The Integrity Time Warp

 

Let's take a Christian man and put him in a hypothetical situation.

He grows up in a strong Christian home.

He begins his own personal relationship with Jesus at a young age.

He excels at his job.

He demonstrates faithfulness to Jesus through decades of his life.

He gains a reputation for seeking and speaking the truth even in stressful situations.

He gives generously to the poor.

He commits Fornication or Adultery or Swindles someone out of money or Embezzles from a company or (insert any major sin)

Then he hides it, lies about it and then gets caught at it.

What happens next?

Everyone asks the questions,

"I wonder how many other women he's had sex with?"

"I wonder what else he has stolen?"

"What else has he been hiding and lying about that he just hasn't been caught at yet?"

He may have lived a pure life until the moment he fell, but suddenly every past deed he's done is doubted because his integrity has been  destroyed and nobody trusts him anymore.

And it's not just his PAST deeds destroyed but his FUTURE deeds too.

He's with a woman which could be a completely innocent relationship but everyone is wondering if he's sleeping with her too. 

Will his wife ever completely trust him again?

What single Christian woman who has been refusing sex before marriage will want to marry a man who has had sex with another woman and can't withstand temptation?

Who's going to give him a job where he has access to money again?

He robbed before. What's to stop him from doing it again?

He gave himself over to temptation just once ☝️ in a big way, didn't admit it, lied about  until he got caught and it has cast aspersions on all  his past and future deeds.

A person can be loved and forgiven for evil deeds 

but 

 people can't just muster up trust. It must be earned and that takes time, integrity and sacrifice.

If you don't maintain purity and integrity  you may never fully restore them again.

And if I haven't made resisting temptation and maintaining integrity important enough to you yet, ponder this.

If people know you are a Christian you will desttoy Jesus's reputation with your own and negate your ability to quote the Bible again with any authority.

"We need to be Salt and Light."

"We need to live uncomprised lives."

"We need to thoroughly deal with sin in our lives."

"God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can withstand."

Keep your word. 

Keep your integrity.

Do whatever it takes to withstand temptation.

Stay Transparent and  Accountable to SEVERAL people and if you do a major sin...

come clean, 

admit it, 

and own it completely  BEFORE you are forced to admit it because you got caught.

The Truth with Love,

Always Laura-Lee 

 NOTE.

I have NO Ads, NO Store NO Merchandise and I never ask for Donations.

"May I See You Home?"

 Sometimes people are in complete "meltdown mode" but they are "to-ing and fro-ing" so much they aren't looking in the mirror long enough to notice their condition or that a total collapse is on the way.

OR ☝️

 maybe they do realize what's going on but they don't know how to make it stop.

 It's like they are spinning on a merry-go-round and feeling sick but it's spinning so fast they are just holding on for dear life. 

Their false friends, people riding the "gravy train" on their coat tails and the pleasure seeking "Good-time Charlies" in their lives are going to do nothing to help them. They are just exacerbating the problem.

You may be just the stabilizing force they need, even if you're just a temporary or brief one. And you may be the only one because true friends don't show up that often anymore.

Keep in mind, you have to be pretty stable yourself if someone is going to lean on you or you will both fall.

Always tell them the Truth, listen to them, be willing to put up with some garbage while they're cleaning up their lives and make sure they get Home safely. 

Unconditional love in its simple, steadfast, elegant glory. 😊

The Truth with Love,  Always Laura-Lee

" and your feet fitted with the readiness that comes  from the gospel of peace."

Ephesians 6:15

What sparked this post was  the song "Drive" by The Cars, which came out in 1984 when I was 18 years old (Oops❗️🤭 Accidentally outed my age on the internet again). It came up on an old Playlist of mine today and I remembered that when I first heard it I thought, "That is the oddest song (and video)  about true love I have ever heard." 

What do you think?

"DRIVE" by The Cars 🎶 

(You'll need to wear sun glasses for this one. It's a Ric Ocasek Thing. 😎)

🚗 🚘 🛻    🌾🚜🤠

🤨

In the Eye of the Storm (Poem)

(You know what I always demand  suggest.

Poetry must  should be read out loud.) 😊

In the Eye of the Storm

By Laura-Lee Rahn

 "In the eye of the storm a torn sail flies,

On a rugged ship beneath ghostly skies.

The masthead groans, the timbers creak

While all around the tempest shrieks.

Waves of foam like mountains tall,

Threaten to eat and swallow all.

Yet gripping tight to the sturdy helm

One man stands not overwhelmed

In vessels’ steel, he trusteth not

Metal rusts and wood can rot

His haggard face veils a Holy Force

Knowing the Master of the Wind sets his course."

Love,

Always Laura-Lee 

(Edmonton Alberta 2026)

🌊

"I know the Master of the Wind. 

I know the Maker of the Rain.

He can calm the storm.

Make sun shine again."

(Classic old Gospel song) 🤗

✝️

"He [Jesus] got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

"He said to his disciples, 'Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?'

They were terrified and asked each other, 'Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!'”.

Mark 4:39-41

☘️☘️🌹🌹☘️☘️

* Thanks to Ryan Stevenson for inspiring me with a great song, which is your treat for scrolling to the bottom.

"EYE of the STORM" by Ryan Stevenson 🎶

...and all my love to Jesus for getting me through a LIFETIME of storms and  for never abandoning me, even when I shipwrecked myself.  

🌿🍂

🤳🤔

I asked the AI if  it could generate an image of my poem. They all came out so bleak and dark until I said, "You gotta throw some sunlight on this Dude. He's supposed to be feeling sure he'll get through."

It's not the image I had in mind but ... 🤷‍♀️

What do you think of it? Was it what you had in  your mind when reading my poem?

How to Tell if a Bad Christian Leader has Become a Good Christian Leader

 

So a Christian leader has been caught * doing something bad, whether that be in their business, ministry or personal life and they go public with admission of guilt and apologies. How do you tell if they are sincere or not?

If they are sincere, the first ☝️thing they will do is completely step back from the entire situation to take time to evaluate where they are, question what led them to this and spend time alone with Jesus to learn what to do next.

If they just keep on doing business as usual or keeping up with their preaching and speaking engagements as if nothing has happened, that's a red flag warning. 🚩 

If no steps are taken to correct their mistakes or make amends to anyone they hurt or set up a better way of being accountable in the future, that's another red flag. 🚩

If they continue to do things behind closed doors and are still not transparent that's another red flag that nothing is different. 🚩

Let's have a look at a Biblical example.

✝️

It revolves around a Chief Tax Collector named Zacchaeus who lived during Jesus's time. He was a very corrupt and very short man who lived near Jericho and had previously heard about Jesus.

“Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.”

Luke 19:1-6

And after only a few hours with Jesus this is how Zacchaeus was transformed.

“But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Luke 19:8

Not only did the guy turn honest and make amends for his previous sins he actually became generous! 😃

Let's take a look at another corrupt Tax Collector who was cheating people and who had a run in with Jesus.

✝️

“As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.”

Matthew 9:9

BOOM❗️

DONE❗️

One look from Jesus 

(one verse in the Bible) and Matthew walked away from his previous job and life to dedicate himself to Jesus. He became one of the twelve Apostles and God inspired him to the write the book of Matthew, which is the first book of the New Testament!

Are you seeing THAT level of change in the Christian leader we are discussing?

Is he truly owning the sin (or sins) he committed and dealing with them thoroughly or is he (or she) still dancing around the issue, trying to sweep it under the carpet and looking for a way to get 

past it with as little collateral damage as possible?

These are NOT signs of true repentance and no repentance means no forgiveness.

I would also like to mention the asterisk * I put up before. There is a MAJOR difference between whether a person gets CAUGHT doing something wrong or steps forward to CONFESS when they weren't in any trouble because nobody knew about it. 🤨

To boil it down …

the proof is in the pudding, talk is cheap, actions speak louder than words and

  … "the truth (or guilt) is written on all our faces." 

Keep your eyes open,

 your Bibles open, 

your hearts and minds guarded and 

your focus on Jesus.

The Truth with Love,

Always Laura-Lee 

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, WILL GUARD YOUR HEARTS AND YOUR MINDS  in Christ Jesus.”

(emphasis mine)

Philippians 4:4-7

Treat for scrolling to the end.

The Hymn, "Rejoice, the Lord is King" with some spice added by

Phillips Craig and Dean.

"REJOICE❗️🤗 The Lord is King" 🎶 by Phillips Craig and Dean 😎

PS.

To  those who have done wrong but are frightened by facing the consequences which may be quite severe, here's some advice born from experience.

Ultimately there is no running from it once you belong to Jesus because He won't leave you alone until you and He are restored to a right relationship again. The struggle against Jesus is a waste of time and energy. Better to yield to God's will SOONER than LATER. be reconciled to Christ and let Peace and Joy into your life again, which I suspect has been seriously lacking while you've been creeping around trying to find ways to cover your butt.

Here's a Phillips Craig and Dean double play.

"Tell Your Heart to Beat Again" 🎶 by Phillips Craig and Dean

☘️🌹🌹🍀

☘️🌸🌸☘️

BTW. I'm 60 years old. I didn't have time for my usual (Oops❗️🫢...) thing today.