Answering Tough Questions

I read an editorial in the Washington Post recently in which a young lady, now an atheist, explained the process of her departure from the church. She went to church often while growing up, but then she started drifting away from her faith while she was a teenager as a result of people in her church not being able to fully answer some of her life questions. She said the only answers she got were obscure references to Bible verses and some trifle suggestions to just "have faith".

 After finishing the article, her questions stuck in my mind. At first the questions seemed like they’d be fairly simple to answer. "Why is it a sin to be gay?" "Where does the Bible say we can’t have premarital sex?" I started to formulate some responses in my head to see if I would have had the answers if she'd asked me those questions.  I thought of Bible verses, and passages from books I’ve read. But these answers were probably similar to the answers that drove her away from church in the first place. There had to be a better response. As I considered her questions again later that evening I started to realize what this young lady's questions revealed about something deeper within her. Her questions at their root were not Bible trivia, but instead her questions revealed her ultimate objection to God's lordship.

 Someone who objects to God's lordship will most likely view the rules and commands of the Bible and of God, as an encroachment on freedom. During her self-proclaimed loss of her beliefs, this young lady may have asked herself, “Why does the Bible or God or anyone else for that matter have the right to tell me what I should and shouldn’t do?" Or maybe she told herself she's her own person. That it’s her life and as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else, then it must not be wrong.  She said she stopped believing, but I would argue, that someone who is in defense of sin in their life or in the lives of people they love, has never put their trust in the God of the Bible. An objection to God's lordship and defense of sin are clear marks of someone who doesn't have saving faith.  We who have put our trust in the God of the Bible, need to be keenly aware of these marks when someone approaches us with questions about faith. If we see those marks and we respond to questions with only our favorite verse, we're no better than the one mentioned in James 2:16 who says, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” to someone who needs clothes and food without doing anything to meet their physical needs. When someone needs salvation, we need to tell them about the saving grace found only in the gospel.

 You see the gospel tells of a God who isn’t in His essence a great rule giver, that’s not the story at all. The God of the Bible created man and woman to live with him in the Garden of Eden. He gave them a beautiful place to live where food was plentiful, where they had human companionship, and most of all where they had direct access to God Himself. He walked in the Garden and lived with his people. They were created to bring Him glory₁, and as long as they did that, they would enjoy His provision and fellowship for all eternity. But as you know, these first humans, just like the rest of us, chose instead to try and glorify themselves₂. By their actions they showed they didn’t think God’s provision was enough, and they really didn’t like to be told what to do. In their minds they probably asked questions in the same spirit, I suppose, that this young lady asked. "Why shouldn’t we get to eat whatever fruit we want? Who is God to tell us what to do? We should eat and become like Him." They raised themselves into the position of lord, and cast down their creator.

 Maybe when you think of the story of Adam and Eve you remember how the great rule giver came in and rained his wrath down upon them. But not so fast.  Did the full wrath of God really rain down on them? If it had, the human race would have been a rather short-lived race. He did bring a curse of judgement which included eventual physical death, separation from God, pain in child birth and hard labor in growing food.  But he also continued to show those two who disobeyed Him, undeserved grace. He gave them clothing₃ and continued to provide them with food. But even more amazing, he already had a plan to rescue sinners like Adam and Eve from His curse. And this is where amazing grace begins to be revealed. God's plan was to send His only Son to suffer and die in our place so we can have eternal life with Him₄. What a just and graceful God! He still delivered the curse on sinful creatures, fully knowing His Son would be the one to pay the full price that the curse demanded for all of our sins. God's son Jesus, not us, would be the one to suffer the agony of being nailed to and hung on the cross₅. Jesus, not us, would be the one to get mocked and ridiculed while he was dying₆. Jesus, not us, would get the spear in His side₇. Jesus, not us, would take the full wrath of the Father on Himself for every sin we ever committed, are committing and ever will commit. And why did He do that? To make a way for us to be forgiven₈!

You see, our sins can't go unpunished. God is perfectly just and therefore needs a perfect payment for our sins. God accepted the sacrifice of Jesus' perfect life as that payment, with His acceptance revealed in Christ's resurrection.  The curse of death and eternal separation from God was broken in the resurrection of Christ. Christ purchased our forgiveness by forfeiting his life. When we turn from our sins and trust in Jesus as our Savior from the just punishment of God, He places his perfect life over ours so that when God looks at us, He sees Jesus' perfection, not our sin₉. When we're covered by the death and life of Christ, a Holy God can adopt₁₀ unholy creatures into his family and His house in heaven₁₁. Does that sound like a great rule giver just waiting to tell you you’re doing it all wrong? Or does that sound like a loving, self-sacrificing God full of grace and mercy?

At the same time we have to consider that If God sent his only Son to die for our sins, doesn't that show how serious He is about sin? Would He have allowed His own Son to be tortured to death if sin was no big deal to Him? The one who truly grasps what God has done for them and how serious He is about sin, will have a repentant heart. Instead of asking God why He’s such a kill joy, they will exclaim, “You have bought me with your life and now my life is yours ₁₂. Show me anything in me that breaks your heart and break my heart for it as well. Make me into the image of Jesus ₁₃. Help me glorify you, my Lord ₁₄.” They will begin to see the divine inspiration in the fulfilled prophecies of scripture, the consistency of God's word, the other-worldliness of the Bible’s philosophies; how true it rings with the picture of the world they see around them as the Holy Spirit begins opening the word to their heart. They begin to see how God is changing their heart to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them ₁₅. And even more strikingly, they will begin seeing the depth of sin in their own heart like Paul did in Romans 7:24, and they’ll grieve over it. If the scripture says God created man and woman for holy union wherein the two become one flesh₁₆, they will grieve over anything that is less. What God calls abominations they will call abominations. What God loves, they will love. If there’s even a question that God may not be honored by something in their life, they will cease that activity, even if scripture is silent on the issue. Their default will be to serve their Lord and put His concerns over theirs.

 I believe the following question really gets to the heart of true belief. Is there anything in your life that you wouldn't be willing to give up to follow Jesus? Would you be willing to give up your house? Your cars? Your money? Your food? Your clothes? Your friends? Your family? Your lifestyle? Your life? Jesus always asked those who would follow him, to be willing to leave behind what was most important to them because he wanted them to answer the ultimate question of lordship. Rich young ruler, will you leave your fortune for me?₁₇ Fishermen, will you leave your families and livelihood and follow me?₁₈ In Matthew 8:20, Jesus asks a disciple to leave the comforts of home to follow him. In Matthew 8:22 Jesus asks another disciple to leave his inheritance and follow him.  Jesus knew exactly what and who people placed into the role of Lord of their lives, and in order to follow him, they had to leave their other lords behind. Jesus said, "Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it."₁₉

 In light of knowing the evidence of true faith and God’s lordship over someone’s life, looking back at the young lady’s questions, it’s clear she never trusted in the God of the Bible. She wasn’t willing to give up her sin or her life to Christ. Maybe she was into religion for a while, possibly because that’s what her family did. Church can be social, it can be comfortable, and it can provide a sense of belonging. But going to church doesn't mean someone has saving faith. So when we’re confronted with questions like these, instead of offering a simple verse here or there, let's tell the story of the gospel, because "it's the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes"₂₀. May our prayer be that the Lord lovingly speaks His true gospel through us and saves the lost from His true, never-ending wrath they will experience in Hell if they never turn away from their sins and accept the forgiveness and lordship of Jesus ₂₁.

Scripture References for Further Study

 

₁ Isaiah 43:7

₂ Genesis 3: 4-6
₃ Genesis 3:21
₄ John 3:16 and Ephesians 1:4-5
₅ Luke 23:32-34
₆ Matthew 15:29-32
₇ John 19:34
₈ John 14:6
₉ 2 Corinthians 5:21
₁₀ Galatians 4:5
₁₁ John 14:2-3
₁₂ 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20
₁₃ Romans 8:29
₁₄ 1 Peter 4:11
₁₅ Matthew 5:44
₁₆ Mark 10: 6-9
₁₇ Luke 18:22
₁₈ Luke 5:11
₁₉ Matthew 10:37-39
₂₀ Romans 1:16
₂₁ 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10

    One of my favorite hobbies growing up in Southern California was body boarding. I started learning the sport in elementary school riding little shore breakers, but by the time I was in college I was riding waves over 10 feet tall. Most of the time the waves off the southern California coast are fairly tame, however you always have to watch for the occasional big sets that can catch you off guard. If you're in the right spot to catch the majority of the waves, you're usually in the wrong spot to catch the much larger ones since they form in deeper water. Where the smaller waves are getting just steep enough to catch, the bigger waves will already be breaking. If you don't dive deep when those waves come, they can envelope you in a vortex of water that can be hard to escape. Even worse they usually come in sets, and if the first wave gets you, there are probably 2-3 more with your name on them.

Me watching for waves off the coast of Malibu - Sept 2012

Whenever I saw one of those big sets on the horizon my heart would quicken, I'd immediately vault down to my board and start paddling and kicking, straining with all of my strength, frantically trying to reach the wave before it broke. If I got there in time, it could be the best ride of the day; if I got there a few seconds late, the battle to stay afloat began. On the other side of the spectrum, sometimes there'd be days when the waves just wouldn't come. I'd sit there waiting and becoming restless, wishing for one of those big sets. It became a test a patience rather than a test of strength.

 Looking back over the last two years of this adoption struggle, I see numerous sets of waves that we've traversed. There have been long waiting periods with few waves, where nothing much was happening and patience was hard to find. But there have also been plenty of times when the waves have gotten big and moments of panic took over. Would we make it past the huge struggle on the horizon? Was God going to come through for us? Why wasn't He acting faster? Doesn't He care? The pace of my prayers and striving for answers would accelerate every time a big swell appeared. Is this how life has to be? Seasons of impatience broken up by moments of frantic worry? Is there a way to remain grounded and constant no matter what kind of seas we're swimming through?

In Matthew 8 verse 23 Jesus sheds some light on the cause of frantic fear. In this passage we find Jesus and his disciples climbing into a boat. As they sail out away from shore, Jesus falls asleep. Suddenly a violent storm descends on the crew of disciples and they begin to panic. Remember some of these disciples are fishermen, they are not all inexperienced sailors. They'd no doubt ridden through many storms before, and knew what they could handle. They couldn't handle this. Some versions of the text say that this storm was so big, the waves were covering the boat! You can almost see the urgency in their faces when they wake Jesus up saying "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" They are terrified. Notice Jesus' response. He does not reprimand them for waking him up. He's not upset that they're coming to him to be saved. He doesn't even downplay the severity of the storm. He's upset at the fearful frenzy they've worked themselves into and ultimately what their reactions say about the magnitude of their faith. "He replied 'you of little faith, why are you so afraid?'" Then Jesus calms the storm with a word, and the wind and waves cease. The text says the disciples reaction was amazement, but I wonder if they also felt a little foolish at their panicked cries that were probably still ringing in their ears when suddenly the wind quieted and the waves turned to a glassy sea. They had God incarnate in the boat with them, yet their eyes were fixed on the world and their circumstances.

Lest we get prideful in thinking our reactions to the circumstances in our lives would change if Jesus were sitting next to us, don't forget Christian brothers and sisters, we have God's Spirit living inside us! He's not just with us, He's in us. Unfortunately, just like the disciples, even though God's Spirit is in us, we too fix our eyes on the world and our circumstances. When things go wrong our reaction is often fear instead of faith. And it's not that we don't go through terrifying storms with insurmountable waves, it's that we let those storms whip us into frantic worry instead of abiding in the shelter of the Almighty. Even though this abiding will not remove pain, emotion and incredible hardships from our lives, if we trust in God, our hearts will not be splintered against the rocks when the waves come.

"The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD; he is their stronghold in time of trouble.The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him." Psalm 37: 39-40.

Samuel after a long day of travel/visits

I wonder if the disciples were ever in a storm battered boat with Jesus again, and I wonder if their reaction would have changed because of what they witnessed. It certainly took me witnessing his faithfulness multiple times for Him to get through to me. I believe God has used this adoption struggle and especially the Court ordered visitations to teach me wave after wave how to take refuge in Him. On our first trip down my thoughts were crying out just like those disciples; God save us, they're going to tear our family apart! But as the trips continued, God gave me glimpse after glimpse of His glory and faithfulness. Sometimes that faithfulness manifested itself in simple hugs from Samuel as I waited in the background during the visits. Sometimes the mercies came in friendly neighbors on the plane who had 5 kids at home and actually wanted to sit by us. Grace came in answered prayers of a sleeping boy at the end of a long day.

As I watched God work, I slowly learned He can be trusted and it's begun changing my perspective in trials. I don't necessarily say that because Samuel's adoption is headed for finalization, though that is an incredible mercy and blessing. My perspective has changed mainly because I've experienced his faithfulness in his unwavering strengthening of my soul over every wave of this journey. He's been my closest ally when no one else could be there for me. He's given joy in the midst of tears. He's reassured as I've opened my hands. And one of the biggest things he's taught me, is that when he changes my focus from the circumstances to the Eternal, frantic worry gets swept away.

On one of our last weekend trips to Tulsa I remember coming home completely exhausted from the storm. Samuel had gotten sick while we were gone. Saturday night he was up all night coughing. Around 3 am he started calling "dada dada." I went over to his crib and scooped him up and carried him to bed with me. I got him propped up on some pillows with my arm around him and he slowly stopped coughing and went to sleep. Several hours later, we still had to crawl out of bed for the visit. Once the visit was done we had to get back to the airport for our flight home. On the way to the airport Samuel was coughing so much he ended up throwing up all over himself and the car seat that we were borrowing from our friends. There we were, in the 100 degree heat, in a side road parking lot cleaning up vomit, changing wet clothes, desperately in need of sleep. I was angry at the courts and frustrated with God for letting that weekend happen. Fair wasn't even in the universe of my thoughts that Sunday. When we got home, my wife came to pick us up at the airport. We exchanged hugs and got loaded into the car, and then I lost it. Uncontrolled sobbing took over as I finally let my guard down after a miserable weekend. Through the tears I started half venting and half praying. I told my wife as terrible as the weekend was, God helped me realize something. He helped me realize no one could take away what we had done for Samuel. No one could take away how we'd fought for a little boy who couldn't fight for himself. That God was honored by our love and no one could steal that treasure. That was a turning point for me as God strengthened my faith and washed away my fear.

As we near the end of this storm, my faith is far from perfect. I'm sure seasons of panic will still surface, but as I face the sure storms ahead, my prayer is that God will continue to strengthen me to turn my gaze heavenward, above the waves, beyond my fears through the stinging spray atop the swells, to Christ my Savior who ever lives and intercedes for me. I pray that I'll cast my worries aside and lift my treasures heavenward where they'll be safely kept until He calls me home. And on that glorious day, I pray I'll have the honor of placing those treasures at the feet of my King.

Fix Your Eyes

If you watched the Sochi Olympics last winter, you might recall the women's super-g downhill skiing event. The race isn't memorable because a favorite finished first, rather it's memorable because of who didn't finish. A record 18 women either crashed or skied off the course not finishing the race. When that many skiers failed to finish, spectators and athletes started pointing fingers.

The Austrian coach who set the course received the most scrutiny, especially after two of his racers finished 1st and 3rd. Had he set similarly hard courses before? Probably. Had his team practiced on those hard courses? Probably. Were his racers more prepared for the difficult maneuvers required to finish? Probably. But should we fault him for preparing his team for victory?

When you get tripped up and fail in your own life, who do you blame? Depending on who you are, the onus could fall on many different people. Maybe it falls on your spouse or your kids or your coworkers. If you're a Christian, maybe the blame falls on God; He is the one who set your course after all.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith."(Hebrews 12:1, 2 NIV)

The course is marked out for us. If you belong to God, He is the one who drilled those gates into the snow. He set the hard turns, the fast and also agonizingly slow straightaways, and He even built some tricky jumps. But why would He set such a hard course? Could it be, that like the Austrian coach, He wants to prepare us for victory?

While ski coaches train their athletes to have balance, strength, endurance and technique, God trains us to be holy and righteous. He wants us to look more like Christ every day.

"For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son..." (Romans 8:29 NIV)

Olympic skiers spend hours in the gym lifting weights, running miles, and stretching muscles. Their bodies aren't naturally adept at turning at high speed while chattering over icy snow. It takes sweating, straining, pain and even occasional injuries to force their bodies into Olympic shape. Similarly God puts us through tremendous trials to take us from the image of sinful man toward the image of sinless Christ.

"God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."(Hebrews 12:10-11 NIV)

In the midst of the race it can be nearly impossible to see yourself becoming more like Christ. Sometimes we're just trying to make the turns without crashing and we doubt we'll ever reach the finish. But unlike ski racing, those of us who are truly in Christ need not worry about falling short of the finish line.

"And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. "(John 6:39 NIV)

In Christ we will reach the finish line. But what about now. How do we handle all the challenging turns God has set before us? How can we not only keep our balance but accelerate toward the finish line? God has given us specific instructions on the techniques needed to race well. To find those instructions we don't need to look any further than the passage at the start of this post.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith."(Hebrews 12:1, 2 NIV)

The first thing we're instructed to do is to throw off the sin that holds us back. Would you want to ski on an Olympic course with bowling balls tied to your legs? Then why try to navigate God's course with your sins tugging you off track? The only way to throw off those sins is to ask God for His strength to do so. Like the psalmist, ask that He would create in you a clean heart (Ps 51) and that like Joseph He would help you flee from sin (Gen 39), regardless of the cost.

The second thing we're instructed to do is to fix our eyes on Jesus. He suffered through the worst of trials for us, his enemies, so that He could adopt us as His own. That truth is a huge comfort in our current adoption struggle. He knows exactly what we're going through and He's willing and able to help us.

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:15, 16 NIV)

That's easy to forget sometimes. When your son is forced to visit the man who could have killed him in the womb, it's easy to forget. How could God do this to us? But on one of those visits, God re-focused my eyes on His sovereignty. He made everything in that park we were standing in; none of this is too big for him to handle.

I pray God uses this difficult course to remove sin from my life. I pray He gives me the strength to fix my eyes on him and not the hard turns ahead. And instead of blaming God for setting this course for me, my desire is to praise Him for loving me enough to prepare me for victory.

Will Our Rescue Ever Come?

Riding into work this morning I was thinking about our adoption struggle and the road that has been much longer than we ever expected.  Sometimes it seems God hasn't acted when He obviously could have, and it leaves me wondering why.

As I was thinking about these things, God reminded me of the Israelites of Exodus and the plagues God brought through Moses. When they saw the first of the plagues, they might have thought to themselves, this struggle in slavery is finally over, God has come to our rescue! Certainly God could have rescued them at that point, but He hardened Pharaoh's heart so he would not let them go. Another plague came and another and another and still no rescue. Was God just teasing them only to leave them there? He was not. He had a plan to bring himself glory through these plagues and a dramatic rescue.

And what a rescue it was. After the tenth plague, God through Pharaoh finally let them go. But as they were heading home, God sent the entire Egyptian army after them. They felt completely betrayed. God released them from slavery just to have them captured or killed on their way home. What was God doing? He was getting ready to bring himself glory. That was His objective from the beginning when He said, "And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them.” (Exodus 7:5 NKJV)
With an army on their heels, the Israelites couldn't see God was about to bring himself glory. All they could see was a mass of angry men storming toward their way.

And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever."(Exodus 14:13 NKJV)

Soon after Moses said this, God parted the Red Sea and destroyed the Egyptian army. God could have saved them much earlier but He instead chose to maximize His glory by saving His people when it looked hopeless.

I don't know what God has planned for us, but I do know we've thought many times he was about to bring us out of this battle, only to find out about another delay or about the hardened heart of an attorney or a judge. I pray God is multiplying these plagues so that He can burst onto the scene and claim glory for Himself; parting the seas that stand in the way of this adoption!

Lord rescue us! We are watching for your salvation...

The Light Shines in the Darkness

Since I am a meteorologist, it probably doesn't surprise you that I spend a lot of time watching the sky. What might surprise you is that clear nights can be just as exciting for me as stormy ones. One of my favorite places to watch the sky is Minaret Vista near Mammoth Lakes California. Minaret Vista has an elevation over 9000 feet and a panoramic view of mountain forests below and open skies above.  It can be a great place to watch storms, but it's an even better place to watch the stars.  On clear nights you can see the bright band of the Milky Way, satellites tracking across the sky, and even the occasional streaks of meteors flaming through the atmosphere. One of my favorite times to watch the stars at Minaret Vista is during the Perseid meteor shower that happens every August.  Under the right conditions, the Perseids can produce over 100 brilliant meteors per hour.

If you've ever tried watching the Perseids near a city, you've most likely been disappointed. City lights create a bright haze that makes it nearly impossible to see any meteors. While city lights aren't a problem at Minaret Vista, the natural light of a bright moon can ruin a good show. That's why I get most excited when the Perseid's happen during a new moon. The darker the backdrop the brighter the meteors.

But what if those meteors were glimpses of God, and the dark backdrop the trials of my life? Do I get excited about those dark nights the way I might on Minaret Vista? Of course not. I pray for light. I pray for the times of refreshing promised in Acts 3:19 and the good gifts from God in Matthew 7:11. But when those refreshing moments and good gifts come, I don't always find myself yearning for God. When things are easy my faith can get lazy, and my view of God grows dim. While I believe there's nothing wrong with praying for times of refreshing, I also believe I see more of God's light on dark nights.  

This fight for Samuel's adoption has brought some very dark nights. But those dark nights have revealed His light more clearly than any sunny day.  His light shined outside the courtroom on Thursday as we gathered in prayer with family and friends. His light shined through my wife's words of encouragement to Samuel's birthmom. His light has shined through His provision to us in generous unexpected gifts. His light is showing up in many ways that we can only see because of the darkness of the situation. That's how God has always worked. He uses dark times as opportunities to show His glory.  A storm raged over Jesus and His disciples so He could be glorified in it's calming (Mark 4). A man was born blind so God could be glorified in his sight (John 9). The Israelites were enslaved by Pharaoh so God's glory could be revealed in their redemption (Exodus).  

I have never wanted anything more than I want to be Samuel's dad and I pray I will have the chance to glorify God in that victory soon. But I also pray that in the meantime, God continues to reveal His glory despite the darkness of the battle. 

God's Design

Riding the bus home from work last week I was reading through 1 Corinthians and came across a sobering passage of how serious God is about sexual immorality.  In light of Valentine’s Day I began thinking of the many people that would give up their most precious gift to someone they just met at a local bar, or someone they've known for years who’s not their spouse. It made me think about how far our culture has gotten away from God’s design for us.  Television is saturated with a celebration of sex outside of marriage, glamorization of teenage pregnancy, the “New Normal” family, and many other perversions of the beauty God intended for our sexuality.  My wife and I have even struggled in our marriage enjoying the beautiful gift God has given us due to the modern portrayal of sex.  I pray this post would challenge us (myself included) to get back to God’s design for our sexuality.

The motivation behind this post is love and I pray I approach it with a humble heart because no one (including myself) is without sin. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God…” Rom 3:23. “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us” 1 John 1:8.  I don’t desire to alienate anyone from my life through this post, rather I pray it would show my desperate heartfelt desire to spend eternity worshiping God with everyone who reads.

Sexual Immorality – Who defines it?

In short, the one who defines sexual immorality is God.  The One who created us revealed His will for our lives through His word, the Bible.  I agree with those who say that the Bible was physically penned by the hand of sinful/flawed/finite men, but I also believe that a sinless/flawless/all powerful God produced the exact results he wanted in Scripture regardless of man’s intentions.  I believe the Bible when it says in 2 Tim 3:16 that all scripture is God breathed. And 2 Peter 1:21 when it says, “prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” And Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”

So with the Bible as the source, let’s look at what sexual immorality is.  If you read His word from cover to cover, God reveals that sexual immorality is sexuality that violates His original design. “But for Adam no suitable helper was found.  So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.’ That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.” Jesus reiterates in Matthew 19 that a man will be united to his wife. That is God’s design for our sexuality. Examples of things that violate His design include David committing adultery with Bathsheba who was not his wife, those in the Old Testament with multiple wives, those in Romans 1 who exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones, and if I’m being completely honest, it also includes me when Jesus says in Matthew 5:28 “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Jesus is saying that sexual immorality is deeper than our outward acts; the root of it is in the condition of our hearts. The acts that fall under sexual immorality in the Bible are much more numerous than I've mentioned, but the bottom line is we are all guilty outside of Christ.

What we've discussed so far are the various manifestations of sexual immorality. In its most basic form, the Bible says sexual immorality is simply sin against God. Like all other sins, the consequences of sexual immorality are death and eternal separation from God.  “The wages of sin is death” Romans 6:23. “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” Isaiah 59:1-2. We were created to bring Him glory (Isaiah 43:6-7), the only true joy is in bringing Him glory, and I desire that each of us would be able to experience that joy for eternity.  But we can’t have that joy or bring Him glory if our sins make it so He can’t hear us.  When I look at the world around me, I can relate to what Paul felt when he said, “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel”.  Like Paul, I don’t hate those who are living in sexual immorality; I desperately pray that all would be saved. And I don’t wish on even my worst enemies the words Christ speaks in Matthew 7:22-23: “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ ”

So where does that leave us? I pray that it leaves us crying out to God to save us. I pray it produces repentance in us that leads to faith and salvation in Christ.  We were born into sin and death, but Christ through his death and resurrection can raise us back to life. And once alive, I pray that we would die to ourselves daily, pick up our crosses and live for Him.  “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:12-14)

It's about a Lamb

Happy Easter everyone! I wanted to share a great message with you today; the message of Easter. If you get your information about Easter from television or by walking through the grocery store, you may think it's about bunnies and baskets and eggs and candies, but the good news of Easter is that it's about a lamb.

In the beginning, God created us to bring Him glory by worshipping Him, honoring Him and giving thanks to Him. But our sins against God's perfect law (Exodus 20 & elsewhere) bring us physical and spiritual death, as well as eternal seperation from God. Therefore we can't in our own power be who we were created to be.

In the Old Testament God provided animal sacrifices for sin. The life of an animal was substituted as payment for people's sins. However these sacrifices were not perfectly acceptable to God and could not excuse sin once and for all. So these sacrifices were offered over and over again. This substitutionary death for human sin, is best seen in the story of the passover lamb in Exodus 12. God commanded the Israelites to slaughter a male lamb without defect, and to place the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their house. If they followed God's directions, when He passed over their houses, He would see the blood and accept it as payment for their sins. The houses that did not follow these instructions would wake up and find their firstborn children dead. In other words, the firstborn would receive the judgement for sin. It happened just as God said. Those who had the blood of the lamb were passed over, and judgement was witheld.

In Isaiah 53 and elsewhere in the Old Testament we read about a savior who would come who would be like a lamb. He would be pierced, crushed, punished and ultimately killed for our sins. Then this savior would be raised to life showing his defeat of sin and death. His blood would cover our sins just like the passover lamb of the Old Testament.

There are many prophecies througout the Old Testament about this savior, whose blood would cover the sins of the world. Only one man has fulfilled these prophecies, and His name is Jesus.

John the Baptist first recognizes Jesus as the Lamb of God in John 1:29. All the prophecies point to Jesus being the Lamb of God. And as if that wasn't enough, Jesus was crucified during Passover, as if screaming to the world, "I am the Passover Lamb of God." And today, Easter 2012, we celebrate not because of bunnies or baskets or eggs or candies, we celebrate the Lamb of God who was killed for our sins and then raised to life!

As I've stated previously we have two responses. The first is to believe in Christ's death for our sins and his resurrection from the dead. As our passover lamb, Jesus pays the penalty and God passes over our sins giving us eternal life with Him in Heaven. The second response is to deny Him, and pay the penalty ourself. The penalty is spiritual death and eternal separation from God in Hell. I choose to accept Jesus as my passover lamb. My prayer is that you will do the same. That is the only way Easter will be to you all it was meant to be.

The Greatest Rescue

If you've ever watched the movie about Apollo 13, you know that mission turned into one of the greatest rescues ever undertaken. Scientists worked around the clock to get the three astronauts aboard the spacecraft home safely. There were so many variables that could go wrong, yet they never gave up trying to get them back. The final obstacle to overcome was possible damage to their heat shield due to the explosion earlier in the flight. If the heat-shield was damaged, the astronauts might burn up while descending through the earth's atmosphere.

During re-entry, radio blackout was supposed to last 4 minutes. So if they weren't back in 4 minutes, everyone would know they burned up . When the radio blackout was expected to end, Mission Control began calling the spacecraft. "Odyssey this is Houston, do you read me....Odyssey this is Houston, do you read me?" They took 33 seconds longer than expected, but finally the parachutes appear and the call is heard, "Hello Houston this is Odyssey, it's good to see you again." Everyone in Mission Control erupts with cheers. People are crying, laughing, hugging, jumping up and down. The astronauts had returned home safely, and those who worked to bring them home were ecstatic.

This is one of my favorite movies, so I tend to watch it every once in a while. But the other day, I looked at the end of this film with a different perspective. The story suddenly reminded me of the story of the prodigal son in Luke chapter 15. I understand parts of these stories are far from parallel, but they are both stories of rescue and celebration at their core. Even though the prodigal son left home in a state of rebellion, when the son returned, the father had compassion and ran to meet his son when he arrived. In fact, he threw a party for the son because he was ecstatic that he had returned. The father says, "For this son of mine was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found." His son had returned home safely and he was overcome with joy.

What a picture of God's love for us. He didn't just stay awake for hours on end for us. He didn't just do the arithmetic and spend time in a simulator to bring us home. He sent his son Jesus to die on a cross. He died and rose again to pay the penalty for our sins, that we can have eternal life with Him and bring glory to God. And when we repent, and trust in Jesus' death for our sins, he doesn't sit there and look up at us with shame, he runs to us, brings us home and rejoices that we are saved. Jesus did the ultimate work to bring us home. He is our heat shield and parachute into the ocean of God's love. The celebration at the return of the astronauts pales in comparison to the celebration God throws when His people are saved through faith in Jesus Christ!

Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the Atheists?

As I was reading through news headlines over Christmas, I came across a headline which read, "Atheists 'hijack' Nativity Scene, Critics Say". I clicked on the link and read through the LA Times story about how Atheists won a local lottery in Santa Monica that decides who gets to use park space during Christmas. Normally nativity scenes are set up all around the park to tell the story of Christmas. This Christmas, the atheists brought their view to the park, claiming that Christmas is a myth.

If this group of Atheists really had the agenda of speaking out against myths, why not show up at the mall and pull off Santa's beard? It is not myths they have a problem with, it's God and His claim on their lives. Groups like this cause a lot of frustration for Christians around Christmastime. For some reason, we think that the world should wake up once a year and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. It should not be a surprise however, that people continue rejecting God at Christmas just like they do the rest of the year. Christ speaking in John 15:23-24 says, "He who hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles and yet they have hated both me and my Father." This truth that Christ spoke thousands of years ago still rings true. People do not want to give up sin, and any display that reminds them of their guilt, brings out their hatred toward God and His standard.

The public reaction to Christmas is not surprising, what is surprising is that this is one of the only times many Christians stand up for God. I believe these public outbursts are just a friendly reminder from God to all of us, that we need to proclaim His truth every day, not just at Christmas. In Matthew 28:19-20 Christ says, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age." Our lives as Christians have been bought with the blood of Christ. He didn't just call and make a reservation for Christmas. He commanded that our lives be about sharing his good news: that He created us, that we rebelled against Him, and that the only way we can be forgiven is having faith in Christ's death for our sins. The Bible tells us that the cost of following Him is great, but the reward of eternal life with Him, is even greater.

Jesus - The Only Way

In today's postmodern society, a few popular phrases regarding religion are "you have your religion, I have mine", or "you just need to do what works for you". Everything is relative and everyone gets to decide what they need or don't need when it comes to God. As long as you're basically "good" and follow some sort of religion or spirituality, you're probably going to heaven if there is such a place. Unfortunately, these popular ideas will lead everyone who follows them to a very unpopular place called Hell. But you don't have to take my word for it.

The Bible is filled with the idea of the sinfulness of man. It teaches that sin eternally separates us from God and causes death. But, the Bible is also filled with another idea that gives hope. The hope giving idea is the truth about Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches Christ was the son of God, who died on a cross for our sins, giving us a chance at redemption and eternal life. The Bible also teaches, that grace through faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved from our sins.

In reading Jesus' words, we have two possibilities; either Jesus was crazy because he claimed to be God's son, or he was in fact God's son. He gave many convincing proofs to the latter, with the greatest proof being his resurrection from the dead. So, if in fact Christ is God's son, His words on salvation are final. Listen to what God's son says about salvation. "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." That statement stands directly against postmodernism. It's not whatever works for you, it's what works for God. We don't get to decide. That idea continues through the New Testament:

Acts 4:12 - "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

1 Timothy 2: 5-7 - "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men..."

1 John 5:11-12 - "And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life."

John 3:36 - "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."

In today's society, claiming Jesus is the only way is probably considered intolerant or hateful. But it would be much more hateful for me to believe that Christ is the only way to God, and then tell you that whatever works for you is okay. I believe if we all do whatever works for us, we'll all end up in eternal punishment. I'm writing this truth in love today, because I wouldn't want to see anyone under God's wrath.

Protection of Church from State

As I was getting ready for church this morning I flipped on Good Morning America. They ran a segment called the "New God Squad", which included a Catholic priest and a Jewish rabbi commenting on issues in the day's news. This was supposed to reflect a faith perspective on pertinent news items.

One of the stories they chose to comment on was Governor Rick Perry's promotion of and participation in an all-day Christian prayer rally. The stories before this were fluff with politically correct, side-stepping responses. But when this story came up, both had the same strong opinion. The fact that this Governor would promote a Christian prayer event was catastrophic. Not only were fundamentalist Christians going to be there, but more importantly it was a clear crossing of the line between separation of church and state. The tone of their response was a sort of "shame on him", " how could he" tone. But if we look back at what the founding fathers meant with this language, we realize this game of telephone has gone too far.

In classrooms today kids are taught that the founding fathers were not Christians but in fact were atheists, agnostics, and deists. Looking at their own words we realize this isn't the case. The Wall Builders organization, founded by David Barton has a list of quotes from some of our founding fathers concerning religion. I will share a few of these but recommend going to the website http://www.wallbuilders.com/ABTbioDB.asp for more information.

Samuel Adams

"I recommend my soul to that Almighty Being who gave it, and my body I commit to the dust relying upon the merits of Jesus Christ for a pardon of all my sins."

John Jay - First Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court

"Unto Him who is the author and giver of all good, I render sincere and humble thanks for His manifold and unmerited blessings, and especially for our redemption and salvation by His beloved son."

John Langdon - Signer of the Constitution

"I commend my soul to the infinite mercies of God in Christ Jesus, the beloved Son of the Father, who died and rose again that He might be the Lord of the dead and of the living...professing to believe and hope in the joyful Scripture doctrine of a resurrection to eternal life..."

Benjamin Rush - Signer of the Declaration of Independence

"My only hope of salvation is in the infinite, transcendent love of God manifested to the world by the death of His Son upon the cross. Nothing but His blood will wash away my sins. I rely exclusively upon it. Come, Lord Jesus! Come quickly!"

Roger Sherman- Signer of the Declaration of Independence

I believe that there is only one living and true God, existing in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost...that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are a revelation from God...that God did send His own Son to become man, die in the room and stead of sinners, and thus lay a foundation for the offer of pardon and salvation to all mankind so as all may be saved who are willing to accept the Gospel offer."

John Witherspoon - Signer of the Declaration of Independence

I entreat you in the most earnest manner, to believe in Jesus Christ, for there is no salvation in any other (Acts 4:12)...If you are not reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, if you are not clothed with the spotless robe of His righteousness, you must forever perish."

As I mentioned, this is just a handful. The list goes on. I wonder what the "New God Squad's" panel would say to these founding "Christian Fundamentalist" fathers about the separation of church and state.

The phrase, "separation of church and state" is derived from a letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists Association in 1802. "I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people, which declared their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state." In other words, the church and religion should be protected from Government. Government cannot prohibit us from practicing a certain religion, and government can't make a law regarding religion. Well what about the first amendment? Same story. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

Is Governor Perry prohibiting the free exercise of religion? No. Is he establishing a law regarding religion? No. He's simply practicing his right to freely exercise religion. He's not mandating that all Texans become Christian, he's inviting people to a prayer event that believes the same things some of the founding fathers believed. We've gone from protecting religion to squelching religion. Isn't that what the founding fathers wanted to stay away from? Somehow this separation phrase has come to mean the opposite of what it intended. The first amendment gives the "New God Squad" the right to say what they think. But this talk about separation of Church and State should not be argued as a constitutional viewpoint, or something the founding fathers intended. It's a viewpoint that arose out of the courts in a culture that is at extreme odds to true Christianity.

My wife Liesl brought up a good point as we were talking about this earlier today. She said the President closed his speech about the debt ceiling as the President normally closes his speeches, "Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America." We ask for God to bless our country, while we continue to try and separate Him from any decisions our country makes. I believe this is a grave mistake that God will not reward with blessings.

Every Sunday

In my previous post, I tried to explain why God is not placated by human traditions such as going to church only on Christmas and Easter. Going one step further, God is also unimpressed by the act of going to church every Sunday, or twice weekly, or even going every day. The Bible teaches that there is nothing we can do in our own power to become righteous before God. If that were the end of the story, it would indeed be a sad ending for us all. The good news however, is that in Christ, God has not only made a way for us to fulfill our purpose in life, but has also provided us a way to spend eternity with Him in Heaven.

I'm not a theologian by any means, but I am passionate about Christ and God's word. Because of that passion, I've spent a lot of time researching the gospel so I can hopefully present it clearly. The following paragraphs are my attempt at a clear presentation of the Gospel. It is simple in a way, but it is also very deep. I pray that if your life isn't completely devoted to Christ, that you'll stick with it through the end.

The word gospel means good news, and in this case, the good news about Christ. This good story begins with God and His original purpose for our lives. In Isaiah 43:7 we read that God created each of us to bring glory to His name. In Psalm 29 King David writes, "Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness." This idea of giving glory to God permeates the scriptures. However, another idea that permeates scripture, is that man, in his own power, can do nothing to bring glory to God.

While the world around us struggles to separate good from bad, scripture is clear on the matter, declaring we are all bad or sinful. You might be thinking of people in your life who seem basically good, especially compared to people like Hitler or Bin Laden. Those are the really bad guys right? The Bible disagrees. Romans 3:23 "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." "All" pretty much covers it. Have you ever placed any objects above God? Have you ever misused God's name? Have you dishonored your mom or dad? Have you lied? Have you lusted? Have you ever been jealous of the things other people have? The list goes on and on, but for most of us, including myself, this is probably as far as I need to go. God's standard is perfection, and none of us is perfect.

So what does sin get us? Isaiah 59:1-2 tells us, "Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear." In Genesis and elsewhere in scripture we read about another consequence of sin. Romans 6:23 gets right to the point when it says, "For the wages of sin is death...". So sin ultimately separates us from God and causes death. This separation is eternal as God cannot allow unpunished sin into his presence. The Bible teaches that the eternal separation is lived out in a real place called Hell. A place of eternal punishment. Once again this would be a very sad ending, but God in His mercy comes to the rescue.

Several hundred years before Christ, the prophets began teaching about God's rescue plan. In Isaiah 53 we read about a savior that would come to pay for our sins. It says that he would be pierced for our transgressions, and crushed for our iniquities and that the punishment he would endure would bring us peace with God. This chapter also states that after the Savior's death, he would be raised to life again showing his victory over sin and death. In Isaiah 35 it says that this savior would cause the blind to see, the lame to walk and the deaf to hear. In chapter 61 Isaiah goes on to say that this savior would preach the good news to the poor. Could Jesus be this savior? John the Baptist, who was in prison during Jesus' ministry, was experiencing some doubt about the savior's identity, so he sent his friends to Jesus to ask him if he was in fact, the long awaited Savior. In Luke 7:21-22 it says, "At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits and gave sight to many who were blind. So he replied to the messengers, 'Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.'" In other words, "I am the Savior and the proof is my fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies". In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and in the following books that make up the New Testament, we read that Jesus fulfilled the remaining prophecies about the Savior. He was pierced and hung on a cross, died for our sins, and was raised to life after 3 days to show His victory over sin and death. So what is our response to this Savior?

The Bible teaches that if we turn from sin, and turn to faith in Christ's death for our sins, that we become righteous before God. The sins that separate us from God and from life are erased, and we are given the free reward of eternal life. Through Christ, we can bring glory to God once again, and fulfill our life's purpose. Here's the story as told by Paul in Romans 3:20-25 "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the law, rather through the law we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood." Through this forgiveness we receive eternal life. Romans 6:20-22 "When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life."

The choice is yours to make. If God has tugged at your heart through any of these scriptures, if you feel convicted of sin in your life and desire a rescuer, Christ is that rescuer. Ask God to accept Christ's sacrifice for your sins and to forgive you, then use the rest of your life to bring glory to God. In the New Testament it was a sign of obedience, that once you received salvation you would get baptized as a symbol of your death to sin and new life in Christ. Baptism doesn't save you, it's just a sign of obedience. So if you have received salvation, why not go to a local Bible believing church and get baptized to show what Christ has done for you. If you are not a believer, I pray you will consider faith in Christ. If you are a believer, I pray this (very long) post has blessed your walk with God. Thanks for sticking with it!

Twice a Year

If you have ever been to church on Easter or Christmas, you know that on those days, parking spots are hard to come by. For the sake of tradition, families who may not have been to church all year come for special Easter and Christmas services. But where does that tradition come from? The idea of only needing to worship God on the days that Christ was born and resurrected is not found in Scripture. In fact, the biblical picture of Christian worship and the Christian life is the antithesis of such an idea.

In Mark 7:6 Jesus quotes an Old Testament prophecy from Isaiah about the idea of human made traditions in the church.

"Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites, as it is written: 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." (Mark 7:6)

Jesus is not flattered by their holy traditions, in fact, he calls them hypocrites for practicing such things. So if tradition is not pleasing to God, what is? In Luke 9:23-25, Jesus gives insight into what is pleasing to God. "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?"

This is a much different picture from the go to church twice a year tradition. The picture of following God in the New Testament is one of abandoning your own life, goals, and even possessions to serve God and those around you. It is a daily walk, not a twice a year celebration.

My motivation for this blog is not to shame those who take part in semi-annual worship, it's to direct people away from the tradition of man and toward the gospel message about Christ. "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes..." (Romans 1:16)

In my next post I will explain the gospel about Christ and the reason behind my passion for you to know about it.

Slave of All

In the book of Mark in chapter 10 verse 37, James and John ask Jesus a bold question. The disciples ask to be seated at the right and left hand of Jesus in Heaven. This request comes not so they can have an opportunity to know Christ more; they want the power and recognition that comes with sitting next to the king. Jesus explains to them that the places next to Him are not for Him to grant. He then addresses the real issue at stake which is the condition of the hearts of the disciples. Jesus says, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

In that passage Jesus addresses the disciples understanding of what it means to be great in God's kingdom. Those who are great are not the ones who position themselves the best, or those who make the right friends or the right grades. Those who are great in Heaven are those who humble themselves in this life and serve everyone around them.

As we are surrounded by a culture of entitlement, pride, and isolation, I believe we as Christians are forgetting the call of Jesus. Instead of hurrying into our homes after work so the neighbors won't bother us, we need to hurry to reach out and serve those in need. If the Son of God, the one with the greatest right to be served, can humble himself even unto death for us, how much more should we be willing to humble ourselves and serve our neighbors?

"...And whoever wants to be first must be slave of all."

The gift of repentance

I am constantly amazed by the grace of God. In today's sermon we heard one more outstanding example of this grace. In the book of Revelation, chapter 3, Christ is addressing the church at Laodicea. This church doesn't have much going for it. In fact he explains to them that they are lost souls clothed in comfortable religion. He describes them as wretched, pitiful, blind, and naked. These folks are the worst of the worst in God's eyes. Christ tells them to repent and trust in Him. Now look what he offers in return for that repentance. "To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne." The worst of the worst, those who have sinned their entire lives without shame are offered a seat on the throne of heaven. All they had to do was repent and accept Christ's death for those sins they committed. By simply sacrificing their pride, they could gain everything.

God's grace is not for the perfect it is for those who acknowledge their sins and turn to Christ. He wants to invite us onto His throne...let's take him up on that offer.

Tolerance

In Ephesians 4 Paul is discussing how the church can be built up through Christ. He goes on to say in Ephesians 4:14, "Then we will no longer be infants tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ."

These directions were given so that the church would become a grown up, steadfast instrument of God in Christ. They were given so that people would be guided in love to live in the truth of Christ rather than the lies of man.

Recently I've heard a lot from friends, from different news sources and society in general that the church and in particular the Christian church needs to be more tolerant. In other words just take the "in love" part from the verse above. People choose churches based on how tolerant it's attitudes are towards different practices, faiths and world views.

What does tolerance really mean when you put it into the context of the church? It means that the church is taking on the role of God and in fact claiming superiority to God. The church is now deciding what sin it will tolerate instead of leaving the judgement of sin to God. Some churches are even stepping away from claiming Christ as the only way to God. In these churches the goal is comfort, with the greatest downfall being offending people. Sadly, the comfort they seek will last only a short time as God demands payment for sin. Those who are fooled into thinking they can live in their sin and deny Christ will end up in eternal discomfort without a savior by their side to rescue them.

Churches that water down scripture probably think they're doing so out of love. But, if they truly loved their congregations they would care enough to tell them the truth about what God desires for their lives. God's moral will for people's lives is not to put them in a rigid box of rules, it is to make people more useful instruments for His kingdom and to set them free from the slavery of sin. Those aren't empty words either because I have experienced that freedom firsthand.

It's very convenient to remove truth from scripture because it allows the church leaders and it's members to go on without the persecution that comes with standing up for God's will. However we get a very different picture of faith from the early first century church. Paul and many others were willing to die for what they saw with their own eyes and knew to be true. They were willing to die spreading the good news of Christ because they knew he died for their sins. They knew it wasn't their place to decide what truth best suited their needs.

Jesus said he is the truth and the only way to God. He's the son of God, so I say okay. I don't get to decide if that's too harsh or strict or intolerant. He was God's gift to me, my creator's provision for my sin. And if God says, this is it, this is the way I made for you, take it or leave it. I take it. This is the truth that needs to be taught in love to the thousands that pour through church doors every weekend. To hide that truth is to hide the amazing grace, love and peace given to us in the truth of Christ.

Faith Builder - The Suffering Servant

How would you summarize the ministry of Jesus? Starting with the creed of the early church, and the Gospels, many have summarized his life, his works, his death and his resurrection. Just as other prominent figures in history, the story of his life was recorded. But, unlike other prominent figures in history, his story was actually told well before his ministry on earth began.

The prophet Isaiah wrote around 700 B.C. what we now call the Old Testament book of Isaiah. Inside this book, a very complete summary of Jesus' life and purpose exist. Starting with verse 4 of Isaiah 53 speaking of God's suffering servant:

"Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own ways; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."

It goes on to say, "He was oppressed and afflicted yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? Fore he was cut off from the land of the living for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence nor was any deceit in his mouth."

"Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."

This passage was written 700 years before Jesus walked the earth. When compared with Jesus' ministry in the Gospels, it's unmistakable who this passage refers to. Some have argued these verses were simply added after Jesus' life, which actually gives further testimony that the passage clearly refers to Jesus. This argument died about a half century ago with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Among these scrolls was found an entire copy of the book of Isaiah. The latest date carbon dating offers for this scroll is 120 B.C., well before the time of Jesus.

These days the ministry of Jesus draws many critics. Some would say he was a good teacher, a nice guy, someone who cared for the poor, but not the Messiah. Some would equate him with Gandhi or Mother Theresa, but not the savior of their soul. This passage should give pause to any who hold those views. It encompasses his trials, his death, and his resurrection with astonishing detail. This prophecy revealed to Isaiah by God, summarized not only the events, but also the purpose of Jesus' life, 700 years beforehand. The last line reads,"For he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors".

Compare these words to the words written shortly after his death and resurrection by those who knew Jesus. "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living" 1 Cor 1:15. That passage was written within 5 years of Jesus' death.

Those who knew Jesus, who witnessed his death and resurrection were not saying Jesus was a nice guy or a good teacher. They understood him to be the son of God given as an offering for their sins; a fulfillment of prophecy from ancient times.

So here we are 2000 year later making new claims and new judgements. That's like people living 2000 years after your death saying your family, best friends, co-workers etc. didn't really know you or what you did or what you stood for, and then further claiming that they knew who you really were. Highly unlikely.

The most likely scenario, and what I know to be true, is that Jesus was exactly who he said he was and still is. He is the son of God who died for your sins and mine. Whoever believes in him will have their sins erased and will have the amazing honor of spending eternity in heaven. As stated in the Gospels, God sent Jesus not to condemn but to save.

(If you have any questions please leave a comment!)

Election Day

I have to admit I've been worried over the past few weeks about this election. Worried about the implications for our country and our children. Worried about the chips being chopped away from our freedoms by both parties. But as a Christian, I am reminded by God's word who is in ultimate control of our future. The political parties of this world have control over a limited domain, but scripture tells us God's domain encompasses all things.

Colassians 2:6-10 says, "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Chirst, who is the head over every power and authority."

Every power and authority. That just about covers it. So, if you're a Christian today, don't get lost in the philosophies and worries of the world. Find strength in your faith and be thankful for the promises God has given you in Christ. Our country will last for a short time, but God's kingdom endures forever.

"But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57.

Follow the Evidence

I recently read this excerpt from a pamphlet produced on Intelligent Design and thought it was worth sharing.

"Many critics suggest that ID is an argument from scientific ignorance. This objection caricatures ID as arguing that because naturalists have failed to explain the origin of biological information and molecular machines, a “designer” must be posited to fill the gap in our current knowledge, yet this is not how the design argument is formulated. As ID philosopher of science Stephen Meyer writes, “Design theorists do not infer design because natural processes cannot explain the origin of biological systems, but because these systems manifest the distinctive hallmarks of
intelligently designed systems—that is, they possess features that in any other realm of experience would trigger the recognition of an intelligent cause.” The logical formulation here is positive, rather than negative. It begins with what is known, rather than what is unknown. ID starts with the observation that complex specified information (CSI) and irreducible complexity (IC) are known indicators of intelligent agent causation. Human beings, who are empirically observable designers, regularly produce designed systems such as written texts, computer programs, machines, etc. The technological advances of recent years have allowed scientists to look deep within life systems. To their amazement, the smallest units of life are not the simple blobs of jelly that early evolutionists predicted, but extremely complex IC systems full of CSI. The life systems now known to science are entirely analogous to the written texts, computer programs and machines produced by human designers. Scientists know that intelligent designers produce CSI. It is also known that natural mechanisms have not been observed to produce CSI. Based on what is known, ID theorists argue that an inference to an intelligent cause is the best current explanation for biological CSI and IC. The design inference is thus based on empirical evidence and rational analysis rather than ignorance.

The ID critic may still argue, “Okay, so we do not know how nature can produce CSI or IC on its own, but maybe one day we will.” Anti-ID theorists can argue that eventually we will discover how reams of genetic information arose by purely naturalistic means, and eventually we will show how molecular machines can be built through some sort of Darwinian process; therefore, to posit intelligent design is premature. However, if this is the argument against ID, then it must be understood that it is the naturalist who is making an argument rooted in ignorance and is hopeful for something that is not yet known. It turns out that the gap-argument against ID is itself a gap-argument."

Faith Builder - The Testimony of James

In my first faith builder post I went through the testimony of 1 Corinthians 15: 3-8. In this creed from some of the earliest Christians, we find that the Christian faith about Jesus was not invented over centuries. This creed was given to Paul by the eyewitnesses within a couple years of Jesus' death. If that was all this passage could offer, it would still be a remarkable text. The truth however, is that there is even stronger testimony that I haven't mentioned.

Looking at the passage again, notice the people who claimed they saw Jesus after his death. First Peter, then the apostles, then a group of 500 people, and then James, Jesus' half brother. This last appearance has great significance because we have some interesting information about James and Jesus' family in the gospels.

In what is thought to be the earliest written gospel, Mark, we find the first testimony as to what Jesus' family thought of him. "When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."" Mark 3:21. Then in John 7:5, "For even his own brothers did not believe in him". From these passages we begin to understand that Jesus was not accepted before his death by his own family, including his brothers. Fortunately, the story does not end there for Jesus' family.

(Archaeology has shown Luke was one of the most accurate historians of the ancient world. His precise details have time and time again proven to be dead on. Luke not only wrote the gospel of Luke, but also the book of Acts.) It is in Acts that we get a post crucifixion update on Jesus' family, including his brother James. In Acts 1:14 Luke states "They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers." There's more. In Acts 15 James shows up again at the council in Jerusalem, and this time he's speaking as one who is a leader of the early Christian church. In Galatians 2:9 Paul goes to meet with James because he's a "pillar" of the church. What happened?

First he calls Jesus insane, and now he is leading his church. In disbelief he saw him killed. Following his crazy brother could lead to nothing good. He would be mocked, scorned, and possibly killed for standing up for him. What could change his mind after Jesus had died? By his own admission to Paul, as stated in 1 Corinthians, it was seeing the resurrected Jesus.