FBC Happenings

Authenticity is Overrated

2009-08-26T14:36:00.001-05:00

One of the hallmarks of the moment in many movements in the evangelical church is a huge push for authenticity. Pastors not acting like they have it all together. Church-goers getting honest in relationships about the true struggles in their lives. A push against the overly perfect acting caricature of the previous generation’s church experience. I love the concept of creating a environment where everyone is moving towards heaven still works-in-progress. There is massive freedom in knowing all those around you are still struggling with sin.

HOWEVER....

That struggle MUST be going somewhere. Victory must be increasing. Honesty is not an end in itself. Extending grace towards an admission of sin is important, but so is living out Romans 6.

1What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Authenticity is an amazing starting point. However, if our honesty is not converted into increasing obedience to Christ, it is merely cheap grace exulting in sin.

Authentic: yes. but Increasing Holiness: YES YES.

the importance of hell

2009-08-26T13:15:00.001-05:00

In 2003 a research group discovered 64% of Americans expect to go to heaven when they die, but less than 1% think they might go to hell. Not only are there plenty of people today who don't believe in the Bible's teaching on everlasting punishment, even those who do find it an unreal and a remote concept. Nevertheless, it is a very important part of the Christian faith, for several reasons.

1. It is important because Jesus taught about it more than all other Biblical authors put together. Jesus speaks of "eternal fire and punishment" as the final abode of the angels and human beings who have rejected God (Matthew 25:41,46) He says that those who give into sin will be in danger of the "fire of hell" (Matthew 5:22; 18:8-9.) The word Jesus uses for 'hell' is Gehenna, a valley in which piles of garbage were daily burned as well as the corpses of those without families who could bury them. In Mark 9:43 Jesus speaks of a person going to "hell [gehenna], where 'their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.' " Jesus is referring to the maggots that live in the corpses on the garbage heap. When all the flesh is consumed, the maggots die. Jesus is saying, however, that the spiritual decomposition of hell never ends, and that is why 'their worm does not die.'

If Jesus, the Lord of Love and Author of Grace spoke about hell more often, and in a more vivid, blood-curdling manner than anyone else, it must be a crucial truth.
In Matthew 10:28 Jesus says, "Do not fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." He is speaking to disciples, some of whom will eventually be tortured, sawn in half, flayed and burned alive. Yet, he says, that is a picnic compared to hell. Clearly, for Jesus hell was a real place, since he said that after judgment day people would experience it in their bodies. Hell is a place not only of physical but also of spiritual misery.

Jesus constantly depicted hell as painful fire and "outer darkness" (Matt 25:30; cf. Jude 6,7,13,) a place of unimaginably terrible misery and unhappiness. If Jesus, the Lord of Love and Author of Grace spoke about hell more often, and in a more vivid, blood-curdling manner than anyone else, it must be a crucial truth. But why was it so important to Jesus?

2. It is important because it shows how infinitely dependent we are on God for everything. Virtually all commentators and theologians believe that the Biblical images of fire and outer darkness are metaphorical. (Since souls are in hell right now, without bodies, how could the fire be literal, physical fire?) Even Jonathan Edwards pointed out that the Biblical language for hell was symbolic, but, he added, 'when metaphors are used in Scripture about spiritual things . . . they fall short of the literal truth." (from "The Torments of Hell are Exceeding Great" in volume 14 of the Yale edition of Edwards works.) To say that the Scriptural image of hell-fire is not wholly literal is of no comfort whatsoever. The reality will be far worse than the image. What, then, are the 'fire' and 'darkness' symbols for? They are vivid ways to describe what happens when we lose the presence of God. Darkness refers to the isolation, and fire to the disintegration of being separated from God. Away from the favor and face of God, we literally, horrifically, and endlessly fall apart.

In the teaching of Jesus the ultimate condemnation from the mouth of God is 'depart from me.' That is remarkable--to simply be away from God is the worst thing that can happen to us! Why? We were originally created to walk in God's immediate presence (Genesis 2.) In one sense, of course, God is everywhere and upholds everything. Only in him do we all speak and move and have our being (Acts 17:28.) In that sense, then, it is impossible to depart from the Lord; even hell cannot exist unless God upholds it. But the Bible says sin excludes us from God's 'face' (Isaiah 59:2.) All the life, joy, love, strength, and meaning we have looked for and longed for is found in his face (Psalm 16:11)-that is, in his favor, presence, fellowship, and pleasure.

Sin removes us from that aspect of his power that sustains and supports us. It is to us as water is to a fish-away from it our life slowly ebbs away. That is what has been happening to us throughout history. That is why, for Paul, the everlasting fire and destruction of hell is 'exclusion from the presence of the Lord." (2 Thessalonians 1:9.) Separation from God and his blessings forever is the reality to which all the symbols point. For example, when Jesus speaks being 'destroyed' in hell, the word used is apollumi, meaning not to be annihilated out of existence but to be 'totaled' and ruined so as to be useless for its intended purpose.

The image of 'gehenna' and 'maggots' means decomposition. Once a body is dead it loses its beauty and strength and coherence, it begins to break into its constituent parts, to stink and to disintegrate. So what is a 'totaled' human soul? It does not cease to exist, but rather becomes completely incapable of all the things a human soul is for--reasoning, feeling, choosing, giving or receiving love or joy. Why? Because the human soul was built for worshipping and enjoying the true God, and all truly human life flows from that. In this world, all of humanity, even those who have turned away from God, still are supported by 'kindly providences' or 'common grace' (Acts 14:16-17; Psalm 104:10-30; James 1:17) keeping us still capable of wisdom, love, joy, and goodness. But when we lose God's supportive presence all together, the result is hell.

3. It is important because it unveils the seriousness and danger of living life for yourself. In Romans 1-2 Paul explains that God, in his wrath against those who reject him, 'gives them up' to the sinful passions of their hearts. Commentators (cf. Douglas Moo) point out that this cannot mean God impels people to sin, since in Ephesians 4:19 it is said that sinners give themselves up to their sinful desires. It means that the worst (and fairest) punishment God can give a person is to allow them their sinful hearts' deepest desire.

What is that? The desire of the sinful human heart is for independence. We want to choose and go our own way (Isaiah 53:6.) This is no idle 'wandering from the path.' As Jeremiah puts it, 'No one repents . . . each pursues his own course like a horse charging into battle. (8:6)' (We want to get away from God-but, as we have seen, this is the very thing that is most destructive to us. Cain is warned not to sin because sin is slavery. (Genesis 4:7; John 8:34.) It destroys your ability to choose, love, enjoy. Sin also brings blindness-the more you reject the truth about God the more incapable you are of perceiving any truth about yourself or the world (Isaiah 29:9-10; Romans 1:21.)

What is hell, then? It is God actively giving us up to what we have freely chosen-to go our own way, be our own "the master of our fate, the captain of our soul," to get away from him and his control. It is God banishing us to regions we have desperately tried to get into all our lives. J.I.Packer writes: "Scripture sees hell as self-chosen . . . [H]ell appears as God's gesture of respect for human choice. All receive what they actually chose, either to be with God forever, worshipping him, or without God forever, worshipping themselves." (J.I.Packer, Concise Theology p.262-263.) If the thing you most want is to worship God in the beauty of his holiness, then that is what you will get (Ps 96:9-13.) If the thing you most want is to be your own master, then the holiness of God will become an agony, and the presence of God a terror you will flee forever (Rev 6:16; cf. Is 6:1-6.)

Why is this so extremely important to stress in our preaching and teaching today? The idea of hell is implausible to people because they see it as unfair that infinite punishment would be meted out for comparably minor, finite false steps (like not embracing Christianity.) Also, almost no one knows anyone (including themselves) that seem to be bad enough to merit hell. But the Biblical teaching on hell answers both of these objections. First, it tells us that people only get in the afterlife what they have most wanted-either to have God as Savior and Master or to be their own Saviors and Masters. Secondly, it tells us that hell is a natural consequence. Even in this world it is clear that self-centeredness rather than God-centeredness makes you miserable and blind. The more self-centered, self-absorbed, self-pitying, and self-justifying people are, the more breakdowns occur, relationally, psychologically, and even physically. They also go deeper into denial about the source of their problems.

On the other hand, a soul that has decided to center its life on God and his glory moves toward increasing joy and wholeness. We can see both of these 'trajectories' even in this life. But if, as the Bible teaches, our souls will go on forever, then just imagine where these two kinds of souls will be in a billion years. Hell is simply one's freely chosen path going on forever. We wanted to get away from God, and God, in his infinite justice, sends us where we wanted to go.

In the parable of Luke 16:19ff, Jesus tells us of a rich man who goes to hell and who is now in torment and horrible thirst because of the fire (v.24) But there are interesting insights into what is going on in his soul. He urges Abraham to send a messenger to go and warn his still-living brothers about the reality of hell. Commentators have pointed out that this is not a gesture of compassion, but rather an effort at blame-shifting. He is saying that he did not have a chance, he did not have adequate information to avoid hell. That is clearly his point, because Abraham says forcefully that people in this life have been well-informed through the Scriptures. It is intriguing to find exactly what we would expect-even knowing he is in hell and knowing God has sent him there, he is deeply in denial, angry at God, unable to admit that it was a just decision, wishing he could be less miserable (v.24) but in no way willing to repent or seek the presence of God.

I believe one of the reasons the Bible tells us about hell is so it can act like 'smelling salts' about the true danger and seriousness of even minor sins. However, I've found that only stressing the symbols of hell (fire and darkness) in preaching rather than going into what the symbols refer to (eternal, spiritual decomposition) actually prevents modern people from finding hell a deterrent. Some years ago I remember a man who said that talk about the fires of hell simply didn't scare him, it seemed too far-fetched, even silly. So I read him lines from C.S. Lewis:

Hell begins with a grumbling mood, always complaining, always blaming others . . . but you are still distinct from it. You may even criticize it in yourself and wish you could stop it. But there may come a day when you can no longer. Then there will be no you left to criticize the mood or even to enjoy it, but just the grumble itself, going on forever like a machine. It is not a question of God 'sending us' to hell. In each of us there is something growing, which will BE Hell unless it is nipped in the bud.

To my surprise he got very quiet and said, "Now that scares me to death." He almost immediately began to see that hell was a) perfectly fair and just, and b) something that he realized he might be headed for if he didn't change. If we really want skeptics and non-believers to be properly frightened by hell, we cannot simply repeat over and over that 'hell is a place of fire.' We must go deeper into the realities that the Biblical images represent. When we do so, we will find that even secular people can be affected.

We run from the presence of God and therefore God actively gives us up to our desire (Romans 1:24, 26.) Hell is therefore a prison in which the doors are first locked from the inside by us and therefore are locked from the outside by God (Luke 16:26.) Every indication is that those doors continue to stay forever barred from the inside. Though every knee and tongue in hell knows that Jesus is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11,) no one can seek or want that Lordship without the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3.This is why we can say that no one goes to hell who does not choose both to go and to stay there. What could be more fair than that?

4. The doctrine of hell is important because it is the only way to know how much Jesus loved us and how much he did for us. In Matthew 10:28 Jesus says that no physical destruction can be compared with the spiritual destruction of hell, of losing the presence of God. But this is exactly what happened to Jesus on the cross-he was forsaken by the Father (Matthew 27:46.) In Luke 16:24 the rich man in hell is desperately thirsty (v.24) and on the cross Jesus said "I thirst" (John 19:28.) The water of life, the presence of God, was taken from him. The point is this. Unless we come to grips with this "terrible" doctrine, we will never even begin to understand the depths of what Jesus did for us on the cross. His body was being destroyed in the worst possible way, but that was a flea bite compared to what was happening to his soul. When he cried out that his God had forsaken him he was experiencing hell itself. But consider--if our debt for sin is so great that it is never paid off there, but our hell stretches on for eternity, then what are we to conclude from the fact that Jesus said the payment was "finished" (John 19:30) after only three hours? We learn that what he felt on the cross was far worse and deeper than all of our deserved hells put together.

And this makes emotional sense when we consider the relationship he lost. If a mild acquaintance denounces you and rejects you--that hurts. If a good friend does the same--that hurts far worse. However, if your spouse walks out on you saying, "I never want to see you again," that is far more devastating still. The longer, deeper, and more intimate the relationship, the more tortuous is any separation. But the Son's relationship with the Father was beginningless and infinitely greater than the most intimate and passionate human relationship. When Jesus was cut off from God he went into the deepest pit and most powerful furnace, beyond all imagining. He experienced the full wrath of the Father. And he did it voluntarily, for us.

Fairly often I meet people who say, "I have a personal relationship with a loving God, and yet I don't believe in Jesus Christ at all." Why, I ask? "My God is too loving to pour out infinite suffering on anyone for sin." But this shows a deep misunderstanding of both God and the cross. On the cross, God HIMSELF, incarnated as Jesus, took the punishment. He didn't visit it on a third party, however willing.

So the question becomes: what did it cost your kind of god to love us and embrace us? What did he endure in order to receive us? Where did this god agonize, cry out, and where were his nails and thorns? The only answer is: "I don't think that was necessary." But then ironically, in our effort to make God more loving, we have made him less loving. His love, in the end, needed to take no action. It was sentimentality, not love at all. The worship of a god like this will be at most impersonal, cognitive, and ethical. There will be no joyful self-abandonment, no humble boldness, no constant sense of wonder. We could not sing to him "love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all." Only through the cross could our separation from God be removed, and we will spend all eternity loving and praising God for what he has done (Rev 5:9-14.)

And if Jesus did not experience hell itself for us, then we ourselves are devalued. In Isaiah, we are told, "The results of his suffering he shall see, and shall be satisfied" (Isaiah 53:11). This is a stupendous thought. Jesus suffered infinitely more than any human soul in eternal hell, yet he looks at us and says, "It was worth it." What could make us feel more loved and valued than that? The Savior presented in the gospel waded through hell itself rather than lose us, and no other savior ever depicted has loved us at such a cost.

Conclusion The doctrine of hell is crucial-without it we can't understand our complete dependence on God, the character and danger of even the smallest sins, and the true scope of the costly love of Jesus. Nevertheless, it is possible to stress the doctrine of hell in unwise ways. Many, for fear of doctrinal compromise, want to put all the emphasis on God's active judgment, and none on the self-chosen character of hell. Ironically, as we have seen, this unBiblical imbalance often makes it less of a deterrent to non-believers rather than more of one. And some can preach hell in such a way that people reform their lives only out of a self-interested fear of avoiding consequences, not out of love and loyalty to the one who embraced and experienced hell in our place. The distinction between those two motives is all-important. The first creates a moralist, the second a born-again believer.

We must come to grips with the fact that Jesus said more about hell than Daniel, Isaiah, Paul, John, Peter put together. Before we dismiss this, we have to realize we are saying to Jesus, the pre-eminent teacher of love and grace in history, "I am less barbaric than you, Jesus--I am more compassionate and wiser than you." Surely that should give us pause! Indeed, upon reflection, it is because of the doctrine of judgment and hell that Jesus' proclamations of grace and love are so astounding.

The Cost

2008-12-13T17:18:00.001-06:00

“If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. If the dead are not raised, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’” 1 Corinthians 15:19, 32

I don’t know about you, but I grow weary of “sensible Christianity”—the kind of Christianity that nestles too snuggly with the American dream. I want the kind of faith that doesn’t make sense to those who don’t know Christ. I want to live the kind of life that makes people pause in wonder, maybe even shake their heads. I want the kind of life that causes people to furrow their brow and talk behind my back.

In 1 Corinthians 15:19 Paul states that without the resurrection, we Christians are to be the most pitied of all men. Why? Because Paul assumes that we Christians are laying down our present lives for the sake of a future one with Christ. He assumes that our faith is presently costing us worldly wealth, status, pleasures and ease. He assumes that we are no longer living in the patterns of this world and that our lives have taken a radical turn toward an unseen reality. Does he assume too much of us?

The call of Christ is intense—a complete dying of self and a relentless devotion to others. Laying aside the earthly ambitions of wealth, prestige, pleasure and above all—comfort—Christ calls us to store up our treasures in heaven and to seek first his Father’s righteousness. Such a pursuit will appear to be utter foolishness to those who understand neither the nearness of the coming Kingdom nor its rewards. To the natural man, this world and its pleasures are the end game. And thus to the natural man, the Christian’s denial of self and worldly comfort is absolute absurdity.

So how absurd are our lives? How much have we gambled on the idea that Christ lives and is coming again? If it wouldn’t cost us dearly to be wrong, then perhaps our lives are just a bit too sensible. Our American culture is full of mediocre Christians who very “sensibly” fritter away their lives chasing after the things of this world. May that not be true of us.

I don’t think I’m quite where I want to be yet—closer than I was a year ago perhaps, but still not all the way there. So if you pray for me, I’ll pray for you. Maybe together we can all move a few steps closer to insanity.

A Powerful Display of What The Church Can Be

2008-09-04T13:10:00.000-05:00

Fire in the Bones

2008-06-12T08:32:00.001-05:00

“How have we within the American church allowed what God intended to be the ‘normal’ daily life and experience of the believer become the ‘abnormal’? How could we settle for such a cheap imitation of the real thing?”
Once again, it brought me back to the importance of “good” versus “great.” Here’s what we need to understand:
• For God, good is abnormal. • For God, great is normal!
Let me illustrate by challenging you to answer the following 20 questions. During the past three days:
1. Were you driven by a desire to sacrifice your personal preferences on behalf of someone else? 2. Did you walk with spiritual authority, not afraid to utilize God’s power to free others? 3. Have you been filled with a sense and understanding that your decisions, choices and behavior were all being empowered by what can only be explained as supernatural? 4. Did you enter into someone’s life with a wisdom that surprised you and was beyond what you have previously known? 5. Did God’s Word leap off the pages as if the Lord Himself were speaking to you? 6. Were you compelled to run toward a ”sinner” rather than run away? 7. Were you repulsed by the merely “religious”? 8. Did you risk your reputation on behalf of another? 9. Did you weep for those who don’t yet understand God’s power? 10. Did you speak truth in love and grace rather than judgment or in retribution? 11.Have you heard other believers speak of these things as an ordinary part of daily life, yet you’ve never really lived in such a reality yourself? 12. Did you feel the presence of the Holy Spirit? 13. Did you experience supernatural power? 14. Have you felt a compassion for those with no faith? 15. Did you feel a desire to assist the poor and suffering? 16. Have you found yourself filled with joy and praise even in the midst of heartache? 17. Were you propelled by an inner desire to know God in all His glory and to bring honor to Him?18. Do you have moments of victory and inspiration, but they are sporadic and inconsistent? 19. Have you felt compelled to have personal fellowship with the Lord?20. Did you feel the need to ask God to set your soul on fire for Him?
As we read the New Testament and the story of the first-century church, we should be bothered by the fact our Christian walk does not seem to be as exciting or filled with risk. I am troubled when I hear of other people and places in the world where the Christian community is seeing tremendous evidence of the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit. What is happening there is like reading the book of Acts and the rest of the New Testament. Have you ever asked, “Why would they receive this moving of God’s Holy Spirit while we do not?”
When Christ followers are set ablaze by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, and have known what it means to exist with that “fire in their bones” and have seen how God works in and through them showing forth the very power of the resurrected Christ, they — you — will never be satisfied with anything less.
We must be ready to respond when God calls. Sir Winston Churchill put it this way, “Into everyone’s life there comes an opportunity into which one must choose to step.” The Apostle Paul, an even better source, counsels, “...be careful how you walk, not as unwise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.”1
You now have an opportunity for change. Will you choose to take the risk, believing what God has promised and see His power and glory manifest in you?
We are not going to change this world by criticism of it nor conformity to it but by the combustion within it — of lives ignited by the Spirit of God. When say we depend on the Holy Spirit, however, as Vance Havner observed, “We’re so wired up to our own devices that if the fire doesn’t fall from heaven, we can turn on a switch and produce false fire of our own. And if there’s no sound of a mighty rushing wind, we’ve got the bellows all set to blow hot air instead.” God save us from a synthetic Pentecost!
Are you ready to see divine power at work? Then here are five truths you need to know:
1. The life empowered by God is available and is to be the norm for everyone who has trusted in Christ as Savior. 2. To be on fire, empowered by God, it is necessary to move from ordinary to extraordinary. 3. The empowered life brings a consistency to you as a Christ follower. 4. The empowered life is observable. The Holy Spirit is invisible, but when He is present, there are tangible manifestations. 5. The empowered life is determined by your heart, not your circumstances.
As chronicled in scripture, there’s a reason for the power that flowed through the lives of New Testament believers and early church leaders. They were touched with fire from above:
• John the Baptist. “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”2 • Jesus. “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert...”3• The 120 waiting in Jerusalem. “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.”4• Peter “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: ‘Rulers and elders of the people...’” • The early church. “And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.”6 • Stephen. “But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.”7
As I read the New Testament record and see the specific people who were filled with the Holy Spirit, I begin to notice a pattern of certain evidences that occur consistently in the lives of Spirit-filled men and women. When there is fire in your bones, you should possess at least the following three things:
• You will not be able to keep quiet about the truth of God. • You will have a supernatural boldness. • You will experience God’s supernatural law as a daily reality.
Get ready to expect the unexpected when your heart is on fire with the truth and Spirit of God.

Stormy Weather

2008-05-22T08:47:00.001-05:00

Storms
And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. Matthew 8:26
We can avoid storms in our lives about as often as we can divert weather patterns over our city. Go stand outside and try. The reality is you will always face times of uncertainty. In the landscape of your life, you will enjoy a few blue-sky days, but mostly there will always be a dark cloud gathering somewhere on the horizon of your life, reminding you of the daily need to trust God with tomorrow. You can’t set your hope on the illusion that somehow you’re going to sort everything out one day. There will always be enough to keep you on your knees. And just about the time you think, I don’t really need to pray that much this week—wham. Face it; on this side of eternity, there will never be a day when you won’t need to trust the God who loves you.My future and yours will be ravaged by the waves until we embrace the fact that God allows these storms for our good. He won’t let us drown. Can you imagine how it would have wrecked the Gospels if it went down like this: There was this storm and Jesus was asleep and four of the disciples drowned? Of course not! He would not let them--nor will He let you--drown.But back in the moment, the disciples were wild with fear. Even the professional fishermen knew things were out of control. In the original language the disciples said just this: “Lord, save!”Notice Jesus’ response to them: “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26). Bible scholars debate whether or not that was a rebuke. Matthew was clearly fond of reporting how many times Jesus said it: First, here in Matthew 8:26, when they feared the storm; then in Matthew 14:31, when Peter took his eyes off the Lord and began to sink; again in Matthew 16:8, when they forgot about the miracle of multiplying bread; and again in Matthew 17:20, when they failed to heal the demon possessed boy. “O you of little faith!”—Jesus said it to them a lot. In my mind’s eye, I see Him smiling when He says it here in the storm. I think it’s tender, like He’s saying, “You don’t get it yet, do you?” He’s not mad at them, but sad that they didn’t think He could take care of them.Makes you wonder how often He says “O you of little faith!” to us.

2008-05-07T09:35:00.001-05:00

Keep At It
In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, thatwhere I am you may be also. John 14:2-3
What do you think of when you think of heaven? The Bible gives us a glimpse.
Golden streets and gates of pearls.No more death, no more sickness, no more sin, no more sorrow.No more good-byes, no more tears, no more time.No more relational pain, no more pride, no more hurt feelings.No more physical pain, no more disabilities, no more pills, no surgeries.No more looking ahead, no more counting time, no more anticipation of the end. (Revelation 18:16; 21:21; 21:4)
When Jesus said He was going to prepare a place for us (John 14:2-3), we knew it was going to be something special. Yet in spite of what the Bible says about heaven, there’s still a lot of confusion about our final destination down here. Somehow in our culture of trinkets and trivia we have lost sight of the fact that though Jesus Christ immeasurably improves our lives here and now, our greatest days are yet ahead.
I don’t think we will ever get over the nearness of God in eternity.
Revelation 21:3 describes the scene yet to come: “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.’”
When we get to heaven, God is no longer behind the veil, no longer present by His Holy Spirit alone. He is no longer across the crystal sea. He’s with us.
When we dwell with God we’ll be able to sit down and talk with Christ. And we’ll never run short on time. I’ve got some things I need to know. I’ve wanted to ask some questions for a long time. Like, what was it like to be the Creator of the universe, yet grow up on earth as a boy? And what was it like working at the carpentry shop? And what was walkin’ on the water like?
Then I want to understand the cross. I want to know what was on His mind when He gave Himself up like He did. The price that You paid . . .
I want to hear it all right from His lips.
Then I have a lot of questions about my life. Don’t you have your questions? Some that we carry around are very dark and painful. But we’re gonna sit there at His feet throughout all eternity. Our questions will be answered.
Wounded and battered by the struggles of this life, you will step into eternity and fall into your Father’s arms. And “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
The word tear in this verse is symbolic of life’s pain. Notice who’s going to wipe away the tears—God will. Jesus Himself will raise His nail-pierced hand to your cheek and look into your eyes and wipe away your tears. Every hope that’s been dashed and every shattered dream you’ve experienced--every time your heart was broken--all of the pain and anguish of life--will be eliminated, gone, wiped away. The things over which we silently anguish will be gone.
No funerals. No caskets. No tombstones. No sudden loss of loved ones. No heartrending good-byes. No more death.
The time we have left on earth is short. Eternity is long. Let this reminder stir you to keep at it till that day.

Satisfaction

2008-04-09T12:18:00.000-05:00

I wonder if we can imagine just how much God hates sin. Think of every act of cruel barbarism that twists your stomach into a knot. Think of every act of wickedness measured out against pure innocence by rampant, heartless perversion. Think of the sickening things happening in this moment that no one will ever know about except God. Also at this very second, see the totality of all this evil rising like it always has and will as an unceasing stench to the nostrils of God.
Some ask, why doesn't God do something about sin? Newsflash: He did. All God's righteous hatred of all that sin from all of human history (including your sin and mine) was poured out upon Christ as He hung on the cross. What is Jesus doing on that cross?--He was satisfying God's holy demands. A holy God poured out His wrath on His innocent Son so that we could be forgiven. When Jesus said, "It is finished," God said, "paid in full." Sin was put away. In ways we will not ever fully comprehend, the Cross of Jesus Christ satisfied the requirements of a holy God.
In the last three blogs we've observed the heavy cost of Jesus' suffering in our place. Now consider all that is offered to us in the phrase: He is risen!
What's Jesus Doing Up on the Cross? He's Satisfying.
If the cross of Jesus Christ is the central target that all the Bible points to, the bull's eye is of how His death satisfied the wrath of God. Until you get that piece, the gospel is only an impersonal concept.
At the moment of Jesus' death, something bigger and better happened than any Hollywood production could ever report. Matthew 27:51 tells us, "And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split." The Holy of Holies, in the back of the temple behind an impenetrable eight-inch curtain, was where God dwelled in unapproachable holiness. No one went behind that curtain except a priest--and that was only once a year. The curtain reminded everyone of the sin that separated man and God.
How awesome then to read in Matthew 27:50 that at the precise moment Jesus "cried out and yielded His spirit," immediately, "the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom." The moment Jesus died as an atoning sacrifice for sin, when He suffered and was substituted and He satisfied the wrath of a holy God against our sin, the way opened to God. In the instant Jesus died, the veil in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom as God Himself reached down and tore the symbol of His separation from each of us. Sin is now paid for. Come into My presence. Wrath is averted. My Son has paid the price for your sin. Evil sinful men can now approach holiness. Why? Because of the Cross.
In fact, God wanted us to know that something had changed for all time. Not only was the curtain torn, but God Himself reached down and shook the earth and said, I want people to know something is happening--pay attention! Look at this: "The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, (it's like the original thriller!) and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many." The natural order of birth and death was reversed. It's unparalleled. It's unprecedented. Nothing like this will ever happen again. God was satisfied in the Cross of Jesus Christ.
So awesome and obviously supernatural was all of this that Scripture records: "When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, 'Truly this was the Son of God!'" (v. 54).
Consider this miracle of Jesus' resurrection as the pivit point of history. . . and that includes your history.
"God forbid that I should glory in anything other than the cross of Jesus Christ." (Gal 6:14)

Colin Powell's 15 Secrets to Leadership

2008-03-20T12:17:00.000-05:00

1. Promote a clash of ideas. Allow subordinates to argue and clash with you. Once you've heard enough, make your decision, and then count on your team to execute it with full passion,
2. Encourage a noisy system. Put people at ease by listening to them; genuinely desire to want what people know.
3. Remember that only people get things done. A leader must give followers an environment to get things done. Take a third of the time to plan, and give two-thirds of the time for people to execute.
4. Maintain an open-door policy. Let people see you when you're there, and be sure to give special access to those closest to you.
5. Probe the organization. Walk the "grounds" everyday, allowing people access to you. If you uncover something affecting your organization or team that requires attention, close the loop and let those involved know the outcome.
6. Reward your best performers and get rid of your non-performers. You must constantly prune. Otherwise, the leader who doesn't prune out the bad risks watching the good turn bad.
7. Be prepared to anger and/or disappoint some people.
8. Check your ego at the door. Don't tie ego to title.
9. Have fun in your role. Maintain hobbies outside of work that can settle your mind.
10. Fit no stereotypes.
11. Remember that perpetual optimism is a force multiplier. Always assure those around you that the team will make it, that the problem will be solved. At the same time, don't do so with false statements.
12. Things always look better in the morning. Be optimistic of the day ahead.
13. Avoid war if at all possible. But when battles erupt, use your same processes to make decisions, then accept the fact your decisions will have to come faster.
14. Trust the element of instinct.
15. Prepare to be lonely.

The Substitute

2008-03-18T12:23:00.001-05:00

The Cross of Christ
"For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23
The cross of Jesus Christ is the signature symbol of the central event in the history of civilization. Yet, today we depict the cross as common. Jewelers pound it into all sorts of finery so we can staple crosses to our ears and wear them around our necks. Merchandisers manufacture this symbol of unlimited atonement into fuzzy things for our rearview mirrors or decorations for our gardens. From teacups to T-shirts, people have used the cross to corner the market on crassness. Department stores hawk chocolate-covered crosses for Holy Week. Baseball players and businessmen cross themselves before a big moment. The cross itself has become big business, but it was never intended to be some lucky trinket. This is profanity in the truest sense. Is it any surprise we have lost the wonder of what happened on Calvary?
The resurrection of Christ was the event that accomplished salvation and verified Christ's victory over death, but it was the cross of Jesus Christ that showed us the grace of God. Everything that God wants us to know about Himself comes together in those crossbeams.
Our entire purpose in life is to elevate the Cross. Think on Jesus Christ there. In your mind's eye, picture Him stretched out against the sky. What's He doing up there? Answer: He's subbing for you and me. He's taking God's wrath for your sin. He's satisfying the just demands of a holy God. He's paying the price that God's holiness requires so that you and I can be forgiven. In the place where our blood should have stained the ground, Jesus hung as our substitute.
You can't understand the Gospel until you understand this idea of substitution. Jesus’ death was in the place of every person who has ever lived. I am in that line. You are too. Each of us deserves to die in payment for our own sin, but Jesus stepped in and took that penalty for each of us.

God is good in the tough times

2008-03-11T10:22:00.000-05:00

Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, . . . youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego. But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food.
Daniel 1:3-9

When things are going smoothly in your life, you might not find it hard to believe that God is good. But if life takes a bad turn and something devastating happens, you might ask, “How could a good God allow this?” If you know that kind of pain, then you can empathize with the Old Testament prophet, Daniel.

Across the pages of Scripture that detail Daniel’s life from teenager to old man, you can write “sovereignty at work.” God was directing his life whether he saw it at the time or not.

Do you know his story? One bright day in Jerusalem when Daniel was just a teenager, he was captured as a POW and was ripped away from everything warm and familiar. Daniel’s enemies were working a cruel strategy. They singled out the best young people--the All-American teenagers voted MVP and ‘Most Likely to Succeed’ and brought them to their capital city near modern-day Kuwait. Their plan was to brainwash these kids with their culture and eventually make them leaders. Daniel was given a foreign name, Belteshazzar, forced to learn a new language, and fed a new diet.

Had Daniel decided what God was like by looking at his circumstances, he would have become a disillusioned, confused, angry, young man. Kidnapped from his homeland, forced into slavery, most likely castrated to become a eunuch in the palace, Daniel’s eyes were still on God. Don’t gloss over these facts like they’re from some made-for-TV movie--this story is true in every detail. Imagine the suffering connected with his circumstances, yet Daniel went through the fire . . . successfully. This certainly gives us hope that we can make it through our firestorm, too.

No doubt a painful situation comes to mind right now from either your past or the present. You may wonder how a God of love could have allowed some devastating injustice. Yet I would bet on the fact that you’ve not yet come full circle. There will be a day when you will look back and see how God’s sovereign hand was at work. Truth is, He is in the center of the situation that troubles your heart right now. He’s right in the middle of it. Just because you can’t see Him, doesn’t mean He isn’t there and working all things together for good.

Lord, I know You are at work in my life and circumstances…even when I don’t see Your hand. I know You are working all things together for good. Help me fix my heart on You no matter how long I must wait to see a bigger picture. I believe You will bring all things around for Your glory.

A Letter From Hell

2008-02-09T15:12:00.001-06:00

Saved For More

2008-01-31T09:44:00.000-06:00

The conversions I witness generally aren't as radical as they seem to be elsewhere and at other times. Our hunger and thirst for righteousness, the first mark of kingdom-dwellers, is for the most part anorexic, and our lust for self-vindication appears as hearty as ever. Domestic problems seem to be as prevalent among evangelicals as they are among the wider public. The amount of interchurch migration, and the low level of actual net church growth, is embarrassing. The willingness, as the apostle Paul put it, to share in the fellowship of Christ's sufferings so that we might attain to the resurrection from the dead is at a low ebb in most North American churches.

Is our gospel too small?

Let's go back to its early days, when the Good News was new news. Let's go back to a jail in the city of Philippi, to two men sitting in the inner cell, bound in manacles. Paul and Silas. They're bleeding. Their flesh blooms with welts bright as red roses, bruises dark as purple dahlias. And they're singing.

I always picture them singing a Wesley tune—"And Can It Be," let's say—but know that's impossible. So maybe they sang the hymn Paul taught the Philippians: Let your attitude be the same as that of Christ Jesus … who became in very nature a servant.

The point is, they're singing. And the gospel is doing its subversive, transforming work. Before the day's out (actually, this happens around midnight, so before it's barely begun), the jailer is on his knees, shaking from stem to stern, begging those two men, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

Their answer is beautiful in its clarity and brevity: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."

Good News. The gospel. Just like I heard it, and embraced it, over 25 years ago.

I never want to make the gospel more complicated than that. I want to retain this gospel's deep simplicity for all time. Saved can never mean less than the forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal life through faith in Christ.

But I wonder if God meant it to be more than this as well. The question that intrigues me is this: What did that jailer understand by the word saved? What did he want to convert to? What did he see in Paul and Silas that he himself lacked and now longed for?

Or, put another way, how big was the gospel he so desperately wanted to get in on?

Now it's possible that the jailer, like Nicodemus talking in the night with Jesus about rebirth, like the Samaritan woman at the well talking with Jesus about living water, is just confused. It's possible that his question and Paul's answer are miles apart—that all the jailer means is, "How do I get myself out of this mess?" and Paul seizes the moment to preach salvation.

It's possible, but I don't think so. I think the jailer has been listening and watching and calculating all night long. I think Paul and Silas embody something he is afraid to believe "because of joy and amazement" (Luke 24:41). I think Paul and Silas are to him what all Christians are to be to the world: the fragrance of Christ.

Consider four things.

First, the jailer saw two men counting it all joy when they faced trials of many kinds, men praying and singing in the face of what would have left most men howling and cursing: bodily affliction and personal injustice. Paul and Silas, without due process, were stripped naked and "severely flogged" in public. The Romans had a special genius for this kind of thing (think the flogging scene in The Passion of the Christ). It was brutal torture joined to abject humiliation. The beating would scar or even maim them for life. Paul and Silas were summarily tossed in prison, locked in the inner cell, their feet put in stocks. Roman stocks were designed not just as extra security measures, but as implements of torture themselves.

How would I respond?, I wonder. How might you? Here's what they did: "About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them."

Listening indeed. Who among them had ever witnessed such peculiar people, singing and praying in the face of colossal personal disaster? Who had ever heard of a God who, seemingly absent from or indifferent to these men's suffering, nevertheless called forth from them such pure devotion?

In 2006, five Amish girls, aged 6 to 13, were shot and killed by a man in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, who then killed himself. The event stunned the world. But what happened next stunned the world all the more: a whole community singing and praying. A whole community not bent on retaliation, not shouting with anger or collapsing in despair, but standing with quiet dignity and deep calm. The community was quick to forgive. They even established a charity fund for the killer's family. We saw a people face the worst and become their best.

Such peculiar people.

The prisoners and, I think, the jailer witnessed two men like that. And he and they must have understood saved to mean, at the least, having confidence in a God who is with us and for us even when it looks as though he's abandoned us or is punishing us. It means knowing this God so personally that we have cause to sing even when there is no earthly cause to warrant it.

The more that saved means includes knowing a God who empowers us to face the worst and become our best.

We're All Here

Somewhere in there, the jailer falls asleep. Maybe the singing lulls him. But he's awakened abruptly by a mighty shaking. An earthquake, powerful enough to fling the prison doors wide, strong enough to shake the prisoners' chains loose, rocks the house. The jailer wakes, sees what's happened, and prepares to do what every loyal Roman soldier knows is the noble thing to do: kill himself. Run his sword through his own heart to save Caesar's representative the trouble. A jailbreak was grounds for executing the prison guard regardless of the circumstances under which the prisoners escaped.

"But Paul shouted, 'Don't harm yourself! We are all here!'" This moment more than any other elicits the jailer's pleading question: "What must I do to be saved?"

This is the point at which the jailer might mean by saved something very different from what Paul answers, but it's more likely that he's astonished by what he sees: these men's compassion for him, a stranger, even an enemy. Why should Paul and Silas care? What possible concern is it of theirs if this man does his soldierly duty? That earthquake looks like a God-thing, reminiscent of Peter's miraculous, angel-escorted escape from prison (where the guards were executed), reminiscent of the earthquake that attended Jesus' escape from death's prison. So why not see it as God's intervention on their behalf, and whatever will be will be?

Don't harm yourself. We're all here.

Such peculiar people. What power could possibly make anyone behave this way? What power is now loose in the cosmos that could break anyone's addiction to self-protection and self-advancement and make them care, even at great personal cost, about someone they've no reason to like and every reason to hate?

The more that saved means includes knowing a God who empowers us, even when it costs us dearly, to love strangers, even enemies.

Transfixed

Then there are the other prisoners, sitting there when nothing external—no chains, no bars—holds them anymore. We're all here.

Why don't they flee? What's riveted them to their seats?

I venture this: Paul and Silas have astonished the prisoners every bit as much as they've astonished the jailer, and for the same reasons. Up to this moment, it's unlikely that a single one of those prisoners had ever seen a man get bludgeoned half to death and come up praising God. They're transfixed by it, wondering what strange power this is that causes men to act at complete odds with common sense. They're so transfixed, they start acting that way, too.

The jailer sees prisoners going nowhere. He sees prisoners who, hours before, would have seized this opportunity gleefully, without a second thought, now sitting still. If they are not as concerned about the jailer's welfare as Paul and Silas are, they at least respect Paul and Silas enough to follow their example. The guard sees hard men with hard hearts suddenly acting against their most entrenched instincts, and all because they eavesdropped for an hour or so on two men deeply in love with God.

The more that saved means includes knowing a God who empowers us to subdue the hardest heart.

And maybe there's one other thing that the jailer means by saved. Maybe he knows what happened in town that day, the events that led to Paul and Silas being beaten and arrested and imprisoned. Maybe he knows that these two men are no criminals. That their crime is not murder or thievery or sedition, but simply and only setting a captive free.

Paul and Silas are in prison because they had pity on a slave girl, doubly enslaved, held in thrall by her earthly masters and the Devil. She followed Paul and Silas around town, giving them one doozy of an endorsement: "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved."

She spoke the truth, every word. And her endorsement could only have helped Paul's cause tremendously: she was a local "spiritual authority," sought for her clairvoyance, her insight into hidden things. By all appearances, the foreign spirit in her was subject to the Holy Spirit of God.

Still, there was a foreign spirit in her. And it troubled Paul. So, in the name of Jesus, he cast the spirit out. As so often happens in the Gospels and Acts, when all heaven breaks loose, all hell does as well. The incident provokes a riot, and the result is that Paul and Silas exchange their freedom for hers. She's free, at least from the prison of the Evil One, and they're captive, at least in the prison of the state.

The more that saved means includes knowing a God who defeats the powers of darkness and at the same time makes us willing to forsake our own freedom for the sake of another's.

Glimpsing Transformation

What must I do to be saved?

Believe in Jesus. Yes. Believe in Jesus, so that your sins will be forgiven and your name written in the Book of Life. Please, let us never, in the name of any fashion or fad in theology, make the gospel less than this.

But what do we mean, what should we mean, by saved? Does it not also include freedom and power, here and now, to live a life so transformed that others glimpse in it the possibility of their own transformation? Please, let us always, in the name of the God who saves us, mean this by the gospel as well.

Arthur Burns, a Jewish economist of great influence in Washington during the tenure of several Presidents, was once asked to pray at a gathering of evangelical politicians. Stunning his hosts, he prayed thus: "Lord, I pray that Jews would come to know Jesus Christ. And I pray that Buddhists would come to know Jesus Christ. And I pray that Muslims would come to know Jesus Christ."

And then, most stunning of all: "And Lord, I pray that Christians would come to know Jesus Christ."

Such a good prayer, I've started praying it myself.

A New Year of Blessings

2008-01-19T09:54:00.000-06:00

Luke 13:1-5, "Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus said to them, 'Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.'"

Be careful of believing that God's general blessings, or the absence of significant trials are confirmations of His favor. They are not!!!

I am deeply convicted by the passage above. I am instructed not to think that I am in some way more favorable to God in and of myself because I love Him, or because I teach His Word, or because I am seeking to pattern my life after His Son. Anything that is favorable to God in me is because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, imputed to me as a result of repentance and faith which were also gracious gifts, entirely unmerited.

I find that Christians, wait, NO! . . . I find that I am too often impatient with, judgemental over, and resentful of the wickedness of wicked people. I find it much harder to give grace than to receive it. Viewing the consequences unsaved folks experience for their sin as "deserved" is as natural as breathing. Viewing them with sincere compassion takes concentrated effort. Worst of all I can view a calamity in the world at large as God working to provoke repentance and faith in the faithless. As in, I know why that tower fell on them . . . God was judging them for rejecting His ways. Yet the above Scripture proves that conclusion to be hasty and wrong.

I am not better than people who do not know Jesus, not in myself. I too need to repent.
I am not more deserving of God's blessings than people who do not yet believe, I too need to repent.

Mt 5:45, "For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."

God's grace is everywhere drawing hearts to Himself. God's judgment is everywhere, provoking wayward hearts to repentance, and I am still in the thick of it, grateful for eyes to see and ears to hear, and a heart that longs for His ways to be more fully formed in me.

Yes another year. As it begins I have health and strength and an opportunity to respond in repentance and faith to the God who made me. Just like everyone else who lives on my street, and in my state, and on this earth.

unbelievable is all I can say to describe this!!!

2008-01-16T11:21:00.000-06:00

The Face of Jesus

2007-11-20T13:57:00.000-06:00

Choose God’s Love

2007-11-12T09:30:00.000-06:00

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
1 John 4:16
One of the definitive messages of the Bible is that “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16). I’ve been a pastor long enough to know that when I say that, some people pull back and look at me sideways, “Really? God is love? Well, if that’s true, then how could He have allowed . . .” - and out comes a painful story.

Something happened to you. Something was done to you. Someone broke your heart. Something devastated you, and you cannot reconcile that pain with the message that God loves.

I'm so sorry for your hurt - I really am. But you need to know that the way out of that box is not to deny or run from God’s heart, but instead to embrace it as it really is. Too often we self-define God’s love: “This is my concept of love, and God must conform to this view or I can’t accept Him as love.” Many have made this mistake, though they didn’t mean to.

How does God represent Himself as love? I believe it isn’t always what we think.

For example, most people would agree that when you love someone, you protect them, right? God’s love is a protecting love, but it’s not always a preventing love. God doesn’t always keep hard things from happening. Here’s why: He has a higher purpose for our pain. He allows it to humble us, so we see how much we need Him.

Would you have found God if He hadn’t allowed some pain to come into your life? If you would have never turned to Him without that heartache, isn’t it true that in some sense that was a very loving thing for God to allow? Wasn’t it that hurt that brought you to your knees before Him, asking for His help?

Here’s the single best way that I think can describe God’s love in your life: He loves you with a perfecting love. You are under construction, my friend. God is working on you. There will be difficult times, but you can trust Him. No pain is allowed into your life but that He chooses to use for your good. Your loving, protecting Father measures out the trial and carefully watches over you every moment. His eyes are upon you. You are never far from His thoughts. He counts the hairs on your head. He saves your tears in a bottle. He loves you with an everlasting love. But let His love be what it really - a perfecting love.

The First 2 Letters in "Gospel" are GO

2007-10-22T14:37:00.000-05:00

Finish Strong

2007-10-18T11:27:00.000-05:00

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:6-8
I’ve been around long enough to know some men and women whose lives were totally sold out to God a few years ago who have since walked off the track in the middle of the race. They’ve given up. They’ve lost their longing for God and all that He is. They’re awol from the Christian life . . .
The fear of following in their footsteps haunts me. It should you, too. The possibility is real for all of us unless we allow our hearts to be completely gripped by God . . . today— now. The faithfulness of my walk with God in the next year and the next decades depends on my willingness to stay current with God. In a word—to stay in relationship with Him.
I never want to lose the hold God’s greatness has on my life and the supreme privilege it is to be in relationship with Him and to serve Him faithfully till the day I am welcomed into His presence. That passion compels me. It keeps me very honest and very humble before God.
The last thing I want to do is crawl across the finish line a defeated, derailed Christian or worse—give up the race before my life is over. I want to break that tape with arms high and my face to the sun and say with the apostle Paul, “I have finished the course; I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 3:7).
So what can we do now to ensure that finish line victory? We can get back to basics: Honestly answer these seven questions:
Do I hunger after God?
Does God’s Word govern my life?
Do I grieve over sin?
How quickly do I repent when I see my wrong?
Am I sensitive to the Spirit’s prompt in me?
Do I obey?
Is my faith growing?

ESPN story of a High School being Jesus to someone

2007-10-13T11:01:00.000-05:00

It was halftime at the Lake Fenton-Mount Morris game, seemingly just another high school football contest during another homecoming week on another October Friday night in another American suburb.
But this time the fix was in.
Four Lake Fenton (Mich.) football players and a co-conspirator on the golf team arranged it. Seniors all, they'd used their cell phones to hatch and agree on the plan, and then met outside the school building the afternoon before the big homecoming game to nail it down.
Lose on purpose?
Jake Kirk, the ringleader and a Blue Devils' running back, saw the decision differently: "We knew we'd all be winners if we did it."
By game's end, they'd done it. The scoreboard at Lake Fenton Stadium claimed the Blue Devils lost to Mount Morris 37-20, their lone defeat of the season so far.
But scoreboards can lie.
Last Friday, Kirk and fellow seniors David Bittinger, Lucas Hasenfratz, Matthew Tanneyhill and Ethan Merivirta scored one of the biggest victories of their lives.
Candidates for the senior royal crown, they each gave up the chance to become Lake Fenton's homecoming king.

Tri-County Times, Fenton Michigan
Eli Florence, a former offensive lineman, receives a football from a player on the Lake Fenton team.They fixed it so Eli Florence won instead.
Eli is a 5-foot-7 former offensive lineman. He's only a sophomore. The doctors say there's nothing more they can do for him. He's at home, barely able to speak, getting regular blood transfusions. Eli Florence, 15, is dying of leukemia.
"I'm praying for a miracle now," said Trina Florence-King, his mother.
In these days filled, it seems, with it's-all-about-me athletes and iPod-wearing, text-messaging teenaged zombies, these Lake Fenton High athletes did something special for a special classmate.
"He's taught us never to give up," Kirk said. "And if you keep fighting, you can overcome the odds. We're happy he's still around because he wasn't supposed to be."
It's etched in her memory: Aug. 20, 2003, Hurley Medical Center, Flint, Mich., a short drive from Lake Fenton.
That's when Trina Florence-King learned her son was suffering from acute myelogenous leukemia.
That day, her wise little boy boldly consoled her.
"I've got something to tell you," she remembers him saying. "Me and God, we had a heart-to-heart. I told him I was available for whatever he needed."
And Thursday, Trina Florence-King told ESPN.com: "Since then, I've seen him working on other peoples' lives, working on people for four years. I'm not saying this because I'm his mother, but this is a special boy."
From one remission to two cutting-edge stem cell transplants to one stint of 13 straight months in the hospital, from Flint to Ann Arbor to Minneapolis and now back home, Eli Florence traveled and endured.
"Eli has become an icon for strength and perseverance and character for this entire community, and especially our student body," said Lake Fenton principal John Spicko.
But last month, the awful, final, numbing news came. Eli's mom reported it on a Web site set up by friends to monitor Eli's health.
"Tonight I come with a broken heart," she wrote. "Eli has been given just a few weeks to maybe one month to live here on this Earth with us. … This process of 'losing my son' is going to be very soon. When I look at him, even today, it just doesn't seem possible."
That was Sept. 16. Word spread around the school and the town of about 5,000.
The nicest kid in school, the one who's out of class so often, was fading.
Then, it came to Jake Kirk, as crisply and clearly as his two syllable name: Eli should be homecoming king. King Eli.
It felt so right.
On Oct. 4, on his way to school, Kirk got the plan under way. A neighbor had given him an orange ribbon -- orange is the color of leukemia awareness -- and it triggered Kirk's vision.
"It had been in the back of my mind," Kirk said Thursday via phone from the high school. "I've had people say, 'Wouldn't it be cool if Eli could get to be king?' I thought, 'Wouldn't it be cool if the five candidates gave it to Eli?'"
Kirk phoned Tanneyhill. Tanneyhill was with Hasenfratz. Before Kirk even got the entire concept out of his mouth, "They immediately said, 'Yes!'" Kirk said. Soon after, the other two senior candidates for homecoming king agreed.
King Eli
By lunchtime, they'd planned their announcement for what was to be the king candidate-selection assembly.
Kirk took the microphone in front of the entire student body of 538 students and said there wouldn't be any vote this year for king.
"We, as the king's court, decide there is nobody in this school who deserves this more than Eli Florence,'' Kirk said. "This year's homecoming king is going to be Eli.''
The entire audience cheered and clapped in unison.
But Eli was too sick to be in school that day.
"The whole school knew, but Eli did not know," said Sticko.
That night, Trina Florence-King received a text message on her cell phone.
Eli would be crowned the next night at halftime of the football game.
She didn't tell her son.
There was a problem. Halftime was approaching and the king-to-be was at a local clinic receiving a necessary blood transfusion, getting energy, getting life. He was scheduled to escort his friend, Ashley Look, a member of the sophomore royal court, to midfield. He didn't have a clue he would be the center of attention.
Barely in the nick of time, Eli, in a wheelchair, and Ashley joined the other members of the court and their parents at midfield, surrounded by the Lake Fenton band, clad in blue and white.
The public-address announcer said: "Your 2007 king, as designated by the five candidates is … is Eli Florence."
The king was stunned.

Tri-County Times, Fenton Michigan
King Eli and part of the Lake Fenton royal court."It's like he heard his name, but it was sort of surreal," his mother said.
"But I'm not a senior," Eli told others around him. "I'm not a senior."
The crowd of 2,000 people, including homecoming queen Brooke Hull, 17, stood. Many cried.
The four Blue Devils football players who ceded their kingship opportunity to Eli missed the moment. They were in the locker room trying to make adjustments for the second half to hold off Mount Morris.
Eli's mom brought the telephone to Eli in his bed Thursday morning.
He spoke softly of the five boys who honored him.
"It was definitely a sacrifice to take that step down to let someone else get it, to be homecoming king," he said. "The guys were really sincere. They honestly were OK with it."
Even Spicko, who sees a lot as a high school principal, was taken aback by the action of the Lake Fenton Five.
"There's not much that surprises me, but that did," he said. "We can't lump all kids into the same bucket. We see so much character development in so many kids in so many ways. This was just amazing."
Said Trina Florence-King: "I'm so proud of those boys. They wanted to honor him and make him feel special."
Saturday, Eli has another football date. Through a friend, he's been invited to visit the University of Michigan bench before the Wolverines' game against Purdue.
"It's going to be really cool," Eli said.
It's Michigan's homecoming game, the perfect place for the toughest little homecoming king of this, or any, football season.

The Day God Ran

2007-10-11T16:35:00.000-05:00

And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.” And they began to celebrate. Luke 15:20-24
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about people who are runners. Not the track and field kind—but those who are on the run from God. You know who you are. You might sit in church on Sunday, but in your heart you’re putting distance between you and God.
I don’t know what has prompted you to take off. Maybe you’ve done something you think is beyond God’s mercy to forgive. Maybe someone has hurt you and you don’t understand why God let it happen. Maybe you’d just rather live by your own rules and cling to some silly, sordid something than turn around.
I may not know why you’re running, but I know this: you’re tired. You’ve grown so used to this flight pattern that you can’t imagine life any differently.
Can I ask you to rest for a minute and listen to something that will determine your course for the rest of your life? I’m not exaggerating.
Jesus told a story about a runner. He pictured him as a son taking off from his dad’s house. You probably know the parable of the prodigal son. After all the details of this runner’s rise and fall, Luke 15:17 tells us that he woke up one day in a pigsty and said to himself, “Whoa—how did I get here? I need to go back.”
His first thought was “what will Dad do?” Have you ever thought: If I come back to God, how will He receive me?
Some people think God wouldn’t care one way or the other. He would barely look up from what He was doing to say, “Oh, you’re back. Fine. Just throw your things over there.” But that’s not how Jesus described His Father. He said, “Listen! Hear those feet pounding the pavement? There’s getting closer! That’s God running toward you! He’s been searching the horizon, waiting for just a glimpse of you, and now that He sees you He’s in a full run toward you.” Luke 15:20 says that when the father got to his son, he threw his arms around him and kissed him. Can’t you just picture the tears running down his face? My son! He’s home!
God put that in His Word so that every runner would know what to expect when they reversed course and ran back to God.
I’ve never been more sure of this: God loves you and is running toward you. Will you turn around and fall into His arms?

What must I do to be saved?

2007-10-03T13:19:00.000-05:00

"What do I have to do to get saved?" In my Baptist context, we've heard these thoughts a thousand times. The problem is that we have in our pocket a message in which Jesus himself had a very different answer to regarding the question of salvation. The Big Question In reading through Luke, I had discovered that twice (10:25, 18:18) Jesus is asked, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" In the first passage, Jesus turns the question back on the lawyer who asks it. The lawyer replies with the Old Testament commands to love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself (cf. Mt. 22:34-40). Jesus affirms his answer: "You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live." The lawyer then tries to narrow the meaning of neighbor. So Jesus tells the unforgettable parable of the compassionate Samaritan, who proved to be a neighbor to a bleeding roadside victim. In Luke 18, Jesus responds to the same question, this time from the man we know as the rich young ruler, by quoting the second table of the Decalogue, forbidding adultery, murder, theft, and false witness, and mandating honor towards parents. His questioner says that he has kept these commandments, and Jesus proceeds to call on him to "sell all … and distribute to the poor." Jesus assures him, "You will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." The "extremely rich" ruler won't do this, and Jesus goes on to teach his disciples about how hard it is for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of God. Trying to be an honest student of the texts in front of me, I see that on the two occasions in Luke when Jesus was asked about the criteria for admission to eternity, he offered a fourfold answer: love God with all that you are, love your neighbor (like the Samaritan loved his neighbor), do God's will by obeying his moral commands, and be willing, if he asks, to drop everything and leave it behind in order to follow him. I conclude that the contrast between how Jesus answers this question and how we usually do is stark and awfully inconvenient. Getting Radical In my Baptist tradition, especially, we direct people to "invite Jesus into your heart as your personal Savior," an act undertaken using a formula called the "sinner's prayer." Or we simply say, "Believe in Jesus, and you will be saved." But Jesus never taught easy believism. Whether he was telling the rich young ruler to sell all and follow him or telling a miracle-hungry crowd near Capernaum that to do the work of God was, yes, to believe on him (John 6:28-29), he called people to abandon their own agenda and trust him radically. Radical trust calls for both belief and action. I suggest that we tend to confuse the beginning of the faith journey with its entirety. Yes, believe in Jesus—that's the first step. Yes, invite Jesus into your heart as your personal Savior. Then, empowered by God's grace, embark on the journey of discipleship, in which you seek to love God with every fiber of your being, to love your neighbor as yourself, to live out God's moral will, and to follow Jesus where he leads you, whatever the cost. If Jesus is to be believed, inheriting eternal life involves a comprehensive divine assessment at every step along our journey, not just at its inception. Mediocrity and hypocrisy characterize the lives of many avowed Christians, at least in part because of our default answer to the salvation question. Anyone can, and most Americans do, "believe" in Jesus rather than some alternative savior. Anyone can, and many Americans sometimes do, say a prayer asking Jesus to save them. But not many embark on a life fully devoted to the love of God, the love of neighbor, the moral practice of God's will, and radical, costly discipleship. If it comes down to a choice between our habitual, ingrained ways of talking about salvation and what Jesus himself said when asked the question, I know what I must choose.

Eliminate the Drain

2007-10-01T12:14:00.000-05:00

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 2 Timothy 2:1-2

If you had a hole in your gas tank, it wouldn’t be long until you investigated why your tank is always empty. I just filled up, you think. Why am I on empty again? The same thing happens in the Christian life. We get filled up with great Bible studies and sermons, and we think we’re good for the long haul. But not far into the trip, we’re out of gas. Completely drained. What happened?
I believe one reason our spiritual strength drains quickly from our lives is because we hoard it. Sounds like the opposite would be true, but it’s not. If we keep everything we gain in the Christian life to ourselves, we end up running out of gas. Paul tells Timothy: “What you have heard from me . . . entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).
The way to grow spiritually is not to pack every study, every sermon, every lesson you can into your skull. You might think you are a great Bible scholar but really you’re just a big Bible fathead. Some of the most spiritually weak people I know have more Bible information in their cranium than anyone around. But they can’t face temptations or weather even the smallest storm because they haven’t been growing in what they’ve learned. You’ve got to transfer truth to others in order for it to make a difference in your own life.
Do you take sermon notes each week? What do you do with them afterward—stuff them in a drawer? Carry them around in your Bible until you purge them all? Find someone this week to share something new you learned from the sermon or from a message you’ve read in a book or heard on the radio. In Paul’s words, entrust to others what you have learned. You will experience a fresh infusion of the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Merely reading the words will do nothing for you. But if you do what they say, you will fill up on God’s strength.
How about it?

8 reasons not to share your faith

2007-09-24T13:44:00.000-05:00

The Big O

2007-09-13T14:31:00.001-05:00

Obedience is a word we don't care very much for, that is unless it is in reference to children obeying their parents. Somehow the role of obedience seems natural, after all, one is the adult, and one is the child. One has more knowledge and demands more respect, the other is limited in understanding and in some ways subservient to the other. We get this, we agree with this. Then comes obedience to God. Suddenly, though we wouldn't disagree with the truth that we need to be obedient to God, we search for wiggle room, interpretation, excuses. What's behind that? the desire to be obedient not to God, but to our own personal happiness. Self-centeredness chokes out a desire for obedience and robs God of his rightful position and replaces him with ourself.
I know a lot of people who fear God, genuinely fear God. They are obedient to God, for a season. It doesn't last very long. At first they are all for it, going the distance, but then it fades. You see, you can never sustain obedience to God simply out of fear of who He is. It's not enough. Should it be? Yep. Is it? Nope. I've only seen sustained obedience to God last when their remains that healthy reverent fear of who God is and what God demands of us. At the same time, the linch pin in love. Those who love, really deep down in their bones love Jesus are obedient to Him. Jesus said that if you love me you'll keep my commands. He didn't say that if you are scared of me, reverent of me, or even awed by me that you would keep my commands, but only if you love me. To take it a step further, obedience can be summed up in two ways, (they might sound familiar...Jesus came up with it first) Love God Love Others. So, how do you know you are walking in obedience...

you are demonstrating an increased capacity to love God
you are demonstrating an increased capcity to love others
you do what you already know God wants you to do (for example, God has already said that we are to tithe the first 10% of what we earn to Him. If you know this and aren't doing it, then you aren't walking in obedience)
you are willing to do whatever God wants you to do in the future

The desire for every believer should be to be obedient to God, after all, if we're not obedient to Him, then functionally we are making something else are real God. The King deserves our obedience, and our love for Him demands it.

Baby Got Book

2007-09-11T10:12:00.001-05:00

Can I lose my salvation?

2007-09-09T17:22:00.000-05:00

i recently had a conversation with a few people from the church on this topic and i thought i would post some of my thoughts on this subject. Let's interract together on these.

If Christ came to seek and save that which was lost, and yet we can somehow become unsaved—and therefore undo what Christ came to do—would it not be wise for God to take us on to Heaven the moment we are saved in order to insure we make it?
If our salvation is not secure, how could Jesus say about those to whom He gives eternal life, “and they shall never perish” (John 10:28)? If even one man or woman receives eternal life and then forfeits it through sin or apostasy, will they not perish? And by doing so, do they not make Jesus’ words a lie?
In Jewish culture, adoption meant that a person could not be sent away, or abandoned, the adopting parents HAD to keep the child regardless of their actions. In Romans, Paul describes us as God’s adopted children. If salvation wasn’t permanent, why introduce the concept of adoption? Wouldn’t it have been better just to describe salvation in terms of a conditional legal contract between man and God?
The authors of the New Testament left us with detailed explanations of how one becomes a child of God; if that process could be reversed, doesn’t it make sense that at least one of them would have gone into equal detail explaining that as well?
The Bible teaches us that we are “sealed” with Him. What is the significance of a seal that can be continually removed and reapplied? What does it really seal?
If a man or woman ends up in hell, who has at some point in life put his or her trust in Christ, doesn’t that make what Jesus said to Nicodemus a lie? Or at best half true?
If my faith maintains my salvation, I must ask myself, “What must I do to maintain my faith?” For to neglect the cultivation of my faith is to run the risk of weakening or losing my faith and thus my salvation. I have discovered that my faith is maintained and strengthened by activities such as the following: prayer, bible study, Christian fellowship, church attendance, and evangelism. If these and similar activities are necessary to maintain my faith—and the maintenance of my faith is necessary for salvation—how can I avoid the conclusion that I am saved by my good works?
If our salvation hinges on the consistency of our faith, by what standard are we to judge our consistency? Can we have any doubts at all? How long can we doubt? To what degree can we doubt? Is there a divine quota we dare not exceed?
If God’s holiness compels Him to take back the gift of eternal life from certain believers because of their sin, one of two things is true: either God compromises His holiness for a time—through their small sins—or man’s good works can meet God’s requirements for holiness—at least for a short period of time. In that case, Christ died needlessly.
If there is an unpardonable sin, Christ did not die for all sin. If He did not die for all sin, there are those to whom salvation is not available. If salvation is not available to all men, John 3:16 and a multitude of other New Testament verses are not true
If Christ was the sacrifice for sin, and yet at the time of His death all your sins were yet to be committed, which of your sins did His blood cover? From the vantage point of the cross, was there really any difference between the sins you committed in the past and those you will commit in the future?
A man does not drift into salvation, does it make sense that he can drift out of it?

Does it make any sense to say that salvation is offered as a solution to our sin and then turn around and teach that salvation can be taken away because of our sin as well?
Can joy and insecurity really coexist? How realistic is it to expect us to rejoice over a relationship that is only as secure as our behavior is consistent?

The Whole Deal in a Nutshell

2007-09-06T08:55:00.000-05:00

In the beginning, God created all things good, but humans didn't live according to how God meant them to live. They rebelled against God, and we call this rebellion "sin." When sin entered the world, it began to grow, fracturing our relationships and communities, eventually building an empire of itself. But God did not abandon his creation to destruction and decay, and promised to restore this broken world. As part of this promise, God chose a people, Abraham and his descendants, to represent him in the world. He blessed them and instructed them to use that blessing to bless others. It is Abraham's descendants who we find enslaved in Egypt. One of the greatest events in this redemptive story is the Exodus, when God rescued the Israelites from their slavery under an Egyptian empire.

The Egyptians oppressed the Isrealites as slaves and ruled over them ruthlessly in order to protect the empire. The Egyptians placed slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor. This is a key example in the Biblical story of sin manifesting itself in the form of empire. God heard the cry of the Israelites and liberated them from their oppressor. He took them out of Egypt and into the desert. This liberation from oppression under Egypt is a central, defining moment in history where God inaugurated his plan for restoring the world.

God brought the Israelites to Mt. Sinai out in the wilderness, where he spoke to them and came to dwell among them as a husband dwells with his new bride. God chose this group of people to become his flesh and blood, calling them to become a kingdom of priest and a holy nation where they would use their blessings to bless others. He did this so the whole world might come to know the one true living God.

The Jewish people reached Jerusalem, the land which God had promised them, and built a temple to honor God. For a while, God dwelt in the temple, they lived out their mission to bless others with their wealth and influence, and they upheld justice and righteousness. The Jewish people eventually misconstrued their belssing with favortism. They misused their wealth to preserve their kingdom, allowed foreign gods into the land, overlooked the poor, and mistreated foreigners. God sent prophets to call the Jewish people to look at how they were treating the oppressed and marginalized as in indicator of how they were living out God's will while calling them to repentance for their sin of misusing their blessing. The Jewish people didn't listen.

Because of their sin, the Jewish people were attacked by foreign empires and were taken as exiles to Babylon. In Babylon, they were again oppressed by a foreign empire. While they were exiled in Babylon, the Jewish people started to imagine, "What would it be like if we could be given all our wealth and influence back? What if we actually used our priviledge to bless others as God intended? What if we could get it right?" They repented of their sin, and soon afterward they were given the chance to return to Israel. They returned to Israel and immediately went to work rebuilding the temple; however, they were still under the rule of foreign empires. During this time, their hopes began to center around a messiah who would lead a New Exodus, re-establishing their kindgom.

So the Old Testament comes to a sputtering stop with a group of people crying out for a messiah to come. But God didn't respond right away. He was silent. But that silence was filled with expectancy that God would send a messiah who would lead a New Exodus. That was what the Jewish people were expecting and hoping for during the time of Jesus. The New Testament then picks up with stories about the birth of Jesus. Then Jesus began his public ministry as a Jewish rabbi. And at the ouset of his ministry, Jesus' main message was that "the kingdom of God is here." This statement was obviously loaded for the Jewish people, and they heard him saying that he would liberate them from foreign rule, that he would lead a New Exodus. He promised that a New Jerusalem would someday come when God will wipe away every tear from our eyes and restore all of creation. There will be no more crying out from oppression.

Today, Egypt can be seen as a picture of what we're all born into. We're all born into oppression by sin. We're born with a sinful nature that pulls us, distorts things and takes us in directions that are destructive to us. Every single human being is born into bondage to sin. God wants to liberate us from sin, and he has a plan to do this. In the same way that the Jewish people were called by God to use their wealth and influence to bless those who need it most, so God has called the Church to do the same, to be his flesh and blood - his body - in the world, so the Church is called the Body of Christ. When we begin to use our resources, energy and power to preserve our own comfort and empire, we are sinning. Eventually, our sin will cause us to lose our power, wealth and influence. And God's plan for blessing the world will be lost for a time.
The reason we study the Exodus is because we want to understand who Jesus is and what he's doing. He wants to liberate the world from physical, spiritual and cultural bondage. Most of us have been given great wealth, talent and energy. And God wants us to share it with others who don't have enough. What if the Church began to understand that God wants to fix this entire planet?

Thank you Jesus!

2007-08-28T14:50:00.000-05:00

A powerful demonstration of the Gospel

2007-08-28T14:36:00.000-05:00

A vision for children and youth ministry

2007-08-24T07:50:00.000-05:00

Every Kid

Not just rich kids…every kid.

Not just white kids, not just black kids…every kid.

Not just my kids, not just your kids…but every kid.

Not a lot of kids, not even most kids…every kid.

Not more kids than other churches…every kid.

Not giving just a few kids the opportunity to receive Jesus… but every kid.

Not just the “in crowd,” not just the beautiful, the charming, but every kid.

Not just those with high potential, but every kid.

Not just the loved and loveable, but every kid.

Not just American kids, but every kid.Every Kid!

A dream worthy of my time.

A dream worthy of my energy.

A dream worthy of my money.

A dream worthy of my life.

The Christian Life Is Like...

2007-08-21T15:02:00.000-05:00

The Christian life is like an anvil in your backpack, just a heavy weight with no desire or delight, just duty and drudgery that weighs you down with sorrow, like an anvil in your backpack. The Christian life is just like that . . . if you're not living it.
The Christian life is like turkey dinner with all the trimmings, right on the table in front of you, with all the sumptuous aromas rising to your nostrils and your stomach demanding you grab a fork and DIG IN!!! but you can't because you're on a diet and you need to go have another protein shake and let someone else enjoy the meal. The Christian life is exactly like that . . . if you're not living it.
The Christian life is like you're in prison, but just outside your cell are all these people at a festival, eating Mexican and doing the cha-cha, and swinging at this pinatas and laughing and twirling one another about and throwing their heads back with heart-felt laughter, but there you are, gripping the bars and looking on as you try to remember the last time you had fun. The Christian life is just like that . . . if you're not living it.
Too many of us are not really living the Christian life--not really following hard after the Lord, not really seeking His face and devouring His Word, and loving His praise, not telling others about what Jesus can do for them, not really extending ourselves for those who are hurting and spending our lives in service to Christ.
I could go on and on, but I'll just say that you shouldn't judge the Christian life too harshly if you're not really living it. If you feel like you have an anvil in your backpack, all weighed down with guilt and shame and defeat, if you're wondering where all the joy and peace and blessings are--maybe you're not really living the Christian life. James 4:8, "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."
I've found that the Christian life is AWESOME in every way . . . if you're really living it!

Paradigm Shifts in Evangelism by Donald Miller

2007-08-17T21:59:00.000-05:00

Paradigm Shifts for Evangelism
1. Other People Exist: Simply coming to the understanding that the world does not revolve around "me" but that everybody is having an experience, created by God, loved by God, and that we needed to repent of showing partiality…
2. Nobody will listen to you unless they know you like them: We began to understand that people, subconsciously, merit a religious or philosophical idea not on logical conclusions, but on whether or not the idea creates a "good person"…the definition of a good person being whether or not a person is kind to them, tolerant and understanding, able to listen without arguing and so on.
3. Nobody will listen to God unless they know God loves them: We came to believe there was usually a hidden pain behind hostility, that many people have been hurt by the church, or people or perspectives they believed to represent God. Many times its as simple as an interview they saw on CNN, but an apology and kindness went a long way in helping people understand God was loving.
4. Other people have morality and values: We came to understand that Christians do not own morality, that everybody lives by a moral code, not always informed by an ancient text, and yet it is there. Calling people or even thinking of them as immoral was, then, inappropriate. In fact, we often found that people who did not know Christ lived a morality close to his heart in many areas we had ignored, ie; community, tolerance, social justice, fairness and equality, freedom, beauty and so on and so on.
5. Find common ground: Often the morality of others overlapped Christian morality, and we came to understand that in these cases, we would focus on the overlapping issues. We came to see this as kindness, just as though we were on a date or making friends, we did not focus on what we didn’t have in common, but rather on mutual feelings about life. We would not say or do anything to combat people unless they knew we loved them, and this takes a great deal of time.
6. Define terms in their language: We were careful about Christian sayings and phrases that might be offensive: Crusade, sin, immorality….we came to understand that concepts were more sacred than terms…
7. Telling somebody about the gospel is about them, not us: We were careful not to try to "build our organization" and respected peoples freedom and space. Sharing the gospel became an exercise in friendship, rather than an attempt to grow a machine. Often, people feel used if they feel they are being recruited. The gospel, we learned, is really about them, their feelings about God and truth, about sin, about life
8. Don’t let spreading the gospel feel any different than telling somebody about a love in your life, about your children or a great memory: We realized that in telling somebody about Jesus, we were telling them about somebody we have come to love and need, and about something that had happened to us, an encounter. This keeps us from sounding preachy, and allows us to share part of ourselves in a friendship.
9. Include lost People in Your Community: Our organization was not exclusive. We invited non-believers into the community if they wanted to be invited. We were careful not to not be ourselves with them, but they were certainly invited and enjoyed being a part of the group. We explained terms that we used, what we believed, but other than that, continued as normal.
10. Apologize for what you represent: We discovered that many people have been offended or hurt by what they perceive Christianity to be. We allowed ourselves to stand in the place of "Christianity" and apologize whenever necessary.
11. Be authentic: We discovered the need to be as honest about our lives as possible. We did not feel the need to sale Jesus, as much as share what He has done in our broken lives. We had no problem sharing our doubts and fears about faith, along with our commitment and appreciation for what God had done.
12. Pray for the Salvation of others: We discovered the need to pray for others. This would insure God was working in peoples lives, as we asked Him to. We discovered the work of evangelism is something God lets us watch, but very little of it is what we manipulate. We repented of not believing evangelism was a spiritual exchange between a lost person and God, rather than believing it was a series of ideas we were supposed to convince others of.
13. Ask people if they would like to know Christ: We decided to initiate, whenever the relationship called for it. We were not afraid to ask people if they would like to know God.

The whole Gospel

2007-08-15T21:21:00.000-05:00

I Want the Whole Gospel: Every single ounce of truth; give it to me straight just like it is in the Bible.

I want the whole gospel: Don't dilute the living water--it might not quench my thirsty soul.

I want the whole gospel:Turn on the light of Jesus Christ and don't shield my view--I need every beam of His radiant glory to dispel the darkness in me.

I want the whole gospel:Don't block the door, or I might not get through.

I want the whole gospel:I need an accurate map to the narrow road, because only a few are finding it.

I want the whole gospel:Because I am wholly lost, God's verdict is wholly just, and my damnation is wholly certain.My heart is wholly depraved and my sin is wholly mine.My efforts are wholly futile and my escapes are wholly hopeless.I need a whole Savior, whose whole suffering, wholly satisfies a holy God.

Please, please don't cut the corners. It's appointed unto man once to die and I have to be sure I get it right.
I have to have the whole gospel--give it to me straight. Nothing else will do!

5 Distortions of the Gospel

2007-08-09T14:35:00.000-05:00

Five Distortions of the Gospel in Our Day
1) The Cake Mix Gospel: if we leave out key ingredients our souls will never "rise" to God. We don't need the message reduced to some irreducible elements, we need the whole gospel. You don't expect your car to run without all the parts. You don't expect your body to function without all the organs working properly. You don't expect a cake to taste right if it's rushed and readied without the right ingredients. The gospel without repentance is not the gospel. Acts 18:26, And he [Apollos] began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
2) The Cultural Gospel: Skip the postmodern sales job and go for the heart where human need never changes. Understanding the 'culture' is much less important than knowing what the Bible says about every human heart separated from God. We don't need slick sales people giving out the gospel. We need bold, Spirit-filled messengers with a deep heart of compassion for lost people. The gospel without authoritative/binding truth is not the gospel. Acts 17:30, In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
3) The Cool Gospel: Jesus transcends fashion trends. Marketing Jesus is cheap and powerless. We don't need to 'spin' the message we need to say it. We need to stop shaping Jesus in some misguided effort to make Him appealing. Jesus doesn't need to be like us; we need to be like Him. The gospel wrapped in stylistic packaging is not the gospel. Revelation 3:17 Because you say, 'I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,' and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.
4) The Carnal Gospel: What Jesus can do for me: health, wealth, always happy, never hurting? Jesus solves those issues, but not the way we may think. He'll change what you want a lot more than what you have. The selfish gospel that promises things Jesus doesn't promise is a lie and is sentencing the lost who listen to a shocking surprise in eternity. The gospel of "me before Jesus" is not the gospel. Mark 8:35 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.
5) The Careful Gospel: Let's not upset anybody, just keep 'em comfortable and coming back, There's lots of time for folks to figure it out. The gospel of "get them to church, and in time everything will come together as long as we don't offend them" is a dangerous gospel. Well intentioned is not enough. The gospel without urgency is not the gospel. 2 Corinthians 6:2, Behold, now is "THE ACCEPTABLE TIME," behold, now is "THE DAY OF SALVATION.

Dan Southerland...now what?

2007-08-07T13:28:00.000-05:00

I hope you were all energized and captivated by a vision of what could be and what should be as we make the intentional choice to be a church that reaches the lost. Dan spoke well of God's father heart for His people. He spoke of God's desire to see a church that would be as passionate about reaching lost people as He is. To do that means that we make the choice to prioritize lost people over those of us who are currently in the church and know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. So, where do we go from here with this? I'd like your input. What sparked inside of you as you heard Dan Southerland speak? What do you think this means for us as a church going forward? I'd love to hear about that.

mexico day 5

2007-07-27T17:53:00.000-05:00

we are finishing things up and are anxious for the church service tonight where we will dedicate the building to the Lord and enjoy fellowship amongst believers. We have certainly accomplished more than i thought we would at the outset of the week. we have gone so far as to finish all the drywall, hang doors, and install some windows, knowing that the rest of the windows will be installed within the next few days. it is a special feeling to know that over the course of the next many years that countless numbers of people will learn about God and how to walk with Him in a closer relationship. To know that your labor is a part of all that is again humbling. Keith and I are anxious to get back and share with you all some of what God has done during this trip. Keith keeps threatening to sleep in on Sunday but I told him I'd send Ethan over to dump some cold water on his head to get him up. I think he is going to sleep for the rest of the afternoon on Sunday when he gets home. I hope to sleep some too on Sunday afternoon because I want to be at the church in the evening for the prayer service for VBS.
We had 100 kids for VBS here, this is more than we have ever had before. An interesting thing happened over the past couple of days. There was a young boy about 8 years old. He had been a handful to say the least. (He is Will and Ethan at their best!) Anyway, he had snuck into our rooms and had stolen a couple of things. Today he got caught doing it. The Pastor of the church and I talked with him. He does not have very much and both of his parents work well below minimum wage jobs just to support themselves. He hung his head low when the pastor talked with him. I told him that we were not mad and that we loved him very much. At the end of VBS, since this was our last day, he went and hugged every single person in the group, as if to say he was sorry for taking our things. It was a meaningful experience of repentance that we'll not soon forget.
See you all Sunday morning!
Peace,
Pastor Brian :)

mexico day 4

2007-07-26T16:43:00.001-05:00

I'm feeling worn out today as I've been running all over God's green earth getting construction and food supplies for the group. Today was a day of major progress as we are going to be able to take a room that was just framed with a plywood roof and make it operational for the church to use as a Christian Education building. Today they are running the electric and putting insulation in. Also, since we are ahead of schedule we are putting drywall in, doors, and we were able to purchase windows with the money that the church group gave towards this project that was over and above their costs to get here. That was a great testimony to me, the church people, and I hope the community of the generosity that is supposed to be present amongst believers in Christ Jesus.
Its a great feeling to know that when we leave, this building, which was nothing more than a pipe dream 2 years ago, is becoming reality before their very eyes. Humbling to be used by God to make a dream come true for these people.
Erika said Eliana has still been good for her. I've been talking (emailing) with her each day. I thank you for your prayers for me, for her, and Eliana. I'm anxious to share what God is doing here with you on Sunday. Keith is seeing a lot and is going to have a great testimony on Sunday as well as to the power of God at work in this place. Going into this trip Keith was unsure about working with a bunch of teenagers but he has fit in nicely, and I see some giftings he might have to work with teens. He just laughed when I mentioned this to him (like most people do when you mention youth ministry! :) )
I hope to share more with you tommorow as we go into our last full day together. We will be having a special service between the group and the church. They asked me to preach some (I hate having to work with an interpreter... it slows me down! :) ) Pray that I will be able to communicate God's truth to them within the confines of using an interpreter. More tommorow!
Peace,
Pastor Brian :)

mexico day 3

2007-07-25T20:59:00.000-05:00

well, praise God we had a good day off. Usually to get to Rosarito we have to go through Tijuana. Well, they built a new rode and we were able to avoid it all together which helps keep my blood pressure at a normal rate! I was able to do a little shopping, and despite earlier comments, I will not be coming home with a poncho and sombrero for Eliana and Erika! :) I got an email from Erika today and she said Eliana was doing well, that is a huge answer to prayer for me as I don't want Eliana to become a strain for her mommy. It was good to read and email from my honey! I miss her and look forward to coming home to see her (and yes I did pick up something for her! :))
While we were gone today I had someone hot mop the roof of the building we are working on. I wasn't comfortable with one of us doing it as it is extremely dangerous. Our hope for tommorow is that we could begin running the electric in the building and also put the doors in. I continue to be amazed at how much work we are getting done. Everyone has such a positive attitude and a willingness to serve. Which begs the question, why is it easier to serve someone you don't know, and may never see again then it is to serve someone you are in proximity to? Why can we be like Jesus to people we don't know, but those closest to us we struggle with that? My guess, that dreaded thing called pride. It has a way of rearing its ugly head and destroying opportunities for us to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the people He has placed in front of us. Well, more next time, but interract with me about the question I posed... why is it so easy to serve those we don't have relationship with then it is those closest to us?
See you later!
Peace,
Pastor Brian :)

mexico day 2

2007-07-24T14:26:00.000-05:00

we've been hard at work today. We are putting a form of "stucko" on the walls here. We are mixing concrete by hand in a wheel barrow, hauling it to the area and applying it to the walls. It has been a tedious job and grueling as well. Keith continues to do great work and lead the construction group. The pastor joined in today to help with the stucko. He is a hard worker and i think he is inspiring the rest of the group to give their best as well. Another group of people are working on making a brick patio in front of the adminstration office. When it rains, all the dirt in front of the office makes for a lot of mud on the shoes. This way the people will be able to walk freely from one building to another without tracking mud into the place.
Today we had 75 children for VBS. Many of these kids I do not recognize which means they are new to this place. The kids are having a lot of fun and I think the adults are as well. The pastor of the church has a little girl names Sofia. She was born the first year I was here and I have watched her grow up each year I have been here. This year she has really come out of her shell and is having a good time. In fact, she greets me each morning with a great big hug and wants to hold my hand as I walk around during the day. Her smile is as big as her face and those big brown eyes just melt your heart.
The church family here can't seem to thank us enough. They do not have the money to do these projects as many of them are working full time and only make about $50-70 a week. That's hardly enough to support a family on, so when it comes to projects in the church, there just simply isn't enough money to do anything. As we work on these projects the pastor and church people look on with thankful delight as they see God's hand at work through us doing this. It's kind of neat to think that we are the answer to prayer for these people. Humbling to be used by God in such a remarkable way. That's all for now. Tommorow is the day off trip to Rosarito where we'll be doing some shopping and sightseeing. I"m looking forward to taking a dip in the Pacific Ocean, but it is always so cold there.
Peace,
Pastor Brian :)

mexico day 1

2007-07-23T12:29:00.000-05:00

we are part way through our first day and it is hectic as always. many details to take care of. It has been a blessing to be here and to visit with the church family. I always feel like I am coming home when I see them. Their welcome and love is so contagious that you can't way to be embraced by them. I just took a break in typing to speak with Ezekiel. He teaches at the seminary. He does it for free, doesn't get paid for anything. When I've asked him in the past why he does that when He has a family to feed he tells me that God has called him to do this and it doesn't matter if he gets paid or not, God has still called Him. Examples of faith like that encourage me but also convict me as well. I think Keith is having a good time and we are getting a lot of work done. We still have to get some supplies that we may have to travel to Tijuana to purchase. All in all it is going well. Please keep us in prayer and also pray that Eliana is being good for her mommy!
Peace,
Pastor Brian :)

The Tired Christian

2007-07-18T13:47:00.000-05:00

Most of the Christians I meet are tired. They don’t have the passion for God they once had, and they feel guilty about it. The sequence is always the same: countless seasons of (1) renewed expectation, (2) energetic pursuit, (3) encroaching disappointment, and finally, (4) exhaustion.
They have tried serving the Lord, seeking a fuller Christian experience through ministry involvement. Exhausted, they pull back for a season and try Bible knowledge instead. They undertake studies of Scripture, quiet time schedules, and books about spiritual disciplines. Again, that lasts for a time—and some good certainly comes from it—yet they feel like the joy they were promised at conversion is still eluding them somehow.
Other seasons of worthy pursuits come and go: worship, helping the poor, evangelism, prayer, etc. In all of this, there is a sincere intent to live as God desires. But these brief periods of success are followed by failure, frustration, and exhaustion. Sound familiar?
The apostle Paul described something very similar in his own life: a desire to do good, but an inability to get it done. He wrote, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (Romans 7:15). Then he indicated why: the “sin that dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out” (7:17-18).
What Paul was describing is the exhausting Christian life. The victorious Christian life was eluding him, and he admitted it. Paul acknowledged that his Christian life was not working for him. In his case, it was a temporary problem, but sadly, for many followers of Jesus, it’s all they ever experience. I know, because for many years this is the Christian life that I lived. Precept without power. Rules without resources. Laws without life. Initially exhausting and ultimately excruciating, it is the powerless Christian life. It causes many people to slip into what Paul called the “carnal minded life” or the “fleshly Christian life” (see Romans 8:1-10). Forgiven—without a doubt. But failing and falling into a lukewarm mediocrity, believers begin to view the dynamic, Spirit-filled, victorious Christian life that God promised like a carrot on the end of a long stick.
This powerless kind of living is a knife in the heart of Jesus Christ, who not only died for our forgiveness but also rose again that He might live His life through us. Payment for sin is complete; that is a past accomplishment. Someday Christ will rule the earth; that is a future promise. But what about today? Today Christ lives to bring His victorious power to bear upon your character. He wants to life His life through you.
I’m afraid that sometimes the Lord has looked at my Christian experience and thought, “This is it? This is why I rose from the dead? This is the degree to which you are going to draw upon My resurrection power? This is the degree to which you’re going to let Me live My life through you? This is as good as it gets?” It doesn’t have to be that way.
I challenge you right in this moment to come to the turning point that I had to come to: a once-and-for-all decision to be done with the exhausting Christian life! Allow Jesus to live His life through you. That’s what Christian living is all about.

Let's kick this post around with some of your comments/questions... looking forward to connecting with you!

Conflict Resolution

2007-07-10T10:47:00.000-05:00

We have been in the midst of this series on conflict. Throughout the series the theme we have seen from Scripture is that we need to resolve our conflict now. Last week we talked about the 8 steps to conflict resolution. This week I"m going to answer some questions that people might be thinking, but also I'm going to give you a chance to answer specific questions that pertain to the issue of conflict resolution.
What I'm hoping for, is that you would interract with me on this blog by posting some of your questions that pertain to conflict resolution. I'll check the site throughout the week and respond as I can. I'm looking forward to a great discussion on a topic that is very serious to God's heart, and I'm sure to your heart as well.
Peace,
Pastor Brian

still working on publishing this

2007-07-09T19:15:00.000-05:00

Hope this works

FBC Happenings

2007-07-05T11:33:00.000-05:00

TEST Blog