The Judgment of the King 12.7.205

``Now, I know the word judgment. Judgment can land heavy on our hearts and souls. But it's a word many of us grew up hearing, used in ways that felt more like fear than freedom. But in Scripture, in the prophets, in the teachings of Jesus, even in the Apostle Paul's writings, judgment is not about shame. And judgment is not about terror. And judgment isn't about burning eternally in a lake of sulfuric acid. Judgment is about truth that heals the spirit. Love that refuses to stay silent. And grace that sets things right. [00:29:03] (55 seconds)  #JudgmentThatHeals

I love you too much to leave you stuck in this mess. I love this world too much to let injustice and hatred and war and poverty be the last word for my people that I've created in this world. So John's message to repent, to change your hearts and lives, because here comes the kingdom of God. This message isn't doom, as many people have probably thought it or heard it before. Rather, it's an invitation. [00:30:50] (45 seconds)  #RepentWithLove

The word repent doesn't mean to feel terrible about yourself and to cry forever for something that you did 25 years ago. That's not what repentance is. It means to turn, to change direction, to open your mind to new and different possibilities and reimagine yourself in a reimagined place in life. The very desire to turn, to change, to grow is evidence, fruit of repentance. And it's evidence that grace is already stirring within us, even when we don't realize it. God's love is working, even before we know to respond. That's powerful. [00:31:34] (56 seconds)  #TurnAndChange

No, the farmer wants to keep what nourishes, the wheat. But he wants to let go of what harms. And Jesus, the coming king, does not come to destroy us, but to separate us from what is harmful to our bodies and our minds and our spirit. The things that destroy us, Jesus seeks to destroy. So that we are alive and made new in the spirit of God. [00:33:21] (46 seconds)  #SeparateForRenewal

And even their reasoning for coming is backward. Because coming to church, no matter your denomination or your religious expression, has never saved anybody. Amen? It's like that saying, I can sit in my garage for days and days. I'm never going to turn into a Lamborghini Diablo. It's just not going to happen. So it's not about empty religion. It's about bearing fruit, he says, bearing the fruit of righteousness, bearing the fruit of repentance, living in such a way that people can actually see grace happening in your choices, in your decisions, in your life. [00:34:51] (53 seconds)  #FruitNotForm

It's about bearing fruit, he says, bearing the fruit of righteousness, bearing the fruit of repentance, living in such a way that people can actually see grace happening in your choices, in your decisions, in your life. Preparing the way means practicing compassion. It means telling the truth in love. It means serving our neighbors, especially those who suffer the most in our world. [00:35:28] (32 seconds)  #GraceInAction

Preparing the way means practicing compassion. It means telling the truth in love. It means serving our neighbors, especially those who suffer the most in our world. Resisting fear-based faith and choosing mercy as our default response in a world that too often demands retaliation and fighting back. This is what Advent leads us to. It prepares us to truly receive the King into our hearts and lives in a way that we will live differently because we have been in the presence of the one true King. [00:35:44] (48 seconds)  #MercyAsDefault

See, John wasn't trying to scare the hell out of people. Baptism really was a Jewish custom that was all about cleansing one's life and changing directions. However, when Jesus came, it was also about becoming a part of a movement, becoming a part of something that not only redeemed the individual, not only redeemed the family, but something that was a part of the redemption of the whole world. [00:38:30] (45 seconds)  #BaptismIntoMovement