I’m A Thief

Posted by Jim Thornber on February 28, 2011
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 14 Comments

I thought you’d like to know how I spent my morning. It started out with, “Hi. My name is Jim, and I’m a thief.” In response, everybody at the weekly meeting of “Thieves Anonymous” shouted back, “Hi, Jim!”

So much for remaining anonymous.

I didn’t start out the morning knowing I was a thief, but as soon as I opened my Bible and read this one verse in Proverbs, “The LORD abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight” (11:1), I had to close my Bible, pray and face that startling truth.

So what, you may be asking, have I been stealing? What are the dishonest scales I’ve been using in order to steal from other people?

The first that comes to mind are the inaccurate weights of my judgments of people based on items that make me feel good. Or, at the very least, feed my ego. For example, when I weigh people based on their looks, I’m using dishonest scales. I figure if that they are good looking, they must be a nice person. Then I read that Leo Tolstoy said, “It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness,” and my tilted scales go crashing to the floor.

I’ve also used dishonest scales when I’ve inaccurately weighed people based on their talent. If they show obvious talent for music or computers, I figure they’d be great to have working in the church. But I overlook the person whose gift is to sit quietly before the throne of God and gently pray for every need that comes to mind.

I tilt the scales to my advantage when I wonder how a rich person may be able to bless me or the church, how a friendly person can make me feel or how a well-known person can boost my ego by just being with them. I know it how to create envy – or at the very least, curiosity – in others because I know a famous someone, so I’ll drop names of important people or celebrities I may know (or just think I know) because I saw them at a Denny’s, a concert or just on the street (all of those apply to me). Are you envious yet? I want you to be. Can you feel me stealing their celebrity status and using it for my own ego purposes?

The real theft takes place when I remove Christ from His rightful place as my Lord, my hope and my salvation, and I place my hope in people and what they can do for the church and me. Or more accurately, me and the church.

I use dishonest scales when I pray to God for an answer but look to people to provide the solution.

I use dishonest scales when I put more weight into how I look in the eyes of others than how I look in the eyes of God.

I use dishonest scales when I seek friendship with others based on what they can do for me instead of what I can do for them.

Now you know why I could read one verse of Scripture and conclude I’m just another thief. However, since the first step in recovery is to admit I’m powerless to overcome my problem on my own, I’m confident that God, having shown me my thieving ways, will be sure to offer me His solution. And what a relief it is to know His scales are perfectly balanced – in my favor.

My Least Favorite Scripture

Posted by Jim Thornber on February 21, 2011
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Church, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

How many of you have your favorite verses of Scripture? You know, the ones you’ve memorized, written down, maybe even have them framed and hung on the wall or, most importantly, plastered on the refrigerator door. Me too. Since I turned fifty years old the other day, I’m becoming fond of Song of Songs 2:14, where the young man tells his bride, “Let me see your face; let me hear your voice. For your voice is pleasant, and your face is lovely.” It gives me comfort to think that as the remaining hair on my head turns grayer and the lines grow deeper on my face, God still likes to hear me speak and enjoys seeing my face in His presence.

However, for many years I also had a least favorite Scripture because I just couldn’t understand what it meant. Whenever anyone asked what faith was, some well-meaning person in the room would always quote Heb. 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” True, that’s what is says. Can’t deny it. Now, what the heck does that mean? “Well,” they’d say, “faith is a substance, a thing that, uh, you know, you have when you’re, uh, hoping for something like heaven or a blessing, or, uh…” About that time I’d say, “Never mind. I’m still confused.” Do you see why it was my least favorite Scripture?

The problem with quoting this one verse of Scripture and stopping there is this: Although it is technically correct, it is contextually incomplete. To take one verse of Scripture, quote it, then sit back and wait for the light to come on over everyone’s head is a bit presumptuous. Continue Reading

I Chose to be Addicted

Posted by Jim Thornber on February 17, 2011
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I’ve been a Christian long enough to know that addictions can be harmful to your spiritual health. I’ve heard preachers rail against different addictions for over thirty years, telling me to keep my mind and body pure from evil, worldly pleasures. But now that I’m middle-aged, I think I’m spiritually wise enough to enjoy an addiction of my own choosing without too much harm. I mean, what’s it going to do? Kill me? Heck, I’m closer to death now than when I first begun.

The question is: What kind of addiction to I want to take up?

How about smoking cigarettes? No, that’s out. I don’t like the smell of stale smoke on other people’s clothes, much less my own. Besides, smoking and being the lead pastor of a church still doesn’t settle well in people’s minds.

Maybe drinking? Then the question arises, “Drinking what?” Most churches still condemn even a glass of wine in the evening, as simple as that is, but have nothing against drinking three liters of Coke a day, as awful as THAT is. However, I’m not a big fan of carbonated drinks, so that’s out. How about milk? I used to like milk. Then I see a gallon of milk is almost as much as a pack of cigarettes, so I figure there has to be a less expensive addiction to get involved in. And my Lord knows I don’t need to put on any more weight.

How about gambling? That’s an easy “No.” Not that I don’t gamble already. I do so every time I pay my car insurance or go to the movies. When was the last time you paid to see a movie in the theater and thought, “That wasn’t worth it?” It was a gamble going in, right? I don’t want to gamble at the casinos because I don’t find it very entertaining. If I’m going to be addicted to something, it ought to be something I enjoy doing.

Finally, in my study of the book of James, I came across an addiction worthy of my time and effort.  Continue Reading

Faith Enough to Question God

Posted by Jim Thornber on February 15, 2011
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For four years I was a protestant minister AND a monk with the Brothers and Sisters of Charity. This is an excerpt from my  book Taking Off My Comfortable Clothes: Removing Religion to Find Relationship.

There will come a time in your life, if it hasn’t already, that you will sense all you have in the universe is God, and then you’ll wonder if even He is big enough to deliver you from your pain and the soul-wrenching questions no human being can answer. You may even begin to doubt God’s ability to give you answers, but in desperation you pray with Job, “Though he slay me, yet I will hope in him” (13:15).

Welcome to the new WWF, Wrestling With Faith. You may think you’re wrestling with God, and you are, but you are also wrestling with everything you’ve held dear, substantial and true over the course of your Christian walk. Your faith is in a crisis, because for years you’ve expected the Christian life to be different from the one you are experiencing.

You came to Jesus expecting all your worries would be over, that joy would fill your life and the Church would be a place of love, laughter and unconditional acceptance. But it isn’t. It is filled with people who are struggling, sick, selfish, transitory, naïve, hypocritical, angry and judgmental. Then you spend some time with God and realize that is a fair summation of your own life. Continue Reading

Mary Had It Worse

Posted by Jim Thornber on February 7, 2011
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“And a sword will pierce your own soul too” – Luke 2:35

Me and Mom at my wedding

I know it has been a while since I’ve written, but I’ve been in Mississippi the last ten days with my mom. She had been fighting emphysema for years and on Feb. 1, she lost the battle. She died peacefully with me in the room with her, and I’m grateful for the time I could spend with her at the end of her life.

I have to admit, though, that more than once during the week I stood by her side, praying that God would take her quickly and ease the pain of trying to breathe with only 18% of her lungs left. One of the worst possible experiences in life is to watch a loved one slowly die for lack of oxygen. Gasping for air is not a pretty sight, but that was what I had to watch. I prayed and pleaded with God that He would ease her pain and discomfort and take her home quickly. My love and compassion for my mom wanted a comfortable, easy passing, and I don’t regret those prayers. Still, while I stood by her bed and held her hand while she struggled to inhale, it occurred to me that however bad I had it, Mary, the mother of Jesus, had it worse. Continue Reading

The Focus of Jesus

Posted by Jim Thornber on January 27, 2011
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 5 Comments

As I sit in a hospital room and watch my mom struggle to take the last breaths of her life, I thought it would be appropriate to share this again. Be blessed.

It is the last night Jesus is on earth with His disciples. Knowing that a brutal scourging and the excruciating (from two Greek words meaning “out of the cross”) pain of a Roman crucifixion was waiting for Him, John 13:5 says Jesus disrobes, wraps a towel around His waist and washes His disciples’ feet.

If it were my last night on earth, I’d want people to gather around me and tell me how great a guy I am and what a significant impact I made on their life.

Jesus washed feet.

I’d want my family and friends kneeling at my bedside, crying big tears while they sobbed and choked and blubbered about how their life just wasn’t going to be the same without me on earth.

Jesus washed feet.

I’d be looking back over my life, counting and calculating my works and the impact I’d made in people’s lives. I’d be wondering if I could have done more. I’d be worried that maybe God is going to tell me all the different ways I could have obey Him better and brought more people into the Kingdom. In other words, I’d be thinking about big about Jim and little about others.

Jesus washed feet.

Jesus had only a few hours left on the earth, and He spent a majority of them teaching others exactly what they needed to live a life for God. Jim would be worried about Jim’s needs at the end of his life. Jesus focuses on the needs of others.

I’ve been wondering just what it would take to respond like Jesus if I knew I was going to die tomorrow. What does Jesus know that gives Him the strength, courage and foresight to look beyond His own needs and focus on the needs of His disciples? Except for the prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus spends the last days of His life talking about the Father, the Holy Spirit, and the Kingdom of God, faith of the disciples and the unity of the believers. Even though heaven and earth will one day focus on Jesus and the pivotal point in history known as Calvary, calling it the greatest act of love ever known, Jesus still focuses on the needs of the disciples. How does He do that?

I believe the answer is in Jesus’ statement from the Cross when He says, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). Jesus knew His eternal well-being was in the loving, compassionate and capable hands of the Father, so He was able to focus on others. Perhaps in some ways I’m still wrapping my eternal well-being in the thin cloak of my good works, so when I think of the end of my life I’m focusing on myself.

Jesus served to the last moment of His life because He knew His purpose. I still struggle with that. I know I’m supposed to love God with all my heart and my neighbor as myself, but it is still hard to keep my thoughts about myself out of the mix. I think it is time to start praying the prayer of Jesus, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Then, and only then, will my focus be the focus of Jesus.

Don’t Buy The Shirt, Join The Team

Posted by Jim Thornber on January 24, 2011
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ – Romans 13:14

A few days ago, a man asked me a question about God and our fight against the forces of darkness. I’m always ready to quote the usual Bible verse about this, that we don’t struggle against flesh and blood (Eph. 6:14), but what I knew about the man made me stop.

He wasn’t a bad person; he just wasn’t committed to obeying the teachings of Christ. I’m not judging him, just stating a fact. When a man isn’t interested in work, lives with his girlfriend at his parents home and doesn’t attend a church, it’s not hard to conclude that the teachings of Christ are not central to his life. So, answering a question about spiritual warfare seemed to be a bit off topic. Instead, I took a different approach.

I noticed he was wearing the jersey of a professional sports team, so I said, “Good and evil are truly at war. But being a Christian doesn’t mean you’ve left the war; it simply means you’ve changed sides.”

He nodded his head at that, so I continued. “The trouble is that many people say they’ve changed sides, but in reality they’re only saying the right words without changing their lives. Sometimes people take a few steps toward Christ but end up in the middle of the road.”

That met with his approval, so I pressed a little further. “For instance,” I said, “you’re wearing the jersey of a professional sports team, but you aren’t really on that team. You don’t have any relationship with the coach or owner, you receive no benefits from the team and can’t claim you’re a team member. All you do is admire the team without joining the club.”

Now I had him hooked, so I continued. “Many people are like that in their walk with Christ. They own the t-shirt but they’ve never joined the team. Continue Reading

Don’t Believe Everything You Hear

Posted by Jim Thornber on January 17, 2011
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Religion, Scripture. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

“Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves.” —  John 4:42

Sometimes I think I’m a bit too gullible. I’ve often believed things I’ve heard for years without investigating whether or not they’re true. This is especially onerous when it comes to Scripture. For instance, for years I have “gone to church” before I understood that WE ARE the church, or enjoyed the worship service on Sunday without realizing that my life is called to be an act of worship (Rom.12:1).

This gullibility came home hard when I finally read a different rendition of the story about the Samaritan woman Jesus encountered at the well (John 4:1-42). Perhaps every reader has heard it preached that the woman at the well was a notorious sinner who had five husbands and was currently shacking up with guy #6. I, too, swallowed that interpretation without once practicing the discipline of the Bereans, who doubted Paul until they studied the Scriptures for themselves (Acts 17:11).

With that in mind, let us look at this familiar story and consider that perhaps this woman is not wicked or even a harlot, but a prophet. Continue Reading

Pastor Permission Giver

Posted by Jim Thornber on January 12, 2011
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For four years I was a protestant minister AND a monk with the Brothers and Sisters of Charity. This is an excerpt from my  book Taking Off My Comfortable Clothes: Removing Religion to Find Relationship.

As a pastor, I like to tell my congregation that I want to be known as “Pastor Permission Giver.” I want to give people permission to use their gifts, talents and passions for God, regardless of what they are. I figured if God gave a person the gift to paint pictures, then there was some way for that person to glorify God through those paintings. Others might have the gift to learn languages, enjoy working with mentally handicapped adults (my mom has that gift), or write music. Whatever gift you have, it has not been given to you by mistake, and the Creator of your gifts has granted you permission to use your gifts and passions in His Church. And if the church you’re attending can’t find a place for you and your passions, THEN GO FIND ONE THAT WILL!  I did.

The Church has too often become a place where amateurs and beginners have no place to practice their gifts and talents. That’s a shame, because the Church should be the safest place in the world to practice our gifts, make a mistake, know you are safe, and try again. Continue Reading

When, Not If

Posted by Jim Thornber on January 10, 2011
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Running from the Father

After I got out of Bible College, I rented a room in a large house in Westlake Village, CA.  One of the men who lived in the house was Pat. Pat was one of those people who seemed to be forever on the search for a significant life but never found what he wanted. He moved from one place to another, one job to another, one set of friends to another, but never settled on anything. One day Pat, who knew I was a minister, was telling me he was searching for the Father. He went on and on about this search, telling me he was reading some of the Chinese mystics, hoping they would give him the wisdom he needed to find the Father, or whatever he thought the Father should be. After listening to him for a while, I finally said, “Pat, I don’t really think you’re looking for the Father.”

“Yes, I am,” he replied.

“No, you’re not,” I said.

“Yes, I really am,” Pat said.

“No, you’re really not,” I said. “And I’ll prove it.”

“How?” he asked.

I said, “The Father has instructed me to tell you I can lead you to Him.”

“No He didn’t,” Pat said in a hurry, and then he stopped short. It seemed I caught Pat in his own lie. You see, Pat didn’t really want to find the Father, because when he did it would mean he’d have to make different decisions. It would mean Pat would have to change his lifestyle and live for the honor of the Father he claimed he was searching for. Continue Reading