My Brother's Story of Becoming an American

You know that rare moment when you first meet someone think, "I'm going to love him forever"?  No, not that kind of love.  The kind of love you have for a brother in Christ who shares your deepest convictions about God and Country and stands shoulder-to-shoulder with you for both.

Martin and I met Joseph Del Barrio, an Army veteran who served in Iraq, en route to march against the closing of the World War II Memorial this past October.  We are both so grateful we did.  We shared a lot that day- hopes, fears, prayers, tears and laughs.  Lots of laughs!  The next day we shared stories over breakfast.  I want to share one of them with you.

Joe is a naturalized citizen.  Having served in our military, he has a unique opinion regarding immigration and with his permission, I am sharing it with you here. I know your time is at a premium, but could you please read his story?  It would mean so much to me.

And Joe.

Thanks.

"Dear Rachel,

How is my new Sister?  Well, you asked me to recount and share my experiences in America and how they’ve shaped my view on the issue of illegal immigration.  So I thought I’d take some time to fulfill my promise to do so.  I’ll do my best not to make it too long.  I came to the U.S. when I was 5 years old in 1985.  My Dad came here a few years earlier from the Philippines on a workers visa.  My family in the Philippines including my Dad had experienced Marshal Law under the Marcos Regime. We’ve had family members disappear for speaking against the Marcos Regime.  That is the reason my Dad came here, to make a better life for us.  My Dad saved up a bunch of money, got his worker’s visa, and came here to the U.S. and started finding work in the hotel service field. 

Fast forward to the early 90’s while I was in high school.  My parents led my sister and I to believe we were U.S. citizens.  We in fact were not.  My Mom believed we were only going to live in the U.S. for a little while, earn some money, then move back to the Philippines.  My Dad it seems had other plans.  He would tell me stories of the corruption in the Philippines and how the U.S. was the place of opportunity. He said it was a place where your hard work would be rewarded and that you would only receive the amount you put in.  I grew up seeing my Dad putting 12 plus hours of work a day. Whether he was working as a hotel front desk manager or as a retail store manager, it didn’t matter. My Dad always worked hard and put 100% into every job he did.  For me at that time, I grew up like most kids born into this Country.  You’re happy to be here but you take it for granted. You go to school, play with your friends, but you don’t realize what a truly special place the U.S. is. That realization would only be solidified when I went to Iraq. More on that later.  I didn’t realize what freedom really was. I didn’t realize what our rights were under the Constitution.  I didn’t have a full understanding what the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were.  I didn’t realize what it cost, in the form of blood, for all the things we take for granted.  I went on living my life totally oblivious to these things until my early years in high school when my parents told me we were going to Los Angeles to get our paperwork started for permanent residency.  It was a bit traumatizing for me to realize I wasn’t a U.S. citizen. I began to see all the things I took for granted. It was the beginning of my eyes being opened.

So we went through the long process of applying for permanent residency.  Once we received our permanent residency status we would have to wait four years before we could apply for citizenship.   During that time, I finished high school and got into college.  I got a job to pay for college and saved up to pay for the citizenship application process.  Having to go through the process of applying for citizenship enhanced my love of history. I began to learn on my own through life lessons and personal study, why this Country is so great.  I began to see and appreciate what America has given me and my family. I began to really fall in love with America.  This Country, to me, seemed to be the conduit which God used to bless me.  Here I was.  I had a job, school, a new and beautiful wife, a roof over my head, and a future.  I saw how much God, through this Country, provided for me.  Even though I wasn’t yet a citizen, this Country gave me so much.  I learned that I had many uncles who served in the U.S. Navy and earned citizenship through service.  I learned I had two uncles who died fighting alongside U.S. Servicemen against the Japanese in WWII.  They put their lives on the line in service to this great Country in order to gain something many take for granted. 

In 2003 I became a naturalized citizen.  It was a proud moment for me and although it was a long process, I wouldn’t have changed it because it really helped me to see what America was, what it provided me, and what it all truly means to be American.  So, shortly after I graduated college and earned my citizenship in 2003, I felt the need to give back to my Country.  I enlisted in the Army.  I went to Iraq in February 2005 until February 2006.  While I was there I saw some things that helped me to appreciate America even more.  There were families living in mud huts in the midst of a landfill.  There were kids playing in streets flooding with sewage.  There were people on the streets begging for food.  There were families being shot and killed because they didn’t want to live under the rule of dictator.  Many people to this day ask why we were over there.  For me first and foremost, I was there to give back to my Country.   Second, I was there to protect my teammates.  Third, I was there to help bring a bit of America to a place that didn’t know what it was to be free.  There’s something about wearing the uniform, going over to another country, and having some of the people come to you for help and look you in the eyes with appreciation.  Sometimes it was a simple ball point pen.  Sometimes it was a soccer ball for an Iraqi Policeman’s son.  Sometimes it was bandaging up a toddler’s wounded behind.  All the little things they were appreciative for while some Americans back home were complaining about their cell phones or not having the newest thing or gadget.  It all pales in comparison.  Those were the reasons we were there and I wouldn’t take back the time I spent over there.  When I came back stateside, I became a Special Agent with Army Criminal Investigation Division.  I started off my first two years working investigations until 2009 when I was reassigned to be a member of the Secretary of Defenses security detail.  I was blessed enough to serve two Secretaries of Defense who were both prior CIA Directors.  Only in America could a Filipino immigrant work his way from the bottom and end up in a place where he would routinely be wandering the halls of the Pentagon, frequently visit the White House, travel to different places around the globe to protect important people, be part of the team who protects one of the Nation’s most important men, and be witness to some of the events that would become part of our Nation’s history. I truly still sit back in shock at what this Country has provided. But what did America truly provide me? What it truly provided me was opportunity.  The opportunity to go to school,to work, to serve my Country, to make a better life for my family. It was up to me to decide what to do with that opportunity.  It was my decisions and actions paired with that opportunity that determined the outcome of my life thus far. We aren’t promised the ends, only the means.  We do with it the best we can according to our blessings and abilities and through God’s grace.

As far as illegal immigration is concerned there is one word that sticks out to me.  That word is ILLEGAL.  I truly don’t understand the gall proponents of illegal immigrants have when they say they have a right to be in this country.  How do you have the right to unlawfully come into a country then demand certain rights that many have died for?  How do you cut in front of the millions of LEGAL immigrants doing the right thing, following the law, and becoming a citizen the right way?  Try illegally immigrating to another country and see what happens.  I guarantee you it won’t be pretty. How does a person demand something that is not there’s to begin with?  It’s like waiting in line for food.  You save up some cash to pay for a good burger, wait in line, and place your order. Then when the cashier is grabbing your order from the rack, someone cuts in at the front of the line, grabs your burger from the back, and says they deserve it more because they’re hungry.  Guess what, there are people in line who are hungry too but they’re doing it the right way. They worked hard, put in the time, went through the process to do it according to the law.  A person coming here illegally does not deserve the right to demand citizenship for this Country.    Many people say, “oh, they haven’t done anything wrong, they just want to work”. Yes they have done something wrong, they came here ILLEGALLY!  They stole and are stealing an opportunity from another person or family LEGALLY waiting to get into the country.  My family and many other families did it and are doing it the right way.  The immigration system isn’t broken, it doesn’t need reforming, it’s just not being used.  Take it from a once Legal Immigrant turned U.S. Citizen.  No amnesty for illegal aliens whatsoever. GO TO THE BACK OF THE LINE!  Some people may take that as mean or uncaring. Not my problem. To me, they’re stealing opportunities from families like mine, families who did it the right way and are waiting for their opportunity to work their way from the bottom up. These families want to make something of themselves and in turn give back to this Country. To me that’s the same as stealing something tangible like gold or money from my pocket or food out of my mouth.  Turn the immigration system back on. Enforce the laws that are on the books. Secure the borders.  The rest will take care of its self.  Then again, that’s just the non-politically correct opinion of a proud American and an Iraqi War Vet.  It’s coming from a Citizen who knows what it means to be an American Citizen and knows now what it takes to earn the freedoms many Americans take for granted.  An American Citizen who loves his Country warts and all.  An American Citizen who will never apologize for the things that this Country did to become great. Well it looks as if I went way longer than I intended. Take care. I hope to see you, Martin, and Randy again in the near future.

Love you Sis,

Joe"

CHURCH IS SUPPOSED TO HURT....

...sometimes.  

I've been hearing a lot about how the church hurts people when it confronts blatant, sinful behavior.  I'm convinced it's true.  Having been the subject of church discipline myself, I can tell you it hurt.  But here's what rubs me wrong about the blanket condemnation of church discipline -  It was supposed to hurt.  Discipline hurts so that maybe we'll be shaken awake out of our sin-coma and flee from whatever it is that is separating us from Christ into obedience to Him.  Isn't it better to feel the pain of separation from friends for a time if it keeps me from separation from my Father forever?

Frankly, church discipline doesn't happen enough. When it does, reconciliation happens even less. 

Maybe biblical discipline would be more effective if we had a genuine relationship with our fallen brother or sister in the first place.  After all, what am I really missing out on if a body of people say I can't be a member of their community and we only hung out together for two superficial hours a week any way?

Church discipline may be done poorly most times.  No doubt.  But it is a terrible mistake to remove it as a treatment for willful, repeated transgressions of those who call themselves Christian.  Although it provides an opportunity for the self-righteous zealot to be malicious, God will deal with that. (Or, maybe another brave church member.) 

Years after having put my then pastor and others in a position to have to employ church discipline, I felt a heavy burden to reconcile with them.  We met, cried together, prayed together, but my repentance wasn't good enough to restore relationship on any level.  Not for them, any way.  They couldn't talk about anything other than what I had done.  That's ok.  They missed an opportunity to take back what Satan had stolen from them, and they chose not to.  God is gracious and he'll given us both do-overs at some point, I pray.

But they were not wrong in using church discipline. 

I believe with all my heart, in spite of the mean things said by some and even the rejection of relationship now, they did the right thing the best way they knew how.  

And I am grateful and stronger in my faith because of it. 

To Judge or Not to Judge, That is the Question

We know how to take a man to space and get him back safely to earth. We can cure diseases and build a phone/computer/t.v. that fits in our pocket.  But we still don't know how to apply biblical judgment or even if we have any business judging at all.  And why not?  I submit to you its because we don't really know our Bible and because of that we do not really know our God.

We have been created by God in his image.  He has gifted us with many glorious things including the ability to reason - to examine, test, ask questions, discern, and judge.  This gift functions, in part, as a protective device.  Just as our nose above our mouth prevents us from putting spoiled food into our bodies and our sense of touch keeps us from leaving our hand on a hot stove, the ability to reason is there to help us make godly decisions.  The ability to reason is unlike our reflexes or senses; Not only must it be developed, God holds us personally responsible for how we use it.

We don't know how long the world was without sin, but when the story was penned the first couple didn't make it past the 3rd chapter of Genesis.    Eve had the gift of reason, as did Adam. Eve was "reasoning" why it would be beneficial to do as she pleased in spite of whatever warning God gave her through Adam.  She reasoned poorly.(Gen 3:6)  Adam was also a poor steward of his ability to reason, as he not only did not stop his wife, he joined her in the crime.  God let his will be known and they chose to defy him. In turn, God justly and rightly held them both accountable. 

Read Isaiah 1. In it, God lists in great detail the deprivation and guilt of his people.  He tells them to "stop doing wrong, learn to do right!  Seek justice, encourage the oppressed...".  Then he pleads, "Come now, let us reason together".  Throughout the Old and New Testaments God tells us what is wicked and what is righteous.  In order to be able to comply with his commands, I must make it my business to know one from the other. Enter, the exercise of reasoning.

We are called to reason and yes, make judgments with the mind of Christ.

Our God tells those who are spiritual to "make judgments about all things" (1Cor 2:15) and to "pay careful attention...to what we have heard" (Heb 2:1) and to "test the spirits".  Paul says in 1 Cor 5:3 of the brother committing sexual immorality that "I have already passed judgment on the one who did this.."  Much of the New Testament teaches us how to judge rightly.  Often, it is focused on judging the church itself.
  
But what about, "judge not lest ye be judged" or "let the one who hasn't sinned cast the first stone"?

Does this prove that Scripture contradicts itself?  Absolutely not. What it does prove is that one needs to have a solid understanding of the Author.

God calls us to love him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.  It takes all four to love him well.  I am responsible before God to know the difference between wickedness and righteousness and act accordingly.  Part of what it means to mature in the faith is to constantly train myself to distinguish good from evil and (Hebrews 5:14)  to "get rid of all moral filth and.. evil." (James 1:21)  To do so, I must know what God considers moral filth and evil and then use good judgment so I can get rid of it.

I am obligated to rightly proclaim God's standard to a lost world.

I am NOT called to hold people in contempt or condemn them. 

This, God will not tolerate.  Just check out the parable of the unforgiving debtor in Matt 18:22-35.  That should be enough incentive to make a correction- and fast!

The world says Christians are judgmental.  (I find this kind of funny, because in order to make the statement, they have with condemnation, judged us.)  But some Christians think so, too.  Some within the church body say that we need to stop being judgmental in order to draw people back in.  Look, Christians have done some mean things with their Bibles held up high ready to strike a sinner on the head. We've spoken truth without love.  Guilty as charged.  But that does not in any way mean we should prove we are loving by denying God's call to be righteous as he defines it. 

We cannot lower the standard that God sets.  We cannot preach only part of the message.  To do so, is to create another false gospel.  What we can do is repent and ask forgiveness when we've spoken with contempt or condemnation. We need to judge things rightly and be as sure as possible that we are walking in the Spirit before we open our mouths.  None of us  knows how any individual's story is going to end.  I'm sure there are a few people you can find who thought I was a hopeless case.  Some probably still do.

The task before us is this:  know God's Word, know the character of our God, stay true to the whole counsel of the Word so that we can rightly judge good from evil to keep ourselves and each other from sin and to persuade others of the blessings of doing the same. 

This is our calling.



Scripture references from Life Application Study Bible, New International Version, Tyndale and Zondervan Publishing, 1989.

Do Gay Christians Go To Hell?

I received a text today from a dear friend that read, "So... a teenager asks if gay [Christians] go to hell. And your response would be????"

Can I just say that I LOVED getting this question! Partly because I believe this friend really wanted to know and partly because it was an opportunity to share an alternative to the normal defense mode we Christians go into when we hear it. We're so afraid of coming across as unloving or judgmental*.  Someone once said, "Where the early church feared the raised fist, the American church fears the raised eyebrow".
 
The teenager asked her mom but also went to Google where she  found "answers" that were confusing as well articles by Christian authors supporting the homosexual lifestyle including  Same Sex Marriage (SSM). 

(A little rabbit chasing: Google is a place people go to for "facts" and often find 0pinions presented as such.  Gone are the days of looking for cause and effect and the practice of reasoning. Not the ability to reason , for God created that in us.  We just don't do it much any more. I pray this changes.)

For an answer to her question to mean anything at all, we need to agree on a number of points:

1.  There is a God.
2.  He is the author of Truth and it is absolute.
3.  He has spoken through Scripture.
4.  His desire is for all of us is that we know His will and live it.
5.  My purpose in life is to live for Him, not for myself.
6.  I will commit to using an unbiased approach to discover what God says,    regardless of the consequences.

Scripture and creation have established the first five points. My response to those compels me to agree with the sixth. Those who do not agree with these most basic Christian teachings cannot see the importance of aligning oneself with the Creator and therefore, can only offer up what seems right to them at the time. (They also lose the ability to claim anyone else's opinion is wrong since they believe there is no moral absolute. It then just becomes a discussion of pointless chatter.)

My response to the original question is this:

Do liars, adulterers, slave traders, thieves and other unrighteous people go to hell?  Hell is for (unregenerate) sinners.  Heaven is for sinners who decide to accept God's view of sin, turn from it, and strive to die to it REGARDLESS of what form it takes and renew their minds which leads to a change in desire and eventually, behavior.  That is the response of a heart that accepts the sacrifice of Christ and the ONLY way the atonement of the Blood is applied to us and by which we enter God's heaven.  The real issue isn't which sin sends you into hell,  it's whether you have accepted the only possible atonement for it. 

This isn't just my opinion.  It is a condensed version of everything I've found and  studied in the Old and New Testaments in the last 14 years. 
  
But let's deal more directly with the teenager's question. Who decides what sexual immorality is? Our God, who does NOT change like shifting shadows, tells us what his standards are for our sexuality in great detail in Leviticus 18, as well as other places. They range from "do not having sexual relations with your sister", to "do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman".  God describes these and many other things as "dishonoring, defiling, and detestable".  I challenge you to find where He changes His mind on this.  There is punishment/discipline that follows. Verse 24 says, "Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled."

So when we read 1 Corinthians 6:13, "The body is not meant for sexual immorality."  It begs the question, what is our body meant for? Glad you asked! Continue reading and 1 Cor 6:19-20 says it was meant to honor God.  God spells out for us what that looks like throughout His word.

Some advice: Let Scripture interpret Scripture. Don't buy into semantics on this one, either.  Similar to the word "Trinity" not being found in Scripture but the concept is threaded in its tapestry, running a search for "gays go to hell" in your bible software will come up empty, too.  However, if you read your bible, you will find throughout that those who are wicked-by God's definition- the sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals, cheats, drunkards, foulmouthed revilers, extortioners, robbers, etc.. will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Gen 13Lev 18;1 Cor 6:9-11; 1 Tim 1:9-10; Romans 1:27, are just a few references.) If they aren't in the kingdom of God, hell is the only alternative.

I propose that we ask even more probing questions:

*Do I avoid reading books of the Bible in their entirety because I'm afraid I'll learn my lifestyle or that of my loved ones is conflicted with them?
 
*Will grace cover my sin of willfully committing/promoting/accepting disobedience to God?
 
*How real is my salvation if it is easy for me to deny God's teaching?
 
*Shouldn't I be learning how God defines, "wickedness, unrighteousness and sexual immorality" so I will know how to flee from it?
 
*Who has determined the definition I use for love? Healthy sexuality?
 
Ignorance of God's truth is no defense (Romans 1:20)  Intentional ignorance, even less of one. (Hebrews 5:14)

There are two big lies that have saturated our culture and plague our ability to boldly but gently answer the question before us:

1. Love, in any form, is equally as valid and good as any other.

2. We are primarily sexual creatures.  To deny someone their right to express their sexuality is to deny their humanity.

I would suggest to you love that leads one to remain in practices that, according to Scripture, cause him to be separated from his Father in heaven is not love at all. 

More importantly, our value comes from the fact that we are created in the image of God. Our greatest fulfillment and satisfaction will be found not in sex but in an intimate relationship with the Triune God who not only reigns from heaven, but knows you by name. 

How we answer this and other hard questions of our day matters.  We will be held accountable. 

I once counseled with a woman who said she wanted to re-dedicate her life to Christ.  She had been feeling disconnected from Him. She also described herself as a lesbian.  She had been at a church where they operated from the belief that she could continue living the lifestyle and still be in good relationship with God, but she just didn't feel as close as she used to. I told her that I could no more condone (or agree that God does) living a gay lifestyle, than I could condone my own struggle with cussing, fear, hatred and even sexual sins of my past.  Scripture is very clear about how God feels and what he requires.  Just like me with my struggles, that are so much apart of my flesh, she'll have to get up every day and decide if she's going to give in to those desires or sacrifice them for the God that sacrificed Himself for her.  We may not have the thorn removed until we enter Glory.  But isn't Jesus worth it?

I don't know if she is fighting the good fight in this area or not.  She may be very much like me- some days more victorious than others.  But I can tell you this much- we greet each other with hugs and sincere warmth.  When I think about her, I pray for her to have Christ's strength and the intimacy with Him she was missing.  I hope that if she thinks about me, she's praying for me to have strength to fight the good fight, too.  How I want so much for us both to have sustained, practical victory over these things that seem to have such a hold, to the Glory of God!

I have faith that one Day, we will.



*More later on Biblical judging 

Scripture references from Comparative Study Bible, Revised Edition, Zondervan 1999