Tattoo or not, that is the question!

In the bible there are many references as to how we should treat our bodies, in the Old Testament we see in Leviticus 19:28 “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.” We also see in Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.” We also see in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”

So, if the Bible clearly tells us not to tattoo or disfigure our bodies, that they are to be as living sacrifices and holy temples to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, and to honor God with our bodies, why then do believers get tattoos and body piercings? If the Bible tells us our bodies are not our own, we were bought with a price, why do believers need body graffiti?

Is it that, they were tattooed or pierced prior to being saved and becoming a believer in Christ? If so, once saved and a believer, do they or should they, continue to add more and why? Nonbelievers have many reasons for their tattoos and piercing. My son has the seven deadly sins tattooed in different places on his body, so he can break them all; three of my four daughters have tattoos in memory of favorite pets and have strange piercings in their ears. The two youngest have also gotten their bellybuttons pierced. My niece, who has lived with us since she was a toddler, has tats all over her body. My two younger brothers both had tats, but I never got into that kind of stuff myself. The only thing I ever did was get my ears pierced.

So why do believers get tattoos or piecing after being saved? Or is it just a matter of one's own interpretation of the scriptures, and that this present body is only temporal and therefore its outward appearance is unimportant in God's overall plan for us. So they change their outward appearance just as they would clothing or hair, in an effort to feel comfortable and secure for the brief time they are on this earth, with the contention, that it's the mind and heart wherein the Spirit dwells, not the physical body. Therefore we are free to change our physical appearance, as long as the heart and mind remain focused on Christ.

This idea is brought up in Galatians 6:12-16 “Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh. May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor un-circumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.”

So it all boils down to this; that I have unknowingly, stumbled onto the core of the problem during my rant, the main and foremost problem being my fascination with legalism. Something I was unaware of until one Sunday, when it was discussed in our adult Sunday school class. I had never even heard the words legalism or legalists used in reference to Christians or anything else for that matter. So somehow in my musings the Lord has answered my question, tattoos and piercings are of little importance. Philip Yancey writes "Jesus proclaimed unmistakably that God's law is so perfect and absolute that no one can achieve righteousness. Yet God's grace is so great that we do not have to. By striving to prove how much they deserve God's love, legalists miss the whole point of the gospel, that it's a gift from God to people who don't deserve it. The solution to sin is not to impose an ever-stricter code of behavior, it is to know God." Philip Yancey covers this in his book titled "What's so Amazing about Grace?"

So in the long run, there is but one way to God, through Jesus Christ and only through Him. There are many ways to Christ and he does not turn away any who seek Him. Once one has come to Him and entered into a personal relationship with God through Christ, the way will be made clear through reading and studying the Word of God or the Bible. So the outward appearance of a person matters little, if the heart is filled with the Spirit of Christ and it is manifested in one's behavior. 

When one is a legalist, one says there are certain requirements to worship God, and only the people who dress a certain way or follow certain rituals can gain access to God. But the problem with legalism is that it excludes the ones that need saving the most! Christ came to save and offer grace to all the undeserving! There are none that are truly deserving of all God has to offer. We are all sinners. Christ's message and death were for everyone, no strings attached! God's love and infinite grace are free for everyone! All one has to do, is to believe in Christ and accept it as fact.

So if in the end, we will have a heavenly body, then I guess it doesn't really matter what we do to our earthly bodies, within reason, some tattoos are graphic in nature and should be covered up at the very least. Sometimes alterations are for the better, such as the repairing of disfiguring features like a hare-lip or cleft palate and so many others. Other times, they are just to make us feel better about ourselves, such as face lifts or implants (there are so many kinds these days). Putting a million holes in and drawing pictures on our skin, seems like a petty thing to worry about, although I can't help but think that God wants more from us. If our earthly bodies are temples of God, shouldn't we take care of the outside as well?

So whether they are the remnants of a reckless youth or a midlife crisis, those bazaar etchings of flesh, meaningful or mindless, will be no more, when by the grace of God, we are given our heavenly bodies. They will fade along with scars, misshapen or missing parts and the ravages of diseases, as we are made whole again in body and mind. This is the hope to which we cling, as we find our way in this world.

Annoying things during a Pandemic:

Ever notice that when things are going wrong in the world, like a Pandemic and your daily life has pretty much come to a halt, it’s the small things that become the most annoying? You break a tooth, but the dentist isn’t open, you can’t get your prescriptions refilled, the doctor’s office is closed, you can’t go grocery shopping, you’re not suppose to leave the house, etc.. 

It’s a fact of life that annoying things will happen; they may not be serious, but still annoying. I have been making my own mixes of my favorite tunes for over 50 years, going from reel to reel then to cassettes and now to CDs. I have also been using what little skill I have to put together the music that we use in our aerobics classes for many years now. The teacher gets the music and decides which songs and routines we will use and I put them together in the order we will be doing them on to a CD. It’s just easier to put one CD in and go through the workout without changing CDs between the routines.

Anyway as I mentioned, I make my own mixes from the music in my collection because I like listening to them in my car. My car is older and doesn’t have the kind of stereo system that most cars have now a days, but does have a CD player. Whenever I get new music I have to make a new CD, so I had just put together one of Christian artists covering songs by mainstream artists. I had made it to give to a friend whose husband and daughter, are both musicians thinking they would enjoy it.

I always listen to them first before I give them away, so I had listened to this one once in my own car and it was perfect! Then I had to run out one evening and due to the parking situation in my driveway, I had to use an even older car and thought it would be kool to listen to the CD again. Big mistake! Everything was going just fine, it was sounding great, until I returned home and went to eject it from the player, then the most annoying thing happened! It didn’t want to spit it out! Every time I pushed the eject button it would stick its little head out then go back in! 

So I thought I might try seeing if I could perform a little operation using some tweezers hoping I could catch it before it went back in, but alas it failed! Now it won’t even come up! What could be more annoying than your car stereo swallowing a CD and refusing to spit it out! 

Thankfully I had kept the playlist in my iTunes and was able to whip out a second copy! It must be a sign of the times!

In Case Of An Emergency!

                                        EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS

          PRINT OUT AND KEEP IT WITH YOUR BIBLE…USE IN CASE OF

                                                   EMERGENCY!

         When in sorrow……………………………………………….call John 14

         When men fail you………………………………………….call Psalm 27

         When you have sinned…………………………………….call Psalm 51

         When you worry………………………………….call Matthew 6:19-34

         When you are in danger……………………………………call Psalm 91

         When God seems far away………………………………call Psalm 139

         When your faith needs stirring………………………call Hebrews 11

         When you are lonely and fearful………………………..call Psalm 23

         When you grow bitter and critical……………call 1 Corinthians 13

         When you feel down and out………………………..call Romans 8:31

         When you want peace and rest…………….call Matthew 11:25-30

         When the world seems bigger than God………………call Psalm 90

         When you want Christian assurance…………..call Romans 8:1-30

         When you leave home for labor or travel……………call Psalm 121

         When your prayers grow narrow or selfish…………..call Psalm 67

         When you want courage for a task………………………call Joshua 1

         When you think of investments and returns…………..call Mark 10

          If you are depressed…………………………………………call Psalm 27

          If your pocketbook is empty………………………………call Psalm 37

          If you are losing confidence in people………call 1 Corinthians 13

          If people seem unkind………………………………………..call John 15

          If discouraged about your work……………………….call Psalm 126

          If self pride/greatness takes hold………………………call Psalm 19

          If you want to be fruitful……………………………………..call John 15

          For understanding of Christianity……call 11 Corinthians 5:15-19

          For a great invention/opportunity………………………call Isaiah 55

          For how to get along with fellow men……………….call Romans 12

          For Paul’s secret to happiness………………call Colossians 3:12-17

                                     ALTERNATE NUMBERS:

                         For dealing with fear…………..call Psalm 347

                         For security…………………….call Psalm 121:3

                         For assurance……………………..call Mark 8:35

                         For reassurance…………….call Psalm 145:18

                                          PLEASE NOTE:

     Emergency numbers may be dialed direct, no operator assistance

                                           is necessary.     

                     All lines to Heaven are open 24 hours a day!

                 Feed your FAITH and DOUBT will starve to death!

                                       Pass it on and on…..                    

How the Virus Stole Easter

By Kristi Bothur
(With a nod to Dr. Seuss)

Twas late in ‘19 when the virus began
Bringing chaos and fear to all people, each land.

People were sick, hospitals full,
Doctors overwhelmed, no one in school.

As winter gave way to the promise of spring,
The virus raged on, touching peasant and king.

People hid in their homes from the enemy unseen.
They YouTubed and Zoomed, social-distanced, and cleaned.

April approached and churches were closed.
“There won’t be an Easter,” the world supposed.

“There won’t be church services, and egg hunts are out.
No reason for new dresses when we can’t go about.”

Holy Week started, as bleak as the rest.
The world was focused on masks and on tests.

“Easter can’t happen this year,” it proclaimed.
“Online and at home, it just won’t be the same.”

Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, the days came and went.
The virus pressed on; it just would not relent.

The world woke Sunday and nothing had changed.
The virus still menaced, the people, estranged.

“Pooh pooh to the saints,” the world was grumbling.
“They’re finding out now that no Easter is coming.

“They’re just waking up! We know just what they’ll do!
Their mouths will hang open a minute or two,
And then all the saints will all cry boo-hoo.

“That noise,” said the world, “will be something to hear.”
So it paused and the world put a hand to its ear.

And it did hear a sound coming through all the skies.
It started down low, then it started to rise.

But the sound wasn’t depressed.
Why, this sound was triumphant!
It couldn’t be so!
But it grew with abundance!

The world stared around, popping its eyes.
Then it shook! What it saw was a shocking surprise!

Every saint in every nation, the tall and the small,
Was celebrating Jesus in spite of it all!

It hadn’t stopped Easter from coming! It came!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And the world with its life quite stuck in quarantine
Stood puzzling and puzzling.
“Just how can it be?”

“It came without bonnets, it came without bunnies,
It came without egg hunts, cantatas, or money.”

Then the world thought of something it hadn’t before.
“Maybe Easter,” it thought, “doesn’t come from a store.
Maybe Easter, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

And what happened then?

Well....the story’s not done.
What will YOU do?
Will you share with that one
Or two or more people needing hope in this night?
Will you share the source of your life in this fight?

The churches are empty - but so is the tomb,
And Jesus is victor over death, doom, and gloom.

So this year at Easter, let this be our prayer,
As the virus still rages all around, everywhere.

May the world see hope when it looks at God’s people.
May the world see the church is not a building or steeple.
May the world find Faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection,
May the world find Joy in a time of dejection.
May 2020 be known as the year of survival,
But not only that -
Let it start a revival.