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.