Are Down Low Christians Giving God A Bad Name?

Some stuff will stick in your craw until you take the steps to remove it.

This post is one of those things because thus far, I've only written two sentences.

 All spiritual questions and answers align themselves to the ear of those whose heart's are inclined to listen.

I say a heart to listen because our ears only have capacity to absorb that which we find pleasing. Rebuke is not on that list for most. To relish in rebuke is almost unseen in  the human experience. Even the pope, feeling justified in wading into political waters, seems shocked when sprayed with the disdain of the disagreeable.

Christ came not to condemn, but to redeem.....and it worked.  He lived a life worthy of sacrifice for the cause of redemption. He did it so that we wouldn't have to.

Have to do what?
What is the IT that Christ came to keep us from doing? 

 Live a life worthy of redemption for ALL (which includes you).  What it takes to save yourself would also be sufficient to save the world. None of us is even good enough to make it through a day sin free, much less an entire life. This gift from God doesn't give us license to be lazy because lazy implies doing something is actually an option in this matter.

Understand what a gift truly means. What do we have to do to receive our birthday gifts? Arrive at the party and open them.  That's all!!

Let me repeat this for those in the upper balcony area.  THE WORK IS DONE. If you believe that, you too are redeemed. Let the redeemed of the Lord say.....say what? That I am a Christian or that I am redeemed?

We Christians spend hours and sermons and days upon weeks upon years arguing over "Getting Right With God"; code words for going to church regularly and paying tithes....i.e., doing something, not just saying so.

By designating ourselves with the name of the actual doer instead of calling ourselves according to what has been done to us, Christianity became encompassed around an idea of a the blessed actions of a sent savior more so than salvation itself, in that we focus more on the act and actions of Christ the deity- past, present and future- instead of God the Alpha and Omega. If God had a seat at the naming seat, I imagine he would suggest we name ourselves exactly what we are, the redeemed of the Lord, not those people called Christians, because anymore, what does the term really mean?

How Many Christian Denominations Are There In America?  (That depends on how you define denomination)


In robbing the name of the redeemer, Christianity holds a self proclaimed supremacy of existence that offers privileges strictly from association, including a clue of end time prophecies and conjoining questions of each other (who already claim Faith) whether we'll be ready (a full functioning Christian associate) when he comes.

What Exactly Does Ready Look Like?

The humongous problem with this whole "ready" concept is the debate over who and what gets to define your qualified association- or readiness, if you will? If we both claim Faith but only one of us goes to church, who gets in to heaven first? Why? If heaven is our promise, does it matter the order of entry? And where are any of these answers written either way?


Is it tithing and attendance that offers a membership into the association, or is the association actually no more complex than accepting God's gift of redemption "just as you are", like some of us keep trying to describe it?

I'm not sure I care to debate that topic anymore. In short the answer to both questions is yes.

Yes. God can save you in your sin because, if we all agree that all have sinned and fall short, he really has no choice.  Right?

Yes you need to go to church and tithe if you heart has spoken to you in that fashion, and not because your family keeps wondering why haven't you shown up. Forget all those external voices. If that internal voice gets too strong, consider entering the ministry to calm the noise even more.  Keep in mind, however, that my informal independent studies have NOT shown that stingy people- even pastors- can become instantly benevolent from the act of tithing, regular churching or preaching. Our nature is coded to our DNA.

Some of our choices we think we would do differently given the opportunity to re-do them, but the likelihood is we will choose the path most aligned with our true nature.  If it's in my nature to dance, I'm probably going to that club even if the church folks don't necessarily approve.

Which begs the true question of who are you in Christ, and where is Christ in you?  Last I heard, Christ was living off of the grid and doing all of his best work in rent free temples that walk around and talk now.  He left many words of wisdom in a very special book, but he came not to just be heard, but to be seen of men. To create a living example of what Love in action looks like.  From my best analysis of what he did and what we've chosen as a response to that example, most of us ran back to the same synagogue that he rarely set foot in, because accepting ourselves as "the new church" makes each of us accountable to also be pastors of a sort.

I accept that call in the way I pattern my every encounter with another human, for if I am truly the church, fellowship can, and should, happen whenever and where ever I am. Many churches who function as a place you go on the weekend,  have started only helping their regular tithers and attendees instead of also helping those strangers or infrequent attendees asking for help . While that sounds like simple fairness, it also sounds like the slippery slope of momentarily earning the benefits of salvation....like an entitlement earned through taxation. Like government- a place where those who really need help get means tested and still somehow struggle to qualify. As a result, the church becomes blemished by the policy of fairness and not emboldened by the challenge to out give God.


In fact, way too many of my close friends and family keep wondering why church folks seem to be the last folks to help you anymore.

I hope not to suggest that any church can survive without financial support because no church can stay open without paying the bills. Turning their support inward is a reasonable reaction to dwindling memberships across the nation. Yet, some churches seem to trust in God's provisions enough to steer clear of pulpit fundraising campaigns.

Is that a rebuke against pulpit fundraising?

I'm really not writing to judge any man, or church, for their choices. This expose is an effort to shine light on outcomes....aka., fruits.

Unless it is natural to your DNA, pulpit begging has to be something incredibly tough to force yourself to initiate. It might get easier once you master the lines that fill the coffers, but those coffers are always going to depend on the mastery of that asker.

Master asker's rarely miss out on alter calls (membership building) or 'pay the bills' guilt preaching. Eventually, these are also the churches that close really soon after that asker dies or moves to do his asking of a bigger congregation.

In other words, even what appears to be economic growth might also be a cancerous growth in the gut of Pastor Stressoverbills as well as an unsustainable formula and a weak reflection of Faith.

I have never come to grips with so many Christians having such a clear ear for end of time prophecy (though the word clearly says that no man knows when) but not for the reliably consistent and sustaining blessings that ALWAYS come to him that waiteth on the Lord. If you haven't quite figured it out, all of God's blessings come when times seem most bleak, but also when you finally break and just Let Go and Let God. I may not know what Faith looks like, but I'm fairly confident it doesn't look like pulpit pressure.

There are examples of churches that try to give beyond their receiving (Salvation Army), but these are bad examples of regular churches because giving churches continuously struggle to keep pace with God's blessings despite their desperate efforts to help more and more people. Simply put, you can't beat God's giving, no matter how you try. Yet, so very few churches really try to do it.

It's as though the more those redeemed of God plant, tend and harvest the fruit for the redemption of others, the bigger and bigger the next harvest becomes.

This is why the more I live, the easier it gets to pray for blessings on even my enemy as I pray for myself. All conflict derives from the fleshly nature of ourselves, the material side of who we are,but none of us are truly reflected in our stuff or stature, because those things often bear hidden costs. Instead, we are all EXACTLY what our fruits say we are.

You DL Christians have not fooled anyone yet, because your fruit keeps giving you away. If you were stingy sinners, almost every one of you remains stingy while saved. If folks used to call you a liar a lot, they probably now just do it after y'all leave the church house. Hustlers on the street have surely taken to the pulpit, yet pulpit hustling is a grind and it creates the same quiet commentary that street hustlers endure. If you showed little integrity to your street hustle, it will likely carry over.

Which means, for some Christians, their reputation is the same bitter fruit it's always been. Meanwhile, that one Auntie who hates them church folk but also hates to see a young man down on his luck, seems to always put you up for the night without reminding you about missing church, and she'll put a $20 in your pocket that she will never ask for because it wasn't a loan, it was water on a struggling fruit tree.

I'm gonna stop now.

If I explain this one any further it will not be free of judgement. This message was only intended for Down Low Christians. You'll recognize them from that wilted fruit basket that used to feed the lost sheep. Now, that fruit is for members only.

Does Cosby Deserve The Same Grace That Roof Got?

For the sake of argument, let's agree that being gay and monogamous, maybe even loving one person of your same sex enough to possibly commit yourself to them forever, is a sin even though the bible warns about same sex, not same sex marriage exactly.

So many of the people who invoke the Holy Bible of Christianity for the sake of rebuking abortion and homosexuality reject the rest of the same bible when it focuses on the call of Grace and forgiveness.  For a simple minded person like me, that means to think on Grace and focus on forgiveness before judgment finds me needing them for myself.

If you were one of those people who came to the rescue of America's former favorite father Bill Cosby like R&B singer Jill Scott did, you are likely to be needing Grace and forgiveness from the claimants who've called themselves Cosby's victims for a long time since they are looking more like victims than opportunists with each passing day.

I have chosen to refrain from detailed contribution on this topic because accusations are a really sad reason for adding to the destruction of a human life.  Guilty or not, Cosby deserves the same march towards conviction, settlement or absolution that every other accused universally beloved date rape drugger deserves. When you say that out loud, it sounds like the reason we don't want to touch this one. If not guilty, we are disrupting our own childhood by destroying Bill.  If found guilty of this, Cosby at least deserves what that Penn State rapist, Jerry Sandusky got- or what we wish we could give to all of those Catholic ministers who  got away with abusing young boys.

I just angered myself with the thought of these forms of hideous sins and our relative lack of unified outrage, which reflects as denial to me.  Are we really more agitated by the marriage commitment of homosexuals than we are with Bill? Based upon our opening agreement, sin is still sin for now, however, rape like Bill is accused of doing feels like a lower form of  sin when I imagine the outwardly destructive things man does towards man versus the personal sins we do to ourselves or with consenting adults. This Cosby crap is upsetting like child molestation but maybe even more sadistic when you imagine someone willing to incapacitate and then violate an unconscious person.  While also distorted,  necrophilia seems more dignified in that the corpse doesn't have to live with the pain of the violation forever.

Grace and forgiveness are screaming in my ear to relax and release.  Take a few deep breaths. Wait on a firm conviction first.

Terror at a Boston marathon, a Colorado movie theater or a South Carolina church service are horrific sins, but  are also NOT UNworthy of forgiveness. Since the Bible declares that all do sin and fall short of the glory, it indirectly suggests that we all have an equal need for His Grace. Human guilt has a way of creating a barrier between the forgiveness we desperately need because all of our guilt gets manifested when we approach that final crossing towards the Grace for an overcoming life, not just for salvation when we die.  Its at this moment when most people look down  at the tattered bridge before them and don't trust it enough to step out towards living Grace, afraid that it might give way on them before they make it across.

Crossing the bridge of judgement requires forgiving yourself.

Those who step out  eventually recognize that they are traversing across the bridge called Guilt that separates man from the sin we do and the forgiveness that fixed it all.  If you focus on the judgement beneath you and not the Grace before you, you will fall, prey to your own sins and be forced to climb your battered body back to the top complete with your new found fear and scars, just to rejoin the increasing crowd of the fearful.

These are the forgiven believers that stand fearfully frozen by guilt while screaming judgement's at those who chase onward because they are afraid to chase for Grace themselves.


Unbelief Is The Worse Of All Sins

Faith is a Grace journey that junctions at this cross bridge where fearful believers gather for forgiveness. No one whose courage carries them to the other side will ever look back on those yet to make it and find the heart to judge the rapist or the raped; the terrorist or those damaged by terror. His open arms of Grace usher us to step out in faith viewing all sin as nothing more than guilt's burden strapped to the back of the redeemed,  Standing next to Him on the good side of Grace compels us toward this same view one to another.

So fret not Bill Cosby and those who falsely judge him before time.  Judging and date rape drugging may never outrage like gay marriage does, and are also not the worst sin of them all.  Unbelief (atheism, agnosticism)is the one sin you don't want to die with.

By faith- everything else is forgiven.

Why Trust A Nation Still Waiting For Their Jesus?

Every one of my biggest problems in this world- even complex topic writer's block- seems to get resolved at the seat of GRACE. It was a problem trying to make sense of  an inspiration that felt a bit too complex to properly chew and digest- even for my overactive mental digestive tract.

You ask, how might the spirit of forgiveness unto salvation help a struggling writer?  What I discovered is that, in all things, don't take yourself too seriously.  In other words, forgiving yourself can be liberating towards self expression and also towards experiencing the liberating change we often expect from others.

In the spirit of GRACE, it has been a very long time since I've journalistically pricked the conscious of those prescribed as atheist or agnostic mostly because the elevating intolerance of those prescribed as Christian (me) has pricked my angst against pointing a finger at anti religion people who have religiously organized themselves to say that they want no part of religion's nonsense.


I get it.

I totally empathize with the damaging impact religion has had on God's favorability numbers. Skepticism towards God always makes sense until I find myself outside each spring pulling up the undesirables in the lawn, hoping for the prize of best grass on the block.  I have yet to win the title, but not for the lack of sincere effort.  My hours of gripping and grinding give me ample time to marvel at the majesty of life as well as the doubt of God's disbelievers.  Seeing the circle and cycle of life makes it hard to imagine that everything came without the conscious design of something greater than the designs themselves, so even my seasonal attempts at broad leaf genocide reminds me of the resiliency of life in a way that humbles me to the core.

Children killed in Syrian chemical attack

Chemical Weapon's Don't Work

I no longer spray chemicals to fight the war with weeds because, for aesthetic reasons, even shriveled and dying weeds have to be pulled up. I figure, if I've gotta pull the damn things regardless, then I will pass on the pesticides and keep on pulling.  Not to mention, my neighbor made me curious about a recipe of dandelion soup that his family in Oklahoma has mastered. My love of cooking and a Google search could certainly justify an attempt at repurposed dandelions, except my pesticide shriveled dandelions might not be soup suitable for a few years.

The impact of chemicals is clearly pronounced on the leaf pattern and on the overall size of my dandelion's, yet the three seasons of Syrian style chemical warfare on all the broad leaf weeds that inhabit my lawn has yet to eliminate them from the landscape.  Those who are familiar with chemical lawn warfare must be certain not to employ weapons that might eliminate every form of vegetation, so chemicals designed to kill broad leafs, and not your grass, have to be humane enough to kill strategically and slowly.

Within our inherant DNA for survival, every life form must modify and adapt itself.  The weed modification's from chemical lawn warfare produces a dandelion that flowers without broad leaves and actually flowers (seeds) below ground level if necessary. In essence, chemicals kill many existing weeds, but only alter the survival nature of the weeds that continue to grow in the future- especially those dandelions.

If you are no longer a little kid who picks dandelions for a bouquet for mom, or blows the seeds all over the yard because they literally invite you to do so, dandelions seem offensive.  In reality, dandelions tend to coexist with grass fairly well and will only overtake grass with the severe neglect of not cutting down the yellow soldiers whenever their heads pop out of the trench. Crabgrass, on the other hand, starts out looking similar to grass, but changes as it grows and will eventually overtake grass if allowed to stay.

Unlike the dreaded crabgrass.
Pulling up dandelions....

I mostly stopped the chemicals because I started seeding, which makes chemicals counterproductive to the young grass shoots, and mild chemicals only work on broad leaf weeds anyway, not crabgrass. One blast of crabgrass killing chemicals, and  an entire area of young grass will likely be the biggest victim.  The weakest, slowest, least of these will always be the worse victims of war, especially something so subversive and stealthy as chemical war.

.....leaves very few blemishes

In part, its the 
death of the least of these that forces 
the end of most war, because the death of children strikes a blow at society. 
That was the calculation of Syrian president Bashir Al-Assad, or whoever will be held responsible for the recent chlorine gas attacks

Syrian children killed by chemicals

on Syrian areas thought to be subversive to the Al-Assad government. Striking a blow at the heart of a society was certainly what WE had in mind when we dropped bombs in Japan to end their opposition during WWII. In the effort to finally address the ISIS threat, Al-Assad will have to soon become an ally or be removed like Sadaam Hussein.  If, on the other hand, the world community is asking Al-Assad to deal with the ISIS weeds in his own lawn, he must have the freedom to use any of the means and methods that every conscientious lawn owner has employed to varying degree's of success- since ALL weed removal bears retributive damage.

No more crabgrass.....for now.

Al-Assad appears to be a dandelion to me, and eventually the world might be forced to remove him one way or another.  In my experience, you must snatch crabgrass up by the root to  eliminate the problem.  I can pull dandelions all day long with minimal damage to the surrounding grass, but crabgrass has to be snatched at the root- which will be at the expense of some of the least of these.

What Becomes Of Those Who Deny Christ?

I realize ISIS is of major concern, but I need GRACE to help me with Benjamin Netanyahu and the nation of Israel- the shameless middle eastern Jewish caliphate that is anxiously waiting for the messiah most of the world accepts in the form of Jesus Christ.  That sometimes seems like a small religious dispute which should be easily overlooked in a world full of varying religions, but most Americans rarely stop to think about what happens when Israel's messiah arrives, and how will he impact the lawn in the middle east.  True Christian GRACE does not stack rank sin, even the sin of denial that occurs with atheists, agnostics and more fearfully, Jews like Benjamin Netanyahu who consider the Jewish messiah, Christ, a lie.

ISRAEL'S ROLE FOR HUMANITY

There is no answer without a call.  Therefore, the very purpose of humanity might be connected to the call of Abram to be the father of a people chosen for a purpose greater than themselves.  If society is searching for an answer to the middle east, we should begin with the call of Israel.

GENESIS 12 

The Call of Abram

12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

2 “I will make you into a great nation,
    and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.[a]
3 I will bless those who bless you,
    and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you.”[b]

Seperate our world into its major religious components (Christianity, Judaism and Islam), and all roads point back to Abraham, the undenied father of each religion.  Genesis 12 began the call of Israel, but the doctrine of Israel and eventual dogma of Judaism has little connection with God's call.  Israel, the founding nation of father Abraham, considers themselves worthy by virtue of a religious doctrine that the Christian messiah claims to have nullified through the act of GRACE. Stated more clearly, kosher, not Christ, is king.

Outside of the spirit of GRACE, religions and opinion bloggers with mental hurdles fall victimized by the very thing Christ hoped to save us all from, dogmatic illusions of righteousness that leave us governed more by rules and rituals (The Law) and less by the spirit (GRACE).  The Law code is perfectly fine except for its rejection of rule by the spirit.  In ancient times, dogmatic illusion of righteousness became married to the Law of Moses, which God originally gave to man to serve as a mirror for sin until the marriage of GRACE which freed man from the guilt of his sinful shortcomings.

Pastor Joseph Prince creatively describes the Law of Moses in this way.  If a glass of water has lots of dirt and sediment in it, the silver spoon (the law) can stir it and reveal the sediment.  If you let the glass sit for some time, the dirt (sin) might settle to the bottom and make the water appear worthy of consumption.  The spoon will easily stir and reveal the dirt once again, but the spoon did not cause the dirt just as the mirror doesn't cause the reflection to appear ugly- they both only show you what was already there.

GRACE came to place the silver spoon and the mirror behind a door of mystery. Every mystery door has its lure, and the curious will typically turn at the knob. Behind the door, however, is nothing more than the mirror of sin or that silver spoon (the Law).  When Christ took every sin upon himself, he locked the mirror and the spoon behind that door. Our guilt and shame can easily unlock the door, however, their power is married to the revelatory Law of Moses which, once again, came only to bring each of us to the end of ourselves (salvation by achievement) until the beginning of salvation through the simple acceptance of the complete sacrifice of Christ- the embodiment of GRACE.

Man is now dead to the demand of the law upon receiving the gift of GRACE even though sin remains fully intact in our flesh waiting to be stirred by the spoon or revealed in the mirror. Does staring in the mirror make your pimples go away or just aware that you've got them? Does stirring the dirty water produce holiness or the opposite?

Let's connect the dots.

Does stirring sin or revealing sin's reflection remove sin or increase its power? Those who live by the law are bound by its power, which means Israel is not just married to the Law of Moses, they are a nation constantly being stirred- or cornered by sin's inescapable reflection.

How do you define sin and evil in a kosher society?  Everything that doesn't comport to the code of the Law- even America- becomes potentially evil if you live in a way in which the very food you eat comports a belief of righteousness.  How does a kosher world leader comport with men and women so defiled as to actually consume swine?  Ironically, Jews and Muslims totally agree on this point of contention as well as the necessity of religious justification by virtue of other dogmatic expectations.  GRACE, on the other hand, declares a view of sin and of the Law of Moses that is more radical than even some Christian religion's can fully accept.

Pastor Prince expands his view of the law by explaining that the very first sin illustrated in the 10 Laws of Moses (Have No Other God's Before Me) was not committed by the Jews until the moment that the law was given.  In other words, the Jews simultaneously decided to melt down their gold and build the golden calf exactly at the moment that God sent instructions through Moses not to do it. From then until now, Jews have been desperately seeking  a true expression of God, including an anticipation of God's promised messianic return.  Since ancient Jewish doctrine promises a coming messiah, modern Jews can not transition from the demands of the previous Law of Moses or the present complex doctrine it generated, until a messiah arrives to document a new law. If the Law of Moses is not fulfilled in the form of a new Jewish messiah, Jews remain married to a law that was only designed to function as the bridge to salvation, not salvation itself.

What that means to me is that Netanyahu and Israel is not only a nation trapped inside of the law of Moses, waiting for THEIR messiah to arrive to prove OUR messianic theory a lie, they are geographically designed for military peril while they wait. If ever there were a nation in need of the non-judgemental hand of GRACE, it is Israel.  Upon the arrival of the Jewish messiah, how do we connect and conclude the story from Deuteronomy to the coming of the new Jewish messiah instead of the Jesus story we've heard about?  Which Jewish official will chronicle their messiah to fill in the untold portions of the Jewish bible that other Jewish forefathers (Isaiah, Jeremiah or John the Baptist) describe another way?

Will there be a manger to fulfill prophecy?  Do manger's even exist anymore?

Someday, in our life time or in the life time of our children, Israel must eventually find their messiah, and their continued search (aka., rejection of GRACE's provision) is not something to take lightly. Until Israel receives expanded instruction from the new Jewish messiah, they remain a nation governed by mirrors, silver spoons and an  unfinished bible. Jew's who believe in Jesus seem to recognize the challenge of waiting for the correct Jesus to come and finish their bible story, but few of them live in Israel.  Of the 161,000 Christian Jews living in Israel (2.1% of the population), 127,000 are actually Arab Christians.  What happens when the new messiah arrives?  Will he be called Christ too, and which Christ will prevail among the current people of Israel?

The Grass Is Always Greener

Every nation, Israel included, has the duty of its own lawn.  America's lawn might be seen as the best on the block, but from an aerial view, we are reminded that police brutality and unabashed Hillary abuse remain brown spots. Nations with a lawn full of violent weeds must do the grueling work of uprooting some of them to establish balance and order-  and grass will be sacrificed.

The middle east represents one big giant desert landscape with winds that blow your neighbors problems directly into your yard.  Whatever choice your neighbor employs in the fight to create the type of yard they prefer will impact everyone in the middle eastern community at large- which is why nuclear weapons are a major risk to the entire region.

Much like nuclear weapons, chemicals can be more problematic than useful.

Trust US.  WE know from experience.  Chemicals only appear to get rid of your problem when they actually exacerbate the width, breadth and resolve of your opponents. Your problem might relocate for a spell, but the war will resume another day.

Needing to borrow dandelions from my pesticide free neighbor is the least of the worries- for my soup recipe or the middle east.  Even a ground force of American soldiers will ignite the struggle between  middle eastern vegetation trying to fill the vacuum from the American removed undesirables, be that Al-Assad of the future or the vacuum created from Hussein and Ghaddafi of the past. However kosher they claim themselves to be, at this point, I am not entirely certain that a nation  lead by Netanyahu and still in search of their own Jesus is not a form of crabgrass themselves.

Without intervention, crabgrass, which thrives on minimum moisture, will overtake a lawn.  Al-Assad won't be able to keep the lid on Syria without chemical intimidation or something similarly heinous. Eventually, Iran, Iraq, Israel or someone in the middle east will be forced to address Syria simply to address the ISIS threat and the need to fill the vacuum when or if Al-Assad is removed. Because of Israel- the kosher crabgrass of the middle east- no matter how we achieve a military victory over ISIS and Al-Assad, there will NEVER be room for a continued US presence that doesn't ruin the landscape and make the middle eastern weed problem worse.

Grass is losing popularity, even in America, because it comes at the cost of lots of water and constant weed pulling. In the dry middle eastern landscape, even kosher crabgrass deserves a place, but achieving a peaceful balance will be at the expense of the least of these, and to the benefit of those who mock the very GRACE that keeps them the blessed and not cursed nation they are. Although this is a problem for American's (me) tired of being pulled into the middle east because of Israel, its not too big for GRACE. In the eyes of God- and the command of Genesis 12- the challenge of being God's chosen people is a journey wrought with opposition and demanding of radical forgiveness.

How to handle Israel is sort of like that problem some of us married men suffer from.  It seems many of us complain of wives who rarely admit to being wrong.  The certainty I've gained this spring lawncare season is that the marvel and majesty of life is similar to the marvel and majesty of GRACE. When I found myself complaining to God that husband's (me) have to forgive our wives like we do Israel, as if she's never done anything wrong, he say's back to me:

"Now You Understand GRACE".