Where's the Line to See Jesus

In today's post, I'd like to share with you this inspiring music video. video This music video by Becky Kelley which makes this point, if Christmas is about Christ, then where are the lines to see Jesus? In other words, why don't we see more of Jesus at Christmas? It is a terrific music video and she has an incredible voice. But it seems to me that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

As Christians we can be disheartened by culture's rejection of Christ, and we can continue to make the point that Christmas is about Christ; but we need not be surprised by society's rejection of Christ. There was no line when Christ initially arrived to earth and rarely has there been a receiving line since. The Gospel of John tells us that Jesus is God, who became flesh and dwelt among us, he was in the world and although the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.


We are subject to various types of lines at Christmas. Lines to see Santa, lines to see movies, lines at the grocery store, lines to purchase gifts, lines to return gifts. We tend to have a disdain for these lines because they make us wait. But may we comprehend that Jesus patiently stands in line for each life to respond to the gift of His redemptive rule over our lives. This gift He gives to all who would receive Him. However too many refuse to respond, as if to stamp upon this gift, "Return to Sender."


Where's the line to see Jesus? It is right in front of us. However, Jesus is the one who stands in line to see us. He stands in line to see if we will respond to his love and grace. Jesus stands in this line to see us, because his creation will never stand in line to see him.


What a an awesome God.

Beams Away!

Will The Real Church Please Stand Up.

To Tell The Truth is a classic game show from the 70's and was one of the first big hits for game show producers Goodson and Todman. The host would introduce three people and told the celebrity panel about them. The panel would ask questions of the three in an attempt to discover which one was the true person. The host would then say, "Would the real (person) please stand up?"

While this was a fun and entertaining show it makes me think of the church today. There are a myriad of different churches all claiming to be the true church of Jesus Christ. While there are some similarities, there are also some profound differences. Numerous people are looking at churches in culture and are asking, "Would the real church of Jesus Christ, please stand up?"

Bill Hull in his book, "Christlike", offers four general categories of churches. I rephrased Bill's categories as "The Easy Believism Church" - where all a person has to do is believe in Jesus, say a prayer for forgiveness and then gets to go to heaven; but no behavior change is required. Next there is the "Liberal Church," where a person is expected behave like Jesus, but does not necessarily need to become a Christian. Then, Hull identifies "The Prosperity Church," that promises health and wealth for those who have faith in Christ. Finally, Hull points out "The Consumer Church," where people approach the church as consumers, more than as Christians.

This last church, "The Consumer Church" is the most insidious in our culture. Hull offers the following characteristics of this type of church, "Their vocabulary is laden with phrases like, 'We are looking for a church where we can be fed...' They are preoccupied with youth programs, types of music, length of services, personalities of clergy. These folks leave churches because they are bored, or don't cry enough, or laugh enough, or tingle when the music plays...Their language rarely reveals any interest in being challenged and accountable for spiritual life and service."

Would the real Church of Jesus Christ please stand up? What are the characteristics of this church? It is one where people realize they need to believe in Christ alone for salvation, and where people live beyond the individualism of our culture by knowing they truly belong to a community of faith. It is also a church were people are challenged and encouraged to move beyond the consumerism of our culture as the people of God, by becoming nothing, so that God can use them for anything.

Who would want to join this church? Would the real followers of Jesus Christ, please stand up?

Beams Away!

What's the Point of Prayer?

If God is all-knowing, all-powerful and already in control of all things already, then why pray? So much of our prayers seem to focus on things we would like God to change in our lives, but if God already knows our needs and has already put a plan in motion for our lives, then what's the point of praying? God bids us to pray by telling us in to "Let our requests be known to God, with prayers and petitions..." But why? If God has put his unstoppable plan into place, why pray for anything else?

This week I will be speaking from 1 Samuel, chapter 8. In this chapter, the Israelite people reject God has their King, and tell their prophet, Samuel, that they want an earthly king. Samuel is quite upset, tells God and conveys God's word of caution to them. Nonetheless, the Israelites do not pay heed to God's word. Verse 21 of chapter 8 records "When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it all (or rehearsed it) before the Lord." In other words, Samuel prayed to God and rehearsed all the words the people said to him. Why did Samuel rehearse all those words? Surely God already knew what they had said. Clearly God already knew what their response would be. Obviously God anticipated this response many years earlier. So why does Samuel pray by repeating everything the people had said?

I think Samuel was having a moment. Samuel was ticked off! Samuel was having a cathartic experience. Samuel was praying to God, who knew everything already, for the same reason we pray to God. Samuel was praying to God, not to change God, but he was praying to God, so that as he was praying, God would change him. Therein lies the answer to the question, "Why pray?" We pray, not to change God, but we pray so that God may change us, as we pray.

There are many times I have gone to God in prayer feeling a certain emotion, but had come away from prayer with an entirely different emotion and perspective. Prayer changes things, namely me.

I wonder if this can be generalized to all things God calls us to do. I wonder if we are to be obedient to God in order to change the world, but the change of the world occurs as each of us allows God to change us. More specifically, I pray so that God changes me. I give money generously, so that God changes me. I share my faith, so that God changes me. I read the Bible, so that God would change me. I go to church, so that God changes me. I sing in church, so that God changes me. I live ethically and morally, so that God changes me. I serve others, so that God changes me. And as each of us lives in obedience to God, God changes each of us and thereby God changes the world.

I need to be increasingly obedient to God so that I may be change by God. This is my ultimate prayer.

Beams Away!

Good Deeds are like Good Deodorant

In junior high school, I was able to draw considerable and favorable attention from cute girls because they believed I smelled really good. My older brothers would have been glad to dispute their claim, but I was happy to live in the luxury of those girl's faulty belief system.

The secret to my successful scent was Dial deodorant. Before going out, I would spray a cloud of Dial deodorant large enough to cover ten square blocks and then allow that smoke to permeate my clothes. You laugh, but the girls weren't laughing. However, I was only taking credit for something unnatural to myself. Left to my own natural resources, I, like you, do not smell very well. In Jr. High, it was not me that smelled good, girls were not drawn to my natural smell, but rather my manufactured smell called dial deodorant. As I graduated from schools I also graduated from dial deodorant to English Leather cologn to Polo to my all time favorite Drakkar. Each improvement in cologn, brought more accolades to myself, yet it was never the real me, only a disguise that was initiated with dial deodorant. When I wake up in the morning, I don't naturally smell like Drakkar Noir or Dial deodorant. My natural smell is a bit less complimentary.

This dynamic of my deodorant is true about my good deeds. My good deeds are like good deodorant. My good deeds may appear to be praiseworthy or admirable. I may even experience certain accolades for being a nice guy. However, at more core, I am selfish. My natural tendency does not warrant remarks that are complimentary. In fact, when I am confronted with who I am at my core, I don't even like myself. But it is very easy to hide behind good deeds in order to try and impress others and try to impress God. However, when attempt to do this, I am only living in denial.

In the Bible, the book of Ruth, , chapter 2 verse 10 a profound question is asked by a woman named Ruth, to a man named Boaz, who is a Christ-like figure. Boaz ownes a field in which Ruth is working seemingly inconspicuously. Ruth is simply trying to gather enough food to eat for the night. However, Boaz shows Ruth some attention and favor by watching out for her. In verse 10, Ruth replies with that profound question that each of us should ask Jesus Christ. Ruth simply replies to Boaz with the question, "Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me - a foreigner?" Although Boaz points out the admirable goods deeds from her past, Ruth does not rely on her good deeds in the presence of Boaz. Instead, she simply relies on the grace given her from Boaz.

One day I will stand before Jesus Christ. In the presence of Jesus Christ, I can try to rely upon my past good deeds, but it would be equivalent to taking credit for the scent of good deodorant. At my core, I am saturated with the scent of sin that is repugnant and in need of redemption and repentance. However, in this life, I have the opportunity to respond to the favor and incredible grace of Jesus' death for my sin, by asking, "Why have I found such favor in you?" and then living a life of repentance. When I stand in the presence of Jesus Christ, my creator, savior, redeemer, king and judge, I will only be able to thankfully rely on his grace and blood which covers my sin and removes it's stain and scent.

Do you and I try to gain approval with God and others by relying on our good deeds? If so this is like relying on good deodorant to permanently remove our natural smell.

Beams Away!

Life, Filled with Adversity or Opportunity?

The picture above is by famous artist M.C. Escher. His pictures are real mind-benders. By gazing at this picture, it does not take long to realize that one's perspective of what is up or down will change. For instance, imagining oneself in Escher's picture, going up a set of stairs, but suddenly one finds oneself going sideways and then down. Life can come at us in much the same way. We have a perspective that our lives are going in a certain direction, but then suddenly events occur in our lives and our perspective changes, sometimes drastically.

In the book of Ruth in the Bible, we see the power of perspective to prescribe whether or not we live a life of faith or frustration in response to the difficulties of life. At the onset of the book, two women are in a very similar situation. Their lives have been drastically changed and they feel quite vulnerable. One woman named, Naomi, had lost her husband and both her sons, and was living with her daughter in law, Ruth. Naomi characterized life as one of adversity, in which "God's hand had gone out against her."

Ruth, on the other hand, had lost her husband, her brother in law, her father in law, and was facing the prospect of a life as a widow, vulnerable and no where to go. However, Ruth did not characterize her life as one of adversity, but rather one of opportunity. Whereas, Naomi believed God's hand was against her, Ruth saw an opportunity to start believing in this God of Naomi.

What would your's and my perspective have been if we'd been in their situation? Naomi's perspective caused her to become bitter, but Ruth's perspective embraced an opportunity for life to get better. Naomi's perspective was causing her to lose faith in her God. However, Ruth's perspective was causing her to trust God.

In the Escher painting our perspective kept changing and this could cause us to feel frustrated or confused. In life our perspective will determine where we end up, either trusting God for things that are better, or not trusting in God and becoming bitter, frustrated and confused. But it all starts with our perspective on our current situation. When we respond to the difficulties of life with a perspective that is divorced from God's eventual goodness and faithfulness, we will wander aimlessly as though walking in an Escher painting. However, when we by faith, choose to trust in God's goodness and faithfulness, despite our challenges in life, we discover a straighter path and understand more fully what Jesus meant when he said, "I am the Way, and the Truth and the Life.

Often times our problems are not external, but rather internal. Our problems are internal because of how we choose to perceive our circumstances. How do you perceive your current struggles in life, as adversity or as an opportunity to trust God?

Beams Away!

Adversity and Opportunity Come Knocking Simultaneously

"When opportunity knocks..." We've heard all of the quotes related to when opportunity knocks. One I heard recently goes like this, "When opportunity knocks, you still have to answer the door." How true it is, but how often it seems that when opportunity knocks, it seems more like adversity than opportunity.

Take the example of the prostitute Rahab in the book of Joshua. She is living in Jericho just trying to get by in life and then gets a knock at the door and it turns out to be some spies from Israel. She probably thought is was the run-of-the-mill client, but instead she finds these spies are from Israel, whom she had heard much about the awesome power of their God. Is this opportunity or adversity? What would become of her, her town and family now that this awesome God is coming to destroy them just as He did the powerful Egyptians?

Rahab chooses to hide these spies, but then soon hears another knock on the door. This time the King of Jercho has sent a message to "Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house..." Things seem to have gone from bad to worse. Was this knock at the door a knock of opportunity or adversity? Rahab could have given up the spies and been in favor with the King of Jericho, or kept them hidden and trust that the God of Israel might protect her.

Rahab chose the latter by faith and found herself protected and provided for by the God of Israel. And so it is with us. Many times, adverstity and opportunity come knocking on our door simultaneously. How do we know what to fear? How do we know which is adversity and which is opportunity? As we continue to trust God, no matter what life experiences come to our door, we can see them as opportunity. Opportunity to trust God more fully and to subsequently realize God's protection, provision and love for us.

What is knocking on your door right now? Do you see it as opportunity or adversity?

Is it a lost job? A health scare? Inability to have children? Financial vulnerability? Emotional instability? Perhaps with the onset of the holidays, your adversity is in the form of family coming knocking on your door. Whatever it is, choose to view it as an opportunity rather than the invasion of adversity. Choose to see it as an opportunity to trust in God and realize God's protection and provision, just as Rahab did. Choose to be thankful this holiday season for the things you once saw as adversity, but now embrace by faith as an opportunity.

Also, to keep perspective, enjoy this hilarious video that captures the stress of the holidays and our continual opportunities that come knocking.

Beams Away!

If Only...

The word "if" is a tricky word, that can get us into trouble. Such a little word, that can cause so much worry and complaining in our lives. I once preached a sermon entitled, "What are the 'What ifs' in Our Lives?" This was directed at identifying how the "what ifs," can create a lot of worry in our lives and prevent us from faith in God.

The word, "if" speaks to conditional existence. In other words, it does not speak to our actual present tense experience in life, but speaks to a conditional and often preferred, yet unreal existence. In other words, the word "if" flies in the face of reality. What are the "If only" conditions you and I hold out for and how does that mitigate against faith and contentment in God? If only I had a better and bigger house, if only I could make a little more money, if only my spouse..., if only my family..., if only I weighed...then I'd be happy.

As we read about the Israelites in Numbers 11-14, we hear a lot of "If only..." types of complaints and grumblings. "If only we had some meat to eat, then we'd be happy." "If only we stayed in Egypt, then we would not die in this desert." Their "If only..." mantra mitigated against the true means of satisfaction and purpose in life, i.e. absolute, unequivical allegiance to Jesus Christ, the God of the universe, the Lord of one's life and the savior one's soul. In other words, they were putting conditions upon their contentment in life and their commitment to God. "If only we had....then we'd be happy or protected or satisfied in life and with this God."

What are the "If only..." conditions that you and I place upon God and hold out for in our own lives? How are you and I qualifying our commitments to God in the unspoken "If onlys" in our hearts? Here is an "If only..." that I think is most appropriate - "If only that little word 'If' could be eliminated from our commitment." Then, without the "if" we'd simply have the word "only" ruling in our hearts. No conditions, no qualifications, simply the word "only" which referes to the One and only who has our complete allegiance.

May God graciously, identify and eliminate the "Ifs" of our lives, so we might find our fullest satisfaction in God.

Beams Away!

Our Prayers Reflect Our Priorities

We may have heard the expression, "Be careful what you pray for, because you just might get it." I am realizing that I need to be careful what I pray for because it will reflect where my priorites and passions lie. Upon examining my prayers lately, I am realizing that I am prizing my life and comfort more than God's praise. For instance, I may pray that my life's challenges would be eased or erased altogther, rather than praying that my life's challenges would result in other people praising God. In essence, my prayers are more about me and what God can do for me rather than praying that my life's struggles would be used for God's fame.

As I talked about complaining last Sunday, I was struck by Moses' lack of complaining and how his prayers reflected a passion for God which took priority over himself. In the book of Numbers, chapter 14, verse 11, God is asking Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me...?" God goes on to say that he will destroy these people but continue to elevate and reward Moses. Now I don't know about you, but if I were Moses, dealing with these people who constantly complained about me, falsely accused me and wanted to kill me, upon hearing God's decree to destroy them and still take care of me, I would have responded by saying "It's about time! I was wondering how long you were going to put up with them. I have had it with them!"

However, Moses' prayer reflected Moses' priority. Moses' prayer in response to God's decree showed that Moses' priority was God's glory. Moses pleads with God to not destroy the people. But Moses' motivation was not to save the people. Moses' motivation was to protect the fame of God's name among other nations. Moses responds to God by essentially saying, "Well if you wipe out these people, what will that do for your name's sake?" Moses was asserting to God that other nations would hear how God wiped out his own people and those other nations would draw wrong conclusions about God. Moses' prayer reflected that his priority and passion was God's glory. Moses could have gone along with God's plan which would have made Moses' own life much, much easier. However, Moses was not interested in a life of ease, he was interested in a life that would bring God glory, even if it meant his own life were to be marked by pain and suffering.

As I look at my own prayers to God, I realize I pray more for a life of ease than for a life that brings God glory. Is God's glory my top priority? Jesus said it so well and so succinctly when confronted with going to the cross and the temptation to avoid His own slaughter for our sin. Jesus simply and so profoundly prayed, "Not my will be done, but Thy will be done." By the grace of God, may will all recalibrate our prayers so that they reflect a greater priority than ourselves. In our prayer lives, rather than praying for better days, rather than praying for an improved phase, rather than praying for better days, may we simply pray for God's praise.

Beams Away!

Grumbling, Mumbling or Humbling?

In my sermon yesterday, I spoke about complaining. Specifically, how God is aware of our complaints, how God answers our complaints and how God awards those who are committed. I suggested that our complaining or grumbling can lead to mumbling and fumbling God's plan for our lives. But also how grumbling can lead to humbling ourselves under God's plan. Also, when we humble ourselves, our reward it God's protection, God's provision, but also God's praise. Not God's praise of oursevles, but rather our reward is the praise of God by others. The true story below captures how the difficult things of our lives, which we are tempted to complain about, may actually lead to the praise of God by others. Hopefully, it will provide a different perspective on the things we want to complain about. Beams Away!!

Brenda was almost halfway to the top of the tremendous granite cliff. She was standing on a ledge where she was taking a breather during this, her first rock climb. As she rested there, the safety rope snapped against her eye and knocked out her contact lens. "Great", she thought. "Here I am on a rock ledge and now I lose my sight." She felt panicked and began to pray that God may help her find her contact lens.

When she arrived at the top of the mountain, a friend examined here eye and clothing for the lens, but to no avail. Although she was calm after reaching the summit, she was saddened because she could barely see across the range of mountains. She was tempted to start grumbling.

Later, when they had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff they met another party of climbers who were just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted, "Hey, Anybody lose a contact lens?" This would have been startling enough, but even more remarkable was that this climber witnessed the contact lens as it was being carried along by an ant. A cartoon of this true story about the ant carrying the contact lens was devised and the caption read like this, "Lord, I don't know why you want me to cary this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what you want me to do, I'll carry it for You." Little did that ant realize that his heavy and seemingly senseless burden lead to the praise of God by someone else.

What are the burdens you may be carrying today? As tempted as you may feel to complain and grumble about it, have faith that God is using it for a purpose, perhaps the most grand purpose of all...that God will be praised for whatever it is that you are carrying in life. This is tough teaching, but it relates to the very purpose of our existence. We exist for God, and not the other way around.

God's Goal is God

Yesterday I tried to explain God's jealousy as a virtue rather than a vice. This may have been easy to understand and appreciate because I related it to our interests, i.e. God is jealous for us and is in passionate pursuit of us. However, today I want to go a step further with God's jealousy and explain it's ultimate aim and affection. However, this may not sit very well with us, because God's ultimate aim and affection, the ultimate object of God's jealousy is God. In other words, God is jealous for God. God tells us repeatedly that God is jealous for His name's sake. (Isaiah 9:7; 37:2; Ezekiel 5:13) Just when I suggested that God did not need a Stuart Smalley support group for His insecurity, now I throw this out there and once again, God seems narcissistic and struggling with low self-esteem.

However, when we view God's jealousy for God as synonymous with self-absorbtion, we are assuming that it is wrong for God to want and to pursue such an end. Yet this is the most appropriate end for God to pursue. In fact, it would be infinitely wrong for God to pursue anything less than God's own glory. What other glory should God pursue? Your glory? My glory?

The wonderful members of my congregation, although misguided in their passion for the Minnesota Vikings, would love for me to jump ship from my passion for the first place Green Bay Packers and be a fan of the third place Vikings. Why in the world would I want to do that?! To put it another way, who would want to be passionate about the Dallas Cowboys? In the same way, God will not and cannot jump ship from God's passion for God. God will not share his glory with anyone else. (Isaiahb 42) Nor will God be passionate about anyone or anything else other than God, because everything else pales in comparison to this preeminent passion. It would be morally wrong for God to be more passionate about anything other than God.

So while it appears that God is struggling with a low self-esteem, perhaps the real issue is that I/we don't hold God in high enough esteem. I know this is certainly the case in my life, when things do not go the way I want them to go. Don't misunderstand me, I am all for God receiving glory...as long as it does not cost me too much, because deep down, I cherish and am passionate about me, more than I am about God. God forgive me.

Beams Away!

Stuart Smalley To Help God's Jealousy

The book of Exodus tells us that God is a jealous God. How can this be? Jealousy is supposed to be a vice not a virtue. When we encounter people who are jealous, we wonder "What's his problem?" And on the surface, it can appear that God does have a problem with His jealousy. God seems to frequently "Go off," when God's people blow it.

Is God insecure? Does God need to attend a Stuart Smalley support group to be reminded that despite creation's rejection of the Creator, that "Doggon it, God is still smart enough, good enough and that there are still some people who really like Him."

Actually, God's jealousy, when properly understood helps us understand ourselves and our creator much better. Jealousy is not always a vice. In fact, in a loving, marriage relationship, jealousy is good because it acts to protect and to preserve the love relationship. I remember going with my wife to her 8th grade class reunion. All night there was a guy blatantly staring at her and trying to get close to her. (I made sure that was not going to happen!) I was feeling intense jealousy. Not because my wife was interested in this guy, but because this guy's actions and motives existed as a threat to my most important relationship. In this case, as also seen in scripture, jealousy is applauded because it operates and is motivated by a desire to protect and provide for a loving relationship. God's jealousy reacts to any violation or threat to our relationship to God. Interstingly, we see God's jealousy often in response to His people's worship of idols, which serve as a threat to the intimate and awesome relationship His people can have wiht Him.

This is great news for so many of us. As I have counseled people for over fifteen years, I realize we need the Stuart Smalley support group; because so many of us still feel alienated and unworthy of God's love. So many of us work so hard to attain God's approval. We have no idea of God's grace. Some may correctly believe that God's grace saves us, but then subconsciously and erroneously live as though it is up to ourselves to maintain God's approval. However, God's jealousy is all about God's powerful and zealous pursuit of us. God's jealousy tells us that God wants to have a relationship with us, extraordinarily more than we want to have a relationship with God. God's jealousy for us actually lead God to die for us so that nothing could seperate us from God.

Deep down I still feel as though I am not good enough. But God's jealousy for me reminds me that although I am not good enough, God's goodness is more than enough.

Beams Away!

What is a Christian?

Yesterday, I communicated the essence of the book of Exodus in the Bible. In short, I mentioned that God has done everything to enable salvation to occur in our lives. God initiates salvation, (i.e. seen in choosing the Israelites) God enables salvation, (i.e. seen in the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt) and God ensures salvation (i.e. seen in the new life God gives to the Israelites) So if God does everything, what does it mean to be "saved?" What is our role? Where does our choice come in to play? What I said sounded good, simple and clear,
(I hope) but there are ramifications for how one becomes a Christian and lives as a Christian, especially if God does it all.

When I finished seminary, one professor asked me, "Are you ready for ministry?" I said, "Sure, just one question, 'What does it mean to be a Christian?" This is a prudent question, given the popular and diverse defiinitions in our culture today. This is also prudent given that Jesus' teachings may have lead more people out of the kingdom of God (who thought they were in) than his teachings may have lead people into the kingdom of God. (check out John 6:60-66 as an example)

I am eager to hear your thoughts on this matter? How does one become a Christian? Is it by walking down an aisle and saying a prayer? Is it through the sacraments? Is it by living for causes like social justice? How do you know if you are a Christian? If all we need to do is walk and aisle and say a prayer, how does that square up with Jesus' call to die for him? If living a life for social justice is the answer, how does that square up the Bible's teaching that we are saved by God's grace and it is not of ourselves, but a gift from God? If God does everything, why should we pray and share our faith with others?

Feel free to answer any of these questions, feel free to ask new ones, but please do not feel free to avoid thinking and do not feel free to avoid questioning things and do not feel free to give "Sunday School" answers. These questions are too significant to be cheapened by quick anicdotal answers. Perhaps our answers and questions may show us some of the beams in our eyes and cause us to seek God more fully.

Really hope to hear from you.

Beams Away!

Fear: The Fodder or Failure of Faith

Patrick Swayze starred in a movie called City of Joy. This is a fabulous, non-Swayze like movie that I highly recommend. He plays a young doctor running from fear of failure after losing a small boy on the operating table. He is fearful of failure and fearful of not living up to other's expectations. He finds himself running as far as India, where he ends up in a leper colony. At one point of the movie, the resident British nurse of the leper colony, confronts Swayze by asking Swayze, "Junior is there anything you believe in?" Swayze responds by affirming his believe in the Dallas Cowboys. (A tough belief system to hold onto today) She responds by suggesting that in life, each of us has one of three choices, to run, to commit or to spectate. Swayze confesses to her that he is a running spectator. In other words, given the opposition and potential for failure, he defaults to running away and watching passively as the world goes by.

How do you respond to adversity, opposition or the prospect of failure? Are you a running spectator or in the midst of adversity find yourself passionately committed to something? What is it that you are committed to and why? The book of Exodus gives an account of Hebrew women confronted by Pharaoh to kill all boys born to other Hebrew women. Their response is inspiring to us all.

In Chapter one of Exodus, verse seventeen, it says that the midwives "feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do..." Their response was one of fear and commitment. They had a choice to fear Pharaoh or fear God. But, don't miss this important point! Whatever they feared would be whatever they committed themselves to. Furthermore, whatever they chose not to fear would be the thing they ran from. They feared God and were committed to following God. They did not fear Pharaoh, and thus they ran from him.

The take away from this? Whatever we fear will end up controlling us? Also, we have a choice regarding what it is that we fear. Ultimately, we can fear God and live in obedience to God, or we can fear the stressors, the people, the possibilities, the past or the present and allow those things to control us.

What are the things dominating our thoughts today? Politics, career, finances, family, failure, children, etc? Or is it Jesus Christ, the God of the Universe? Too often I exchange the fear of God by fearing other things around me, most often a fear of failure. But ironically, when I fear God, I find peace and pupose, when I fear anything or anyone else, I only find more fear. God blessed the Hebrew midwives because they feared God. What is it for you?

"My faith is such, that I am as safe on the battle field, as I am at home in my own bed." General Stonewall Jackson

Beams Away!

Divine Dream Weaver

What do your dreams mean? It is difficult to know what our dreams mean. Many of mine are so senseless that they are comical. There are books about dream interpretation and they can be fascinating. The Bible records how God had spoken to people through dreams and visions. However, could this still occur today? If so, is it relevant for each of us?

Recently, my church had read the account of Joseph. We read the incredible dream that was given to him from God. He was gripped by that dream. It changed him, because the God of the Universe had spoken to him through that dream. But, does God still do this with us today? Absoutely!

I had a life-altering dream in college, and God had spoken to me. (I know you are skeptical and think I am weird; can't say I blame you.) But, I am not alone. In fact, in places of the Middle East, where some Muslims know very little about Jesus, people are experiencing dreams and vision from Jesus Christ. The dreams are compelling and credible. They are dreams which are so compelling that these people risk their lives by converting to following Jesus over Islam. A good friend, Rick Kronk has chronicled some of those dreams and found amazing similaries of the dreams, despite the geographical and personal differences of these people. Rick has compiled these stories in a book entilted, Dreams and Visions; Muslim's Miraculous Journey to Jesus.

I was privileged to be a reader for Rick's book as it was being developed. This is a fascinating and timely book. In it, you will learn, in lay-person terms, about Islam. You will develop a deepened understanding of Islam that may mitigate some of the militant positions against Islam as portrayed by our culture. You can discover how Jesus Christ, the God of the Universe, still speaks through dreams. Also, you will read in the Introduction, about my life-changing dream where Jesus had spoken to me. It is a read you will not regret.

To learn more or to purchase the book, go to http://nouvelleoptique.wordpress.com Perhaps, God's revelation to us is something we've relegated to the past but this book may open our eyes, minds and hearts to a God that is larger than our own conceptions. If you purchase the book, I welcome your feedback.

Beams Away!

The Safest People on Earth?

There is a movie which recently came out entitled, "Lord Save Us From Your Followers." I have not seen it yet, but I understand that it suggests a significant number of Christians do not accurately reflect Jesus Christ. I would like to get your feedback on this thought.

In yesterday's blog, I suggested wherever grace exists in relationships, safety is sure to be experienced. I suggested that Grace is the safest place on earth. Furthermore, I asserted that the more a person experiences grace, the more a person will readily extend grace to others. Based upon this reasoning, I am now suggesting that Christians should be the most gracious people on the planet, because they profess to understand and have experienced the grace of God to forgive their sin. Also, Jesus said, to whom much is given, much is required. Does this apply to grace?

What are your thoughts? What has been your experience? I am eager to hear candid feedback, pull no punches, give examples, be honest. Would you say Christians are the most gracious people you encounter, or perhaps the most judgmental? Are Christians, jerks, judgmental, jovial or like Jesus...gracious. We Christians need to look at our own blindspots and take the big beams out of our own eyes, before we ever try to take the speck of saw dust out of someone else's.

Beams Away!

The Safest Place on Earth

I have heard it said in a relational sense, "It is safer to go to a bar, than it is to go to church." Can't say I disagree in general. Although, I take exception to that quote in relation to my church, CrossPoint. The reason people say this, is because church is a place where people feel they don't measure up, they feel judged by others and they do get hurt by others. Whereas a bar, there is relative acceptance for who a person is, without judgement. This is very appealing and it feels very safe. We all desire a place where we can feel as though we belong and are accepted, just like on the old show "Cheers."

The gym I work out at is trying to promote such a place. Planet Fitness wants people to feel safe, unjudged and accepted. So, they have signs posted everywhere in the gym. The signs say things like "Judgement Free Zone," "Check your ego at the door." "Come as you are." They even have a "Lunk Alarm" which they set off if someone attracts too much attention to him or herself by banging weights or grunting too loudly. I wonder if these types of signs would be effective in churches.

Rather than put up signs to attest to the safety people can feel in church, we can give out the grace we have already received. For where there is grace, there is safety. When there is no grace, there is not ultimate safety. Often times, we replace grace with trust and falsely conclude that trust is the most important ingredient to a good relationship. Baloney!!!!

Trust can be good, but grace is far better. Trust says, "because I can trust you, I can relate to you." Trust espouses the notion that "I can feel safe with you because I can trust you." Well what happens when trust is broken? Trust is conditional. It is conditional upon two people living up to a standard. Furthermore, when one of the people fails to live up to a certain condition, then the relationship is broken.

Grace, on the other hand, is powerful and safe. Grace can begin when trust fails. Grace says "I accept you, even though you hurt me." Grace says "Even though you broke your commitment to me, I am still committed to you." Grace says, "I accept you, as you are." When people sense this type of grace, they immediately and finally feel safe, as though they belong. Trust is a terrible thing to base a relationship upon, but grace is a powerful thing to base a relationship upon.

In the story of Joseph, Genesis 37-45, Joseph's brothers break trust with Joseph by beating him up, throughing him in a well and selling as a slave to people in Egypt. His brothers then lied to their father by telling him that Joseph was devoured by a wild animal. Over a decade later, Joseph had become the second most powerful person in Egypt and is confronted with his brothers. Instead of giving them judgement because of their broken trust with Joseph and the overwhelming pain, trauma and heartache that accompanied that broken trust, Joseph gave them grace. Genesis 45:2 tells us that when Joseph reveals his true identity to his brothers, "he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him and Pharaoh's house heard about it." Here is a man whose heart was so severly broken because of trust that had been broken. But instead of retribution, Joseph gave grace and focused on reconciliation.

It is recorded that his brothers were terrified in the presence of their brother. I believe they were terrified more because of their broken trust than because of Joseph's powerful position. But, as they understood the grace that was given them, they realized they were safe. When trust is broken, grace can begin and safety is experienced.

The book of Ephesians in the bible tells us that God "lavishes" his grace upon us. Our sin is so great against God, but God's grace is so overwhelming towards us. This grace allows us to feel safe with God. The book of Hebrews tells us we can "draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience..." Although we have broken trust with God, through Jesus Christ, we can receive God's grace.

In the same way, as people break trust with us, in the midst of our subsequent heart-ache and pain, we can extend the same grace to others that is available to us in Jesus Christ. Just as Jesus Christ, focused more upon reconciliation than retribution toward us, we can do likewise with those who have hurt us. There is no way we can do it ourselves, it is only by the grace of God.

Who is it in your life that has hurt you? Let me be so bold as to suggest, if you are unable to extend grace to them, it is because you have not truly experienced it yourself. The more we understand and receive grace from God, the more readily we are willing to extend it to others. May we do this always at CrossPoint Church, with those we love and especially with those who have hurt us most. For as Jesus said, "If you love those who love you, what credit iss that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them...But love your enemies, do good to them and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great and you will be sons (and daughters) of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked."

Beams Away!

The Two Most Encouraging Words in Scripture

On a previous blog, I commented about insincere apologies which are often marked by the word "but." I suggested we not let our "but" hang out when we give an apology, because when we try to apologize and insert the word "but" it negates the initial apology and sounds more like justification. For instance, "I am sorry for being late again, but..."

However, there are two remarkably encouraging words in the Bible and the first of the two is the word "but." The second most encouraging word is "God." When the two words, "but God," appear it often negates the previous events and points to a brighter future. For instance, Romans 5:6,7 tell us about our sinful and powerless state. It describes how we have no hope to save ourselves. Then, in verse 8 are those two most powerful words, "But God." Those two words mark the beginning of a bright future than can negate our past sin. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

In the story of Joseph, which we read last week, Joseph was wrongly accused of inappropriate relations with a married woman, and then thrown into prison for it. Just when everything seemed unfair and life seemed hopeless there are those to most encouraging words in Genesis 39:21, it tells us "But God remembered Joseph..." It suggests that although all seemed hopeless, for Joseph, God was still committed to Joseph, had not forgotten Joseph and was working for a better future for Joseph.

How about you? How about me? As I have been lying flat on my back all day due to a bulging disk in my back, I need to be reminded of these two words. As I have been frustrated with being taken out of commission for a while, nervous about how bad this will get, falling behind in work, I need to remind myself again of those two words, "but God."

Do you need to hear these words today? As life seems hopeless and you seem helpless, when all seems lost and things are unfair, remember these two words, "but God." As we surrender our lives more fully to Jesus Christ, our past can be negated and our present reinterpreted because God will be the author of our future. So, try to finish the rest after those two words for your own life. "But God..." and be encouraged.

Beams Away!

A Life of No Regrets

Do you have regrets? I sure do. Would you like me to tell you what they are? Forget it.

We all have regrets about certain things from our past, but what do we do about them? That is the overwhelming aspect of regret. It is so permanent. That is why we feel the emotion called regret, because it accompanies a permanent condition about our past that we are unable to change. We can try to make ammends for our past, but those ammends do not take away things we've done and nor to they erase our memory. Other people will remember what we've done, and so will we. Those memories can be haunting.

But what does God remember about our past? We can be encouraged by looking at the life of Abraham. Abraham is known by God for his great faith. Hebrews 11:8-19 is the record of Abraham that God reveals to us. There is no recalling of his many failures in this passage of scripture. Instead, only his successes are recalled. Specifically, Hebrews 11:8-19 recalls three times when Abraham had faith in God, by obeying God through doing that which was unconventional, inconvenient and uncomfortable. This is what God remembers about Abraham.

Wow! One choice of faith to surrender one's life can overcome a lifetime of sinful bad choices. I am not suggesting we don't live with the consequences of our choices, but God recalls them no more. I may live with the consequences of my sin amongst other people, but I don't have to before God. While I may remember them, and others may want to define me by them, God remembers them no more. In fact, the Bible tells us that our sin and wrong, selfish decisions are behind God. He sees them no more. They are covered over by Christ's shed blood for me. Faith enables this to occur.

I am so encouraged, because I have made so many bad choices. I am thankful because Jesus made a choice to die for me, and I chose to have faith in him. His decision was gut wrenching, mine was easy. It does not seem fair that I get off, but I thank God it is not fair.

God, Our Cosmic Sugar Daddy

Keith Green, singer and song writer of the 70s sings a song with the lyrics, "Bless me Lord!, Bless me Lord, it's all I ever hear, no one hurts, no one aches, no one even sheds one tear, but He cries, He weeps and He bleeds, and He cares for your needs, but you just lay back and keep soaking it in! Can't you see it's such sin!?" This song of the 70s even more accurately describes the Amercian church of today. Collectively, churches in the U.S. are billions of dollars in building debt for the sake of catering to the consumerism of our culture which has contaminated Christ's followers. While our worship services are often comprised of lush comfort and lively entertainment, billions of people still need to receive the greatest blessing of their Creator. We have sorrily missed the call of God and sought after comfort from God, our cosmic sugar-daddy who exists to answer our prayer requests that are catered to and communicated around our needs and wants.

Genesis 12 records the essence of God's call to all His people as it is specifically given to Abram. Inherent in God's call are two commands. First, God commands him to LEAVE. Second, there is a command to BE A BLESSING. Our English translations often miss this from the original Hebrew because it is often incorrectly rendered, "and you will be a blessing." However, this misses the mark. God is not suggesting that as a result of leaving, Abram will be a blessing, but rather God is commanding Abram to "...be a blessing." The command to be a blessing implies that Abram's M.O. in life, his drive and singular intention is to be a blessing. But first he must leave.

The leaving of Abram involved leaving three things, familiarity (his country) family (father's household) and identity (his own people, ethnicity). I don't know about you, but if I were called to leave such things, this would smack in the face of the two gods I worship most, control and comfort. This was essentially what Abram was called to leave, as mostly evidenced in the fact that God did not even tell Abram where he was going.

Abram not only obeyed the first command to leave, but he also obeyed the second command to be a blessing. Immediately, Abram takes many people, or in the Hebrew it says many "souls" with him from Haran. These people or souls were immediately exposed to this new God. Thus, they were richly blessed. But notice, the mode of blessing by Abram. He did not simply bless people by offering assistance to their life struggles. Instead, Abram continually blessed people with God. For instance, in the land of Canaan, he built two altars, one in Shechem and one east of Bethel. There he called upon the Lord. This means that he proclaimed or taught about his God. So, how was Abram blessing people? Not solely by material or physical means, but primarily by addressing their spiritual needs. Often churches today are content to limit our blessing of others by helping them out in life, often because we worry too much about what they may think of us if we talk about Jesus.

Also, notice Abram did not understand God to exist in order to bless Abram! Instead, Abram saw himself existing to be a blessing to others for God. In fact, upon Abram's death, he still did not see the promise of God fulfilled. He had only one son from his wife Sarah, not the millions God promised. Furthermore, he owned only one piece of real estate and that was a cave to be buried, not the expanse of real estate of Canaan which God promised. Did Abram feel cheated by God? Did Abram begin to pray that God would deliver on His promise? No. This was okay with Abram because he understood that God did not exist for him, but rather he existed for God and that God, Himself was his reward, not the children, nor the land.

Ironically, God's call to Abram is not only God's call to everyone on earth, it is modeled in Christ's own mission to earth. Jesus Christ's life is comprised of the same two commands. First, Jesus Christ, although being God and not obligated, nonetheless, LEFT Heaven. He gave control over to God the Father and gave up the comfort of Heaven to be dependent upon the womb of a 14 year old girl named Mary and to live a life dependent upon God the Father. Also, this life of Christ embodied the second command to BE A BLESSING. Jesus' blessing to us is not an improved life. The blessing of Jesus is not for us to have the life we've always wanted. Instead, Jesus' blessing was the same as Abram's life to bless people with God. Thus Jesus blesses us with Himself which involves being given a new life. A new life which involves LEAVING all our sin and BEING A BLESSING to all by sharing Jesus Christ with them.

What would happen in churches today if all of our personal prayer requests were replaced with thanksgiving to God because we trust in His faithfulness and goodness? What if those same prayer requests were replaced by passionate and persistant pleas for God to show us and enable us to be greater blessings to others? How would the world be different if some of the richest people in the world, American Christians, repented of their affluence, sold their church buildings which exist for themselves and used the money to help people in the world and tell them about Jesus? Would the world be any different? Would I be any different? Will I leave my gods of comfort and control to fully follow God with a singular intention of being a blessing to the world? Will you? Why won't we?

Beams Away!

Perspective In a Season of Politics

In the heat of this political season we are inundated with many promises by different politicians. As different as they appear to be, they are very similar in one way. They are all making promises of protection and provision. They promise to protect from increased taxes or from a poor economy, while promising to provide things like jobs and better education or more opportunity. They are well intentioned, some of them, and can look us in the eye, from our television screen, or shake our hands, while unaware of who we are. But can they deliver? Do we put our trust in them to deliver? How will we feel if our party is not in office after the November elections?

Ironically God is making many of the same types of promises to us. God promises to protect us and to provide for us. This is a constant theme in the Bible. In fact, this dynamic of protection and provision is inherent within the Ten Commandments. Also, in Genesis 15 verse 1, God makes this promise to Abram. He tells him I am your shield (protection) and your great reward. (provision) This was said to Abram when Abram felt very vulnerable because he still had no children and his life was seemingly meaningless.

Many of us feel vulnerable by the economic times of today. However, even today, God makes the same promise of provision and protection to those who surrender to him by faith. Also, God does this while calling us by name, after dying on a cross for our sinful offense towards God and by knowing our needs even before we utter them to God. God can and does deliver for those who love and trust God.

The future of our country will never be determined by the abilities of politicians to provide and protect us. All of our provisions and protection come from God alone. Do I really believe this? Why or why not? How does my life show it? If this is true, then why am I worried about certain things in my life today?

Beams Away!

Making Room for What is Most Valuable

Have you ever had difficulty parting with things from your past? My wife and I have moved several times over the past fifteen years and we have always brought a roll top desk with us. It is a beautiful piece of furniture, but would never fit in any of our new homes. We would conclude, this is such a valuable piece, we don't want to seperate from it. However, we could never get it to fit and so it simply took up space, didn't look good anymore and we never used it. But we could never part with it either. It never dawned on us to ask ourselves "How can something we never use, that continually takes up valuable space be so valuable to us?"

So it is with each of us in our walk with Jesus. Abram found this out in Genesis 11:27-32 and 12:4. Abram was called by God to leave everything by faith and follow God. Yet, Abram took his father and other relatives with him. This was an act of faith of Abram to leave his home, yet it was comingled with compromise. The result of compromised faith is a compromised life, and we become obstacles rather than instruments to what God wants to do. Abram, instead of leaving his father, took his father with him and this caused Abram to stay in Haran until his father died. Also, Abram's nephew lot, caused a number of problems for Abram, until they agreed to finally part from one another. Whatever we compromise our faith with ends up being an obstacle to the new life God has for us. The perceived value of people from Abram's past just did not fit in his new life with God.

A new life in Christ demands full allegiance and obedience. But does this not sound like God is going overboard a little bit? How uncaring would it have been for Abram to leave his father and other family behind. This perspective lacks faith as well because it assumes a number of things. First it assumes that although Abram could acclaim God's goodness and faithfulness by leaving his home, he wouldn't lay claim to God taking care of his family that he would have left behind. The other assumption by Abram is by being obedient to God's call, he was also a bit entitled to something for himself. Abram had viewed his family as his reward and his future promised children as his reward. However, God told Abram in Genesis 15 "I am your great reward." As we leave more of our life behind in full obedience to God, we will discover certain things don't fit and that God himself is the One who is most valuable and precious.

What do you and I have in our new life in Christ that no longer fits? Is Jesus Christ truly our great reward or are there things we prize more than him? Is it family? Is it comfort? Is it a noon kick off of football? Is it a cabin? Is it children?

Beams away!

A Building To No Where

As our congregation has recently read the story of the tower of Babel as recorded in Genesis, it is important to once again understand the theme of God's limits, our surpassing God's limits and God's surpassing love.

It is often misunderstood that the tower of Babel, was erected by the people of that day with the intention of reaching God. However, these types of buildings were common in that day, and the purpose was not to reach God, but to construct a building with the intention of getting God to come down to earth. Thus the story of the tower of Babel is a story about humanity's futuile attempts to invoke God's presence with them.

However, due to the universal contaminant of sin within all people, and God being a holy Being, God has established limits regarding his presence with humanity. The first limit is that humanity is unable to be in God's presence. Second, if God's presence is ever to be experienced among people, then God would be the only one capable of establishing it. Thus, God's presence is experienced on God's terms. The Old Testament records how God's presence was to be experienced and managed with clear rules and parameters or limits. These limits and rules applied specifically to God's presence in the Tabernacle. Any surpassing of God's rules and limits regarding His presence would result in the same consequence that Adam and Eve experienced, which is God's presence being withdrawn. However, in the New Testament, because of Christ's atoning and substitutionary death for humanity's sin, humanity can experience the very presence of God within their own lives. In fact, a human being is able to house the presence of God just like the tabernacle did in the Old Testament.

So, is this automatic? Does God's presence exist within all people today? No. Many people today are still attempting to building bridges and even buildings to God in order to invoke God's presence with them. Some of the bridges we build are in the form of our good behaviors, church attendance, moral living and accepting of all people. Also, the American church is infatuated with building buildings. One study estimates that American churches are billions of dollars in building debt, and for what? To worship a God who says He dwells not in temples made by hand. We all are inept at building anything in our lives that is so impressive, God would want to come and dwell with us. In fact, if we could invoke God's presence through our own efforts, then Jesus Christ would not have died for nothing.

God has already build a bridge to humanity, through His son Jesus Christ. For humanity to experience God's presence, a person needs to change the direction of their lives, by turning toward God, trusting that His bridge is the bridge that leads to forgiveness of sin and a new life in the presence of God. By doing so, a person lays down their own efforts to please God and their own lives to please themeself, realizing these are all bridges to no where.

Isn't it funny how a story from thousands of years ago is so relevant to our lives today? Am I building bridges to no where, relyin on myself to impress God? Absolutely! How about you?

The Limits and Benefits of Noah's Ark

Last week in my sermon, I communicated that God sets limits which create order amidst chaos. Also, we surpass God's limits and create chaos amidst God's order. However, God still has a surpassing love for His creation. This is a theme that not only runs throughout the Bible, but also throughout human history. Allow me to offer some observations about the account of Noah to highlight this theme and help us examine our own lives.

First, Noah was eager to stay within God's limits. The obvious limit was the Ark. Noah and his family had been in the ark for a year before they left it. But they would not leave it until God had shown them it was time. Personally speaking, when we drive a distance of one hour in the car, my kids are asking me, "Are we there yet?" "How much longer?" Yet, Noah, after a year in the ark, was still only eager to remain within the protection and provision of God's limit...the ark. Am I willing to persevere, content and patient in God's timing for my life?

Next, the Hebrew text tells us that "the ark came to rest." This is ironic because Noah's name sounds like the Hebrew word for comfort and actually means "rest." Noah's father Lamech desired his son to bring rest to the world, hence he named him Noah. In fact, rest did come to the world after the flood and through Noah's obedience to remain within God's limits. However, the rest came at a large cost. Justice was served upon the world by God and the population of the world died. However, it must be noted that the world was given grace by God to be saved within the limits of God's provision, i.e. the ark. Yet the world refused, choosing to surpass God's gracious limit, and thus the world experienced chaos, death and destruction.

Rest has come to the world again, through another offspring of Lamech, Jesus Christ. The world can find rest in Jesus Christ, if only we respond to God's invitation for salvation. However, it must be noted again, that this rest is afforded at a tremendous cost, the slaughter of God's son Jesus Christ, who did not simply die for us, but sacrificially and subsitutionally took our sin upon himself. This is God's grace, which just like Noah is offered, but will not be offered forever. Will we respond to God's gracious invitation to leave everything in order to live in His beneficial limits found in a life of service to Jesus Christ?

Beams Away!

Telling God's Story Through The Hand We've Been Dealt

Recently, I was playing cards and as the cards were being dealt, I was very unhappy with the hand I was receiving. I was beginning to feel hopeless . I thought I was going to have to bluff my way through in order to come out ahead. However, the dealer made a mistake, which meant that we started over. Everyone turned in their old cards and were dealt brand new ones. Thankfully, my new hand was a great one. It was very different from my previous hand and in the end, I won, without having to bluff.

Ever feel you have been dealt a difficult hand in life? Ever feel like you got the short end of the stick in life or in your family? Ever look at your past with regret? Ever feel like you are simply bluffing your way through life? There is hope and comfort for each of us. We can have a future that is new and radically different from our past. Interestingly, this hope is found in the geneologies of Genesis. If we read carefully, we will see God's Story for the world and for each of us, is captured in these otherwise monotenous geneologies.

In Genesis 4 and 5 we read the geneologies of Cain, who killed his brother Abel and that of Seth, Adam and Eve's third son, whom they bore after Abel's death. In these geneologies we see the line of Cain, and the line of Seth each produce a son named Lemech. We do not know much of the Lemech related to Cain, but we do know something significant about the line of Lemech that descendended from Seth.

Seth's Lemech had a son named Noah. Seth's concern in those days was that his son would bring comfort and rest, because making a living was difficult. So, Lemech named his son Noah, which is very close in sounding like the Hebrew word for comfort. As we read in The Story, Noah was used by God to save the world by continuing the plan and promise of God, because Noah's offspring would eventually produce the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Each of us are like the two Lamechs. Just as they were two different people, from two different lineages, but having the same name, we too can be two different people, from two different lineages, while maintaining our same name. We are all born from a lineage of sin, which chronically surpasses God's limits. But God's surpassing love can make us children of God, through His Son Jesus Christ; and thereby transform us into a different person of a new and different lineage, while maintaining the same name.

There was no mistake in the hand each of us has been dealt in life. However, God, through His Son, Jesus Christ, will take whatever hand we've been dealt, and give us a new deal, a new life, if we only we give up that hand to Him.

The Prequel

A prequel by definition is "the earlier part of the story." Although Genesis means the beginning, it is not the beginning of everything. Genesis is the beiginning of God's revelation to us, but what was happening before us? As we begin to read God's story to us, it is appropriate to understand the prequel for it tells us more about God and ourselves. There are two important things for us to understand in the prequel to the story.

1. God's existance was perfect. God is an eternal being, self-sufficient and complete, with no beginning nor ending. As a result, God did not create us because he was deficient in any way. Psalms 90:2 says "Before the mountains were born you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God." God was pefectly complete in Himself, independent of us. This also dismisses any idea that God is evolving. This idea is consistent with "Process Theology" and it is inconsistent with the eternal and immutable (unchanging) nature of God. Furthermore, God was complete in community with Himself. In other words, God exists as one God, yet made up of three persons, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. This is a perfect relationship God has with Himself, yet it is not narcisistic because God is not motivated by selfish-gain, but for our own good. God reveals to us in Genesis how He exists in this community. (Gen. 1:26, 3:22, 11:7)

2. God's story was planned. God's planned His story of redemption before creation. If we think about it, of course God would and could do this. Who would plan to create or even write a story without a plan? God's story was planned before creation. As part of God's plan, God chose us, and He knew we would not choose God, yet God knew He would in humility become human and sacrificially die for our rebellion in order to satisfy His justice. A. W. Tozer once said, "God has a voluntary relationship to everything God has made." This means God was not obligated to create us, yet did so, despite our rebellion against God; and this was voluntary on God's part, yet it results in God's glory and our own good.

Knowing these aspects of the prequel, may only serve to create more questions, such as "Why did God create us knowing we would rebel?" "If God knew this and will judge those who refuse God, then why would God create some to have a redeemed life and others not to?" We must be careful to avoid three things in answering these questions. First, we must avoid entitlement. God does not owe us an answer and we, as the created, are not entitled to anything by the Creator. Second, we must avoid pride. By asking certain questions, we believe we are capable of understanding the answers. In other words, as finite beings we cannot assume we would understand everything about an infinite God. Lastly, we must avoid living without faith. God calls us in response to his loving creation of us, to love God in return. God's love language, much like our own, is trust and grace. Yet God demonstrates He is fully trustworthy because He demonstrates in his own love, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. In other words, when we were at our worst, God gave us His very best, Himself slaughtered on a cross.

Given, God's demonstration of love to us by creating us and dying to redeem us, what is our demonstration of love towards God. The words of Moses are wise for us to remember. In Deuteronomy 29:29 he says, "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law." Given the prequel of God, the sequel to God's story lies not in asking more questions but in surrendering our lives to Christ our Lord.

The Story or A Story

As our church begins to read through much of the Bible in chronological order and in narrative fashion, we are embarking upon a deeper understanding of an overarching story, God's story. We may not realize this, but our premise that God has an overarching story, that weaves together ancient history with modernity is quite brazen to a postmodern society. Our postmodern society rejects the notion of a "meta narrative," which means there is an overarching, grand narrative or theme to existance on earth. As a result, we are left to create our own meaning in life. In other words, noone can tell you what your purpose is in life, because there is no meta narrative, there is only a personal narrative, which each of us must create.

The ramifications of this aspect of postmodernity ripple into realms of morality and theology. For instance, since each of us must create our own meaning in life, then our morality and theology is subjective. This is evidenced in the popular notion of "What's right for you is right for you, but don't try to push your morals on me." Furthermore, religious pluralism has been birthed out of this aspect of postmodernity. Religious pluralist may vehemently react by asking "Who are we as Christians, or anyone of any religion, to suggest we are right and everyone else is wrong?" "We must be tolerant and accepting of all views." Unfortunately in our society, accepting other views means adopting all views.

These notions pose real challenges to Christians today. We are professing a universal theme or purpose to all life. We are also espousing universal Truths and morals which apply to all people. And we are advocating there is a singular path towards a relationship with God. All of these notions are more than just unpopular today, they are vehemently rejected. So as we embark upon this exciting adventure, let us be aware that our beliefs are largely rejected and it is difficult for contemporary society to disagree with a person's beliefs without discarding the person altogether. (just look at democrats and republicans)

So we have an opportunity not only to hold to our convictions but to hold on to them without responding to our culture in kind. As the world rejects our beliefs and possibly us in general, we are to follow Christ's example by extending grace, acceptance and love. Despite our age of tolerance and pluralism, these characteristics are universally welcomed and inherent of Christ.

A Peaceful Economic Recession

Very few people enjoy conflict and some will go to extreme lengths to maintain peace. Their motto is peace at all costs. This motto can be dangerous because conflict is what enables us to grow, both personally as well as interpersonally. However, can we have peace at all times and amidst all circumstances which will also foster spiritual growth?

In the Bible, the book of Philippians, chapter four, verse four tell us to "Rejoice in the Lord always" and then in verse six we are instructed "Do not be anxious about anything..." How realistic is this? Is this not another form of denial and conflict avoidance evidence in our relationships, now being encouraged in our difficult circumstances?

I don't believe God's word is advocating denial and avoidance, but rather is advocating for faith in God's goodness, faithfulness and sovereign control. When we choose to be thankful and prayerful, even when times are awful, we will experience a disposition that is peaceful. In fact, that passage of scripture from Philippians, chapter four also tells us "in everything, by prayer and petition, WITH THANKSGIVING, present your requests to God. And the PEACE, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." This does not imply that we will feel warm and fuzzy with an abundance of joy all of the time, but instead that there will be a quiet trust and confidence amidst troubling times.

Jesus promised us that we would experience trouble in this world, but also, God's Word promises us peace amidst our troubled times. Therefore, if I am not experiencing peace, either God was wrong in His promise, or something is wrong with me. I tend to believe the latter is the case, and because I am lacking in my faith. So, whenever I complain that I am stressed, this is probably a statement that reflects my lack of faith, more than it is depiction of what is occuring in my life.

Does this logic make sense? Does it apply to you? Could the beam in our own eye be our lack of faith that needs to be removed, so we can more accurately view and deal with stressors around us? Does the economic recession stress you? Could the larger issue be a spiritual recession due to lack of faith. Could faith be the path toward peace?

The passage in Philippians tell us how to transform our stress into peace. The means of this transformaiton is through thanksgiving. In other words, as you pray to God about your stressors, thank God for his subsequent and always dependable faithfulness. This will result in greater peace.

Beams Away!

Christian-phobic

Recently, I communicated in a sermon, based upon the book of Second Timothy, chapter 3, verses 1-17, Christians will be persecuted by culture, but persecution must result in continual devotion to God's Word and integration of our culture. Furthermore, any persecution should not result in frustration nor a sense of victimization on the part of Christians. But, it appears that responding to victimization is proving to be quite effective.

Recently, an unprecidented Gallup poll indicated over 50% of the population agrees that gay and lesbian relationships are morally acceptable. Chuck Colson offers a compelling article on this survey at the following link, http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/14578. The homosexual community has had an agenda for contemporary culture to condone homosexual behavior. This agenda has been successful, in part, as they have portrayed themselves as victimized, often by Christians, who are "homo-phobic."

Ironically, Christians who still maintain that homosexuality is morally wrong are currently in the minority. I wonder if Christians will take a page out of the homosexual community play book and portray a victimized stance by homosexuals who happen to be "Christian-phobic." This would be an ironic turn of events, if not so tragic.

My suggestion for Christians may sound insincere and hypocritical to homosexuals, but I offer a different response for Christians. We should not see ourselves as against homosexuals. While homosexuality is still believed to be wrong by many Christians, homosexuality is no more or less wrong than any of the myriad of sins we Christians continue to commit. Thus as Christians we must never condone immorality, whether we commit it or someone else commits it. And, the only phobia, or fear that we need to maintain is not of homosexuals, but of God and God's instruction to creation. This is a reverent fear that enables us to walk humbly before God, be staunchly committed to God's Word, while clearly identifying what is immoral and living compassionately with one another.

Do these recent polls affect you in any way? If so, how? If not, why?

As a Christian community, let us consider how we feel about this increasingly favorable opinion towards homosexuality and the increasingly unfavorable opinion towards Christianity. How will we respond? Politically? Humbly? Indifferently?

Beams Away!

Getting Political on You

This blog is devoted to applying the teachings of Jesus when he said to take the beams out of our own eye before we judge others. So let us consider some of our political beams in the interest of our own spiritual benefit, especially as some espouse we are currently engaged in a non-violent civil war in America.

Recently I came across this quote by William McKinley, our 25th President of the United States.

"Let us remember that our interest is in concord, not conflict; and that our real eminence (distinction) rests in the victories of peace, not war."

Do you think this has any relevance to the internal political party power plays between Democrates and Republicans? Is this a quote that has biblical underpinnings? Does it have practical Christian implications for you? If so, what? And finally, honestly, do you pray for our President and the political party which you disagree and perhaps even villify?

This sounds political, but I think it is really more spiritual than political.

Beams Away!

Brett

Who Are You When You Are Really Looking?

I can't remember who it was that coined the question, "Who are you when no one is looking?" This question calls us to consider our behaviors when no one is looking as the true indicator of our character. I'd like to rephrase that in the form of another question - "Who are you when you are really looking?" Asking who we are when no one is looking, presumes that we are willing to look at ourselves honestly. When we do this, it is an indicator of our true nature. I have taken a hard and honest look at myself and I don't like what I see. But is this a bad thing?

Below is my conclusion about myself and I believe it can be extrapolated to all of humanity. Tell me what you think it means, if you agree and what the implications might be.

"If left to the discovery of the base of who I am,

It will lead to the bane of my existence,

And leave me irrovocably rebellious against God,

With a chronic restless and unrepentant heart."

Graceful Living Can Be Dangerous Living

Please read below the response to my previous blog about extending grace to all at all times. The response captures so much of the difficulty of living by grace. I love the candor and question posed. I think we can all relate to it. Thanks to the person who sent it.

Ok, yes I believe that what you have said is very true, however, where is the thin line of "Self Preservation" come in especially in a world where 90% of the people you interact with do not hold the same standards. How can one conudct business with this same attitude, why you would be run over as all business is conducted in a world of law not grace. This one broad brush of grace approach gets much trickier in the world of business contracts etc. So, as a business person I struggle with this one way fits all thinking when it comes to our "personal faith and practice" and our "business faith and practice."

This is an excellent point and thanks again for bringing this up. Your point about a think line between self perservation and extending grace is something I believe we all feel, regardless of whether it is in a business context, our family relationships or otherwise. There can be all kinds of risks and costs when grace is involved. Jesus extended grace and he was crucified. Simply because graceful living is costly and risky it does not mean we don't live by grace, otherwise Jesus would never have died on a cross and His words to follow Him would be empty. Instead, Jesus' words to us are to count the cost when following him and that cost involves losing our lives for Him.

With this said, let me offer a bit of claity about what living by grace is and what it is not. Living by grace and extending grace to other does not mean extending trust to everyone. Graceful living is akin to fogiving; and we can forgive someone, but not necessarily be reconcilded to that person. A person who has offended or hurt us needs to be forgiven by us. However, if that person does not change, then we do not and cannot be reconciled to that person because it is simply not safe. This may not sound very Christian, but consider how this dynamic plays out in relation to God and creation. God, through Christ, extends forgiveness to all creation, but all creation (the offenders) is not reconciled to God. So gracefull living is not always reconciling, but it is always forgiving, while maintaining appropriate boundaries. Even Jesus, is recorded in the gospel of John to keep such a boundary. It says that Jesus would not entrust himself to men, because he knew what was in all men. Still, he extended grace.

This leads me to the question, "What is grace?" As we look at Jesus, we see that when we were at our worst, God gave us God's very best. This is what it means in Romans 5:8, that when we were powerless in our sin, Christ died ofr us. So in business or any context, when people give us their very worst, we in Christ are to give them our very best. This is graceful living. Perhaps because it is so dangerous to live this way in the business world is the reason why it is so imperative to follow Jesus by always extending grace in that context.

Thanks for the push back. This blog is an appropriate forum for push back. I love it, keep it coming.

Is There Any Room For Anything Else But Grace?

When is there a time for me to offer anything but grace to another person? If God has freely given me His grace, which the book of Ephesians says God lavishes upon us, then how can I offer anything else but grace to another person?

In other words, if God's standards of morality are far beyond my comprehension and my ability, yet because of Christ's death and resurrection, all I get now is grace; then how can I extend anything else to anyone else no matter how grevous their offense is to me?

• If someone gossips about me or my family, they get grace.
• If someone steals an idea of mine and takes credit, they get grace.
• If someone cheats me or is antogonistic towards me, they get grace.
• If someone lies to me and deceives me, they get grace.
• If someone hurts me in any way, they get grace.
• If someone hurts my family, they get grace.

How can I expect grace from God, in response to my chronic offenses against God, but then expect anything less than grace to be extended to others no matter how chronic their offenses are to me?

Some people may object to this idea of grace to all at all costs, but it is because of the ultimate cost of Christ being crucified that we are able to extend grace and forgiveness. Jesus tells us that we should pray, "forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us." I can't imagine anyone not wanting forgiveness for their sins, but Jesus' prayer tells us to forgive others the way we want to be forgiven.

Who are people in my life to whom I have not extended grace? Would my life be different if I were 100% full of grace towards others? Are their justifiable times that I should not extend grace and bestow judgment and condemnation instead? Does grace permeate the culture of churches? Why or why not? If grace were to permeate a church's culture, then how would that church be different? Tell me your thoughts, but please be gracious.

Truth Without Faith Can Be a Waste

In the movie "A Few Good Men," Jack Nickelson plays an insecure Marine Colonel hiding behind bravado, pretense and position but is called on the carpet by a young naive captain played by Tom Cruise. Cruise's character demands to know the truth surrounding the suspicious death of another Marine. Exacerbated by Cruise's naive and truth-demanding character, Nickelson screams at him saying "You want the truth?...You can't handle the truth!"

As Christians we have the truth, but given the truth found in God's Word and the presence of God's Holy Spirit, I wonder how well we can handle the confusion. We have God's truth, but we also have to deal with much confusion in life. We have God's truth, but some have questions that still cannot be answered in this life. Sometimes, I wonder if having God's Truth at our disposal, convinces us that we have all the answers all the time. If we have all the answers all the time, then where is there room to live by faith?

I recently engaged in a wonderful conversation with someone who asked me, "Why does God allow suffering in the world?" "Why does one child get to be born in the U.S. and live a life of privilege, while another is born in Africa to a life of misery?" "God is the one who determines these things, right, so why would God allow this to happen?" While there are some answers that I could have drawn upon from my education and training in philosophy and theology, at the core I had to say, "I don't know for sure."

Sure, sometimes people can't handle truthful answers to such questions, such as it relating to the glory of God. But another questions is can Christians handle the confusion surrounding such questions? Sometimes our quick anecdotal and less than five minute Christian responses can cheapen the pain and the misery that accompanies the realities behind such questions. Sometimes, I believe, that a quick response by appealing to Truth, is more of an attempt to control another person, whereas, a response of "I don't know for sure." allows us to enter into the pain of such perplexities and harsh realities.

My answer was "I don't know for sure. I have ideas and understanding, but I don't know for sure. If I knew for sure, I guess than I would be God. For now, I have to live by faith and without faith it's impossible to please God. By faith, I know that God is good, that God is faithful and that God is sovereignly in control. I know this by the evidence of Jesus' death on a cross." When my own life is wrought with pain the truth of God's word is indispensable, but faith in God is what ultimately carries me through and allows me to believe in God's Word. Without faith, God's Word in the midst of my perplexities and pain would simply be words on a page. I thank God, for being given faith as well as Truth.

Comfortably Out of Control

Ever feel like your life is out of control? There is a word which defines that feeling, it is called "normal." I wonder if we are in fact out of control more than we realize. We may have convinced ourselves that we are in control, when in fact the things that convince us we are in control, instead anesthetize us from the reality that we are out of control.

Here is a definition of control from Dictionary.com, "1. to exercise restraint or direction over; to dominate, to command. 2. to hold in check, to curb, a control a horse or one's emotions. 4. To eliminate or prevent the flourising or spread of, to control a forest fire."

When comparing this definition to areas of my own life that I feel in control, I am wondering whether or not I am in control. For instance, scheduling my kids in all the sporting and music events that will make them happy and well-adjusted. Is this an act of control over my kids life, or does this end up controlling me? When I consider how much time I spend planning, attending and traveling for these events, not to mention how much I spend on these events, I wonder if the defintion above demonstrates that these activities control me, more than anything else.

As I have a new cell phone with the data package. This provides a tremendous sense of control over emails and communications with people. However, does this data package end up dictating to me and interrupting my life? Does this data package complete with emails and texting prevent me from flourishing? Professionally, it may help, but personally will it affect my family time?

When I examine my own calendar I come to a similar conclusion. I love to organize my calendar and continually re-examine it and update it. I know why I love to do this. When I do this, I feel in control! However, more often it can be my calendar which dictates my life, more than anything else?

Could it be that our lives are much more out of control than we realize? Biblically speaking, we learn that Jesus, the Author and Sustainer of all life and creation, holds everything together. How ironic when I feel as though I have to hold everything together through my own planning, through my data packaging and through my obsessive calendarizing. I wonder what my life would be like, if I could be comfortable with my life being out of my own control, but completely under Christ's control?

Giving God Too Much Credit

Often we do not give God enough credit for what God does. We are quick to give credit to mythical creatures like "Mother Nature" when referring to the weather. We are quick to give credit to science by referring to observable phenomenon in scientific terms like "gravity" instead of God's sovereignty. We are quick to give credit to nebulous terms and ideas like "coincidence" or "serendipity" when events in our lives occur according to a certain rhyme and rhythm.

In all of these examples we can be quick to give credit to very silly notions or smooth sounding scientific terms instead of attributing these things to God. Thus by compartmentalizing certain phenomenon like weather, science or coincidence, we keep God at bay in our everyday lives, yet on reserve for when we need God. In essence, as human beings we have a propensity to avoid crediting God with what God is responsible, yet we can be quick to give God credit for things which God is not responsible.

How do we credit God for things God is not responsible? We give God credit by making God responsible for our own decisions. Christians time and again will refer to God as the impetus for their decisions by prefacing things with the words, "The Lord has lead me to..." or "God has been telling me to..." or "God has laid it upon my heart that ..." I do not doubt that some Christians are sincere and have done the due diligence of discerning over time what God is leading them to do. However, these phrases are used so flippantly that I find myself wanting to ask people, "How is it that God has lead you to this conclusion?" or "How has God laid this upon your heart? Help me understand the process by which God confirmed that this is from God and not from yourself."

I am not suggesting that God does not speak to us? Not at all! I believe God by His Spirit dwelling in us and through God's Word to us in the Bible, God is certainly speaking to us. But I wonder how well we listen, especially considering how poorly we listen to one another.

For instance, I recenlty heard the the number one irritant in the work place is being interrupted. Furthermore, many colleges are now offering "Listening" courses to their Communications Departments. So, if we are such poor listeners to each other, what makes us so confident and sometimes flippant in believing we have accurately heard from God? Could it be that sometimes we are avoiding responsibility for our own decisions/actions and giving God too much credit? Could it be that when we refer to God as leading, in fact its really our own heart and ambitions? Could it be that when this occurs, we are actually using the Lord's name in vain? Isn't this mix up of responsiblity reminiscent of what occured in the Garden of Eden?

These questions are very sobering to me and I want to further explore any "beams in my own eye" on this issue. May the Lord be ever so accurate in leading me. May I be more introspective when I use God's name to justify my behavior.

My Church Is Not...

Have Some Christians Stolen the Church from Christ?

I recently engaged in a discussion with my brother, who is also a pastor. He regularly meets with a group of men to discuss important questions of faith. Tonight one question/issue they are going to discuss is "Why the Church is important to God." This question resonated deeply with me because it phrases the question from the perspective of God rather than us.

Many times I hear people refer to church as something they possess rather than something that possesses them. I can be guilty of this myself when I say "Well 'my' church..." I understand we may simply be communicating our connection to a local church, but I wonder if subtlely we are not suggesting that the church exists for us. This is poignantly communicated when people discuss what they like or dislike about "their" church. For example, people say they like the music at "their" church, or they dislike the Student Ministries at "their" church. I wonder if by referring to the church as "My" or "Ours" we are not setting ourselves up for a consumeristic approach to church, where the church exists to serve us rather than the church being comprised of us and existing to serve others through us.

However, when we see the Church, both local and universal, as belonging solely to Christ, will that mitigate against the "My" perspective we use? Would this new perspective transform our own so we see ourselves as being stewards rather than consumers of church? What is God's perspective on the church and our interjection of our personal pronouns in reference to something he possesses?

Have you ever had something that was not yours but you referred to as yours, only to have the rightful owner witness your perspective? While in college I chaperoned a mission trip with the youth group my brother pastored. I was using my brother's new football to play catch with some impoverished children and decided to give them the football as a gift. Enthusiastic about my philanthropic and Christ-like act of kindness I told my brother. My brother did not care that I gave the children the football, but I remember his rhetorical question he asked me, "You gave them 'your' football, or did you give them 'my' football?

Sometimes, I wonder if Jesus asks us a similar question when we refer to the church as "ours." When we say things like "My" church, does Jesus ask us rhetorically, "Your church?" Perhaps we need to hear Jesus ask this of us, for when we take credit for something that is not ours, it's because we have taken something that is not ours and use it as if it is ours.