Drifting Away

Posted on by jactucke


The other day whilst parousing the depths of the Internet, I glanced at an article that I thought was click bait. You know, one of those sites that has the super attractive headline, only to have you wade through an endless stream of ads for testosterone booster and that one fruit that is a miracle cure. 

Anyways, I moved on without clicking. But yesterday, my wife sends it to me. This time, it was from the Independent Journal Review. The headline read, “Christian Pastor Rob Bell Suggests Ignoring the Bible to Help the Church Stay Relevant.”

Excuse me? As I read further, Mr. Bell and his wife were on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday special talking about homosexuality and the church. When asked if the church closer to accepting homosexuality, he replied:

“I think culture is already there and the church will continue to be even more irrelevant when it quotes letters from 2,000 years ago as their best defense…”

Let’s stop right there. To even think that a pastor…of a church…who pours into thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people…suggested to ignore the Word in order to “accept” people in their sin. 
But this isn’t the first time Mr. Bell has raised eyebrows. In his book, Love Wins, he dismisses the idea of Hell to make Christianity a little more attractive to new believers. But let’s get back to where our journey started. 

Bell implies that the Word is becoming too old to be relevant in our changing world. I guess that since it doesn’t mention smartphones and the Internet, people nowadays won’t be able to relate. 

Homosexuality seems to be a touchy subject within the church. Bell suggests changing or moving beyond the Word to meet people where they are, even if it means accepting their sin. My issue isn’t with his stance on homosexuality, it’s with his dismissal of the Word with such ease. 

The Word warns us about adding or taking away from the text. In Proverbs 30:6, it says, “Do not add to his words, or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar.” In 2 Peter 1:20-21, it says “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” And numerous others from Revelation and Deuteronomy talk about not adding or subtracting. 

You can even argue that Mr. Bell is merely saying to ignore the scripture’s stance on homosexuality, not the entire Bible. Well, that’s like taking an Exacto knife and cutting out the pieces that you don’t like, effectively making it your own personal version of the Bible. But there’s a scripture for that as well. 

Take 2 Timothy 3:16-17. It says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” That being said, EVERYTHING in the Word is useful. EVERYTHING is meant to teach and instruct us how to live. That doesn’t say “take this out when society changes.” 

Society is gonna change. Cultural norms are gonna change. But as Christians, we are given a book that defines our right and wrong. It literally lays out the framework for a great life. There most beautiful thing about it? It doesn’t change. 

“The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.””

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭40:8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Mr. Bell, I can see where you are going with your view, but I can confidently say that you’re off base. The thing that stinks about this is that you were given a platform and you told everyone to just ignore what you have been teaching out of for decades. 

What I would like to encourage you to do is get in your Word. Start off in John and explore the story of Jesus. Find out what He’s done for you through His sacrifice on the cross. It’s through that sacrifice that you can receive salvation and begin to walk with God as it was intended from the very beginning. 

Thanks for the read. Please feel free to comment below and do me a favor, like and share this with your friends. Y’all be safe out there. 

I’m sorry…ish

Posted on by jactucke


When a child gets caught doing something they aren’t supposed to do they immediately say, “I’m sorry.” They either feel a little remorse or they just don’t want to get in deeper trouble. 

Most of the time, they don’t want to get in more trouble than they already are in. This is the most basic of human instincts: self-preservation. 

Self-preservation will make people do all kinds of things. It will make them apologize for nothing or just to smooth over an altercation. It’ll make them say sorry just because “it’s the right thing to do.”

What does all of this have to do with our topic today? Well, all that being said, “I’m sorry” does not mean “forgive me.” 

Lots of times, the two phrases get tangled or misconstrued. We are raised to believe that they are one-in-the-same, interchangeable if you will. But they aren’t. Actually, they can’t be further from it. 

We’ve already established that self-preservation is a pretty basic human instinct, but, just for grins and giggles, let’s take a look at the definition. 

If any of you have lied at any time in your life, you know that this definition is true, especially when you saw your life flash before your eyes as the paddle swings towards your hindquarters. You knew it wouldn’t be as bad if you apologized or if you drug as many siblings down with you as possible. I digress.

Now on to forgiveness.Webster’s defines forgiveness as:


Now that’s a pretty good definition, but it’s a pretty good indicator why “I’m sorry” and “forgive me” are lumped together in the indistinguishable column. This is where we are going to start to separate the two. 

True forgiveness comes when one has a repentant heart. Meaning that they are truely remorseful for their actions. It’s not a knee jerk reaction to being caught, but a sincere, from the heart decision. Where does this logic come from? The Word of course!

In 2 Corinthians 7:10 it says, “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” Godly repentance will actually change things. A true repentant heart is necessary for one to achieve salvation through Christ. 

Well how do we know if we are truely repentant instead of just remorseful? Judas was remorseful for his betrayal of Jesus (Matt. 27:4.) Pharoah told Moses that he had sinned, but he just kept going forward with his actions (Ex. 9:27; 10:16.) But in Proverbs 28:13 it says that, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” That right there tells us that true forgiveness will follow true repentance. You can’t only drop a half truth on someone and expect that to be honored. 

We all have an obligation to seek forgiveness and to give forgiveness (Matt. 18:15) when we have wronged or have been wronged. But I believe, as in the same vein as salvation, to receive complete forgiveness, you have to come with an actual repentant heart. God will always forgive you and show grace (1 John 1:9) but you need to show a repentant heart, not just remorse for your actions. 

If in the end, you’ve done all of this. You’ve gone to God with a repentant heart and gone to those you have wronged with a repentant heart, the weight is now off of you and in their court. We’ve established that God will forgive you and cleanse you. People, on the other hand, will have a harder time with this. If they do what they have been instructed by God to do, you will be forgiven. But this doesn’t mean that things will just go back to normal. People are still…people. Trust has to be earned back and it may never go back to the olden days, but you can take heart that you have been forgiven. 

This may be a little heavy, but I know that there is a large group of people out there who need a little uplifting and guidance on this issue. Thanks for reading, y’all be safe out there. 

When seeking advice…

Posted on by jactucke


Have you ever asked for advice? I’m sure you have because even the meekest of decisions can usually require a little guidance.  

You most likely sought that counsel from someone you trusted, someone who had been in the position before, or at least a person who has a few years on you. 

The Word even talks about getting advice. Proverbs is chalk full of what God thinks about getting advice. Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future (Proverbs 19:20). Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed (Proverbs 15:22). Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety (Proverbs 11:14). And the verses just keep going. 

All that being said, there are two types of people who take this mantle: askers and seekers. Now, I know that both of these seem like these names are just describing the same thing, but listen to these descriptions. 
People identifying as “askers” are truly looking for advice. By that, I mean they are seeking Godly counsel, from Godly people. They don’t just talk to folks willy-nilly. Askers don’t have any ulterior motives or notions propelling them to any side. They are simply looking for guidance.

“Seekers” have a preconceived notion of what they want in their head and will go to numerous people (Goldy and otherwise) to seek out someone who thinks the same as themselves. Proverbs 28:26 says Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.

You see the problem in that? There is no wisdom there. You are only fooling yourself if you think that your “newfound advice” is even new at all. It’s just your own opinion wrapped in the guise of a few other people’s words.  

I have run into both types of these people in all my travels and let me tell ya, beware the seekers. They have become people who drain you of time and energy with zero intention of utilizing your counsel. 

Now, am I saying that you shouldn’t seek advice from anyone? No, that’s not it at all. I’m just saying that you should seek Godly counsel when you are looking for advice and not running from person to person looking for your own answer. 

Psalm 1:1-6 says this: Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 

So seek Godly counsel and don’t becomes merely a seeker of your own ideas in other people. 

It feels good to be back. I took a little time off to focus on some other things, but now I’m back. If you have any other comments or additions, please leave them below. Have a great day!