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Looking out the car window and wondering about life

2011-04-10T19:57:00.000-07:00

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I remember as a little boy growing up in Iowa, riding along in the back seat of the car looking out across the farm fields at the night sky, and wondering "what was out there;" out there in the heavens. I wondered where life would lead and I wondered about God and a lot of things.

I probably wondered too, why I got car sick! Dad would be smoking up front as he drove and in those days no one had a thought that smoking was a bad thing for one's health, let alone that second-hand smoke might be a problem for kids. I couldn't wait for some of those rides to end so I could get out into the fresh air. It wasn't that I was thinking about the smoke; it was just that it seemed stuffy in the car. A stuffy boy wants some fresh air.

As my mind wandered from little boy thoughts about horses and baseball and dreams of life to come, it would drift back to those bigger questions about life. What I've discovered since those boyhood years, is that I am not alone. We all have those thoughts and wonder about God and life and life after death.

Even if you aren't what we would normally call a "believer" in God, what I do know about you is that you have had those thoughts. Ecclesiastes says that "God has put eternity into man's mind, and yet so he cannot figure out what he has done from beginning to end." You have thought about eternity, about God, I know you have. And you have wondered, maybe even angrily, about "god" or "a god," but you have wondered.

What I want to share with you is that you don't have to wonder any more. There is a God. He is real. He created you and he really, really does love you...no matter what you have done in your past and no matter what kinds of thoughts you have had about him.

How do I know? Well there was this guy named Jesus who claimed to have know the Father, the Father we call God. And how do we know that we can trust what Jesus said? Because he was raised from the dead to show, among other things, that he was God's Son. That Jesus was raised from the dead isn't just a fairytale. We have proof. Really? Proof?

Ya, we do. Witnesses, many of them. Witnesses who saw him, talked with him, ate with him, touched him and were changed by him. Witnesses who saw him over a period of time, not just as some ghostly figure floating around a room once. Witnesses who went to their deaths because of their claim that he was alive.

Did you know that over 500 people all at once saw Jesus alive after the Resurrection? Did you know that he cooked fish for his disciples after the Resurrection? I've seen the spot where it likely happened. I've stood on the shores of the Sea of Galilee on the spot where the Apostle John says that Peter ate that fish meal the Lord had prepared.

I could go on, but if you are new to all this, it may be that you have heard that such things are a myth. Nope. They were recorded as fact by people who said they were eyewitnesses. Did you know there is no contemporaneous record (a record written at that time) that says, "Nope, those disciples are crazy. This stuff never happened!" There is no record like that. If someone today were to say that Elvis is still alive and living in Memphis, there would be a whole bunch of evidence presented that that isn't true.

Ditto for the resurrection of Christ. The Disciples and others claimed that he was resurrected, but there was no one presenting evidence that it hadn't happened. Just a small point, but something for you to consider.

God is real. He loves you. He does have a plan not only for your life but for your eternity. He is reaching out to you; reach back. You can start with John 3:16 that says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life."

God is for you. He wants you to have eternal life and joy with him. Christ is the way that that happens. Confess your sins. God is waiting to forgive. Put your trust in Christ and Christ alone as your Savior and only hope for heaven. God will come into your life and change you and your future in ways you never could have dreamed.

Then find a good church to go to...there really are some. Do it today. You'll be glad you did.

Getting a Boarding Pass for a ride to heaven

2009-02-03T04:44:00.000-08:00

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We are just about to head out for Israel with a group I'll be hosting. This will be our 4th trip since 1998. Since "98" we squeezed in another trip to Greece, Turkey and Rome. We know what to expect: Lots of airplane time coming our way! But it will be worth it on the other end.

One thing that you air travelers know very well, is the need for a boarding pass to get on the plane. You know the drill of how to get one: check-in online at home within 24 hours of departure, or use the kiosk at check-in at the airport.

There's a sense in which each of us also is aware that we need a boarding pass for a trip to heaven as well. We may not think of it that way, but if we are asked, "Are you going to heaven and if you are, how do you know?" we'll have an answer that includes our own personal version of a boarding pass.

"I'm going to heaven, sure, because I'm a good person."

"I'm going to heaven, sure, because I believe in God."

"I'm going to heaven, sure, isn't everyone? God is love and would never keep anyone out of heaven. And if it doesn't work that way I don't want to go anyway."

"I'm going to heaven, sure, because if that jerk John Doe over there is going, anyone can make it. I'm not as bad as he is."

"I'm going to heaven, sure, because all spiritual roads lead to heaven. There isn't just one way."

"I'm going to heaven, sure, because the good things I've done in life outweigh the bad things I've done."

"I'm going to heaven, sure, because I don't hurt people and I try to be honest."

"Why do you ask whether I'm going to heaven? Who are you to judge." (A nice defensive ploy when one is uncertain of an answer, is to make the questioner look bad. It doesn't change anything, but it helps us feel a bit more self-righteous while making the other person appear to be judgmental.)

Is your answer in this list above? If it is, here's the bad news. None of these answers is the right answer to the question of how to get a boarding pass for heaven. At least according to the Bible.

We get it as to why people choose the answers that they do. Sometimes this is what they have been taught, and other times they just don't know for sure, so they choose something that seems to make sense. And humanly speaking there are aspects of the answers above that make sense. The problem is that the ticket agent at the heavenly gate is God, not us. He has another idea.

If we want to get into heaven on our own, our Boarding Pass has to be marked "Super First Class Section: Only for those who have never sinned". Ok, we are all disqualified for that one. There's no one sitting in that section, although there are seats for it on the heavenly plane.

There is no "First Class" section that is simply more expensive to buy than Coach, but that anyone with the cash can get a ticket for. And there is no "Business Class". There is only "Coach."

In Coach the price of the ticket has been paid by someone else. Jesus Christ paid the price for your ticket to heaven and mine. When Christ died on the Cross, an account was created for you with "Heavenly Airlines." But you have to log on and check in to get your Boarding Pass.

Some information will be required when you log on. You know those fields with the little red "asterisk" * that say "required"? That's how this works. And the required information comes in the form of honest answers to these questions:

1. Do you admit that you are a sinner?

(The correct answer is, "Yes!!".)

2. Have you turned away from your sin and turned to God?

(Being sorry for sin isn't enough. With God's help we have to sincerely turn away from sin and also turn to God. We won't succeed in not sinning, but that isn't the issue. The issue is what we sincerely want to walk with the Lord instead of going our own way as we have in the past.)

3. Have you put your faith in Jesus Christ and him alone for your forgiveness?

(Being "good" won't get you any part of heaven; neither will praying, going to church, giving money or following some set of rules. The only thing that gets us forgiven is Christ's death, burial and resurrection. We trust in him alone for our forgiveness.)

4. Have you surrendered your life to the Lordship Christ.

(If you haven't given the Lord your life to do with what he will, you haven't fully repented and turned to the Lord. Some people want the "fire insurance" of salvation, but have no intention of following the Lord. If that is a person's condition, then they haven't really repented (see step 2), and are still living in rebellion. God isn't a fool. He knows if you mean it when you say you repent.)

Here's an example of what your form might look like on the Boarding Pass screen:

"Lord, I come to you today and admit that I am a sinner. I have offended you many times by the things I have done. Today I turn away from that sin and choose to turn to you. I know that I'll likely fail in following you as I should, but I really do want to go your way and not mine. Please remember that on the days that I fall.

Today I put my trust in Jesus Christ as both my Savior and my Lord. I ask that you let me into heaven one day, not because of anything I have done or will do, but because Jesus died on the cross for me and paid the penalty for my sin. You have promised that you will not cast out anyone who comes to you through Christ. Here I am.

And today Lord, I choose to follow you as Lord. I mean that word "Lord." I don't know what plans you have for my life, but I give you control over every aspect of my life and ask that you'd give me the wisdom to know what you are leading me to do, and courage to do it.

Thank you for granting me eternal life today as you promised. Amen"

There you go. Those are the requirements for the Boarding Pass and the right information to sincerely fill in the blanks with.

There is a lot that goes on once you have the Boarding Pass. The PILOT has some pre-trip things for you and me to do; things that make life wonderful and interesting...and scary and challenging. But knowing we have the Boarding Pass makes it all make sense and worthwhile.

Do you have yours? If you don't, take the time to go back through the 4 steps and then in your own words use the prayer example and talk to the Lord. He's online right now waiting for your application.

You need to get your Boarding Pass today. Your flight could leave at a time you don't expect. God wants you on the plane. He really, really does.

Shalom

Being a good "leaf"

2008-12-09T17:58:00.000-08:00

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Tour Israel with us – February 5-15, 2009!

Do you ever feel like what you do is unimportant? Unimportant to others, unimportant to God, just plain old garden variety unimportant? You aren't alone. I suppose we all have thoughts like that at times.

We wonder if like a finger pulled from a bucket of water, whether what we have done in life will have left a mark at all.

I was reading the other day in the Old Testament about the men who served in the Temple years ago. Some had big jobs: lead the singing in worship! What a job. Standing there in front of the crowd helping people them shout out to the Lord. If a person's heart wasn't right, being in front of the crowd could be a big ego trip. People would recognize you. People would comment on your voice. Religious Rock Star status!

Others taught. People came to them for teaching from the Bible. Wisdom was their stock and trade. Being the "smartest guy in the room" has always carried status. People have questions, smart people have answers.

Prestigious job after prestigious job, and then there were the bread bakers.

In the Temple there was what was called the Shew Bread, twelve loaves, one for each tribe. Some one had to bake that bread. It was their job. But what kind of job was that? Where was the long term impact of being a bread baker? Who would know whether the baker had done a good job? Only the priests ate the bread. And if the baker did do a good job, what difference would it make?

No one would go to heaven because you baked bread. Baking bread isn't evangelism.

No one was going to get healed because you baked bread. Baking bread isn't being a healer.

No one was going to get smarter because you baked bread. Baking bread isn't teaching.

No one was going to feel better about life and themselves because you baked bread. Baking bread isn't counselling.

The world wasn't going to end wars because you baked bread. Baking bread isn't being a peacemaker.

So what was the use? What difference did it make that a person baked bread?

The difference it made is that this was God's assignment for those particular men. The difference it made was in being obedient to God. We have not failed in life, we have not done something unimportant when we have done what God has assigned to us, what he has asked us to do.

God is the assignment giver, not us.

As I thought about that sitting out on my deck, I looked at the leafy trees in our northwoods neighborhood and thought, "I wonder what it is like to just be one of a bizzilion leaves on a tree? What difference does it make if a leaf is missing? Who would know? Who would care?"

I wasn't depressed. Don't misunderstand. I was just thinking. I'm odd that way I supposed.

But as I thought about those things, I came to the conclusion that being a good leaf, just one of millions, matters much. Without the leaves on a tree, the tree dies. Each leaf, when working with the other leaves, takes in nourishment that keeps a tree alive. While being just a leaf doesn't seem like much on the one hand, on the other hand, without the leaves there are no trees.

God assigns "leaf" to one, "tree" to another, but one is dependent on the other.

Friend, what you do matters to God. What he wants you to do, may not include being a great preacher, a great teacher, a great political leader or some other public "whatever." What he may want you to do, may simply be to be a good "bread maker." I mean that figuratively.

What he may ask you to do may be to do something quiet, behind the scenes. He may ask you to be faithful in a hard place; quiet when others would shout; compassionate when others would scorn; broken when others would feign strength.

Whatever it may be that God has called you to do, DO IT!

Large or small, whatever it may be, obey Him. He is the assignment giver. Fulfill your assignment in life. In the end it will make a difference. It will make a difference to God. And in the end, he is the only one who matters.

Bake some bread, hang on a tree branch...if that is what he has called you to in serving him and proclaiming his name to others, do it well and be at peace. There are those who need Christ in their lives who are watching you. Your faithful service may be the sermon that reaches them in a way that no great orator could.

Years ago a man named Jerry Hangartner had that impact on my life. Jerry was a maintenance mechanic at a company where I had begun working. I had been an ironworker and changed jobs to become then a maintenance mechanic. Ironworkers and maintenance mechanics in large companies in those days were not prone to be friendly to strangers.

So much to my surprise when I went to church one day, a day of trouble in life as we looked for answers due to my parents to divorce...there was Jerry, broken nose, big biceps from lifting weights, looking like a tough guy...but reaching out to shake my hand and welcome me to church that day.

I've never forgotten it. I suppose there were others who shook my hand that day, but I can't remember a one. Jerry I remember.

It was Jerry I later discovered, who when the church needed to have its lawn mowed, would be there to do it. It was Jerry who when his sister needed a kidney, gave her his. It was Jerry, who when he got a brain tumor, said, "Whatever the Lord has for me, I'm ok with it."

It was Jerry, who died years ago from that brain tumor, that I remember today.

Jerry wasn't a teacher, he was a leaf. He was a bread maker. All he did was shake my hand, but I remember. He did what God had asked him to do. It was Jerry who made an impact...baking bread with his daily life.

Go bake some bread for the Lord my friend, and never ever think again that it doesn't matter. It matters greatly. What you do is important to the Lord. Do it for him with all your might.

Be leaning into the tape at the end of life's race. Others are watching.

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

2008-07-27T02:44:00.000-07:00

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Tour Israel with us – February 5-15, 2009!

A couple of weeks ago on the way back from beautiful Bayfield, Wisconsin, we stopped in at the visitor center near Ashland, near Chequamegon Bay on Lake Superior. One piece of Lake Superior history we learned more about was the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

The Edmund Fitzgerald was the ship hauling iron ore that was lost in 1975 during a big November storm on Lake Superior. She was the grandest ship in the ore shipping fleet, but she went down.

Gordon Lightfoot's song, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" immortalized the ship for all of us.

All 29 members of the crew died that stormy November day. Twenty years later the ship was found at the bottom of Lake Superior, broken in half, most likely from the terrible impact of it hitting bottom some 600 feet down.

The bell of the Edmund Fitzgerald was recovered then, and a commemorative one with the names of the 29 sailors, was put in its place at the bottom of Lake Superior. A memorial service was held at that time, as it is now each year, and the actual bell from the ship was rung in memory of those 29 sailors, one ring for each of the men lost.

The bell ringing for each of those men, was to symbolize their "voices still speaking." It was very moving to think about as family members or friends came to that bell to ring it in honor of their sailor.

Let me ask you a question, however, about that memorial service or others like them.

What difference does it make that the bell was rung and that names were mentioned?

Those men will never know. They are gone. They were not in the audience that day, so what does it matter?

And if we have all come simply out of the primordial ooze and will one day go back to that primordial ooze, isn't the fate of these men simply the fate that awaits us all in one form or another?

Of course it is offensive to think that such a memorial service doesn't matter or that it has no meaning.

It has great meaning and the memory of these men does matter. But why? Why does it matter?

It matters because there is a God in heaven.

It matters because of God's view of life, and that is that life and lives matter! They mean something in the world! We are not just specks of animated dust, mindlessly responding to our environment for a short time, but with no real hope for anything beyond this life. We have been created in the image of God.

God has plans for us to spend eternity with him if we will turn from our sin and follow him through Christ.

We matter to Him. Life matters! Without that reality, memorials to lost souls are a sad and painful joke. But intuitively, whether we intellectually believe in God or not, we know that such memorials are right and good. Deep down in our own being, we know and believe there is a God and that life goes on after this life is over.

And even if these men cannot see the memorial that their family and friends held in their honor, God can see! He pays attention to what we do. He honors those who honor him, and he honors those who love their fellow man.

After you shake out all the religiosity from whatever brand of Christianity you subscribe to, the Bible says that the two greatest commandments are:

"To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself."

My hope and prayer is that if you have not already, you will give your life to the Lord through Christ. Jesus died on your behalf and mine, paying to God the penalty owed for your sin and mine. The "bell" of his story is still ringing throughout history, calling us all to remember the meaning of his death.

Around the world that message has been proclaimed. We mark the calendar by his life. We call this year 2008 because it is 2008 "in the year of our Lord." It is no mistake that the whole world marks its calendar by Him. The bell is ringing, his voice is still speaking.

Each December 25th, the world stops to consider his birth, and even those who don't believe, hear the bell ringing telling his story.

You know the story. You know the ship wreck he faced for you. What will you do? There is an audience watching. It is God. Will you ring the bell of your own voice and speak to acknowledge your need for him?

If you will and would like to be sure that one day you'll be in heaven, sins forgiven, sincerely pray a prayer something like this in your own words. God promised to grant you eternal life if you do. One word of caution: You have to mean it. This isn't a magic potion.

Dear Lord, I confess to you today that I am a sinner, a sinner with no remedy of my own for my sin. I have offended you by the way I have lived and I'm sorry. Today I turn away from my sin and ask that you would forgive me through what Jesus Christ did on my behalf.

I believe that Christ died for my sins and that it is only through his death and resurrection that I can be forgiven and saved from my sin. Being good won't get me forgiven, going to church won't get me forgiven, nor will any number of other religious acts all put together. What you have said will get me forgiven is putting my faith in Christ as my Savior and turning away from my sin.

I do both today and ask that Jesus be the Lord of my life, leading me each day in the future. I don't know what that will look like, but I trust you and surrender my life to you today, to do with as you will.

Please come into my life and grant me the eternal life you have promised, filling me with your Spirit so that I can live a life that it pleasing to you.

In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer and would like some help getting started in your Christian life, shoot me off an email. I'll recommend some reading for you and some other steps you can take to begin life well in following Christ.

Just Ask!

2007-09-26T05:04:00.000-07:00

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Surprise, surprise to discover that the following words are not a prayer formula nor some grandiose promise about how God answers prayer:

Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds and to him who knocks it shall be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8 New American Standard)

What they are is a statement about the nature of our relationship with God.

Here's what I mean.

The beginning of the Sermon on the Mount by Jesus, which contains the words above, is a listing of what we have come to call, "The Beatitudes." For those who are new to the Bible, the Beatitudes are that set of verses in Matthew 5 that being with the words "Blessed are..." as in "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" and so on.

The Beatitudes are followed up in verse 17 of Matthew 5 with an interesting comment by Jesus: Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill."

The comment is interesting, but it is also odd, unless you understand why he likely said it at that moment. He said it, because what he had just taught people in the Beatitudes might make them think that he was speaking against the Law.

The Beatitudes say that if you are poor in spirit, yours is the kingdom of heaven; if you are gentle, you will inherit the earth; if you are pure in heart you will see God; if you are a peacemaker you will be called sons of God.

Each of these comments flies in the face of what the Pharisees and Sadducees and frankly all of Israel, had been teaching about how one will see God etc. It was following the Law, they had been taught, that would eventually allow one to see God.

Jesus' teaching, sounded like he was going off in a different direction. He wasn't, but he needed to correct their erroneous view of the Law.

To explain further his view of the Law, Jesus gives several examples of faulty thinking, each beginning with words like, "You have heard it said....but I say to you."

In each case he tells the people about some application of the Law they had been taught, and shows them that actually God's interpretation of the Law was much stricter than the interpretation of the Scribes and Pharisees. In fact he tells the people:

For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Mt. 5:20)

To make it worse he finally tells them in verse 48:

Therefore you are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Houston, we have a problem: ain't none of us going to make it. None of us are perfect, and none of us even close. Now what?

The now what is answered as Jesus continues his Sermon on the Mount thoughts, leading people eventually to this statement in Matthew 7:7-8:

Ask and shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds and to him who knocks it shall be opened.

What is he saying? Here's what it seems to me:

"Friends, I know you have been following the Law. I'm in favor of that. But know that following the Law in some ritualistic manner isn't going to get it done. Here's what you need to do to have a forgiven relationship with me: Just ask! Just seek! Just knock on the door! I'll open it!"

Just ask! What a great comment by the Lord. Friend, he is saying, just ask me, I'll forgive you. Friend, if you want to get your life in order, just seek me, I'll answer. If you want to have fellowship with me, just knock on my door, I'll open it! Relax! I'm for you!

While this section does relate to prayer in a secondary sense, it is not a formula or some promise about prayer. It is rather the Lord's freeing instructions for how to have a healthy relationship with him, a relationship not based on ritualistically following a set of rules we ultimately can't keep well enough to have it count for much in the first place anyway.

Just ask! he says! Just ask! I'll be there, I'll forgive, I'll walk with you. Lighten up. Relax. Get off the rules bandwagon. Talk to me. I'm here. Knock on my door, I'm in!

Wow, what a relief.

The Lord is saying, Come on over. Lets be friends. Just ask me and it'll happen.

Yes there are things we'll need to clean up along the way as God works in our lives. That's called repentance. Its part of the deal. But because we can never clean things up well enough to be perfect, Jesus is saying we can't and shouldn't base our relationship with him on whether or not we have met the requirements of the Law. We haven't and we never will.

Solution? JUST ASK!

Critics and fundamentalists will say that such an approach leaves out our need for repentance and Lordship and all that. I get that. I understand that. My point today is not to explain every nuance of all those things, as important as they are.

My point today is to set people free who have been on the one hand bound by rules that they can never follow well enough, and on the other hand, to set people free from having their faith damaged because their prayer formula isn't working for them.

"Ask and it shall be given to you..." is a statement about having a relationship with the Lord. Enjoy that and don't let the naysayers rob you of that freedom and openness.

Look to the sky today and give the Lord a "Good morning." He's waiting to talk. He said so, and the "come on in" sign is on the door.

You can be wrong about a lot of "God" things and still be headed for Heaven

2007-09-21T04:11:00.000-07:00

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Some thirty years ago when I was in college, one of my professors blew me away with a statement he made in class one day. It was a passing comment on some subject the content of which I don't remember. In his comment he mentioned some Christians friends of his who were amillennialists. (Nevermind what an amillennialist is. It's simply some one who has a certain view of the "end times.")

I was shocked when he called them Christians! As a relatively new believer at the time, I couldn't imagine how one could come to the conclusion about the end times that amillennialists do, and still be a Christian!

Of course my immaturity in things theological was showing through in my thinking. But my professor's comment started me on a process of thought that led me to an even more startling conclusion:

There are tons of things we can be wrong about when it comes to our beliefs about God, even very important things, and still be headed for heaven.

That may not seem like a great revelation to you, but believe me it was to me. For example--and this may be a shock to someone who hasn't thought this through--we can be wrong in our belief about the virgin birth or the inerrancy of the Bible or when or if there will be a rapture and so on, and still be "saved" people headed for heaven.

You see, it is what we believe about and do about Jesus that gets us to heaven. It isn't what we believe about the Bible, as important as that is. We could believe that the entire Old and New Testaments are filled with human errors, but if we believe correctly about Jesus and respond to that belief correctly, we'll be headed for heaven one day.

Certainly if we don't believe the Bible is trustworthy we'll have problems along the way in living life in a way that is pleasing to God. So I'm not advocating such a position! My point is simple: We can be wrong about lots of things...even important things...and still be headed for heaven.

By the way there is a corollary thought about all this that works in the other direction as well:

There are some things we just can't be wrong about, no matter how right we are about everything else.

We can't be wrong about who Jesus is and still be headed for heaven. If we think he was just a good man with good teaching, but not the Son of God whose death on the cross paid for our sins, then no matter what else we may be right about, we are still lost.

We can't be wrong about salvation being a free gift from God through Christ. If we think that even one little part of God's forgiveness is "earned" by us through us being good or doing good deeds, then we are still in a lost condition.

We can't believe that going to church and being a nice person or just believing that God exists is going to get us to heaven, and still actually be going to heaven...no matter how right we are about everything else.

I could go on and one with illustrations, but I think you get the point I am making. Ok, but, "So what?" you say, "What difference does it make to come to these conclusions?"

It makes a great deal of difference.

Understanding this concept can help narrow minded or judgmental Christians relax a bit. Not everyone has to believe everything exactly the same way to be headed for heaven. Certain things yes! But not everything. "Getting it" will help people relax a bit and be able to see others more positively who may disagree with them on subjects they hold near and dear to their theological hearts.

Understanding this concept can help people who have wrong ideas about salvation but right ideas about lots of other things, examine their position on salvation. It isn't enough to be right about many or most things. What matters is being right about the right things.

So, are you sure that you are right about the right things when it comes to salvation?

This post is already long, but here are some bullet points for you regarding salvation. Check'em out to see where you are at. If you want to be sure you are headed for heaven, I've included a prayer at the end for you to pray to take care of that with God.

Salvation bullet points:

All people have sinned, including you.
God requires a remedy for sin.
There is only one remedy: The death and resurrection of the Son of God, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Salvation comes by putting our faith in God's remedy (see previous bullet point).
You can't earn any part of your forgiveness. It's a gift from God.
Repentance is required at your salvation step, not just an intellectual belief in the truth.
Even the demons believe, so just "believing" isn't enough. You must respond to God's call to repent, putting your faith in Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Ok, there you go. There may be some other ways to phrase things, but this gives you the idea.

If as you have read this today, you aren't sure whether you are headed for heaven, I've included a prayer for you to pray so you can be sure. Sincerely pray this prayer and you are on your way to heaven. Yes, that will only be the start of things, including changing your mind about some things you have been wrong about up until now. But you'll be able to do that "mind-changing" without worrying about where you are going to end up when you die.

Here you go:

"Heavenly Father, I realize today that there is only one way to heaven, and that that way is through Jesus Christ. I may have done this before, but today I want to be clear about it in my own mind. Today I put my faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and as my only hope for heaven. I ask that my sins be forgiven on the basis of what Christ did for me by dying on the cross and being raised from the dead. I offer you nothing for my forgiveness but Jesus and what he did for me in paying for my sins.

I ask that you give me the eternal life you promised. Today I surrender my life to you. Though I don't know where it will lead, today I give you control of my life, repenting of my sin.

Thank you for forgiving me. I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen."

Ok, did you pray that prayer? If you did, and you meant it, you are on your way to heaven. Yes, there will be things to relearn and change your mind about along the way...important things...things that make a difference. But today you took care of the main thing.

Go grab a cup of coffee and have a talk with God. He's smiling right now. Oh ya, and welcome to the family!

Learning from Simple Things

2007-07-06T19:42:00.000-07:00

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Its been awhile. Lots happening. All good, but busy.

I was out walking the other day early in the morning, asking the Lord to teach me something...just anything that he'd like to, from his Creation. Living in northern Wisconsin, with eagles flying, otters cavorting, and surrounded by lakes, there is so much to see and learn from.

The forests here are lush and beautiful this time of year...they are also ubiquitious (meaning everywhere).

After I asked the Lord to teach me something that morning, I noticed the "V-shaped" piece of sky above me. If you have ever walked down a forested road, you know what I mean. On either side of the roads here in the Northwoods, there is nothing but trees, the view of which is only broken by a v-shaped band of sky above the road, as it narrows from being wide right over one's head, to being a small sliver of light off down the road where perspective brings the trees together in a point.

It dawned on me that so often in life we worry about that point out in the future where we can no longer see with clarity either the sky above or the road below. Above us and nearby is this wider band of sky that we can see clearly. That wider band of sky is much like "today," today that is so clear to us, today, the realities of which we have no doubts about and less concern.

So often we worry about things far down the road, that if we had only waited to experience or waited until they were nearer, we would have been less concerned about.

I realized too in that moment that God is not bound by our limited vision. Residing above the forest of time and the concerns of life, he can see perfectly what is coming. He is above it all, he is "on top of it" soaring above and seeing it all. He knows what is up ahead and can be trusted with whatever it is.

What a simple thing that v-shaped band of sky was that day...and yet so helpful.

The Scriptures tell us, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." It was nice to relearn that truth again.

My hope is that if you are going through a time of questioning or concern about what lies so far down the road you can barely see it, that you will choose to trust the Lord about that "whatever it is thing" out in front of you, and simply enjoy today. God knows your future and can be trusted with it.

Be at peace as you walk with him. Lift your head! Enjoy today, knowing as his child you are safe in his care. And if you aren't sure that you are his child, this simple prayer when prayed sincerely will settle that for you too:

"Lord Jesus, I ask to become part of your forever family. Please forgive my sins through Christ and what he did for me by dying for me on the Cross...paying for my sins. I repent of my sin and commit myself to follow you. I don't know all that that means, but I know I need you in my life and in charge of my life. I give my life to you to do with as you wish. Thank you for the eternal life in Christ you have promised all who will turn to you, as I do right now. Amen."

If you honestly prayed that prayer, you are God's child. Trust him. Trust him. Trust him. He loves you.

My idea or His? How do I know? Ask Nehemiah

2007-02-02T10:40:00.001-08:00

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ATP: Have you ever run across a kook who tried to tell you that God had "told" them something? Something to do, for example?

Even as a believer in God who believes that God does "communicate" with us, I've always been uncomfortable when I have heard people say, "God told me to...." whatever. Did God really speak to that person? Did they hear his voice?

The phrase they used normally means that some one spoke audibly to a person. And when people use such phrase as "God told me to...." they seem to have very specific information as to what God was telling them to do.

How do you argue with a person about to do something stupid, who says "God told me to...." If God spoke, who are we to intervene?

Well, I'm not so sure that God speaks so audibly as some would have us think. And we need to be cautious both in how we speak, but particularly in how we respond to people who say God told them to do such and such a thing.

However, it is clear from the Scriptures that God does communicate with us. And certainly in the Bible we find God actually speaking to people audibly. So it is not impossible. But it seems to me that more often, God speaks to our hearts.

What in the world does that mean? Sounds pretty vague doesn't it.

What I mean by "speaks to our hearts" is what I think Nehemiah experienced. For months he had prayed about the broken down condition of Jerusalem. This was God's city and at the time it was in ruins. People living there were living in shame because of its condition.

So Nehemiah prayed and prayed about this. In the end we read an interesting sentence in Nehemiah 2:12: I told not one what my God had put into my heart do do for Jerusalem.

There is a similar thought expressed in chapter 7 verse 5, when Nehemiah says:

The God put it into my mind to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by geneology.

Nehemiah was keenly aware that it was God who had put this thought in his mind.

Does God communicate to us in this way still? Yes, I believe he does. And certainly I believe that God can speak audibly to us. He is after all, God. He is free to do anything he wants within the make up of his perfect character.

But notice how God's communication came to Nehemiah. In one case something had been "put on his heart to do," in another, he said that God had "put it into his mind" to assemble a certain group of people.

What is that first thing, this "putting on the heart?" Simply put, Nehemiah developed an inner desire to do something for Jerusalem, an inner desire to accomplish a task.

The second thing, "put it into his mind" was an idea of what to do, to assemble the nobles and others.

But notice that in neither case did Nehemiah say, "God told me to do....." or, "God spoke to me...." Nehemiah recognized that his inner desire to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem had been planted there by God. He recognized that God gave him an idea regarding assembling a certain group of people.

Is there a difference between that kind of communication from God, and a claim of verbal communication? Yes, there is.

When a person says, "God told me...." they are making an unequivocal statement that this came directly from the mouth of God. When, on the other hand, they say, "God put it on my heart to...." or "God put it in my mind to...." notice that their "heart" and "mind" are the recipients, one in the area of desire, the other in the area of ideas, but neither in the arear of "I heard a voice and here is the command and instructions I received."

Miles apart these are, from the "God told me to..." approach.

So how do we know the difference in our own lives? Check out Nehehiah chapter 1. Nehemiah had been praying for months and months. No nightime vision popped in on him to give him direction. He had spent significant alone time with God, seeking God's direction.

While doing so does not guarantee that all our "desires" or "ideas" are from God, such an approach is part of being led of the Lord. Our focus on God's will, God's direction, God's wisdom, guides our prayers and guides God's response to us.

As we pray and earnestly seek His direction, we can be assured that he will answer us. So in the end, for us to say "God put it on my heart" or, "God put it in my mind to..." are both perfectly Biblical comments and ones that we should be comfortable with. God is at work in and through the lives of his children. And when we call on him, he will answer us.

There are other factors that we must take into account to determine God's leading. The Scriptures tell us about them....things like seeking wise counsel from others and so on. But when we have done all the Scriptures tell us to do, we can be comfortable in knowing that God does lay godly desires on our hearts and put ideas in our minds to do for him.

An Evangelical Leader has Fallen: Now What?

2006-11-06T03:05:00.000-08:00

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I gave the following sermon at Eaglebrook Church. If you'd like to hear the audio version you can find it by clicking here

Sunday am November 5, 2006 Eaglebrook Church

An Evangelical Leader has Fallen: Now What?

Introduction

Well, it has happened again. An evangelical leader has fallen. The news is devastating to our mission. Caught on tape with a prostitute another well known evangelical leader has admitted to serious sin in his life.

It is amazing how often this kind of thing has happened. It has probably happened less often than we think I suppose, but the fact that a high profile Christian leader has fallen into sin is serious because it is so public, and because of the nature of the sin. It is also serious because it makes the work that you and I do for the Lord in trying to win people to Christ, much more difficult.

Very rightly people have talked about the hypocrisy that the news revealed as a Christian leader who spoke out about morals so loudly and who spoke about extra-marital affairs as being wrong has himself fallen into sexual sin according to investigators.

We are left to pick up the pieces, to live down his behavior; to go out and share our faith when every skeptic and cynic in the world has just been given ammunition to throw at us.

The year I’m speaking of was 1988 not 2006, and the person I’m talking about is not Ted Haggard of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, that I’m sure you thought I was speaking of. It is Jimmy Swaggart.

Swaggart and Bakker

I don’t know if you remember the climate of 1987 and 1988 for us as Bible believing Christians. Some of you are too young to remember; some of you weren’t even around.

But I believe it was 1987 when the wheels started falling off of what was then called PTL, which stood for Praise the Lord. You might have called it Pass the Loot.

PTL was a ministry run, not by Jimmy Swaggart, but by Jim Bakker and his wife Tammy Faye Bakker.

Two things brought down that ministry…at least two things that stood out above the rest.

First there were the reports about the funds that had been raised for time shares at Bakker’s Heritage USA…a sort of Christian Disneyland.

More time-shares had been sold than there was space for, according to published reports, so that Bakker could divert funds and use the money on other projects or on lavish personal spending. Bakker was eventually convicted and went to prison for charges related to how money was handled at PTL.

The second thing however, that brought down the ministry, was a sex scandal. Bakker had had an affair we are told, with one Jessica Hahn, a former church secretary.

To top off all the Jim Bakker news, not long after his scandal hit the wires, just a matter of months later, it was Jimmy Swaggart, another evangelical preacher, that was in the scandal news.

Swaggart was video taped, reports said, coming out of a hotel with a prostitute. He confessed live on the air, to sinning and there we were, again. Still bleeding from the Bakker mess, we were left to pick up the pieces of the damage that was done as an evangelical leader fell.

None of this is meant to be harsh on these two gentlemen.

We are all sinners and it is not just our sins that Jesus died for. He died for their sins too. It is just that when leaders fall into sin of this kind…major sin, public sin, it causes a great deal of difficulty for the rest of us. The difficulty is in sharing our faith with others and talking about the need to live a holy life.

Ted Haggard

This week, as you no doubt already know, Pastor Ted Haggard, of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, has resigned from his church and has resigned as the head of the National Association of Evangelicals. A statement will be read at the church there this morning.

According to published reports, he has admitted to calling a man who was a male prostitute, on more than one occasion. According to Haggard, the calls were for a massage. However Haggard admits that he did buy methamphetamines from the man.

According to a report that hit the wires last night,

"…. the Overseer Board of New Life Church, (has) concluded our deliberations concerning the moral failings of Pastor Ted Haggard," a statement from the church said.

"Our investigation and Pastor Haggard's public statements have proven without a doubt that he has committed sexually immoral conduct."

So it isn’t just buying drugs and then not using them as Haggard claims was his fault in this.

The Overseer Board of the church has concluded that he has committed sexually immoral conduct. If we have been following the news, we know all that, so what is the point in talking about it?

The point is to help us process it.

In talking with Denna last night from Iowa, where she is seeing her parents, she said,

“It really makes you wonder who you can trust.”

If that is the word from a woman who has been a believer for over 30 years by now, and involved in Christian ministry for that long as well, imagine how others are feeling who have had less experience, and who have had less time to process the faithfulness of God in sorting out the terrible failings that we human beings have from time to time.

So we need to talk about it and think it through. For those of you who are younger, this is the first scandal of this sort perhaps that you have heard of. Such things can leave you wondering how to process what you have heard.

They can leave you wondering how to be sure that what you are hearing from Christian leaders or Christian writers, is real and is actually lived out by those who preach the Word of God.

For others, this isn’t new at all. And that’s exactly the problem too. You’ve see this before. The failings of believers can make a person very cynical, particularly when those failings happen in the lives of key believers. In this case there could hardly be a higher profile Christian leader than Ted Haggard. There are some, but not many.

Last year Ted Haggard was listed as one of the top 25 most influential evangelicals in the United States. Think about that for a minute. There are millions of us. 30 million or so belonging to groups in the National Association of Evangelicals of which Haggard was the President.

There are only a handful of churches in the US that are the size of Haggard’s Colorado Springs 14,000 member church.

And Haggard had access to President Bush and has been reported to have been on conference calls with the President, sharing his ideas about policy items with the President. And yet he fell.

So how we process what has happened is important. This is something that rocks us when it happens. It seems that we have just had a nice long time of quiet since the Bakker and Swaggart messes and now this comes up with an even higher profile evangelical than either one of those two were.

Because of that I wanted to talk about this this morning. I wrote down some things for us to think through regarding this issue with Ted Haggard, and I want to take some Scripture and apply these thoughts for us in a moment.

Here we go:

1. Ted Haggard, like each of us, needs forgiveness.

The first thing we need to do is watch our attitude. We too are sinners. We too are capable of sin, sin that we could not at this moment imagine ourselves doing.

Just this past Saturday, while I cannot share the details, Denna and I met with someone in another community who was helping his Christian friend clean up the mess he had made by having an affair.

That Christian friend could not have imagined how he had ever fallen to what he had fallen into. But as he looked back he recognized all the small steps he took to get there.

The Bible tells us that the “heart is deceitfully wicked, who can know it.” We can barely know our own hearts, let alone the hearts of others.

We are broken creatures. Paul talked about it in Romans 7, that the things he didn’t want to do were the very things he found himself doing and the things he wanted to do, he couldn’t get himself to do.

He described his plight as being in a “body of death” as he cried out in his writing, “who will deliver me from this body of death?!”

Ted Haggard’s condition is our condition. We are all sinners. We are all in need of forgiveness, so we need to guard our attitudes.

2. Ted Haggard, like each of us, needs to repent.

Secondly, Ted Haggard, like each of us, needs to repent. I suspect that he will. And I believe that he is likely already on the way, although the damage that has been done to his own heart and to his family, and to the cause of Christ, is going to take years to repair. Some of it will never go away.

One of the great misunderstandings about the issue of forgiveness is that people tend to think that the gracious offer of God to forgive us, means that we don’t have to have sorrow over our sin, or repent. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Repentance is part of the process of how we call on God for forgiveness. Ted Haggard has some things to repent over this morning. But the fact of the matter is, so do we. Each of us. We sin every day. We sin in ways that we don’t understand.

Paul talked about his conscience being clear, but he also said that having a clear conscience did not mean that he wasn’t guilty of sin. It just meant that he had a clear conscience!

In writing Psalm 19 David said, “Clear thou me from hidden faults…”(Psalm 19)

There are things that are sins in the eyes of God that we are blind to. We don’t see them. We don’t understand that what we are doing is an offense to God. So to deal with that David asked to have those unknown sins forgiven.

We may accidentally be thinking, “Boy I’m glad I’m not like Ted Haggard.” We wouldn’t say it that way however. We would probably say in our minds and we might with our mouths, “How could he do that?”

A possible corollary thought of “How could he do that” can be, “I would never do that…” And perhaps we wouldn’t. Praise God. But if we aren’t careful, that kind of thinking can become, “I’m glad I’m not like him” thinking.

The Pharisee and the Publican of Luke 18

We won’t mean to, but we become in our minds like the Pharisee from Jesus’ parable in Luke 18. He came to synagogue and prayed, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

But Jesus says another man also came to pray, a publican, a tax collector. The passage says,

“the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

It was this second one, Jesus said, the one who admitted that he was a sinner, who went home justified. If you want to go home justified before the Lord this morning, asking God for mercy because we are all sinners, is the thing to do.

As we think about Ted Haggard’s failure, we need to recognize that we have our own sins to repent of, and do so.

3. Ted Haggard, like each of us, is capable of lying when caught.

Three, Ted Haggard, like each of us, is capable of lying when caught. At the moment when the jig was up, you think people would tell the truth. But he didn’t.

It has been an exercise in human behavior to see, sadly, the unfolding of the truth in this situation. At one point when this broke early, Pastor Haggard tried to put on a good face while being interviewed.

As the reporter asked questions about what had happened, Pastor Haggard answered with confidence about the process of the Overseer Board that would come in, and how that would work. He smiled all the way through it, as though the story was being visited on the church by something from the outside, instead of something that he had done.

He seemed so calm about things and went so far as to say, “I don’t know if this is election year politics or about the gay marriage amendment or what…” or some phrase like that.

He was behaving like this was all some set of false charges and that the Overseer Board would come in and look into things and things would be fine.

When he was asked if he knew Mike Jones, the man who has accused him, he said he did not. It was only later, reports said, when confronted with voice mail messages left on Jones’ answering machine that Haggard admitted that he did know him and had in fact purchased methamphetamines from him.

It was the other lies that were the real problem however.

The lies that Haggard told during the time he was under stress aren’t the ones that are alarming. They are bad enough and make things look terrible for him and not believable about other items that he wants to be trusted for.

The lies that got him into trouble were the lies that he told himself.

Along the way over time, he told himself lies about his behavior. Some how, some way, he told himself that it was ok to do what he was doing. Something got a hold on his mind and allowed him to believe the lies that he was telling himself.

How can you be the pastor of a 14,000 member church just miles up the road from Denver; how can you be the head of the National Association of Evangelicals with your name in the paper and on television and in magazines from time to time, and think you aren’t going to be caught when you are doing the things he was doing?

Caught by human beings, let alone by God.

You can do that when you tell yourself the lie that you aren’t going to get caught.

It’s the same lie that we tell ourselves each day when we sin, because as the core, we are the same as Pastor Haggard.

We don’t mean to, and I’m sure he didn’t either, but we tell ourselves little lies about our sin. We tell ourselves that it is ok, when it isn’t. We tell ourselves that no one will know. We some how think we aren’t going to get caught. We think that God doesn’t see.

It’s not the big sins like these we are talking about, and we aren’t high profile like Pastor Haggard. It’s smaller sins that we lie to ourselves about. We think we are getting away with them.

And then one day those sins lead to bigger sins and we are in trouble. What has been hidden in our hearts comes out and all the lies we have told ourselves, hidden in a vault in our souls, come out in ways that surprise even us at how foolish they are.

Not to be unkind, but in retrospect you can almost see the desperation in Pastor Haggard when he was being interviewed. He is smiling and acting as though he is innocent, as though he is going to dodge this bullet and that by acting so forthright at that moment is going to fix things. It wasn’t.

There was going to be no way to make this go away by cleverly inventing a story. At that moment the questions were coming so fast that he couldn’t make up lies fast enough to cover his tracks. He needed lies that would all knit together like a fabric or this wasn’t going to work.

And the rationalizing.

“I bought the drugs but I threw them away,” which sounded like a one time buy, later was changed to “I bought them but I never kept them very long….” “Never kept them very long" sounds like more than one buy.

And then the messages on the tape turn out to be his by his own admission as he is calling apparently to buy more. So much for a one time buy and so much for buying them and throwing them away.

Dear Ted couldn’t get the lies put together fast enough to cover his tracks.

We need to be aware of the same tendency in our own lives. We have the potential to do the same thing. We are made of the same stuff and can rationalize very well. We can live in denial for a long time until one day, the other shoe drops.

4. No matter how big the positive headlines about our name, conduct still matters.

I want to say something that is going to sound political given that we have elections coming up this week and all need to get out and vote. But I want you to hear it from a logical perspective rather than a political one.

Unlike many who not just personally but politically stood behind President Clinton when he both lied and committed terrible acts in the White House, New Life Church found that Ted Haggard committed sin and that he should step down and within 5 days of this hitting, he is done.

Character matters.

People will talk about the hypocrisy of Christians. Yes it’s true, we can be hypocrites like anyone else. The question isn’t whether we are going to fail at trying to be perfect. We will fail. We aren’t perfect.

The question is when we fail and if that category of failure is critically important, what do we do about it?

#1, we hold the person accountable; #2, we stand behind them personally to help them be restored…knowing that their ability to lead has been changed for a season, and perhaps forever. I have no problem with people standing behind President Clinton as a person and trying to help him get his life in order.

I think that some one still needs to do that for him. I think he has issues. That is a separate thing than whether or not he should have been removed from the Oval Office. There is no doubt he should have been removed and he should have been removed nearly overnight.

Say what we shall about the failings of Ted Haggard, he submitted himself to his Board of Overseers. They investigated things in short order, and he is done. And he is done as the President of the National Association of Evangelicals.

But his friends and church haven’t abandoned him, nor should they.

It is at precisely moments like this that we need to be there for each other; to help each other; to do what we can to lift each other up.

Pastor Ted Haggard needed to step down as pastor of the New Life Church, he needed to step down as the President of the National Association of Evangelicals. He can’t lead when living the way he was living and doing what he was doing.

But he also needs believers to stand with him, to help him, to encourage him. And part of how that is done is to let him know that his behavior has been unacceptable and to help him put his life back together.

Conduct matters in life, no matter what the world will say.

5. Guarding our own attitudes is critical.

Galatians 6:1 tells us: “If any man is overtaken in a trespass, let you who are spiritual restore him in a spirit of gentleness, but take heed to yourselves lest you too be tempted.”

While we are rightly disappointed in what happened, and while Ted has just made our jobs more difficult, Christian failure and the failure of Christian leaders isn’t new. We all need a Savior…we all need protection from ourselves. But our task hasn’t changed.

Character and leadership matters. And it matters greatly.

We need to model both character and leadership about what has happened. We need to be straightforward and call sin what it is. We also need to be able to forgive not only Ted Haggard, but others when they fail.

By God’s grace we can do that. But for his grace we all would be lost.

A Muslim Perspective on Jesus's Crucifixion

2006-10-09T23:36:00.000-07:00

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A Muslim man from Sweden recently wrote me with a question:

In the Name of Allah the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. What is the proof that Jesus was Crucified? (as the Bible shows that there was no eyewitnesses.)

I wrote back to explain that of course there were eyewitnesses. John, the writer of the 4th Gospel was there, as was Mary, the mother of Jesus, and some other women. And there were of course the Roman Soldiers. So it seemed a bit odd to say that there were no eyewitesses.

The gentleman wrote back to explain that the Bible says regarding Jesus that, "all deserted him." It was interesting that he was willing to hear one verse in the Bible that makes a general statement, which he then attached a "for all time" meaning to, but he would not accept other verses that clearly stated that there were eyewitnesses.

We carried on a conversation via email for a couple of days with this pattern repeating itself.

In several polite and respectful exchanges back and forth I noticed another pattern: While I would address each and every one of his questions and present Biblical evidence showing his assumptions about the Bible to be incorrect, he would not acknowledge that his questions had been answered and would simply move on to another subject as though the last one had not been discussed.

I suggested that our conversation wasn't going to be productive with only one party--me--actually addressing questions and "arguments" laid out by the other. We ended our conversation on a positive note.

I mention all of the above to say this:

Unless a person is intellectually honest in discussing an issue, there is no point in continuing on. To do so creates unnecessary conflict. We can agree to disagree and respect each other's differences, but when one person won't acknowledge that their questions have been answered or their arguments have been addressed, conversations become unproductive and problematic.

For some, like this gentleman, it is often the case of an unwillingness to believe rather than them needing another convincing reason to believe. At some point when all reasonable questions have been answered, belief comes down to a matter of the will. And some people refuse to believe no matter what evidence is placed before them.

This man sought me out with a question and followed up with others. He was clearly somewhat well read about the Bible. His struggle however, was that when his questions were plainly and clearly answered, the answers didn't fit with his preconceived view of what the answers should have been.

This is how it went, to paraphrase and shorten:

Question from the Muslim writer:

"How can you believe in the resurrection when there were no eyewitnesses?"

Answer from me:

"There were eyewitnesses...here are there names."

His Comment: (as he claims the Crucifixion never happened)

Quran 157-58. And because of their saying (in boast), "We killed Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, the Messenger of Allâh," - but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but it appeared so to them , and those who differ therein are full of doubts. They have no (certain) knowledge, they follow nothing but conjecture. For surely; they killed him not . But Allâh raised him up (with his body and soul) unto Himself (and he is in the heavens). And Allâh is Ever All-Powerful, All-Wise.

Answer:

"If I might say, without giving offense, you mention that the Koran says--if I understood your words correctly--that Jesus only appeared to have been crucified. Since you are rightly concerned about eyewitness accounts, why would you believe some one who came along 600 years later and who was not an eyewitness?

If you say the Koran's writer (whom you believe) was a prophet of God, then it would be important to believe other prophets of God like Moses and Jesus himself (both of whom Muslim's believe to be prophets).

In Luke 24, Jesus says this:

"44 He said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled."

45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures.

46 And he said to them, "Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day 47 and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

48 You are witnesses of these things. "

Notice that the testimony of Jesus is that Moses the great prophet, prophesied that the Messiah would suffer and rise from "the dead on the third day." So there is no doubt that Jesus was dead and that he is speaking of himself in this passage.

He also says that these men to who he was speaking were eyewitnesses."

Question:

(As he ignored my answer) "Differences in what day Christians think the crucifixion happened make Christians liars."

Answer:

"There is a difference between being a liar and being mistaken. And the real issue isn't the precise day (Thursday or Friday) that Christ was crucified on, but that he was crucified.

Question:

(Again he ignored my above answer) "Also if this is not enough, let me mention to you that the Qur’an has 114 chapters, over 6000 verses and there were hundreds of people in the time of the prophet Muhammad who memorized the book entirely. Did anyone memorize any of the gospels? Did anyone memorize the Torah? The Psalms? The Old and the New Testament? Nobody, not even the pope himself."

Answer:

"You are mistaken that no one has memorized the Gospels or the Psalms for example. In Rabbinical schools in past centuries the Psalms were memorized. And whether the Bible or the Koran is memorized is irrelevant as to either being truth. Many people memorize nursery rhymes, but that doesn't make the nursery rhymes true."

Then as we ended the conversation the gentleman, still not having addressed nor acknowledged that his arguments had been answered, he signed off with a respectful comment and added:

Quran 3:64. Say "O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians): Come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but Allah (Alone), and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords besides Allah. Then, if they turn away, say: "Bear witness that we are Muslims."

Interesting that I was not trying to convince him to believe in the God of the Bible or in Christ. I was merely answering his questions. He had come to me, not the other way around. None of my comments had to do with asking him to believe in Christ, although of course that would be my hope for him.

Yet he seemed to feel pressure on the subject in his closing comment that, "none of us shall take others as lords besides Allah."

Of course the Bible says the same thing essentially about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, so this isn't unusual. What the Bible does say, however, as God speaks to Israel in the book of Isaiah, is, "Come let us reason together."

God is a God of reason. Logic did not invent itself. It comes from the Lord himself. He expects us to use our minds and to think. But as is demonstrated in the above conversation, there is also a matter of will.

This gentleman, though his questions had been answered (in greater detail than shown above) was I am sure, intellectually aware that his arguments had been defeated...not to put it in an adversarial sense. Yet he could not believe just then.

I understand. It takes time to reprocess things. Perhaps one day he will rethink things and come to understand.

But if today you find yourself where this man was: unwilling to believe in the face of the evidence, let me ask you to consider rethinking your views. Is it really an issue of truth that is in the way of your belief, or is it a matter of the will...you just refuse to believe?

I don't want to overstate this, but the reality is that your eternity depends on you being honest with yourself. John 3:16 is still quite true: For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

The corollary thought, friend, is that those who don't put their faith in Christ will perish. That statement is either true or it is false. There is no middle ground. Reason it out and consider the implications. Your destiny hangs on what you decide.

May God grant you wisdom to choose well.

Forgetting What Lies Behind, We Press On

2006-08-22T04:02:00.000-07:00

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It was amazing to watch Tiger Woods this weekend win the PGA tournament again. His 12th major tournament and his second this year. He dismantled the competition on the way to his 51st win over all. Barring injury or some other onforeseen circumstance Tiger will certainly win more tournaments and more majors than any golfer ni the history of the sport.

What sets him apart from other players? Certainly there are other players with amazing talent. Some putt better, others are longer drivers, and at least one is a better iron player. So what is it?

His competitors will tell you that it is his smarts. He is the smartest and most mentally tough player in the game....maybe ever. He is able to put behind him whatever bad shots he does hit, and stay focused on what he needs to do with his next shot.

That was Paul's message to us in the letter he wrote to the Philippians. He said,

Forgetting what lies behind, I strain forward to what lies ahead...

In some ways a person could think that such an approach is a cop-out, a form of denial. But it isn't.

Paul describes this kind of thinking as how those who are mature in the Lord will think. Interesting. Not a cop-out at all, but it is a sign of maturity in Christ that we don't dwell on the past, but rather strain forward to what lies ahead.

I recently preached a sermon on this subject and during the sermon on the screen behind me I projected a Power Point slide of two runners, hurdlers to be exact, leaning forward toward the tape at the finish line.

Behind them in the background of the shot, you could see the hurdles they had come over. In one lane far in the back, was a downed hurdle. What was interesting to notice as it relates to the subject at hand, is that neither runner was looking behind them. Both were only looking toward the finish line.

Whether hurdles were down behind them or they had cleared them all made no difference. What mattered was the finish line.

Far too often we knock over hurdles in life--failing in some way, sinning, whatever it may be that is our "knocked down hurdle"--and we stand in the running lane of life staring at the hurdles on the ground.

We are immobilized by our failures, frozen in a spot on the track. We look around for more of our hurdles that have been tipped over. And sure enough we find them. So we spend time looking at those hurdles too.

Depending on our personality, we may spend a fair bit of time looking at the hurdles that have been knocked down in other lanes. All we see is failure; our own failure and the failure of others.

Another group of us stands in the lane on the track admiring the fact that they have knocked down fewer hurdles than others! Pride! What great hurdlers they are! Really? They are still on the track staring at hurdles rather than running toward the finish line.

The Lord would have us stop spending so much time looking at hurdles, either hurdles still standing (our successes) or hurdles that have been knocked over (our failures). Yes we need to repent when we fail, but we aren't to stay at the point of our failure in the lane of life.

We are to press on. We are to strain forward to what lies ahead--the upward call of God in Christ.

What we may not realize as believers in Christ, is that when we knock over hurdles in life, as we will, there is someone coming up behind us in our lane! It is the Lord. And he is picking up those hurdles. He is making all things new. He is forgiving our sins.

So don't live in the past. Don't stand staring at your failures. Where repentence and restitution is needed, do it. Repentence and restitution are Biblical steps. But note that they are "steps," that is, that we should be moving on from them. They are steps, not stopping points.

God wants us to forget what lies behind and to press forward to what lies ahead.

As a believer in Christ he has set you free. Lean forward, press on, feel the wind of the Spirit that has set you free. This is God's will for you. Enjoy it.

And tomorrow or next week when you knock over another hurdle, as you will, repent but keep moving knowing that there is someone coming up in the lane behind you to pick up your hurdle. His name is Jesus and he'll take care of things.

John and Patsy Ramsey: Criticized and vilified but Chosen

2006-08-19T20:30:00.000-07:00

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You can't help but feel heartbroken for the John and Patsy Ramsey family. For 10 long years they have lived under the so-called "umbrella of suspicion" regarding the death of their daughter Jon-Benet.

Now suddenly with the confession of John Mark Karr all the geniuses in the media make it seem so obvious that "of course the parents didn't do this" as though they in the media had come to that conclusion long ago. They had not.

Whether John Karr is guilty or is just a kook wanting to get some notoriety, what his confession and arrest has brought about is a whole sea change in the conversation about "who dun it?" No way was it the parents...an opinion that I agree with, but where has the media been all these years.

They have been late to the party.

Many had the Ramseys already tried and convicted, as did others in our government, including the former Governor of Colorado who years ago chastised the Ramseys for hiding behind their lawyers.

Give me a break.

Where do the Ramseys go to get their reputations back? Patsy, having passed away, will not see that day other than in heaven. John has seen it now, as people jump on the bandwagon of their innocence.

But thank goodness there is a Higher Judge, so John and Patsy haven't had to wait. My understanding is that they are people with a strong faith in the Lord. God knows their condition and that they were and are innocent. Criticized and vilified, they are still chosen by God through faith in Christ.

I was thinking about such injustices today in general. I was wondering about the loneliness and alienation from people that people who have faced injustice feel.

I wondered if there would ever come a time in life when people are just accepted by others, not prejudged, and when critics think before speaking.

That day will no doubt not come, but I was encouraged by what I read in 1 Peter 1, the first verse. Peter writes to a group of people he describes as being those who "reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Asia, and Bythinia who are chosen...."

It is the lot of our existence as believers in Christ to feel like aliens in this world, and to be "scattered" about as it were, by those who would not have us live quiet and peaceable lives.

We should get used to that thought on the one hand, dealing with the reality of the world that we are in. And on the other hand, we should take comfort in the final words of verse 1 above: who are chosen.

While the world considers us aliens, or perhaps we feel as aliens to the world, and while the world would "scatter" rather than unite, we are still chosen by God. What the world rejects, God accepts.

If you are an alienated person out there, feeling scattered and alone in this world, know that there is a God who loves you. Your feeling lost and alienated may be a reality when it comes to human relationships, but know that God loves you and cares about you. If you put your faith in his son, Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you become one of his "chosen."

The door is open to all. The Bible says, "Whosoever will may come."

Whatever injustice you have faced, know that God understands. One day you will be vindicated. One day, on the day when it counts...the day you meet the Lord, the record will be made right and the critics mouths will be stopped.

Be at peace friend. Be at peace.

Bitterness is a poison we drink hoping that some one else will die.

2006-06-14T04:59:00.000-07:00

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Hebrews 12:15 says, "See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many."

I can't remember where I heard it, but some one once said, "Bitterness is a poison we drink hoping that some one else will die." How true a statement. Bitterness doesn't help us with our hurt, it only poisons us in our pain. And as Hebrews says, bitterness can spread and defile others around us.

Recently I witnessed bitterness at level that I haven't seen in the past. The context will remain private, but the general situation I can share.

Two people with an estranged relationship due to the actions of one of them had cause to meet in an official legal setting. One person, clearly broken because of the actions of the other, was as bitter a person as I have seen.

I understand the person's pain. They were the innocent party, so to speak. But the level of bitterness in them was malignant. It had spread to others who came to the meeting with them. Frankly I don't think bitterness is a strong enough word to describe what their emotions exuded.

Cold, hard hatred was more like it. The bitter root had surely grown up and brought with it defilement.

They had reason for their pain. As I said, they were the innocent party. But the palpable hatred they exuded toward the one who had caused the injury and to everyone else who didn't see things their way, was cancerous...not to others, but to themselves.

My heart ached for them. It ached for any number of obvious reasons, but also because the events that caused them pain were in the main, not new.

Months and months had passed, actually more than months, but I don't want to overstate the time issue since lessor offenses in more recent days have torn the scabs off the past.

But the level of pain and bitterness expressed in the meeting would have been understandable if the painful events had occurred recently. They had not.

Christians to the core and claiming the moral high ground, they have fallen prey to a poisonous bitterness; a kind of bitterness that if not resolved will leave them crippled emotionally for the rest of their lives. My heart ached for them.

Bitterness is a poison we drink hoping that some one else will die. What a mistake.

Years ago I spoke with my Mother about some of the things my father did during their estrangement and eventual divorce. Years and years after that estrangement Dad gave his heart to the Lord and repented...just months before his death as it turned out.

But there was a season that Dad was not a very nice man. In talking to Mom about some of those days and the things that happened, she said, "You know Gordon, I don't remember them."

I was stunned because of what some of those things were. I couldn't imagine anyone not remembering them.

I asked her how that could be. What she said may be helpful to any of you wrestling with bitterness. She said:

"I went to my pastor, Dan Bean and he prayed for me. What he prayed for was that my memories be healed. And they were. There are many things that I just don't remember."

Mom was not in denial. She wasn't that kind of person. She honestly didn't remember some of the most hurtful things that had happened. God had healed her memories.

Of course she wouldn't have had to go to her pastor to have that prayer prayed for her. I merely shared that part with you because that is how it happened for her. The key point the prayer to the Lord for her memories to be healed.

You don't need a pastor to pray....and I say that having been a pastor since 1982. You can pray that prayer or any other prayer, just fine by yourself.

If you are experiencing bitterness in your life, let me encourage you to pray that your memories be healed. Pray that God will release you from the pain of the past, so that it doesn't poison your present.

Let no root of bitterness grow up and defile many. Be honest with yourself. If you are bitter, admit it...then deal with it. God will help you if you turn to him.

Productivity is not a goal; it is an attribute

2006-05-25T04:33:00.000-07:00

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Paul had me in a quandry for awhile as I read in Philippians his comment, For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. (1:21)

It wasn't that I questioned the truth of the long treasured verse, it was that in this comment and his other discussion around it, he seemed to be too willing to let go of this life and get on with the next.

There is a time for such thinking of course, when one has lived a full life and the inevitable is facing us. But at the time Paul wrote this he had much more life to live and work to do. How could he be so prepared to simply walk away from this life with so much yet to accomplish for the Lord?

We have all heard of stories where a person dies long before their time, and the plattitudes come out about "How the Lord can use this in the lives of others, as others consider the meaning of the life of the wonderful person that has passed away."

And we understand that there is some truth to that, but the logical part of our brain says, "Ya, but what if they had stayed living? Wouldn't that have been better? Wouldn't they have been able to impact even more people? And what about their families, as in wives or husbands or children that have been left without them? How is having them without their loved one a "better" situation?

We don't articulate those things except in private perhaps, or maybe even at all. But deep down inside something nags at us for an answer to something that just doesn't make sense to us.

That same "something" nagged at me as I read of Paul's willingness to let this life go and move on to the next.

Finally the light bulb went on: I was looking at life and our relationshp with God in a very deficient way.

Growing up in a home where having a work ethic was prized and productivity was to be sought after, I could not imagine that having some one like Paul in heaven rather than on earth, is a "better" thing. Too much productivity for the Kingdom would be lost for that to make sense.

Not so, if productivity isn't our target, it dawned on me.

This may sound obvious and maybe you have already understood this...and it may sound seem not very profound, but believe me it is. It will set you free if you understand it correctly. Here it is:

Productivity for the Lord is not our goal as believers; it is simply an attribute of a healthy Christian life.

Ephesians 2 tells us that "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared for us that we might walk in them."

You see, the "good works" are not God's ultimate target....we are. We are his workmanship. The good works are to be "walked in," yes, that is, we are to do them. But doing "good works" (sharing our faith, serving others etc.)is an attribute of a person being shaped into the likeness of Christ. It is not the ultimate goal.

The ultimate goal for a believer is not to rack up an impressive list of spiritual accomplishments, it is to be like Christ. Accomplishments will take care of themselves as the "fruit" of the attribute of being productive for the Lord in all that we do and say.

Again, I know this may not sound all that profound, but if you are a "word person," a person that understands that how a person articulates a thought or a concept to themselves can truly make a difference in life, you will perhaps grasp that the idea that productivity for the Lord is an attribute of a healthy Christian and not the ultimate goal, has the potential to absolutely life changing for some.

Go out an enjoy your life for the Lord. Acknowledge him in all that you do. Be productive, be efficient, work hard. But know that he tresures you...he treasures YOU! You are his workmanship. Productivity, while an important attribute in a healthy Christian life, is not the goal.

So much is it not the goal, that if the Lord chooses to take the most productive person on the planet at the time...Paul...home to be with God in glory, Paul is able to say, "Wow, to live is Christ, but you know, to die and be with him is truly ultimate gain."

No regret for tasks yet undone. How could he be that way? Because he was productive of course. He took every thought captive and made the most of the time...and that is all we can do. The results and the scope and the depth of "our" impact is up to the Lord. We can be at peace knowing that productivity isn't the driving slave master that we once thought it was. It is simply an attribute.

Productivity...stay in your attribute category and get off my "to do" list. Amen

Dealing with injustice...but how?

2006-04-29T21:39:00.000-07:00

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Have you ever struggled with your own feelings when some injustice has taken place in your life?

Some one attributes a comment or an action to you that you didn't make, and consequences in your life result from their actions. When you eventually find out the source of the problem--the other person--it is too late to undo what they have done. They seem to go about their merry way repeating their actions with no consequences in their own lives.

A crime happens, you are robbed, your house is torn apart by vandals. The vandals are either never found or when they are found, they are given a slap on the wrist while you are left to clean up their mess and deal with the loss of possessions that may be irreplaceable.

Worse, a life is taken. A few years ago a young woman formerly from our community was murdered in another city by some one looking for a few dollars. A lovely person's life was snubbed out, creating a permanent and horrifying injustice in her life and in the life of this young woman's family. An injustice that will never be corrected fully because she is gone.

How do we deal with such things? And how do we as believers who preach forgiveness, reconcile these colliding feelings in our souls: one feeling crying out for justice, the other an awareness of how much we have been forgiven by God and that we should thus likewise forgive?

Even when we do forgive, as we should, we want to feel that we have forgiven not just know that to be true intellectually. But we often battle with feelings that don't match the forgiveness we know we have chosen to give. There is not-so-latent anger and frustration, even bitterness in our hearts.

What do we do with these feelings when injustice happens and appears to be the final outcome of our situation?

It is complicated and what I am about to share won't be the full answer, but if you are struggling with some injustice in your life, I think this will help.

As I battled to think through a major injustice that happened in my own life by people who lied and manipulated and appeared to get away with it, I've prayed and prayed and prayed for the Lord's direction and help with my own feelings. Until today. This morning I ran across some verses that are a great help. I still have some things to work through as I consider these verses, but I've finally found a starting point: 2 Timothy 4:14-18.

Listen to what Paul says here and notice the difference between Paul’s view of Alexander the coppersmith and Paul’s view of those who deserted him (Paul):

Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. 15 Be on your guard against him yourself, for he vigorously opposed our teaching. 16 At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them.

17 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, in order that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was delivered out of the lion's mouth. 18 The Lord will deliver me from every evil deed and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

The Alexander listed here is almost certainly a fellow believer whom Paul knew.

In Acts 19:33 an Alexander attempts to make a defense of Paul, but the Ephesian crowd shouts him down. Ephesus is the place where Timothy was, to whom Paul was writing in our passage above.

In 1 Timothy 19:20 an Alexander is also mentioned. This time Paul speaks of a disciplinary action he had to take because of blasphemy being spoken by this Alexander. The kind of discipline that Paul refers to is one that is spoken of elsewhere regarding believers. Alexander, therefore, appears to be a believer, surely the same Alexander in each instance.

I mention that Alexander is almost certainly a believer because it is often the case, sadly, that it is a fellow believer who perpetrates injustice in our lives. These hurts are the most painful.

David wrote in the Psalms,

“If an enemy were insulting me I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked along with the throng in the house of God. (Psalm 55:12-14)

How does God deal with believers who do injustices to other believers?

Well part of the answer is in 2 Timothy 4. He repays them for their deeds. We must be careful as we think about this. This isn't the only way that God deals with us as believers. Thank the Lord that he doesn't always repay us for our deeds! The Cross of Christ is about forgiveness and God does forgive.

But here we find that Alexander did harm to Paul as he was preaching the Gospel. He did harm by opposing Paul's teaching. Rather than just write this off and say, "The Lord forgive him," Paul says something quite different. He says that the Lord will repay Alexander for his deeds.

Paul was very direct about what had happened to him. He didn’t put on a happy face and pretend that nothing inappropriate had been done by Alexander, nor did he excuse Alexander’s behavior as simply the actions of a fellow sinner as Paul was quick to point out that he was himself. On the contrary. Paul says frankly that Alexander had done him great harm and that God would repay Alexander for what he had done.

In contrast, in the very same context, Paul mentions those who had deserted Paul when he desperately needed defending. About this group Paul says, "May it not be counted against them."

Interesting isn’t it?

About one he says, "The Lord will repay him..."

About the other he says, "May it not be counted against them."

Why the difference?

In part because the one who had done harm clearly had not repented. Paul says to be on guard about him. Alexander is still who he has been, out there causing problems. In that condition God is going to deal with him. God is going to repay him for what he is doing.

The others, those who deserted Paul, while acting inappropriately, were merely cowards not perpetrators. Paul openly extends forgiveness to them.

Frankly when I read this and understood it, it was a great relief.

This nagging internal conflict of, on the one hand, having forgiven others and recognizing my own need for forgiveness, and on the other hand, wanting justice to be done and truth to be known, had left me confused about how God deals with such things.

It always seems in my own life that God doesn't let me get away with things. He brings things to my mind to get them dealt with and if I don't deal with them consequences result. But I was unwilling to see that as God's way of dealing with others.

It seemed that forgiveness, full and complete on my part toward them, should wipe away that need for action by God...yet that didn't seem right. Like me, people still need to deal with what they have done and not "get away with it" so to speak.

These verses have shown me an aspect of all this that has been helpful in dealing with the unresolved internal conflict in my own soul: the conflict of wanting justice and truth to be known even when I have forgiven people—but not feeling an internal release about that forgiveness in my own soul. Something seemed to be left out of the equation: their repentance and reconciliation with God.

What these verses have shown me is that God will bring about consequences in the lives of those who do damage to others. The point should be made that it is God who will repay; we are not to do the repaying. God is perfectly capable of handling things and he will, no matter what it looks like to us on the outside.

One more point in closing. Notice that even with all deserting Paul--that is all human beings--verses 17 and 18 say:

17 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, in order that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was delivered out of the lion's mouth.

18 The Lord will deliver me from every evil deed and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

The Lord will stand with us when no one else will. When all have deserted us, God will not. When some one does us harm, know that God has a plan to bring us safely to His heavenly kingdom. He will deliver us from every evil deed. Every evil deed. Every one.

That delivery is not a promise for an escape of the evil actions of others here on this earth. Clearly the passage acknowledges that evil deeds happen. This delivery from every evil deed is a promise that all will be made right in heaven. We’ll be brought safely to that heavenly shore. Count on it. This is His promise to you.

Perhaps I should say a word to those who are perpetrators of harm to others. Know this, that God will not let you get away with it, even though for a season it will seem that you have gotten away with it. God, in his time, will bring you face to face with the consequences of your actions. It’s how he does things.

For those who are merely weak and who fail, may it not be counted against you. That is how God does things as well.

They saw the wonderful things he did...and were indignant...

2006-04-08T13:44:00.000-07:00

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It seems to be a law of nature and human nature to look for the weakness in people rather than their strengths.

I remember listening to a tape by Dr. Howard Hendricks years ago, as he talked about how he worked with students in teaching them to do public speaking, specifically preaching. One of his techniques was to have class members evaluate each other, but with a caution as to how to go about it.

In Dr. Hendricks' humorous style, as my memory recalls his words, he said,

"Now listen: I want you to write down, not what these speakers are doing wrong, but what they are doing right. Any moron can pick out things they are doing wrong. What they need to know is what they are doing right!"

As I was reading in Matthew 21 this week in preparation for Palm Sunday, I ran across a passage that reminded me that we can become so focused on what we presume is a fault--but may not be--that we miss the big picture in a person's life or actions.

Shortly after Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, he went to the Temple and turned over the tables of the money changers. Not a good way to "win friends and influence people" you would think!

However, the next passage after the incident says, Mat. 21:14 "And the blind and the lame came to Him in the Temple and he healed them." People were drawn to him--by dozens and hundreds and thousands.

Now you would think that healing people who are blind and lame would be a good thing, especially in the eyes of religious leaders whose profession of faith in God one would presume would be evidence that they are compassionate people.

But not so.

You see it turns out that in an act of fulfilling prophesy about the coming of the Messiah--though they didn't know it was a fulfillment of prophecy--some small children began to say to Jesus, "Hosanna to the Son of David!"

The name "Son of David" was a title for the Messiah who was to come. And of course Jesus was and is that Messiah. But the religious leaders, these very ones who had been waiting so long for the promised Messiah, couldn't see what was before their very eyes. They struggled to take "Yes!" for an answer.

So when Jesus was healing people, even when they saw those "wonderful things" with their own eyes, rather than see the good that was happening, they chose to focus on what they viewed as a violation of appropriate protocol: giving praise to Jesus as though he was truly the Messiah.

So they became indignant.

Ever been there? Not about the Messiah, but about a fellow human being?

They are doing good things in their lives, they are serving the Lord, serving humanity or some cause, but you think they don't seem to be as polished as they should be, or you don't like their spouse, or you don't like it that they are getting praised, when your opinion of them is that they are not much to write home about.

We can become so focused on what we perceive is a short-coming in a person's life that we miss the person they truly are; or we diminish in our minds the things they have accomplished. In short, we write them off.

We can become so hardened in our hearts toward people that even though we see the "wonderful things" they are doing, we become indignant.

Ever been on the receiving end of such treatment? If you have, let me encourage you with a question that the chief priests asked of Jesus in verse 23 of the same chapter:

"By what authority are You doing these things and who gave You this authority?"

I just loved it when I read that! Not because it was a great question. It wasn't. It was a question that demonstrated the hardness of heart of these leaders. No, their motivation and reason for asking was off base completely.

The reason I loved the question is because it reminded me of the answer!

By what authority are you doing what you are doing and who gave you that authority?

Almost certainly the authority that is the basis for what you are doing to serve the Lord--those things you are doing and being criticized for--is not found in your critics. It isn't your critics who authorized you to do good! It is God! And no critic or institution can remove the authority that God has given.

Get a life critics! It is God who gives this kind of authority, not human beings.

We need not worry about those who nit-pick and tear and complain and question about the "wonderful things" God does through his imperfect servants. The critics neither have the power to give authority nor to revoke it.

Sunday School teacher, Missionary, Pastor, Christian--whomever you may be--don't let the critics get you down! They didn't commission you in the first place. God did. So get on with things. The Lord knows, even if the religious establishment has its head screwed on backwards. Don't be afraid of them, and don't be discouraged.

If Jesus was questioned about the authority by which he acted when he was doing good, it is likely that we will be questioned and criticized too. Its a part of life.

And if you are one of those critics that focuses in on the things you perceive to be wrong (even though what you think is wrong may not be wrong at all), remember that any moron can point out what is wrong with something. What we need to do is focus on what is right with some one and encourage them.

Every day people are rejecting God, dying and going to hell. Our job is to share the love of God in Christ so people can avoid that terrible consequence. God wants people to know that he loves them and that he wants them to believe in His Son so they can be forgiven and spend eternity with the Lord.

Yes there are times when wrongs need to be pointed out in the lives of our fellow believers, but get over yourself and become an encourager, not a criticizer. You'll be amazed at what you'll see and how less self-righteously indignant you will become. You may also be amazed to see people blossom even more in the areas where they are doing well, and those areas that need adjusting will often take care of themselves as those same people mature.

So to paraphrase Paul, who said "Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice," let me say, "Get over yourself always, and again I say, GET OVER YOURSELF" and be an encourager not a critic.

Just a thought.

Life is Not a Game of Perfect

2006-03-15T03:20:00.000-08:00

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I just finished reading Dr. Bob Rotella's book, "Golf is Not a Game of Perfect." Its been around awhile, and even though I am an avid golfer, this was my first look. Even if you aren't a golfer, this one is worth the read.

Like golf, "life" isn't a game of perfect either. Learning to accept that, but in a healthy way, is part of what it means to be a believer in the Lord.

Philippians chapter 1 tells, us that "...he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6

Paul, the same writer, also tells his friends in Philippi:

"But this one thing I do: Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14

Dr. Rotella's book is all about changing the way we think. He points out that most really successful golfers think differently than those who are less successful.

I remember watching a Master's golf tournament years ago, in 1986 as a matter of fact, when Jack Nicklaus was on his way to winning at the ripe old age of 46, a feat that had never been accomplished before and has never been duplicated.

Jim Nance, the CBS broadcaster, asked golfer/commentator Tom Weiskopf a question as Jack Nicklaus was about to hit his tee shot at the 16th tee.

"What is Jack thinking right now as he is at the tee, Tom?" Nance asked.

"If I knew how that man thinks," said Weiskopf, "I would have won a lot more tournaments!"

Funny! But true, and not just for Weiskopf!

As I read Rotella's book on how to think differently, it dawned on me that part of what Paul and other New Testament writers are trying to do as they teach us, is get us to think differently.

We need to think differently about so many things. And in this context, my point is to think differently in a positive sense, even about past failures or present personal struggles.

He (God) who began a good work in us (ship-wrecked beings that we are) will (its positive he will) complete (not part way, but fully) the work at the day of Christ Jesus.

God has not abandoned us to ourselves, thank goodness. And he loves us and he is working on us. We can think differently about ourselves. No excusing our sin or giving in to temptation, but thinking differently about ourselves; not being so down on ourselves.

If you are a believer in Christ as your Lord and Savior, God has forgiven you! Get over it! (Man, I need to hear that same counsel!) Don't keep hanging on to that old view of yourself that beats yourself up for all the failings you have had.

As a believer you have admitted them and God has forgiven you! Again, GET OVER IT...IN A GOOD WAY! Forgive yourself now, being sure to have made restitution to others where it is required and needed, and then do what Paul did: forgetting what was behind, he pressed forward!

What a great way to live...and its Biblical! That means that is ok to think that way folks. Its not a cop out. Its what we are supposed to be doing...better put, it is how we are supposed to be THINKING!

Golf is not a game of perfect. That's why they make the greens bigger than a dinner plate.

And life is not a game of perfect either. That's why God's grace is so big that it can handle any miss-aimed actions on our part. All our shots land on the green of God's grace. Good or bad shots, God loves us still, and the "green" always funnels the ball of life into the promise of eternal joy and forgiveness.

What a God we have.

Life is not a game of perfect. You know it, so now accept it, but in a healthy way, understanding that God loves us in spite of ourselves, and one day his work of transforming us will be complete.

Count on it.

Back From Israel

2006-02-25T20:01:00.000-08:00

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Had a great trip to Israel. 28 hours of travel today from Tel Aviv to Amsterdam and from Amsterdam to Chicago, then driving home to N. Wisconsin from there, has taken its toll. I will soon be hitting the hay to be ready for church tomorrow morning.

We saw some new things on this trip: Stopping at Tel Dan, the Old City of David (different than the "Old City" of present day Jerusalem), the Rabbi's Tunnel, Hezekiah's Tunnel and a few other new to us places.

What a great country and what a story it has to tell. As a friend of mine told me some years ago...quoting another person no doubt..."The Land is the 5th Gospel." So very, very true.

All I'll say for tonight is, if you ever have a chance to go to Israel, do go! There is no experience quite like it. This was our third trip. We may go again one day...but right now thinking about another trip with flight times of that length, isn't too attractive.

More later when I get rested up!

Gordon

Headed for Israel today!

2006-02-15T03:55:00.000-08:00

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We're headed out for Israel this morning, flying out of Chicago. Can't wait to have our feet hit the ground there again, on this our third trip.

We'll see some new sites this time, like the dig at Dan and some other things, and we'll stay in some new places.

I remember our first trip, provided for us by some friends through Northwest Baptist Seminary of Chicago. While I had thought for years about going, the idea of travling there had not been a huge desire for me. The Lord walks with us wherever we are, so being in the Holy Land wasn't going to make a big difference in that.

But my interest in travel to Israel changed in a heartbeat when we arrived at the first archaeological site in Caseara, on the Mediterranean. After about 3 minutes I looked over at my wife and said, "Honey, we have to get a group togther and come back here! This is amazing!"

And we did. The next year we were back again with a group of 30 that I hosted. And then a few years later we went to Greece/Turkey/Rome on a "Footsteps of Paul" tour that I organized and led.

Its been awhile since we have been to Israel and we are greatly looking forward to it. If you ever get a chance to go, don't pass it up. It will be the trip of a life time, believe me. It is an amazing, amazing place.

I'll get caught up here when I return after the 25th.

Shalom!

Gordon

The Philippian Church is Born Part 2 Acts 15-16

2006-02-13T18:50:00.000-08:00

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Ask the Pastor Readers:

I've been away for awhile, busy with some other things, and will be gone from the site for a time while I take a trip to Israel. So I have left you with a sermon about God's leading. His leading isn't so linear as we might wish for, and it isn't so severe as we expect it to be.

No need to wring our hands at every turn with concern that we'll miss his leading. If we are sincere about knowing God's will, we can be sure that he is sincere about revealing his will...in time...and sometimes in ways we could not have imagined.

The following is a sermon I preached on Sunday. And once again as a reminder, these are my notes to preach from. That means that this wasn't written to be "read" but spoken. I don't read my sermon notes from the pulpit, but have found that writing things out helps me do a better job.

My hope is that the sermon notes below, typos and all, will be helpful to you in your walk with the Lord, or in the process of coming to know him if you aren't there already.

See you in a couple of weeks with some highlights from the Holy Land.

Gordon

Eaglebrook Church – Minocqua, WI Sunday February 12, 2006
The Philippian Church is Born: Acts 15-16
Introduction

Did you ever go through a bafflingly difficult time in life when you were trying to do something good, and have some well intentioned person ask you, "I wonder what God is trying to teach you through this?"

Or maybe it wasn’t someone else asking, but you were asking the question: "Lord, what are you trying to show me here? What is the purpose for what I am going through?"

Well I have some good news for you if you are going through some tough times or thinking through tough times of the past:

Experiencing trouble in our lives doesn’t have to mean that we have done something wrong and deserve the trouble, and it doesn’t it have to mean that God is trying to teach us anything.

God does take us through tough times to teach us and sometimes to discipline us, but it ain’t necessarily so that that the reason that each piece of trouble that coming our way has anything to do with us.

Having trouble in our lives might mean that we are right in the middle of God’s will and that God is using what we are facing and how we handle it, as a vehicle to speak to some one else.

My hope is that as we continue our study this morning about the church of Philippi, we’ll be encouraged to know that some of the bumps in the road we face may be because we are doing exactly what God wants us to do.

Review

We will be in Acts 16 again today, looking at the events surrounding the planting of the church at Philippi. When we left off 3 weeks ago, Paul had just met and led to the Lord, a woman named Lydia from the town of Thyatira who was in Philippi on business.

Paul’s trip to get to Philippi for that divine appointment with Lydia had a rather rocky start as you may remember.

It began with a fight between Paul and Barnabas about whether John Mark should come along. Mark had quit on them during the first missionary trip a few years earlier, and Paul was not about to risk taking him along again.

So strong was the disagreement between Barnabas and Paul about this, that they parted company on the spot and there is no evidence in the book of Acts that they ever work together again.

There are other comments in the New Testament that indicate that they still thought highly of each other, but their missionary partnership in terms of travel, was over.

So they part company, each going off in a different direction, Barnabas with John Mark and Paul taking Silas.

That was Trouble Item Number 1.

No sooner do Paul and Silas hit the road than they run into Trouble Item Number 2: God won’t let them preach where they want to. In fact three times they get stop signs.

They want to preach in Galatia and then in Phyrgia and then in Bithynia, but each time they try, the Holy Spirit says, "No."

About that time Trouble Item Number 3 shows up: They do get a green light to do ministry in the town of Troas, but now Paul is uncomfortable doing so because his friend Titus wasn’t there and Paul is concerned about him.

Conflict with a friend, God closing doors, and now inner anxiety that stops Paul in his tracks from doing ministry that he has the opportunity to do.

Humanly a person would have to feel a bit confused. But not Paul.

Even with the fight, the stops signs and the anxiety, he takes it all as the leading of the Lord, late explaining it to the Corinthians by saying,

2 Cor. 2:14:

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.

What Paul saw was that God had led him to Philippi where Lydia and her family became believers starting the Philippian church. And if we were to stop here, you could almost see the credits rolling at the end of the movie, with the violins playing in the background.

Trouble Item Number 4: Being Beaten "around the head and shoulders!"

But Trouble Item Number 4 in Philippi is about to rear its even uglier head. And that is where we pick up the reading today, in Acts 16:16-23.

Acts 16:16-23 (NASB)

16 And it happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a certain slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortunetelling. 17 Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.

18 And she continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And it came out at that very moment.

19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place before the authorities, 20 and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, "These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews, 21 and are proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans."

22 And the crowd rose up together against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them, and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely;

Church Planting 101

I’ve seen the jail in ancient Philippi that they suggest was the jail that Paul was kept in. It’s not a pretty place. It’s little more a hole in the ground. Not a cozy place to spend the night.

If you are Paul and Silas in Philippi planting a church, and the final story hasn’t yet unfolded to you, you might begin wonder as they are tearing off your robes so they can beat you with a stick on your bare back, whether you made a mistake by not staying in Troas where the wide open door for ministry was! I know I’d be thinking that way!

"Lord, are you trying to teach me to pay attention when you open a door of ministry? Did I take a left turn when you wanted me to go right?"

"Lord, if you let me get by without this beating, I’ll pay better attention in the future, I promise!"

And certainly you can imagine that well intentioned Christian friend coming along about this time, saying,

"You know, I thought you should have stayed in Troas. I cautioned you that when there is an open door for something you are supposed to go through it. You always have been a bit unstable."

Man I can hear the logic now. And some one else would probably say:

"It is no wonder you are always getting yourself in hot water the way you treated John Mark and Barnabas! I think brought this on yourselves because of the fight you had with Barnabas over John Mark!"

Paul clearly didn’t think that way, but let’s come back to that in a minute. I want you to notice some things here first that will be helpful.

It is normal to have conflict when God is storming the Gates of Hell

It is normal to have conflict when God is storming the Gates of Hell.
Do remember what Jesus said about the building of his church?

He said, "I will build my church and the Gates of Hell will not prevail against it."

I suspect that you had the same problem with that verse that I always had over the years, and that is, thinking of the verse in a way exactly the opposite of its meaning.

I always thought the verse described Satan attacking the work of God and that certainly happens, but a Gate is not an attacking device! Did you ever think about that? A gate is something used to keep people in or to keep people out or as an entrance to go through.

Jesus was saying that he would break through the Gates of Hell into enemy territory and that the Gates of Hell would not be able to stop him! Paul is in the process of being used by the Lord to break through the Gates of Hell that are holding lost people captive in Philippi.

When Paul came to Philippi there were no Christians there. None. As the Bible records it, Lydia was the first believer converted in all of Europe.

All at once with Lydia and her family becoming believers the Gates of Hell have opened a crack. There is a leak in the dike. From Hell’s standpoint, there is danger that a stampede to freedom might begin!

Just like today, when people find out the truth about God’s plan of salvation, they want to get out from behind the Gates of Hell and on the road to life with God.
Hell doesn’t like that.

This is particularly relevant, by the way, for Eaglebrook as a new church.

We haven’t had this that we know of, but spiritual conflict and resistance is normal when a new church starts. The Gates of Hell are being stormed. When we share our faith like Paul did, when we start a new witness for the Lord, we are pressing on the Gates.

We’re pushing to see if we can get the doors open and by God’s grace, set the prisoners free. We shouldn’t be surprised if we see some resistance along the way.

So the trouble that happened to Paul and Silas wasn’t from not hearing the leading of the Lord. It was from pushing on the Gates of Hell it seems to me.

It had nothing to do with Paul and Silas deserving the beatings they got, and it had nothing to do with them needing to learn something. God was planting a Church. The Devil didn’t like it. Case closed.

At the Agora: Everybody Sees

Notice how God is working things out for good.

Verse 19: But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities.

The Greek word there for marketplace is "agora." The agora was in effect the center of town. It was a place where people gathered not only to buy things they needed each day, but also to converse.

There would also have been what was called a "bema" there, a judgment seat. A "bema" would have been an open air platform so to speak, where cases were heard publicly and judgments rendered by the authorities exactly as is happening here.

And there are two ways to look at Paul and Silas being dragged before the magistrate:

1. Paul and Silas, you guys blew it!

You confronted a situation you could just as well have left alone. The entire town will think that you are a trouble maker.

Or,

2. God is up to something.

God has a plan to send a message to this entire town and to publicize the existence of this newly founded church that few would have known about.

You can imagine a church meeting today to talk over these two points of view can’t you? People would be divided about what Paul had done. There would be debates about how to handle things and whether it is a good idea to be so confrontive and open.

But there is no division in reality as to what was happening. God was working things together for good.

The Level of Attacks: Lies, Race Card, "Law Breakers"

Before we make that point further, notice the level of attacks that come in verses 20 and 21:

"and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, 'These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews 21 and are proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or observe being Romans.'"

The race card is played, lies are told that Paul and Silas have stirred up confusion in the city. The only thing confusing so far is that the owners of the demon possessed slave girl are now confused about how they are going to make a living!...and Paul and Silas are accused of being rule breakers, law breakers.

Doesn’t sound like anything good could come of this mess.

In fact humanly speaking you would have to say that Paul and Silas aren’t too bright!

Paul has a fight with Barnabas, God doesn’t allow him to preach in three different places, and then when a door does open up he refuses to go through it. Now he gets annoyed at a demonic girl because she is in a sense making fun of them. If he had only exercised a little more patience and care, he wouldn’t be in this mess.

And now he is standing before a tribunal and charged with being a trouble maker and the entire community can see it. Surely Paul is outside the will of God. There can be no mistaking about that.

Paul is so dense that God is going to take the extra ordinary step of allowing Paul to be flogged and then thrown into prison. And not only into prison, in verse 24 it says:

"and he (the jailer) having received such a command, threw them into the INNER prison, and fastened their feet in the stocks.

Some people are just denser than others aren’t they? Maybe, just maybe Paul will figure out that he has fouled up here.

It’s about now that we discover how really clueless Paul and Silas are.

Take a look at verse 25:

"But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God...

Guys, you are unbelievable. How in the world can you be praising God at a time like this when clearly it is your own foolishness, disobedience and divisive spirit that has brought you to this moment!"

Oh wait a minute…what does the last half of verse 25 say that we haven’t read yet?

And the prisoners were listening to them.

That little transition phrase tips the direction of the story. God was about to do something very significant.

Verses 26 through 34:

And suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains were unfastened. 27 And when the jailer had been roused out of sleep and had seen the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.

28 But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here." 29 And he called for the lights and rushed in and, trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas 30 and after he brought them out he said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

(Wait a minute, where did that question come from? How did he know anything about being "saved" so to speak? I wonder hymns Paul and Silas were singing and what praises they were proclaiming so that this man would even know to ask such a question?)

31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household. 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house. 33 And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household.

34 And he brought them into his house and set food before them and rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with his whole household.

Do you remember 3 weeks ago when we talked about divine appointments? God set up a divine appointment between Paul and Lydia.

God didn’t let Paul preach in some places and allowed him to be uneasy about preaching in other places where it would have been ok to preach, so that Paul could meet Lydia and leader her and her family to the Lord.

And now there has been another divine appointment. A jailer and his family were ready to hear the Word of the Lord, but God had to shake things up a bit to make the connection between the jailer and Paul and Silas.

We can look at Paul’s annoyance with the mocking of the slave girl and say he should have been more patient and not reacted...because his actions created a stir that wasn’t necessary.

But when we get to heaven we are going to meet a jailer who met Paul in a prison in Philippi and we are going to meet his family and their children and children’s children who got saved in the years that follow this story, and they are going to have quite a different spin than any suggestiong that Paul was outside the will of God.

God was shaking things up through Paul and Silas. God led them in their actions so they could bring a jailer and his family to Christ and to loose the chains of the prisoners who also heard the message of salvation that day no doubt.

But there is more.

Verse 35-40:

35 Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their policemen, saying, "Release these men." 36 And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, "The chief magistrates have sent to release you. Now therefore, come out and go in peace."

37 But Paul said to them, "They have beaten us in public without trial, men who are Romans, and have thrown us into prison; and now they are sending us away secretly? No indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out."

38 And the policemen reported these words to the chief magistrates. And they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans, 39 and they came and appealed to them, and when they brought them out, they kept begging them to leave the city.

40 And they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia, and when they saw the brethren, they encouraged them and departed.

I wonder how safe it would have been to be a member of the Philippian church if Paul and Silas had not been wrongfully thrown into prison and the magistrates the next day discovered that they were Romans?

Some one suggested in the reading that I did, that this incident may have given the church legitimacy in Philippi. The magistrates would not be likely to attack other members of the church, for fear that their treatment of Paul and Silas who were Roman citizens would come back to haunt them.

More than that, who in Philippi would now not have heard the story of what happened? A public trial, the wrongful beating of Roman citizens, an earthquake opening the jail cells, but no one choosing to escape, and the magistrates apologizing publicly for what they had done.

Surely there was word on the street that would have made people curious. A prominent businesswoman Lydia, who traveled regularly enough to Philippi on business to have her own house there, and the town’s main jailer had come to Christ. What is this teaching that they are following?

God had been up to something, had he not? Yes he was. Yes he was.

In doing this study it has become clear to me that far too often we are anxious about making perfect choices and second guessing ourselves when the decisions we make lead to unpleasant situations.

Surely we ought to pay attention and seek to do God’s will at every step. But the reality is that the resistance and conflict we meet along the way, as we endeavor to walk with God, may well be God giving us divine appointments. It may well be that it is God providing an example to others of how to rejoice even when we are in a prison. It may well be God shaking the foundations of authority figures who need to have their own chains rattled. It may well be God restraining authority figures from interfering with the work God wants to do through a church.

It may well be that the conflict and resistance and even beatings and imprisonment we face are evidences not of God’s discipline for things in the past, but are rather indicators that we are right in the middle of God’s will at the very moment of that conflict.

Pursue God’s leading. Pay attention to his direction. But walk with him in confidence, no second guessing ourselves at every turn.

Whether the struggles are conflict with others, closed doors we can’t get through, open doors we feel anxious about, or lies being told about us and conflict with authorities...even in these things, we need not fear that it must be true we have stepped outside of God’s will.

It may in fact be that we are doing God’s will and that churches will be planted and souls saved as a result. Oddly enough a chunk of this sounds like the genesis of a place called, not just the church at Philippi, but Eaglebrook, right here in northern Wisconsin.

Right in the center of God’s will. What a great place to be.

Prayer

Figuring Out the Will of God When Neither "No" nor "Yes" are the Right Answer.

2006-01-22T04:43:00.000-08:00

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For those who can't make it to church today, here is my today's sermon. A reminder that this is formatted for me to speak from and isn't written to be "read" either by me or others. So ignore the typos and the style...these are just speakers notes.

Thanks!

Eaglebrook Church – Minocqua, WI Sunday January 22, 2006
The Philippian Church is Born: Acts 15-16

Introduction

Over the weeks ahead on the Sundays that I will be preaching, I want to take us through the book of Philippians, the book that Pete read from at the beginning of the service today. The book of Philippians is a remarkable book for a variety of reasons and is one of the most personal letters Paul wrote. Of all the churches in the New Testament, this church was perhaps the closest to Paul.

Paul refused to take financial support from newly planted churches so there wouldn’t be any confusion about why he had reached out to them, but his relationship with the Philippian church was so close that he was willing to accept their financial support over the years because he knew they knew his heart and there would be no questioning of his motives.

But before we get into the book of Philippians itself, I want us to know how the Philippian church got started.

Have you ever wondered how to discern the will of God in your life or how to measure the will of God when trials and tribulations have come your way?

You feel like you are going in the direction that God wants you to go in, but doors keep closing left and right. You wonder where God is leading or whether he is leading at all. You wonder if you are up a creek you should never have been paddling on.

If you have ever been up that creek looking for the current of the Spirit to take over again, I think you will find what we are going to see today from the book of Acts very helpful and encouraging, because the church at Philippi was not born in an ordinary way. God closed some doors to Paul and made him feel uneasy about other open doors, all as God divinely directed Paul to a specific place at a specific time.

The Second Missionary Journey” Acts 15: 36

If you have your Bibles with you, turn with me over to Acts chapter 15 beginning with verse 36.

Just a couple of years before the journey Paul took to Philippi that this passage describes, he and Barnabas had been on another missions trip; a trip that has been labeled Paul’s First Missionary Journey.

In time Paul decides that he and Barnabas should go back to those churches to see how they were doing. That decision spurs a bit of controversy between them about John Mark, a young man who had gone with them the first time. We pick up the reading in verse 36 where Paul and Barnabas have a little head butting session.

Acts 15:36-41 (NIV)

36 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38 but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work.

39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

1. Born of a Brothers going in different directions

One of the fascinating things about the church plant in Philippi is that the journey that started it all began with a fight about who was going to be on the bus trip.

John Mark had been on the first trip. He is the person names Mark who would later write the book of Mark. So clearly the fact that Barnabas stuck with him turned out to be a good thing for you and me and for millions of people over the centuries.

But in his original try at ministry on that first mission’s trip, John Mark gave up and went home. So when mission’s trip number 2 comes along, Paul decides that there is no way that John Mark is coming with them.

Funny isn’t it that this early on with such mature believers as Barnabas and Paul, there would be a fight. Barnabas was the man who had spoken up for Paul when no one would believe that he was really converted. And here he is, speaking up for Mark too. So is Paul the one that is wrong?

What is fascinating about this rift over whether or not Mark should travel with them, is that neither Paul nor Barnabas is ever corrected in the Scriptures. There is no reference that either was mistaken.

As I thought about this a few years ago, it seemed to me that the reason for this is likely because both Barnabas and Paul were right. Each was demonstrating an aspect of God’s character that needed to be displayed. Neither is told that they were wrong because neither was wrong.

Barnabas was displaying the part of God’s character that says:

"Even when you fail, I will not give up on you. Even when you are weak, I will be there for you. Even when you fall flat on your face, I am going to stick by you and build you up and use you in due time."

Paul was demonstrating the part of God’s character that says:

"There is work to be done. There is an urgency about what we are doing that should not be watered down with half effort or fear. There are things to be done that are going to be difficult, and in order for God’s work to be accomplished, I need to move on and be at it. Yes Mark is important, but so are the people we are going to be reaching."

So neither Barnabas nor Paul has to be viewed as having been in error. Not all of God’s servants have to be doing the same thing. Both did what it appeared that God was leading them to do and both it seems, were right.

The point about the events that led up to the founding of the Philippian church is this: Even the process of brothers going in different directions, can be the will of God and can accomplish the will of God in each case.

The Philippian Church, it will turn out, was born out of a strong disagreement between Barnabas and Paul, each rightly pursuing differing aspects of the will and character of God. That pursuit eventually led Paul to Philippi and to a river bank near Philippi where he met a woman named Lydia.

2. Born of the "negative" and "positive" leading of the Lord

Verse 4 of chapter 16:

Acts 16:4-8 (NIV)

4 As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.

6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.

Have you ever been in a situation where everything you tried to do in following the Lord seemed to take you up a dead end street? You go off in one direction only to find a road block. So after prayer you adjust and head off in another direction, and that road is blocked. You head off in a third direction and that road is blocked as well.

By now you are thoroughly confused, wondering where in the world God is in all of this. You’ve been praying about things and you are seeking God’s will but you keep hitting dead ends. For the life of you, you can’t figure out what God is up to or where he is leading.

Been there before? I know that I have.

Finally you do arrive at your "Troas" like Paul did. Troas was a coastal town.

When you find yourself at a Troas you feel like you must either turn around and go back to see where you took a wrong turn or you jump on a ship into uncharted waters. The problem is that you aren’t too sure that either one of these options is the right way to go.

That is right where is appears that Paul was: Stuck. And life was going to get more complicated. Turn over to 2 Corinthians 2:12 for a minute. We are going to see some things about Paul’s experience at Troas.

2 Corinthians 2:12-14 (NIV)

12 Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, 13 I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there.

So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia. 14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.

So Paul is on this journey with Silas.

The Spirit of God doesn’t let him preach in the region of Galatia, kind of off to the right as he is traveling. Then God keeps him from preaching in Phyrgia, which is kind of off to the left and south.

So Paul tries to go into Bithynia to preach which is further up the road to the right, and the Lord blocks that direction as well. He finally swings completely west over to Troas on the coast and at last he finds a wide open door for ministry. God isn’t blocking him this time. But although it isn’t God who is blocking him he has a blocking problem of a different kind: He is unsettled in his spirit.
Call it anxiety. He was anxious to learn about Titus, to be sure that Titus was ok. And since Titus isn’t at Troas as Paul had expected that he would be, Paul is uncomfortable doing ministry there, even though there was a wide open door to do so.

Now about this time, a person might wonder if Paul had any way of ever determining the will of God.

He had had a "No," "No," "No," and now that he was getting a "Yes" from the Lord with a wide open door for ministry in Troas, PAUL was saying no, not being at peace until he learned about Titus.

Sound like a place any of us have ever been in? Wondering, confused, uncertain? Wondering what the will of God after so many doors have been closed, and then when a door is open you don’t feel at peace about that decision either, so now you are thoroughly at wits end.

Man I know I’ve been there. Many times. Many times.

What is interesting is that with all the "no’s" and now the uneasiness about the open door in Troas, we find that Paul is right in the center of God’s will for him.

He is right in the town he needs to be in when a vision comes. A vision of a man from across the water further to the northwest, calling him for help. Through all the "no’s" and now with the uneasiness about the "yes," God led Paul right to the dock so he could get on the boat. Verse 9

Acts 16:9-12 (NIV)

9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. 11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.

Here is the completion of God’s direction: all the lights are green and they are making a bee-line for God’s appointed location.

In John Stott’s commentary on the book of Acts, he points out that God’s leading here at this point has been both negative and now finally, positive. God restrained Paul from going in several other directions…but that did not fully determine God’s will. Only now does Paul get the positive direction to go to Macedonia, that is, Greece, to help some one who is wanting to hear the Gospel.

God was steering Paul and Silas, moving them where he needed them to be by "negative" direction, with "no, no, and not here either." And now finally God says, "Yes, this is the way, walk ye in it."

Paul is so confident that this has all been direction from the Lord, that in our passage in 2 Corinthians 3 he said:

14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.

Paul took even his uneasy feelings that kept him back from the open door at Troas, as God’s leading. He didn’t wring his hands as we so often do and as I know I so often have done. He was confident that if he was pursuing God’s will, that God would reveal the proper application of that will, and that all the "no’s" coming along the way, were just as valuable as the "yes’s" and would in time bring Paul the divine "yes" that he was looking for.

I have to tell you that as I read this yesterday morning it gave me great peace.

Over the past 3 years as we have sought the Lord’s will for ministry situations, I have had numerous opportunities come my way to pastor churches. One of those I consider a privilege to have been considered for as people here at Eaglebrook have asked me, is this one. I’ve been approached by churches in the Twin Cities, in Illinois, in California in Ontario and in other places.

But for some reason God has not given me freedom internally to say yes. I feel a bit like Paul did when he was not allowed to preach in the region of Galatia at that time, or in Phyrgia or in Bithynia. And then when a wide open door was there for him, he didn’t feel at peace about it. Something internally was telling him no.

And I have wondered over time what the Lord was up to. It has been hard to figure out.

I know that my situation is not unique. You have had similar kinds of decisions to make in your own life as God has closed doors, or not allowed you the internal peace to walk through open doors. It can become confusing as we wait and as we wait and as we wait and wonder.

But Paul’s perspective on just such situations is to praise the Lord! To praise the Lord that the Lord is always leading, spreading the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.

3. Born of a Divine Appointment: A Thyatira Business Woman in Philippi

That God was involved in all of this couldn’t be more clearly seen than in the vision that Paul received. We’ll talk about that another time, but since you and I are not likely to have such visions come our way as Paul did, I want to show you something else that marked the leading of God in the planting of the Philippian church.

Verses 13-15:

Acts 16:13-15 (NIV)

13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.

15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us.

Paul lands in Neapolis on the coast of the Aegean Sea, and heads about 10 miles inland to the town of Philippi. Philippi was the capital city of Macedonia and was on the Egnatian Way. The Egnatian Way was like Route 66 years ago. It was THE way you got somewhere. It went from the Adriatic Sea coast on the west, and traveled roughly due east to Byzantium, today’s Istanbul. It was the road people traveled when going from Rome to Byzantium.

And what happens when Paul gets to Philippi?

He goes to a small creek on the edge of town looking for a place to pray. A place away from the busy-ness of town. Its still a quiet place. I have been there. He figures that on the Sabbath he might find worshippers of God there. Turns out that he is right. Lydia is there with some other women.

Lydia hears the word, is saved and invites Paul to her home there in Philippi.

(Lydia is from Thyatira? Yes, Thyatira)

Funny thing that. Lydia was from Thyatira. Do you know where Thyatira was? It was back across the Aegean Sea, back across in the direction Paul had come from! It was back there in the area that Paul was not allowed to preach in!

Lydia, this seller of purple who invited Paul to her house, was in Philippi on business. The house she invited Paul to stay in was no doubt her second home, the one she stayed in while on business out of town.

Why in the world didn’t God just have Paul hang out near Thyatira back on the eastern side of the Aegean, until she came back through? Only God knows, but part of his reasoning no doubt was timing. She was where God wanted Paul to be. God had set up a divine appointment. If she had been at Thyatira and if God had sent Paul there, today we might have a book in the New Testament called Thyatirains instead of Philippians!

Paul and Lydia met at just the right time and in just the right place. And when they did God opened Lydia’s heart to say yes to the Gospel.

I wonder what happened when Lydia went back home to Thyatira. Is it possible that it was better for some one from Thyatira to preach the Gospel there, and better for a respected business woman like Lydia to do so, than for Paul, a stranger?

We’ll never know if that was God’s motivation for not allowing Paul to go there; we’ll never know if the reason for not letting Paul go there was because the hearers in Thyatira needed to hear the message from Lydia and her family rather than from Paul.

But what we do know is that a church was established there.

How do we know that? Well the church in Thyatira is one of the 7 churches listed in the book of Revelation. It is the church of whom it was said, I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

They were a church that grew and continued to grow. They had some problems with those who followed a woman called Jezebel, not the Old Testament Jezebel, but another one; a false teacher who misled with false teaching. But the church had much to commend it. And the Lord’s instruction was to not follow this woman’s teaching and to not tolerate it. Beyond the issue of not tolerating this false teachers message he said, "I will impose no other burden on you."

Apart from this flaw, the church at Thyatira was apparently a good church.

Yet there is no record that Paul traveled there on his missionary journeys. So who planted the church?

It is likely, as John McArthur points out, that it was Lydia and her family. Locals. A woman and her family who had been on a business trip to exactly the place where God led Paul with a no, no, no, and yes, but not right now. It was planted perhaps by people whose path intersected Paul’s and did so because Paul was confident that God was leading each step of the way.

If you have ever been confused about God’s leading and the "No, not here," and "No not there’s" that come along, take heart. I think we have all been there.

Keep on keeping on. Keep on seeking. Keep on moving. Keep on pressing to do God’s will.

This sequence of what happened to Paul has been a personal encouragement to me this week. God didn’t let Paul preach here, or there, or over there, or over there…and then when a door was open, Paul wasn’t ready because of his own feelings about Titus not being there.

Coincidental with that ill at ease feeling came a vision for Paul to go to Philippi. And who did he meet there? A business woman who was ready to hear the Gospel.

Funny to now be in business, meeting people who ask from time to time how long I have been at Drs. Foster & Smith and what I did before coming there. "Pastor?" they say. "That’s an odd career path to lead you to be the head of an Internet Marketing Department."

It is an odd path. But I suspect there are some divine appointments coming along. Some already have. Appointments with business people; with Lydia’s that are ready to hear about Christ.

What a comfort to know that God is leading. And he is leading in your situation as well. Keep on pressing forward. God has come appointments coming your way and some people who need to hear about Christ from you.

One day you may just run into that divine appointment along side a river bank. And a church might spring up. One that you couldn’t have planted yourself because you weren’t the right person for it. But you were the right person for the moment to help the person who is the right person come to know Christ.

Born of brothers going in different directions; Born of negative and positive leading; and Born of Divine appointments…not one birth, but two: a church in Philippi and likely a church in Thyatira.

Amazing how God works out his will.

We’ll talk some more about the birth of the church at Philippi in two weeks and then later on get into the book of Philippians itself.

Prayer.

Sometimes I feel like I have sinned so much that God won't accept me and that it would be hypocritical to be in church.

2006-01-08T04:27:00.000-08:00

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Question: Sometimes I feel like I have sinned so much that God won't accept me and that it would be hypocritical to be in church. How can I go to church when I am living in a way that I know God does not approve of?

ATP: This is a feeling that many have when they have stumbled in life and fallen into serious sin, or have simply become numb to spiritual things.

The truth is that God knows what we have done.

When Adam and Eve sinned in the book of Genesis, one of the first things they did was hide from God. When God said to Adam, "Where are you?" it wasn't so God could find out where Adam was. God already knew. It was Adam who needed to face up to their broken relationship.

It is natural to feel a separation from God when we sin. That guilt and separation is the result of sin.

But the message of the Bible from beginning to end is one of a loving God who forgives when we repent.

When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, trusting in God's mercy through Him, our sins are forgiven and our relationship with God is restored. Never forget that God loves you. Never forget that the Church is not the assembly of perfect people, but rather is the assembly of broken people in the process of being made whole by a loving God.

1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

If you have sinned...and you have, because we all have...Church is exactly where you need to be and it's where the Lord wants you to be. He already knows about your sin, so staying away from church to avoid appearing to be a hypocrite isn't a solution.

You are already a sinner! Avoiding the appearance or reality of being a hypocrite won't change that.

To be honest, those who want to avoid "hypocrisy" and who say, "At least I'm not a hypocrite like those people that do go to church. I've seen how they are living, and at least I'm honest about how I live..." have another problem. It's a worse one that hypocrisy.

It's called pride.

This isn't the situation that you have described in your question, so this last comment is not directed toward you.

But there may be others who read this who are proud of their lack of hypocrisy, using it as an excuse. They need to know that God isn't fooled.

I need a Bible, but I'm not sure which one is the best for me.

2006-01-03T02:33:00.000-08:00

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So many Bibles, but which one to choose?

Question: "I need a Bible, but I’m not sure which one is best for me. This is the first Bible study I have ever done."

E-mail question, Wisconsin

ATP: There are so many good options out there in the Bible marketplace that if a person is new to the process it can be very confusing.

Let me begin with the issue of translations first.

The New International Version (NIV) and the New American Standard version (NAS) are probably the industry standards right now. They have overtaken the King James Verson in popularity because of their ease of reading by comparison.

The NIV is the most widely used of the new translations, but for my money the NASV is more accurate. I have both and use both.

The NAS combines readability with accuracy as well as anything out there, and is probably the most accurate translation available today. I use the NIV in public services most of the time, however, simply because a larger number of people use that version.

As for specific Bibles to purchase, I have usually recommended these two:

The Ryrie Study Bible or the Life Application Bible.

Either of these can be purchased in the NIV or the NASV. What makes them different and helpful from just a Bible alone, is the addition of study notes and background material. You’ll want to look them over to see which kind of notes are more helpful to you personally.

There is a third Bible to recommend that may well be better than either of these, in terms of notes--although I hasten to add that you can't go wrong with any of the three.

It is the NASB Study Bible by Zondervan.

My daughter is a junior at a Christian college and this is the one the college recommended for students to use. It is excellent and I may soon be purchasing one.

If a person is looking for Greek/Hebrew background helps, there is a great Bible available called, The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible. It was edited by Spiros Zodhiates, Th.D., and is published by AMG publishers.

You don't have to be familar with Greek or Hebrew to use the helps that are available. Bible verses have numbers beside certain words. Those numbers are the numbers of word definitions which can be found at the back of the Bible. This is an excellent tool and one I highly recommend that a person own.

In a Christianity 101 class I have taught, I usually begin the first session with a discussion of translations. Included in that discussion is a handout that I will paste in here below. It contains some thoughts on differing translations.

In some cases people criticize translations for not being "accurate" without understanding the style of translation the translators were attempting to produce. Hopefully the information below will be of help to you in understanding translations and why they were written as they are.

There are two sections in the handout: A list of translations under headings of the style of translation the translators intended their version to be; and then some additional comments about versions to consider for purchase.

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CHRISTIANITY 101

TRANSLATION GUIDE TO SOME POPULAR ENGLISH BIBLES

STRICTLY LITERAL:
New American Standard Bible (NASV)

LITERAL:
New King James Version (KJV)
Revised Standard Version (RSV)
New American Bible (NAB)

LITERAL WITH FREEDOM TO BE IDIOMATIC:
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

THOUGHT-FOR-THOUGHT:
New International Version (NIV)
New Jerusalem Bible (NJB)
Revised English Bible (REB)

DYNAMIC EQUIVALENT (MODERN SPEECH):
Today’s English Version

PARAPHRASTIC:
The Living Bible (TLB)

[Adapted from: Philip W. Comfort, The Complete Guide to Bible Versions, (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1991.]

Some Suggested Study Bible Versions
(This is just a short list of the many that are helpful)

What makes a Bible a study Bible, is simply the inclusion of notes, maps and other helps, by the author/publisher to help the reader study the Bible more effectively.

Study Bibles can often be purchased in differing translations. Thus a study Bible of the same name--the Ryrie Study Bible for example--can come in more than one translation of the Biblical text.

So when you purchase a study Bible, be sure it is in the translation that you are looking for.

Life Application Study Bible (NAS or NIV) (Tyndale/Zondervan publishers) Very popular Bible, with excellent study helps included.

Ryrie Study Bible (NAS or NIV)(Moody Press) Excellent Study Bible, filled with study helps and cross references.

The NIV Study Bible (Zondervan) Excellent study notes.

The NIV Teen Study Bible also from Zondervan is available for teens. It includes many interesting features that are helpful to teens and new believers. Worth looking at for your kids.

The NAS Study Bible (Zondervan) The same excellent study notes as the NIV Study Bible, but combined with the NAS translation

The Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible (NIV) (also: The Complete Word Study New Testament) both edited by Spiros Zodhiates, (AMG publishers) Extremely helpful Bibles for simple original language study. Does not contain as many extra notes as other study Bibles. Key feature is language help, not history, background information or explanatory notes.

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Another Bethlehem? And what does that mean?

2005-12-29T04:02:00.000-08:00

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Bethlehem and the Shepherds fields south of Jerusalem

Another Bethlehem? And what does it mean?

Yes another Bethlehem. Recent archaeological discoveries seem to confirm what the Bible spoke of in Joshua 19:15, that there were at least 2 Bethlehems. The well known Bethlehem in the picture above, and another Bethlehem not far from Nazareth.

What is perhaps predictable and typical of skeptics and critics of the Bible and critics of Christianity is the recent discussion that, "Perhaps the writers of the New Testament, knowing that Mary and Joseph really went to the Bethlehem near Nazareth, changed the story to mean Bethlehem Ephrathah (the one south of Jerusalem) so that Jesus would have fulfilled the prophecy about where the Messiah would come from."

Interesting the machinations critics will go through to try to discredit Christianity and Christ. Since as believers we are not afraid of the truth or of investigation or of questions, lets examine this issue for a moment.

First, if the critics suggest that New Testament writers may have changed the so-called real story of Christ being born in the northern Bethlehem near Nazareth, to a fabricated story having him born in the city of David south of Jerusalem, also known as Bethlehem, they acknowledge something that perhaps they would prefer not to have acknowledged: that there is a prophecy about the Messiah being born in Bethlehem!

So it isn't just those who are believers who acknowledge the meaning of that prophecy from Micah 5:2-4 (NASB) that says,

2 But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.

3 Therefore, He will give them up until the time When she who is in labor has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brethren Will return to the sons of Israel.

4 And He will arise and shepherd His flock In the strength of the LORD, In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they will remain, Because at that time He will be great To the ends of the earth.

Bethlehem Ephrathah, not Bethlehem in the north near Nazareth, would be birth place of a ruler of Israel, a ruler out of eternity, a ruler who would be great to the ends of the earth.

Thank you skeptics for acknowledging the meaning of this passage, matching what we as believers also believe is referred to in this passage.

Second, lets think about the story as told by Matthew and Luke to see if it were to fit with the view of the skeptics.

Joseph was of the line of David.

The reason that Mary and Joseph went to the well known Bethlehem south of Jerusalem and not the one near Nazareth, is because it was the "city of David." That was where they had to go to be counted by family lineage.

Clever these tricky New Testament writers to have thought to have invented not only the town that Joseph and Mary went to, to validate the prophecy but also to have fabricated Joseph's family background.

The skeptics also suggest that Mary and Joseph must have gone to the northern Bethlehem rather than the southern one, because it was so close by. Makes more sense to them.

Ok, if that is true, then how in the world did Mary and Joseph show up in Jerusalem, some 70 miles away, so they could dedicate Christ at the Temple and only 8 days after his birth!?

Luke 2:21-23 (NASB)

21 And when eight days were completed before His circumcision, His name was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. 22 And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "EVERY first-born MALE THAT OPENS THE WOMB SHALL BE CALLED HOLY TO THE LORD")...

Oops, the writers of the New Testament didn't think about the issue of distance here.

Imagine a conversation between Matthew and Luke:

"If skeptics were to discover later that Mary and Joseph had to have gone to the close by to Nazareth northern Bethlehem instead of the one near Jerusalem, how will we explain the travel of a mother and new born baby some 70 miles to Jerusalem in just 8 says?"

"8 Days? What are you talking about Luke? You are thinking like the Gentile you are. It has to be only 7 days, because one day would have had to have been a Sabbath on which we Jews would not travel far."

"Houston we have a problem! What do we do Matthew?"

"What's this Houston stuff? Never heard of it. Anyway, I don't think there is any way around this but to hope that the northern city of Bethlehem somehow disappears, never to be found again. It's a thriving city now, but maybe it will die out and no one will know."

"Matthew, what about the reference in the book of Joshua? Chapter 19 verse 15. People are going to know that there was another Bethlehem even if the town itself disappears."

"We'll just have to risk it Luke. What else can we do? Mary and Joseph would have to take Jesus to the Temple to fulfill all righteousness. So we can't leave that out. We do have a problem, but lets just hope that no one ever figures out that Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem North instead of Bethlehem South.

If they don't figure that out, we don't have to worry about the other lie, the one about them showing up at the Temple 8 days later. That would be a problem wouldn't it."

"You're not kidding there Matthew. And I hope people in the centuries to come forget that we walk everywhere."

"Whattaya mean by that Luke?"

"What I mean is that Bethlehem North is only about 11 kilometers from Nazareth. For those in the future who aren't used to the metric system, that's a little over 6.8 miles. Maybe they won't think about the fact that we can comfortably walk that distance in a little over 2 hours, no problem."

"What's your point Luke?"

"The Inn doofus. The Inn! Why would Mary and Joseph have needed to stay at the Inn if they could walk to Bethlehem North and back in one day? Of course they might suggest that since Mary was pregnant that she couldn't go back from Bethlehem north in one day, but that blows holes in the way we have written the story. If she couldn't travel 6.8 miles back to Nazareth, how did she and Joseph travel 70 miles down to Bethlehem south?!"

"Yikes! I hadn't thought of that. But it's such a good part of the story, Luke. We can't leave it out. Houston, we do have a problem or whatever town you said."

"Ok Matthew, here's what we do. Lets just leave the story as we have written it and hope that no one ever finds Bethlehem north."

"Luke, we have another problem."

"What's that?"

"The trip to Egypt. The trip to Egypt! That only makes sense if Mary and Joseph are in Bethlehem south for the birth of Christ!"

"Matt, you are talking like an accountant. Speak to me in English. Sorry, in Hebrew. What language do we speak? Ok, in Greek. But get on with it."

"The way we have written the story so that the other prophecy could also come true, about God calling his son from Egypt, has an Angel warning Joseph and Mary not to return to Nazareth but to head out for Egypt."

"Why is that a problem my tax collecting friend? I thought it was a clever twist in order to make both prophecies come true?"

"It's a problem because if they went to Bethlehem North instead of Bethlehem South, then in order to get to Egypt they would have to head south right toward Herod, the very guy who was wanting to kill their baby. That doesn't make sense!"

"Crud. Hadn't thought of that Matt. You know what else that brings to mind?"

"Spit it out Lukie my boy, spit it out. This is getting complicated."

"The Magi."

"Whattaya mean the Magi?"

"Matt, we have the Magi not returning the way they came. And they came from Jerusalem! So if they were warned...rats, why did we have to put that in there...if they were warned not to return to Herod and went home a different way to avoid him, we have just goofed up and have Mary and Joseph heading south from Bethlehem North, going exactly where the Magi were told not to go!"

"Luke, you think too much. You are right of course, but you think too much. No way would Mary and Joseph be headed off in the same direction the Magi had come from if the Magi had been told not to go back that way. We got problems bro, we got problems."

"Our only hope is that people never find out about Bethlehem North."

"Matthew, let me remind you again that Bethlehem North is mentioned in Joshua 19. There is no way we can go out and find all the copies of the Scriptures and tear that page out.

Hmmm, maybe we'll get lucky and one day the Scriptures will be called the Old Testament and people won't read it, thinking that they only need this New Testament that we are making up on the fly."

"Luke, you are a dreamer on two counts. Bethlehem North is a thriving city today and there is no chance that the book of Joshua is going to fade into oblivion. Our only hope is that people are stupid. Man, we really goofed up here in the things we invented to go into this story."

"You are correct Sir Matthew, you are correct. The only way this is going to work...no it can't work. Sooner or later we are going to be found out, when people realize that Bethlehem North is where Mary and Joseph really went."

"Oh well, it is a good story we have made up, don't you think Matt?"

"I do, but there is another problem."

"You are a serious downer dude. What's the other problem?"

"Luke, the other problem is that right now people are being killed for believing the story about Jesus. Chances are that if we write this stuff down, even though it is a lie, that not only will others be killed by the Romans, but we will be killed. How's that for a problem?"

"Matt, I don't see a problem at all. If we are ever confronted, we'll just cough up the truth like a hair ball and denounce the whole thing as being a lie. I'm not dumb enough be knocked off for a fabricated story! No way on that score."

"Right Luke. I'm with you. Lets see how far this can go before we get found out. If I'm caught, I'll spill the beans. I'm not going to put my life on the line for this goofed up story that we made up!"

**************************************************

The "only" problem dear reader is that Luke and Matthew did give their lives for this story.

Foxes Book of Martyrs records this about Luke:

The evangelist, was the author of the book which goes under his name. He travelled with Paul through various countries, and is supposed to have been hanged on an olive tree, by the idolatrous priests of Greece.

And about Matthew it says:

Whose occupation was that of a toll-gatherer, was born at Nazareth. He wrote his gospel in Hebrew, which was afterwards translated into Greek by James the Less. The scene of his labors was Parthia, and Ethiopia, in which latter country he suffered martyrdom, being slain with a halberd in the city of Nadabah, A.D. 60.

(A halberd is an axe head that has a spike or a hook opposite the blade of the axe. Not a pretty way to go.)

So they made up the story? Is that right critics? They switched cities in the story so the prophecy could come true? I don't think so. They died for their belief in the truth of what they wrote. Stupid people they must have been to have done that for a lie.

"Houston" (i.e. critics) you have a problem with your version of the story. Actually quite a few of them.

Mary Did You Know?

2005-12-21T03:16:00.000-08:00

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For those that may have to work or miss out on Church on Sunday for whatever reason, I've included a sermon below that I preached last Sunday.

Several people who were at the service prayed to receive Christ after listening. Some were reaffirmations, others may have been new commitments to the Lord.

Whatever your situation is, believer or unbeliever, I think there is some encouragement here for you. If you'd like to hear an audio version you can find one at the website for Eaglebrook Church at: Eaglebrook Online Sermons

As I have noted in the past, what follows are my notes from preaching, so they are formatted for my own eyes during sermon delivery, rather than being formatted for a "reader" like yourself.

I don't read the sermons during the presentation. The manuscript style helps me think through things more clearly during development. I hope the result of having saved the material in this format will be helpful to you.

Merry Christmas, and if you as a result of reading this you make a commitment to the Lord, whether first time or a repeat, drop me a line. I'd love to know about it.

Gordon

Eaglebrook Church – Minocqua, WI Sunday December 18, 2005

Mary Did You Know? Luke 1:28-35

Introduction

When I was a boy I was like most kids who grew up in our small town. I thought about baseball and football and basketball and hunting and fishing and outdoor stuff almost all the time. And I thought about music and one day being a famous singer. Of course I wondered what I would actually end up doing, because I thought I might have to choose between a professional baseball or basketball or football career too.

It never occurs to you when you are younger that there are people who may be better than you are at something. You just think you can do stuff. And then in time you learn that there are people who are much better at things than you are and that you frankly aren’t all that talented! Its part of growing up!

While this sort of frivolous childhood thinking was going on, there was also another line of thought that was going through my head that I suspect was not unique: I wondered about life and what the meaning of life was and what life in the future would hold.

I remember being in the car with all five of us kids stacked in a station wagon on winter evenings about this time of year, driving along to destinations that I now can’t remember, looking out of the windows across the Iowa farm fields near our home, seeing the lights of farm houses off in the distance.

As they sparkled against the black sky, and as I saw the stars out beyond the farm houses above the horizon, I remember wondering:

I wonder what is out there in space. Is there really a God? What is he like? I wonder what happens after you die? I wonder what the future holds?

On and on my thought process would go, wondering, thinking, considering, trying to analyze and think my way through things I didn’t know the answer to as a boy.

Mary Did You Know?

As I was thinking about this morning’s sermon a week ago, I was reminded of the words to a song that capture a sense of this same kind of wondering about one aspect of the birth of Christ. That song is titled, "What Did Mary Know?"

We know that Mary understood that her son was to be the Messiah, but what else did she understand about her son?

Mary, did you know, that your baby boy would some day walk on water?
Mary, did you know, that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know, your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know, that your baby boy will calm a storm with His hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
When you've kissed your little baby, then you've kissed the face of God.

Mary, did you know?
Mary, did you know?
The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dead will live again.
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak the praises of the Lamb.

Mary, did you know, that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know, that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy was heaven's perfect lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding is the great "I am".

Mary did you know?

Luke 1:28-35 (NASB)

28 And coming in, (the angel) he said to her, "Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you." 29 But she was greatly troubled at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be.

30 And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end."

34 And Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" 35 And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God."

What did Mary know? She pondered the salutation in her heart. She asked a question: How will this happen since I am virgin? She was curious and interested at the amazing news she had heard.

The Promised Messiah

What we know she did know from the meeting with the angel must have made her so excited that she could hardly contain herself because Mary for a moment was a representative really of all of Israel.

Israel for centuries had lived in extraordinary faith that God would deliver as he promised, a Messiah. And while it is true that the largest majority of the people of Israel rejected the idea that Jesus was the fulfillment of the promise of the Messiah, even today, those who are committed Jews live in steadfast faith that Messiah will come. There is great trust there in the Lord and there is great wonder as well.

They wondered in that day as they wonder yet today, "When the Messiah does come, how will it happen? What will Messiah be like? What all will he do?"

There in a small town called Nazareth, just a short 65 miles from Jerusalem, about the distance from here to Wausau, was a woman named Mary who suddenly had learned how the promise of Messiah’s coming would unfold—things that all Israel had wondered about and had prayed about for centuries.

Here is how it would happen: Though she was a virgin she would bear a child, the child of the Holy Spirit. And his name...his name, this name that no one had known would be the name of the Messiah, to use the English rendering—his name would be Jesus. Jesus or Yeshua, which means: Jehovah is Salvation!

So this is how it would happen! So this is what all the prophecies had pointed to!

What was resident for a brief time in the mind and heart of Mary alone out of all the human race, information that no one else had ever known. David had not known, Abraham had not known nor had Moses known what Mary had learned from Gabriel that day. Solomon with all his wisdom had not known what this young simple woman from Nazareth knew.

How interesting that the first person to have this information was a woman.

How much like God to do something that flies in the face of convention. Men were the spiritual leaders. Men were the priests. Men were the warriors and so on, but the Lord sent an angel to speak first to a woman.

All of prophetic history, recorded almost exclusively by men, the stories of which focus mostly on men, yet here at this pinnacle moment for Israel when the wrapping paper of history is being lovingly removed from the package of prophetic truth, is a woman who is opening the present.

I loved that thought, not just from what would be a politically correct view in our society of how this shows God’s value of women, but of God’s love for all people. He shows no partiality.

Believer did you know how loved you are? Unbeliever did you know?

Did you know this baby boy would one day walk beside you?
Did you know that this baby boy would one day come to guide you?
People, did you know?

God chose some one from a small town. No power-broking religious family from Jerusalem where the Temple was. No priestly connections, since Mary was from the tribe of Judah, rather than the tribe of Levi. Humble family circumstances were Mary’s, until there was a quiet visitation from an angel announcing something that no one else had thought of in precisely this way.

Women of Israel hoped to one day be the mother of the Messiah, but the passage from Isaiah 7:14 regarding a virgin bearing a son, was some how missed. That the Messiah would be God in the flesh was also missed.

Now as Mary was in her room there in Nazareth, it was as if the curtain of history had been opened a crack, so that she could see behind it what was to come.

Luke 1:30-33 (NASB)

30 And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end."

What Mary heard were astounding words on several levels. That she heard an angel speaking to her was remarkable enough, but she was hearing words from the angel that came as direct fulfillments of promises given to David back in 2 Samuel 7 where the Lord said to David through Nathan the prophet:

2 Samuel 7:12-17 (NASB)

12 "When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, 15 but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever."

17 In accordance with all these words and all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

Jesus never committed sin or iniquity; he became sin for us, our sin piled on him and by his stripes we are healed.

Mary, did you know when the angel spoke that this was the prophecy that was being fulfilled? Did you know that words that had been spoken to David a thousand years before were being brought to life with God using you as a tool? Mary did you know? I suspect that she did on this point.

Believer did you know that these words of the Lord from Nathan the prophet some 3,000 years ago are part of your heritage?

The Messiah, the son of David has come. He was born in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago, the God of all the ages fulfilling the promise he had made, and he will fulfill all is other promises.

Israel Trip – "Looking at a living piece of history"

Denna and me are once again planning a trip to Israel. We’ll be going in February and taking some other folks from town here with us...a small group of us, joining up with a group from Texas.

I remember our very first trip there back in 1998 I believe it was. One of the highlights was standing on the top of Masada, 1100 feet above the Dead Sea, with the Dead Sea in sight, as our tour guide told us the terrible story of what had happened there. I would encourage you to read about Masada and what happened.

As she began her story, Susan our guide said, "You are looking at a living piece of history."

My split second mental response was not to fully understand what she meant. I suppose I thought she was talking about Masada, this rock enclave we were standing on, with its evidence of the battle that was fought there, both lost and won by the Jews.

But Susan pressed forward with her meaning quickly leaving me no time to be confused, when she said:

"You are looking at a daughter of Abraham. I am living piece of history."

I can’t tell you of the impact of those words as we stood there in Israel hearing the story of the heart of the Jewish people. It gives you chills to consider the import of her meaning.

God is faithful and has preserved his Chosen People. The sons and daughters of Abraham live and have carried their heritage to this age and to this day. God promised that it would be so. No other nation on the face of the earth in all of human recorded history has ever been displaced from their land and then returned after 2,000 years to once again possess it. Nation after nation has disappeared from their land, their names part of the past, not the present.

Not so with God’s children Israel.

1,000 years from a promise to David to the time of the fulfillment in the birth, life and death of Christ. And now it has been another 2,000 years since the time of Christ, and God’s Word is no less trustworthy. God has been faithful.

Believer did you know that you can fully trust God’s word and the promises in it? Believer did you know that when God says he will save you, he really means it? Believer did you know this baby boy fully became a man, to die a death on Calvary and be resurrected again?
Believer did you know?

Perspective on the shortness of life

It has been just over a year since my mother died and recently I have undergone a treadmill stress test to see how my ticker is working. Things turned out ok with the treadmill, but I was reminded again of the shortness of life.

One of my co-workers and I have been working on a project for the company that required us to go to Wausau on several occasions and we have had some time in the car to talk about fishing and hunting and life and other things besides the project as he and I talked. The other day he spoke of the loss of his own mother not so long ago and how it got him to thinking. He is 62, and he said:

"You know in a good long life a person might get to see 80 springs. That’s not very many. We tend to think of spring and summer and winter and fall as always being there, but they won’t be for us. We only have so many, and I have only so many of those springs left."

What a great perspective on life that was for me to hear from this gentleman. We only have so many springs left.

As I thought about that and the fact that one day our own time will come to leave this earth, I was reminded of the importance of the promises of God. How easy it is to tell others of how trustworthy these promises are, and yet how difficult it can be for us ourselves.

Believer did you know that you can trust God’s word?
Believer did you know that God’s word is faithful and that he himself is faithful and true?

I remember talking with Mom just last year about this as she was dying from a form of leukemia. We knew her time was short and so did she. She said that she wasn’t afraid to go, but she said that there was so much to her that was a mystery.

Oh how I understand what she was driving at! So much we don’t know. So much we don’t understand.

But so much to count on. So much to be certain of.

God’s word, no matter how much time passes, will be fulfilled. Not one word will fall to the ground.

Promises Delivered Through Abraham

Though the 1,000 years is remarkable between the promise given to David and the birth of Christ it was long before David’s time that another version of the same promise was given. Back in the days of Abraham 2,000 years before the time of Christ, a promised son, a boy named Isaac, was asked by God of Abraham to be given up, to be sacrificed.

Abraham, did you know your baby boy would be father to a nation?
Abraham, did you know your baby boy, son of promise and expectation,
Would portray the sacrifice of Christ, the message of salvation?

Did you know your baby boy would speak down through the ages?
Did you know that hearts would be moved as they turned the pages,
Of Isaacs life as it revealed to them the Rock of all the Ages.

Abraham did you know?

Abraham did you know when God sent you to Mt. Moriah to sacrifice your son, that God himself would intervene and prevent you from doing so, and this was only a test to see if you truly feared God and would obey him? Abraham did you know?

So much Abraham did not know about what would happen, and so much that he did know by faith.

He trusted that if God had asked him to sacrifice his son and if God had promised that through his son he would be the father of many nations, that God must be planning on resurrecting Isaac after the sacrifice.

It never occurred to Abraham that God might not be telling the truth or that God’s word would not come true! How much we need that reassurance when we go through our own deep waters. And how difficult it is to trust.

One of the key messages of Christmas, among the wonderful messages that are part of the story of the birth of Christ, is the message that God’s word can be counted on. He will keep his promises.

Believer you know that, but do you really know that?

Believer do you know that down deep in your soul that you can trust God? No matter how deep the waters you are going through or the fires of trial you are facing, God’s word, God’s promises are trustworthy. Believer do you know?

Unbeliever, do you know that?

Do you know that God’s word will be fulfilled? Do you know that if you trust Christ as your Lord and Savior, that no matter what you have done it will be forgiven? Did you know that God will wash away your sins and mark you as his own, preparing a place for you in heaven? That is his promise to you.

But did you also know that if you refuse his offer of forgiveness through Christ that his word is just as certain that there is no other hope for you?

Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. There is no other provision for the forgiveness of sins. As surely as it is true that Christ was born according to the promises that came 1,000 and 2,000 years before his birth, in the years and ages to come whenever it may be that God chooses to return to earth to finalize things before eternity begins, there will be a judgment day.

It will be a day when all accounts will be settled. A day when questions are asked and answers will be given. One of the questions in so many words that will be asked, will be:

"Have you said yes to my offer of forgiveness through Christ?"

The answer you need to be able to honestly give if you are going to spend eternity with the Lord is:

"Yes, I repented of my sin and put my trust in Christ and Christ alone for salvation."

If you haven’t done that I hope you will do so today.

And for those who have, my hope is that today will be a day of peaceful reflection on goodness and trustworthiness of God.

"Mary did you know your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?"

Yes she knew and we know. And we are so grateful.

If you haven’t received Christ into your life, today would be a good day.

Here's a prayer that will help you do so. Pray this with honesty and heaven is yours:

"Heavenly Father I admit today that I am a sinner in need of a Savior. Today I turn away from my sin and turn to you, asking that you forgive my sins through Jesus Christ. I put my trust in Jesus as my Savior, accepting your offer of allowing Christ's death on the Cross to be my payment for sin, and his resurrection from the dead to be my guarantee of eternal life with you.

I offer you nothing in payment for my sin except what Christ did for me on the Cross; no good works on my part, no merit on my part, only what Christ did can wash away my sin. I ask that you grant me eternal life as you have promised, and fill me with your Holy Spirit, making me a new person, born spiritually into the family of God.

I pray this in Jesus name."

(Friend, if you honestly and sincerely prayed that prayer to the Lord, you are on your way to heaven. Drop me a line if you did, I'd love to tell you how to take the next steps in your new life with the Lord. Gordon)

When Life Doesn't Make Sense

2005-11-28T05:57:00.000-08:00

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When Life Doesn't Make Sense....

As I watched the program on television I repented to the Lord for my complaining. On the screen was a dear little boy who was going through more than I could possibly imagine. Afflicted with a rare disease, one that caused tumors the size of grapefruits to grow all over his face, his facial structure had been destroyed and many surgeries would be required to relieve him of the malformations of his face. Even then, his face would never be normal. His life would never be normal.

It is a cliche, but it is true: there is always someone going through something worse than what we are going through. When life seems unfair, consider this little boy and others like him, who face so much, so young, and in some cases succumb to them dying at an early age. How little there is that we should be complaining about.

Yet we do complain.

We wonder why certain things have happened to us or to those we love. Very often there is no emotionally or intellectually satisifying answer to our question. We are left in the dark in confusion, seemingly with no way out, no way to think our way through what has happened.

Where do we turn?

We turn to the character of God.

God asks us to trust him. Oh, that is hard at times! How can we trust when so much seems unfair or wrong? How can we trust when our world seems so messed up? How can we trust as we look into the face of the child we love and see them suffer? How can we trust when the child we love has died so young?

How? How?

There is no formula of "self exercise" that will create mental toughness or strength or the ability to trust in such circumstances. What we cling to is truth, truth about the character and promises of God.

There is much we don't understand and will never understand this side of eternity, but what we do know is this:

God never sins, never makes mistakes.

God loves us greatly, even when we cannot feel or see that love.

God's character is perfect in every way. He doesn't play games with us. He is not up there playing tricks on us. He isn't like that.

God is all knowing and he is all powerful. He knows what we are going through and could change it. So we should pray. But we should also be aware that God may answer our prayers in a way other than we would prefer. Why? Because he knows what we don't know about the future.

God has a plan which will be fully accomplished. No power on earth can alter that plan to redeem us and do away with all the suffering the world and those of us in it, go through.

God will one day take away all pain and tears and death. It is just that that day is not yet. So for now, we wait and trust, even when it is hard. And it often is. But God will reward us one day.

God has a glorious eternity waiting for those who accept his offer of forgiveness through Christ. He is trustworthy to keep his promises. We will be united with fellow believers who have gone before us. Of that we can be sure.

Words on a page. Just facts. No mental trickery, no gimics, no formulas. Just truth. That is what we cling to during difficult and baffling days: the truth about God, the truth about his character and the truth about his relationship with us.

There is more, but this is a start.

If you are going through a hard time, start at the top of the list and think through each one of these. The pain won't go away over night...and frankly may never go away. But in time as we come to understand God better, those things about this life that we don't understand will haunt us less. We'll come to know that God understands and that one day all will be revealed to us.

For now our job is to trust him.

God has not abandoned you, no matter what it looks like or feels like.

Going through a hard time?

2005-11-16T06:52:00.000-08:00

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Going through a hard time? Mistreated by those who were closest to you? Trust me, I know what it is like. And there is no explaining at times how people who are believers in Christ may act toward a fellow believer. Facing such circumstances can create the most baffling times in one’s life.

Where is God? Why did he allow the behavior that hurt so much? Where is justice, right and wrong?

Our feelings come close to the words of Psalm 73 when they say:

I was envious of the arrogant, as I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pains in their death; and their body is fat. They are not in trouble as other men. Nor are they plagued like mankind. Their pride is their necklace; the garment of violence covers them. Their eye bulges from fatness; the imaginations of their heart run riot.

They mock, and wickedly speak of oppression; they speak from on high. They have set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue parades through the earth.

We wonder why people who have done wrong to us seem to be going on about their way "prospering" while we are suffering because of their actions.

I remember counseling a wife whose marriage had been destroyed by her husband’s philandering. She ached for her children and herself and very understandably you could hear the bitterness in her voice.

How easy it was, not having experienced such betrayal, to say, "Don’t become bitter. I know it looks like your ex-husband is going on with his life without consequences, but that is not the case. God will be there for you."

The right words, but without a full understanding of the desperate feelings of loss and betrayal one goes through when betrayed by those closest to them—a spouse, a fellow believer, a friend.

It is so easy to think that we should just "buck up" when facing such situations, or that others should too. "Just get over it" we think, but won’t say—at least we shouldn’t.

But things aren’t that easy with our frail flesh. We hurt and we bleed and we need God’s help to get through it.

Our minds wander and we can even think as the Psalmist did as he continued in Psalm 73:

Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure, and washed my hands in innocence. For I have been stricken all day long and chastened every morning.

But the Psalm isn’t written at the moment that Asaph, the writer, was betrayed. It was written later. He begins his words not where we started above, but earlier with the results of the lesson he had learned that what we see and feel are not always what is happening around us.

He says in verse 2:

But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling; my steps had almost slipped, for I was envious of the arrogant, as I saw the prosperity of the wicked...

He tells us that he almost fell into the trap of believing that there was no point in doing what God wanted, because suffering results for those who do, and for those who mistreat others, there only seems to be prosperity.

In the end he learned something important that he shares with us:

When I pondered to understand this, it was troublesome in my sight until I came into the sanctuary of God. Then I perceived their end. Surely Thou does set them in slippery places; though dost cast them down to destruction……when my heart was embittered, and I was pierced within, then I was senseless and ignorant; I was like a beast before Thee.

When Asaph was embittered by the seeming inequity of what was happening around him, he had forgotten that the last chapter of the story had not yet been written. Finally he understands and help those of us who would follow in his embittered footsteps, realize the truth:

Nevertheless I am continually with Thee; Thou has taken hold of my right hand. With Thy counsel Thou wilt guide me, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And besides Thee, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

For behold, those who are far from Thee will perish, Thou has destroyed all those who are unfaithful to Thee. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord my refuge, that I may tell of all Thy works.

Going through a hard time? Having trouble thinking your way through it? I understand. But skip to the last chapter of the "book" of your life, rather than thinking only of the chapter you are in.

Remember, God does bring justice in the end, and that:

...the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord my refuge, that I may tell of all Thy works.

Remain steadfast. Continue to do right. God will not let you go. Though you may not feel his presence, count on it. He is walking with you through the fire and has a better chapter coming at the end of the book.

The Urgency of our Task

2005-11-01T05:09:00.000-08:00

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The Urgency of Our Task

The winds of time are blowing through the trees outside my window. The voice of our inevitable end is carried on their currents.

The daily setting of the sun marks another segment of life irretrievably removed from our measured portion of seconds.

I am stirred to be about my Father’s work.

People with other agendas, who feed the dying the arsenic of social change rather than the Bread of Life, have reminded me of the urgency of our task.

The night is fast approaching when no man can work. Let us rise from our slumber and sprint toward the battle lines.

Gordon Magee October 1989

Sunday Sermon: Building Up The Body of Christ

2005-10-30T01:31:00.000-08:00

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For those who couldn't make it to your local church but who have checked in, here is a sermon from today's service

Remember that these are simply my notes for presentation and that they are not formatted for normal reading consumption. So you'll have to take that into account re. the typos etc. and the style. I don't "read" the sermons, but do prepare a full manuscript, as it causes me to have to do a better job than if I was just writing down an outline.

I hope this message is helpful to you today.

Gordon

Eaglebrook Church – Minocqua, WI Sunday October 30, 2005

Building Up the Body Ephesians 4:7-16

Introduction

Do you remember when you were kid and you got to go on a class trip? Those were days you didn’t have to study, days away from the class room, and days to hang out with your friends. I would guess that as our teachers looked back at some of those days, which were a nice break in the routine for them too, they may have wondered whether we learned anything or not. But we did.

I remember one trip that stood out to me in particular. It was a trip we made in about 3rd grade to the Wonder Bread bakery in Waterloo, Iowa.

I can still remember pulling the bus up to the back door in the alley and going in to this wonderful smelling place that was filled with the aroma of yeasty dough rising and of bread being baked. I’m sure it was those smells that were part of the fascination with the trip, and why it stays in my mind. There is nothing quite like the smell of fresh baked bread.

It was also cool to be given a little miniature loaf of bread just like the full sized loaves, with a white wrapper with the little red and blue and yellow colored circles on them that let you know that this was really Wonder Bread. Do you remember seeing those little miniature loaves of bread?

Machinery

What also fascinated me though, was being able to see how thing worked in the bakery, how those loaves that would “build strong bodies 12 ways” were made. It was fun to see the machinery and all the moving parts that made things happen. It turned out that "bread" wasn’t just "bread," there was something behind the process of bread becoming bread that was interesting and absolutely integral in taking a lump of dough and turning it into a loaf of Wonder Bread.

This morning we are going to take our own class trip to the Church Bakery. In fact we are actually in part of the bakery this morning right here in this room as you and I are being processed by God and baked into spiritual loaves. If you try really hard, you may be able to smell the aroma of Christ being baked into our lives right now.

So just like in the Wonder Bread Bakery, there is machinery at work here, spiritual machinery, that is helpful to learn about since while we are at one moment both the loaves of bread that are being baked into the likeness of Christ, we are at the same time bakers of bread, helping each other in one form or another, take on the image of Christ.

Ephesians 4:7-16

So if you have your Bibles with you, turn with me to Ephesians 4 and we’ll pick up our study in Ephesians were we left it a couple of months ago the last time I preached. We’ll be reading through from verse 7 through verse 16.

Ephesians 4:7-16 (NIV)

7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.” 9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)
11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,
12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.
15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Single Purpose Era: Raise up the Church

There is a sense in which you and me are living in a single purpose era right now. The primary reason that the earth is still ticking along and that we are still ticking along without God coming down and ending this entire mess that we have created, is that God is building his Church. He is calling out from a lost world, any and all who will respond to his message of forgiveness through Christ.

We are living in a "Church bakery" era as God is taking the raw materials of our broken lives, adding to them the yeast of the Holy Spirit, raising us up to take on a new shape, the shape of the likeness of Christ. That is happening in the larger sense of the church as a whole, and it is happening on a personal level for each of us.

His Method: Us

And for whatever reason, God has chosen a unique method for his Church to be built. He has chosen to use people like you and me. He could have done things another way and simply assigned the task to his angels. The angels could have announced the truth and been God’s messengers; or the Church could have simply spoken into existence by God. But rather than do things that way, God has chosen to use people to build people into the likeness of Christ.

A Problem for God: Licensing Making prisoners for a work force

But to put it in human terms, as God was looking down from the portals of heaven as he was planning His Church Bakery workforce, he had a problem. All of the potential workers on the planet were people who in a sense, made license plates for a living.

License Plate Makers need new skills

In many states, as you know, the license plates that are on the vehicles registered in those states, are manufactured by prison inmates. I remember my Dad joking about people who broke the law would end up making “license plates for a living.” I’m sure you heard similar lines. It simply meant that you were going to be going to prison and in your spare time you were going to be standing by a machine that stamped out license plates for the citizenry.

So as God was looking down at the world, looking at you and me his problem was that we are prisoners, prisoners to our own sin. And the only spiritual skills we have are about the equivalent of making license plates…a skill set that is of no value in a Church bakery.

If you are God and potential work force are all license making prisoners, you are going to have to do something. And that is what we read about it in verses 7 and 8:

7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men."

Gifts have been given to former prisoners

The upshot here is that God has taken people like us who were captives, set us free and has given us spiritual gifts to be used to build his Church.

(Who the captives of verse 8 are)

There are some interesting ways to look at the passage I just read there in verse 8 regarding who these captives are. My take on this for a long time has been that these captives were Old Testament Saints who once Christ died and rose again were set free to go be in heaven with the Lord.

Sheol has two sides

You may not be aware that when and Old Testament believer died he or she did not go directly to heaven as is the case today. They went to Sheol, or Hell. We read in Luke 16 that hell has two sides to it. On the one side were those who died and who are lost, unbelievers. On the other side were those who died but who were saved, who were believers in God. No one could go to heaven to be with the Lord, until sin was actually paid for in time and in space.

So both sides of Hell kept filling up until Jesus died. Then one side was emptied, as believers were set free to go be with the Lord.

It is entirely possible that this is what the passage means: that those believers who were "captive" so to speak, on the good side of Hell, were finally set free and were led by the Lord to freedom.

That seems to fit with the idea from verse that 9 says, Christ "descended to the lower, earthly regions." In this view, Christ went into hell—the lower earthly regions—and brought out these captives, and then gave spiritual gifts to men and women of the Church to carry on his mission.

A second view of this is that the captives are the principalities and powers that Christ defeated when he was on the cross.

A third view and one that makes a lot of sense to me now, is that these captives are you and me—believers who have been set free from the prison of sin. One commentator points out that in the original language the "lower earthly regions" do not have to be "under the earth", but rather may be a description of the earth in comparison to heaven.

Jesus condescended to come from heaven to this lower "region" called earth, and when he did so, he set us captives free. I think it is this interpretation that makes the most sense to me now, although the one about freeing the Old Testament saints has a lot of merit to it as well.

Psalm 68: 6, 18 The Old Testament chapter that Paul quotes from

Turn back with me to Psalm 68 for a moment, so we can look at the passage that Paul is quoting from here in Ephesians.

Psalm 68:6 (NIV)

6 God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

Then in verse 18, here’s the quote:
18 When you ascended on high, you led captives in your train; you received gifts from men, even from the rebellious— that you, O LORD God, might dwell there.

It is not likely that the prisoners being spoken of are the principalities and powers that have been defeated. They would certainly not be singing with joy as God led them onward. No, the passage in verse 6 refers to those who have been held captive and now a Victor has come to free them, in this case the Lord. As they are being led away from their captivity they are singing with joy, while the rebellious are left behind in the desert.

In verse 18 we read about the Lord receiving gifts from men rather than giving them, but it was common that once the spoils of war were received that they were then distributed, so gifts going to the Victorious leader and gifts going to his followers was common and of one piece.

So you and I as former license plate makers, imprisoned because of our sin and without a spiritual skill set to do anything productive for God, have now been sprung from prison and have been miraculously given skills in the kingdom that are to be further developed to be used in building God’s church. No wonder there was singing going on!

Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastor/Teachers

There are two thoughts I want us as believers to hear from this simple passage in Ephesians about God giving gifts:

1. We are free! Get used to it! Rejoice! Enjoy it! The prison doors have been swung wide open and we are out! Revel in that freedom from sin and no longer live in fear and anxiety. Our enslavement to sin and its consequences is over!

2. We have jobs to do for the Lord…not jobs aren’t qualified for, but jobs that we are uniquely qualified for through the spiritual gifts that God has given us. And what a thrill it has been to see those gifts are work here at Eaglebrook as people have pitched in to do the variety of things involved in your church planting efforts.

In our passage in Ephesians four of the gifts God has given are listed. We are going to talk about them. But there is a problem with the list. Nearly none of us has the gifts that are listed. So as we think about this passage we can look at the list and feel accidentally like second class Christians…until we look a little deeper.

Where are the "frontlines?"

I don’t know about you, but for me as a believer, coming out of the prison of sin and learning about the Lord, I burned with a desire to serve God. I just wasn’t sure where that service was going to be in terms of a field of service. When I graduated from college, college had been such a familiar place for those 4 years, hanging out in a Bible study environment day after day after day, and trying to have an impact on students since Denna and I were older when I went back to school…that there was a temptation to think about going on to further education and staying in that kind of an environment.

But there was something that stuck in my head, and I don’t want this to come out wrong for those who are in an academic setting, but my thought was, “This isn’t the front lines. The front lines are in the church, pastoring.” And that though stuck with me over the years, that the front lines is out here in places like Minocqua and Woodruff and wherever there are churches around the world, doing the Lord’s work as a pastor.

And of course there is a sense that no matter where we are or what kind of ministry we are in, we are on the front lines. We are all part of the larger team that is doing the work of the Lord.

But if we think of it in battle terms, boot camp is not the front lines. AIT - Advanced Individual Training, where you learn your MOS: Military Occupational Specialty is not the front lines.

The front lines are the front lines and the troops know the difference to be sure.

Well it dawned on me over the past couple of weeks as I have been thinking about this passage and as I thought about my own change of vocation over the past couple of years, that the pastorate isn’t the frontlines either! Its closer to the front lines, but it isn’t the real front lines.

The frontlines are where the regular individual saints are, doing ministry for the Lord in their homes with their neighbors, in their communities, and as they extend their reach to other parts of the world to win people for Christ and to minister in the name of Christ.

Pastors are merely trainers for those who are doing the work of ministry on the frontlines.

So as we look briefly at this list of gifts, what I want us to keep in mind is that the gifts listed are facilitating gifts to help all of use be better fit for service in the Lords kingdom. But that you and me as just regular saints out there in the marketplace of life, are the ones on the front line and are the ones for whom all this conversation about gifts and gifting is directed.

The 4 gifts:

So here are the gifts, from verse 11: It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers to prepare God’s people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up….

I was reading some material that John Stott wrote about these gifts and how we often view them, that I think would be helpful for us in thinking more clearly about them.

Pyramid

We mistakenly tend to think of leadership in the church as though it were structured something like a pyramid. Of course Christ is at the top of the pyramid, and then below him as the pyramid widens are the apostles and prophets and evangelists and pastor/teachers, and then the rest of the unnamed masses down below.

That really isn’t a good image. You could better reverse it in a sense, in that in human terms the apostles and prophets and evangelists and pastor/teachers are on the lower side, the foundation and the church is built above them. But that is a problem, because the pyramid would then be standing on its point, and of course that is not a stable image.

Bus

Stott suggested that there is another way that people tend to think of leadership in the church. It is that the pastor/teacher is the bus driver and the rest of the church is on the bus following along, going where the pastor/teacher is taking them while he is at the wheel.

But that image doesn’t work either, because the passengers are just passively along for the ride doing nothing but getting on and off the bus where the driver tells them, and not really contributing much other than paying the gas bill when the bus stops at the pump.

Body

The third image, and the much healthier one, is the image that Paul uses here, the image of the Body.

We are not a pyramid structure and we are not a bus, we are a body. And each part of the body has a different, but critical function as each part is directed by the head. The foot should not feel any guilt because it does not and cannot do the work of the hand. And the hand should feel no guilt because it does not and cannot do the work of the eye.

Each of us has an individual role to play. Our job is to fulfill the role and responsibility that God has given us.

Teaching Gifts – Proclamation of the Word

How we carry out those roles and responsibilities is something we all need help with, and that is where the 4 gifts come in that have been mentioned here: apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastor/teachers.

You will note that each of these 4 gifts involves proclamation of the Word of God. These are teaching gifts in one form or another. Evangelists have more than a teaching gift, they have the spiritual gift of persuasion as well, but in persuading people to come to Christ to be forgiven, they have to do some teaching and explaining the Word of God.

So these are teaching gifts that are listed here, and we’ll talk about them more in a couple of weeks. But like our school teachers, professors or military instructors, those who use these gifts are preparing us, moving us forward for the work on the front lines.

We mistakenly think of those who have these gifts as being on the front lines…and of course there is a sense in which they are…but the greater truth is that you and me are the end products. We are soldiers for the Lord who are going to be out there living the life of Christ in view of your friends and family and neighbors, allowing the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ to be spread everywhere, that others may come to know Christ and be molded and shaped into the image of Christ, filled with the yeast of the Holy Spirit that will transform them.

In a couple of weeks we’ll pick up right here with these gifts and what the intended result of their use is: miniature versions of Jesus, the Bread of Life.

Be encouraged brothers and sisters. You are part of both the machinery God is using and the intended result of that machinery. And it is all happening…well, right now.

Prayer

It tears me up that my boyfriend watches porn. It makes me feel less than significant. Am I off base here?

2005-10-24T05:11:00.000-07:00

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Question:

This has been tearing at me for months so I would deeply appreciate a response. My boyfriend and I have been dating for less than a year. (We are both adults well past our college years.)

Why do I feel so angry and less significant when he looks at or watches porn? They don't even have to be naked, he'll download girls pictures from the internet and has a vast collection. Years ago when I knew him, it didn't bother me. But now it does. God has been changing me. I've told him what the Bible says about lust.

But he says things like, "Who am I lusting over besides you?" and "God made them beautiful and I love to look at them."

What do I say to that? He was brought up by Christian parents. So was I. What else can I say to him? Could you possibly send something that he could read himself? He won't listen to me. Or am I wrong to feel this way? Is it merely jealousy or insecurity? Thank you very much.

Troubled

ATP:

Be assured that your feelings and thoughts are the correct ones here. There are three areas that sin falls into, as noted in 1 John 2:16:

"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world."

Here are the three: "lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh and the boastful pride of life."

Your boyfriend's actions are an obvious, no questions asked, "lust of the eyes" issue. Not to pick on him, but I believe he knows his actions are wrong, apart from anything he may know or not know about the Bible. When he debates with you, he is just trying to justify his behavior.

I would be careful about this relationship. Since he has "quite a collection" as you noted, he definitely has a problem--not that having even a small collection is ok!

The only question is the extent of his problem.

Since he is not "17" but is reasoning like he is a 17 year old, he likely has one of two another problems as well: he is either incapable of knowing the difference between right and wrong or he knows full well that his actions are wrong, but thinks so little of you that he is convinced he can bamboozle you with childish rhetoric.

I think the most likely scenario is that in his heart he knows that his actions are wrong, but he doesn't want to give up what he is enjoying so much.

Even if his watching porn weren't wrong--but it is--if it is something that bothers you in such a strong way, then he ought to be able to give it up out of respect for you anyway. The fact that he isn't willing to do so is a major red flag.

Your gut feeling about this being wrong on his part, is correct. Don't be persuaded otherwise.

If we do not forgive, will God not forgive us, and do we lose our salvation as a result?

2005-10-18T04:41:00.000-07:00

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Question: Matthew 6:14-15 says, "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

Does that mean that those who do not forgive others have lost their salvation?

Question from a Study Group

ATP: The New Testament teaches that the relationship a believer has with the Lord is a permenant one. Nothing can separate us from the love of God.

Romans 8:1 says, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Condemnation is a the term that describes the guilty condition of man due to sin, a condition in which man must pay the penalty for his sin. You have no doubt heard the following phrase whether in a movie or in an actual court room as sentence is passed on a convicted murderer: "You have been condemned to die...." There is an obvious finality to this word.

For those who have become believers in Christ, no such condemnation is possible says Paul. Once we have become believers, "there is therefore now no condemnation..." We have passed out of all possibility of being condemned by God.

That helps us understand Matthew 6. What Jesus appears to be referring to, is the issue of fellowship with God. If we don’t forgive others, God will withhold his fellowship from us.

David experienced precisely this in Psalm 32.

Speaking of his own sin (of which unforgiveness could be an example) he said,

When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.

Life was tough on David when he hid his sin from the Lord. The Lord withheld fellowship from him. But then David confessed his sin and says, you forgave the guilt of my sin, ending the Psalm with,

Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart.

Fellowship had been restored, as had been David, although the entire time he was God's child.

Question: Is it wrong to say that another person's religion is incorrect? Isn’t that a form of judging that the Bible says we aren’t to do?

2005-09-17T04:33:00.000-07:00

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Question: Is it wrong to say that person's religion is incorrect? Isn’t that a form of judging that the Bible says we aren’t to do?

ATP: To use a Christian versus non-Christian comparison to answer the question, very often those who are from a non-Christian, atheistic or agnostic point of view are bothered when Christians say that the only way to get to heaven is through Jesus Christ.

Actually some atheists or agnostics may not be upset at all by such a statement, arguing that there is no heaven to get to in the first place, or at least none that we can be certain about. So the example I am using may be viewed as moot in their view.

Saying that the only way to get to heaven is through Jesus is a statement by definition that rules out other possibilities, therefore assigning other opinions to the realm of error when compared to this view. But it is not "judging" to say so any more than it is judging to say that there are many ways to get to heaven and that therefore the view that Jesus is the only way is in error.

Greg Koukl, co-author of the book, Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air, (Baker Books 1998) describes a call he had from an upset non-Christian listener, who phoned in to his L.A. radio talk show.

The conversation went something like this:

"Greg, I don’t think you should be judging other people’s religion as right or wrong. The Bible says you aren’t to judge."

"So you think it is wrong to judge?" Greg asked.

"Yes. I don’t think you should be judging," the caller said.

Greg got right to the point of the confusion about judging when he replied,

"If you think it is wrong to judge, then why are you judging me?!"

The person’s argument was self defeating.

It wasn’t the judging that he didn’t like, it was the conclusion. The man was doing himself what he thought Greg shouldn't be doing: judging another's view to be incorrect.

He adamantly disagreed with Greg’s position, believing Greg to be incorrect in his assessment that Jesus is the only way to heaven. He simply preferred his own conclusion that there were many ways to heaven.

It is impossible to avoid making judgements about truth. We all do it every day. It is not "judging" in the sense prohibited by the Bible, to call error what it is. Nor is it unkind, unless done in an inappropriate or insensitive way.

The truth is that telling the truth about error may be the greatest act of kindness one human being can render to another. It literally can make the difference between going to heaven or going to hell.

Is divorce allowable from a Biblical perspective?

2005-08-29T03:11:00.000-07:00

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Question: Is divorce allowable from a Biblical perspective?

ATP: It all depends on the cause.

Jesus was clear that divorcing a spouse who has committed adultery is allowable. A person is free to divorce an adulterous spouse and is free to remarry without either action being sin.

1 Corinthians 7 gives us another category of so-called "Biblical divorce". It says that if an unbeliever refuses to stay in a marriage with a believer, the believer isn’t "bound."

That is, if the believer is divorced by an unbeliever who has abandoned the marriage, the divorce is not a sin for the believer and the believer is free to remarry.

There is the possibility that 1 Corinthians 7 should also be applied to the marriage of two believers as well. It is much too complicated to take up in this brief article, but there is strong evidence that "abandonment" is the key issue in 1 Corinthians 7, not whether the marriage is between a believer and an unbeliever. If that is correct, it would suggest that the abandoned party even in a marriage between two believers, is free to remarry without it being sin.

One must be careful here about opening Pandora’s box, as people may feel free to divorce for any reason, which was exactly what Jesus spoke against, but it is not an irresponsible interpretation of the 1 Corinthians passage to suggest that abandoment is the key principle being spoken of, rather than whether the marriage is between a believer and unbeliever. The question in either case becomes, "What constitutes abandonment?"

Is it enough that a person is willing to live in the same house with another person? I don't think so, but where is the line that determines when functional abandonment as taken place? There is no easy answer to that question.

That having been said, it is more important for us to focus on building and holding together healthy marriages, than to concentrate on "escape clauses." God would prefer that all marriages work and hold together, founded on a relationship with Him.

Unfortunately as we also know, there are individuals who through their infidelity do great damage to their spouse and to their children. God allows divorce as an option for the victimized spouse in such cases.

Sunday Sermon August 28th: Walking in a Manner That is Worthy of the Calling to Which we have been Called - Ephesians 4

2005-08-28T20:20:00.000-07:00

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Here is a copy of this morning's sermon. I preach at Eaglebrook Church in Minocqua as one of a group of people from a variety of places that are filling the pulpit for them. Professors from the Twin Cities and Chicago have preached or will preach, and pastors from other cities have filled the pulpit as well. This Sunday it was my turn.

I'll mention as I have before that the sermon below is basically what my manuscripted notes. I don't read the notes during a presentation, but I use them and add/subtract as the moment calls for.

This was the second of a two part sermon, and there was more that I have like to have tied in to the message, but we only had so much time.

Here you go...sorry about any typos...as I said, these are my sermon notes:

Eaglebrook Church Sunday August 28, 2005
Walk in a Manner Worthy of the Calling with Which We have been Called Part 2
Ephesians 4:1ff
Introduction
Good morning. It’s good to be back with you again this morning. What a great day it is outside.

I want to have us pick up our study in Ephesians from where we left off last week in chapter 4. Just as a point of interest I want to mention that there is something valuable it seems to me, in systematically working through a Bible book on Sunday mornings when your pastor's schedule will allow that. There is nothing quite like teaching the Bible so that people can go home and understand it and study it for themselves.

Back in the Dark Ages, literally the Dark Ages, people were told not to read their Bibles. Church historians tell us that in certain groups it was forbidden for the laity to read the Bible. Bibles were to be studied only by the Clergy and interpretations were only to come by the Clergy. In some cases we are told, Bibles were literally chained to the "altar" table. No doubt that was because there were so few copies of them, but it was also to keep Bibles in the hands of those who were supposed to be in charge of interpreting the Bible: the clergy.

And some of that attitude about who should interpret the Bible still exists in certain circles. But for us as Bible believing Christians, we believe in "unchaining" the Bible…getting it into the hands of people so they can read and study it themselves. We fall into the category of the those believers in Berea we read about in the book of Acts, of whom it was said that when Paul preached, they received his word with eagerness and searched the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

We are a people of Scripture searchers. We are students of an unchained Bible. And pastors should teach so that others can learn the Scriptures themselves and can apply them to their lives.

So it is always good for a pastor or preacher to explain the Word of God, not just drive home principles about how to live a better life.

To that end then, I want us to look at Ephesians chapter 4 this week, where we left off last week. We are talking about Paul’s statement in verse 1 of chapter 4, where he says he wants the Ephesians to: walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,….

Ben Hogan and Ronald Reagan

Some of you know the name of the famous golfer of a couple of generations ago, Ben Hogan. Ben Hogan is still regarded by many people as the man who knew the most about a golf swing. He worked and worked and worked to perfect his craft and was one of the greatest golfers of all time.

Ben Hogan loved being a professional golfer. Ben Crenshaw who was an outstanding golfer in his own right and a bit of a golf historian, said Ben Hogan took pride in being a professional golfer. He dressed the part. The creases on his slacks were always sharp and perfect. H carried himself with an air about him of a professional.

He did everything he could to walk in a manner worthy of what he viewed as the "calling" so to speak, on his life, that of being a professional golfer.
There are others in other professions that carried themselves with a similar air about them when it came to their role.

Ronald Reagan

Those who were in the inner circle of the Ronald Reagan administration have said that President Reagan had such high regard for the office of the Presidency of the United States, that he refused to go his literal office, the Oval Office, unless he was wearing a tie and a jacket. President Reagan wanted to walk in a manner worthy of the calling as President to which he had been called.

Paul’s counsel to us

Paul is telling us something similar here in chapter 4 of Ephesians. In chapters 1 through 3, he has laid out for us the things that God has done for us and that he has planned for us. He has gone to great lengths to show the power of God and the love of God and the grace of God that have been poured out on you and me, and that God intends to continue pouring out on us for eternity.

And the in chapter 4, Paul changes gears from this explanation of that God has been doing and begins to tell us something about what we should be doing as a result: walking in a manner worth of the calling to which we have been called.

And the articles of character "clothing" that he has told us to put on are found there in the first three verses of Ephesians 4:

Ephesians 4:1

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Humility and gentleness, patience, forbearing one another in love and being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit. These are the garments that mark believers as living lives worthy of the calling to which we have been called.

Last week we talked about Humility and gentleness. This week we are gong to talk a bit about forbearing one another in love and being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit.

Historical Context

But I want to talk about those things in a different way than by just explaining what those qualities are. I think you know what those qualities mean. I want to talk to you about them in the historical context that Paul was in and that the remarks were made in, in Ephesians itself, because I think if we do that, we will find an important nuance of meaning that might be missed otherwise.

Gaza Pullout and other Racial issues elsewhere

Many of you who have been paying attention to the news, know of the pull out by Israel of certain areas of the Gaza Strip in recent days. While there may be varying opinions about what this means or whether it should happen or not, there universal agreement in the world that there is a strong dividing wall between the state of Israel and the Palestinians. I’m not suggesting who is at fault for that. I am only saying that it exists.

There have actually been discussions in Israel, as some of you may know, about putting up a literal security wall between Israel and some of the Arab occupied territories. Israel feels threatened by their neighbors and has talked about the need for extra security. So while there is no physical wall yet, there is clearly a relational and spiritual one that exists.

We have the same thing in our own country between races. We would like to think that we have progressed a long way, and in many respects we have, but there are still walls, still barriers between races. Sometimes those walls are there by benign neglect. Other times they are there on purpose.

Youth Pastor = white?

I remember when we first started to look for a youth pastor at the previous church where I pastored. And as I was thinking about what we might be able to do in our community to have an impact on kids, if we were able to bring a youth pastor on, I remember one day correcting myself. Without much thought, in my minds eye as I saw the youth pastor arriving and ministries beginning, I realized that that imaginary youth pastor in my mind was white.

As soon as I recognized that, however innocently it was as I was thinking forward to youth ministry in the days ahead, I purposely changed the way that I thought about that then imaginary person, so that in my minds eye, there was a rotating ethnic face on the person. It could be a person of any ethnicity.

So sometimes there are dividing walls that are there because of racism, and other times there are dividing walls out of habit or benign neglect. Paul is leading them somewhere…re. being "diligent to preserve the unity in the bond of peace."

As Paul is talking about walking in a manner that is worthy of the calling to which they have been called, doing so by being humble, gentle, patient, forbearing one another in love and being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, he is leading them somewhere!

And he is not only leading them somewhere, he is coming from somewhere. Being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, is not what we think it may be. Let me explain by taking you back to chapter 3 for just a moment, verses 1-6, so they will make sense in context:
Ephesians 3:1-6 (NASB)

1 FOR this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; 3 that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. 4 And by referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; 6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,…

The unity of the Spirit that Paul is talking about is the unity between Jew and Gentile. Yes it has application for other kinds of unity, but we should understand it in its context first, so that we don’t misunderstand it in its application. (Now there is a Bible study principle for you! Understand something in its context first, so you don’t misunderstand it in its application. Too often we differ about applications, but we might not differ so much if we understood things in their context.)

Look at chapter 2 verse 13-16 Ephesians 2:13-16 (NASB)

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.

A Literal Dividing Wall existed

You see there was a literally dividing wall in the Temple Court in Jerusalem. If you come to Israel with us next spring, you’ll be able to see what the dividing wall was in a huge scale model of the Old City of Jerusalem that we hope to see again while we are there.

Josephus tells us that there was a 4 ½ foot dividing wall that separated out an area called, "the court of the Gentiles." No Gentile was to go past that wall into the other areas nearer the Temple. There were pillars placed at regular intervals along the wall that had written on them in Greek words that said something like: No stranger is to enter within the partition wall and enclosure around the sanctuary. Whoever is caught will be responsible to himself for his death, which will ensue."

So when Paul writes about a "Dividing wall of hostility" he isn’t kidding. It was real. And there was hostility. What that means then, when Paul talks about being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, is that Paul has something very specific in mind.

In connection to what it was that he had in mind, notice that he did NOT say that we are to work to CREATE unity in the Spirit in the bond of peace. He said that we are to be diligent to PRESERVE the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The unity that he is referring to already exists.

It is not something of human creation. It has been created by God. It is not the idea of having a warm fuzzy church fellowship where every one gets along, although I think that is a fair application of the core point. It is rather, the idea that we are not to be separating ourselves away from one another based on our differing ethnicities as Jews and Gentiles.

To put in our own context, we are not to feel or be separated by or to be at odds with one another in the body of Christ, over ethnic differences. It is often quoted of Billy Graham regarding a statement he may have made years ago, that the most segregated hour in the United States, is between 11:00 and 12:00 on Sunday mornings. Why would that be the case? That is when white people go to white churches and people of color go to their churches.

In the context of Jew and Gentile relations as fellow believers in Christ, Paul is telling us, as he picks it up in verse 4:

4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

No more dividing wall of hostility. No more threats one group to another about crossing over a wall. The dividing wall has been broken down, and was broken down when Christ died on the Cross to make us all into one body; as believers in Christ, a people of one hope and one Lord and of one faith; a people of one God and Father of us all.

Not talking about Denominations

The reason that I think it is critical for us to have this explained better, is because people read this passage and used it as an argument against the existence of denominations, saying, "there is only one body, so there should only be one church anyway." That is taking this passage completely out of its context.

This passage tells us that there is only one body, but it is also written by the same person who wrote other epistles to individual churches, and who described them in individualistic terms. Let me show you what I mean. Galatians 1:1-2

Notice what Paul says here in Galations 1:1-2

1 PAUL, an apostle (not sent from men, nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), 2 and all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia:

Notice that he does not say, To the Church of Galatia. He recognizes that there are multiple churches in Galatia. And if he were to identify them, he would most likely identify them by the towns that they were in: The church in Minocqua, the church in Hazelhurst, the church in Woodruff.

However I think it is fair to say that he might break down his identification even further in cases where there is more than one church group in a town. So it would not just be the case that the identification was that all the churches of Minocqua would always be identified collectively as one body in that larger sense.

Romans 16

Notice what Paul says in the 16th chapter of Romans. Paul is writing to believers in the city of Rome. You see that in Romans 1:7 to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

But over in chapter 16, it becomes clear that there is more than one church within that city, and that there is nothing odd about that. Notice chapter 16 verses 1-5. I want you to see three things here:

Three Things:

16:1 I commend to you are sister Phoebe who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea; (Cenchrea was a Greek harbor 7 miles west of Corinth…we know there was a church in Corinth, and Paul called it that in 1 Corinthians 1:2…but there was also another church just 7 miles away in Cenchrea. It was identified as a different church even though it was only as far away from Corinth as Hazelhurst is from Minocqua.

He continues: 2 that you receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and that you help her in whatever matter she many have need of you; for she herself has also been a helper of many, and of myself as well. 3 Greet Prisca and Aquilla, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who for my life risked their own necks, to whom not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles…

Notice that he is now talking about Gentile churches. What does he mean by that? This is the same person who is writing to the Ephesians that there is only one church and that the dividing wall of hostility has been broken down between Jew and Gentile, and now he is talking about a church in Cenchrea just up the road from the Corinthian church and he is also talking about "Gentile" churches! What does he mean by all this? Isn’t there only one church?

As it relates to his term "churches of the Gentiles" I think he simply means that there are churches in Gentile regions, that are composed understandably of only Gentiles, because there are no Jews in those areas! It is that simple.

But note what you have, is a distinction of what kind of church they were: They were the Gentile churches. Phoebe’s church was the church at Cenchrea, even though Cenchrea was close to Corinth. So we have two different kinds of classifications of churches in case you missed it: By location and by ethnicity.

Here comes a third in verse 5: (By the name of the leader/host of the church)

Also greet the church that is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the first convert to Christ from Asia….

Churches noted by location, by ethnicity and now by the fact that they meet in the house of Aquilla and Prisca (which is short for Priscilla.) In other words, right in Rome there was more than one church. One church met in the house of Aquilla and Priscilla, and other churches in Rome met elsewhere! And Paul sees no conflict in this.

Take a look at verse 15 of Romans 16, Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and the saints that are with them.

Some commentators suggest that the people in this verse, because they are spoken of differently than others who are mentioned by household, actually may be the nucleus of another house church in Rome other than the house church that met at the home of Prisilla and Aquila.

Having the Aquilla/Priscilla local church and the Philologus/Julia local church in the same city did not look like division or separation to Paul. There is only one Body. And all who are believers are part of it, whether they belong to the Aquilla/Priscilla fellowship group, or the Philologus/Julia fellowship group.

Where have we heard of naming a church after its leadership or founder ourselves?
Have you ever heard of the Mennonites? They are followers of a man named Menno Simons. I don’t know why they didn’t call themselves the Simonites, but they didn’t. They are the Mennonites.

When we lived in Manitoba there were a variety of Mennonite churches there, having carried with them the names not only of Menno Simons, but of their locations in the old country. There were the Bergthaler Mennonites and the Chortizer Mennonites and so on. I was told that some of these identifying names where the names of towns in Russia where these Mennonites had come from, just as Phoebe is identified with her church in Cenchrea in Romans 16:1

Have you ever heard of the Wesleyan church denomination? It is named after John Wesley the founder of the Methodist Church.

So, what do you have here then? What you have are denominators, marking points, things that made the churches different and identifiable compared to the other churches. There was geographic location, ethnicity (ethnicity was by only by default, not by design…in other words its not appropriate to exclude by ethnicity) and we also have perhaps by leadership: the church Aquila/Priscites who meet in their home.

What about Theology?

To be fair, we don’t have differences noted here in terms of theology, but that cropped up early on. The Galatians started to drift into legalism and the Corinthians started to drift into sensationalism and signs and wonders.

Having different identifiers is not an automatic mark that something is wrong. As long as we recognize that we truly are one body with all other genuine believers everywhere, being a group of people who happens to be the church that meets in Aquilla and Priscilla’s house in Rome, as opposed to the group that meets at the house of Bob the Roman Centurion or his cousin Philologus and his wife Julia.

Well, we are out of time this morning and we have just gotten into the subject. But I thought it important for us to dig into the background here a bit, so that as we look at what it means to be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, we would understand better what Paul is trying to tell us. And in understanding the meaning better, we’ll better be able to apply the Scriptures, and therefore better to be able to walk in a manner worth of the calling to which we have been called.

Prayer.

What does it mean to have a personal relationship with God?

2005-08-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

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Question: What does it mean to have a personal relationship with God? How do I know if I have one? I do want one, but don't know if I have one or not.

A Reader, USA

ATP: That is truly a great question. Most people, in quiet moments when they aren't under pressure to go along with the crowd, will admit that they think about God and who God might be, and whether or not they can know him.

Even a very antagonistic toward God atheist admits by his opposition that his life is defined by his/her lack of a relationship with God. Dr. J. Edwin Orr called such people "believers in reverse." Funny! But sad at the same time.

I Timothy 2: 5 says, For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

Man's relationship with God is damaged because of sin. We are separated from him on a relational level because of that sin. On our own or by our own efforts, we have no way to repair what is broken. God is perfect and his standard in measuring sin, is to compare our actions agains perfection. As we know all too well, none of us measures up to that.

But God is more than "perfect" in his actions, he is a just God on the one hand, and gracious God on the other.

His justice demands that sin be paid for. We are wired that way too. We don't like it when injustice happens. We want justice to prevail. So does God, only he demands perfect justice, not the justice that we human beings carry out.

But thankfully in addition to being just, God is also gracious. It is by his grace that God provided a way for us to be forgiven of our sins through Christ, and for our broken relationship with him to be restored.

God chose to place all our sins on Christ. Christ who was and is perfect, was the "perfect" debt payer. His payment for our sins takes care of God's righteous demand that sin be paid for. It is similar to having some one pay off a debt that we owe, even though we incurred the debt instead of them. The debt is declared "forgiven."

When we repent of our sin and turn to God asking for forgiveness through Christ, our "sin debt" is declared forgiven.

As Paul told Timothy, "There is one mediator between God and man." Only through Christ can our broken relationship be mediated and restored.

So to have a personal relationship with God, a person must receive God's forgiveness through Christ. Jesus' death opened the way for people to have access to God. God will not allow access any other way.

If you have received Christ into your life as Lord and Savior, trusting in his death and resurrection alone for your salvation, you do have a personal relationship with God and are promised eternal joy in heaven.

A large part of the Christian life then, is developing that existing relationship by studying what God has said in the Bible, and applying the Bible to our lives. Some have the relationship, but simply haven't gotten to know God well. These are just as assured of heaven as some one who knows God intimately.

Please explain 2 Samuel 15:7 and why 40 years is recorded in the King James Version rather than 4 years.

2005-08-04T05:33:00.000-07:00

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Question:In the KJV 2 Samuel 15:7 the Bible says that "...after 40 years Absalom..." As far as I know David was king forty years and Absalom wan't banish from the presence of the king for that long or was him?

Please explain to me about 2 Samuel 15:7.

In Christ,

MS

ATP: MS, thanks for the question. MS, there are two possibilities to explain the passage.

One is a simple one: that there was a minor copyists error that caused 40 to be written where 4 should have been. For example in the ancient manuscript called the Septuagint (an ancient Greek translation from the Hebrew that was done about 250 years before the time of Christ) the number is recorded as 4, not 40.

So it is possible simply that the copies of the ancient documents the King James translators used in 1611 had a minor typographical error in them. That does not mean that the original manuscripts of the ancient documents were in error.

As I noted, a translation that was done as long ago as 250 years before the time of Christ, uses the number 4, rather than 40. So clearly, under this likely scenario, there were ancient Hebrew manuscripts used by the Greek translators, that had the number 4 instead of 40 in them.

A second possibility is that the 40 is counting from some other time rather than the beginning of David’s reign. Perhaps the counting began with David being anointed to be kind for example, rather than when he actually took over rule of Israel years after the point of his anointing.

However, it seems most likely that there was a simple copyists error and that the number 4 is the correct number.

I hope this helps! Thanks for writing in! If there are any other questions I can help with, please let me know!

How to Handle it When a Hurricane Hits Your Life

2005-07-16T16:51:00.000-07:00

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I've still been working on some other things in recent days, helping Eaglebrook Church get off the ground.

Here's a taped sermon on the Eaglebrook Church site if you are interested in hearing, rather than reading one. Its from last August not long after a tropical storm that turned to a hurricane, hit Florida.

If you have had some hurricanes hit your own life lately, I hope this sermon from the book of Job titled, How to Handle it When a Hurricane Hits Your Life will be of help to you.

Thanks for your patience with the lack of posts recently.

Response to comment left on the 'What is the age of accountability' article

2005-07-01T05:15:00.000-07:00

If you take a look at the article from a few days ago on the "age of accountability" you'll find a comment at the bottom left by a reader. (Click on the word "comment" to see it.)

I'll try to address what is written there, as it frankly is confusing at best and deserves an opportunity for clarification by the person who anonymously left it.

I'll give you the full comment first and then explain.

Readers comment on the age of accountability article:

I believe that it's relatively clear in Paul's writings that those that aren't knowledgeable in Christ and have the ability to make a choice between believing in Christ and whatever else awaits us then they are bound by their own beliefs. But they are bound just like any person who has heard of the teachings of Christ. This applies to all "non-believers" or more appropriately titled "the unknowing". I believe that these scriptures apply to those completely alienated from the gospel in some remote portion of the wilderness as much as it applies to those not young enough to counted as "accountable". Which brings up a much more interesting debate; how can "non-christians" or "non-believers" be held accountable when most modern "Christians" are teaching the gospel inadequately?

Not to be unkind, but this comment has some logical problems among other problems.

In this section the writer basically says that all are in the same boat: bound by their beliefs.

I believe that it's relatively clear in Paul's writings that those that aren't knowledgeable in Christ and have the ability to make a choice between believing in Christ and whatever else awaits us then they are bound by their own beliefs. But they are bound just like any person who has heard of the teachings of Christ. This applies to all "non-believers" or more appropriately titled "the unknowing".

Yes and no. All are in the same boat in that in order to gain heaven all must come through Christ by, as Jesus required in John chapter 3, being "born again." Without that new birth no one gains heaven. So yes all are in the same boat.

But people aren't "bound" by their own beliefs per se. There aren't double standards, one set of beliefs for one person and another set of beliefs for different person, each with the ability to gain them entrance into heaven.

Jesus said both that, "You must be born again," and "No one comes to the father but through me." His statements may be true and they may be false. I believe they are true of course, but in terms of what the Bible teaches, there is no doubt that it teaches there is only one way to heaven, and that is through believing in Christ.

(I do understand the idea laid out in the Scriptures that a person who is not a believer in Christ and has not heard of Christ, is still guilty before God; one because they have sinned in reality, and two, because they haven't even kept their own set of beliefs about morality and ethics perfectly. So they are guilty by their own standards let alone God's standards. That may be what the writer is implying, but his last section contradicts that position. I comment about that below.)

The second section of this readers comment says connects the "too young to know" with those "who haven't heard" because they are physically separated from any information about the Gospel.

I believe that these scriptures apply to those completely alienated from the gospel in some remote portion of the wilderness as much as it applies to those not young enough to counted as "accountable".

Of course if the first section above is accurate, as this reader believes (that all are bound by their belief system and thus are in the same boat) then this statement is redundant, unneeded. There is no difference. All are bound by their belief system, whether in a remote location or too young to understand.

Further, while "these scriptures" are mentioned, none are listed, so we have no idea what scripture passages are being spoken of.

The readers final comment appears to collapse his comment in on itself, destroying all logical connections when it says,

Which brings up a much more interesting debate; how can "non-christians" or "non-believers" be held accountable when most modern "Christians" are teaching the gospel inadequately?

If it is true what the reader says in the first section of his comment (that all are in the same boat, bound by their belief system) then his last comment has no logical standing.

It would not matter if the Gospel isn't being presented clearly, using his reasoning in the first section, because all are bound by their belief system anyway. So if Believers foul things up by not explaining the Gospel clearly, the person still in the consideration process is nevertheless bound by their belief system. So what difference does it make?

In the first section of his comment the reader expresses the idea that people ARE bound by their belief system, but in the last section he implies the idea (if not his personal belief) that if the Gospel isn't explained clearly, how can people be held accountable...and another way of saying, "how can they be bound."

I would appreciate clarification from the reader, because what is written in his/her comment doesn't follow logically and is flawed by internal contradictions.

Is it biblical for women to be pastors or to teach men?

2005-06-30T06:03:00.000-07:00

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Is it biblical for women to be pastors or to teach men?

ATP:

It may be surprising to those new to Christianity, in a day and age where there is more openness and freedom than ever...including living a day when there are laws to protect gender discrimination, that the above question is even an issue. But it is. It is a question that raises controversy in church circles right across the theological spectrum.

In churches where the doctrinal position is that women are not to be in pastoral ministry or to teach men, the controversy flows out of a position that says: "How could any one not see that pastoral and teaching roles are reserved for men? The Scriptures clearly teach that women aren't to teach men."

In churches where the doctrinal position is that women are restricted in no sense from any role in ministry, the controvery flows out of a position that says, "How could anyone not see that women are equal before God, not just in spiritual standing, which we all agree on, but also in giftedness. If God gifts a woman to teach, and he does, then what difference does it make where she teaches?"

And then there are churches in the middle who haven't come to a clear conclusion yet. In those churches the controversy often is, "I'm not sure what the right answer is, but I think we should be sensitive to those who believe a woman shouldn't be a pastor and shouldn't teach men. We don't want to offend anyone."

(Second person) "I disagree with that. I think we should be more sensitive to women for heaven's sake. We are going to injure women whom God has gifted, if we don't move forward with a more progressive position that fits the day we were in. Besides, we are the losers if we don't allow women to be pastors or to teach men. We'll miss out on their gifting." (No end to the discussion....)

Of course the three positions above are over simplified to make the point, but you get the idea.

In an attempt to offer one biblical and practical solution to this question, I am going to paste in a copy of a document I wrote for a church where I pastored that was working through this issue themselves.

I don't claim that this is the end all-be all of solutions, and am certainly open to be taught on this important issue for women and church. But I thought this policy paper that was adopted by our church at the time, was a helpful step in the right direction.

It contains some comments/thoughts that will no doubt cause you to think. No doubt there will be disagreement from both ends of the theological spectrum. That will be normal. But the last paragraph of the document, if applied, will be a helpful guide for all concerned on this issue and any number of others frankly.

If we follow that paragraph it will help the Christian community at large in handling any number of issues about which there is lack of clarity or disagreement.

I'll be interested in what you think.

Here's the policy paper. If you think it is biblically sound and helpful, feel free to use it at your church, tweaking it within a biblical framework to fit your local situation.

Gordon

Women in Ministry Policy Statement for _________Church

Pastor and Elder Roles

The role of women in ministry is an important and developing issue in the Church at large, within the _________Church as a denomination, and within __________ Church a matter about which clarification has been peacefully requested. After serious study of the Scriptures, prayer, consultation, discussion and input from numerous sources, the Elders submit that it should be the policy of __________Church that Pastoral and Elder Roles as described in the Bible, are roles which are to be filled by men.

Such a policy will require defining. What constitutes the role of Elder is clear and not in debate or question. However what constitutes a pastoral role is less clear. For example, is a full time paid staff member overseeing the Christian Education ministry, which may include organizing and training male leaders, exercising a pastoral role, given that the nature of Christian Education is to teach the Word of God? What about Children’s Ministries? Or Discipleship Ministries? Where does the Bible draw the line on what is or is not a pastoral role when it comes to the restriction?

Given the fact that the lines are not crystal clear for any number of pastoral or quasi-pastoral positions, the Elders suggest that it should be the policy of the church that the Elders determine in each case, after consultation with the Scriptures and with formal or informal input from the congregation and/or other sources as deemed necessary by the Elders, which roles are open to women. Congregational input on the subject is always welcomed by the Elders.

It is understood that the goal of such a process is not to restrict women in ministry, but simply to follow the Scriptures where ever they lead, and particularly where the Scriptures are not clear, to lean toward more freedom for women in ministry, not less, to avoid putting restrictions where the Bible does not put them.

Teaching Roles

What is even less clear in the Scriptures is whether or not there are other restrictions on women regarding teaching the Word of God. It is apparent that the restrictions on women being teachers are few. Such restrictions may already be covered in or pertain to the restriction of the roles of Pastor or Elder to men, in that the primary areas of uncertainty center around, a.) Paul’s word to Timothy about not allowing women to “teach or exercise authority over men,” [which may simply refer to the role of pastor/elder]; and b.) his word to the Corinthian church, that women are to learn in silence or ask their husbands at home, [which may simply have been a correction to either noisy women who were inappropriately exercising their new found freedom in the fellowship, or to a cultural stigma that forbade women engaging in conversations with men who were not their husbands.].

There is no question that women can teach and are equipped to teach in the legitimate Biblical sense. What isn’t crystal clear is whether or not a woman ought to, for example, be the teacher in a class that includes men. It is clear that women prophesied, in that Paul gives instructions in 1 Corinthians 11 on how they were/are to go about doing so. It is also clear that a woman taught a man how to more accurately teach the Word of God, as in the case of Priscilla and her husband Aquila, teaching Apollos. There is no correcting statement in the Bible suggesting that she had violated any principle in doing so. Women are regarded as fellow heirs of Christ and are called by Paul, “fellow workers.” So what did Paul mean when he said he allowed no woman to teach or have authority over men?

It is a fair interpretation, given the last paragraph, to say that since women did and are all of the above, that he was merely talking about the roles of pastor and elder, and was not suggesting that women are not to be teachers of men in a blanket sense of that phrase.

What clearly is modeled and taught in the Old Testament, the New Testament, in Jesus’ selection of 12 male apostles, in the early church and with some exceptions throughout Church history, however, is the principle of male leadership. This has been the pattern and teaching both for the home and for the Church in the areas discussed above, that of the roles of pastor and elder.

Given these facts, combined with the lack of clarity from the Scriptures regarding the role of teacher, it is suggested by the Elders that qualified male leadership in teaching is to be sought after first, but that since there is no clear restriction against women teaching (due to opposite and Biblically reasonable interpretations of the Timothy and 1 Corinthian passages), broadly speaking women should not be restricted from teaching men, whether in a Sunday School class or an Adult Bible Study Fellowship (Home Bible Study).

There may be times, however, when in the judgment of the Elders, it is better for a man to teach a certain class or better for a woman to teach a certain class, and that being a specific gender will be required to fill a teaching role. Such requirement will placed as a practical matter, not a theological one.

In all circumstances, grace and an openness to opposing opinions is to be the posture both of the Congregation and the Elders. The goal however, is to follow the Scriptures wherever they lead us, but to do so admitting our own fallibility in understanding them correctly. Patience and kindness will help us all as we seek to do the Lord’s will.

What is the age of accountability?

2005-06-23T06:25:00.000-07:00

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Question: What is the age of accountability?

ATP: The age of accountability is the term used by some to describe the age at which a person becomes accountable to God for the sins they have committed.

Although never referred to in the Bible either directly or indirectly, those who believe in the existence of an age of accountability believe that people younger than this age are too young to be held eternally responsible by God for the wrongs they have done. Therefore, if such a young person dies before reaching the age of accountability, the teaching goes, they will automatically go to heaven.

If such an age exists, what is the magic age? Some say that it is about twelve years old. Others suggest that it is individual with each person, based upon their ability to understand.

While the idea of an age of accountability is an attractive concept because of its seeming logic and compassion toward the young, the theology underlying such an idea has severe weaknesses.

The first and most glaring is, that the concept of an age of accountability can't be found in the Scriptures. The Bible teaches that no one comes to the Father except through Christ. Jesus said a person "must be born again." Does "must" mean "must", or does Jesus contradict himself and allow for exceptions?

I think he means "must."

Second, not being old enough to understand is logically similar to never having the opportunity to understand.

There are many who have never heard of Christ, or at least have never had God's plan of salvation through Christ explained to them. Do they also go to heaven because of never having a chance to hear? If so, the greatest evangelistic tool in the world would be silence, never telling anyone about Christ!

In such a scenario, it would be important never to be told about Jesus, because the moment they hear of him, they become accountable to make a choice. Why put people in such a situation if it is better that they never hear?

Yet Jesus commands us to preach the Gospel and make disciples of all nations.

Is there an age of accountability? In any sense of a fixed age, it seems unlikely.

But that leaves us with a thorny question: What happens then to children who die before having a chance to receive Christ?

In truth, the Bible isn’t crystal clear.

1 Corinthians 7 gives us a hint when it describes how the children of those who are believers in Christ are holy. On the surface it would appear from this passage that children of believers are protected until becoming accountable themselves. But the passage is too fuzzy on this point to come to any strong conclusions.

One thing that isn't fuzzy however is that God loves children! All children! And all people of any age for that matter. We can trust their eternity to him.

Even though we may not be able to come to a clear conclusion about how God decides the eternal destiny of children too young to understand the Gospel, we do know for sure that God will always do what is right.

He is a gracious and compassionate God and is incapable of sin. He is a merciful and loving God. He will always, always, always do what is right, no matter what.

We can be confident that his judgement will be rich in mercy and grace, and will be perfect.

There is no need therefore to invent some system of thought or theology to make ourselves feel better. The thought and theology is already in place: Trust God with the destiny of children too young to understand the Gospel. God is faithful and trustworthy. And as much as we love our children, he loves them more.

Sunday June 19: The Centerline of Faith

2005-06-19T01:45:00.000-07:00

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ATP readers, here is today's sermon from Ephesians chapter 1. Seems like I am swamped lately and haven't been able to keep up with the site as I would like to. That should change in the near future, so keep on checking in.

Keep in mind as with the other sermons posted here, that this is formatted for my use during a sermon. The content isn't formatted for reading. I generally add/subtract editorial comments and illustrations on the fly, depending on the moment during a sermon. And there is always more research than what winds up on the page, some of which may find its place into the actual sermon delivery.

So take what is pasted here as more of a detailed outline. Thanks!

Gordon

(I'll attach this sermon sith a link as a Word document, and paste it in below.)

Sunday Sermon June 19: The Centerline of Faith Ephesians 1: 3-9 Word document

Eaglebrook Church Minocqua, WI June 19, 2005
The Centerline: Living for the Praise of his Glory Ephesians 1:3-9

Back in 1979 and 1980 while I was going to college as an older student, I worked nights as a foreman for the Maxson Corporation in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Maxson Corporation made specially designed railroad cars and structural steel. I was the first person that the company had ever hired off the street to be a foreman for the company, and since I had never built a railroad car at that time, the superintendent took me out to the shop to the large metal tables where we would construct the cars and he asked me a question.

He said: "If you were going to build a railroad car, how would you begin?" Such a simple question and I knew that there was probably a trick to what he was driving at.

Did he mean, "Go buy the steel to build it with," or did he mean, "Make sure you have men who understand how to build one," or did he mean, "Follow the blueprint"? There is more than one right answer to this kind of question. Which one did he want?

Well he wanted none of these, because there is another right answer. After a pause as I waited rather than answer incorrectly, he said, "You start from the centerline."

When you build a railroad car from scratch, you need a blue print, but you also need a starting point to work from. That starting point is the centerline.

You start from the centerline so that everything on either side of the line is balanced. Building a railroad car isn’t rocket science. There is room for error, but the idea is that if you don’t get things just right at least you won’t be that far off, half your mistake will be on the other side of the line and things will look balanced. And balance is what matters more than perfection when you are building a railroad car.

New Job for you today: Church Builders

I want to give you a new job today. You are now a foreman, not of rail car building, but of church building. You have been brought in off the street to do something that you have never done before, namely start up a new church called Eaglebrook. And I think it is true that nearly no one in the core group has done a church plant.

We are already 4 Sundays into the building process, but it is worth asking the $64,000 question: If you were building a church, where would you start? Do we start with people or programs or something else?

Like the Superintendent who laid things out for me, I want to suggest that there is a centerline for us to work from. By centerline I don’t mean a theological position dead in the middle between liberal theology and conservative theology. Being dead in the middle isn’t any good! We are supposed to be alive!

By centerline I mean a reference point, a guide, a marker for us to eyeball the job from, so we can see how we are doing, and so we can see if what we are doing is coming together the way it is supposed to be.

Ephesians 1:3-9

We’ll find what I think is a helpful centerline, in our passage this morning from Ephesians chapter 1:1-12. We touched on this passage last week and noted the fact that in the original language these 12 verses are all one long run on sentence. In these verses Paul is just spilling over in giving praise and glory to God and can hardly contain his expression. And then suddenly as he winds down the sentence there is a turn in the content.

He moves from listing reasons to praise God, to what is the centerline of the Christian life.

Verses 11-12 in the Revised Standard Version.

Eph. 1:11-12 In him, according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 we who first hoped in Christ have been destined and appointed to live for the praise of His glory.

Some of your translations say in verse 12, to the end that we who were first to hope in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

Our very being, the entirety of our lives is to be measured from the centerline of how our lives bring praise to the glory of God.

Living for the praise of God’s glory is our centerline.

Performance Based Christianity

I had lunch in Rhinelander this week with a Christian friend that I have known since we moved to the Northwoods. As we sat and talked, he shared with me the new sense of freedom and peace in Christ that he has been enjoying over the past couple of years.

When he first became a believer back in the late 60’s or early 70’s, he said he used to read things about what Christians did and he would think, "Hmmm, if that’s what Christians do, then I’ll do that."

And then he would read some article or book and discover there were certain things supposedly that Christians didn’t do. So he would think, "Hmmm, if Christians don’t do that, then I won’t do that either."

And over time he developed the classic and flawed kind of relationship with God that so many of us still struggle with, and that is a performance based relationship. What we do or don’t do that is on the Christian do and don’t list, becomes the way that we measure our relationship with God and it becomes a measure of how we feel about that relationship. The problem is that over time, this kind of a relationship with God is empty. Our relationship with God isn’t based on performance.

So this morning as we are talking about living for the praise of God’s glory as the centerline of our lives and as something that should be the centerline for Eaglebrook to develop itself by, we are not talking about a performance based relationship with God.

What we are talking about is simply an underlying purpose or philosophy. And an underlying purpose or philosophy is quite different than a "to do or not to do list." A "to do or not to do" list without an underlying purpose just becomes a straight jacket and weight around our necks. But a "to do or not to do list" that naturally flows out of a greater purpose isn’t a burden or a restriction at all. It is a logical consequence of a healthy relationship with God.

Let me be more specific. Our purpose at Eaglebrook should be…and our own wording may be quite different…to live for the praise of his glory.

That means that our purpose is not "hold church services." Our purpose is not "have Sunday School." Our purpose is not "have a youth group." While in time we may do all of those things, they should be the outgrowth of this simple purpose statement: that our purpose is to live for the praise of his glory.

Our Constitution

Now as we are developing our constitution we have a purpose statement being drawn up that covers what we are talking about here, breaking down this concept into practical segments, but the basic idea is the same: we are to live for the praise of his glory.

And what my friend told me this week was that in recent years he has found a new freedom in really understanding that his relationship with God is not to be a performance based relationship. He has decided to really live in light of the fact that he is forgiven and that God is for him. He’s been set free from human expectations and from the bondage of his own view of what it means to be a believer. What a wonderful release!

the Blessed God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

Question: Have you gotten there yet? Have you come to the place where you are able to release your past to the Lord, and your present and your future? Have you come to the place where you are able to focus just on living to glorify him? It’s not easy to get there, because life is so complicated. But at the end of the day the Christian life is that simple.

Let me help by explaining a little bit about God from our verses here in Ephesians beginning in verse 3:

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

...and then Paul continues on with the list of things that are ours in Christ.

When we struggle with being caught in the trap of performance based Christianity, this passage is a great place to come to. Why? Because it tells us much about God and what he is like.

Most of the time we think of this passage as telling us about all the goodies that we have received from God. And it does do that, but that is not the key focus believe it or not. The key focus is about God himself.

I want to show you that so it will sink in as you read this passage in the future.

English Class

Since we are in a high school, lets take a trip down memory lane to your favorite class in High School, English. Do you remember having to diagram sentences? I never could figure that stuff out. I still don’t think I could properly define a direct object or an indirect object. For me a direct object was a baseball that some one threw at your head, and an indirect object was one that missed!

But understanding sentence structure will help us here a bit. What are the two main parts of a sentence? A subject and a……..predicate, right! Good job. You get an "A" grade this morning.

If verses 3-9 are part of one long sentence, then this sentence needs to have a subject. What is it? The subject of these verses isn’t "All the blessings we have in Christ." Those things are related to the subject. The subject is "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

This passage, much to our surprise, isn’t about us and all that we have received. It is about Him. Its about God.

You see it is God who has blessed us, verse 3, and God who chose us, verse 4, and God that predestined us, verse 5, and God who has adopted us, also verse 5.

It is God who has freely bestowed on his grace, verse 6. It is God who has redeemed us, verse 7, and God who has lavished his grace upon us, verse 8.

It is God who has made known to us the mystery of his will, verse 9, and it is God who has a plan to unite all things in Christ, verse 10.

In verse 11 it is God who has given us an inheritance according to his plan.

Even though this passage lists amazing things that are ours because of Christ and from God the Father, the focus isn’t on those things, it is on God.

Why is that such a big deal? It’s a big deal because it helps us stay focused on the centerline: living for the praise of his glory. What do you mean by that Gordon? I’m still not sure what you are driving at.

Pivot Tables

If any of you use Microsoft’s Excel program you may be familiar with what is called a Pivot Table or a Pivot Analysis. Doing a Pivot Analysis is less complicated that it sounds. A Pivot Analysis is simply taking data and looking at it one way, and then turning it, pivoting it, to look at it another way.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

For example if we were to use a pivot table to analyze the ingredients of some chocolate chip cookies that had a funny taste to them, and in our analysis we looked at all the ingredients that went into making them, we might come out with an analysis that says, "98% of the ingredients in the cookies are perfect and pure." End of story. Sounds good, no problem, lets eat the cookies.

But then if we pivoted the data away from the 98% and said, "While 98% of the ingredients of the cookies are perfect and pure, 2% of the ingredients are strychnine poison!" …all of a sudden our pivot analysis brings us to a different conclusion about those cookies.

In the same way here, while the entire passage in Ephesians is good, and in fact wonderful, pivoting the data to what it is really trying to emphasize makes a difference. The data, the verses are focused on God, not on the list of stuff that we get.

So when we read in verse 3, we have been blessed "with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ," our first thought should not be, "wow, what a great deal we have here!", but rather, "what a great God who would do such a thing." What kind of person must God be if he made sure to leave no stone unturned in the heavenly places in giving us every available blessing there?

God, the passage is telling us, is extraordinarily generous. He didn’t hold anything back. God is not in the business of holding back, but rather is in the business of blessing us fully. He is not stingy like we imagine when we have trouble getting through in prayer.

He chose us – Aorist tense

In verse 4 we find that he chose us before the foundation of the world. We could focus on the fact of being chosen and that would be a good thing. But if we pivot the data back to its focus on God, we get a different view.

The word "chose us" is in the aorist tense. That is the tense that describes "point action" rather than a process. It is like saying "I jumped" rather than "I was jumping." When the aorist is used, the idea is that there is a specific point when something happens.

At a very specific point in the past, before the world was created, if you are a believer in Christ, God chose you. Not the "random you" of the human population, but the specific you. You, with your name and your DNA, God chose to make his child.

While that is an amazingly good deal and it is worth remembering that we are chosen, more importantly it tells us something about God. What kind of person would choose people like us? People who rebel against God every chance we get. People whom the Bible says have hearts that are deceitfully wicked.

It tells us that God is a gracious and forgiving and patient God. He already knew about our coming sin, when he chose us and he chose us anyway! Amazing!

Adoption

In verse 5 we find that he didn’t just choose us, in the sense of putting our names on an inventory list. Its easy to feel that way at times, that there are so many people that God has to deal with and think about, that we are just a bit of nothing to him, one of millions on his list.

But that isn’t true. Verse 5 tells us that God has adopted believers into his family. We are literally his spiritual children. Its one thing to pull some one out of a blazing fire and save their lives as he did when he chose us, but it is another thing to take the next step and make us part of his family.

Sometimes the struggle comes in because of the relationships that we have had with our earthly fathers. I remember when I went to Manitoba to serve at the church there. The church chairman said to me the first week we were there, and he was only half kidding, "If we feel like you are doing something wrong, we’ll let you know. So if you don’t hear anything, things are going well." He meant that their style wasn’t going to be such where praise was passed out very often.

That seemed normal to me. That is how I had grown up with my father. To this day, I don’t recall hearing from my father’s mouth, "I love you." I know that he did love me and I’m sure he must have said it, but I have no recollection of it being said, so it couldn’t have been said often.

Others of you have had the same kind of relationship with your own parents. And it affects how we think about our heavenly father. It’s hard to accept the fact that we are adopted into the family of God and truly loved.

This passage is an attempt to share with us as believers, not a list of goodies that we have gotten from God, but what God is really like.

God is a person who blesses with every spiritual blessing.

God is person who chose us before the foundation of the earth.

God is a person who has decided through Christ that we will be seen by him as holy, not sinful.

God is a person who has adopted us and predestined it to be so, so that it cannot fail.

God is a person who has freely, without charge, bestowed upon us his grace.

God is a person who has given us redemption, buying us back from the sin that had bound us.

God is a person who has given us forgiveness. Let the past go! You are free in Christ.

God is a person who has made known to us the mystery of his will. He has told us his secrets! He is an open God, not a secret God.

God is the kind of person who is taking broken things, broken relationships and uniting them in Christ.

God has even gone so far as to give us an inheritance! As adopted Children we share in the full inheritance of the Son of God.

No wonder our purpose is to live for the praise of his glory! He is worth of that glory.

Blessed Person

What kind of person is God? A blessed one. In verse 3 where Paul says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," Greek Scholar A. T. Robertson says, that this isn’t so much a prayer or an expression of praise that Paul is making, as though he were invoking a blessing on God, as it is an expression that God is intrinsically blessed in his character.
God is truly a blessed person. No wonder my friend said he is finding a new peace in his relationship with God. He is understanding that we have been set free by a blessed, blessed Savior. Enjoy that. That is his plan.

And that is his plan for his church, that we might live for the praise of his glory.

Prayer

Sunday June 12 Sermon: Ephesians 1:1-2

2005-06-12T15:15:00.000-07:00

Gordon's Garden Tomb - Jerusalem

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I tried make the sermon below an attached file rather than pasting in such a long piece, but the FTP site that hosts files for me is apparently down today. When I get some time I'll change this to a link that will connect to a separate Word document for this sermon.

Just a caveat: the sermon below was created for me to use in sermon presentation and not really for reading per se. So the formatting and feel will be a bit different than if I had created this versioin for reading.

But, enjoy!

Gordon

Sunday Sermon June 12, 2005 Church Theology Ephesians 1 Word Document

Eaglebrook Church Minocqua, WI. Sunday June 12, 2005
Church Theology Ephesians 1:1-2
Introduction

Last week as we looked at the first chapter of Ephesians we talked a bit about the mystery of God’s will that has now been revealed. Whether we know it or not, we are part of that mystery. Some of us are more mysterious than others of us, but all who are believers in Jesus Christ are part of the mystery of God called the Church.

The very idea of the church which is so common to us was absolutely unheard of and unimagined in the minds of Old Testament people. There were hints in the Scriptures but God did not reveal his plan for the Church until the New Testament. So even though you may be new to the faith or new to the Bible you know something that Abraham didn’t know and that Moses didn’t know and that David didn’t know. You know about the church.

Ephesians – Christmas Eve instructions

In the book of Ephesians that we are looking at today, we have the most complete theology in the Bible of this thing called the Church. If you were up on Christmas Eve and the Church was a present you were assembling for your children in the morning, Ephesians would be an important part of the assembly instructions. Most of us don’t read those instructions on Christmas Eve, but we live to regret it.

So since Eaglebrook is just getting off the ground, in fact that today is only our third public service, means it would be a good to take a look at the instructions, even things that we already know, so we can put the pieces of the Church together correctly.

Verses 1 and 2

I want to have us start this morning with verses 1 and 2 in chapter 1 of Ephesians, with some of the details in the instruction book that we might normally skip over. There are some things in these 2 simple verses that I think we will find encouraging and helpful.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and who are faithful in Christ Jesus. 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Writing from his Roman prison Paul sent off this letter with whom? Anyone remember from last week….Tychicus. It may not seem like there is too much in these first two verses, but imagine for a moment that you are reading this for the first time.

Paul’s Credentials – Pakistan Preaching

Paul identifies himself as an apostle. We take it for granted we have heard it so much, but for these folks that would not have been the case.

Just this past week I received an invitation to go and preach in Pakistan. It is from a person who is the head of a ministry there called the Evangelical Ministries of Pakistan. In doing some research before answering him, it seems that this invitation has been sent out to a number of people, so even though the request came to me personally, I think it is a generic request to come and speak at a conference. I asked this morning by e-mail for further information and for references here in the U.S. to learn more about the group.

But imagine for a moment that you are a Pakistani who has only heard the message of Islam and has never heard about Christ. Would it make a difference to you that Paul, the writer of this book, is claiming to be an apostle, a “sent one” from God? I think it would make a huuuge difference. I think it would get your attention right away. You would either have goose bumps just thinking about reading what an apostle wrote, or you would be skeptical that any such thing is really possible.

Constitution Committee

During the week over the past three weeks I believe, or is it two and it just feels like 3 already…a group of us have been working drafting a church constitution to bring to you as a body for review, revision and acceptance. As we have worked on the details we have had some good give and take and discussion about what should or should not go into that document.

That discussion takes place around some good pizza and desserts and coffee and soda, and is in a setting where we laugh and enjoy each other’s company. As we are working on this draft of the constitution we are very much aware that none of us are apostles. None of us has the last say on anything. We are hammering things out together, exploring and discussing and debating and challenging with one another. And it is going very well.

But that process of interaction and discussion in coming to a final document is far different than what we have in front of us here today. What we have here today is THE authoritative Word of God coming directly from an apostle. This is the truth about the Church.

I know that may seem like a no-brainer to say, particularly in a Bible believing church, but being reminded that this information is the authoritative description of the Church is helpful, so that we don’t downplay the wonderful things that Paul tells us here.

Saints

And here is one of those wonderful things: Paul the sent one says that he is writing to the saints who are Ephesus. The word "saints" comes from the Greek word hagios. It means “holy ones. When he says this we know he is writing to the entire Church, not just a subset of "really good Christians." Every believer is a saint, a holy one.

Has it occurred to you down into the depth of your soul that as a believer in Christ, you are holy to God, that you are one of his "holy ones?"

Imagine the most prized possession you own, whatever that may be. That favorite fishing pole that you inherited from your Grandfather and would never consider taking fishing because of what it means to you just hanging on the wall.

That plate that you have sitting on a dresser or counter, with the lace doily on it. Given to you by your Mother who has now passed away, it would break your heart if it would be broken. It isn’t so much the actual value of it that makes it holy to you. It is a "holy" thing because of your relationship with your mother.

Whatever that possession is, its "holiness" pales in comparison to what this word means about you and me being saints. To be holy is to be a special possession, a prized thing, set apart from other things. It is significant that this value statement about us has come from the Lord himself. He has designated believers as "holy ones."

What a comfort when we are going through hard times, or when God is calling us to serve him, that God does not just view us as pawns in the larger scheme of things. If you saw the new version of Star Wars: Revenge of the Siths, you saw robots doing the bidding of their commander. And at times we can mistakenly think of ourselves as just spiritual robots who are to respond in the same ritualistic way to God’s demanding commands.

But to think that way would be a mistake. God’s designated apostle, the one speaking by the will of God, says that you and I as believers are “saints,” “holy ones,” set apart by God as a special possession.

Our struggle is that we can’t "see" that. We can’t get our arms around what that means during difficult days or when we fall flat on our faces. When we sin the last thing we feel like is some one who is holy. But in God’s eyes we are.

Marlie Snider

I just received word this morning by e-mail that Marlie Snider, the wife of Dr. Neil Snider the President of Trinity Western, passed away last night of breast cancer.

She has been fighting cancer for a number of years and winning, but in recent months the cancer came back. We were there just a month ago at Trinities Graduation and one evening with the Board, Marlie was honored for her years of service.

Dr. Snider and Marlie have served at Trinity for over 30 years and we are right now in the process of looking for a new President as Neil approaches retirement and will stay on as Chancellor of the school. What a painful time for Neil and Marlie as her life slipped away. At a moment when they should be able to look back at the years of God’s blessing on the school and ministry, and how God blessed their efforts, this other terrible battle has come along and now Marlie is with the Lord.

How could anyone feel like a special possession of the Lord’s at a moment like this? But I know they do, and that is where faith comes in. Understanding that we are saints is something that we accept by faith. Our reward from the Lord and his grace is not confined to this life alone. God has plans for us in eternity that we cannot imagine, and there are times when he takes his special possessions home to be with him.

Let it be part of your thinking that God calls you holy and prizes you, even when times are difficult and nothing else make sense.

Faithful

The next word that Paul uses to describe the Ephesians is "faithful." Aren’t you glad that the word here describing the Ephesians isn’t "successful?" Or "perfect?" No, the word he used to describe them is "faithful." Whatever level we are at in our Christian walk, from being babes to being mature in Christ, to having fallen, to having never fallen, one thing that we all have in common is that we can be faithful.

Only a few of us will be Greek Scholars or professors or Billy Grahams and so on, but all of us can be faithful. God is looking for faithful people, not successful people. God would rather have faithfulness in a person than talent.

Moses

Do you remember the first job the Lord gave Moses? It was as a spokesman. Moses was going to be sent to talk to the man who was the head of a kingdom, the Pharaoh. Talk about a nerve wracking experience. And besides fear, Moses had another problem. He had a speech impediment. We don’t know what it was, but it is variously described as being "slow of speech and tongue."

"Lord if you are looking for a fast runner, you got the wrong guy! I’m slow at the very thing you want to have me do. This makes no sense. I’m the wrong guy for the relay team."

God’s response? "Not only are you going to be on the team, you are going to run the anchor leg where we need the fastest person to win the race for us."

Why does God function this way? God doesn’t need talent. He is the talent! He is looking for people who are faithful, not talented. As he told Moses, "I know what I am doing. In fact I made your mouth, so I know exactly how it works. I need some one who will do what I ask them to do."

Built on the foundation of our faith in Christ, God is looking for one thing from us personally and as Eaglebrook Church: faithfulness. He’ll take care of the rest.

Grace and Peace

What Paul says next is: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

When we think about grace, if we have done any study on it, we think about the classic definition that Grace is the undeserved favor of God.

Justice, Mercy and Grace contrasted

There is an old comparison that is helpful in understanding better what Grace is. Justice is what happens when we get what we deserve. Mercy is what happens when we don’t get what we deserve. And Grace is what happens when we DO GET what we don’t deserve, in a very positive way.

Let me say that again: Justice is getting what we deserve. Mercy is NOT getting what we deserve. And Grace getting what we don’t deserved in a very positive way.

When Paul says to the Ephesians "Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" he is not just saying "hello" to them. He is invoking a blessing on them, it is a prayer in a sense. It is his wish, but because he is an apostle of God, he is also telling them something about the flavor of God’s relationship with them and what God plans for it to be like.

Paul is not going to prayer for them something that God does not intend, and he is not going to put in this letter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, content that does not fit with the will of God.

God intends for us to be recipients of his grace. We understand that when it comes to salvation. We are aware that we don’t deserve forgiveness and that Christ died to pay a penalty that we could not pay. We know about that kind of grace as a point in time kind of thing, and that at a point in time we accept or receive that grace when we say yes to God’s offer of forgiveness.

But Paul is talking about ongoing grace. Grace that doesn’t stop. Grace that is part of the nature of the relationship between us and God.

I don’t know if you sometimes feel the way that I do, but there are times when I am praying and I feel so embarrassed in doing so, because of knowing how often I fail the Lord. I am thinking, "Wow, what must he be thinking and how in the world can I behave one way and fail him, and then be here asking him for help on some item?" And there is a sense in which it is ok to have that struggle. We should want to live holy lives and not be hypocrites.

But the fact of the matter is that God INTENDS for grace to come our way and to keep coming our way, not just at the point of salvation. Why? Why does he intend that? First because of his character, but second, because there IS NO OTHER way! We don’t deserve his favor. We deserve his wrath. So were it not for grace, we would have no hope in our relationship with God, not just for salvation, but moment by moment.

God intends for the atmosphere of our relationship with him to be an atmosphere of grace. Grace in his outpouring, grace in his communication, grace in his plans for our future. God is a God of grace.

There are two things I would say about that: First, accept it and enjoy it, and second, become like that. We are to be like our heavenly Father. We are to extend grace to people, to each other. What a wonderful thing it would be for Eaglebrook to be a place that is known for its gracious relationships with people.

Relatives

When I was growing up we had some relatives who shall remain nameless because they are still living, who were not gracious people. The tone of their conversation with one another and with others was one with either a whine or a sarcastic ending to it each phrase. It is hard to imagine that anyone could keep that up in every sentence, but it was so practiced at home that that is how things came out. The flavor of their language and relationships with one another was not gracious and it showed.

God’s tone and actions toward us are the opposite of this. God reaches out with his grace and he is not stingy about it. He wants our relationship with him and our relationships with others to be marked by this kind of grace.

Peace

And in addition to and perhaps because of that grace, he intends for us to experience peace.

Paul is praying that the Ephesians would experience God’s grace and his peace. I think that is badly misunderstood at times.

I have to tell you that sometimes when we think about "peace" in Christian terms, we think of a personality on sleeping pills. You know, sort of a milk toast personality that has no emotional highs or lows and is always able to speak in a stained glass gentle voice. But that’s not it.

Pastor "X"

I remember at my mother’s funeral the man who presided. And he did a nice job. But there was something that felt inauthentic about him. He is a very kind man, but it was like some one had turned on the "delay" setting for everything he did. He walked slowly, he smiled slowly, he raised his eyebrows slowly. He even shooed away flies slowly. As he was reading Scripture a fly flew near him and in his face back and forth. And instead of shooing it off, he moved his hand slowly across his face, back and forth, as though he was keeping time to a slow moving orchestra number. You know, get with it! Just get rid of the fly!

That is not the kind of peace that Paul is talking about. He is talking about genuine peace that comes from God. He isn’t talking about having a personality of peace or the mannerisms of peace or even an attitude of peace. He is talking about God pouring out his peace on them.

He says, "Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." In the same way that "grace" is not our possession, but God’s to pour out, this kind of "peace" isn’t the peace that we can generate or practice or mature into. This peace is peace that is God given. This is the peace that passes all understanding. The peace that others see in believers and that at times we don’t see ourselves, that God has given us even when things around us aren’t going well.

It is the kind of peace that Marlie Snider had last month, not long before she would pass away, as she sat with us for dinner, knowing that her time was short.

God intends this kind of peach for you and I. That is the message here. If we could measure God’s peace, and we can’t because it is infinite, it is like there is a storehouse of peace in heaven, and God in his grace and mercy can take scoops of peace from that warehouse and sprinkle it into our lives abundantly not only when some particular crisis is going on, but on a daily basis. God intends for the atmosphere of our relationship with him to be one of peace.

Ok, so how do I apply this if it something that God supplies and I can’t?

First understand God’s intentions toward us, and more than his intentions, his actions. Know that God is in the practice of pouring his peace out on us. He is not in the business of creating anxiety. If God is sending peace then, why don’t we experience it more often? That answer is that we can quench the Spirit. God can pour out his peace and we can refuse it. We can have it bouncing off, choosing to focus not on the promises of his Word, but on the circumstances around us.

Dr. Howard Hendricks asked a friend one time, "How are you doing?" They answered, "Ok, under the circumstances." He replied, "What are you doing under there?" You see we can choose to live our lives under the circumstances or in God’s grace and peace.

What an encouragement to know that God intends for us to be at peace. The message we receive in our inbox from God, is not "be filled with anxiety and worry," but rather, receive my grace and be at peace. Relax. I’ve got it under control and in the end, even when there are sad goodbyes, like there will be for Marlie Snider today, all will be well.

We can count on it. A man sent directly from God, an apostle named Paul in the power of the Holy Spirit, has told us so.

Prayer

Been on a dead run the past couple of week! Sorry about that!

2005-06-01T06:26:00.000-07:00

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Too many irons in the fire lately to keep up. Sorry about that.

Hope all are doing well. More entries to come as I have a few moments.

I'll be preaching this weekend at Eaglebrook Church in Minocqua the next couple of Sundays (June 5 and June 12), so lots of preparation to do in addition to lifes normal things.

Off to an Internet Retailer Conference in Chicago for a couple of days; just got back from the Annual Catalog Conference in Orlando. Shortens up the weeks and makes catch up a problem, but I'm getting there.

More when I have some time.

By the way, for anyone headed up north, the smallmouth are spawning right now, so catch and release smallie fishing is hot right now. :-)

Gordon

Can you take the Bible literally? Part 2

2005-05-15T07:50:00.000-07:00

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In the previous post I explained that to take the Bible literally means to follow the exact letter or meaning of the words that are used, and suggested that to do so is not an unreasonable proposition. And I introduced the idea that words rarely if ever stand alone. There are placed in a certain order to create phrases, sentences, paragraphs and chapters.

In Matthew 19:24 Jesus says, "Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." What does it mean to take a passage like this one literally? Since it is physically impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, is Jesus saying that it is impossible for a rich person to go to heaven?

The answer lies in what it means to take things literally.

To take the Bible literally doesn’t mean that we mindlessly read its words. Being literal in interpretation doesn't mean interpreting what is written as though each word were separate from all the other words around it.

Words like, "for a camel to go through the eye of a needle" are grouped together for a reason. And they are to be taken literally-- as literally as the writer intends. Clearly Jesus is using what is called an "idiom", that is, a phrase that is common to the language and which carries a specific meaning. In this case the idiom is one of hyperbole or exageration. Hyperbole is used to emphasize a point.

When one boxer tells another boxer that he is going to "knock him into next week" we know that he does not mean that literally. He is exagerating to make the point that he is a tough guy who intends to win. That is hyperbole.

To express this another way, when we say we are using a "crescent" wrench to perform a certain task, what we really mean is a certain kind of adjustable wrench. You can picture it in your mind, can’t you. But we may not mean that we are literally using a wrench made by the Crescent company at all. The wrench we are using may be made by Sears or Snap-on.

We still call it a crescent wrench because "crescent" has become an idiom that identifies a certain kind of adjustable wrench. This particular kind of idiom is called a metonymy, where the name of a person, or a company in this case, stands for a product, item or action that is identified with it.

So we take Bible passages literally, meaning that we must use the meaning that is meant by the writer, with no right to fabricate our own meaning.

The "eye of a needle"in the Matthew passage above, refers to a small door in the center of the large gate of ancient cities. At night the gate was locked to prevent a surprise attack by an enemy army. The smaller door allowed passage into the city, one person, or one camel at a time. But in order for the camel to come through the door, all the goods on its back and sides had to be removed. Some suggest that the gate was so low that the camel had to crawl in on its knees.

And so it is with a rich person entering into the kingdom of heaven. They must come in humility, like each of us. They must not trust in the goods that they own, but can only enter by "setting them aside," putting their confidence in Christ and Christ alone. That is why it is difficult.

Many who object to taking the Bible literally, do so because they don’t want to submit to the Bible's authority. If they can make the Bible say what they want it to say, they think they can avoid responsibility for doing what the Bible says.

Their pride has them at the eye of the needle refusing to get on their knees before the Lord. Don’t let that happen to you. Trust the Bible. Bet your life on it.

More in the next installment on taking the Bible literally.

Can you take the Bible literally?

2005-05-12T06:09:00.000-07:00

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Can you take the Bible literally? is a question that people often wonder about. Some doubt that you can. More often than not, those who doubt that you can take the Bible literally aren’t completely sure how to apply the term "literal" to the Bible.

And if you ask the average doubter which passages shouldn’t be taken in a literal sense, if they are able to point out one or two, rarely will they be able to give you a reason why the passages shouldn’t simply be taken at face value.

So for the next couple of installments I want to explain what it means to take the Bible literally, why taking the Bible literally is a reasonable thing to do, and give a few examples of what taking the Bible literally looks like.

Lets begin with what literal means.

The dictionary says that something is literal when it follows the letter or exact meaning of the words used.

Our overuse and misuse of the word literal has added confusion for the average person as to what it really means. Most of us have heard a sports announcer say something like,

The half-back literally exploded through the line, but was finally tackled by the linebacker.

Of course the announcer is badly mistaken when he says such a thing. The half-back may have exploded through the line in a figurative sense, but he certainly didn’t do so in a literal sense. If he had there would have been nothing left of him!

The announcer is simply trying to add emphasis to his point by using the word literal, but instead is changing the meaning of the word. To be literal means to follow the letter or exact meaning of a word, thus the half-back did not literally explode through the line.

To take the Bible literally means to follow the letter or the exact meaning of the words used. That hardly seems an unreasonable thing to do or to believe, unless one has a bias against the Bible, or unless the Bible is saying something a person doesn’t want to hear. In these cases, I suppose a person might have a good reason for not wanting to believe the plain meaning of a text.

Lets take this a step further. Words rarely stand alone. Their meaning is influenced by other words with which they are connected. In other words the phrases, sentences and paragraphs with which words are connected, influence and in many cases completely determine what a word means.

If I say "John is a razorback," you could logically conclude that John is the name of some one's pet pig. However if I say, "John is a Razorback. He's on the Arkansas football team," you now have a better understanding of what "John is a Razorback" means.

In this instance Razorback is defined as the nickname for the athletes who play sports at the University of Arkansas. We know that because of the context of the words in which Razorback is found. Even capitalizing the word Razorback communicates something because of how the English language is structured.

You get the idea.

We'll stop here for today, but let me give you some words from the Bible and see what your thoughts are as to whether they should be taken literally or not.

In John 14:6 Jesus said,

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.

Nearly all one syllable words. Every one ought to be able to understand them. What do you think they mean? Should they be taken literally? If not, why not? What other meaning could they possibly have?

Ditto for these words from Romans 10:9,

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.?

In this passage I moved us up a little bit to a verse with a few more two syllable words. But are the words confusing? Should they be taken literally? If not why not? What else could they possibily mean than what they appear to mean at face value?

Be honest with yourself. Frankly how you answer the question of "literalness" could determine your eternal condition and destiny. And I mean that literally.

Just back from Trinity Western Graduation weekend, sorry for the absence

2005-05-04T06:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the break from posting the last few days.

My wife and I just arrived home late yesterday from being at Trinity Western University graduation weekend and Board of Governors meetings in British Columbia, Canada.

What a great time it was! 525 grads, our largest ever from TWU and another 65 from the seminary (ACTS).

Sometime when I get a moment I'll perhaps share some of the stories we heard from students on how God has been working in their lives, and from our graduation speakers, John Cherrington, Lorna Dueck and Dr. Gary Inrig. (Both John Cherrington and Lorna Dueck were granted honorary doctorates for their work.)

In between the more serious things, we were able to drive to Whistler, B.C. where some Olympic events will be held in 2010. Took a ride up to the top on a gondola, saw some bears on the way up, met a lovely German couple who was sight seeing. Basically had a great time.

Short on time this morning, so will have to head out. I'll get caught up more later.

Gordon

Could you tell me some of the key elements of different denominations?

2005-04-24T06:13:00.000-07:00

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Hi,

I was looking through the yellow pages for a Christian church and found a lot of different kinds.

Could you tell me what is Calvary, Seventh Day
Adventist, Aventist, Evangelistic, Chrismatic, Apostolic, and Antioch
Churches? What are the key elements for each or what distinquishs them from each other?

Are there any websites you can recommend for me to find out more? This would help a lot.

Thank you,

Internet Rainbow (e-mail handle)

ATP: Internet Rainbow, rather than my trying to explain these differing denominations, why don't we start with a couple of links I found that would be helpful.

Hartford Institute for Religion Research
The Religious Movements Page - U. of Virginia
Chaplain Care U.S. Navy

I found these this morning when I did a search on Google for "church
denomination descriptions." I'm not vouching for the accuracy of the articles in the sites U. of V. site that describe differing denominations, just pointing you toward it as a place to gather information.

The links that take you to the home pages of specific denominations will be your best bet to get the information "from the horses mouth."

The Hartford Institute for Religion Research link has the most links on it and that is the one that will get you to the most home pages of denominations.

When you go to the home page of whichever denominations you want to check out, they should have an "about us" section, or a "our distinctives" section or a "what we believe" page.

After you have checked out the ones you want to look at if you still have questions, give me a shout and I'll do the best I can to answer your questions.

Thanks for the question! It led me to do a search to find the links noted above. I've saved the links in my favorites list for future reference. Those sites are going to come in handy!

Gordon

How do we as Christians show love to people who are intentially rude, annoying or hurtful?

2005-04-19T05:30:00.000-07:00

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Question: The Bible often refers to love, but there are people I'm pretty sure I don't love. There is one in particular that spreads untrue things about my husband and me. She has bad-mouthed me to several people including one of my children. She is annoying at best, hurtful at worst.

I have spoken to her about some of these issues but it doesn't stop her. I have prayed for patience and God has helped me tolerate her but I don't feel warm toward her at all! I guess the question is, How do we as Christians show love to people who are intentionally rude, annoying or hurtful?

VB

ATP: It isn't easy is it? In addition to the emotional difficulty of loving such people, the methods of loving people are complex. You have named some of the methods of expressing love to hurtful people: praying for them, praying for personal patience and talking directly to the person about the conflict, all of which are appropriate Christian responses. Warm feelings, however, may not and in fact need not accompany loving action.

Love isn't a feeling. It is a commitment to do what is best for the other person no matter how we feel about it and no matter how they respond. So don't be too hard on yourself regarding the "warm feelings" issue. Feelings will take care of themselves in time.

The Bible says "Insofar as it depends on you, live at peace with all men." That statement acknowledges that it may not be possible to live peaceably with everyone no matter how well we handle things. Jesus, the perfect person, had enemies and critics and people who lied about him.

With some he was patient. With others he called them what they were: hypocrites. Differing ends of the gentleness spectrum, yet both appropriate in their context.

There is no one answer to how to show love in such circumstances.

For one person the most loving thing we can do for them is to say nothing and be patient. For others, a direct confrontation nose to nose may be the greatest act of love they can receive.

God will have to show you if either of these or something somewhere in between is the preferred approach in your situation. But be encouraged, you are already on the right track

Tour Israel with us - February 20 - March 1, 2006!

2005-04-14T06:30:00.000-07:00

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Israel Information Request

Israel Brochure and Registration Form (Allow a short load time)

The time slot for the Israel Trip has now been set! It will be February 20-March 1, 2006! What a great time to be in Israel. I've hosted a spring tour to Israel before and the mild weather and wonderful spring smells makes touring comfortable and a delight.

If you have ever considering taking a trip to the Holy Land, I would encourage you to join us on this trip. I will do some teaching, relating the Bible to the sites we will see, but the real treat, besides being in the land of the Bible, is that the plan is have one of the best Jewish tour guides in Israel available to us.

She is a fabulous Jewish lady who because of her expertise is often used by Israeli tourism as a special lecturer. She has led tours for presidents, celebrities, and even football players like Reggie White.

She is articulate and funny and deeply passionate about Israel. Her goal isn't just to give a tour, it is to have everyone love Israel before they leave! And you will!

From Galilee in the north, to Jerusalem and the Dead Sea in the south, we will tour places you have always read about: The places where Jesus fed the 5,000 and gave his Sermon on the Mount; the Western Wall (also called the Wailing Wall by us uninformed folks) Masada, and Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.

(See link in my profile to the upper right about the Dead Sea Scrolls Institute that is part of the University where I am on the Board of Governors.)

We'll also see Gordon's Garden Tomb and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; the Old City of Jerusalem with its stations of the cross and old world feel with merchants still selling wares like they did 2000 years ago, will be a special treat.

The Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, a St. Peter's fish meal on the Sea of Galilee after a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, a baptism in the Jordan river and many other fascinating stops are all part of the itinerary in planning. When I have the dates fixed and brochures made up, I'll give you an address where you can request them or will have "e-copies" available online for signing up.

Right now I am looking at a group size of about 30 as I make reservations. 30 is a comfortable size for travel and for personal interaction with our tour guide and with each other.

Space is limited in Israeli tourism right now. Tourists are filling up available spots a year in advance I have been told. So if you are interested, please do e-mail me early with your contact information (name/address/e-mail and phone number for now). Brochures are being printed right now. When I receive them I can send them off to you. A $200 refundable deposit is required to hold a spot. ("Refundable" before certain dates, which will be spelled out in the brochure.)

If our group exceeds our target of 30 early on in the process, I will book more space, but it would be better for that to happen early rather than late, for reservations sake. We can go up to 60 and still have one tour guide...my preference due to who our tour guide is!....so we do have some flexibility if we establish our reservations early.

I'll look forward to hearing from you! Going to Israel truly is a trip of a lifetime. You can e-mail me at: Israel Information Request

Cost details have just come together: $2395, which includes air fare from Chicago, first class hotels, breakfast and evening dinner, all entries into tour sites, tips for guides and hotel personnel. Spending money and lunch money are the only extra's you'll need! I just got this information (May 13) and need to rewrite this page, but wanted to get it on the web site right away.

Are there activities of Satan going on in the world that God is powerless to stop?

2005-04-12T06:30:00.000-07:00

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Question: Are there activities of Satan going on in the world, that God is powerless to stop?

Youth Question

ATP: Absolutely not. If God were powerless to stop Satan, he wouldn’t be God. Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me…” (Mt. 28:18) He either has all authority, or he doesn’t. And it is clear from the Bible that he does.

When bad things happen to people some tend to believe that Satan is always responsible. But that is not a good assumption and I think that it is an assumption that gives Satan far too much "credit."

When I was playing high school football I got blind-sided covering a punt. The impact to my leg tore the anterior cruciate ligament in my left knee. My knee was a mess and required surgery. Unfortunately the surgeon, a General Practitioner who was our family physician, mis-diagnosed my knee injury and needlessly removed the meniscus from that knee.

In addition when he did the surgery he snapped off the tip of a needle while sewing me up,left it in my knee by the incision area and didn't tell me! I didn't fully know why for 29 years I felt like I was being stabbed every time I bumped my knee, but believe me that's just what it felt like! Finally a few years back, I received a correct diagnosis and had the knee reconstructed and the needle removed.

Question: Was my leg injured because of Satan? Did the Devil cause the doctor's misdiagnosis and the needle tip to be left in my knee? No, not at all. I was injured because I got clipped playing football! It’s that simple. And the misdiagnosis of my injury and the needle tip left in my leg happened because an otherwise good physician simply had a bad couple of days.

End of story.

Some bad things happen in life just because bad things happen, not because Satan is pulling the strings. And even when Satan is involved, God has the complete ability to stop him.

Why doesn't God stop Satan at every turn? We don't know. What we do know is that He will one day, completely and permanently.

For now however, for reasons far beyond our feeble ability to understand, God allows certain things to happen that one day he will not. We wish the day of his permanent and perfect intervention were today. Until that day, however, we exercise faith and trust, knowing that God is perfect and can do no wrong. One day we will understand all the "whys."

I just finished reading the Bible and am wondering what is really meant by "God's grace?"

2005-04-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

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Question: I have just finished reading the Bible and am wondering what is really meant, by “God’s grace.?”
D.S.

ATP: Grace has been defined as "the undeserved favor of God." That is as good a definition as I know, but perhaps some fleshing out would help.

Let me compare the meaning of this word with the meanings of two other words. By doing so I think it will help make the definition of grace clearer.

Justice could be defined as what happens when we get what we deserve. We do wrong or we do right and the appropriate punishment or reward is given. We deserve what we get. We have earned it, so to speak, either in a positive sense or a negative one.

Mercy could be defined as what happens when we do not get what we deserve. We do wrong and deserve a certain result from our actions, but God in his mercy decides to prevent such results from taking place.

When mercy "happens," although it would be fair of God to allow justice to result, because he is a merciful God he chooses mercy for us as an alternative to justice.

There is an old story about a mother who went to a king to plead for mercy for her imprisoned son who had been convicted of a crime. The king said to the woman,

"Dear woman, your son doesn't deserve mercy," to which the woman replied, "Sovereign king, I know that, but if he deserved it, it wouldn't be mercy." The king got her point and granted her petition of mercy for her son.

Mercy happens when we do not get what we deserve.

Grace is the third element. It is, as I mentioned, the undeserved favor of God. Unlike justice, receiving grace is not about getting what we deserve. Unlike mercy, grace is not about not getting what we deserve.

Grace is getting what we don’t deserve, but in a completely positive sense.

We don’t deserve God’s blessings, but he pours them out on us anyway.

We don’t deserve eternal life, but he gives us the opportunity through Christ to receive it.

We don’t deserve his forgiveness, but he gives it anyway when we repent.

So God’s grace is God's undeserved favor. It comes our way because of the wonderful and loving character of God, and at God’s own choosing. It is by definition, not something that we can earn or attempt to curry favor from the Lord to receive based on our own merit.

Grace is utterly undeserved, yet God gives it anyway.

What is meant by the term "original sin?"

2005-04-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

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Question: What is meant by the term “original sin”?

Anon. Reader

ATP: Original sin is the term used to describe the sin of Adam that brought death to the entire human race. It is interesting to note that Adam and Eve did not have children until after sin entered their lives. Adam’s sin changed his perfect nature to a “sin nature.” The same thing happened with Eve. At that point Adam and Eve no longer had perfect natures to pass along to their children.

Their “spiritual DNA,” so to speak, had been damaged by sin.

Because of Adam’s sin and the change it made in his own nature, all of us are sinners by nature, not just by actions. We are born with a damaged nature inherited from Adam.

If we were to ask the question then, “Do we sin because we are sinners or are we sinners because we sin?” the answer would be “both.” We are both sinners by nature and we are sinners by deed.

Though thoroughly loved by God, we human beings are by nature sinful. Evidence that this is true is plainly seen in our society every day. And we know this by experience from what goes on in our own hearts. As some one once said:

"If things the that have crossed our minds to do or to say in the past month were put on a screen for all to see, we would be run out of town on a rail!"

Evidence of our sinful nature is seen even in small children.

Have you ever known a child that had to be taught to do wrong? Children instead, have to be taught to do right, to not insist on their own way, to share, to be kind and so on. Left to themselves without instruction and loving direction, children gravitate toward their basic nature of selfishness and self-centeredness.

This is one of the reasons that the Bible teaches we must be “born again.” We need God to give us a new nature, a spiritual one. A nature that is fit for heaven. When we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior, he does so.

Unfortunately for us for now, the old sinful nature also resides within us, and causes great inward battles for the Christian. The old nature constantly pulls against the new Christian nature.

The unbeliever doesn’t face that same battle.

They have only one nature, the sinful one, and so may feel no inward conflict when they sin or reject God’s ways. In fact they may think that a Christian is a little odd for feeling guilty about so called “small sins” that the unbeliever feels are of no consequence.

The sin nature has the unbeliever firmly by the throat. Only God, through Christ, can pry its hands away and save the person, giving them a new spiritual nature.

How provable is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ?

2005-03-31T05:56:00.000-08:00

Gordon's Garden Tomb - Jerusalem, Israel

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Question: How provable is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ?

ATP: Very. The writings from the Bible about Jesus and his Resurrection are not just religious material, they are the written accounts of eyewitnesses. They were written early, that is at a time relatively close to the event and were well known and widely circulated through out the ancient world.

Flavius Josephus, the great Jewish historian, alludes to the Resurrection in his work of history which was written at approximately the same time as the Gospels.

These facts are important as is a third one:

There is no written record of the day, contradicting the facts of the Resurrection.

That is to say, no one of that era, having read or heard about what the Gospel writers and/or Josephus had written, sat down and wrote a rebuttal explaining why claims of the Resurrection were false, or that they knew where the body of Jesus was and so on.

If some one today were to write that John F. Kennedy was still alive and had not been killed in Dallas on November 22, 1963, eye witness accounts, historical news accounts and the known location of Kennedy's remains would refute their claim immediately.

Yet no historical record exists from the time of Christ that would refute the facts of the Resurrection as stated in the New Testament.

Gordon's Garden Tomb

Further, from the first and second century there is evidence on the positive side, literally chiseled in stone, of people having made pilgrimages to Jerusalem to visit the site of the Resurrection. Clearly people from very early on believed in the Resurrection of Christ--the very people who would have had the best access to any historical information refuting the Resurrection if such evidence existed.

On two trips to Israel my wife and I stood at the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem where the Resurrection most likely took place. The Garden Tomb has a name that it easy for me to remember. It is called "Gordon's Garden Tomb," named after the British officer whose last name was Gordon who discovered the tomb.

Just as the Scripture says the Garden Tomb is located at a place that would have been outside the ancient city gates, and at the intersection of two busy ancient roads.

There is a stone bluff there that clearly has a rock formation in the appearance of a skull, which is what Golgotha means. Some of the details of that stone have no doubt been altered by weather over the past 2000 years, but the general shape of the stone would not have changed.

Adjacent to the tomb was an ancient garden, just as recorded in the gospels; a garden with a 250,000 gallon cistern chiseled out of the stone dating back to the first century.

On the stone wall over the entrance of the tomb, there is evidence of a chiseled archway that supported what was the roof of likely an ancient church building dating back to the first or second century.

Under the arch, chiseled in the stone rock face, are Christian symbols also dating back to the first or second century, and there is a drainage trough chiseled in the "floor" just outside the tomb, that drains to an area where it is thought that Christian baptisms were done by ancient worshipers.

Is the Resurrection provable? Easily. The historical and archaeological evidence for the Resurrection of Christ is overwhelming, and there is no evidence to contradict it.

If we don't forgive others, are we not forgiven by God and thus lose our salvation?

2005-03-29T05:31:00.000-08:00

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Question: Matthew 6:14-15 says, “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Does that mean that those who do not forgive others have lost their salvation?

Submitted by a Bible Study group

ATP: The New Testament teaches that as believers our relationship with God is permanent. Nothing can separate us from the love of God.
Romans 8:1 says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

“Condemnation” is a technical term that describes the permanent severing of the relationship between God and man. The result of this kind of condemnation is having sentence pronounced on us because of our sin. So what Paul is telling us is that those who become believers in Christ, no longer have the possibility of being condemned in this way.

This truth helps us understand Matthew 6.

What Jesus appears to be referring to is the issue of fellowship with God. If we don’t forgive others, God withholds his fellowship from us, and in that sense we are “unforgiven.” When we repent, fellowship is restored.

David experienced precisely this in Psalm 32. Speaking of his own sin (of which unforgiveness on his part could be an example) he said,

“When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.”

Life was tough on David when he hid his sin from the Lord. And the Lord withheld fellowship from David. But when David confessed his sin, he says as Psalm 32 continues,

“you forgave the guilt of my sin,” and, “Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart.”

Fellowship had been restored, as had been David.