In God's Fold

Jesus' heart broke over Jerusalem as he remarked how he wanted to gather his children together as a mother hen gathers her chicks under her wings because they were not willing to do so. (Matt. 23, Luke 13) This mother hen imagery expresses a two-fold result: to draw us near to him and to draw us near to one another. If Jesus is drawing us near to him as a mother hen draws its chicks, that means that we cannot come near to God without coming near to our brothers and sisters in Christ as well. If the chicks fight with one another, it is easy to see it would be impossible for any of them to be gathered under the loving wings of their mother. As we love God and love our neighbors as ourselves, it is easy to see that we will live in unity in the warm, soft, feathery goodness of God's fold. But that is up to you. Are you willing?

All You Can Expect from a Pig...

... is a grunt! What a great quote. But what can one expect from us as Christians? As sinful humans, sometimes we still "grunt"; that is, say (and do) things we shouldn't. And the same is true for others as well. I found this great story today regarding what happens when we are the recipients of offensive behavior.

STONE

TWO FRIENDS WERE WALKING THROUGH THE DESERT. DURING SOME POINT OF THE JOURNEY, THEY HAD AN ARGUMENT; AND ONE FRIEND SLAPPED THE OTHER ONE IN THE FACE. THE ONE WHO GOT SLAPPED WAS HURT, BUT WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING, WROTE IN THE SAND:
“TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.”
THEY KEPT ON WALKING, UNTIL THEY FOUND AN OASIS, WHERE THEY DECIDED TO TAKE A BATH. THE ONE WHO HAD BEEN SLAPPED GOT STUCK IN THE MIRE AND STARTED DROWNING, BUT THE FRIEND SAVED HIM. AFTER HE RECOVERED FROM THE NEAR DROWNING, HE WROTE ON A STONE: “TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE.”
THE FRIEND WHO HAD SLAPPED AND SAVED HIS BEST FRIEND ASKED HIM, “AFTER I HURT YOU, YOU WROTE IN THE SAND AND NOW, YOU WRITE ON A STONE, WHY?”
THE FRIEND REPLIED, “WHEN SOMEONE HURTS US WE SHOULD WRITE IT DOWN IN SAND, WHERE WINDS OF FORGIVENESS CAN ERASE IT AWAY. BUT, WHEN SOMEONE DOES SOMETHING GOOD FOR US, WE MUST ENGRAVE IT IN STONE WHERE NO WIND CAN EVER ERASE IT.”

'Nuff said.

The Simple Life

Last Friday, my laptop died. It was a very disconcerting experience and I was wondering what I would do when it is sent for repairs. Although luckily for me I have been able to use Jachin's home computer, it is a lot slower than mine and I also don't have access to a lot of files because of it. I am wondering if God is trying to show me how dependent I am on my computer, and even internet access. Not having to check email or surf the internet so easily makes me feel like I have so much more time. And as I reflect back upon my message of peace from last Sunday, I begin to realize that the technology that in many ways has made my life easier has also been robbing me of some peace of mind. Getting weaned off of my laptop has been an emancipating experience. Sure I am not as connected and it does take longer to do things with this older computer than my laptop, but sometimes (more like most of the time) I end up spending too long at the computer when I could have been doing something else. My life has been simplified and slowed down a bit (Heck, I can't even upload a picture on this blog for whatever reason!) and I am sure it's not for the worse. (Of course I still have TV, but God is gracious, and to not have my laptop and TV at the same time might be more than I can bear. Thank you, Lord.) May you experience the simplicity and peace that comes from a broken laptop this week.

Can You Take the Bible "Literally"? Part II

Previously, I posted part of a letter from Greg Koukl of Stand To Reason. In his letter, Greg discussed the most practical way to read the bible is not unlike the way you read the sports pages.

If it states a fact or an event, take it literally. If it states something metaphorically or poetically, take it that way. Greg suggests that we don't think one sports team LITERALLY "crushed" another team when we read that in the sports section of our newspaper - we take it to be a metaphor for "defeating the other team decidedly." Likewise, we don't literally think God's Holy Bible can shine a light onto a darkened path at nighttime. We would use a flashlight or lantern for that purpose.

So now one might ask, when do you take the Bible "literally" and when do you take it - say, "metaphorically"? Greg has an opinion...

Let's see the rest of his letter... (click image to enlarge.)

Are You Operating on All Cylinders?

5.7 liter Dodge Hemi Engine

This engine is very potent. But it's not only powerful, it's efficient as well. For highway cruising or light acceleration, four of its eight cylinders shut down. So technically speaking, it would be possible to drive on four cylinders all the time for the life of the engine. But that would be a huge waste. If you were going to do that, you might as well drive a dinky 2002 Honda Civic with a 115 HP engine. No, given its 340 HP and 390 lb-ft. of torque, the Hemi was made for power. And truly, so are we. Last Sunday, we had the pleasure of having Rev. Don Hargis come to guest speak in worship service. He reminded us of Acts 1:8, which is when Jesus said that we will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us. As believers, we all have the Holy Spirit living within us, and are made to go hard in our faith and with reckless abandon. We don't have constraints like fuel economy. The only limiting factor in our spiritual lives is how much we are willing to seek and obey God. In fact, in John 14:12, Jesus even said that we would do greater things than he has done. Amazing stuff. Unfortunately too many Christians are content to only lightly accelerate and cruise along through life, never fully experiencing the deep rumble of the Holy Spirit's power clicking on all cylinders. Don't be one of them, content to be underachievers. This week, resolve to seek and obey God with reckless abandon and experience his mighty power in your life. And as you fulfill your potential and experience the life that you were meant to live, you'll be amazed at what he will do in you and through you. But don't take my word for it, take God's.

Can You Take the Bible "Literally"?

Greg Koukl from Stand to Reason has a great approach for answer the question, "can you take the bible literally?"

Here is a portion of a letter I received from Greg's organization.


To learn more, visit the outstanding Christian apologetics website, Stand to Reason at http://www.str.org/
click on the image to enlarge





I will post the rest of the letter soon...

EXPELLED!

From the EXPELLED website:

Whether you realize it or not, you are in a war. It is a war that has been going on since recorded history. From the exchange between Eve and the serpent, truth has always been questioned. And reality is that truth is being pushed out of our consciousness slowly but surely. As people who believe that the earth and the rest of the universe was created by God, we get ridiculed as people living in fantasy land while those who believe in evolution are the "educated" ones, even if it takes just as much faith if not more to believe their "theory" that seems to have evolved into "fact." Ben Stein made a movie called EXPELLED! regarding the current state of the academic community regarding this issue of creation vs. evolution. Click on the link and watch the super trailer; very interesting stuff!

http://www.expelledthemovie.com/playground.php

I am amazed to see what is being taught in the highest academic communities, the colleges and universities. Christians need to be informed of this, and this movie can be a great start. As the salt and light of the earth, we are called to make a difference and can be silent no longer. How do we fight? Share the Gospel with as many people as possible and teach the truth always. We can also lobby for fairness and more balanced teaching in our schools, colleges, and universities. And above all else, pray that God would make the truth known!

Living in Graceland

Jim and Terui Grace's beautiful worship space in Sendai, Japan

"Living in Graceland" is a term that talk show host Eric Hogue uses to describe Christian living. We live in a place of immeasurable grace that we have received from God. When Paul prayed about his thorn, God's answer was, "My grace is sufficient". For the afflicted, that can be a very confusing if not unsatisfying answer. And I'm not talking about your everyday "I can't believe that Starbuck's ran out of toffee bars" variety of suffering. These are trials that can shake the foundations of a person's faith. God did not save us from sin and death just to be broken by trials. He has, whether it feels like it or not, given us through his grace everything we need to get through our trials. Even though you don't know if you can go on, with God's help you will. How many times in your life did you ever think, "I can't make it..." but did? The reason is the second part of the aforementioned verse, "for my power is made perfect in weakness." God got you through it. Our strength is too weak to get us through our difficulties, but that's exactly where God's strength lies. And that's life in the land of grace.

American Idol

Christians across the nation were pleasantly surprised on Wednesday when the hit TV reality series, American Idol, concluded their show with a rendition of the the praise song, "Shout to the Lord."

In this day and age, that a secular show with such wide appeal would feature a Christian anthem in it's closing act is no short of miraculous. On top of the fact that American Idol regularly draws 30 million + viewers on a weekly basis, they selected Shout to the Lord to be sung on their mid-season gala show, "Idol Gives Back", their celebrity-studded charity telethon which earned over $60 million in just a few nights. The "Idol Gives Back" episode likely drew millions more viewers than their normal numbers.

One peculiarity that many observers noticed was that Idol replaced the name "Jesus" in the opening verse of the song with "shepherd." To their credit, when they encored the performance on Thursday night's show (that's right! they sang it TWICE in one week! Amazing!), they rightly sang the verse by addressing the praise song to "my Jesus, my savior."

Here is Thursday night's performance with "Jesus":


I may be a little cynical most days, so I doubt myself when I make this speculation, but I wonder if there is a certain element in today's culture that is tired of the removal of God from all thing public and are simply ready for revival.

Pray that it is so!

Here is Wednesday' (inferior) performance with the word "shepherd":

"My Grace is Sufficient"

"And He has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness ' Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me."

- II Corinthians 12:9

Blessed are the pure in heart. . .

. . . for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8)

This picture totally reminds me of God as a cosmic being, and if you stare long enough, you may even see a face in the dust. But seeing God is not something that is for everyone. Matthew 5:8 was spoken by a very trustworthy source, yet how many of us actually "see" God? John MacArthur says that a more literal translation to "They shall see God" would be, "They shall be continuously seeing God for themselves." The pure in heart are the ones that are walking in step with God, seeking him and obeying what he commands. Is it then any wonder that when you are walking with God, you will see him? Of course we can't see God visually, but we can definitely see his fingerprints in our own lives and the lives of others if we are pure in heart. What others may quickly dismiss as "coincidence" or "unsolved mystery" the pure in heart see as God's work. Sometimes we see God in the miraculous, like an open door where there once was none. Or we may see him in something as mundane as washing dishes. The possibilities are endless because whether we see him or not, God is everywhere. Seeing God is no small thing. Is it any wonder that a person who is pure in heart is blessed? I pray that you will be blessed with a pure heart so that you will see God today.

What Happened to "Heal Our Land"?

What the hey? I go to check the mail this afternoon and what do I find?

Another broken window

But this time there's... evidence!

This does not look like our "land" being healed to me! The weird thing is that I was at church all day except for a couple of hours in between when I was at a lunch meeting. It must have happened at that time because I don't think it was broken when I got there, and I don't think it was broken anytime I was in the office because I think I would've heard the pellet hitting the glass. It's so easy to want to unload on the person that does this, but really should we expect anything different? What can we expect from someone that neither knows God nor acknowledges his ways. And that's how we all were before the mercy and love of God saved us. And even though the person that did this would be considered an enemy of God, isn't that the kind of person that God loves and saves? Of course it is. Let us pray for the person that did this would be forgiven, because it is obvious that he or she "knows not what they do." And pray for our church too because changing these windows are really expensive!

Heal Our Land Part II - Walk in the Light

From darkness to light

At the dedication of God's temple, God responded to Solomon's prayer with this: if my people, who are called by my name (e.g., CHRIST-ian), will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

To humble yourself and pray means to seek God. After all, isn't the main point of prayer to be in God's presence? But we must also repent. We are all sinful, and must repent from something. Some must repent from the bad things that they've done, some must repent because of the good things they haven't done. The bigger problem might be the good that we are supposed to do, we don't do. Not that we never think, say, or do bad things; we do them all the time. But for some reason the other aspect of sin, "missing the mark," is not talked about so much. I think the most telling fact is that most non-believers can easily identify what we are against, not what we are for. What is/are the good thing(s) that you have been neglecting lately? Choose this moment to walk in the light. And when we do this, God will bring revival in our hearts and heal our land.

Heal Our Land Part I - Go to Prayer. . . Meeting!

Guess who came to prayer meeting last Wednesday?

Prayer meeting attendance has been very. . . shall we say. . . not so good, lately. Last week we had just 2! Including me! But let's be honest here: attendance has never been good. At best, we'd get 10 English congregation members. Coming together as a community of believers to pray for our ministries, our members, as well as other needs in our area, or even the world is important and does make a difference. At the dedication of God's temple, God responded to Solomon's prayer with this: if my people, who are called by my name (e.g., CHRIST-ian), will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14) Can you imagine what our world would look like if all churches were truly "Houses of Prayer"? Would God not heal our churches, families, communities, nation, and even the world? Prayer matters. Maybe you can't make it every week, but what about every other week, or even once a month? Every little bit matters. Revival on a large scale will never happen without starting on a small scale - with you and me. Come to prayer meeting. No matter what you've allowed yourself to believe previously, your presence matters.

Schedule change: Starting 4/16, we will start prayer meeting at 7:30 PM instead of 8:00.