Saturday, December 31, 2011

Pressing On in the Faith, Part II

Philippians 3: 10 -17 (NIV): I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained. Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.

Paul knew he wasn't perfect – and he knew he never would be, but his goal was simple: to become more and more like Christ every day. That should be our goal too. Paul could have bemoaned in this letter how badly he was being treated. He could have complained that God had allowed him to be imprisoned for preaching the Word. He wrote this, in fact, as he awaited his sentence and he wasn't sure if he was going to live or die. Instead of complaining, though, he wrote that he had found contentment in any circumstance. He wrote that he could do all things through Christ. He wrote that life was good, but being with Jesus would be even better. Over and over in this letter he tells us to rejoice. He writes that we should pray about everything and worry about nothing.
In this passage, Paul says he was pressing on to be more like Christ no matter his circumstances. He was forgetting what was behind and straining forward like a runner in a race. Paul knew that a runner must not look back. He must forget his past mistakes and put one foot in front of the other as he pushed ahead.
In this passage, he encourages us to live up to the maturity level we have reached. This means we do not back slide or waver in our faith, but we continually move forward. And he encourages us to follow his example. Paul spent a lot of time in prayer. He ministered to others. Paul was a righteous man. He fellowshipped with other believers. He walked by faith and not by sight. He wanted the mind of Christ.
Let us press forward in our faith. Let us leave the past and move into the future knowing that each new day is a new opportunity to press on in our faith.

Monday, December 26, 2011

New Year's Resolutions

1 Timothy 6: 11 – 16 (NIV): But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time – God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.

It's a new year and time for new year's resolutions. In this passage we find some spiritual resolutions. First, to pursue righteousness. Paul wrote this to Timothy, a young preacher living in a world full of greed and corruption. Paul warns him to avoid the traps of seeking quick wealth, but to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness instead. I encourage each of us to consider what our year can be like if we use our time and energy pursuing these traits.
How do we pursue godliness? This means to be more and more like God himself. He tells the truth and does not lie. He loves everyone unconditionally with a sacrificial love. He puts others first. Paul points out in this passage that Jesus “made the good confession” to Pontius Pilate. In other words, Jesus stood before him and accepted the death penalty so that we may have eternal life. Paul tells Timothy to hang on to the promise of salvation and let it rule his life until Jesus returns – or he goes to meet him.
Another resolution this year is to walk by faith and not by sight. This is the essence of Christianity. It is impossible to please God without faith, and we will never receive God's full blessings without it. Our faith is reasonable and based on rock-solid evidence, but it is still faith because, as Paul says in our passage, God cannot be seen.
To love everyone is our next resolution. With a sacrificial, unconditional love. Life is so much more joyful when we put others first. What if love truly ruled our community? We can only imagine.
Endurance is a great resolution this year because it means we stick with it and don't give up no matter what. So many of us begin our Christian walk strong and courageous, but few end that way. May we endure in our faith from the beginning to the end of this new year.
Finally, gentleness. Not only are we kind to each other, but we put up with each other's faults, realizing we have plenty of our own. We treat others as we would want to be treated and we forgive each other. How wonderful this new year can be if we will just live by these simple resolutions. Happy new year from my family to yours.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

The Christmas Story in John

John 1: 1 – 14 (NIV): In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John says Jesus was the “Word”. In the Greek, this is the word “logos”. This is where we get the term “logo”, a business symbol that represents it. Jesus, then, is the “face” of God – the person in the Trinity that we can see and experience with our senses. He is the essence of God. (Paul also says this in Colossians 1:15). What does God look like? Jesus.
John says Jesus was with God and was God. He is the second person in the Trinity. He is the creator of all things.
John's good news is that God became one of us. He became flesh. He had a body. He was born. John says he “made his dwelling among us” – in the Greek, he “tabernacled” with us. This is the only Christmas mention we find in John, but I believe it tells us something Luke and Matthew leave out – when Jesus was born – during the Feast of Tabernacles. John reminds us that he didn't just hear about Jesus, he walked with him, heard him speak, touched him with his hands, and saw him day after day.
John says everyone who believes in Jesus' name is given the right to become one of God's children. To be born again. The message of Christmas is that God became one of us and gives eternal life to all who believe.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Evidence for a Reasonable Faith

Psalm 22: 12 – 18 (NIV): Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.

Jesus fulfilled more than 350 Old Testament prophecies and this passage has some of the most direct and amazing. It looks like it was written after his crucifixion, perfectly describing what he went through – but was actually written more than a thousand years before he was born! Not only that, but it was written by David, who never saw a person crucified because that method of execution hadn't been invented yet.
Jesus quotes the first line of Psalm 22 from the cross. I believe he was making sure we saw this amazing prophecy. The passage says “all my bones are out of joint”, “my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth”, and “my strength is dried up like a potsherd”. Scholars say this is what happened to a crucified person. Strong “bulls” surrounded him. Bashan had the strongest bulls in David's day and Rome had the strongest army in Jesus' day. “They have pierced my hands and my feet.” This is an undeniable prophecy. And the Bible tells us the soldiers cast lots to see who would get Jesus' clothing, and that people stared and gloated as he was being punished.
I get tired of people who are hostile to the faith saying we Christians are a bunch of irrationals whose faith is equivalent to “reading the entrails of a chicken”. (I'm quoting a Newsweek article from this week.) Our faith is not fluff with no substance. It has a rich heritage – a long line of believers who know what they saw and what was handed down to them. The New Testament is full of skeptics, James, Paul and Thomas among them, who believed when they saw the risen Christ.
But is the New Testament reliable? Internal prophecies, external history, content agreement, multiple manuscripts and the blood of the martyrs prove it beyond doubt.
Our faith is reasonable, rational, logical, based on evidence, based on prophecies and based on truth. Our faith encourages strong families and teaches love, compassion and fair treatment for all. If anyone tells you differently, he is a liar just like his true father.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

The Gift of Being Thankful

1 Thessalonians 5: 12 – 18 (NIV): Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

These are Paul's concluding remarks in this letter so he has a lot to say in a short space. But I want to focus in on the last part of this. He says it is God's will for us to be thankful in all circumstances. This is one of the secrets to being contented as a believer.
It's not easy to be thankful in every situation, but that's what he says God wants us to do. God wants us to remember that he is in control and that he is always up to something good. He is maturing us and making us more and more like Christ. This is often a painful process, but it is a good thing so we can always rejoice.
The idea, then, is to be a thankful person. This is a person who accepts God's will as the very best option. He understands God's power and goodness, even when life doesn't make sense. Thankful people are grateful people. They take time to pause and says 'thanks' for their blessings. They have learned that remembering our blessings is a great way to lift our spirits. They do not go through life taking their blessings for granted.
Thankful people are optimistic people. This doesn't mean they view life unrealistically, but they know that God is the ultimate reality and he is in control. Life is too short to spend even one day as a pessimist.
Thankful people are productive people. They realize their next breath is a gift from God and they want to use their time working for his Kingdom. They want to give back. They realize the prices that have been paid for their lives, freedom, salvation and opportunities, and they want to do their part for others. They want to live in thanks-living.
Are you a thankful person? Are you thankful for ordinary things and even for events that you do not understand? Paul reminds us that it is God's will that we be thankful in all circumstances.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Looking on the Bright Side

Philippians 4:8 (NIV): Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.

Do you tend to view the world in a positive or negative light? Paul understood that we get into a groove in our way of thinking. We are creatures of habit. Some see the glass half full, others, half empty. Paul was writing to the Christians in Philippi from a prison cell in Rome. He could have lamented how badly he was being treated and how unfair it was that he had been sent to prison for doing nothing more than spreading the Gospel. Instead, he tells the church to be joyful in all things and that he has found the secret to contentment no matter where he is. He tells them there is nothing better than knowing Christ. He tells them not to worry, but to pray about everything and not to forget to be thankful.
Then he writes this remarkable verse. He lists specific things to focus on as we shape our world view. This doesn't mean we look at the world through “rose colored glasses”, meaning we see only good. There is plenty of evil and we must fight against it. But it means we spend our thoughts on good and positive things as much as possible.
If we spend our time watching filthy movies, reading filthy books and magazines, listening to filthy music, or viewing filth on the Internet, we will soon have a filthy mind. If we surround ourselves with people who tell dirty jokes and see the world in an ungodly way, we may soon find ourselves sharing their world view. If we watch television shows that continually put down Christians, that will begin to erode our faith. Frankly, if we spend too much time watching the news we will become depressed.
I'm not suggesting we throw out our televisions and abandon our friends, but I am saying we have to make the effort to fill our minds with things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. Look at that list again. Isn't that the world you want to live in? We have to look for it to find it, but it is there if we will try. Fill your mind with goodness. Concentrate on these things. If we do, we will find ourselves more Godly and more full of joy than we ever thought possible.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Pressing On in the Faith

Philippians 3: 7 – 17 (NIV): But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Compared to knowing Christ, Paul says, everything else is garbage. Once we find the love and power and strength and comfort of God, how can anything else compare? Paul was born wealthy. We know that because of his education. But he gave it all up to follow Jesus. He was writing this letter, in fact, from a prison cell where he had been sent for preaching the Gospel.
Far from feeling sorry for himself, though, he is writing about pressing forward in his faith. About becoming more and more like Christ. About his desire to know him more and more. About the joy he experienced because he was found in Christ.
He realized that following the law would never make him righteousness – only faith in Christ can do that. It was Abraham's faith that made him righteous, Paul says in Romans 4. After all, Abraham lived before the law was written.
Paul considered it a privilege to suffer for Christ. He wanted to be like Christ and he knew suffering was part of the deal. That was okay with him because he also knew living forever in heaven was part of the bargain too.
Paul wanted to forget his mistakes from the past and press forward in his faith. Like a runner in a marathon, he knew it was important not to look back, but to strain ahead. He knew a runner must keep his eye on the goal and train hard to reach it. He knew he must keep his mind on the prize. Let us press forward in our faith. Let us forget past mistakes and run the race. God is not through with us yet and his goal for us is to be like Christ now and forever.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Why We Shouldn't Worry

Matthew 6: 25-34 (NIV): Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I once heard a speaker say, “We belong to God and God takes care of his stuff.” That statement has given me much comfort through the years. I belong to God and he takes care of his belongings. Jesus is saying the same basic thing in this passage. He points out that God takes care of the wild birds even though they don't work for it – and he beautifully clothes the flowers even though they do nothing to earn it.
If God takes care of his creation, Jesus says, won't he take care of his own children? Aren't we more precious to him than birds and flowers? Did God send his son to die for anything in creation other than us? So don't worry. Instead depend on God.
This doesn't mean we do not have to work to provide for ourselves. Paul, in fact, says if a man won't work, don't let him eat. What Jesus means is that we should not count on our own resourcefulness to provide for ourselves, but on God's grace. Pagans “run after” material things and food and water; God's children count on him to provide for their needs.
When we count on ourselves, we become full of worry. When we count on God, the worry subsides. When we worry, we tell God we do not trust him, but that we think we are smarter or stronger or better than him. And worrying only hurts us, it never helps anything. Instead of worrying about getting enough of what we need, let's concentrate on getting to know God. Focus on him each and every day and let him worry about your needs.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Anger Management

Ephesians 4: 25 – 32 (NIV): Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

It's okay to be angry, after all Jesus showed anger towards those who were misusing the temple, but it's not okay to stay mad. The word for anger in verse 31 means to carry a grudge. That's why Paul said not to let the sun go down while you are still angry. This, he says, gives the devil a foothold and may cause you to do something you'll regret.
And what we do with our anger matters. Paul says not to repay evil for evil. Jesus said to turn the other cheek if we are slapped. In other words, Jesus said not to hit back. This may mean physically, but often it means verbally – which is how adults are normally slapped. (Jesus is not talking about children on a playground, he's speaking to his followers who are striving to be like him.)
This doesn't mean we should let people run over us. It does not mean we allow people to harm us or our families. It's talking about forgiving. It's also talking about not holding grudges, getting even, and lowering ourselves to revenge. God forgave us and expects us to forgive others. The only comment Jesus made after he gave his model prayer is that we must forgive others since we have been forgiven.
In the course of normal human interaction, we will get our feelings hurt. No one is perfect and people will make us angry. How we handle that shows our true character. It sets us free to forgive others – to realize that we make mistakes too and yet we are forgiven. What a wonderful world it would be if we all forgave each other, just like God freely forgives us.
When we hurt someone, we need to apologize, but when someone apologizes to us, we need to forgive them. What if they won't apologize? That's between them and God. You forgive anyway. It may save your marriage or a friendship. It may just save your life. Oh, and don't bottle it up inside either; tell God about it and ask him to help you keep your cool. He has all the power you need to manage your anger.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Free Crab Tomorrow!

Psalm 119:105 (NIV): Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Matthew 6:33 – 34 (NIV): But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

When the writer of this Psalms calls God's word a “lamp to my feet and a light for my path”, we mustn't think of a modern flashlight that shines ahead into the darkness. This is referring to a foot lamp that you swung beside you that only illuminated your next step. Our hope for finding our way is found in God's word, but God wants us to take one step at a time and live one day at a time. We tend to want to know exactly what God is going to do in our future, but Jesus said to seek God and his kingdom today and let tomorrow worry about tomorrow.
This doesn't mean we do not plan for our future. In fact, planning to spend eternity with God in heaven is the most important decision we can make, but there is a difference between planning for tomorrow and living for tomorrow. If we continually wait for tomorrow to start living, we may not ever begin. There is a sign on the wall at Joe's Crab Shack in Dallas that says “Free Crab Tomorrow.” That is clever to me because you can't go in there tomorrow! If you try tomorrow, it will be today when you arrive. So, in a sense tomorrow never comes and that's what God knows. It's always today so we must live for today!
We can live for today knowing that we have a future. We can know that God will never leave us or forsake us. We can know that His word will light our path and direct us toward joy and righteousness. Worrying about tomorrow robs us of our joy and keeps us from being effective in our witness. It's easy to get into the habit of worrying, but God says take one step at a time and leave the worrying to him.
Seek to know God. Seek to know his word. Seek his kingdom, his will and his righteousness, and allow God to take care of us. One. Day. At. A. Time.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

The Faith of a Child

Mark 10: 13 – 16 (NIV): People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.
It's a beautiful image: Jesus taking children into his arms and blessing them. It was a common custom for Rabbis to place their hands on children and bless them, so people brought their children to Jesus for this. The disciples probably thought the children were pestering him and not worthy of his attention, but he used this occasion to teach us something.
We must remember that childhood was not a celebrated phase of life until the twentieth century. Before the movies, books, parties and toys we see today, children were mostly viewed as weaker workers. The disciples rebuked the parents for bringing their children to Jesus because they figured religion was for adults; Jesus assured them that his love and grace was for everyone, including children. In fact, it is critical that we introduce children to Jesus at an early age when they are still pliable and open. Statistically, if a person is not saved by age 18, it is rare that he ever will be.
It shouldn't surprise us, then, that Jesus said it is children who show us how to have true faith and how to enter his kingdom. In other words, we must have a child-like faith to be saved. What is a child-like faith? Children have a simple faith. Once a child learns he can trust you, he will continue to do so until you teach him otherwise. Adults tend to want to know what God has done for us lately. Children have a humble faith. They realize they need help. We cannot be saved until we come to the place where we realize we need God's grace for salvation. We cannot save ourselves by our works or goodness – we need God's help.
Children have a complete faith. Once you've earned their trust, they will give it freely and completely. Years ago, when my son was about two, I walked past him as he stood on an elevated deck in our backyard. Suddenly, he ran and jumped off the deck at me, knowing that if I didn't catch him he would crash to the ground. Yes, I caught him just like he knew I would. God wants us to run and jump into his arms, placing our complete trust in him. It is not a blind faith, but a complete, child-like faith that he requires.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Worship God with Your Whole Heart

Malachi 1: 6 – 11 (NIV): A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the Lord Almighty. "It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. "But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?' "You place defiled food on my altar. "But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?' "By saying that the Lord's table is contemptible. When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the Lord Almighty. "Now implore God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?" – says the Lord Almighty. "Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you," says the Lord Almighty, "and I will accept no offering from your hands. My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations," says the Lord Almighty.

This was written about 430 years before Christ to the Jews who were now back in their homeland after their exile in Babylon. By this point, the temple had been rebuilt about a hundred years and, as often happens, the people had become apathetic about their worship. It's a familiar pattern: we beg for God's mercy in a troubling situation, he answers, we worship him whole-heartedly for a while, then, in our comfort we begin to forget about him.
Malachi, then, preaches to remind them to worship God with all their hearts. It is interesting that he is rebuking the priests for their shallow worship in this passage. The religious leaders themselves were not giving God the respect and honor he deserves. They were offering left-over sacrifices. Try cheating on your taxes like you cheat God, Malachi said. See what happens.
God said he would rather us shut the doors of our churches than come and worship him there half-heartedly. God cannot stand half-hearted commitment. If parents are half-hearted, they will inoculate their children from the gospel. Pastors pass their passion for God to their congregation whether they believe it or not. God gave his only Son for us and it disgusts him when we try to give him our left-overs in return. We show the whole world how great our God is by our total devotion to him.
We're awfully busy these days, but God says he wants our best energy, time, commitment and worship. Nothing else is worthy of his great name. Nothing else is pleasing to him. After all, he is God.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

The Prodigal Son

Luke 15: 11 – 24 (NIV): Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. "The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. ' "But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.

This has been a favorite story ever since Jesus told it because it is a beautiful picture of a loving father who wants all of his children to be home and safe – to be saved. The Bible says we all like sheep have gone astray. We are all like this son trying to find our own way, using and squandering the blessings that God has given us. But one day, if we are wise, we will realize that true joy is right back at home – not in some distant land or exotic lifestyle. We realize that life without the Father is life in a pigpen, starving, and eating the pigs' leftovers.
The son does one thing right: he comes home with a humble attitude. He realizes he is not worthy to be his father's son any longer, but comes anyway, asking for mercy, hoping he still loved him. The father's response? He puts a robe on him to show him honor, a ring on his finger to represent his authority, and sandals on his feet, which means he recognized him as a son.
The most beautiful part of this story to me is how the father sat on the porch and watched for his son's return, and when he did, he ran out and met him. God is watching for our return and will run out to kiss and embrace us no matter where we've been.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Why God Allows Us to Suffer

2 Corinthians 12: 7 - 10 (NIV): To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

We don’t know what was causing Paul to suffer, perhaps an illness or headaches or eye trouble, but Paul says it was for a reason - to keep him humble and dependent on God’s grace and power. But notice that he asked God to remove the suffering and God said no.
Sometimes God allows us to suffer. Sometimes God says no. The other day both of my children needed shots. I don’t like someone inflicting pain on them, but I knew it was for their own good so I not only allowed it, I paid for it. God in his wisdom knows what is best for us and we must trust him even if life makes no sense at all.
We must never trivialize someone's suffering, and we must be careful not to tell them why we think they are suffering - that may be something only God knows, but we can find in the scripture reasons why God allows suffering. I want to share some thoughts on this.
God allows suffering to humble us. As in this passage, God cannot use us if we are full of pride. God allows suffering to test us. In the book, Job, we find this. This testing is to prove to us that our faith is genuine. God allows suffering to prioritize us. Suffering tends to keep us focused on righteousness and on God. If we never faced trials, we might just forget about him. God allows us to suffer to discipline us. Hebrews 12 says God uses hardship to discipline us like a loving father. It is painful at the time, it says, but produces a harvest of righteousness and peace.
God allows us to suffer to prepare us for future blessing. James 1 says to rejoice in trials because they make us stronger, more mature, and prepare us for a crown of life. God allows us to suffer for his own glory. When Jesus heals a blind man in John 9, the disciples asked who sinned to cause him to be born that way, Jesus said he was born blind so that God might be glorified. God allows us to suffer to prune us. In John 15, Jesus says God prunes those who bear fruit. His one goal for us is to make us like Christ, so he lops away anything in our lives that hinders that.
We may never know why we face many of the trials we do, but we must trust God in all things. God is always up to something good and one day we will fully understand.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

The Temptation of Jesus

Matthew 4: 1 – 11 (NIV): Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' " Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: " 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' " Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' "Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.' " Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

It's important to study how Jesus was tempted because the devil tempts us in the same basic ways today. It's also important to see how Jesus defeated the temptations: he fought back with scripture. The Word is our only offense against the devil and some of us only know enough of it to fight back against an army with a water gun.
Jesus' three temptations were to turn the stones into bread, to throw himself from the temple and force angels to catch him, and to set up an earthly kingdom. The first two had to do with misusing his power and proving who he was too soon. The third dealt with taking the easy way out.
Satan hit Jesus in a weakened state. That's how he operates; he searches for our weaknesses and hits us there. Jesus was hungry and could have easily ended his fast by turning the stones into bread. But that would have meant he used his power for his own gain. That is still a major temptation for us today: to do things our way instead of God's way.
The second temptation was to quickly prove who he was. But this would have forced God's hand. It's not fair to jump off a building and expect God to rescue us. We trust God in all things, but we don't foolishly test him (Deuteronomy 6:16). Many of us today live recklessly and expect God to save us from our actions. That's not fair and God forbids it – and almost always lets us fall. (Satan may have hoped he could simply get rid of Jesus if he did something so foolish.)
The third temptation was for Jesus to set up the earthly kingdom everyone expected. He could have lived out his earthly life in luxury and avoided the cross. But that wasn't God's plan for him and he knew it. If we opt for a life of ease and thumb our noses at God, are we not worshiping Satan?
Know the Scripture and beat temptation just like Jesus did.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

The Armor of God

Ephesians 6: 10 – 20 (NIV): Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

We are at war. We have an enemy who wants to “steal, kill and destroy”. An enemy who wants to rob our joy and make us ineffective as witnesses. Paul says the devil is leading a whole army against us with the goal of destroying us. This battle is in the spiritual realm and so we must use spiritual weapons to win. Unfortunately, many Christians lose daily battles because they are not wearing their spiritual armor as described in this passage. The devil wants to knock us down; Paul wants us to stand firm.
Paul uses the illustration of armor that a Roman soldier would wear: the belt was important because it held everything in place. Our belt is truth. If we don't have the truth, we can't win the fight. The breastplate covers the heart. A lot of our mistakes come from acting on our emotions and not on wisdom. Righteousness will protect us from being defeated day after day. I would never fight barefooted, and our shoes are knowing and sharing the true gospel. The enemy army is shooting at us and a shield of faith will protect us. Without faith, we are dead already.
I believe the helmet is salvation is not just having salvation, but knowing that we do. I can fight because I know my salvation is safe and secure in God's hands and not my own. The only offensive weapon is God's Word, the sword of the Spirit. This is the one and only way we fight back.
And there is another piece of armor that often gets left out: prayer. Paul mentions praying five times in this passage. Wear your armor, fight back with the Word, and pray without ceasing. If we will do this, we will be victorious and live the abundant life that Jesus promised.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Prayer is Power

Matthew 6: 5 – 13 (NIV): And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. '

God created you for his pleasure. What he desires from you is a relationship – a friendship (Micah 6:8). You cannot have a true friendship with someone if you never speak to him. Prayer, then, is how we speak to God. He speaks to us through his Word and we speak to him in prayer. He wants us to pray in private because that means we're really focused on him.
Now, Jesus gives us the model prayer. All of our prayers should be modeled after this basic outline because it shows how to pray with a proper attitude. I like to think of the acrostic POWER to help me remember how we should pray:
P is for Praise. Jesus puts it right at the top for a reason. When we begin our prayers by praising God – stating that he is holy, set apart, worthy of praise – we infuse our prayers with power by recognizing who God truly is.
O is for Obey. When we ask for God's will to be done on earth, I like to think of this as a prayer to do our part. In other words, it's a prayer of commitment to trust and obey God in all things. We cannot please him without faith, and true faith will always lead to obedience.
W is for Wrongs. Here we are asking God to forgive us of our sins and mistakes. As we pray, we recall where we have failed him and ask for forgiveness. As our part in this, we also forgive those who have sinned against us. Jesus said we must do this. Jesus also showed us to ask God for the power to overcome evil and the temptation to sin.
E is for Entreat. This means to ask. Jesus tells us to ask for our basic needs every single day. We ask today and we ask again tomorrow. This keeps us in prayer and keeps us from taking God for granted or becoming apathetic. We also pray for others, just as Jesus did.
R is for Remember. Jesus doesn't mention being thankful in this model, but Paul adds it in Philippians 4: 6-7. This is when we thank God for his goodness to us and remember to thank him for answering past prayers.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

The Equality of Salvation

Matthew 20: 1 – 12 (NIV): "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. "About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went. "He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?' " 'Because no one has hired us,' they answered. "He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.' "When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.' "The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.' "But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?' "So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

What an amazing parable! Jesus lets us know through this illustration that all who believe in him will receive the same salvation – the same heaven – no matter how hard we work, because it isn't work that saves us, but God's generosity. God's grace.
This story proves that salvation is not earned in the first place. If it were, only the workers who hired on early in the morning would receive the daily wage. Instead, everyone is paid the same even if he only worked an hour.
That may seem unfair, but Jesus is making the point that no Christian is more valuable in the Kingdom than another. We all all sinners, saved by grace, and God is the only one who should be worshiped, celebrated and emulated. There is no class system in Christianity; we are all equal.
This amazing story shows another truth, too. It tells us that if we have waited all our lives to believe in Christ – to be saved – we still can. A man who is saved at 95 goes to the same heaven as a boy saved at seven. I wouldn't want to wait too long since tomorrow isn't promised and since a life lived for Christ is so much more rewarding, but if you have waited, the good news is it's never too late.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

A Living Sacrifice

Romans 12: 1, 2 (NIV): Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Jesus said to love God most. The first Commandment says to put God first. Here, Paul says to give ourselves completely to God. I'm seeing a pattern: God wants to be our God. He is a loving Father who wants us to surrender our lives to him. He wants first place in our lives, and he wants us to trust and obey him. As God's children, we need to understand that we belong to him. He created us, he purchased our salvation, and he knows what is best for us.
Paul says our spiritual act of worship is to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God. This means we surrender our wills to him and live our lives holy and pleasing to him. Perhaps the very heart of worshiping God is to surrender to him. In other words, to love him most, put him first, and live our lives for his pleasure, not our own.
Easy enough to understand, but it is not easy to do because we don't like the idea of surrendering. We like the idea of being our own boss, doing what we want to do, not letting someone else tell us what to do. We want what we want and we want it now. But the Christian faith says “give up what you want and give God what he wants instead.”
The pattern of this world says if you surrender to someone, you lose to him. Paul is saying, yes that's exactly right! Lose to God. Surrender to him. Give him your body, your hopes and dreams, your wishes and desires. Give it all to God. What I've found to be true is that we are all going to surrender to something anyway. Paul says surrender to God and God alone.
The idea of a living sacrifice seems to be a contradiction. When an animal was sacrificed, it was killed first and had no choice in the matter. What Paul is urging us to do is voluntarily climb on the altar and sacrifice ourselves to God. And since we are still living, that means we can crawl off the altar again if we choose. My advice is, when you do, simply climb back on. We have to continually surrender to God. Frankly, we do better some days than others. Don't give up. Surrender to God today, then again tomorrow. When you do, God will transform your mind to become more and more like Christ. He will prove to you that surrendered to him is the best place to be. After all, he is God.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

The Luxury of Contentment

Ecclesiastes 2: 8-11, 24-26 (NIV): I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well--the delights of the heart of man. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me. I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.
A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have all the money in the world? To have all of the pleasures and delights that people desire at your fingertips? I have! We read about celebrities with their glamorous lifestyles, beautiful homes, cars, friends, vacations, and all of the latest gadgets and toys, and it is human nature to wish for that for ourselves.
In this passage, a man gives to himself everything he could possibly want or desire. He not only buys pleasure and entertainment, but he also oversees building projects that make his community better. This man is the third king of Israel, Solomon, the richest person who ever lived. He said his wisdom stayed with him during this experiment – in other words, he took note of whether or not he found true happiness and fulfillment in his lifestyle of luxury.
His conclusion? That everything left him unfulfilled and empty.
Isn't that what we see happening with our celebrities today? They have “everything in the world”, but they are not satisfied with it and have to continually clamor for more. They can't keep their marriages together, and many of them end up in jail or rehab or both. It's not that being wealthy makes you unhappy, it's just that it doesn't make you happy. Just ask Solomon. Wealth, pleasure and entertainment can give happiness, but it simply doesn't last and we are never satisfied. That's why, when asked how much wealth is enough, a famous billionaire said, “just a little bit more.”
Solomon concluded that the only thing that makes us truly happy is to please God day after day. When we do, we will find fulfillment in our work, we will find pleasure in our belongings, and we will find love in our families. Searching for meaning in things leaves us empty – but living for God's pleasure every day gives us meaning and happiness and joy and a purpose.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Free Indeed

John 8: 31 – 36 (NIV): To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Freedom is perhaps the most precious gift a person can receive. No other comfort can be fully enjoyed if a person is not free. More than a million men and women have given their lives so we can be free in our country and that makes it the greatest country on earth.
How sad, then, to live in America – the land of the free – and not be truly free. Jesus said if you sin you are a slave to sin. Slaves have no rights. Slaves do what their masters tell them. Millions of Americans are slaves to some addiction, for example, and cannot break free from it. And any sin is addicting. Paul said he would not be enslaved by anything other than Christ.
It's interesting that the Jews who were speaking with Jesus in this passage said they had never been enslaved. They had not only been enslaved more than once in their history, they were slaves to the Romans at that very moment. Denial does not set a person free! Only a life in Christ can do that. Apparently these Jews did believe in him and he was encouraging them to hold on to his teaching because he knew that persecution would come.
And that brings us to American Christianity today. The church throughout history has thrived during times of persecution. Why? Because persecution weeds out hypocrisy. This is why church father Tertullian said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” I'm thankful for my free country, but I am concerned about the state of the church today. I believe the greatest assault against our faith is apathy. We want to be comfortable and Christians have never been called to be soft. We want to feel at home, but we are not at home here. Our citizenship is in a “better country” (Hebrews 11:16).
If we, as the church, want America to be truly free, we must stand against the sins that enslave us. We must stand up for the innocents and we must stand up for the family. Will that make us uncomfortable? Yes, and if we are uncomfortable here on earth, then we know we are true followers of Christ. Jesus said the world hated him and it will hate us too if we follow him. People are longing for freedom and it is not a country that can give it to them, it is the church.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

The Valley of Dry Bones

Ezekiel 37: 1 – 10 (NIV): The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign Lord, you alone know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.'” So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet – a vast army.

Ezekiel was a Jewish street preacher who lived in Babylon during Israel's exile there which began in 605 B.C. So he was living and ministering in a very hopeless and frustrating time for his people. It would be hard to imagine things getting any worse than being taken captive by a hostile, foreign country and having all of your rights and freedoms taken away from you.
Ezekiel says the bones were very dry. This is symbolic of them being beyond hope. Beyond the living. Long dead and never coming back. A whole valley of people without any hope of ever living again.
Ezekiel sees the hopelessness of the situation. But then God turns things, just as we see him do over and over in the scripture and in our lives. He tells Ezekiel to “prophecy” to the bones – which means to preach to them – that God was going to bring them back to life. He was going to cover them with flesh and skin and put breath back into their lungs.
Ezekiel could have refused to preach to a bunch of dry bones, but instead he obeyed. He preached and God did exactly what he said he would. He brought them back to life. He gave them life and hope and a future.
When God's Word is preached, lives are changed. People who have no hope suddenly find life again. With God there is always hope, even after someone dies, or after things seem hopeless. God's Spirit gives life now and forever. We must continue to share God's Word even if people seem dead to the message. And if we live our lives by God's Spirit, he will breathe life into everything we do.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

The Supremacy of Christ

Colossians 1: 15 – 20 (NIV): He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

When Paul says Jesus was the “firstborn over all creation”, he doesn't mean Jesus was the first of God's children, he means Jesus was here before everything else. He means that Jesus was and is God. Jesus is the image of the invisible God. He is God in the flesh. What does God look like? Jesus.
Did Jesus agree with Paul on this issue? Jesus said in John 8:58 “before Abraham was born, I AM.” If you have any doubt about his meaning, look at the people's reaction when he said this. They knew exactly what he meant: he was claiming to be I AM. Seventy-eight times in the Gospels, Jesus called himself “The Son of Man.” When we read Daniel 7: 13, 14, we see that the Son of Man was divine. Further, when Jesus called himself “God's Son” in John 10:36, his hearers understood that he was saying he was equal to God.
Not only did Jesus say he was God in the flesh, he proved it by what he did. He accepted worship in Matthew 14:33 and Luke 7:36 – 50. Only God can accept worship and Jesus would know that. He forgave sins in Luke 7:48 and Mark 2:5. Only God can forgive sins. And he lived a sinless life (Hebrews 4:15). Only God can do that and the Bible says so (Romans 3:10).
Did anyone else call Jesus God in the scripture? Yes, Thomas called him God in John 20:28, John called him God in John 1:1, Paul called him God in today's passage and in Colossians 2:9, and Stephen prayed to him in Acts 7:59. Stephen, a Jew, knew he could pray only to God.
This is the mysterious doctrine of the Trinity: one and only one God, in three persons. We must get this right even though we cannot fully understand it. We must understand that our sins could only be forgiven if God himself paid for them with his own blood. If we believe that Jesus was a just good man or teacher or prophet, but not God Himself, we not only have wrong belief about him, but we are calling him a liar. Instead, let us call him Lord and God.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Fatherhood - A Lesson from Abraham

Genesis 22: 4 – 13 (NIV): On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you." Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together. When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.

First we must understand that God will never, ever again ask a father to sacrifice one of his children for any reason, and notice that God did not allow Abraham to slay his son. But Abraham was in a unique situation to demonstrate true devotion and God's love for us. This story is full of symbolism. God did allow his one and only son to die. God did sacrifice his promised child. And God did raise his child from the dead, the very thing Abraham reasoned God would do (see Hebrews 11:19).
God was testing Abraham to make sure that he, God, had first place in his life – even above the promised child for whom he had waited for years.
The best gift a father can give his children is to show that he loves God first and foremost. The best gift I can give my own children is to show them that I love God more than I love them. That's what God was demanding in this story. And God demands obedience from us, too, even if it doesn't make sense at the time. God's ways are higher than ours, and we must trust him at all times to please him.
This story also introduced the concept of the substitute sacrifice. God provided a ram so that Abraham could sacrifice it instead of his son. A lamb was slain for another's salvation. But there is more: This happened on a hill outside Jerusalem, a three-day's journey, innocent blood was shed, an obedient son is central to the story, the son carried his own wood, and the son's birth was promised years before-hand. God has provided a substitute sacrifice for all of us, but make no mistake, he requires total devotion, obedience and faith.

We Can Know God Exists

Romans 1: 18 – 25 (NIV): The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen.

No one who has a brain has any excuse not to believe in God. All we have to do is look at creation to realize there must be a God. We can see the incredible diversity of life and the fine tuning of the cosmos; we can taste the fruits of the land; we can hear the sound of birds singing or the ocean beating against the shore; we can feel the breeze on our skin. Our senses tell us there is a God. Even Helen Keller, who was born blind and deaf, knew there was a God. She said she just didn't know his name until someone spelled it out on her hand.
Believing that all of creation is an accident, like secular evolutionists do, is like walking through the forest and seeing “help” spelled out with logs in a clearing and saying to yourself, “Oh look, the wind must have placed these logs like this. Isn't that amazing?!” Only it's really more like walking through the woods and finding the complete works of Shakespeare spelled out with logs.
Every creature is designed with a complex DNA code that tells the cells what to become, what to look like, and how to function. To say that the DNA code came about by chance is like saying that lines of computer code simply write themselves. That is absolutely impossible. Not one line of computer code has ever written itself. I'm not smart enough to write computer programs, and the intelligence it took to write the codes of creation boggles the mind. But it really boggles my mind to think that people choose to believe the DNA code is some sort of accident.
Paul didn't even know about the DNA code when he wrote this, but he knew that God had “invisible qualities” – behind-the-scenes power. He knew the origin of life itself was a mystery – and it still is, except for those who believe. We will worship something, either something created or the creator himself. Paul urges us to escape God's wrath by believing in the true God and worshiping him alone.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Why We Can't Look at God

Acts 17: 24 – 31 (NIV): The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone – an image made by man's design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.

This is Paul's speech to the philosophers in Athens. A tough bunch to convert. But his bottom line was that God proved that he is the true God when he raised Jesus from the dead. That is the bottom line of our faith. The next verses basically say some believed it and some didn't. Yep, just like today. We have more than enough evidence that Jesus rose again and we can build our faith on that evidence.
The secondary argument he presents is the fact that we are here. We had to get here somehow! God created us and placed it in our hearts to seek him. If we do, we will find him because he is not far off. Some people refuse to seek God. Why? Perhaps because God commands everyone to repent and many people don't want God to tell them what to do.
We might ask, “So why can't we look at God so we can believe in him?” I think this is a fair question, but there are good answers. In John 3:8, Jesus says there is a mystery to God. He is Spirit and, like the wind, we can see his effects, but we can't see him. In John 1:10-11, John tells us that God did come to earth as a man so we could see and touch him, but most people still rejected him! Exodus 33:20 says it would kill us to look at God in his full glory. That is a reminder of how awesome, holy and powerful he is. He's like the sun – way to bright to look at. Imagine how awesome he must be if he spoke the sun – and the whole universe into existence.
If God removed the mystery, he would also have to remove our free will. I'll let you ponder that, because I want to end with a thought based on 1 Peter 5: 5-6. God has veiled himself so that the proud will not find him, but has revealed himself so that the humble will.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

The Fragrance of Sacrifice

Leviticus 1: 3 – 9 (NIV): If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to offer a male without defect. He must present it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting so that it will be acceptable to the Lord. He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. He is to slaughter the young bull before the Lord, and then Aaron's sons the priests shall bring the blood and sprinkle it against the altar on all sides at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. He is to skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces. The sons of Aaron the priest are to put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. Then Aaron's sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, including the head and the fat, on the burning wood that is on the altar. He is to wash the inner parts and the legs with water, and the priest is to burn all of it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.

Leviticus was written by Moses about fourteen-hundred years before Christ. It was a hand-book for the priest on how to conduct worship, sacrifices and celebrations. It uses the word holy 152 times, more than any other book of the Bible. God was very specific about how he wanted sacrifices to be done.
What we see in this passage is that true sacrifice is always costly. David said, “I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” God said the worshiper must sacrifice a “male without defect”. This is important for two reasons: one, it meant that they were to give their best to God. Ranchers need their best males to insure the best stock. God said give it to him. This insured that the sacrifice was costly. Secondly, it is symbolic of Jesus, who was without blemish (sin) and was thus worthy to be a sacrifice.
Why would God demand innocent blood? Why does Hebrews 9:22 say “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness”? Because bloodshed is the ultimate sacrifice. God is holy and we are not, so only an ultimate price is sufficient. Freedom is so precious because it is paid for by that ultimate sacrifice. More than a million Americans have died for our freedom. But as unbelievable as that is, it is even more amazing that the creator of the universe shed his blood for my salvation.
Blood shows how serious sin is. It is not a joke to God, or something he is going to let slide. My sin and your sin cost his son's life and he doesn't think that is funny anymore than you would. (The mystery of the Trinity is that Jesus was God's son, but also God incarnate – in the flesh.)
The sacrificial system in Leviticus is no longer in effect. Jesus became the offering for us once and for all (Hebrews 10:10). But it is important to study it so that we realize that sacrifice must be costly. It was costly to God and true sacrifice is costly to us as well.