Magnetic Faith!

I'm intrigued by magnets - by the power of of a substance the greeks called "magnatas stone".

Magnetism is an invisible force that attracts or repels, dependent upon which side or "pole" of the magnet is employed. There are coils of wire that act as magnets, as long as there is a current running through. Even light can have the properties of magnetism. The "Fish Magnet" is a green phosphorescent bulb that can be submerged underwater at night to attract fish - or at least the stuff fish feed on. Light as a magnet is the strongest connection we have to the magnetic nature of faith. Isaiah 60 says "Arise, shine, your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you." This, friends, is the message of Christmas and now the message of Epiphany. Epiphany, another Greek word that means to appear and to give light. God's epiphany for us is Jesus Himself - the Light of the world come to illuminate the darkness of our minds and our hearts with the shining light of God's grace and mercy.  We cannot forget that most of our lives are lived in darkness - just look at the news if you need any confirmation. Missiles in Gaza, rampaging Santas and dismal retail numbers all remind us of these dark times. But that's not all. For Isaiah, it was a seeming absence of God, even though the people returned from their exile. A darkness that extends beyond daily circumstances into the very fabric of our being - the darkness that is sin. Arise and shine - a Light pierces this darkness as nails pierced flesh. The Epiphany of our God is as much in wise men and star as it is in cross and nails. The Epiphany of our God illuminates us in faith, so that there is a change in us that attracts others to the Light of Christ Jesus. But, as with any magnet, there is danger in it's use. Which end of God's magnet are you using? Are you using the end that just gives lip service to the gift God has given you? Are you using the end that causes others to question, "He's a Christian?" Are you using the end that REPELS, or the one that attracts? 1 Peter 2:12 says this, "Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation." That means, let your faith be a magnet - by DOING the faith to others, by walking in the Light of God as your new way of life. It's hard to doubt a God that changes a life like yours and mine - it's hard to doubt a God that forgives all our sin and leads us into a life of abundant love in Christ Jesus! 

True RULE

The whole world seemed to celebrate en masse back in November as the U.S. elected it's first African-American President. Running on a platform of "change" and of "hope", Barack Obama's message obviously resonated not only in this country, but in all of those places where times are stagnant and dismal. As we rapidly approach the launch of the Obama administration the test will be whether or not true change comes - whether or not the hopes of those who have placed there trust in this man come to fruition. When he takes the "crown" of leadership there'll be no shortage of pressure, right? Well, how about the pressure placed on Solomon, King David's son, as he was given the crown of Israel? Not only would he taking the seat of a beloved King, but he would be expected to move this Kingdom forward under the watchful eye of the people. More properly, he would be expected to lead under the watchful eye of God. What prepares one for such an enormous task? Well - it begins with realizing that there is leadership that extends beyond the capabilities of any man. Solomon's wisdom is rooted in the fact that he knows that God is God - and he, Solomon, is not! In Psalm 72 this new king hits his knees and prays to God for the gifts that will make him a leader with God's own heart. Solomon prays that God will give him the justice and the righteousness with which God alone has. Justice for the poor and righteousness for all the people! That's REAL change! That's REAL hope! An guess what? Solomon well knows that it can only come from God Himself! Solomon knows that through his royal line will come a King that IS justice and IS righteousness. For YOU, friends, this King has come and will come again, even though the people crowned Him with thorns which His Father turned to gold. His name was, is and will be the only name that endures forever -the Name above all Names - Jesus! In Him is REAL change - His life for yours. In Him is REAL hope - blessing YOU now and into eternity! See the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and put your trust in Him! He has come for justice and righteousness. He has come...for YOU!

A choice..

"Mary, did you know.." the song goes - 

Did you know your baby would walk on water? Did you know the blind would see, the lame walk? did you know you held the Lord of creation, ruler of the nations - the perfect lamb? Mary, did you know? Better yet - Mary did you have a choice? Did you have a choice to endure the shame of being found pregnant, yet unmarried? Did you have the choice of giving birth in the comfort of home rather than a strangers cave? Did you have the choice to flee a king, to return an exile, to lose a son? Mary, did you have a choice? Friend - do you? The reality lies before you each day, do you follow the wisdom of the world or the foolishness of God? The story itself is unreal - all angels declaring, virgins giving birth, stars in the sky and wise men from the east. It's all a stretch to our minds that would like to choose a much different path. In the narrow view the choice is easy -I can take or leave the details as long as I accept and follow Jesus and His teaching...right? Wrong. Dead wrong. The eternal deal breaker is whether or not God is God, with plans greater than our knowledge and our imagination - a God greater than our personal choice. "I am the Lord's servant, " Mary says, " Let it be done to me as you have said." Just as God would build of David a house, so too would God knit in the womb of Mary something she did not choose - a child that would be called Jesus, because He would save His people from there sins. The "choice" is empowered by the Word of God, the promise that He would never leave us nor forsake us, but give us instead the gift of eternal life. Did you choose? No, God chose you - to be His own through the sacrifice of His Son and to give you life by His Spirit dwelling in you. 

Another voice

It's all about me.

Spend any time with pre-school aged kids and you come to know this truth. They think...hey...it's all about me....deal with it! Unfortunately, we don't grow up out this attitude too readily or too quickly. Most conversations we have are one sided - ours being the prominent voice, so ready to tell "all about me".

When Jesus cousin John came into the Judean wilderness to preach and to baptize, he could have easily talked all about himself. He was a striking character - one who had shunned the comforts of this world for the message of God. He had a way of drawing people to himself...wooing they call it, and prompting repentance and the confessing of sin. In the fourth Gospel, John relates another opportunity for the Baptizer to point to himself. The Pharisees ask - "Are you the Christ? Elijah? The Prophet?" to each of these, John answers "No." He is but a voice-  calling in the wilderness - prepare the way of the Lord. As they try to trap him in a theological debate about Baptism - John refuses to get off message - He points instead to Christ. This voice, the one that points to Jesus alone is the voice that needs to trump all the other voices in our heads...particularly our own. Our own voice that speaks only in the darkness of our sin - our voice that tries to justify our behavior, that tries to make excuses, that tries to place ourselves above others - our voice is silenced by the voice of the one who points to the one true Light, Christ Jesus our Lord. Is it all about you? Yes, in a sense it is! All about you being delivered from darkness into the light. Yet when we speak, we speak not about our own victories and accomplishments, but instead about the victory of Christ and His cross FOR us! This is your NEW voice! Open your mouth...let it speak, shout, sing of God's love for YOU and for His world!

Who leads the church?

We talk a lot about leadership in the church. We talk about those who are called to lead, those who are equipped to lead and those who are chosen to lead. We even question leadership in the church - is he capable? does she "get it"? are they actually leading?  As Paul concludes his first letter to the Thessalonian church, he talks about how leaders are to be assessed and treated. To get a full picture, we must first look at the makeup of leaders themselves. The responsibility of leaders, according to Paul, is to be examples to the believers in Christ Jesus. Imitators of Paul and his brother church planters would declare only the Gospel of God in Christ, keeping far from error or impurity or attempts to deceive. This is the core of "servant leadership" the only model that Jesus gave His followers. Leaders who have been "approved" by God and "entrusted" with the Gospel are not to please men - but to please God alone - to serve Him. It makes the job really tough. To never seek glory from others is the trap of leaders, particularly those who are often flattered with words designed to sway the leader away from placing Jesus first. Paul points to his own behavior among the Thessalonians, describing his behavior much like a mother to a child, in other words, much like a servant. He goes on to say that as leaders they were ready to share not only the Gospel, but themselves. Hmmm...how many leaders among us can honestly say the same? The struggle we have as leaders and as those who are led is the sense that all is well as long as we get our way - but as soon as it doesn't go our way - well... the church becomes something other than a place of joy, prayer and thanksgiving. Friends- as those who lead and those who are led we must remember only the model of Jesus and His disciples. Our Lord said these words in Matthew 20:25-28:

"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as ransom for many."

This is the leader that shall be honored by those led - the one who garners "respect" because God's Word comes first. The reason? Simple - so that the people of God will remain at peace with one another. Leaders who serve by the power of the Word of God - lead by a Word that "admonishes" "encourages" and "helps" with "patience" for all. As the church leaders seek to do good to all, so all those who choose to follow must trust that the leaders will serve God first and men second. This, friends, will be the only way a church can "rejoice always" living lives of prayer and thanks to God  - this is the only way Spiritual gifts can be lifted up for the sanctification of soul and body. Servant leaders and Servant followers are one in the same - those touched by the Gospel and called to the one eternal faith - life in Christ Jesus!

Restored to be restored

For all of us who live in the dry, desert like climates of this country, we await the winter rains to restore life. Even with the small amounts of rain and the slight increase in humidity we've experienced, I've already noticed a greenish tinge to the dry, brown, summer scorched hills. I took a ride into those hills yesterday, noticing the restored patches of green and thinking about the way God restores our lives just the same. Psalm 126 is a Psalm of Ascents - meaning a liturgical song sung by pilgrims approaching Jerusalem for worship. This Psalm sings of the restoration of a people that seemed too good to be true, almost like a dream. That even in the light of great sin, of exile into the deepest, driest wilderness of shame, God restored the fortunes of His people. He brought them back. Back into the land He had promised. This return, this restoration filled mouths with laughter and song - praises for all God has done. Then, just as they do today, the seasons change. Things got dry again. Remembering what God HAD done was OK, but the people needed to look forward to what God would do. That God Himself would cause rivers to flow in the desert of our lives again is the promise God made of His Son, Jesus Christ. That while this life would never be easy - in fact it will be full of tears - God, our God would make us joyous once again. Each time I feel a little dry, at the point of wondering "Where is God in all of this?"  I remember that just as rain will fall on the desert, making it green - God's gracious love in Jesus has fallen and will continue to fall upon my life, giving me comfort today and hope for a future of eternal joy with Him! 

A dream

I had an odd dream last night that sort of went like this-

We were in a large, kind of perfect mall like structure. I wasn't sure of what this place was, other than it was reminiscent of the mall in the town where I grew up. There was a tremendous noise, shouting and splashing coming from the floor above us. Cassie and I went up the escalator to find that the structure was actually a huge church - we were facing a large fountain and pool area where fifty or so people were gathered for baptism. The pastor moved back and forth in chest high water, lurking behind an obviously frightened woman. Speaking unintelligible words he pounced on her, taking her to the bottom of the pool. As they came up together, spitting and coughing - she screaming - "Lord, help me Jesus!" The crowd shouting , "Amen! Hallelujah!" and the pastor taking her to the bottom once again. We moved through the crowd for a better look - as she came up out of the water, soaked and crying, into the arms of her family. Next up was a older man who went down without struggle or complaint. The pastor boldly declaring - "Come to the waters sinners! Repent you sinners, Repent!" A large, strong young man came reluctantly into the pool with his parents by his side. As the pastor took hold of his arm, we could tell this would be a monumental struggle - once again, like a pro wrestler, the pastor waded through the water behind the boy. With great noise and effort the pastor jumped the boy, trying to take him into the water. Defiant, the young man moved through the water, dragging the pastor behind to the other end of the pool. I moved even closer, opposite the action to the other side, near steps that led down into the water. Sitting on these steps I watched the pastor try again to take the boy down - to no avail. They moved around the pool in an odd dance of the baptizer and the one who would not be baptized."Out Satan!" the pastor shouted, "To the depths of Hell!" The struggle intensified. As the boy finally shook off the incredulous pastor and swam towards the steps on which I was sitting. He grabbed hold of my leg and pulled me toward the water. Shocked I tried to pull back, but he had me by the ankle and I couldn't break free - "What do you want with me?" I said. "Now." he replied. "Do it now." I found that I was not in a struggle with the boy but beside him. There was a moment when I looked into his eyes and saw only the look of  the helpless. I slowly reached down and took up a handful of water and said -  "You're baptized, in the name of the Father." He looked at me quietly. I took up another handful. "You're baptized in the name of the Son." Tears streaming, the boy calmly waited. "You're baptized in the name of the Holy Spirit." I noticed then not only the boy's attention, but the attention of all the others. "Amen" someone said in a whisper. "Amen. Amen. Praise God. " other voices joined. I looked away from the boy to see a line forming from the steps into the water. Someone said John 7 and I awoke. After thinking and praying on this dream, I went a opened my Bible to John 7. My eyes fell to the following verses; 7:16-18 - Jesus said, "My teaching is not my own. It comes from Him who sent me. If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him."

Give thanks...really GIVE THANKS!

Well, my belly is still way too full from the tremendous meal we shared last night. I'm thankful for my family and friends who gathered together for our Thanksgiving meal. I'm thankful for the laughter, I'm thankful for the joy, I'm thankful for the peace and well being I feel when I celebrate with those I love. As a pastor I have unique relationships with family and friends that by necessity extend way beyond blood bond or social circle. When I give thanks for all of you, family, friends, acquaintances - shadow readers that I cannot see or know face to face, I give thanks, with Paul in 1 Corinthians 1...

"I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge- even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you-so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."

I give thanks...really GIVE THANKS that it is the Word of God which bonds us together in faith. I give thanks for the circle of love he has given us through the cross of Jesus which makes us more than friends. I give thanks that we are those who have been "enriched in him in all speech and knowledge" for a simple purpose, to set conflict aside and celebrate the gifts the Spirit has given each of us. I give thanks that God has called us into HIS fellowship - where we all work TOGETHER for the sake of the Gospel over and above our own self-interests. Giving thanks, true thanks, cannot dwell only on what has been done for me, but true thanks moves into my words and actions toward YOU! I pray that you help me to be thankful for you each day and that you also take every day to give thanks...really GIVE THANKS for all those God has gathered around you in Christ Jesus!

Waiting and wishing

"Want to know a secret? Promise not to tell? We're standing by wishing well!" Snow White's impossibly songbird like voice flutters, "Make a wish into the well, that's all you have to do, and if you hear it echoing, your wish will soon come true!"  Psalm 80, a song of Asaph, can sound a bit like a wish. Their brother tribes of the north have been taken captive by Assyria. No buffer exists between Judah and their own exile. "Give ear, O shepherd of Israel...stir up your might...come and save us!" Sung, shouted or prayed, the cry sounds like a wish dropped into the darkest depths of a well - sounds a bit like our own wishes that God would come to us and act, even in the light of our own inaction. In the midst of all the trouble in our lives, in the time waiting for His miraculous and magnificent intervention, it seems that we can only come to God with impatient wishes while the opportunities to see and participate in His mighty acts pass us by. There is something beautiful about the way Snow White humbly trusts that her pleas will be heard, albeit that she has directed them the wrong way! There is more to be said for the pleas of Asaph ,who calls upon the Shepherd of Israel, the one who leads His flock through the depths of darkness and into the marvelous shining light of His presence. There is even more to be said for how this Good Shepherd comes to restore and to save His people. He comes humbly, riding on a  donkey. He comes obediently, submitting not to His own will but to the will of His Father. He comes as the least of all, to a cross and to a tomb. He comes in glory, resurrected, renewed and restored so that all of the wishes of our eternal struggle with sin are filled with overflowing grace - He comes, friends - to you. Will you wish and pray with me that our hearts and the hearts of this failing world will accept He who comes, in the name of the Lord?

Tend to Lead

They're turning up an old field in the French Valley. The odor is this side of pungent and that side of repulsive! The girls keep asking, "where are all the animals making that smell?" Not one animal to be seen. Then I remembered, the first day we came and visited the area - four years ago just a couple of weeks ago. I remembered that field FILLED with sheep! It was pasture land. And with hundreds of sheep eating acres of grass you get mounds of ....well, you know! That wasn't so long ago, where have the sheep gone? Chances are, over four years, most of them are no more. Some probably died of old age, while others of weakness, illness, or injury. Some may have simply wandered away, lost to the fold and the shepherd alike. I imagine the shepherd tending the flock in French Valley was diligent and caring. Quite unlike the shepherds in Ezekiel 34, the shepherds that God spoke against, the shepherds that had been feeding themselves rather than the sheep. It's interesting for us to think of ourselves simultaneously as sheep and shepherds. We are sheep in that we need to be led and cared for, shepherds in that we're called to lead and care for others. We are sheep that have been sought out by a Shepherd, a Good Shepherd who came to be among us. Jesus, who called us, gathered us and through His Holy Spirit enlightens us still to be both sheep AND shepherds - to be blessed that we may be a blessing-  to be faithful as He was faithful, even unto death on a cross! "I Myself will be shepherd of MY sheep," says the Lord God - "I will rescue my flock...I will set up over them ONE shepherd, My servant David, and He shall feed them." As you are fed by the Word of God become flesh, remember that we eat for energy to DO - to lead others, to be shepherds in His glorious pasture!

Sent 11/18

Dear Gov. Shawarzanegger,

Maybe you can help me. I'm a pastor of a Lutheran congregation in Temecula California. Trinity is a congregation that seeks to fulfill a simple mission of encouraging and supporting relationships that are Christ centered and community focused. Lutherans historically view support of governing officials as a duty, often whether we agree with their choices or not. Much like yourself, we take service toward others very seriously, particularly when it comes to the families that live here in Temecula and Murrieta. Our main ministry here is a vibrant pre-school, where we teach the promise and hope of faith and the honor of serving others in response to all that has been given to us. One of our new ministries is a home that offers short-term, emergency sanctuary for victims of domestic violence. Trinity SAFE house is a partnership with a community organization that seeks to hold our precious families together even in the darkest of times. Given all that we are charged to do here in service to our Lord and others, I ask if you can help me in explaining to the congregation, the community, the children and the families how we are to honor duly elected officials who choose to ignore the will of the people. The actions of recent weeks are deeply sad and disappointing. For the issue of Prop 8 to be twisted and turned, using terms like "hatred" and "bigotry" to describe those who hold the traditional view of marriage is, at best, a misrepresentation of the majority view. For you, as a Governor we elected and still support to consider allowing vocal minorities to sway public policy is a deep challenge to your credibility as a leader. My job, as one who is called to speak the Word of God in all situations, is to humbly ask you to consider the affects of attempting to change human history. Never has any ruling government, no matter their political ilk, sought to overturn natural law for the sake of political correctness. It's as if I requested that you overturn the Law of Gravity simply because I have the desire to fly! The debate about "equal rights" is a straw man - as you and any other reasonable individual know that our government protects the rights of homosexuals through domestic partnership legislation. They have all the same rights and responsibilities given any other citizen, and that Sir is a fact. That being said, to change the definition of a term like marriage -which means at its core the same thing it always has, namely the joining of man and woman in sacrificial relationship - is absolutely ludicrous. You may as well say that water is dry and the sky is green, just because you want them to be! So, back to my question- what does a simple pastor do? Rest assured, I will continue to preach the Word- calling each us into repentance before God for violating His creation and proclaiming the forgiveness that is in Christ Jesus for all who believe in His sacrificial relationship, His precious death on the cross for us.  I give you, my Governor, that option today. As I teach that you cannot offer critique without a practical solution, here's mine. Consider taking the word "marriage" out of all legal definitions of domestic partnership. Restore true marriage to the it's rightful place, to the Church and the home, thereby freeing human conscience to either follow the will and the Word of God, as they understand Him or to follow their own will and their own ways. Thanks for taking the time to listen to the people- all the people you have been called to serve.

In Jesus Name...

Be strong and...

COURAGEOUS! A couple days after Veterans Day, I'm still thinking about courage. I'm remembering my job at Siemens, handling the Government accounts. I spent a lot of time in VA hospitals and Military medical centers like Bethesda and Walter Reed. Invariably I'd be waiting to meet with the clinicians, passing the time talking with the vets. I heard stories of the Battle of the Bulge,  of Heartbreak Ridge and of Saigon - stories even of Lebanon and Kuwait. Generations of the courageous baring old wounds and revealing dark nightmares to a suit - there for the sole purpose of demonstrating hearing aids! Talk about feeling inadequate and humbled! These men and women had the courage, not only to endure tremendous hardship in war but to continue to endure tremendous hardship in peace. They lived through moments of incredible uncertainty, only to be thrust back into life in the "real" world, where we certainly know what's around the next corner. At least we think we know! Paul writes to the people of Thessalonica in similar words Jesus used when He talked about our expectations. "Concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night." This uncertainty friends is the source of courage. Who would be courageous if they knew the day and the time of the Lord's coming? Either we would be consumed with doing good deeds to ensure our salvation or we would fall into a resigned depression thinking it all hopeless. It's like the scenes in the movie Groundhog Day, when the main character knows he cannot die, so he take tremendous risks that lack courage. Whether we speak of the courage of those in battle or the courage of those at peace the source is the same. It is a selflessness, a light of hope that no matter what happens - life is not lived for the self, but for others. Putting on the "breastplate of faith and love" and the helmet of "hope and salvation", the truly courageous willing step into the fray to lay down their life for another. It's never been clearer than the courageous work of Jesus on His cross. It's never been truly possible until He did it first. Now as He readies us with faith, we must choose courage - the willingness to live and to die Christ Jesus! 

Here we go...

It seems that the American Humanist Association, taking the lead from a group in London, placing the ad to the right on buses in Washington D.C. The sides of the buses are plastered with the same message - "Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness sake." It seems that atheism is now called humanism - sounds a little softer, doesn't it? "Why believe" is the question. Why believe in something outside of yourself? The british ad said "There is probably no God." Probably. Zephaniah 1:12 says this...

"At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, 'The Lord will not do good nor will he do ill.'" There's something to be said for blatant atheism - at least it's up front and visible. Our concern at Christians is not some ad on a bus - it's whether or not we are living our lives as practical atheists - living as if God will not do anything, good or bad. Living as if we need to be good, for goodness sake. Zephaniah's words are against those who have not seen that our God is a God of tremendous action. Our God is one who changes lives. Those who have been made ready by God's Word, yet are not willing to proclaim it with a life that has been changed are just like the atheist. In fact, they may be worse - they're hypocrites. Complacency is rampant in the church - but so is goodness. This goodness is not from ourselves, but from a God who is even willing to forgive those who don't always recognize His work in their lives. God is not only good - He's necessary! God is necessary for lives of true selfless goodness toward others - not because He's our big Santa, but because of Jesus. Why believe in a god? Because without Him, we have no hope!

Does God have a DARK SIDE?

(insert heavy breathing) "Luke...(breathe)..I am your father."(more heavy breathing)

With this dramatic scene, the hero Luke Skywalker  learns of the potential for evil coursing through his veins - the inclination inherited from his father toward the Dark Side!

I wonder - particularly when reading texts like Psalm 90 - does God our Father have a dark side as well? Have we, as His children, inherited the negative as well as the positive qualities of God?

God...DARK? To some of you, them is fightin' words! Psalm 90:7 - "we are brought to an end by your anger." Verse 9 - "For all our days pass away under your wrath." Verse 11 - "who considers the power of your anger?" Wow! That's DARK! We don't want to think about these things! But the fact is that God gives life AND takes it away. Our reality is that we live in the wrath of God, as our bodies ages, decay and eventually succumb to death-the just reward for our sins. The power of the anger of God is immediately evident. We don't have to guess - the darkness is deep. It's so deep that we soon realize that it's this darkness, brought to our attention through the knowledge of good and evil our God tried to keep us from, this darkness now courses through our veins as children of wrath. Whew- that's tough to swallow! But, friends, you and I realize that we cannot know light without darkness. As God has a side that is dark and hidden from our knowledge and understanding, He also has a side that is light...pure light.. THE  light, as the evangelist John writes, that "shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." This is the light that has been revealed to those who walked in darkness, says Isaiah (9:2). This the light of God's love, the only light that has the power to illuminate our path today and into eternity. There will be a day when we live in this light ALWAYS - that day is, in fact, with us, when we grab a hold of the gift God has given us - Jesus, pure light, pure love - in whom there is no darkness, no tears, not death - simply LIFE!

Ready?

I'm currently re-reading the book Wild at Heart by John Eldredge - a great book that seeks to restore the word "man" to the phrase "Man of Faith". I had forgotten about an experience I once shared with Eldredge -they used to call it the actors nightmare. Imagine standing on a stage in front of a packed house. The sets are beautiful, the costumes perfect. As the music swells to a crescendo marking the beginning of the first scene, you suddenly realize that you have no idea what play this is. you don't know what character you are playing or any of the lines you are supposed to deliver. The overwhelming anxiety of being woefully unprepared hits your mind and body like a freight train. Your thoughts race, you start to sweat as your chest tightens and it becomes hard to breathe. When you snap awake the panic remains until you change your pajamas and settle down! You can translate your own nightmare of being unprepared. Each is the same - even when it comes to our spirit.  The unprepared spirit is a spirit of complacency, the lie we tell ourselves that we've got the golden ticket into heaven, so why worry about our walk here and now. The unprepared spirit manifests itself in so many ways, from ignoring our own sins to pointing out the sins of others. It shows itself in trusting in what we know over what God continues to reveal in His Word. Sooner or later, the unprepared spirit takes control - making us angry, bitter, impatient and quarrelsome. Friends in Christ, the unprepared spirit has been replaced for you, put to death actually, by the Spirit of Christ Jesus. In His cross Jesus won freedom from anger and bitterness. He has given us the gift of waiting on the Lord, not with impatience of little children -but with the patience of Job. Your spirit is prepared by THE Spirit, to be re-committed to a life of faith in God above all things - trust that He has prepared you for an eternity with God. Are you ready? In Christ Jesus...you bet!

Probably???

News out of London last week - Atheists were banding together to raise funds in order to place signs on the iconic big red buses. "There is probably no God. So stop worrying and enjoy your life." Stop worrying. That's what true Christianity is all about, isn't it? Cast your burdens upon me, Jesus says - Do not be anxious about anything. Yet we worry anyway! Maybe that's what the atheists are so concerned about. Maybe they're just looking out for our welfare. Maybe they just want to see us be as "happy" as all of them. Hmm...maybe...but I doubt it! The prophet Amos says that the Day of the Lord will be darkness, not light. Our millennial friends take this as an occasion to worry, "where will you be?" Jesus, in Matthew 25 warns about those who are not ready for the darkness that is to come. Again, any floppy Bible pounding preacher can go after this one! Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4 talks about the coming of the Lord - many have taken verse 17 to be the defining Scripture that proves a "rapture" of the righteous - so...which are you? Will you be left behind?? Friends - Jesus says STOP WORRYING, enjoy your life! The Day of the Lord, the Day of Darkness, the Day of Judgment, the Last Day -whatever you want to call it -the day is coming, no doubt about it. As those who live in faith of being redeemed by the blood of Jesus, there's no worry - only motivation. Motivation to take the message of light into the darkness. Motivation to share the fuel of our salvation with those who have come up empty. Motivation to joy, for all of those who have died in the faith and will rise with us on the Last Day to everlasting life with God. This is our hope. This our faith. No "probably" here! There IS a God - He is Christ Jesus. In Him all worry turns to joy and a life full of His love for you and for all who call upon His name!

Where are YOU headed?

In these days of rampant political imagery, we hear about new ways, new roads, new paths, new journeys. I'd say that we'd be rather naive to believe that there is anything truly new under the sun. Ways wear thin, roads have potholes, paths crumble and journeys...well...

It's easy to check out - like that guy I spoke with last week who told me that unless he or his family is directly affected, he really didn't care. It's like that girl who thought that there was nothing left for her here, so cast down was her soul.

The Psalmist writes "Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling." (Ps. 43:3) The Way is Christ - the one true hope for change that transcends our "journey". Through His sacrifice on the cross, the holes in the road of life are filled and our path is made smooth. When it's the light and the truth of God that leads us, everything matters - in our own lives and the way our lives affect others. Everything matters because YOU matter! It's time to ask, where are you headed? I pray that we'll continue to let the light of Christ, the truth of the ages lead us to our one true home - back to the house of our God!

IF ONLY...

I was pretty sad when I heard that Paul Newman died back on September 26th. Newman was my cinematic hero. As a young actor, I modeled myself after this guy - studying and imitating his method, his speech pattern, his smile, his walk...whatever! Even the way I dressed for a while was vintage Newman - a mix of classy toughness that couldn't be matched by another actor. In fact...it couldn't be matched by me! As much as I wanted to be like Paul Newman, there was one thing missing in my plan...I was simply not Paul Newman! I fell short of everything he was because there was only one Paul Newman. The job was taken!

Take a look at the classic text Romans 3:19-28.

This text talks about the Law of God. Paul says the the Law is spoken to those under it, so that mouths are stopped and everyone is held accountable to God. What does this mean? Well, we start with the fact that the Law constantly shows us that we are not God. That no matter how we try to follow, to model , to imitate the perfection that is God, we can never come close to His perfection. Instead, we are held accountable. The mirror of the Law reflects just how bad an imitation we are are. "For by the works of the Law no human being will be justified in God's sight." "But NOW", Paul the apostle (not the actor!) tells us, "But now" things are different. Now God's perfection, His righteousness is shown to be apart from His Law. Now we do not have to be God impersonators, but rather we get to be God's own image here and now. The righteousness of God, His glorious face comes to us through faith in Christ Jesus. He was the image of God's perfection. He was the satisfaction of God's Law. He took the accountability we owed to God to the cross, and gave us new life in God's own image through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are now justified, not because we try to be like Jesus, but because Jesus became like us - taking on the form of a servant He humbled Himself unto death, even death on a cross! Rejoice - friends - You're never a cheap imitation in Jesus! You're made to be perfect in God's eyes through the blood of His ever perfect Son!

Vote for ???

This is about as political as this blog will ever get! With the text for today, we've got to talk about it just a little - otherwise you all would think I was chicken!

Isaiah 45:1-7 - The Lord YHWH speaks to an unlikely character, Cyrus. Cyrus is a king, an anointed one. But yet he is a king who is not from among God's chosen people - a highly unlikely candidate for leadership! What is clear in the text is that Cyrus does not follow YHWH,but yet he is elected to do God's will. What does this say about the leaders we choose to elect? Well, for one we know that there is no perfect candidate. No matter shiny the smile or how noble the service record, political leaders all have same common flaw...humanity. And yet God calls men and women to serve. Once again, the key to understanding service is grasping hold of whom we serve. God grasps the right hand, the ruling hand of the leaders He chooses and uses it to the Glory of His name and the benefit of His people.  Why? Because He is the Lord, and there is no other. Besides Him, there is NO other. No king. No president. No leader. No politician. Our God guides and equips leaders to lead - whether they know Him or not. When I say the words "Vote Your Faith", that means look at the candidates and the issues with the eyes of God's will, that it is only by God's Law and His Gospel that all are saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. 

No Greater Joy...

A simple post today...

The words of 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 betray the joy felt by pastor Paul for a congregation he loved. I agree, his greatest joy is my own and together "we give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." There is no greater joy than witnessing the fruit of the message preached in the way you all live out the mission of Trinity, centered in Christ and focused on our community.

A simple post...a joyful thanks...for who you are and all you do in Jesus name!

Give to Caesar...

Take a look at the news, it's all about electing a new Caesar - oh, sorry...I mean President. Take a look at quite a few cars in our community - the words "Not Of This World" appear in so many stickers. So which is it? Are we citizens here or there? Do we serve government or God? Easy to answer? I don't think so! Jesus is asked the same question in Matthew 22:15-22.  Two unlikely groups have gotten together against a common enemy...Jesus. The Pharisee's sent their disciples to find out if Jesus would defy the Law of God which gave them power over the spiritual life of the people. The Herodians came to discover if Jesus would defy the law of the land, which gave them power over the civil life of the people. Which would Jesus be, a blasphemer or a traitor? An enemy of God or an enemy of the state? an impossible question with no good answer...unless of course you remember who's being asked! For Jesus, an either/or answer that would lead to accusation from one party or the other gives way to a both/and which leaves them in awe. "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesars, and to God the things that are God's." Jesus gives a both/and answer which reveals that all things - all people, all governments, all laws and all tributes fall under the scope of Almighty God. It is HIS government that is "Not Of This World" - meaning that His love, His grace, His work through the instruments of His creation (EVEN GOVERNMENT!) do His good and gracious will! You, as one who lives under this will only has an obligation to serve. This means to serve the world with that which is given from heaven - to serve with FAITH in what God has done for you in Christ Jesus and continues to do through YOU - calling all people to Himself for life and hope in this world and the next. 

Sing, Tell, Declare!

Anyone who knows me has come to realize that when I open my mouth to sing it is under great fear and duress! I'm not a singer, by any stretch of the imagination. So how do I connect with singing the Lord a "new song", like it says in Psalm 96? "Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord all the earth." That's everyone by the way - the whole earth singing out to God a new song. Yet when I look around, there doesn't seem to be much singing going on. In fact, the sweet sounds of singing have been overtaken by the crass cacophony of complaining! Just give a listen, if you think your ears and your heart can handle it. Hear the complaining about jobs, the economy, and politics. Stop and really listen to the noise all around you and you'll find that static has replaced the notes that have been playing since God decided to do a new thing, to give us anew song.  In the cross of Jesus Christ, we hear God's symphony of love, His action for a people who's hearts and ears have been abused by the noise - you're not good enough, you'll never measure up, you can't sing and God wouldn't listen anyway. In the cross of Jesus the static is replaced by a new song, a song that tells of His salvation from day to day. It's a song that declares His glory, His marvelous works among all the people. It's a new song that lifts up our God above the noise and gives us voice in this broken world. Yes, in christ God has given you the voice of the angels, to sing and to bless, to tell and to declare to all the world what God has done for you and all who who love Him and sing His precious name....Jesus!

What if...

What if you planned for months. The top quality invitations, hand lettered and mailed out well in advance. The flowers ordered, the cake made, the food - sumptuous and elegantly prepared and waiting in the kitchen. Tables set, candles lit, doors thrown open to reveal...nobody. What if you threw a party and nobody came? Matthew 22:1-14. The wedding feast not prepared by some average Joe, but by the King. It was throughly and lovingly prepared and yet nobody came. Everybody seemed to have an excuse. Everything seemed to be more important. Some even took offense to the constant badgering of the Kings' servants - treating them shamefully and even killing them. What happens when you diss the King? What happened when those for whom God prepared a feast rejected the invitation? Wrath and judgement, obviously. What about grace? This same King, the one royally dissed by His people sends the servants out with a whole new batch of invites. This time the invites extend to all who see that the feast is ready and waiting, prepared for them to enjoy free of charge. Not because they know the King or have worked hard to deserve such an invite - simply because the King has prepared it and it's ready and waiting for those who appreciate the gift. When God extended the invite to all people, He was confirming that this feast is all about the one for who the party is thrown in the first place - the son...His Son...Jesus. The guests gathered are clothed in His spotless garment of faith, faith in the fact that God is the one who prepares the feast - the feast that is His Son Himself. think about the feast you have been invited to as you approach the banquet table of God this week. As you wait to receive a meal of bread and wine, have faith that it is body and blood for you. Have faith that you have been called - made worthy of this strengthening meal through faith in these precious words...Given and Shed for YOU!

December 5th

Can it be too early to be planning a Christmas party? Like last year, Cassie and I are busy planning for December 5th - our Christmas open house where we invite everyone to come and enjoy the feast and fellowship of this most joyous season. We love this event, because it seems like all our cares and concerns melt away as together we celebrate with thanks and praise the season that marks the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Soon we'll be sending out the invites - hoping that all of our friends will respond and join us for the fun! The party's coming, will you be there? God asks the same question through His prophet Isaiah in 25:6-9.  God has planned a party and has promised to make it a feast for all people on His holy mountain.  This feast will be rich, full of well aged wine and the best food imaginable.  At this party, God has planned to give a gift. God has planned to remove the covering over the people, the veil of shame that has covered us all as a result of our sin.  It is a party where cares and concerns melt away as God has planned that this party will swallow up death forever. All on the mountain, the holy mountain, Mt. Zion - the place of our salvation. This party began and continues today and will come to it's peak on some future day marked in God's cosmic planner. This party began on a hill in Jerusalem where in the raising up of a cross, death was swallowed up forever! At this precious banquet of body and blood, God wipes away tears from faces and takes away the guilt of our sin - all with a Word, with a promise fulfilled, with Jesus! It has been and will be said that on this day, at this party, we behold our God - the one we've waited for in hope - the one who promises salvation today and forever. Accept the invite once again - every moment of every day - the invitation to God's feast of everlasting life in Christ Jesus!

Do NOT be anxious????

Dropping Dow. Petty politics. Risky relationships.  "Do NOT be anxious about anything", Paul says in Philippians 4:6.

Paul...are you kidding me? We live in a world of high anxiety. Studies say that stress related illnesses account for anywhere from 60 to 90 percent of doctor visits. Ask anyone "How you doing?" and your bound to get the litany of anxiety. "I'm up to my *** in alligators" - that's my favorite! Paul seems to have a prescription for our anxiety. Oddly enough, it doesn't include shutting down, backing out, folding up or running away. In fact, it doesn't even begin with us! "Rejoice in the Lord always;" Paul writes, "again I will say, REJOICE!" In the midst of struggle and anxiety, Paul calls us to rejoice in the Lord...always. He call us to a life of lifting up words of faith to God in prayer - acknowledging that from the hand of God comes all things, including His peace in times of our highest anxiety. Peace is hardly what we imagine it to be. The Hebrew idea of a peace that "surpasses all understanding" is summed up in their word shalom. This peace is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent and worthy of praise because it is the peace that only comes FORM God to YOU! This is the peace given in the cross of Jesus Christ. The peace given in the faith that all the anxiety we feel, the fruits of all of our sins, has been taken away from us by the precious sacrifice of Jesus.  Paul found that the peace he needed came to him each time he changed the subject of his life from self to God. This means that the Lord is at hand - in your life, now! He's not waiting by the sidelines to see how you'll handle the next big challenge of your life. Not this God! He's right there with you - pacifying you in prayer, soothing you in supplication and filling you with gracious gratitude for the peace He gives beyond all measure in Christ Jesus. Anxiety fades as you can do all things through Him who strengthens you!

Big Kid's Food

Doesn't look like much. Just a piece of bread and a little bit of wine. Hardly a banquet in our eyes. But in the hands of God, it's big kid's food! It's a fair statement that none can deny - we all started out this life as babies. Baby's first meal is her mother's milk. As she grows and develops she moves from a taste for milk, to hunger for soft cereal, unidentifiable "vegetables",Cheerios, hot dogs and eventually a big, juicy steak! Read Psalm 23 - familiar words for us - but read them with the eyes of a "foodie". You'll notice the images at the beginning, of green grass and still water - the infant food of the faith. God leads us to the green grass of the Gospel and to the still waters of our Baptism. God feeds His youngest children in the most simple faith that He is our Shepherd, the one who restores our soul, leading us in lives that mirror His beautiful promise - to make us righteous from the inside out! As we walk the path of life - the one that is the ever present shadow of death, we know that our God who has provided for us continues to guide and protect His children of faith. The rod and staff, the discipline of God is preparation for a greater meal, which He Himself had promised to prepare. The table set before us is a banquet - a banquet that stands between us and the enemy to our soul. The table is a cross. The food, simple bread and wine, yet it's big kid's food. To think that we could apprehend the eternal meal of Jesus' own body and blood, given and shed for us, without having first the faith in a leading, sheltering and providing God is foolishness. Just as it is foolishness to question what Jesus means when He says "take, eat, this is my body" and "drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." This cup overflows all the days of our lives for we who believe that the promises of God are eternal! Friends, step up to the big kid's table, and feast on forgiveness as Jesus has won forgiveness for you!

SORRY!!!

Sorry - I've been locked out of Blogspot since late last week, therefore unable to post.

I'll be back in full force on Monday October 6th!

Turn,turn turn

Sometimes the Bible seems to contradict itself. 

That's right...Mr. "innerancy of Scripture" said what you've been thinking for years! But before you start formulating your fiery responses or letters off to my DP, don't miss the key word in my statement...SEEMS!

Moses writes that our jealous God is "visiting the iniquity (sins) of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate" Him. (Exodus 20:5) Yet the prophet Ezekiel in Chapter 18 of his prophecy says something quite different, freeing the sons from the sins of the fathers by simply stating "the soul who sins shall die". So which is it? SEEMS contradictory, right? Until we take another look at that little clause on the end of the Exodus verse, "of those who hate him".  I recently met a young man whose father was a confirmed atheist (as if there could be such a confirmation made!) This guy was concerned that the hatred his father had for God would somehow stick with him forever. In fact, up until recently it had - keeping him suspicious and wary of the church and the faith. But then there was a moment, a spark, something inside that told him to turn around and look at the faith from a different point of view. He needed to abandon the eyes of his father and see God with those glasses only the Holy Spirit could provide, God's precious Word. I see God's Word as never contradictory, just specific. It speaks to us in places and stages of life that none but our own soul can understand. God's Word touches our hearts and helps us to see that He alone can  love the unlovable, those who continually turn from Him and disappoint Him. I always say, if God could love me He could love anyone. that's the point. He loves you for what He's done, not who you are. He loves you because He gave you Jesus, the one who never sinned, never disappointed. He's the one who died for you and rose for you that you can have a life free from the history of sin that plagues all generations since Adam and Eve. Turn a pray to Him, not that He SAVE you - that's a done deal - but that you come to the true heart of the faith, a life lived freely in His abounding love for you!

Exercise Your Faith

Alright...I admit it. I didn't work out this morning! My feeble excuse is that I believe yesterday was enough  of a workout. Digging and forming, mixing and pouring a concrete slab in the backyard was more of a physical challenge than I had bargained for. Add to that moving wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of rock and gravel and I found myself absolutely exhausted. Bleary eyed and looking at the clock at 5:00 a.m the decision was made- no gym today. Here's another confession. There have been times I felt that way about my faith.  Sometimes I work so hard getting worship or classes together that I find myself spiritually exhausted - without even the strength to pray. I know some of you feel that way sometimes too. You put tremendous amounts of effort into all that goes with "church". All the meetings, planning and execution of ministry can leave your energy spent. I heard it put this way, that in the struggle of ministry we find ourselves Church people who are trying to love God rather than those who love God living our lives in the community of the Church. It's times like these that we need the renewal of God more than ever. When we least want to pray, these are the times when we must. Reading Psalm 25 is like hitting the reset button on your faith. Lifting up our souls to God is a gift we have been given in Christ Jesus. Trusting in this God to make His ways known to us, leading us in truth, teaching us salvation - remembering that even in the driest of times it is God who gives His mercy and steadfast love - the love that is the foundation of our work, the love that is only in Jesus. Watch and pray friends, it is God alone that wil give you peace and re-energize your life in service to one another!

Generic God?

Mmmmm...looks good, huh? Make no mistake, I love beer. Just about any kind of beer is fine by me. Though the can says to the left says "beer", even I might think twice about grabbing a cool one of these bad boys! Notice you don't see this stuff on the shelves anymore. The generic craze has been replaced by the store brand. Now at least you sort of know what you're going to get! I wonder, will there come a day when the real God will replace the generic one our culture so readily embraces? This generic god is a god who is everywhere.  This is a god that fits our mold, our box, our black and white can that is simply marked "love".   Fact is, if our focus is on some generic god who is everywhere, he's is nowhere. We're bound to ask "Where's my everywhere god when..." fill in the blank with any tragic event in our lives and relationships. If we want a god that generically loves all, then it stands to reason that he loves none. If our god says "I love you...I love everyone." it's so generic that we're left asking, "what about ME? Do you really love ME?" We have an EVERYWHERE God and a LOVING God, but He is far from a generic god! Isaiah 55:6-9 - Seek THE Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near." This is no generic god - this is a God who is may be found - who's nearness is an expression of His love. Where we really grab hold of God is in the physical nearness, His Son given to us in the flesh. The real Jesus who really lived and really died so that we could really have life is the real God - no generic here! He's specific! The way! The truth! The life! FOR YOU. And for me, and for all those who call upon and confess the name of the one true God -Father, Son and Holy Spirit! Amen! 

The Conversation

In a few short years I have already lost track of how many times I have had the conversation. It's usually in the context of a hospital room or an nursing home. It always starts with the same words. "Pastor, I'm just not sure why I'm still here." As we rocket through life, seeming to never have enough time to do all we need do or to get done all we need to get done, it's ironic that toward the end many are forced to wait. The times ticks by - "wait on the Lord" the psalmist says, "more than watchman for the morning." Some of us may look forward to the slow down, the last days that precede our blessed rest. But for many, waiting on the Lord is a test of patience and of will - always questioning, "why God" - and always praying "come Lord Jesus." Paul debated in his soul this very issue. In the letter to the Philippians he writes about the struggle. ""My desire," Paul says in Phil 1:23, "Is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account." Paul understands that while we may desire to be with Christ, the lives we now live in His name are an act of confession. By living a life of hope, we confess that we are hopeful. By living a life of forgiveness, we confess that we have been forgiven. By living a life of confident joy, we confess that through the gift of the cross of Jesus Christ we can confidently hope all things, endure all things and have joy in the gift of seeing others share in that hope as well! Convinced of his forgiveness, Paul says "I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith." We confess, friends, with our mouths and our lives with Paul and all the saints - knowing in our hearts that the confession advances the Gospel of Jesus to all we touch! When you ask "why God" - remember your confession of faith. It touches more than you can ever imagine or hope for as the Holy Spirit brings it to the hearts of those who struggle and continue to need your witness the most.

The Body

1000 years before Luther. 1500 years before us. The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem has stood through the assaults of Holy Wars. Today it stands behind a 40 ft wall topped with razor wire and marked by guard towers. Look at the picture. Kind of looks like a ship turned upside down. A vessel. The words of Psalm 27:4 echo in this ancient vessel of God's people. "One thing I have asked of the Lord, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple." what a beautiful image of the powerful presence of God in a simple old building. But we know friends, the church is so much more than sticks and bricks. Look at the picture again. Kinda looks like bones, like a ribcage viewed from the inside out. Recalling that we have been assumed into the very body of Jesus - the beaten body, the broken body, the body crucified and the body resurrected. In Christ God has placed us inside of Himself as a shelter, a temple of His love. Again, Psalm 27:5, "For He will hide me in His shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will lift me high upon a rock." Friends - you're the body - the church. Live in your call to be in Him and for one another!

Guilt 101

We have a laundry stealing dog. Given the chance Wrigley will snatch a sock, take a towel or wrangle some underwear. His habit seems to rear it's head after we've been gone all day - sort of a canine plea for attention. What I find absolutely hilarious is the look on his face when he has stolen an article. He'll try to get the whole thing in his mouth, and then act as if there is nothing wrong. His doggy cheeks puffed out, ears laying back and eyes averted immediately betray his crime...HE'S GUILTY! And he knows it! There's no doubt that for us humans guilt is a strong emotion. The fear of getting caught and called out prompts us to build up systems of hiding away our indiscretions. Guilty fear causes us to make some interesting choices. If you take a look at Genesis 50:15-21 you'll see a bit of guilt in action. Joseph's brothers are afraid. When Jacob dies they fear that the sins of their past will be revisited upon them now. That selling their brother into slavery in Egypt was not such a hot idea after all - and even after years of carrying around this sin, the guilt remains, and this guilt feeds their fear. As they bow before Joseph, seeking his forgiveness, they must have remembered the dream they mocked so long ago. "Behold, we are your servants!" the men cry. When we have wronged another, the guilt is often crippling. In fact, unless we are suffering some sociopathic brain malfunction, the guilt we feel can actually be viewed as a good thing! It is the law of God working within us to show where we have failed. It is our God given conscience that holds up a mirror to our sin and prompts us to relive the guilt, to seek forgiveness, to be reconciled to our neighbor. When Joseph claims that he is not in the place of God he is making a bold statement to his brothers. Even in the light of tremendous sin, God has used a perfectly awful situation for good. He forgives his brothers not because he has forgotten what they have done, but rather that he and they have been blessed even in spite of their actions. In the same way, God Himself relieves our guilt. Even in the light of our failures, our sins, He gave us Jesus. He was treated shamefully, He suffered and He died - and that awful moment God gave us our greatest good. As we look upon the cross we know that God has taken our guilt into the grave and given us hope in a new life in Jesus. It's a life like the promise of Joseph, "to provide for you and your little ones" - a promise of the comfort and kindness that has turned your shame to joy, your guilt to gladness! Friends, are you in the place of God? Learn from Joseph and learn from Jesus, the forgiveness of your sins and the release of your guilt leads you to forgive and release others as well! Go and do likewise, o servants of  God!

An Irritating Question...

Here's a question that's bound to bug you as much as it bugs me. It comes from the great professor and theologian Gerhard Forde. I can tell you from experience that most of Forde's writing is cryptic at it's best and confusing at it's worst! But this question is quite simple in it's form - and it's the very simplicity in which it's posed that makes it so irritating! Here it is...ready?

"Now that you don't have to do anything for salvation, what are you going to do?" 

Think about that for a minute. You have heard and you know in you heart that you cannot by your own reason or strength believe in God or come to Him. You don't have to do anything for salvation - this is the main thesis of the book of Romans. Paul goes to great lengths to describe how it is our faith in the promise of God to deliver us that is in fact credited as righteousness. It is the faith of Noah, the faith of Abraham and the faith of you and I to rely on God and God alone to do His will for us. This will, perfectly sealed on the cross and affirmed in the resurrection of Jesus that gives us hope and strength. After a few chapters of proclaiming what God has done, Paul turns to the second half of the question - what are we going to do. Funny thing is, Paul begins with what we are NOT to do. Check out Romans 14:1-12. 

It seems that Christians are bound to struggle with what is lawful and unlawful in the eyes of God for those who stand in the light of Jesus gift. It's easy to criticize expressions of the faith that we don't share - to mock those who raise their hands in praise or fold them in their lap to pray. It's easy to think that those who dress in shorts and flip flops are any more or less connected to God than those who choose suits and dresses. God forbid one should worship on any day other than Sunday - or, on the other hand, use a Hymnal and follow a liturgy. All these things are irrelevant in the eyes of God.  Paul says "who are you to pass judgement on the servant of another?" Who are we to pass judgement on the servants of God? We are we'll reminded as those who are saved by the blood of Jesus that He in fact died for the WHOLE world, flip flops and all! When we worship, we worship the Lord! When we pray, we talk to God! When we study, we hear His Word. And when we love, we love because He first loved us, died for us and gave to us a gift of everlasting life that exceeds the bounds of our cultural bias. Friends, what do you do? You love. Unconditionally and fully - maybe not fully understanding the expressions of others, but looking upon them with the eyes of faith and forgiveness that have been given to us as His precious gift!

Of Grace and Gratitude

I'm not the most coordinated individual you'll ever meet. In fact, my wife may tell you that if there's an accident waiting to happen...I'm it! For me if I'm riding a skateboard or simply walking the dog it's an adventure in awkwardness, a distinct lack of grace! Thanks be to God TRUE grace doesn't depend on a sense of balance. In fact, our lives seem to be hopelessly out of balance, terribly awkward and absent of any grace at all! Take a look at our prayer life - we ask and ask and ask of God, completely out of balance and awkward given the tremendous gift God has already given to us...namely His Grace! What does this mean? Well...take a minute and read Psalm 103. See how the Psalmist blesses God from the depths of his being. This means that he is holding God's work, past,present and future far above any immediate benefit he may receive through his prayer. The Psalm is graceful in it's recognition of God's Grace - His steadfast love which endures forever! This overwhelming sense of God's Grace comes forth in gratitude - the simple thanks for all that God has done, is doing and will do in the future. God the Father made a promise to forgive and to heal, In the cross of Jesus He has redeemed us and in His resurrection crowned us with His love and mercy. Through the power of His Holy Spirit we are satisfied with this GRACE and renewed every time we remember His presence in our lives.  There's a method of prayer I've used and taught called ACTS. The pattern works like this: AFFIRM who God is - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. CONFESS who you are, a broken human being. THANK God for His Grace and forgiveness in Christ Jesus and all God has provided for you. Then, if necessary, offer your SUPPLICATIONS - asking God's favor in a Spirit fed by a soul touched by His Grace. Grace and Gratitude, Gratitude and Grace - friends, they're inseparable in the life of faith!

Cha-Ching!

"Money makes the world go round", so the song goes. If this is true, then it is credit that makes the world go backwards! "I owe, I owe, it's off to work I go!" I kind of picture the life of debt as being in a deep hole. All your given to get out of the hole is a shovel. Many try to dig down deeper, hoping to come out on the other end. Others use the tool to dig steps in the wall, in order to climb out of debt and begin earning once again. Paul says, keep out of the hole in the first place! "Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law." (Romans 13:8) That's great, but just try and find someone in our day and age that is not somehow indebted to another. It seems that the nature of our relationships is kind of a credit/debit affair. That is to say, sometimes I'm in good graces, earning reward and favor or credit for my good behavior. Other times, time too often to mention, I mess things up and end up trying to work myself out of the hole. Many of us see our relationship with God as a balance between credit/debit.  Yet with his goodness and our failures we're much worse off then we can ever imagine, digging deeper and losing hope. It's interesting to me to see how Paul equates a lack of debt to the fulfilling of the law. Law is what we owe God. We owe Him our undivided devotion and the support of our neighbor. Well, the only one I can think of that did all this was Jesus Himself. He paid the price. He owes nothing because He loved God with all His heart, soul and strength and loved His neighbor (us) MORE than Himself! We are recipients of His debt free life through the cross, by His resurrection there is no more debt for us! We have the glory of eternal credit with God.  It is living in this debt free reality that we, through the power of the Holy Spirit, love our neighbor. Not because we have to, but because we have been so loved by Him!  

The Forgiven

Back in March of 1964, a woman named Kitty Genovese was brutally attacked near her Queens New York home. While she screamed, trying to fend off her attacker, some 38 people heard and subsequently ignored her cries for help. The 38 remained silent. Called the "bystander effect", there is apparently a psychological component to our being that prevents us from assisting when we rationalize that there are others there who will step in to help. Take a look at Ezekiel 33:1-9. These were the words spoken at my ordination which, quite frankly, scared me to death! They are words that speak of the responsibility of those who carry the Word of God in their hearts. It's the responsibility to speak when others may remain silent. It's the responsibility to be more than mere bystanders and we live our lives in the faith. When I read Scriptures like Psalm 32 (you might want to take a look at this one as well!) I find a man of faith like David who struggled with himself as he kept silent. "My bones wasted away through my groaning all day long", David writes. Why? Well, David knows that even in the face of outrageous difficulties that he has been blessed by God. His transgressions, his sins, his iniquities against God have been forgiven. In this forgiveness, David must speak. In the forgiveness that is Christ Jesus, the Son of Man who sacrificed Himself for your life, you have not only the honor but the opportunity to speak with God Himself. You can, by the power of the Holy Spirit, turn from your troubles and praise God for His deliverance! This lives in a holy responsibility - not one that earns points with God, but an opportunity to speak of the hope that lies within your heart. Believe me when I say that the world needs to hear a message of forgiveness and love, of hope and bright future that breaks through the darkness of cynical hate and despair. Share O watchman! Stand tall and speak of the forgiveness of a God who has touched you, taught you and called you to be His own!

Another Question...

It seems like the most conversation we got was when there was a question posted!

So...let's try that again!

What happens when GOD the CHURCH and the WORLD all intersect?

Discuss!

Could it be....SATAN?

Remember that great SNL character Enid Strict, "The Church Lady"? Dana Carvey had me busting a gut when he'd  call out a celebrity for following their "naughty parts" or when he'd do the "Superior Dance" after making a point. The best by far would be the way the Enid would call out any disagreeable situation as being the work of the evil one. "Hmmmm", she'd ponder, "could it be...SATAN?! Take a look at Matthew 16:21-28. Peter has just confessed for the guys that Jesus is the Christ, Son of the Living God. Quite a statement, for which Peter gets a holy pat on the back and the promise that upon these confessing words Jesus Himself will build His church. A beat later, as Jesus says that He will suffer many things, die and rise again Peter says "No way! You can't let that happen! We won't let that happen!" (my words, not Peter's!)  Jesus replies "Get behind me Satan!" Whoa! Peter? Satan? Is Jesus being a little harsh? After all, Peter is just looking out for his friend. His heart seems to be in the right place - there's no horns and pitchfork, just genuine love for a brother, right? Well, Scripture has taught us to trust Jesus' judgement - so we need to look at why He calls out Peter for who is influencing his sentiment. There's that old saying that goes "when you love someone, set them free." we have a lot of trouble doing that. We add "if they don't come back, hunt them down!" Our sentimental love, our reliance on holding on to what we believe will give us the greatest joy and fulfillment is fertile ground for the father of lies. Could it be...Satan? Yup! He has a way of making love selfish, while Jesus teaches that love is sacrifice. Satan has a way of  convincing us that we must hold on to what we think is good rather than except what God thinks is good. It started at the tree and continues today. Jesus rebukes, and yet there is comfort. The comfort comes from a  God that will take that which we see as a travesty, namely a cross - and turn it into glory through the resurrection. Jesus has overcome Satan with a cross for you and me. It is this cross that we bear, knowing that it doesn't make sense and all of our "friends" will shake their heads in disbelief. The power of the cross is a death to self and desire and a life unto God and one another. Read it again. See the glory in the cross of Christ and the honor of a life of carrying that cross to others!