What It Takes

 “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.”     Hebrews‬ ‭6‬:‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭NIV‬

   How seriously do we take sin?  How seriously do I take sin?  When I sin, what does it do to Jesus?  When the Passion of the Christ came out, I remember watching it for the first time.  It shook me.  We speak of the death of Jesus in almost sterile or storybook terms, without the depth of agony and pain. But there it was in front of me, hearing the lashes strike His back.  Seeing the blood flowing down.  Looking at the disfigurement of His face.  Hearing the struggle to catch His breath. My heart ached because MY sin did that.  It was so intense that when we used a brief clip of it for our Good Friday service there were some people who deemed it inappropriate.  How could we expose the tender hearted or children to such a scene?

   But that is what sin did.  And does.  The writer to the Hebrews reminds us that if we experience a taste of God’s grace yet fail to embrace it in true repentance, continuing to sin as if grace gives us license to do so, we are crucifying Jesus over and over and over again.  Every sin I commit drives a nail in Him.  Every sin pushes the crown of thorns down into His head.  Every sin causes shame and disgrace to Him.  Every sin breaks the heart of Jesus.  

I determined to not turn away.  That ugliness brings my sin into focus in such a way that I do not want to do that to Jesus ever again.  Rather than a license to sin more, grace becomes the power to sin less.  Mercy is my bridge to holy living.  And my only hope is in the resurrection power of Christ.

My prayer is for every one of us to take our sin far more seriously.  Satan wants us to see it as if it is no big deal.  It is. It caused (and causes) pain to Jesus.  Every sin.  Let’s not turn away from Him but turn to Him.  As Peter says, “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”   ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

     

 “After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” “Yes, he does,” he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?” “From others,” Peter answered. “Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.””   Matthew‬ ‭17‬:‭24‬-‭27‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus is always practical in the ways He uses our lives.  It may not seem like a spiritual act to pay your taxes, but Jesus made it one.  He indicates that we as HIs children would normally be free from taxation, but since we don’t want to cause offense, we will pay our taxes to whom they are do.  It is insignificant.  Except for the fact by doing so, we keep the door open for communication about the Kingdom.  And that is worth it all.

Never consider little things insignificant.  Jesus provides.  We pay.  They ask.  Jesus provides.  We proclaim.  They ask.  It is a continuous cycle of using the money, circumstances and opportunities He provides to spread the Good News of the Gospel.  Keep fishing and see what He provides.

Don’t Let Your Darkness Grow

 This week a man we knew, who served with us for a number of months several years ago, carried out unexplainable evil by taking the lives of his wife, his mother, his father, and then himself.  In the process he orphaned four children and left a community in shock.

 

What can we learn from a situation where no matter how hard we try it remains beyond our understanding?  What would possess someone to take such actions?  One Scripture came to mind for me and I will use it to make an appeal to all of us.

   ““The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”    Matthew‬ ‭6:22-23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

   How we view our world is important.  In the midst of talking about the power of things, Jesus says that if you keep a healthy, a singular, focused view of life, understanding your world in a good way, light will radiate in your soul.  You understand His love for you,  His provision for you, His purposes for you.  But when your eye is unhealthy, literally evil, things get dark.  The word can also mean growing with complications. Relational challenges, compounded with financial challenges, compounded with social challenges, compounded with……  The darkness grows and grows to the point where it is so deep and so dark that it leads to depths of unspeakable evil.  It is evident that this is where our friend went this week, all because he allowed his darkness to grow.

   My appeal to us all, because this can happen to us all, is that we don’t allow our darkness to grow.  The moment the light begins to dim, pause.  Ask for help in understanding what God has to say about the issue, shining light on the darkness.  Don’t isolate with your thoughts, your fears, your doubts.  That is how darkness grows.  And hell is described as a place of outer darkness.  

Job, who lost his ten children, his business and his health all within hours, all without explanation as to why, went to a very dark place.  Here are  his words at one point:

““Why then did you bring me out of the womb? I wish I had died before any eye saw me. If only I had never come into being, or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave! Are not my few days almost over? Turn away from me so I can have a moment’s joy before I go to the place of no return, to the land of gloom and utter darkness, to the land of deepest night, of utter darkness and disorder, where even the light is like darkness.””   Job‬ ‭10:18-22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

That is dark.  But by crying out to and truly seeking the Lord, light began to shine.  And his attitude went from deep dark to this:

“I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!”    Job‬ ‭19:25-27‬ 

A glimmer of hope broke the darkness.  And by the end of his book, he saw God in a way and to a depth he had never known Him before.  The darkness was dispelled and light filled his life once again.

Please do not allow your darkness to grow.  Our darkness, no matter how deep, is never beyond the light of Jesus.  Satan breeds darkness to destroy and bring death.  Jesus brings light and that light is life!

Reflections

Building over the cave where John received the Revelation

 History is a wonderful teacher when we take time to sit at its feet.  In fact, Paul wrote to the Romans that “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.”   Romans‬ ‭15:4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

   So as we have returned home from our trip to Greece and cruise of the Aegean Sea to Ephesus and Patmos and Crete and Rhodes, I am trying to sit at the feet of what we saw and heard and learned.  Here are a few of my reflections.

   First, when people lack a true understanding of God, they continually seek to appease or engage the forces that are shaping their lives.  We call that idolatry.  When Paul arrived at Athens, he walked around and was distressed by what he saw.  So he engaged people in conversation, in order to bring light to them. He eventually was invited to address the influencers among them and he said, “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.”    Acts‬ ‭17:22-23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

   It was not an accusation; it was an observation and they received it as such.  I’m praying I (we) may be as observant as Paul, willing to engage people like Paul, and our observations received like Paul’s.

    Second, people are discipled best by doing life with their mentor and watching.  Paul picked up Timothy, a timid young man who was spoken well of, while traveling through Asia Minor.  He brought him onto his entourage, and Timothy watched as Paul struggled where to go next; was beaten and jailed for no reason; miraculously was freed from that jail and led his guard to the Lord; was threatened in a couple more towns before being sent to Athens by boat in a covert escape.  He heard Paul reasoning with people. He watched as Paul used his Roman citizenship as a tool to guarantee the local church would not be under the same scrutiny when he left.  He got to see it all.  And later experienced it all. You can read about it in Acts 16-19.  Later Paul wrote to Timothy, “You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,”   2 Timothy‬ ‭3:10-14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I want to be a mentor, a parent, a pastor, a teacher, who does life intimately with those around me and be a constant reminder of the grace, the power, the provision, and the glory of our Lord.

   A final thought is that history is His Story, and our lives are but dots on the line of eternity.  So the only thing that truly matters is pointing people to Him. Statues to men will crumble but the eternal Word of God stand firms, and the heavens declare His glory throughout ALL generations.

As John was told to write in the Revelation as he received it on the island of Patmos:

“To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. “Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.””    Revelation‬ ‭1:5-8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

AMEN!

Sacrifice - Admirable or Eternal?

 We stood on the battle ground of Thermopylae today in front of the monument honoring King Leonidas and the 300 who took their stand here.  In the face of a superior force,  the king knew he would not return. But his sacrifice and the sacrifice of his men from Sparta would provide the time needed for other Greek forces to prepare for this second invasion from the Persians.  And in the end, the next two battles ended that invasion.  But only because of this sacrifice, this loss, led by the king.

In a few months, we will stand by the place where the King of Kings took His stand.  It was not against a superior force but it was a deadly force.  His sacrifice was alone, for only He could make it as the perfect Lamb of God who was taking away the sin of the world.  He did not buy time for others to fight this enemy.  No one else had the power to do so.  He conquered it Himself through paying the debt for our sin through death but raising to life once again through His own power three days later.  This King’s name, the name above every name, is Jesus.  Hell and scoffers celebrated at His death but shuttered at His resurrection.  Satan and death are defeated forever.

The valor of Leonidas is admirable and historic.  The obedience and love demonstrated by Jesus in His death and resurrection are unparalleled and eternal.  Leonidas bought time that allowed the Greeks to survive for a time but eventually their kingdom that came later passed like all human kingdoms into the annals of history.  But the Kingdom established and paid for by the blood of Jesus will never pass away.

The amazing truth is that any and all of us can be a part of this Kingdom, this eternal Kingdom, if we are willing to come.  Whosoever will may come, repent of our sin, and find the forgiveness and  peace that only He can give.  And I encourage anyone who has not done so yet, to come today.

Ancient Reminders

    Pam and I are part of a tour right now tracing the steps of Paul as the Gospel was brought to Europe. Like much of life, we have found Greece thus far to be a land filled with stark beauty and the unexpected. It is also deeply contrasting.  The gorgeous coastlines are in deep contrast to the high mountains.  I immediately expected sheep and cattle to be grazing but never to find fields of cotton and rice not far away. Thessaloniki (or Salonica as the locals call it) is the second largest city in Greece.  Its narrow streets hold newer buildings raised since the 1917 fire that destroyed much of the city along side fifth century and eleventh century churches and mosques.  Contrast that with miles and miles of fields and forests, sparsely populated and seemingly unspoiled.  It is a beautiful land of deep contrasts.

   We started this tour following the exact steps Paul took, coming ashore in Macedonia in response to a vision God gave him along the coast of modern day Turkey.  He was committed to spreading the Gospel and ran out of land.  And through this vision he boarded a boat and arrived in Neapolis, the port for  the main city in the region, Philippi.  Check out Acts 16 for the account.  

   As you follow the story, we visited the seaport.  We traveled the roads to Philippi.  We walked into the ruins of the ancient city and stood beside the river where Lydia, the dealer of purple cloth, became the first convert (along with her household) in Europe.  We went to the Jewish quarter where Paul reasoned with them at the synagogue about the Gospel.  We stopped by the jail where he and Silas sang in the middle of the night after being flogged publicly for their faith and were miraculously released by an earthquake. We walked on parts of the Ignatian Way, the main road used to travel from east to west in Paul’s day.

   And these were the ancient reminders that struck me.  Ours is not a fairy tale faith in which human beings seek to be better and live civil existences along side other world views.  Ours is an urgent faith, a real faith, a daily faith, a meaningful faith, that takes advantage of the connecting points and social constructs of our day to voice hope as contrasted with despair, godliness in contrast to evil and supernatural wisdom and power to transform contrasted with human ingenuity and control.  It is a faith committed to the voice of God first and foremost, and when hardship comes as a result, is given to praise rather than complaint.  The Bible is the story of a real God, working in and through real people, in a real world, to redeem real sinners and transform them into real saints, for His real glory.  It is graciously proclaiming the simple Gospel of Jesus who came to earth to die for the sins of the world, died, rose again on the third day and now as ever calls on all people everywhere to repent.  In a couple days we will be standing in the spot where Paul uttered those words to the Athenians in the midst of all their idols.  Our faith is real.

   I want to be clear, I have never doubted our faith is real.  But it is good to be reminded that when it feels hard to walk the journey of faith for us today, there were real people in harder real circumstances who were committed like us to follow the Lord wherever He takes us and they found Him sufficient every step of the way, victory and hardship, plentiful days and sleepless nights in prison.  And He still is today.

   I’m looking forward to experiencing more reminders on our journey………..

Online Church was/is a blessing, but.......

We praise the Lord that we were able to stay connected during our COVID isolation.  And for the sick, the shut-in, the quarantined, and the person who works during worship times, it is still a great tool.  I want to address the rest of us.  This is intended as a gentle reminder of what we already know and nothing else:   God intends for us to be together in regular worship.

It is certainly true that waking up, getting our coffee or breakfast, remaining in our jammies and watching church online is very convenient for us.  And for young families it was and is a way to have the children be in a comfortable environment while the parents can focus.  I get it.  And yes we can pray without going to church and we can serve others in some ways without going to church.  And yes we can give our money without going to church.  But just because all those things have a level of truth to them, it does not mean that by doing so we are “doing church” the way God designed it.

So why return to church when this is so comfortable and convenient?

First, God commanded us to be together.  Hebrews 10:25 says, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10:24-25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

If you read the verses immediately before this in the context, he is discussing how since Christ has opened up the way for us to this living hope, we should do certain things together.  All the time it says, “Let us.....” it is in the plural.  Let’s all together do these things.  We can’t do these things together unless we are...together.  In fact, he distinctly says, Let’s not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing...”. Covid has become a temptation to do so.  Let’s fight the temptation.

Second, church is not just for information but incarnation.  If being able to sing in a place where no one else will hear us or we can just listen and “feel” like we are worshipping, and then listen to a teaching that informs and inspires us, then online is fine.  But that is not God’s design.  When He carried out the plan of salvation, He “sent” His Son.  “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”  John‬ ‭1:14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

He designed that the gifts He has placed in every believer are to be used with and among each other (1 Corinthians 12).  We can’t do that unless we are among each other.  If information was the only thing needed, God could have or would have texted His plan.  But He did not.  He came and lived among us.  He showed us that our life is meant to be lived with each other, not apart from each other. It is more than information.  If we are not present in the “Body”, the Body is not whole.  We need each other.

Third, we are preparing now to be present with all believers and the angels in worship in the future.  In fact, we join with them now in a manner of speaking.  But catch this picture:

“Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.”  ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭5:13-14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

If we are joining with all creation later, why would we not do it now?

Church is a corporate function, not an individual function.  How we work, worship and wait on the Lord are meant to be together.  Our fierce Western individualism, and look toward personal benefit often cause us to miss God’s desires for us.  When isolation is necessary, worshipping online and connecting that way is a wonderful option, but it was not and is not intended as a substitute when we are free and able to be together in worship.

Let me say it again.  This is given as a reminder of what we all know to be true and nothing else.  It is also an invitation for those who are able to to do so to return to regular gathering because you are missed and your presence is needed for the benefit of us all. We look forward to seeing you soon.