us to life with Christ while we were dead as a result of those things that we did wrong. He did this because of the great love that he has for us. You are saved by God’s grace!

Ephesians 2:4-5

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“God helps those who help themselves.”

Odds are you have probably said or heard this exhortation at some point in your life. Most Americans believe it is found in the Bible, though no such Scripture exists. In truth, the source is unknown, although it is often attributed to Benjamin Franklin who popularized the phrase in the 1730’s.

At first glance, it seems to express good Biblical truth even if it is not directly quoted from Scripture. Surely God doesn’t want us to just sit back and do nothing. As James writes, “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:17). Likewise, Paul writes to the Philippians to “carry out (or work out) your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12-13)

Anyone working for social justice knows that one of the most important tasks is to help people stand on their own, to break the cycles of poverty, addiction, crime, or whatever else holds them back from being productive members of society who live with a sense of purpose and dignity. We “teach people to fish” rather than simply giving them an endless stream of free handouts.

Honestly, this is all good and true. We should encourage hard work and discipline both in life and in our journey of faith. We do have to “practice what we preach”. We must live out our salvation by fulfilling our baptismal covenant through our prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness. When we pray, God empowers us and guides us into action. Adam Hamilton writes, “Those who fought for civil writes did not simply pray at church. They prayed and then marched, knowing they were likely to be beaten and arrested and that God would somehow see them through.”

So what’s wrong with saying “God helps those who help themselves,” even if it’s not directly quoted from the Bible?

The trouble comes at two key points… when someone cannot help themselves, or when we cannot help ourselves.

We often see others in need and respond by saying that if they work hard and “help themselves,” God will help them out of whatever pit they find themselves in. In some ways, however, this says far more about our cultural work ethic and rugged individualism than it says about God. After all, if we could truly help ourselves, what need have we for God? Why pray at all if we could simply work harder and help ourselves solve whatever dilemma presses in?

More than that, it often becomes an excuse not to help others. Scripture consistently calls us to care for the poor, the orphan, the stranger, the widow, and the needy. In Matthew 25, Jesus tells us that whatever we have done for the least among us, we have done for him, and likewise whatever aid we have refused to others, we have refused for him. Rather than seeing those in need as people who should “pick themselves up by their own bootstraps”, we are called to see in them the face of Christ struggling under the weight of his own cross, and like Simon of Cyrene, perhaps God is calling us to help him carry it for awhile by bearing the burden of others (Matthew 27:32).

Challenging this well worn cliché is not a blanket affirmation of sloth or laziness. Rather it is a recognition that no matter how hard we work, there are times when we simply cannot help ourselves. Despite popular belief, not everyone was born with the same opportunities, abilities or connections. This is why God uses others to answer the cry of the needy, to help them when they don’t have a leg to stand on.

In the end, God helps those who CANNOT help themselves.

God is the God of the hopeless, the God who walks with us even in the valley of the shadow of death. This is grace, amazing grace, that saved even a blind wretch like me who could never save myself from the shackles of sin. When it comes to our salvation, not one of us can help ourselves.

Rather than condemning the helpless, perhaps it would do us well to sing that great hymn again… remembering that we were all lost and helpless, but God rescued us from the pit that we might sing His glorious and “Amazing Grace” all the more.

#BeUMC - Grace Beyond Understanding

Grace Beyond Understanding

#BeUMC - Part 1

Sunday, June 25 , 2023
Luke 23:32-43

“One of the criminals hanging next to Jesus insulted him: ‘Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!’

Responding, the other criminal spoke harshly to him, ‘Don’t you fear God, seeing that you’ve also been sentenced to die? We are rightly condemned, for we are receiving the appropriate sentence for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong.’

Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus replied, ‘I assure you that today you will be with me in paradise.’”

Luke 23:39-43 (CEB)

This week’s message and blog post comes from special guets preacher, Rev. Tangela Cameron.

Listen here:

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God’s love is the center of the gospel. It is the crux from which everything else radiates, because without God’s love for humanity, there would be no Jesus, no Bible, and no Christianity. It is the center. Yet, the depth of God’s love is deeply perplexing. Everything about it is counterculture to our world.

This scripture is one of my favorites, and I find myself turning to it often as I work with my hospice and palliative care patients. A lot of questions arise at the end of life. There are not as many “whys?” as one might expect, but there are often questions, concerns, and worries around forgiveness. Primarily forgiveness from God, but also from family, friends, and others. My family raised me in the Baptist tradition. My experience with Baptist theology was fear-based. I remember others in Youth discussing baptism and how important it was to ensure we “didn’t go to Hell”.

I am not convinced that fear endears one to God. In my personal experience, choosing the route of fear, “turn or burn” theology, has driven more away from God/the church than towards. I came to The United Methodist Church as a teenager and remained United Methodist, because in my opinion, the theology showed me God’s truth: grace born out of love. Recently, a patient told me he did not “deserve” forgiveness. I did not ask, nor did he disclose, the things he thought were so heinous they would prevent God from extending mercy.

Regardless, it really did not matter what he did or did not do, because God did not set parameters of deservedness on grace or love. Instead, Jesus looks into the face of this criminal (or rebel, in other translations) next to him, who one might say is the least likely to understand what is happening amongst them and pronounces eternal forgiveness and restoration.

Grace does not make sense, because it is not about deserving anything. Grace is an outpouring of God’s love. Why? Because, God chose to. That is the one and only answer. Thanks be to God that God pours forth that which none of us deserves by any human measure. May we go forth and share likewise with the world.

Consider this: How does this passage stretch you? Are the merits by which we disperse grace and mercy to others of humanity’s scale of worthiness or are they of God?

When God Let's Us Win

THIS MESSY LIFE: CHILDHOOD - PART 2

When God Let’s Us Win
Sunday, September 22, 2019
Genesis 32:22-30

Then he said, “Your name won’t be Jacob any longer, but Israel, because you struggled with God and with men and won.”

Genesis 32:28

“You win some, you lose some.” That’s just the reality of life. Every one of us needs to learn how to be both a good loser and a good winner. Our ability to enjoy the game regardless of the outcome without crying or gloating all boils down to good sportsmanship.

Parents generally let their kids win at just about everything when they are young. It builds confidence and minimizes discouragement for children who do not yet have the emotional capacity to process failure. At a certain age, we start allowing them to lose. While building confidence is important, they must also learn to deal with the reality of defeat which will come far more often in life than any of us would like.

The same is true when it comes to behavior. When a child is simply learning what is right and wrong, mercy, understanding, and teaching should outweigh the consequences. At some point, however, they will “know better,” at which point consequences become more serious. We cannot and should not always protect them from the outcomes of their own poor decisions.

As God’s children, I believe we have a heavenly parent who trains us in much the same way. Jacob’s life is clearly filled with mistakes and poor choices, some out of immaturity and some out of blatant defiance. At some point Jacob’s struggle against the world and against his own nature turns into what seems like a physical wrestling match with God.

At this point we might think Jacob should know better. It’s time for Dad to put this spoiled kid in his place. He needs to learn that he can’t always manipulate others to get what he wants. For once in his life, Jacob needs to learn how to lose.

“Your name won’t be Jacob any longer, but Israel, because you struggled with God and with men and won.”

- Genesis 32:28

What? After all Jacob has done, God let’s him win. Granted, not without a limp from his torn thigh, not to mention a severely bruised ego. Nevertheless, Jacob wrestles with God and his life is spared. God’s blessing is greater than God’s punishment.

Maybe Jacob needed a different lesson that day. What if it wasn’t about winning or losing at all? What if it was simply a reminder that God’s love toward him had nothing to do with winning or losing? Jacob didn’t have to manipulate or control others in order to gain favor. He didn’t have to “win” in life in order to receive God’s blessing.

Maybe the lesson we all need right now is more than simply how to win and lose, but to learn to see ourselves as truly loved and blessed by God regardless of how much we win or lose in life. God’s blessing does not depend on our actions or accomplishments, only on grace, undeserved.

Click here to listen to entire sermon series - “THIS MESSY LIFE: CHILDHOOD”