You're not who you think you are...

That's an interesting thought isn't it? Now some of you reading this will realize that and accept it. Others...well, it may be somewhat of a challenge. Follow the link below and maybe you'll get a glimpse of what I'm talking about:
http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/international/2013/11/12/nr-tell-white-supremacist-learns-he-is-biracial.cnn&hpt=hp_t2&from_homepage=yes&video_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F

I think you can agree that would be a bit embarrassing. But here is something more shameful: many of us think we are good the way we are. We don't need changing...everyone else does. Sound familiar? Now, I don't mean to bash anyone but I have it from a very reliable source that there is no such thing as a "good person".

Rom. 3:10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; 

Rom. 3:11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 

Rom. 3:12  All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does    good, not even one.” 

Rom. 3:13  “Their throats are open graves;  their tongues practice deceit.”  “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” 

Rom. 3:14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” 

Rom. 3:15  “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 

Rom. 3:16   ruin and misery mark their ways, 

Rom. 3:17   and the way of peace they do not know.” 

Rom. 3:18   “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” 

See what I mean? Deep down inside, we are of the same mold, the same material, the same essence as the worst, most degenerate person who's ever lived. How can I say that? Simple: we're all human beings. That's our link. That's our heritage. And there's no escaping it...except one way.

All we can do is change ourselves on the outside. We can't actually change who we are. But Jesus can. Jesus can give you a new identity, a new purpose, a new mindset, a new world-view, a new heart. How does this happen? By making you a part of His family through faith. Look at this:

John 1:12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 

John 1:13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 

If you believe in His power to save you from yourself, then you become children of God! That is the victory of life; that is the right you can have...to be a child of the Creator of the universe! Not through how you came into this world or your parents...but because God Himself wants you! You can become the complete child of God.

That's a lot more than 14%. ;)

Laodicea in a glass...

My daughter came to me and asked me to help her with her science project this week. Of course, I agreed. But now that I was on board, we had to find an actual experiment that would be 1. fun and 2. educational. She settled on the question of whether or not mint actually decreases temperature or if it is simply the sensation of cooling; i.e. it seemed cooler. And before I realized it I had in front of me an even more important experimental project: Laodicea in a glass.

For those who don't understand the term "Laodicea", it is the 7th of 7 churches in the book of Revelation chapter 3 and it is known for something not attractive (at least not in the spiritual sense): it is lukewarm.

So what's the big deal with lukewarm? I mean, lukewarm is "room temperature" which means its a comfortable temperature to dwell and live in, right? But you see...that's the point. It's comfortable. It's nice. Which means it's also a state in which change is not necessary; and God's all about change. Not on His side...let's face it, you can't change perfection. But us...us. Now that's a whole other problem isn't it?

What am I talking about? Let me quote the matter succinctly from a song called "Stained Glass Masquerade" by Casting Crowns:
Are we happy plastic people
Under shiny plastic steeples
With walls around our weakness
And smiles to hide our pain
But if the invitation's open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade.

You see...that's how people act when they're lukewarm. They have no spine...no drive to really live. And so because of that, people just pretend. Now listen to me carefully here...especially in church! We don't want to change...we just want to seem like we have changed. We are just like that lukewarm water in the glass for the science project. We want to say we are changed when we are really unchanged! 

And that's exactly what God refers to in Revelation 3:16--

"But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!"

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you the lukewarm church of today: LAODICEA. Desire change. God's change, not yours; not mine. We can only change ourselves on the outside, but real change comes from the inside and it only comes from Jesus Christ. Don't be the Laodicea in a glass. You'll drown.

The more things change...

On October 21, 2013 a student walked into the Sparks Middle School in Nevada and opened fire killing a teacher and wounding several students. The teacher was a 45 year old veteran named Michael Landsberry. Now, admittedly this happened before at other schools albeit with many more numbers of killed and wounded. But there is something special here. This just wasn't just a murder--this was a sacrifice.

In today's day and age, we see sacrifice as something that is done to another. So when I write that Mr. Landsberry was a sacrifice, it can be perceived in a negative way. To be sure, sacrifice implies death which is always a negative thing. But the truth is this: when this student walked into the school and started shooting, everyone ran away from it...except Mr. Landsberry. Instead, he went TOWARDS the student, trying to give the student a chance of surrendering. Sadly, Mr. Landsberry was shot and killed which was then followed shortly by the student turning the gun upon himself. But again there was something special here. Mr. Landsberry, being a veteran, surely knew the possible outcome of confronting the student with a gun. But he sacrificed himself that the student and others would live.

Looking at this story, I couldn't help but notice that this is very reminiscent of Jesus and what He came to earth to do. He could've ran the other way. He could have ignored us. He could have destroyed everything and start over. But He didn't. He ran. TOWARD the very ones who would murder Him. Towards the very ones who would reject Him. Towards the very ones who would hate Him. Towards the very ones who call Him a devil. But there is something special here. He didn't even hesitate. He didn't even flinch. He just...came. Came to our defense. Came to our aid.

Mr. Landsberry, unfortunately, over time will be forgotten. But he will not be forgotten by those whom he impacted by his unselfishness. Jesus, however, still remains largely remembered. Even after 2000 years. Why? Because He impacted the whole world. And His death? Well, unlike Mr. Landsberry, it was followed by a resurrection. And He is coming. Again. Coming again? Yes! Why?

Because He can't bear to be be without us. He is coming. To save us fully. To take us home. To live with Him forever.

There is something special here.

Only Christ

As I'm writing this, I'm sitting at my desk in my office at church on the verge of starting a series of meetings on the Bible that will last 27 presentations. They're called "Revelation of Hope" and it couldn't be happening at a more opportune time.

At this time, there is instability in the Middle East with Syria killing their own people, our economy is still out of whack with people having to live consistently on unemployment, and to make matters worse...our government has shut down. Everyone is wondering how to fix this and that as well as asking, "Is there anything I can even trust anymore?"

Yes there is. Only Christ.

You see, only Christ has sacrificed who He was to be made in the same flesh and bone we have.
Only Christ has promised a permanent--eternal--solution to everything that is wrong.
Only Christ has died for us so that we can be there.

I wonder if we really understand that last one. HE died so that WE wouldn't have to. But the story doesn't end there. If He simply died for our sins only and then was put in tomb forever more...where would our reward be? If He died so that we could die good...it's not exactly something to get excited about.

But there's something else. Christians don't have hope because Christ died...Christians have hope because He died and was raised to life again! Who else has been able to accomplish the fact that Jesus Himself made:

John 10:17 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again."

Who else has done this? Who else has impacted the world in such a way? Who else changed the very flow of history to such a degree that time itself is measured by time before Him and time after Him? Who else has stood in our place and taken what we deserve only to give us what He deserves? Who else can love like this?

Only Christ.

Why Teenagers are NOT the Church of Tomorrow

Long time, no see!

I read this blog on church leaders.com and just had to pass it on. This is vitally crucial to our existence as a faith-based Christian entity! The original blog can be found at:
http://www.churchleaders.com/youth/youth-leaders-blogs/148842-why-teenagers-are-not-the-church-of-tomorrow.html

Did you ever notice that throughout Scripture God seems somewhat determined when it comes to using young people to accomplish some of his most significant purposes? He used a teenaged Jewish girl named Esther to save a nation from certain destruction. He used Josiah, the boy king, to launch a national revival. He used a shepherd boy named David to defeat a giant and trigger a significant military victory. He used Jeremiah, the young prophet, to bring down his wrath on a disobedient nation.

In Jeremiah 1:6-7, the young prophet wrote about his own inhibitions about God using him in such a significant way at such a young age, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth. But the Lord said to me: ‘Do not say, I am a youth. For you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.’”

But it’s not just in the Bible where we see this divine propensity toward using the “way too young”; we also see it in church history.

During the 1st Great Awakening in the United States, Jonathan Edwards wrote, “The Revival has been chiefly amongst the young.” In 1859 during the Great Welch Revival, one witness reported, “One of the most striking characteristics of the movement was its effect on young people and even on children. The youth of our congregations are nearly all the subjects of deep religious impressions. Very young people…children from 10 to 14 years of age, gather together to hold prayer meetings, and pray very fervently. In many places, the young people hold a prayer meeting of their own, and these sometimes proved instrumental in bringing the powerful influences of the revival to that particular locality. The majority of all converts of the revival…were young people.”

Why has God always seemed to use the really young or the really old or the really poor or the really unlikely? The answer seems to be hidden away in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29, “Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.”

What does all of this have to do with the teenagers in your world and your church? Simply this: if God has a propensity to choose to use the young to advance his message and mission, then we should, too!

We all know that the vast majority of people who come to Christ do so before the age of 18, so why aren’t we investing more to reach that demographic? Not only are they more open, but they are more able to spread the gospel. Teenagers can take the gospel further faster than adults. The average teenager has at least 100 online and face-to-face friends and has 100xs more influence on those friends than a stranger has!

If teenagers can be inspired, equipped, and unleashed to share the gospel in a clear and compelling way, our communities can be reached for Christ. But you must be willing to call them and coach them. You must be willing to pray for and push them.

Teenagers are NOT the church of tomorrow, but the church of today. As soon as they believe in Christ, they are baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ and are given a gift to use and a message to preach. They don’t become members of the church when they can tithe big and serve on a committee, but when they believe in Jesus. The future is not when these teenagers grow up. The future is when these teenagers show up.

The future is now!  

A Deepening Problem

It has been a very disturbing couple of weeks. Tragic even. The Boston marathon attack is just another reminder that there really is evil in the world. And then people sending riacin in the mail. And of course it seems another school has a shooting, another jilted lover kills the other, and it goes on and on and on. Being a pastor, I end up talking with people who have lost direction and purpose in life, feel they are worthless, and have nothing to contribute to society. The problem is simple: we've forgotten where we've come from.

I'm not talking about geographically, but God-graphically. Our society has gotten further and further away from the truth of how we came to be. When you don't know or believe in God, the only other thing you can come to believe is that you have no purpose; you are an accident. Which is precisely the very thing that drives many to commit the crimes they do.

I'm not talking about getting our country back to be a "Christian nation"; I personally want the separation of church and state to be as fat and thick as possible. No, I'm not talking about corporately here...I'm talking individually. We each have to take responsibility for our actions and that starts with realizing that there is a God that we are ultimately accountable to.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:12, "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold..." (TNIV) I think its safe to say that we are seeing the fruitage of this divine insight. The context of that particular chapter talks about the signs of the second coming of Christ. If you've stumbled upon this blog somehow, I urge you to think of what is going on around us and also you're eternal situation. We don't need more laws or more people telling us what to do. What we need is to find our way back to the One who loved us enough to create us--and not only that--but die for us as well. We have a deepening problem around us to be sure. But we have an even greater Solution. Seek Him. He can be found.

Whose standards are standard?

Morality. It is something that affects all, yet is fiercely debated by the individual. It is something that affects how we interpret the world around us, yet is something that is often attempted to push upon others. Who sets what is right and wrong? Is it something simply left for a majority vote...or could it be that the majority has no idea what is truly right and wrong just like the minority? Something to think about.

The news this week is that the Plan-B "morning after pill" should be available for "all ages". All ages; yep, that's what Judge Edward Korman from the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York said. All ages. Now I'm not going to get into the whole abortion debate (at its heart, that is really not what this is about), but I think this is a terrible idea. Whether or not you support abortion or not (and for the record, I think that if it is used as just another contraceptive it is murder) is not the issue; what the  judge said--basically--in his ruling is that it doesn't make sense for a 17 year old girl to have access to the pill but not a 16 year old. Since the FDA deals in science and not in morality, there is no reason to deny one yet give it to another just because of a 1 year difference in age.

Ok. I'll bite. Is there a difference between a 17 year old and 16 year old emotionally? Physically? Mentally? Maybe not. But how about the difference between a 17 year old and a 14 year old? Or even a 13 year old? Think there might be a difference? The question shouldn't have to be asked. It's common sense...something that seems to be lacking in great proportions of our society today.

If you're going to use that argument that it should be available to all, then what--fundamentally--is the difference between a 21 year old buying alcohol and a 20 year old? Or an 18 year old buying cigarettes or a 17 year old? Science, right?

This is the problem when a society has completely turned its back on the acknowledgement that at the heart of each of us there is a desire to know there is ABSOLUTE truth. ABSOLUTE ethics. ABSOLUTE morality. This is not a "Christian" nation. Never has been, although I believe the time is right around the corner where it will be forced to be. We have become like Israel in the OT.

In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.--Judges 21:25.

As a secular nation, we have gotten to the point where we all do as we see fit as well. Well, I guess there lies our problem.

The Peace Child

Easter weekend. Which, to many, means colored plastic eggs filled with candy, hiding eggs around that children might find them (between the giggles of course!), chocolate bunnies and baskets filled with imitation grass. But what is real meaning behind this weekend?

It's not about a bunny after all...it's about the peace child.

Some time ago, two missionaries--Don Richardson and his wife--went to be missionaries to the Sawi people. The Sawi's were known as "cannibalistic head-hunters", yet the Richardson's wanted to reach them with the gospel of Jesus. So they related to them the story of Jesus. The Sawi's listened very intently until the point of the story where Judas betrays Jesus. The Unexpected then happened: the Sawi's roared with laughter, danced around and cheered Judas. The Richardson's didn't know what to make of that. Come to find out, treachery is highly prized among the Sawi's--it is something they intentionally try to hone and make as perfect as possible. To them, Judas was the hero and Jesus was the fool. The Richardson's were at a loss as to how to reach them.

Some time later, the Sawi's began having problems with another tribe and fighting broke out. The Richardson's told the Sawi's that they would have to leave if the violence didn't die down. With the Sawi's, it was a point of pride that they would have missionaries among them and the other tribes didn't, so the Sawi's agreed to bring a halt to the fighting. The solution was peace--and the terms were the peace child.

You see, the way to make peace with your enemy there is to give a newborn baby to the enemy and allow your enemy to raise him/her as he sees fit. It was a time of sadness and loss for the Sawi's...and the Richardson's finally found how they could witness to these people about what Jesus came and did and what He represents. Once they were able to understand that the newborn King of kings was given by the Father in heaven--and not only that--but died so that they could live, it finally clicked with the Sawi's. They understood that there was One who wasn't betrayed unknowingly, but gave Himself voluntarily. The Sawi's praised the Lord and wanted to know more. Today, over 70% of the Sawi's are Christian.

Easter is a time to remember that gifts of chocolate and candy cannot match the ultimate Gift given, and that stories about the Easter bunny and such cannot match the story of One who gave Himself that we might live.

2 Corinthians 5:21--God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 

This weekend give the gift that keeps on giving...share Jesus.

Moveable Fixed Points

When all is equally agitated, nothing appears to be agitated, as in a ship. When all tend to debauchery, none appears to do so. He who stops draws attention to the excess of others, like a fixed point.—Blaise Pascal, Pensees, 382

Fading away. Moving away. That is what is happening to the behavior in the above quote. In an age of postmodernism (your truth is your truth; my truth is my truth) where absolute truth no longer reigns, in an age of "if it feels good, then do it" where anything goes, in an age of constantly changing ethics and morals where each becomes the arbiter of right and wrong...we have--for the most part--forgotten where we came from.

But this is what happens in a secular society. WE make laws to govern OURSELVES. That inherently means that at some point we decide what is right and wrong--for others and ourselves. Evolutionism coming on the scene has further blurred our objective reasoning of morality. If there is no God, then there really and honestly is NO SUCH THING AS MORALITY. That being said, we can then "remake" right and wrong into our perception. Which means ethical morality is left to a simple majority vote on the floors of Congress.

What is this all about? Gay marriage mostly. It's a hot topic and it really shouldn't be. Let me say at the outset that I'm for gay rights. For two reasons: 1) God has given us all free choice to live how we want (though that means consequences), and 2) the government shouldn't tell its citizens how to live their lives. That being said, I'm also for gay marriage. As long as it's not marriage.  And here is where this blog becomes maybe a little pointed.

A good friend of mine once told me that if we just gave civil unions the exact same rights that marriages have, this would be a non-issue. You see, marriage itself is a "religious" institution. Most homosexuals (and some heteros too) want the title of "marriage" but not the spiritual component of it. Marriage is ordained by God in the Bible, and in that image of marriage it is a man and woman. That's it. No wiggle room. However, we live in a secular society now, not a theocracy like the Old Testament. Therefore, why are so many people who want to have their own version of truth trying to attain the title of an institution created by  One who is called Truth? “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.--John 14:6.

We live in an age of moveable fixed points. What gives us the right to take what Someone else has created and initiated and conform it to what we want it to represent? In our haste to make gay rights and other ideas of central concern, maybe we should think of the rights of God. After all...equal rights. Right?

Conspiracy Futility

There is a new pope in town...or at least in Vatican City. His name is Jorge Mario Bergoglio, but he has chosen the name Francis to be known by. Interestingly, he is the first pope to do several things:
1. He is the first pope from the Americas.
2. He is the first pope born from outside Europe since Gregory III.
3. He is the first Jesuit pope.

That last one is the one that has many people talking. Especially Adventists. The election of this pope has caused a firestorm of controversy in thinking that a Jesuit pope is going to be the one to bring the final events to a close. Thanks to folks like Walter Veith and others of his ilk, many have unwittingly become date setters. Just because a Jesuit pope has been elected is not a guarantee that THIS pope will be the one who causes the downfall of the world.

In fact, many people have even taken to an old prophecy of the seven popes to justify that it HAS to be Francis. For those who do know, Revelation 17 talks about 7 kings: 5 fallen, 1 is, and 1 is yet to come and when he comes he is only in power a short time. Now some Adventists have taken the idea that the healing of the wound of the beast was in 1929, so they then count 7 popes from that period. The seventh pope was Benedict who was in power for a "short" time. There are several problems with this:
1. Who determines what a "short" time is? What does that mean? I mean, Jesus Himself said He was coming quickly...is "short" shorter than "quickly"? The Bible doesn't clear this up.
2. There are two popes who came before Benedict (John XXIII and John Paul I) who both served shorter terms than Benedict. In fact, Benedict served longer than both of the aforementioned popes COMBINED.

Some will not care about this, but the unfortunate problem is that some will. Jesus is coming when He comes. We have to rely and live according to the timing of God not our own. Remember when the writer of Hebrews said:

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.-Heb. 11:1

We are called to live by faith. That means we won't have all the answers now. It is safer to live by what God has revealed, than what we think. God knows the end from the beginning...we don't.

A Modern Parallel

The man who once called President George W. Bush "the devil" has passed. Hugo Chavez, who has meant many things to many people, is gone. The interesting thing about this is that the country which has for so long leaned in the direction of its leader, now seems to be reversing course. There is a call from its people to spend its wealth differently, to do more in the area of oil drilling, to even possibly realign themselves with other countries than the ones that have previously been embraced.

What does this have to do with anything? Simply this: the man hasn't been dead for even a week and already things are changing. Meaning? It's amazing just how fast things can change...even when years and years of tradition and experience would seem to hold things together.

It reminds me of a quote speaking of the end times: "We are living in the time of the end. The fast-fulfilling signs of the times declare that the coming of Christ is near at hand. The days in which we live are solemn and important. The Spirit of God is gradually but surely being withdrawn from the earth. Plagues and judgments are already falling upon the despisers of the grace of God. The calamities by land and sea, the unsettled state of society, the alarms of war, are portentous. They forecast approaching events of the greatest magnitude. The agencies of evil are combining their forces and consolidating. They are strengthening for the last great crisis. Great changes are soon to take place in our world, and the final movements will be rapid ones."--Testimonies to the Church Vol. 9, p. 11.

Things can change quickly. Christians should be aware of this more than perhaps any others. This is why Jesus calls us to be ready at His appearing, not getting ready.



Luke 21:36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

Wise words indeed.