Gospel Saturated

Leaving is never because of just one thing. Not really.
 
It’s the result of a thousand, inconsequential 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 that all converge in a single moment of sudden, irreconcilable difference.
 
For me, the eventual leaving of the religious community I grew up in began as a tiny question fluttering at the back of my mind.
 
Back then, it was just one thing. It stood alone in its irregularity and I let it sit, like a bothersome pebble in my shoe, not fitting, never resolved. This question wasn’t the explosion, merely the spark; but when I cast my mind back to all the 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 that finally resulted in my departure, I get no further back than this question...
 
https://www.carrielloydshaw.com/leaving/

I penned the thoughts I’m sharing in this episode in response to some really tough circumstances I was aware someone was going through recently. I was thinking specifically of their situation when I wrote those words but it's funny how many times since then that I’ve reread those words and felt that God was speaking to me too.
Several times I’ve come back to these thoughts and found peace settling over my heart as I bring to mind the place called ‘home’; the place where God will walk with us again.  I hope these words bless and encourage your heart too.     
https://www.carrielloydshaw.com/come-walk-with-me/

Just as Jesus was sent into the world, to witness to the eternal life and light of God, so each Christian has been commissioned and sent as an ambassador for Christ. They have been authorised, by virtue of his saving work, to represent his kingdom and to carry the great treasure of the good message in their fragile, imperfect lives of clay.
Jesus lives in and through them and God has placed each one of them like a city on a hill, to bring light to the whole world. They are to glow – with their open houses and generous lives – like homecoming beacons, drawing all humanity to the light that comes from Him, that in this, ‘His name is glorified’.
The reality is that every. single. Christian. is a missionary and every. single. church. is missional. It’s the very nature of our Christianity and an intrinsic part of our identity as people of the kingdom.
And we don’t need to be anywhere else apart from where we are right now to run on mission.
https://www.carrielloydshaw.com/christianity-missional-living/
 

There’s a troubling trend arising in our postmodern age, an era that has also given rise to ‘post-truth'. 
We’re seeing more and more, in the media, in public conversation, in our schools and communities, the push for a redefining of what is meant by ‘gender’ – to the point where facts and provable science relating to human biology are being discounted or ignored.
New information platforms, social upheaval, and the overabundance of global communication networks are giving this idea traction and we’re seeing it take root and grow, with potentially devastating consequences.
This is the generation that has unequivocally waged war on gender.
https://www.carrielloydshaw.com/the-war-on-gender/

Legalism takes different forms at different times and is often hard to pin down, manifesting itself in subtle ways.
There is much that can be said about legalism and the hypocrisy that arises from it. An emphasis on externals makes it very easy to fake what is really going inside.
Right now, the world is being sharply delineated. Nearly as quickly as the virus has spread, so too has the chatter and the differing opinions about both the cause and the cure.
However, the most disturbing aspect of all this is the noticeable polarisation of people into two opposing groups; them and us. And the church is not unaffected in this.
The focus of this episode, particularly in light of the global pandemic, is another issue that I believe arises from a spirit of legalism. This is the issue of extremism; when we begin majoring in the minors instead of majoring in the majors.
https://www.carrielloydshaw.com/majors-and-minors/
 

The area of Asia Minor was a huge melting pot of ethnicities and also one of the first areas to flourish with converts to the new religion of Christianity. It was also part of the expansive Roman Empire, at the height of its glory, and was therefore subject to Roman law and Roman customs.
Living in the shadow of the Empire would prove a difficult tension for Christians to navigate. No longer giving allegiance to Caesar as ‘Lord of the earth’ but instead confessing that this title belonged to Jesus Christ, how were they to behave as people in the world but not of it?
As citizens of heaven, did the laws of Rome no longer apply to them?
And, as people of the kingdom, how were they to live out the values of the kingdom in the society around them? Were they justified in using force to make the kingdoms of this world the kingdom of the Lord and Christ?
These are all important questions, not just for those in the first-century church but for every generation of Christians who have come after them.
How should Christians conduct themselves, living in the shadow of the Empire?
https://www.carrielloydshaw.com/in-the-shadow-of-the-empire/
 

What’s beneath the skin of our collective Christian identity?
Has Christianity lost touch with its original radical and beating heart? Are we so enamoured with the power and prestige of this present world that we have forgotten our own history?
Are we, the church, so entertained by the lights and sounds, by the choreographed music, by the dimly lit stages and almond-milk-lattes-after-service that we’ve forgotten the ancient truths our early Christian brethren lived and died for?
Have we become mere spectators to our own Christian faith?
https://www.carrielloydshaw.com/beneath-the-skin/

The room was filled with the pungent aroma of bitter herbs, the freshly baked scent of Matzah, the rich meaty smell of roasted lamb, and the earthy sweetness of the wine.
Everything on the table represented something. Everything eaten with the humble dinnerware told a story. 
Gathering now with his disciples to celebrate Passover once again, Jesus understood, as no one else did, the true significance of what was symbolised by this festival and what kind of deliverance God had always had in mind. Turning to his disciples, his voice warm with feeling, Jesus said “I have earnestly desired to eat this with you before I suffer.”
It was the night before tomorrow and this was to be his last Passover.
https://www.carrielloydshaw.com/the-night-before-tomorrow/