CCHMB Blog

Bible Basics - Man

2010-12-30T22:04:00.001-08:00

Okay, time to get back to the Bible Basics series. Hope you find these useful, print it out if necessary, but commit this stuff to memory. This is the most basic view to understanding man and his condition. As always, God's Word explains things very well...

Bible Basics: Man

In all the discussion about the condition of the world and what needs to be done about it, one issue is not being discussed at all, one that will change the nature of all the other issues. And without getting much notice this issue has been so undermined that the whole world is adrift because it has not dealt with this first. That is "Man". What is man? What is his nature? There are many today, if not most, who would claim that man is no different than an animal, and in many ways is inferior to animals. If this is so than man has no more right to do anything here than any animal has a right to do to you anything it wants. Man has no more or less right to exist than any animal. That assumed man has no more or less value than an animal. Humans are simply not worth much, certainly no more than an animal. With that viewpoint it is no wonder that we see some of the things we do, the things we do to each other, to the world, and to the animals.

Once we begin to address the question of "value", then we come to this argument; what gives anything or anyone "value"? If there is nothing that gives us value then none of has any. Then we might as well do anything we want because there is no reason to live. If we evolved from a pool of slime then we do not have any value. However, if we are "created", then all of a sudden we have value. Someone made us, and if we are "made", then we have purpose, and if we have purpose, we have value. How does this work, and does this explain anything about our condition and relationship to the world around us?

Let's go back to the start…

1.) Man = Gen.1:26-31.

A.) Man as he was created = God says here that He created man "…in Our image…" Besides the obvious reference to the Trinity, He uses the word "image". God never said that He created anything in all of His creation that was "in Our (His) image", only man. So in this sense man is very unique. "…in Our image…" or "likeness" means a shadow or figure and in the Hebrew it denotes the resemblance of that shadow to the figure. Though man is made from dirt, we resemble God in that He made us to correspond to Him in an intimate relationship. We have abilities that animals do not, like reason, love, creativity, will, etc. John 4:24 says that "God is Spirit". So we are made, He is not. But we have a spirit that is within us, and though dead in sin that spirit can be made to be alive. (More later) Man was made to be in perfect harmony and fellowship with God, he had all he needed in a perfectly created world.

Go back to Gen.1:28-29 and see the position God put man in. He said that man was to populate the earth and "subdue" (make it subservient) it or have "dominion" over it (dominate it). That we have done. In this sense man was never meant to "co-exist" with the Earth, he was to use it. Seems pretty clear to me that we have done that and more! Man can't put his hands on anything without wrecking it. So God gave man dominion and he took it. But he took much more, God created man with a free will, man could choose. In order for God's relationship with man to be based on love there had to be free will, otherwise it's not love. So man had everything, including choice.

B.) Man's predicament = Gen.3:1-13, well, we all know the story. Woman and man chose based on what seemed right to them, and they chose wrongly. They chose their own way rather than God's Word and all of humanity inherited that gene. That gene is sin, rebellion against God. From verse 7 to this present day mankind has been trying to cover its sin. But all we can do is to mask it, or try to hide it; we can't take it away, so we have guilt. This is the fall of man, and ever since man has been trying to work his way back into God's graces.

Adam and Eve let lose on the world the most infectious disease known to man. It is so virulent that very human born is infected with it. It has a cure, but many are reluctant to take it for fear of the unknown, yet for 2,000 years the cure has been free to all who ask for it, and it is 100% effective and the only cure. The disease is sin, but it would be thousands of years from Adam to Christ for the cure to be made known. You see, sin kills the spirit within you. And we are all born in sin. (Psalm 51:5) Eph.2:1 and 5 says that we are "…dead in trespasses and sins…" apart from Christ. That is mans predicament, we are dead spiritually because of the sin we inherited from Adam. And when you are dead, what can you do for yourself? And all sin, no exceptions! (Rom.3:23)

Our need then is to get cured of the disease of sin and get back to being what God created us to be. Well that’s a nice idea, but in the mean time, right around Ex.19, God sets down His Law. God says in His Law that any violation of His Law requires punishment prescribed by that Law. We can understand that, but when we read that Law we find, right away, our complete inability to actually do it! I see what the Law says, I agree that it is good and holy, but I can't keep it, I am unable to fully perform all that His Law requires. Now I have a problem, it seems that God has stacked the deck against me and I can't win. If you think this you would be correct. But if you think this we must go to the next step or die in despair. We need a Savior!

2.) Jesus = Go to Gal.3:19-25 and see God's unfolding purpose. Is our situation hopeless? Yes, apart from Christ. What the Law does is reveal to us our own condition (like an x-ray or cat scan), it cannot heal us. So God in all His infinite wisdom and mercy, knowing the condition that we would be in, promises, from the very beginning, a Savior. Now this is a very unique situation. God has sent His Son to live a sinless life, then to be executed for something He never did. It's just so tragic, if you don't know what's going on. Look at John 10:17-18. While the rest of the world is thinking that it just killed Jesus, Jesus says He gave His life. No one took it from Him. This is called the "atonement".

Go to Romans 5:8-11. There are three words we need to understand here, two are in these verses. The first word is…

A.) "Atonement" That word means "an exchange", also "reconciliation". It denotes the alteration of man's relationship to God. Now, through the atonement we don't have to remain under the wrath of God for the punishment of our sin, and now stand in a new relationship to Him. Rom.5:11 in the KJV uses this word.

B.) "Justified" This word means "to set forth as righteous" or "a judicial decision to free a man from his guilt", also to "represent him as righteous". Through faith in Christ for His atonement for us we are now made to stand right before God as though we were completely innocent. This is in Rom.5:9.

C.) "Reconciled" This word means, "to change against anything", it implies an action by the aggrieved party laying aside His enmity. This is one sided, in this case, God lays aside His judgment of our sin on the basis of the atonement for the purpose of reconciling us to Him, thereby making us justified. Also Rom.5:10-11.

Take a look at 2Cor.5:17-21. Here is the same thing explained. Jesus dies on the cross on our behalf; this satisfies the righteous requirements of God's Law that says the "soul who sins shall die". Now through faith in Christ we can be reconciled to God and are made to stand right before Him as if we had never sinned. This is our reconciliation. See also Eph.2:14-18. Try to do that on your own!

Now through faith in Him we are brought back to a relationship with God whereby He goes to work in us and on us molding and shaping us into the image of His Son, back to what He created us to be. For further reading check out Isaiah 53, also atonement is the key feature of the sacrificial laws of the O.T.

So now God has made the way for man, lost and hopeless in his sin, to be brought back into fellowship with God. There is no other religion in the world that features this. Every other religion leaves you in the same place it finds you and has no power to help you. In Christ alone is atonement, reconciliation, the only hope for mankind.

3.) Human Responsibility = Romans 1:18-32 explains that the world is already clued in on all this stuff. Humanity knows intuitively that this is true. So what do we do? In the face of our situation as humans and in the light of what Jesus has done for us, what do we do? I know, in the face of our guilt before God's law lets be moral! Let's be good so God will just give us a pass on a lifetime of violating His laws! Maybe He won't notice! Then in spite of all that His law says and my many violations of His law He'll let me into Heaven. Jesus died for all those other poor schmucks, but I don't need it, I'm okay on my own, right? If God does that for you, then He is not God because He would not be just. If God does not punish violations of His law, then what is the law for?

Considering our situation, our hopelessness in the face of God's law, our utter inability at saving ourselves, Jesus says this to us; "Come…"

Go to Matt.11:28-30. Jesus says come to Me. With the reality of our guilt looming over our heads, Jesus says come to Me. Recognizing the hopelessness of our condition; Jesus says come to Me. Feeling everyday the crushing weight of our unforgiven sins; Jesus says come to me. Our responsibility is to come to Him. This part of the message is to drive the Calvinists and Reformers crazy. For if God's Word teaches that we CANNOT and WILL NOT come to Christ, why does He say come? Why would Jesus call to us if we are unable to respond? Responding to Christ's call is not a "work", it is surrender.

In John 6:37 Jesus says; "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out." Jesus is ready willing and waiting for us to answer His call and surrender. In Acts 2:21, Peter quoting Joel 2:32 says; "And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." Paul says in Romans 1:16; "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek…"

Romans 6:23 says; "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Do you understand your situation apart from Christ? Are you prepared to stand before Him and explain why you rejected His free offer of salvation?

The condition of man is hopeless apart from Christ. But as long as we live there is always hope for Jesus holds out His offer of salvation for all who would hear and surrender. For those of us who have we have discovered the glory of being born again. (2Cor.5:17) We have experienced the relief of the guilt of our sin being lifted from our shoulders and replaced with the easy yoke of the Lord. Don't let another moment go by without surrendering to the Lord and freely receive His free gift of reconciliation. Come home to God, where you are intended to be.

After She's Gone: Last Entry

2010-11-16T14:25:00.000-08:00

After She’s Gone: Last Entry

I’ve been posting some of Carol’s teaching notes here and have been blessed by the feedback I’ve gotten from so many people. This will be my last posting under this heading. I may write about Carol again, but with this posting I’ll be moving on to other things and new blog posts, so stay tuned. It has a been a blessing to me to once again look into her heart by reading her notes and this post features one of the hardest things of all. These three verses are the last things Carol ever wrote before she passed away. At this time (January of this year, she passed away Feb.11) she was debating to merits of more chemo ultimately to decide against it. The cancer in her liver was really taking a toll at this point and it was getting very difficult for her to even hold on to a pen or pencil. I won’t go into the details, but it was as painful to see as it must have been for her to be unable to do such a simple thing. But as far as I know, this is the last thing she wrote with her own hand. I reproduce them here exactly as she wrote them…

“Lo, I am with you, even to the end of the age.”

“For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things.”

“I go to prepare a place for you.”

After She's Gone Part 10

2010-10-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

This is the last of study notes that Carol had left in any of our computers. Everything else is hand written. This is the longest one but I don't remember exactly when she taught this. It was for a larger function, if any of you remember, let me know and I'll post it. I've received a number of emails from you readers about these posts and am glad you have been blessed. Hope this is a blessing also, I'm sure it will be...

With Single Focus...

It has been said that our Adversary majors in three things: noise, hurry, crowds. "If he can keep us engaged in "muchness" and "manyness" he will rest satisfied." Psychiatrist Carl Jung once remarked, "Hurry is not of the Devil; it is the Devil."

We all face the challenge of slowing down. One of the brothers in our church once remarked that Jesus was never in a hurry! I will be sharing with you today on devotions. We will discuss what they are, why they are important, what goes on in that time, and who carries out the work in them.

First let's look at what devotions are. Webster's says to "devote" is "to give over (as to a cause) wholly or purposefully." "It is to center the attention or activities of oneself." Anna the prophetess is a good example of this giving herself over to God wholly and purposefully. Luke 2:36-37. Anna may not have a lengthy story in the bible, but these few verses show the intensity of her devotion to God. She served God with fasting and prayers night and day. Such single focus! We are not all called to do that, but it is her attitude of heart and single focus I want you to notice. Anna would not allow herself to get sidetracked in her devotions to God. Webster's also says devotion is an act of prayer. It is ardent love or affection. How beautiful!

Do we not all want to love Jesus more and more? It makes me think of David; "a man after God's own heart". He spent much time with the Lord as a boy watching over the sheep. Psalm 63:1-8 shows David's heart of devotion to God. God sees our heart as He saw into David's heart. 1st Samuel 16:7 says; "But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." Our heart is what we bring to these quiet times with Jesus. It is not the length of time or number of prayers we pray, or verses we contemplate over, it is our heart attitude. The last interesting part of our definition from Webster's is this thought. A devotion or devotional is a short worship service! Perfect!

Our time alone with Jesus is to be worship to Him as we pray and meditate on Him and His Word. In John 4:22-24 Jesus said: "You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." The Father is seeking for men and women to worship Him. As we draw aside with Him and ask for Him to reveal Himself to us, worship is the natural response to Him. We get to know Him better, what He is like, His attributes, His voice, His love, His peace. We consider Who He is and how He made the universe, all the stars, planets, comets, black holes etc. How awe inspiring!

Revelation 1:12-17 gives us a vivid picture of Jesus. Our God is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is a Consuming Fire. Look at John's response; he falls down in worship. We may not get such a dramatic vision in our quiet time, but we will be impacted. It is the natural result of spending time with Him. Our faith grows because we have experienced more of Jesus. We are developing confidence in Him as we talk to Him and experience answers to prayers. Our response to Him will be worship in our daily life. We can wash dishes, drive to work or change diapers with an attitude of worship. So, our definition of devotions includes - giving ourselves wholly and purposefully to Jesus. We are to center our attention on Jesus and away from all else. It is our act of ardent love and affection for Jesus. It is our own worship service, so to speak.

These times with Jesus are critically important! How do we as women face the challenges that come to us daily? We face challenges from our husbands, children, employers, employees, friends, extended family, co-workers, and our world! We SO need this time with our Lord, this refueling, reviving, refreshing time.

Psalm 16:15 tells us "In your presence is fullness of joy" The Bible also speaks of times of refreshing from being in His presence. Jesus tells us these things that our joy may be full. We are the ones blessed as we forget about ourselves and focus on Him.

Hebrews 11:24-27 speaks of Moses choosing affliction with the people of God rather than enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. "By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible." How did Moses escape the temptations that faced him? How did he obey God even in hardships? Hebrews tells us that Moses did this by "seeing Him who is invisible." How did he see God who is invisible? Well, Moses spent time with God, actually 40 some years in the desert! If you spend time with someone you get to know them. What they like, what they do not like. You recognize the sound of their voice. Moses knew his God who was invisible. His knowledge which came through times spent with God enabled him to face some fiery trials. We desperately need our Lord to reveal Himself to us more deeply by His Holy Spirit in our quiet times.

Andrew Murray in his book "Aids to Devotions" says; "I know not how I can plead with sufficient earnestness to urge God's children to make their private devotions a means for the cultivation of a clearer insight into that God IS ABSOLUTLEY WILLING TO DO FOR US!" There is a life awaiting us, prepared by God Himself, and waiting to be revealed in us by the Holy Spirit, if we are only ready to know and confess how very much there is lacking in our spiritual life."

I think most of us would readily say there is much lacking in our devotions. So, be encouraged, you are not alone. The Holy Spirit is SO ready to show and glorify Jesus to us and in us. (See John 16:13-14)

Ok, so we have looked at the definition of devotions. It was defined as ardent love or affection. It was defined as a time to center our attention and activity on and around the Lord Jesus. It was also said to be our worship service to Jesus.

I touched briefly on the importance of it. We need the fresh vision of Jesus. We need to be refreshed and to gain His perspective. We need His Holy Spirit to show us more of Jesus and to know Him better. We mentioned the challenges we face as women, whether married, single, divorced, or widowed. Jesus, of course, is more than able to abundantly meet every need. It is in our times of lovingly drawing aside with Him that He will strengthen and encourage us. He has all wisdom and knowledge, and power for all your needs. So, we need to tap into Jesus for this. We are the branches and He is the Vine. Jeremiah 17:7-8 reveals the blessing to believers who are rooted in God. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit." That involves spending time with God. So we see the importance of these devotions.

Let's go on to discuss the components of our devotions with Jesus.

But, first let me share a word of encouragement to you. I do NOT speak to you as one who has it "all together" in this area! I struggle along with you in drawing aside and spending time with Jesus. So many things can grab my attention and I am off and running, at least mentally, if not physically. Well, at least I have some mental matter that can run off! That is the good news for me! We all battle our flesh, the daily distractions and Satan in this matter. Please do not feel you are the only one who struggles in finding time. Ok, let's confirm this. Let's see a show of hands. How many struggle with daily demands on your time and devotions? Uh huh! You may be a mom with little ones who desperately seeks time to shower! You may be a working gal who puts in a long challenging day at the office. You may have physical issues that make this difficult. One of the girls at our church told me that she did not want to sign up for this workshop because she would just feel guilty over her lack of devotional time with Jesus. We are all in this together. Be encouraged today! Encourage others in this privilege and blessing we have. Encourage a new believer and tell them of the things you practice that have helped you grow in your devotional life.

So, back from that digression to the components that make up our devotions. We draw aside with Jesus, now what do we do? What practical steps can we take? These three components are flexible and we each need to seek how we can implement them into our own daily routine.

1.) Find a good spot to draw aside. Mark 1:35; "Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed."

We all have seasons in our lives that may dictate changes in this meeting spot. Mothers of little ones may retreat to the shower or take advantage of nap time to retreat to the bedroom. Working women may commute and use the drive time. Carole Mayhall writes; "I have heard it said that many of us spend almost 7 years of our lives just waiting. As I thought about all the times I had waited for the doctor, the dentist, a friend to arrive, the dinner to be cooked, and all sorts of other things, I concluded that in my case it might be more than 7 years!" She goes on to say "What spiritual wealth I might accumulate if I could buy up all that wasted "waiting" time." So, she began to carry around scripture cards to use in that "wasted" time to think about and memorize scripture. This is devotional time on the go. It can happen anywhere. It is not the same as uninterrupted time alone and away with Jesus. But, it is a great way to add to our time with Jesus any time of the day. Proverbs 23:7 says "As a man (woman) thinks within himself (herself), so is he (she)." Carole had a good practical way to implement this devotional thought life through this daily practice. So, pick a good spot, (and a good spot is not just a physical location, it is also time!), to be as uninterrupted as you can; a private corner to meet with Jesus. Also be prepared for the seasons in your life that may alter your meeting place.

2.) Our next piece is prayer! Luke 5:16: "So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed." The famous missionary William Carey said "...prayer, secret, fervent, believing prayer lies at the root of all personal godliness." Richard Foster in his book "Celebration of Discipline" says "To pray is to change. Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us. In prayer we begin to think God's thoughts after Him: to desire the things He desires, to love the things He loves, to will the things He wills. Progressively we are taught to see things from His point of view." How we all need that! And prayer is the avenue. Real prayer is something we learn. Even the Disciples asked Jesus "Lord, teach us to pray." (Luke 11:1) It is a process, be patient. It involves talking to God (oh we women are good at talking!) and listening. Ok, maybe we are not as good at listening.

We need to listen first to even know how to intercede for someone else, or how to proceed. The priest Eli knew how to listen to God and helped the young boy Samuel to know God's voice. (1 Samuel 3:1-9) Elijah spent many a day and night in the wilderness learning to discern "the still small voice of Yahweh". Richard Foster again says "...these were people who were close to the heart of God. God spoke to them NOT because they had special abilities, but because they were willing to listen." How encouraging that is to me. It is not based on my abilities, but on my availability. So, we slow down to listen first. One of the girls at church made it a practice to spend two minutes in silence before she ever spoke to the Lord. She found it helpful to open the sliding door to the back garden. She would listen to the birds and the sounds of God's creation to slow her down and quite her mind. Then, and only then she would talk to the Lord.

More good advice too from "Celebration of Discipline" is this; "We should never make prayer too complicated. Jesus teaches us to come like children to a father. Children do not find it difficult or complicated to talk to their parents, nor do they feel embarrassed to bring the simplest need to their fathers' attention." I remember being a new believer praying in a group of people at Church. I was just struck by one girl's prayer. She was praying for the Lord to heal her cat! The words she used were so familiar and intimate. No embarrassment about praying for her cat. No trying to sound holy in front of others. That so touched me. Prayer is a huge piece in our devotions.

Maybe you are not sure of how to pray in these quiet times or what to say. Praying God's Word and over His Word is also very fruitful. Campbell MacAlpine in his book "The Practice of Biblical Meditation" gives a practical example of how he prays in this way. He would pick a verse and pray over it. For example - "Now the Word of the Lord came unto Jonah of the son of Amittai, saying, arise go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me."(Jonah 1:1-2)

Prayer - "Father, thank you that you speak, and as your word came clearly to Jonah, let your word come clearly to me." Then in Thanksgiving... "Thank you too when you speak to me, there could be no voice without you. I praise you for your presence. Thank you too Father, as you knew Jonah's name you know mine too. I praise you for making me your son. Thank you for every word you have spoken to me and for every word you are still going to speak. Thank you, you are a God who speaks to now."

3.) Our 3rd component in devotion is "meditation". Josh.1:8; "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."

Again, I like the way Richard Foster defines Christian meditation; "Christian meditation, very simply, is the ability to hear God's voice and obey His word. It is that simple!I wish I could make it more complicated for those who like things difficult! It involves no hidden mysteries, no secret mantras, no mental gymnastics, no esoteric flights into the cosmic consciousness. The truth of the matter is that the great God of the universe, the Creator of all things desires our fellowship."

What an amazing thing to grasp! That motivates my heart to meet with Jesus. Christian meditation focuses on God's Word. That is what we consider and chew on. Psalm 119 mentions meditating on God, His Word, and His ways 8 times. Psalm 119 is a great place to start your meditations. Carole Mayhall gives one practical way to chew or meditate on the Word of God, She uses the "A-E-I-O-U" method. Anyone think of the classroom when I say A-E-I-O-U?! Start with..

"A" - ask questions. She used Psalm 23 as her example. Psalm 23 states, "The Lord is my Shepherd." She then asked herself questions such as "In what way is He my Shepherd?" Or, "When do I experience Him as my Shepherd?" In this way she would think further and get more out of each verse.

"E" - emphasize words. Carole took each word of this verse separately, and gave emphasis to it. THE Lord is my Shepherd. (There is only 1 Lord!) The LORD is my Shepherd. (He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings!) The Lord IS my Shepherd. (What surety!) The Lord is MY Shepherd. (How personal, how precious!) The Lord is my SHEPHERD. (He cares for me as His own Lamb)

"I" - illustrate. Carole give a precious example of a little 5 year old girl. This girl learned this verse in Psalm 23 by using the 5 fingers on her hand. She would touch each finger and say "the"(touch thumb) "Lord" (touch index finger) "is" (middle) "my" (fourth finger) "Shepherd" (little finger). Carole goes on to write that the little girl became ill, and did not recover. Her mother found her hanging on tightly to her 4th finger. She had been saying this verse as she met her Shepherd.

"O" - other scriptures. Other scriptures come to mind. Like John 10:11 speaking about the Good Shepherd laying down His life for the sheep.

"U" - Use it, or application! How can I really use this in my life? Ask God to show you how to apply it.

This is one great way to meditate on God's Word.

(How many of you went to the Anne Graham Lotz Crusade entitled "Just give me Jesus"? Anne had a great method to study God's Word which causes you to really think about or meditate on it. She causes you to dig deep into the Bible one verse at a time. Come see me afterward if you want to learn more about her way to study the Word which lends itself so beautifully to this topic of meditation.)

So, finding the good spot, prayer, and meditation on God and His Word make up our devotions. Next and lastly the good news; it does not depend on us! I suppose I should qualify that statement. It does depend on us to the extent that we show up for quiet time! We do need to have a willing heart to spend time with Jesus alone daily and to see the importance of this. We need to ask Him for what Andrew Murray calls "...the deep conviction of what a holy, divine, and almighty work it is for God the Spirit to take possession of our life, and carry out his own desire to make Christ live within us. God help us to remember that it is in our daily devotions that this great work is to be carried on and accomplished." If your heart does not desire to draw aside with Jesus, then ask God to give you that desire! Start there! Do not allow the enemy to pour guilt on you. Guilt is not from God. It is from the enemy. God convicts and then encourages only.

Andrew Murray also assures us that "God does not expect from us, however earnest our efforts and prayers may be, that we should strengthen and maintain our spiritual life. That is the work for which His Holy Spirit was promised..." What a relief to me! My part is to show up and surrender to God's Spirit and His great work in my heart and will. He does the work. Jesus wants this intimacy with us. Wow! That thought alone is amazing. The Holy Spirit is THE central figures in this work. There are so many great verses that speak of the Holy Spirit and His work in us.

John 14:21 tells us as we keep His commandments, we love Him. "And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him." The Holy Spirit wants to show us Jesus! John 14:16-17 Jesus says "And I will pray the Father and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him for He dwells with you, and will be in you." The Holy Spirit lives in us permanently as Helper. He helps and enables us to spend time with Jesus and enjoy it!

John 14:25 - "These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But, the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you."

John 16:13b - "The Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you..." Get the picture? The Holy Spirit teaches us, guides us, helps us, tells us the truth. Jesus personally prayed and gave Him to us. Jesus knows exactly what you need. How personal!

In Ephesians 1:17 Paul prays that God the Father will give us "...spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him". It is clear from these passages, that it is the Holy Spirit who will work in our devotional life with Jesus. He will give us the desire. He will show us more of Jesus. He will change us and grow us. So, we depend on the Holy Spirit to help us to learn to draw aside and spend time with Jesus daily. If you remember nothing else I have said - remember our part is to show up and surrender our heart to the Holy Spirit's work in our devotions. God's Holy Spirit does the changing and transforming work in us and teaches us how to be women who are devoted to Jesus and who love to spend time with Him.

After She's Gone: Part 9

2010-08-25T10:30:00.000-07:00

More from Carol's teaching notes...

How to finish the race-by starting with the right foundation!

We all want to be able to say what Paul said in 2Timothy 4:7; "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

So, how do we go about doing this? By building on the only sure foundation to see us through this life - which is Jesus Christ Himself! 1Corinthians 3:10-11 says "According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." This requires focus and reevaluation of ourselves to see where we are heading. Are we staying in God's Word? Are we taking time at home to study, or are we only relying on others to interpret and teach and explain God's word to us? Are we taking time to listen to God in prayer and take our concerns and joys to Him? Are we yielding to what we believe He is telling us to do? Or, are we only doing what we enjoy or feel comfortable doing?

We are constantly building upon some foundation as we make our decisions and choices each day. But what foundation am I building on? Every seemingly small choice is another part of our building process. Carole Mayhall said "But more and more I am persuaded that what pleases the heart of God most are the choices we make that no one sees but God - those everyday moments when God is the only audience." Lets go to our main text today Luke 6:46 - 49; "But why do you call Me Lord, Lord, and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears my sayings and does them I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the floods arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who builds a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great."

This teaching is also recorded for us in Matthew 7:24-27. The Lord has repeated this for us twice, so it must be important! Let's take a moment and consider a few points.

1.) Vs. 46 says "...but why do you call me Lord, Lord and not do the things which I say?" The word "Lord" The Greek word used here is "Kurios" which means master or owner as in the possessor. God is the supreme Lord and sovereign of the Universe!! Do we act like we believe this? Do I? Or do I act (by my actions on a daily basis) like I am supreme mistress of the Universe? Psalm 123:2 speaks of the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters; "...as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God..." I am only a maid, a servant just waiting for my Lords next command and assignment to do. I do not fix my eyes on anyone else. I am fixed on Christ. It is very exciting to ask the Lord what He has for me on any given day. Who will He tell me to talk to or to pray for? Who will He send across my path that day to minister to? Will I be ready? How will I die that day to my own desires in obedience to Christ? The absolute BEST feeling on planet earth is when I obey what I believe Jesus has shown me that day to do. There is no greater joy. There is no greater strengthening for my faith.

2.) Vs 47 speaks of the combined hearing AND action; or "doing". It is not just hearing. We can go to church, we can go to midweek bible studies, women's studies, etc etc and if we are just hearing without action - we are destined to fail. This word for "hear" means to "hear effectually", or "so as to perform what is spoken". Or simply to obey.

What are we hearing? In vs.47 Jesus says "My sayings". It is His voice, His words contained in His word. It is not hearing from another person, or hearing our own voice. It is hearing what Jesus has to say. The Holy Spirit is the one who reveals Jesus and His voice to us. John 10:2-4 says "But he who enters by the door is the Shepherd of the sheep. To Him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear His voice; and He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when He brings our His own sheep, He goes before them, and the sheep follow Him for they know His voice." So, we get to discern and hear the voice of Jesus in our lives. Then the hearing is combined with the action or the obedient doing of the thing. James 2:26 tells us that "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." This is the duo; hearing and doing.

3.) Guess what?! Rain and floods and winds will come! Not if, but when! How will we react to the storms of life? How will we react to the trials and temptations that come our way? 1Peter 1:6-7 reminds us why these things come our way. "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ." Rains, floods and winds are all things that God can use in our lives, to purify us, to sweep away apathy, sin and disobedience. Rain will grow the good seed implanted in our lives. Floods drown out pride and self reliance. We can manage a sprinkle in our lives, but floods drive us to Jesus in complete and utter dependence on Him. We are overwhelmed and realize our need for Him. So, who are we building on? Ourselves? Our understanding of the situation? Someone else? Some other leader? Some public personality? The only sure foundation is Jesus.

4.) In vs. 47 Jesus says "whoever comes to ME". John 21:20 - 23 tells the story of Peter and Jesus and the disciple whom Jesus loved, John. Peter turned his eyes on John and asked Jesus about John. Peter had his eyes on another person. Jesus said "...what is that to you? You follow Me!" Again Jesus draws our eyes to Himself. We can be so distracted by so many things. He knows that and in His infinite love for us, He continually draws us to Him. He is our all sufficient one, our El Shaddai. These words in Luke are the very words of Jesus Himself. He is NOT quoting a wise man, or a book, or someone else's teaching. These are the words of God Himself. What then will you and I do in response to them?

Warren Wiersbe says we are all building houses that can look so good from the outside. To build on the Rock means to obey what God commands in His Word. To build on the sand means to give Christ lip service but NOT obey his will. It may look as if we are building a strong house, but if it does not have a rock solid foundation it cannot last. The storm is the tests of life that comes to every professing Christian. If we are rooted and built up in Him - then our fruit will be good and our house will withstand the storms. We may have our faults and failures, but the steady witness of our lives will point to Christ and honor Him.

After She's Gone Part 8

2010-06-23T14:05:00.000-07:00

More from Carol's teaching notes...

Jeremiah 17:7-8; "Blessed is the woman who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.For she shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes: but its leaf will be green. And will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit."

Today I am going to talk about faith, our most precious and essential gift! The good news is not one of us is without it. Romans 12:3 speaks of "the measure of faith God has given you." The New American Standard says "God has allotted to each a measure of faith." So, God has given this gift to all of us. Rest in the great promise.

In Jeremiah 17:7 - the word "trust" means to confide in, to attach ones-self to, to feel safe, to be confident and secure. Blessed is the woman who is attached to the Lord - who confides in the Lord - who is secure in the Lord. Oh yes! The basic idea is associated with firmness or solidity. God is our solid rock and foundation when nothing else is! The word blessed is used in vs. 7. Blessed here from Zodhiates means "to bend the knee" to "kneel down" to bless - to praise. That was kind of a surprising definition to me. This meaning of "to kneel" appears only 3 times in the Bible.

It appears in Genesis 24:11, in 2 Chronicles 6:13 and in Psalm 95:6 which says "...come; let us bow down in worship. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker." There was a close association felt between kneeling and receiving a blessing. I just know if my heart is knelt before God, I am in a ready position to receive His blessing. For the woman who has faith and trusts in the Lord - she shall be as a tree planted by the waters and sends out her roots by the stream. Faith connects us to the life giving source - God! And from Him we are nourished and sustained.

From "The Pulpit Commentary"...

THE FLOURISHING TREE EXEMPLIFIES THE BLESSEDNESS
OF TRUST IN GOD.

1. Note the character of trust in God.

(1) It is intelligent. It is trust in God revealed as Jehovah, as supreme, self existent, eternal, known in the past for merciful helpfulness.

(2) It is whole-hearted. It is a simple trust in God, not divided by partial
worldly confidence.

(3) It is hopeful. “Whose hope the Lord is.” The strongest faith rises into
hope.

2. Consider the blessedness of this trust in God.

(1) Full and flourishing life — a tree, not a shrub. He who trusts in God is not only endowed with external blessings, he is enlarged and developed in his own life.

(2) Nourished and refreshed. The tree is planted by the waters, etc. Trust in God brings and plants us near to the “river of life.”

(3) Secured against trouble. “And shall not see when heat cometh,” etc. While the shrub derives no benefit from the most favorable weather, the tree planted by the water does not suffer from the most trying. Trust in God does not prevent the approach of trouble, but it fortifies us against suffering real harm from it. Hidden sources supply the Christian with spiritual nourishment when outwardly the heavens are as brass and the earth as iron.

(4) Perpetual fruitfulness. “Neither shall cease from yielding fruit.”
Fruitfulness is a sign of health, perpetual fruitfulness of unbroken health. Fruitfulness is a blessing. The Christian is most blessed in being able to work for good, and to distribute blessings to others as the chief glory of the tree is its fruit-bearing.

Faith does not fear when heat comes. The NIV uses the word "fear" when the heat comes. The King James says does not "see" when heat comes. Interesting! Eyes of faith cause us to see circumstances differently. Certainly faith gave Jeremiah the prophet (from where we draw our verse from today) the ability to keep speaking his unpopular message to Judah as God called him to do. Jeremiah 1:4-10 and 1:17-19. Of course, I cannot even speak of this gift of faith we have and need to grow in without mentioning Hebrews 11:1. "Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see."

Let's take a partial walk down the hall of faith. Let's read Hebrews 11:17-12:2. What a testimony of how God gave these different men and women the gift of faith which enabled them to face circumstances and trials in victory. So, be encouraged this morning. Likewise, faith can enable us to step out of comfort zones and be used. Faith can enable us to step through any fears we have to obey God. We will certainly feel discomfort and fear sometimes as God asks us to do something new or different, But, faith and trust in God can enable us to step out anyway. Don't we all want to grow in this gift and please God? Romans 10:17 tells us that Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. We need to drink often and deeply of God's word which strengthens our faith. Jeremiah 15:16 says; "When your words came, I ate them; and they were my joy and my hearts delight. For I bear your name, O Lord God Almighty."

God's Word here does not bounce off the speaker, but becomes a part of him. God's Word becomes deposited in the heart to bear fruit and develop faith.

We continue on in the verse and it speaks of the heat coming. Notice WHEN the heat comes, not if. The heat, the trial, the attack will come. If we are women of faith planted in God's word which is our life giving stream - we will not fear - our vision will not be overwhelmed with circumstances. Our eyes of faith will see Jesus and His provision or way out in the midst.

She will have no worries in a year of drought and she never fails to bear fruit. I want to be fruit bearing! Jesus said in John 15:8 "This is to my Fathers glory that you bear fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." Faith and trust in God and His word enable us to be fruit bearers. The Holy Spirit will produce the fruit in us. As I mentioned in the beginning - faith is our most precious gift. 1John 5:4; "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith." Spend time in God's word to grow in faith. Let us encourage one another in our faith. Then we shall have the blessings, the hope and assurance spoken of in Jeremiah. We shall not fear when the heat and drought come, and the Holy Spirit will not cease to produce fruit in us to Gods glory!

After She's Gone: Part 7

2010-06-14T09:32:00.000-07:00

More of Carol's teaching notes. Many of these she shared with the ladies of our Church on Monday morning devotionals...

Today I am going to talk about Who we should fear as well as who not to fear and the benefits and blessings that the Bible teaches about this topic!

First we are to fear God! The Bible teaches us about the blessings when we fear or reverence God. This is an emotion that we have all felt. We can all relate to this. Sometimes it nags at us like a yappy dog! It won't leave us alone. Have you every watched a scary or suspenseful movie and then looked in the closets or under your bed before going to sleep? It makes you want to leave all your lights on.

Other times fear can be like a tidal wave - stopping us dead in our tracks! It can hinder our walk with Christ and our relationships with others. It can lead to compromise, sin and wrong decisions. Just look at Pilate!

"Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, "Behold the Man!" Therefore, when the chief priests and officials saw Him, they cried out, saying "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, 'You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him. The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God." Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid, and went again into the Pratorium and said to Jesus, "Where are you from? But Jesus gave him no answer. Then Pilate said to Him "Are You not speaking to me? Do you not know that I have power to release You?" Jesus answered; you could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin." From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out saying if you let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar. When Pilate heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, Behold your King! But they cried out, "Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him! Pilate said to them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, we have no king but Caesar! Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus and led Him away." (John 19:5-16)

Fear of man, the Jews, and Caesar led Pilate to the worst decision of his life!
Fear of losing his power and going against the crowd led him to this fateful decision. So, fear can drive us to behave in certain ways. We need to be directed by the fear of the Lord -not fear of man or by our own insecurities. Unger's Bible dictionary gives us a picture of the fear of the Lord. It makes the distinction between several kinds of fear. Superstitious, which is the fruit of ignorance; servile, which leads to abstinence from many sins through apprehension of punishment; and filial, which has its spring in love, and prompts to care not to offend God and to endeavor in all things to please him. It is another term for practical piety and comprehends the virtues of the godly character. It is produced in the soul by the Holy Spirit, and great blessing is pronounced upon those who possess this Christian trait.

This fear would subsist in a pious soul were there no punishment of sin. It dreads God's displeasure, desires His favor, reveres his holiness, submits cheerfully to his will, is grateful for his benefits, sincerely worships him and conscientiously obeys his commandments. Fear and love must coexist in us so that both passions may be healthy, or that we may please and rightly serve God. We must learn to fear God and keep His ways. Deuteronomy 4:9-10 "Only take heed to yourself and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren especially concerning the day you stood before the Lord in Horeb, when the Lord said to me, Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear my words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.”

We are commanded in 1st Samuel 12:24; "Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you." It is the foundation to our life. Ecclesiastes 12:13 says "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all." Solomon searched for the meaning in life and after all his deliberating and investigating - this was the final conclusion. Now remember our fear of God is to reverence Him and to honor Him, to not want to displease Him. It is not to be “scared” of Him for He loves us and wants only the best for us.

There are so many scriptures that list the blessings and benefits of the fear of the Lord...

1) Divine Protection - Psalm 34:7
2) Divine Provision - Psalm 34:9
3) Gods mercy is given - Psalm 103:11
4) Wisdom - Psalm 111:10 Proverbs 1:7 Proverbs 9:10
5) Blessings - Psalm 115:13
6) God takes pleasure in those who do. Psalm 147:11
7) Good life -Proverbs 10:27
8) Confidence and peace -Proverbs 14:26
9) Protection - Proverbs 14:27
10) Intimacy - Psalm 25:14

These are just a very few of the benefits. In our world today people do not reverence or fear God. It makes me think of Abraham when he commented on Egypt and said in Genesis 20:11 – “…surely the fear of God is not in this place!” I do not see much of it in Half Moon Bay! When we fear and reverence God more than this world, its people and pressures - that is a testimony! Also, I want to encourage you that the people that God used in the Bible are just like us and they had fears, but that did not stop them from serving and being used by God. I will mention just a few. Abraham - Genesis 20:8-13. Moses - Exodus 4:10-16. Joshua - Joshua 1:9 God told him not to be afraid. Gideon - Judges 6:11-15, 6:25-27, Judges 7:9-11.
Elijah - 1 Kings 19:1-3. This took place after Elijah boldly proclaimed Gods word in 1 Kings 17:1, 17:8-16, 17: 17-24, 18:20-40. Esther 4:6-16.

These are just a few of the people that God used. They are just like us and certainly experienced fear. But, in faith they pushed on. Let us encourage each other in this area. Let us pray for each other not to be held back by fear. Let us ask God for His boldness and strength. Amen!

After She's Gone: Part 6

2010-05-24T16:35:00.000-07:00

More of Carol's teaching notes...see previous posts for an explanation of these postings. Hope you are as blessed as I am reading them...

Am I worth listening to? Am I following Proverbs 14:1 - and paying attention
to Proverbs 18:21. Let me share both of these scriptures with you.

Proverbs 14:1 says "The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish
one pulls it down with her hands."

Proverbs 18:21 says "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those
who love it will eat its fruit."

Oh that we realize the power of our words - both for good and for bad. If our tongues can be controlled, our mouths will be fountains of life, and we will be worth listening to!"

Many of the thoughts I am sharing today come from Carole Mayhall's book "Words that Hurt, Words that Heal." In Carole's book she asks herself is she a babbling brook or a fountain? Good question for all of us woman to ask ourselves. We are so verbal - I think we have twice as much opportunity as men to get ourselves into trouble with our tongue!

Proverbs 10:19 in the New American Standard says "When there are
many words, transgression is unavoidable. But he who restrains his lips is wise."
I do not think we really understand how our words affect others. We are so eager
to get our thoughts out about a situation or a person. Maybe we are feeling very
strongly about a topic or person. In our passions we may be over bearing in our
words. Our emotions can compel us to be too quick to speak to another. May I suggest for myself first and foremost, and then for others that we be quick to speak to God first and not another person. That we be quick to pour out our feelings and passions and thoughts to Him first, then, we can stop and ask ourselves if it is right to share these words with another.

Carole Mayhall again says "How tremendous it would be if we processed everything we said through the list of characteristics in James 3:17."

This verse reads "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy." Are our words pure, gentle, peaceable, full of mercy and good fruit, unwavering, without
hypocrisy? What a shining, joyful place this world would be if our words measured up to these attributes! H.A. Ironside elaborates on this verse of wisdom. Let's
consider this wisdom as we seek to bring our tongue under the control of the Holy Spirit. It is first "pure" -there is no uncleanness in it; then peaceable - never stirring up to unholy strife; gentle or courteous - never biting nor sarcastic; easy to be entreated - nor harsh and implacable; full of mercy - every ready to show pity and compassion and to extend forgiveness to the repentant offender, full, too, of good works, for a tongue controlled by divine grace can be a mighty instrument for good; without partiality, or rather, not given to wrangling or quarreling over places of preferment, or envious because others have received recognition denied to us.

Above all, or in addition to all, heavenly wisdom that guides our words is "without" hypocrisy, or dissimulation -absolutely honest, and speaking words that can be depended upon as truthful and sensible." "He who possesses this wisdom is enabled to control his tongue so that he sows not the thistle seed of dissension but good seed that produces righteousness. When the tongue is surrendered to Christ and dominated by the Spirit it becomes one of our most useful members; when it falls under the control of the enemy it works untold grief and damage.

Let's make our prayer throughout our day that of Psalm 19:14 - "Let the WORDS of my mouth be acceptable in your sight, O Lord..." I want to make my conversation worth listening to! So, okay how do we do that? What does that look like? Well, Carole Mayhall says that God spells out for us that which will make us worth listening to. Talk with each other much about the Lord. How? Quoting Psalms and hymns and singing sacred songs, making music in your hearts to the Lord. Ephesians 5:19. Can you remember ever saying, or having someone say to you, "let's quote a Psalm together". Or, let me share a hymn I've just memorized? If we dwell deep with God, the overflow is going to consistently seep into our conversations. How can we be people worth listening to?

By letting our lives be filled with God himself. It is easy to say this, but difficult to do this. Of course, it is impossible without God. He cannot be the God OUT THERE for you. He wants and needs to be the God IN you, a Person who claims a vital, deep consuming place in your life. So, the HOW of being people worth listening to is by letting our lives be filled with God Himself. The WHY of being people worth listening to is because we are His and He wants us to radiate Him. The WHEN - continually! The WHAT - What should we talk about? Besides speaking of the Lord Himself, the list from scripture includes the following
Praise. "And I will tell everyone how great and good you are; I will praise you all day long." (Psalm 35:28)

If we could put all our words for one week in a computer and have them analyzed to give us the average daily percentage of praise, what would that be? I have a feeling that rather than all day long, it would be more like two minutes. Greeting the day with praise to the Lord will help our thoughts and speech be full of His praise during the day. But, often as we talk on the telephone or chat with friends over coffee, our conversations are on what life has thrown at us instead of the things God is doing in our lives.

What else can we speak of? The Word of God. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says "...these commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on
your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along
the road, when you lie down and when you get up." I personally would like to
have much more of the Lord's word memorized that it would fall off my tongue
much more readily.

What else can make us worth listening to? Speaking with encouragement and
comfort to those around us. (1st Thessalonians 2:11-12) "For you know that we
dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging,
comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory."

Some of us need more help than others in developing the ability to be true encouragers. But we have a very creative God that we can ask for ideas and help and enabling in this area. Are you praying about developing the habit of encouragement? Are you asking for creative ideas in how to do this? It may mean a separate prayer list, or writing it down on a "to do" list. But, if your desire is to encourage, God will give you the ideas and the ability to grow to be a comforter and an encourager.

So, praise, the word of God, the Lord Himself, words of encouragement and comfort are all things we can practice to be wise women of God worth listening to.

After She's Gone: Part 5

2010-05-21T11:51:00.000-07:00

More of Carol's study and speaking notes, see my previous post for explanation...

Keep Yourselves in the Love of God

I think most of us would agree we want to be loved and to love in return, Loving relationships with friends and family give meaning to our lives. It can be our greatest joy to love and be loved by children, spouses, family members, friends, and our church family. On the flip side many of us have experienced heartbreak, loss, and betrayal by the ones we love, Rejection, misunderstanding, betrayal, separation, and death can occur. But, as believers we look to the one ultimate love relationship of our life - Jesus! He will never leave us, or forsake us. He never betrays us, or does harm to us. He will never die and we can never be separated from Him. Our love relationship with Jesus is the key! Our love for Him and His love for us will bring us through any trial, any hardship, any suffering. A healthy love relationship with Jesus will keep us close, our hearts soft and open, our ears listening, our obedience growing. Love for Jesus enables us to lay down our lives and surrender our plans to Jesus.

We all want to finish our walk well with Christ. Love is the key. Our verse today is Jude 20-21;"But you beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy s Spirit, keep your selves in the love of God - looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." So, how do we do this all important thing? Let's define a couple of terms and look at the steps mentioned in Gods word.

First of all, don't miss in our opening sentence the word "beloved"! That is addressed to you and to me. Before anything else we need to remember that we are greatly loved. We are dear to the heart of God. How wonderful that is. It is a fact. There is nothing we can do, or not do to change this fact.

Next we are to "...build(ing) (y)ourselves up in (y)our most holy faith." This word "build" is to construct, to frame, and to raise (like a building). In scripture it means to increase and strengthen, to cement and knit together, to establish and preserve. You will note that this implies effort on our part! We have a part to play in this. Many verses speak of this building, or edification of our most holy faith (and of those around us). 1Thessalonians 5:11; "Therefore, comfort each other and edify one another, just as you are doing." Colossians 2:6-7 "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving." Romans 15:2; "Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification." (building up) 1Corinthians 14:26; "How is it then brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification." Again - for building up.

Each of us has a vital part to play. Whether by a prayer, a word spoken, a teaching given, a song sung, etc. These things you will notice are a result of believers coming together in Bible studies, in Church, in women's prayer, in women's coffee. It does not happen in isolation at home alone. So we are "building", and Acts 20:32 gives us 1 important key to the building process.; "So now brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace which is able to build you up ..." God's Word. Time spent in study, devotion, prayer and listening to God speak to us in His Word.

Now, tie study in Gods Word with James 1:22 which says we need to be; "...doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving ourselves." Do we apply what we learn in Bible study, from church, from women's study, from our own reading of the Word? Application of God's Word (or obedience) must be part of the building process.

Now back to Jude 20 where our verse says; "...praying in the Holy Spirit..." Prayer is another key. Notice the little word here that you could skip right over. "in"! When used with people it means "in the presence of, before, surrounded by, or in which one is enveloped." We are to turn aside and ask the Holy Spirit to lead us in prayer. We ask Him to show us how to pray, who to pray for, to soften our heart to pray, and to give us the desire to pray. Trust God's promise in Romans 8:26-27; "Likewise the Spirit also helps us in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God." What an encouragement! As we give 1st place to this prayer in the spirit we can also trust the promise of Romans 5:5; "Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

Next in our verse we note the work "keep". "...keep yourselves in the love of God..." This word means to retain in ones power or possession, not to part with. To tend, take care of. So we don't give up - we persevere. We keep walking, keep obeying, keep trusting, and we keep praising God. We are to cultivate and keep our love relationship with Jesus first. And the Lord will enable us. 1st Thessalonians 3:12 says; "And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you." Philippians 1:9 reminds us; "And this I pray that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment."

Let's recap...

How do we keep ourselves in the love of God?
1) Study and spend time in Gods' Word.
2) Apply, or obey what God shows us in His Word.
3) Pray - asking to be filled with the Holy Spirit
4) Have faith in God's promises that show us that He is able to grow us in love as we yield to Him and live in obedience to Him.

One last thought - be quick and on the alert to bless others and spread God's love around. Get outside of yourself, your thoughts, your comfort zone, and our tendency to pay attention only to self. For an interesting example let's look at 2 Kings 4:8-13. This notable woman of Shunem was on the look out to bless others. She did not wait for an announcement, or an e mail, or for someone to knock on her door. She was looking to see who she could serve. And in so doing - she was blessed by God and experienced His love. So it will be for us! So, keep yourselves in the love of God.

After She's Gone: Part 4

2010-05-18T14:08:00.000-07:00

I thought I would give you a glimpse into Carol's love of God and His Word by posting some of the notes she taught from on various occasions. I don't remember where all of these different things were delivered, some though were to the women on this Church in devotional studies and get-togethers. I haven't done any editing on these other than to format them for the Blog. So these are "raw" notes that she taught from...the first one was for a woman's morning coffee devotional. More to come so stay tuned! Bless you all,
Brian

"Run the Race!" Hebrews 11:30-38. Hebrews 12:1-3

(Read from the Amplified version) Today - a word of encouragement for us all. To fix our eyes on Jesus in faith. This faith is introduced to us in Hebrews 11. The chapter tells us of men and women who lived life and faced trials and circumstances much bigger than themselves. How did they make it through? By faith and obedience to God. These men and women believed God's promises to them and then acted in faith upon that. It is the response of obedience that qualifies the characters in Chapter 11 as people of great faith. Abraham and Sarah believed God, so
they obeyed Him regardless of the consequences. It is this kind of willing trust that pleases God.

Chapter 11's heroes take us right into Chap 12 - remember in the original manuscript there were no chapters and divisions. Chapter 12 starts with "so" great a cloud of witnesses. This phrase conveys the meaning of a "vast mass of clouds". It is a metaphor referring to a great amphitheatre with the arena for the runners, and then tiers upon tiers of seats rising up like a cloud. They are not just mere spectators - but witnesses who testify from their own experience. They went before us and testify to the God who enabled them to live (and if necessary die) by faith. They live the life and show us that we can too!

We are 1st encouraged to throw off everything that hinders - to lay aside every unnecessary weight. Weight meaning that burden, that mass we bend under, that hindrance. Luke 21:34 - says "Be on guard, that your hearts not be weighted down with dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life. The amplified version of this verse says "take heed to yourselves and be on your guard lest your hearts be overburdened and depressed - weighed down with worldly worries and cares. We can be knocked off course, and distracted by worries and cares and burdens and what I like to call old tapes we carry around in our brains. We are to throw all this off along with the sin that so easily entangles us.

Ephesians 4:22-24 tells us to put off the old man which grows corrupt and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new man which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness. We do this by soaking our mind and heart in God's word and in prayer. The goal of Satan is to take our eyes and minds off Christ at every turn. Whether by circumstances and worries and cares of by sin - he constantly seeks to separate us from Jesus. The runner knows he cannot run to win with weights on. He would not wear a long garment that would be apt to wrap around his legs and hinder him from running. So we are exhorted to look deep into the lives of the men and women of Hebrews 11 - this great cloud of witnesses for encouragement. We are to get rid of sin, and any burden that slows us down. We are to run, not sit down and wallow! We are to keep moving. Run is an action word.

The comforting thought to me is that I am to run the race that is "marked out" for me. This is how the NIV translates this portion of the verse. This is not some arbitrary trail. This course has been carefully and thoughtfully laid out by God for me. He has gone before me and knows every rock and pebble. It is designed lovingly for me. That is a comfort to me. Then we are told to look unto Jesus which means to consider attentively. For some reason this reminds me of my cats when I am eating ice cream. They are fixed on my every spoonful. Their eyes do not leave me. They are wholly focused on me and will not be distracted by much else! What attention - what focus! Well, we are to focus on Jesus. This looking to Jesus describes an attitude of faith, not just a single act. It is a daily act of the will. We are to look to and gaze at Jesus for faith for all we face. Isaiah 45:22 - says "Look to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is no other." Micah 7:7 says "Therefore I will look to the Lord, I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me. That is an attitude of trust and faith. We are to cultivate this. We are to fix our eyes on Jesus - the Author (or the originator and beginner) of our faith, and the Finisher, the Completer and Perfector of our faith. Oh, what a relief! He originated my faith, He will complete it. Philippians 1:6 remind us; "Being confident of this very thing that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

So, what are some keys in running this race?

1.) Look, read and meditate on the heroes and heroines of Chapter 11. Romans 15:4 says "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." One of the best ways to develop endurance and encouragement is to know the godly men and women of the Old Testament who ran the race and won. If you are having problems with your family, read about Joseph. If you think your job is too big for you, study the life of Moses. If you are tempted to retaliate see how David handles this problem. .

2.) Look at ourselves. Athletes used to wear training weights to help them prepare for events. No athlete would participate wearing the weights because they would slow him down. What are the weights that we should remove so that we might win the race? Anything that hinders our progress. Fear, being self absorbed, or lack of obedience. Or it may be choosing between good things and the best thing - spending time with Jesus. We are to lay aside every sin that entangles us. Unbelief, unforgiveness, bitterness, unloving attitudes etc. etc.

3.) We are to look to Jesus - which means looking away from others to Him. We are to trust Him. We are to consider Him who endured such hostility by sinners against Himself so we do not grow weary and lose heart. Looking to Him takes our eyes off our circumstances. Looking at Him gives us something to be thankful for. We have someone to be grateful for. Looking at Him show us love. Looking at Jesus reminds us Who has won on our behalf and where we are going to be for eternity. So fix and focus your eyes on Jesus!

After She's Gone: Part 3 The Living Testimony

2010-05-10T16:25:00.000-07:00

One thing that has really been obvious in the last few months is the "living testimony" of Carol and her impact on people's lives. I am posting here two notes from people who wrote me when they heard of Carol's passing...

From a sister in Christ who heard Carol speak at another Calvary Chapel...

Dear pastor Brian,

"I had the privilege of meeting your wife Carol when I was living in **** and she spoke at a Christmas Tea. I recall her speaking on "light" and clearly remember her asking us to imagine how glorious that light would be when we met our Savior face to face. That one moment in her message was filled with such joy that I will never forget it. She greatly encouraged me in that hope and assurance He gives us."

From another sister who had only met Carol face to face once...I met her at Carol's memorial service in our home town...she asked me to make this anonymous, taking out the names so that only the Lord would get the attention and glory.

Hey there Pastor Brian,

I know today was probably incredibly busy for you and I know that you spoke with a lot of people of people, so I don't expect you to remember the short conversation that passed between us before I had to run off, but I promised that I would email you about the impact that Carol has had on my life and so I decided to fulfill that promise before my memory made off with the ability to remember that promise. I suppose you could say that the way Carol had an impact on me was a little different than most; it wasn't just her life that was an impact on me, but also her death. Let me explain..

I believe I actually met you and Carol a long time ago at one of the get-together's that **** would put on at ***** home in Riverside, and a couple of years ago she also helped me with some travel arrangements when I went with **** around the states and then to ****. This was the extent of my knowing her in life.

About six months ago, I was on my way to **** on a one way ticket, but as things usually go, I was really struggling before-hand with some temptations that satan had placed before me. (bear with me, I promise I'm getting somewhere with this) It was quite a battle and sadly, it was lost when I chose to fulfill those temptations and totally and completely walked away from the Lord. In a short matter of time I had immersed myself in the world, getting deeper and deeper into a life of sin, continuing on with it because I partly enjoyed it and partly felt chained to it (probably more chained to it than anything though). I pretended everything was okay on the outside, sugar-coating the truth for everyone around me and pushing friends and family further and further away as the struggle in me grew and consumed me. Not too long ago, the Lord really hit me hard with conviction--once you have known the goodness of God, it is truly hard to forget it--and try as I could to put it aside, I just couldn't. The Lord was ripening and humbling my heart for a harvest that only He in His mercy could produce. Almost two weeks ago, I was getting ready to move to **** to live with my boyfriend (who wasn't a Christian)... I happened to see **** online one evening and so I talked with her and somehow the conversation turned to Carol, she mentioned that her memorial was coming up and it was then that she asked me to go as her representative, I said sure and didn't think much of it.

Next day after we talked, **** sent me the link to the little biography you wrote about Carol (the one that was read at the service) and so I clicked on it and read through it maybe humm.... three or four times? It was through reading about Carol's life and death, and seeing the way that she was remembered, the legacy that the Lord had left through her that the He brought me to my knees in tearful repentance. I broke up with my boyfriend that day, got back into the Word, went back to church, and began to humbly seek the Lord and His will with a new sense of His grace, mercy, and love.

The legacy of Carol brought me back to Jesus and left me wanting nothing more than Him. Seeing her love for her Lord that was so powerful that it kept shining even after she was gone, made me want to seek Him all the more and press on knowing that that kind of love was even possible. I can't even tell you how grateful I am, how much in love with my Lord that I am, how very much I want to serve Him with all that I have. This is the result of God using Carol in both life and death, I praise God that she made herself so readily available in both.

So there you have it, that is the impact she had on my life. I pray that it blesses you and that as time goes on that our precious Lord will continue to heal the sadness of her being gone and overflow you with His perfect peace and joy in the firm factor of Who He is, and that you will continue to serve Him as you already are.

Many blessings,
****

"My heart overflows with a good theme; I address my verses to the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. You are fairer than the sons of men; grace is poured upon Your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever."
Psalm 45:1-2

Now for me, the first thing that comes to my mind is; what will my testimony be after I'm gone? I can tell you that Carol never would have assumed that people would say things like this about her after her departure, but here it is. And these are only two of the letters I've received. I guess my point here is to mind your life. When you are gone people will talk about you and the impact you had on their lives. What will that impact be? ("Brian? Oh yea, well he was okay, kind of funny, I guess he was religious.") Maybe we ought to think of this today and determine what kind of testimony we want to have after we're gone.

After She's Gone: Part 2

2010-04-14T17:28:00.000-07:00

Rethinking We, Us and Ours

Now instead of We, Us and Ours' it is Me, Myself and Mine. That may seem like a minor thing, but after 27 years of We, Us and Ours, it is a transition in thinking. I find myself saying things like "We'll be there" or "That is ours" automatically, without thinking. Even going back to when we first started dating in 1974, there are a million neural pathways in the brain that map redundant actions and reactions. So even something as simple as the "slip" of "ours" instead of "mine" is cause for mourning. It's just another reminder that Carol is not here. The reminders are big and small, but it is these little things that can be the most profound. But honestly, I'm really trying not to get too caught up in the emotional battle of those things, as painful as they can be. Instead I'm trying to be thankful...

God wants us to be thankful. He even makes thankfulness an integral element in the "peace that passes all understanding." (Phil.4:6-7) What is motivating me in this is that I have had for the last 27 years something that very few people seem to have; genuine marital bliss. Maybe we have been an example that it is actually possible to do. Our marriage wasn't perfect, but there really was not anything we might call "a rough patch". I'm not kidding and I am not trying to romanticize my past. Maybe the fact that we never had children was a part of that, I don't know. We just took God at His Word and tried our best to do what He told us to do. Now, admittedly, loving Carol was a very easy thing to do! No big struggle there. The amazing act of grace is that she so cheerfully put up with me for all those years! Maybe she'd be writing these same things here if the tables were turned, I think maybe so.

So as I work on the million neural pathways I am trying to thank God for such a one as Carol, that for 27 years of marriage and the other 8 years of knowing her, it was as good as anyone can have it. Thankful indeed. So if you talk to me and you hear me say things like "we", "us" and "ours", you'll know I'm still working on it. Honestly, after only 8 weeks I am surprised I've made this much progress. Then again, it's been the longest 8 weeks of my life.

Grace to you all,
Brian

After She's Gone: First Post

2010-03-24T14:36:00.000-07:00

This will be my first blog past after the death of my wife Carol on Feb.11th. I suppose some of this may sound a bit depressing, but stick with me on this because God has the last word, as always. First let me say that I have received an enormous amount of love, prayer and support from so many people. I am grateful and would ask you to keep the prayers coming! This is the hardest thing that has ever happened to me and I need the help.

From the beginning (The first diagnosis of breast cancer in May 2008) I knew that Carol could face death. This was cancer after all, not the flu. But the cancer that Carol had was the most common form of breast cancer, and by all accounts over a 90% cure rate. Also, she responded very well to the chemo and did great with the surgery. (Lumpectomy in Feb 2009) But when we got the word that she had an occurrence of the cancer on her liver we were hit hard. This was at the same time that my Dad passed away from cancer. (April 2009) We trusted the Lord and proceeded with more chemo through July of 09, re-scanned and found that the cancer in her liver (Metastatic breast cancer) had grown even more in spite of treatment. That ultimately led to her death in Feb. of this year. But I want to talk about the suffering.

Carol did so well throughout the ordeal. Then the cancer began to take a visible toll. I could see her health diminish and her suffering increase. Now, the most common response to this was, and is, why would God allow her to suffer that way? Not only pain, but the effects of a failing liver? (Which I must say, was extremely difficult) I don't really have an answer, but I may have an insight.

With God, no pain is wasted. He squeezes value and meaning out of every drop. That does not mean we will understand it, and we sure don't like it. But this pain serves certain purposes that make sense to me. One is to disengage the sufferer from their grip on this world. The other is to disengage me from her. By the time Feb.11th came I was asking God to take her to Him. Watching her suffer was the worst thing I have ever experienced. And before it was over my prayers had changed from "heal her" to "take her". I would have gladly taken the cancer upon myself and died in her place, but then she would be writing this. So I invented a new word.

My Mom's dad, my grandfather, had bone cancer in his spine. He lived the last couple of months in extreme pain or unconscious from pain meds. (Thank God that Carol never got to that point!) But when he died I thought it was grief to us, but relief to him. It was "Grieflief". I miss Carol every moment of every day. It is a painful loss and one I will never get over, but I have grielief. I know where she is, her faith and trust in the Lord was and is now complete. I am relieved that she no longer has to bear the burden of her sickness or of this world. But I grieve deeply her loss to me, my family and the world. This world could use a lot more Carol's. And needless to say, I can hardly imagine life without her, and yet, here I am.

In Matt.7:24-27 Jesus tells the story of the wise and foolish builders.

"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."

Think of two houses, built side by side, they look the same, equally as nice. Both hold up just fine in day to day use, but one is built on sand the other on rock. Day in and day out, how can you tell which is which? Really you can't. But what reveals the truth is the storm. Only when things get really bad do you find out what you are built on. Only then do you discover that instead of building your life on God's Word and obedience to it, you have built on ignoring God's Word and now suffer the consequences. It is the storms that reveal the foundations. Carol built her life on the Rock, and the storm came and her house stood. Thankfully God is in the re-building and re-modeling business. Bring Him your wreckage and let Him re-build your life.

Carol is gone now. I remain. I don't like this one bit, but I have my grielief. I have a foundation under me of Rock. I trust the Lord like Carol did. And while I don't like the loss, I trust the One Who took her.

I'll post more soon, in the mean time, husbands; love your wives, you don't know how long you will have them. You do not want to look back and think; "I should have loved her better." I loved Carol every day of our life together, (Met and started dating in 1974, married in 1982) and I love her still.

Grace and peace to you all,
Brian

Last Carol Update

2010-02-12T10:03:00.000-08:00

Early in the morning of Thursday Feb. 11 Carol quietly left this world to her dwelling place in Heaven. I was sleeping next to her hospital bed and checked her at 1:45 and she was still breathing. I nodded off and woke again at 4:45 and found she was not breathing and cool to the touch. It was the worst moment of my life.

Carol's last week was one of rapidly declining health. The cancer in her liver robbed her of strength, even the strength to speak. She was in very little pain although we were giving her some very low dose stuff to help with her discomfort. By Wednesday she was almost completely non-responsive. We did manage to get an occasional raised eyebrow out of her and went on with everything assuming that she could hear everything, but could not respond.

Wednesday night we had our Leadership Group from our Church (Barry and Barbara Cowan, Paul and Roberta Pfluger, Rich and Jill Valiant, and Jay and Lynda Weir) and Pastor Rick Franks and his wife Kelly (CC Mountain View) all gather here at the house. Carol was in a hospital bed in the living room and had been for a few days. But feeling the need we all gathered that night and surrounded Carol's bed. We anointed her with oil (Again!) and we all laid hands on her and prayed for her. (Again!) We sang a couple of songs for her and loved her with words, kisses and touches. Later that night she was with Jesus, hearing His voice, singing His praises and being hugged by her Savior. It was a fine send off, one we will never forget.

The Church here sprang into action with the Leadership Group taking care of many things here for me. Rick and Kelly Franks as well as Pastor Deano Ishiki and his wife Mary (CC San Mateo) have been here for encouragement and prayers also. There will be two memorial services up-coming. One will be in our hometown of Claremont and the other here in Half Moon Bay. I'll post dates and times when I figure it out. They will be soon, but more likely toward the end of the month. Feel free to email me with questions on that.

Lots of people are asking what I need, and really, at this point, nothing at all. I am well supplied. God is present and powerful, love is thick in the air, peace rules the house and I am content in the hands of my Savior. Carol is in eternity, and so will we all be. Who knows but God alone what will happen to you or me this day? Examine your heart. Do you trust Christ with your life and your death? Carol did. Do you have the assurance that comes from having your eternity secure in His hands and not your own? Please everyone; do not let another day go by without answering these questions in the privacy of your own heart. I know that not everyone who reads this is a Christian. This has nothing to do with joining a religion or movement. This is about standing before God on the day of your death and giving to Him an account of why you did or did not believe in His Son. Be very clear on where you stand and don't live another moment without experiencing for yourself what it means to have your sins forgiven and to be standing in the salvation that come from Jesus alone.
Carol had no fear for her life beyond this world. But she did fear not seeing you there. I do to.

May God richly bless you all, He has us,
Brian and in spirit if not in body, Carol

Psalm 116:15; "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints."

2Timothy 4:8; "Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. "

Romans 8:35-39; "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. "

1Cor.15:51-54; " Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."

Isaiah 43:1-3; "But now thus says the LORD, He who created you...'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior...'"

Carol update, Jan. 1, 2010

2010-01-01T17:55:00.000-08:00

Here is the latest for all the FB people who keep asking. Sorry I haven't been better at updating you all, but FB remains something I rather ignore most of the time. It is useful but I'd rather talk to you personally then do the social networking thing. That being said, it is still a great way to get info to many at once. So, Carol is doing okay. The last CT scan showed growth in the cancer in her liver and a spot in her right lung. She has not had any chemo since July and has been doing vitamins/supplements, juicing, exercise and acupuncture in the place of conventional stuff. Still, to this point nothing has worked. The cancer continues to grow and spread no matter what we have done. I don't know what would have happened if we had done nothing or done something else. We have been besieged by "advice" from people about what we should do or questions like; "Have you tried such and so?" Yes we have, or at least researched it. Honestly, I could use a break on suggestions about what we might want to try. I know people want to help and they are concerned, but we have been doing our home work too!

There is a possibility of some more treatment through a clinical trial of a new drug that was originally through Stanford, but now Kaiser is also participating. Whether she does this or not is up to her and we are consulting with some doctors about this on Thurs. (Jan.7) Carol does her best everyday to do what she ought, but most importantly she draws near to the Lord daily, with Bible study and prayer. She is a great example of what happens to someone who has walked with Christ for almost 30 years and then has something like this happen. Her experience has drawn her closer to the Lord not pushed her away. This is what faith is for. If your faith cannot withstand this then what good is it?

Please keep the prayers coming, we just love the fact that people are praying for us. Feel free to call or email if you would like. Let me leave you with 2Corinthians 4:16-18...

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."

God bless you all, seek Him today with all your heart, don't delay...

Brian

Bible Basics - The Bible

2009-11-10T14:32:00.000-08:00

Here is the next installment in my ongoing series of postings under the title Bible Basics". (Previous one have been "God", "Jesus" and "The Holy Spirit") The purpose of this series is to get us and keep us acquainted with the most basic issues of our faith. Read and be healthy...

"Bible Basics - The Bible"

"No one really knows how many copies of the Bible have been printed, sold, or distributed. The Bible Society's attempt to calculate the number printed between 1816 and 1975 produced the figure of 2,458,000,000. A more recent survey, for the years up to 1992, put it closer to 6,000,000,000 in more than 2,000 languages and dialects. Whatever the precise figure, the Bible is by far the bestselling book of all time." (From the "Internet Public Library")

There is no doubt about that. It seems as if every home and hotel in America has a Bible, most of us probably own more than one, and some of us, quite a few. In spite of that, the biggest problem facing God's Church is our glaring ignorance of His Word. In Hosea 4:6 God says "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…" So if God's own people, at least those who call themselves Christians, are so ignorant of God's Word, what about those who are not Christians? It is not difficult to see that members of religious cults and false religions know far more about what they believe than Christians do about what we believe. Seems like the first thing we need to do is to get clear in our minds what the Bible is to begin with, then what we are supposed to do with it. Let's begin with some basics…

1.) "Basic Facts About the Bible" = Apart from being the best selling book in all history, it has a unique origin.

A.)Apart from the Bible, there is only one other religious book that claims a divine origin. The other is the Koran, and its origin is so dubious, and what the Koran has been through as a document of history would make anyone very suspicious about its current state. (See “Answering Islam: The Crescent in Light of the Cross” By Norm Geisler and Abdul Saleeb)

B.) The Bible has 66 books written over a 1500 years span of time by 40 authors from all walks of life. It was written in different moods, places, and times across three continents, in three different languages (that are still alive today), in a wide variety of literary styles. (History, poetry, music, prophecy, romance) But for all its diversity it has one continuous message, God's love and the redemption of mankind.

C.) The Bible was one of the very first books in history translated to another language. Its text was kept alive by translators and copyists whose only purpose was to copy the Bible using a precise mathematical formula to ensure an exact copy every time.

D.) For historical accuracy the Bible is unparalleled in all books of antiquity. The science of "Textual Criticism" is the science of determining whether a book of antiquity faithfully represents what was originally written by its authors. There are three basic tests; Bibliographic (transmission of the text to us), Internal Evidence (giving the document the benefit of the doubt), and External Evidence (does history confirm or deny it). Here's something good to remember; as far as manuscript evidence is concerned the Bible is without peer. There exists today over 5,686 Greek manuscripts plus 19,284 manuscripts in other languages. The entirety of the N.T. was written before 100AD with most of it written as early as 40-50 AD. There are no original manuscripts. The first available manuscripts date from as early as 50AD. That puts the gap between date of original writing and first available less than inconsequential. The Bible is hands down the most accurate historical document in history. The NEXT most accurate (Citing the above criteria) historical book is the Iliad by Homer. There are 643 manuscripts and the first available copy comes 400 years after it was written!

The time gap between the original writings of the N.T. and the first available copies in most cases is less than 50 years. That gap is filled in by the early Church Fathers, those who were disciples of the Apostles themselves. People like Justin Martyr, Irenaus, Clement, Origen, etc. wrote letters themselves. When they wrote they quoted the apostles writings to the extent that if you take the quotations of the apostles from the letters of the early church fathers, you can reconstruct the entire N.T. with the exception of a few verses.

There is no book in history that has withstood the scrutiny and criticism that the Bible has, and it continues to stand as the most accurate and reliable document in antiquity. Now, all that being said, if this is really God's Word, don't you think He can protect and preserve it for us? This has obviously been a VERY cursory look at the Bible as a document of history, but as Christians we believe that the Bible is indeed God's word, and we believe that history and study shows this to be true. So if we can conclude these things are true, then what do we do?

2.) "What the Bible is Not" = Let me slide this point in here, there are many things people think about the Bible and what it is for that are in error. The Bible is NOT a science book. It contains things pertaining to science but it is not a book of science. It is NOT a "self-help" book. This book will not help you to realize your full potential, or to discover the giant within you, or to help you get in touch with your true self. The Bible is NOT a book of things we have to do in order to be good. The Bible is NOT a guide book for life, although we have often called it the "owner's manual for the human being". It is NOT a book of philosophy, morals, or ethics, although it contains all those things. AND, it is NOT something to be trifled with!!

In both Old and New Testaments we are warned to NOT add or subtract anything from God's Word. (Rev.22:18-19, Deut.4:2, Prov.30:6) Let's make sure we are not guilty of that. That’s clearly one of the biggest faults of non-orthodox religions today. So the Bible is NOT alot of things, but it IS the Word of God. That means that every word has something to say to you and I right now, so we best pay attention to what it says. There is much in God's word about God's Word, but there are four specific things I want to settle in on for us today.

3.) "What God's Word is to Us" = This is where I want to settle for the remainder of our time. I like the claims that the Bible makes about itself. Then when it does we have a chance to either believe it or not. Here are four claims that the Bible makes about itself and what we are to do about it.

A.) "God's Word Has a Purpose" = Isaiah 55:11, God's Word was sent here for a purpose, and God says that His Word will accomplish exactly what He sent it for. In the case of those of us who believe, it has accomplished its first purpose, it has brought us to Him for salvation. We could not have been saved apart from what we learn by it and the power of it through the Holy Spirit. See Romans 10:14. But let's also not underestimate the power of the Word "implanted". What I mean is this; the best and most powerful thing we can give anybody is the Word of God. When we share with them our faith we have two things that are the most powerful; one is our testimony (no one can argue with what Christ has done for us or in us) and the second is the Word itself.

In Matt.13:1-23 is the parable of the Sower. We all know the story but let's focus in on a few details. We know that the seed is the Word (vs.19), and it will be received differently by different people (vs.20-23), or even that satan is able to rip some people off for what they have heard (how many times did we hear before we surrendered?). But note that with all farming what we sow today does not bear fruit today. What we sow today may take many years before it bears fruit. That may be God's purpose, but we can rest assured that if we sow with good seed then a crop will come forth because that is God's purpose. You need a purpose in your life? Here's a good one and guaranteed to produce fruit, sow the Word of God into people's hearts and minds and wait for God to bring forth the harvest. His Word will accomplish what He sends it out to do. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but it will.

B.) "God's Word Builds Faith" = Rom.10:17, this is the faith to believe and receive, but also the faith to live for Him. All of us who know Christ today came to Him through His Word. This is one of the fallacies of the modern Church, that people can be led to Christ apart from His Word. If we go back to John 14:25-26, 16:13-15 we see again the stated purpose of the Holy Spirit working through the Word. If we go through the book of Acts the one characteristic that was common in all that the Holy Spirit did in those years was the faithful preaching of God's Word.

For those of us who are saved we look to the Word daily for our necessary food. In Job 23:12 Job says, "I have treasured the Words of His mouth more than my necessary food…" Also the entirety of Psalm 119 is about the word of God in the life of the believer, or how about Psalm 19:7-11. So God's Word builds our faith as we read and are trained by it. (more on that in a minute…) But God's Word also builds our faith as we see what God has done before with other people of faith. That is both positive and negative.

Look at 1Cor.10:6, 11. We have the Biblical record to see what to do and what NOT to do, and the results of both. Now our faith is built up by learning what not to do as well as what to do. Not only that, but through it all we see the faithfulness of God to His people. We see that God is not here to destroy you, but that He does have a plan for your life, (Jer.29:11) far better than what you can imagine, and if His plan for your life includes adversity or even suffering, we see God is faithful to sustain His people. So we are led to faith, built up in our faith, and encouraged in our faith by God's Word.

C.) "God's Word is Profitable" = 2Tim.3:16-17, again God's Word is "breathed" (NIV) by the Holy Spirit. As we remember from John 14, Jesus said that; "…the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you." And again in John 16:13, "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you." Here in 2Tim3:16-17 God gets specific about that. Look at the list…

a.) doctrine = good teaching
b.) reproof = rebuke
c.) correction = to restore to an upright position
d.) instruction in righteousness = nurturing godly living

So that we may be…
a.) complete = perfected or fitted
b.) thoroughly equipped = perfectly furnished
For every good work, which God has prepared in advance for us to do! (Eph.2:10)

There is something missing in our understanding about God's Word, and I think this is the place to put it. We are not dependant upon it. We live our lives oblivious to His Word and all the profitability of it; we live as if we don't know what to do! We know exactly what to do! Psalm 119:105 says; "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Look at the equipping promised here, are there any of us who do not need this? The fact is we cannot live without the equipping of God's Word, and yet we do! Then we can't figure out why our lives get so messed up, then we blame God or come looking for Him after the fact to get us out of the situation we created for ourselves! How much better it is to be equipped by His Word, then walk in obedience to it!

D.) "God's Word is Surgical" = Hebrews 4:12-13, up to this point all we have looked at may be as much intellectual as anything else. But here it gets down right medical. Here is where God's Word becomes to us a diagnostic as well as a surgical tool. Notice how deep it cuts and how fine the incision; between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, thoughts and intents. There is nothing in all creation or the invention of man that cuts that deep. There is no drug, no therapy, and no meditation that gets as deep as the Word.

As we come to the Word and absorb it through our minds, it sinks deep into our hearts and there it goes to work. Look at Acts 2:37, at the preaching of the Gospel they were "…cut to the heart…" Jer.23:29 says, "Is not My Word like a fire? says the Lord. And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?" Note again from Heb.4:12 that God's Word is "living and active", it is not just an intellectual exercise to read it or study it, it is downright dangerous! If we expose ourselves to it, then we must be prepared to accept the consequences. God's word will utterly and completely change us because the Holy Spirit is the driving force behind it.

It is interesting to note here in Heb.4:13 that the term "naked and open" comes from a Greek term used of an combatant taking the head of his adversary and bending it backwards to slit the throat, this is also the position of greatest vulnerability. Do you want God's Word to have its way with you?

2Tim.2:15 tells us to be "diligent" in our study of the Word. Acts 17:11 tells us that the Bereans were. Col.3:16 says you are to let "…the word of Christ dwell in you richly." The challenge for us today is; are we even concerned for the Word? The Word of Christ may not dwell in you richly, but does it have any place in you at all? God has left us with two things in this world, His Holy Spirit and His Word; we ignore either at our own peril.

2009-10-13T17:06:00.000-07:00

Many of you have been asking for an update on Carol, so here goes…
You can read my previous blog post about our bad weekend and what that led to, but right now I am blessed to say that carol is doing great. We take one day at a time and since my last post she has not only done well but improved. Now let me say that, the situation has not changed, she still has metastatic breast cancer involving more than half of her liver, that’s bad, but right now she is doing really good. Here’s how the story has gone.

After a week of morphine Carol said she was not feeling any pain. I suggested that was because she was on morphine, (not a bad thought I figured…) but she really said that there was no pain where she had pain so she stopped taking the morphine. If you have ever taken morphine you know that it works and that it’s really a nasty drug. She was sick for two days after stopping. Then she started feeling a whole lot better and continued to improve. She felt so much better that by the time we got to Kauai it was like she was never sick. After returning home she spent about 5 days with her parents in SoCal helping them out and just visiting with her parents and my family. There are two reasons why she is feeling better. One obviously is God being gracious and answering our prayers for her. The other is that since we first got the breast cancer diagnosis in June ’08 we have been feeding her a lot of vitamins and supplements to offset the terrible effects of the chemo. Some of the things we wanted to do we had to delay to prevent any conflict with chemo or some blood thinning drugs she had to take for a short time.

Now, since she is not doing any chemo or any other medical treatment we have gone whole hog with the vitamin attack. We have done some homework and have been greatly helped by others who have done more homework than we ever could in this area. We are focusing on immune system boosters and other stuff that will help support good liver function, amongst other things. Here is a list of what she is taking daily; both the item itself and the daily dose, and we are mega-dosing on some of these. This is spread out over the day, typically with breakfast, lunch and dinner.

COQ10 (Ubiquinol, not Ubiqunone): 600mg
Magnesium: 500mg
Vitamin D: 3000mg
Curcumin: 2400mg
Potassium: 600mg
Green Tea: 3000mg
N-Acetyl Cysteine: 1800mg
AHCC: 600mg
Maitake Extract: 100mg
Goji Berry: 4000mg
Rejuvenzyme (Proteolytic Enzymes): 1 a day right now

Along with this regimen are a number of supplements mixed with juice or water like whey protein and some vegetable extracts concentrated in powder form. She is also juicing fresh vegetables and fruits every day, sometimes twice a day. She has also had a couple treatments of acupuncture. (The Chinese have been doing this for thousands of years; there must be something to it!) Add to all this the occasional trip to In-N-Out and she is in fine form. While she was doing a lot of this during chemo, she has really ratcheted up the amounts and as far as we can read, there are no toxic levels on these items that we are concerned about.

All that being said, God is certainly blessing her right now. If you ran into her on the street (“ouch, my nose…”) you would never think anything was wrong at all. She looks as fabulous as always, maybe a bit fabulous. As far as we know the cancer is still there, she can feel it and it does cause occasional discomfort, but nothing Advil can’t handle.

So that’s the latest from here. Keep the prayers coming, we trust God completely in this. He knows what our desire is here and we keep pressing forward. (Philippians 3:13-14)

BTW, I’m okay too…

Grace to all in Christ,
Brian

Carol Update for Our FB Friends

2009-08-24T17:10:00.000-07:00

First of all, this entry is really directed at all our FB friends since FB won’t let me post anything quite this lengthy. So this is for all you who have been following the Chronicles of Carol on my FB page. Many of you have been praying and posting and emailing encouragements for us and we are blessed by you all. Some of you really deserve a private email from us and Lord willing we’ll get there. This update will help you understand where we have been since my last post on FB.

Last most of you heard we were headed to Stanford to get a second opinion on a surgical option for Carol. As most of you know the breast cancer she has been fighting the last year metastasized earlier this year into her liver. That’s pretty bad, really bad to be honest. Kaiser turned Carol down for surgery so we looked to Stanford as a very good alternative. The surgeon we talked to described himself as a very “aggressive” surgeon and that is what Stanford is known for, pushing the boundaries of what is possible. When we finally got to talk with him he also turned carol down for surgery, not that surgery is not possible, but that with the removal of half her liver could create even more problems than she had before the surgery. Long story short, he was not convinced that surgery was the best thing for her considering how fast the disease is progressing in her liver. It is not currently showing up anywhere else that we know of.

That very weekend we had to make two trips to emergency with Carol for abdominal pain and high fever. While in emergency they ran a full set of new tests including CT scan, x-ray and multiple blood tests. Since the last tests of this kind were a month earlier and more tests a month before that we were able to get a very good look at the progression of the cancer. Bottom line is that all the chemo Carol has done for the last 3-4 months has done nothing and the cancer continues to grow; now taking up most of the right lobe and part of the left lobe of her liver. After a very difficult consultation with her oncologist we have come to the place where the disease has turned a corner. We have simply run out of treatment options. Our decision now is whether Carol wants to keep trying chemo or stop the treatments. She hasn’t had any chemo since July 27th. She has not yet made a decision about that and we continue to pray.

If we look to the doctors, they have all but thrown in the towel. We can understand why from a human perspective. But where we end up is entirely in the hands of God, really where we have been all along. And perhaps the best place to be. Only the Lord knows what is next. After out traumatic weekend and a week’s worth of some pretty nasty drugs, carol is feeling much better. She has stopped working since her energy level really is not up to that so she is here at home and doing fine. As I like to tell people, if you met her on the street, you’d never think there was anything wrong with her, she looks great. But the scans don’t lie and we know what we are up against. We have meds should she need them but right now she is not taking anything. We have looked into and researched all kinds of alternatives and found many to be without any credibility at all. (“Eat only pork rinds and your cancer will disappear!”)

So, for the time being we are waiting on the Lord, praying our guts out and trying to make good, well educated decisions. With God’s grace we’ll be heading to Kauai soon for a little R&R as well. We could both use it! Keep the prayers coming and I’ll try to do better about keeping the updates coming…feel free always to send us a private email or even a phone call, we love hearing from you all.
This verse keeps coming back to me…

“Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” (Job 2:10)

God bless you all.

If Christ is not the hope of your life, I question whether you have any hope at all.

If Christ is not your highest aspiration, then you are aiming too low.

Trust in Him, now and always, He has never let me down.

Grace and peace to you all,
Brian and Carol

Bible Basics - The Holy Spirit

2009-02-21T17:47:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the long delay on continuing this series, but finally here is the next installment...

"Bible Basics: The Holy Spirit"

There is perhaps no more misunderstood, used and abused member of the Trinity than the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is credited with doing all manner of crazy thing and used or abused on national television nightly but so little understood from the Biblical perspective. Really, it is not difficult to understand the Person and work of the Holy Spirit in the Bible, in the Believer and in this world. But in the process of gaining the correct Biblical understanding we may get our theology shaken up a bit in the process. Well, that's okay. If God's Word shakes us up that's the way it ought to be!

One of the reasons why we misunderstand so much concerning the Holy Spirit is because it all seems so "mystical", or a bit too "supernatural". We may be a little afraid of that, and if we are then we are afraid of half of what God left us in this world. He left us with His Word and His Holy Spirit and if we eliminate either one we lose half of what God gave us here on earth. This is supernatural! The Holy Spirit is not some mystical force or some unseen power that we can manipulate with the power of our faith. He is the third Person of the Trinity with very specific functions in this world and in the life of the Believer. We'll break this study down into three parts. The Deity of the Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit's work in the World, and the Holy Spirit's work in the Believer.

1.) "The Deity of the Holy Spirit" = Just as in our studies on God and on Jesus, one of the most important and distinctive characteristics of the Holy Spirit is His deity. (I use "His" merely as a point of reference) Deity being the claim that the Holy Spirit exhibits all the powers associated with God alone.

A.) The Holy Spirit is Omnipresent = Psalm 139:7-12 Here the Holy Spirit is seen as being everywhere just like God.

B.) The Holy Spirit is Omniscient = 1Cor.2:10 The Holy Spirit knows everything that God knows.

C.) The Holy Spirit is Omnipotent = Luke 1:35, Romans 1:4, Here and in Romans the Holy Spirit is seen with the power to create new life and raise the dead to life.

Not to mention Acts 5:1-4 where Peter tells Ananias that he has lied to the Holy Spirit then explains that by doing that he has lied to God. No clearer declaration of the Holy Spirit's deity is to be found. The Holy Spirit is seen in the acts of creation in Gen.1:2 and throughout the O.T. interacting in the lives of God's people. I'll touch on that a little more in just a few…

With the deity of the Holy Spirit clearly defined we can and have seen the presence of the Trinity throughout scripture. Just by way of reminder, here are a few quick references to the Trinity. Matt.3:16-17 (Jesus' baptism), Matt.28:19 (Baptism formula), 2Cor.13:14 (Benediction), Eph.4:4-6 (Each One present) and 1Thess.5:18-19 just to name a few. But the Person and work of the Holy Spirit is not limited to the believer…

2.) "The Work of the Holy Spirit in the World" = Not only do we see the Holy Spirit at work in the Creation, but throughout the O.T. There are however some distinctive differences, but let’s start here first; Jesus gives us the teaching in John 16:8-11. He "convicts" the world. That also means "rebuke", it is generally defined as "creating shame in the one convicted", or "to bring to light or expose". So here in John 16 Jesus explains how this works, the thing that becomes clear is that the Holy Spirit does what he does in and through the life of the believer in the Church. So the "instrument" is the believer, the "medium or method" is the Church. This is the purifying force of the Holy Spirit in the believer through the Church to the world around us. In the O.T. that function was filled by God's Prophets. They brought God's message to Israel and the world, and Israel and the world had the choice to obey God's Word or not. The world still has that choice today.

This purifying force is seen most clearly in its removal from the world in 2Thess.2:6-7. When the purifying power of the Holy Spirit at work in the life of the believer through the Church is removed, then the Anti-Christ will be revealed. The Believer in the Church acts as "salt and light" as Jesus said, both being purifying and revealing forces. It is this combination, Holy Spirit/Believer/Church that acts as a restrainer of sorts to the sin in the world around us. So as long as we are here, the world has a "conscience" of sorts because we keep standing up for the truth and saying things like, 'that’s not right…" Apart from us doing that, the world is free to have no conscience at all. The world around us today offers ample evidence that the purifying power of the Church is waning. We have less and less influence every day.

Why is that? Seems to me that from a Biblical perspective, the biggest thing missing today compared to the Church of the first century is holiness and purity. We are all so much more interested in our liberties than in holiness to God. It may be too late for the Church to ever regain the influence it once had, but its never too late for you and I to have a greater influence on our world, but it will only come as we increase in holiness to God, giving up more and more of our so called liberties, which are not really liberties at all, only excuses to compromise.

3.) "The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Believer" = In the O.T. we see frequent references to the presence and work of the Holy Spirit. He instructed Israel in the wilderness (Neh.9:20), He is responsible for inspiring the writers of both Old and New Testaments, (2Sam23:2, Is.59:21, 2Peter 1:21, 2Tim.3:16 "lit." God-breathed") that last reference is most interesting because the Greek word for "spirit" is "pneuma" or "breath". Here also is where we can make the distinction between the Holy Spirit's work in the O.T. and the N.T. There are three different experiences with the Holy Spirit; "with", "upon" and "in". In the O.T. the Holy Spirit was "with" and came "upon" God's people.

In Psalm 51:11 David prayed in repentance, "…do no take Your Holy Spirit from me…" Judges 6:34, "But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon…" He came "upon" Jephthah in Judges 11:29. Or Samson in Judges 14:6 where the Spirit of the Lord "came upon him mightily…" Not to mention all the Prophets. But the work of the Spirit was one of temporarily coming down, then being gone again in the sense of what He did in that moment or particular event. In the N.T. this is quite different. In the N.T. and to the Believer specifically there are three different manifestations for four different purposes.

A.) "With" = John 14:16, the word "with" means to accompany. So the Holy Spirit will accompany the Believer wherever he or she goes. Note that it says "forever", David prayed that God would not take His Holy Spirit from him, and now Jesus says that He will not.

B.) "In" = John 14:17, now Jesus adds on "in" as well as "with". The Greek word for "in" that is used here has the same meaning as "abide". That is a settled and permanent place or position. This is the one fundamental difference between those of us who are Believers, followers of Jesus Christ, born again by His Spirit; we have the Holy Spirit within us, never to leave.

C.) "Upon" = Luke 24:49, "power from on high", so like in the O.T. there is still this manifestation of the Spirit coming down from God "upon" His people. So the Holy Spirit is "with", "in", and "upon" those who are followers of Jesus.

This is quite handy; the Holy Spirit serves many different functions in the life of the Believer. Like assurance of our Salvation (Rom.8:16), giving us renewed physical life (Rom.8:11), He helps us to pray (Rom.8:26) amongst many others. But there are four specific functions I want to focus in on.

A.) "Illumination" = First is the work of the Holy Spirit in our salvation, 1Cor.12:3 says that we can't even confess "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit. Remember that Jesus said in John 16:8 that the Holy Spirit would "convict the world of sin righteousness and of judgment". So the Spirit is at work on us bringing us to Christ for salvation. Then as we are born again by His Spirit, (John 3:5) His indwelling presence now "illuminates" our understanding of God's Word. (John 14:25-26, 16:13-15)

B.) "Accompaniment" = The Greek word used by Jesus in John 14:16 is "parakletos", lit. "One called alongside to help". As I mentioned before He will be with us forever and one of the big bonuses of having Him with us is His "guidance" We see Him function in that way many times through the book of Acts, like 13:4, 16:6-7, 20:28. This is barely even mentioning what it means to "live" by the Spirit. (Rom.8:1-17) But that does get me to my next point.

C.) "Empowering" = Acts 1:8, the definitive verse on the subject. Here is Jesus reminding His followers that although they have so much, there is one thing more they need, power to do what Jesus commands. When we look at the commands that Jesus gave us, they are either very cruel, or He has a different idea in mind. Cruel because we can't do them! So Jesus says that He will empower us to do whatever He asks. Here in Acts 1:8 it is to be His "witnesses", the Greek word is "martus" or "martyr" Here is the power not only to die for Jesus, but to live for Him! Now it is not us trying to do what Jesus wants us to do in our own strength, but it is His power, His Spirit doing it in us! I'm relieved! I've tried in my own power and discovered that I didn't have any!

D.) "Equipping" = 1Cor.12:7, says that the Spirit gives to each of us who have been born again a "manifestation of the Spirit…for the profit of all." Here a number of things come together. We have the Spirits work through the Word (2Tim.3:16-17), His empowering to be "witnesses" for Jesus (Acts 1:8), His accompanying Presence with us (John 14:16), but now His "gifting". See 1Cor.12:1-11. The rest of chap.12 and then chap.14 goes on to explain the gifts and their proper exercise in the Church. Like 12:28-30, 14:1-5, 26-33. It's hard to imagine how some Churches get so whacked out in these things when the directions are so clear.

Now this brings us back again to the "in" and "upon" work of the Spirit. In Acts 19:1-6 Paul found "disciples" in Ephesus, these were followers of Jesus, but lacked this one last thing, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Let's walk through a few scriptures; Acts 2:1-4 (Holy Spirit spontaneously comes down, disciples speak in hitherto unknown languages), Acts 8:14-20 (Simon the Sorcerer's attempt to buy the Gift), Acts 10:44-47 (no hands, speaking in tongues, before baptism), and Acts 19:6 (hands, tongues and prophecy). Interesting side note is that in all the references to "tongues" in the N.T. all but one are defined as speaking another "earthly" language that someone did not know before. Only one reference to and "unknown tongue" is found in 1Cor. 14:21.

In each case it was simply God pouring out upon His people all that He has for them. There are good people who love Jesus who do not believe in this baptism of the Holy Spirit, or at least that it is not for believers of today, or some combination thereof. But when I look at what God's Word says about the Holy Spirit I want everything that God has for me. And when I study the Person and work of the Holy Spirit I question why anyone would think that that power is only for then and not now. We have certainly not covered all that we could about the Holy Spirit, but it does come down to this; have you been born of His Spirit? Has the Holy Spirit been working on your heart today? Do you need forgiveness of your sins and a new start with Christ? Then surrender to the work of the spirit and confess that Jesus Christ is your Lord and savior.

Perhaps you have been born again, but you have not yet asked for this baptism with the Holy Spirit. You have the Spirit in you and with you, but you have not yet asked Him to come upon you and gift you with whatever He wants to gift you with. Remember we are not talking about "natural" gifting, but supernatural gifting. If you have not then today is your day! I don't know what gift or gifts God will give you, but I know from His Word that He wants to. Jesus said "Ask and you shall receive", James said "You have not because you ask not", ask today for all the God has for you by His Holy Spirit.

Bible Basics: Jesus

2008-11-22T21:17:00.000-08:00

Part two in the Bible Basics series...

There is no doubt that the most beloved and controversial figure in all of history is Jesus. He divides time (B.C. /A.D.) and divides human kind between those who believe in Him and those who do not. The second study in our "Bible Basics" series will attempt to give you an overview of Jesus. Again the impossibility of this is obvious, but we will look to God's Word and let God Himself clear up any misunderstandings or misconceptions we may have of Who Jesus is. From the promise of the Messiah in Gen.3:15 (…her seed…) to the fulfillment of all things in the book of Revelation, the Bible has One central figure; Jesus. He is called "The Christ", that is His office (not His last name!), and that office is the Messiah, also called "the Anointed One"

If we were to ask a thousand people what they thought of Jesus we'd probably get a thousand different answers. Every religion in the world has an opinion about Who Jesus was, we will see not only Who Jesus was, but Who He is today. There are five different categories we will look at briefly of course, and again I encourage you to take notes and examine this material for yourself at home. (Yes, it's that important!) Those five categories are these; His Pre-existence, His Incarnation, His Deity, His Claims, and His Return.

1.) "The Pre-existence of Christ" = If we only think of Jesus as the guy in the N.T. Who healed people we will miss a large part of His story. The pre-existent Christ is made clear in Gen.1:26 when God says; "…let Us make man in Our image…" Our first hint is that God is not alone as we understand alone. Remember how we understand the Trinity? That's right, we don't! But if God is saying "Us" and "Our", then He is including more than His singular Self in the conversation. John's Gospel also addresses Christ in the creation in chap.1 verses 1-4. (See also Col.1:16-17)

In addition to Jesus being present in all eternity and the active Creator of all things, He would put in an occasional guest appearance here on earth before His incarnation. Those appearances of Jesus in the O.T. are called "Theophanies" or appearances of Christ in the O.T., usually referred to as "The Angel of the Lord" as opposed to "an" angel of the Lord. A couple of good ones to refer to would be Gen.18:1-15 (12-15), Joshua 5:13-6:2, Judges 6:11-14, and Dan.3:25 amongst many others.

This does not even take into account all the prophecies made in the O.T. concerning the coming Messiah. So with all these O.T. references to a pre-incarnate Christ we can have no doubt that Jesus does indeed exist in eternity and because He exists in eternity, He existed before the creation of this world. He made special guest appearances in the world before He came in the flesh always as an active participant in the affairs of His creation.

2.) "The Incarnation of Christ" = Incarnation simply means His appearing in the flesh. The term "Messiah" simply means "The Anointed One". Just to take a couple of O.T. references to set the stage, let's go back to Gen.3:15 and note the prophecy of the virgin birth of the Savior, "her seed". As we all know the woman does not carry the "seed", but rather the "egg". And although satan would inflict damage on the coming Messiah ("…bruise His heel…"), the Messiah would destroy satan. ("…crush your head…"). Move on to Isaiah 9:6, where not only is the Messiah promised but His Deity is clearly declared. We could exhaust ourselves studying O.T. prophecies concerning Jesus, but let's move on to the N.T. for a few references. Start with Matthew 1:18-23 and Luke 1:26-38. Both stories that we commonly hear around Christmas! Not stories only, but history that bears' further study. God in His eternal wisdom foresaw the condition of mankind after the fall and had prepared from all eternity His Son, to come to earth in the likeness of man. See Phil.2:5-11 for an excellent description of the events.

(Another fruitful field of study is the names and titles used for Jesus in the N.T. In John 1 Jesus is called the "Word of God". Along with His claims concerning Himself (next), this is an area worth studying. We will not get into that today, but we'll touch on it in some of our other studies in this series as we see the plan of God unfold.)

There really is no historian of any kind who denies that a person named Jesus existed 2,000 years ago. The argument is over whether Jesus is Who He claims to be. That’s brings us to our next heading.

3.) "The Claims of Christ Concerning Himself" = There are 7 to bring to your attention, and very briefly they are;

A.) "I Am the Bread of Life" = John 6:35, 41, 48-51. Jesus claims that He alone can satisfy the spiritual hunger for our souls. He not only sustains life but He gives it as the Author of life. He is the True food for your soul.

B.) "I Am the Light of the World" = John 8:12, 9:5, 12:46. Jesus claims that He alone is the Light that illuminates our hearts and souls. If you want to see spiritually, if you want to see the path that He has marked out for you, then Jesus claims that He is The Light, and that He gives that illumination.

C.) "I Am the Door" = John 10:7-9 Jesus here claims that if you are a Sheep (one of His followers), then the only way into "salvation" (vs.10) and "pasture" (good feeding), is through Him. Interesting to note that Jesus mentions that there are others (all who came before me), so we have a choice, but for salvation and feeding there is only One.

D.) "I Am the Good Shepherd" = John 10:11-14 Jesus claims here that if you are a Sheep (one of His followers), then any real protection will come from Him. Again He states that there will be those who are false shepherds, but that those who know Him will recognize Him by the way He cares for the sheep.

E.) "I Am the Resurrection and the Life" = John 11:25 Note that He did not claim to be able to resurrect, or to be able to give life (though that is all true), but He claimed to be the resurrection and the life. In Him is life after death, life eternal.

F.) "I Am the Way the Truth and the Life" = John 14:6 Again Jesus did not claim to be a way, a truth, or a life, but rather "THE". There is hardly any greater claim of exclusivity in all of scripture. He doesn't claim to teach about these things or show the way, He simply claims that He is these things.

G.) "I Am the True Vine" = John 15:1-5 Jesus claims that if we know Him we now draw His life from Him, and that His life now flows into us as vine into the branch. If we want to live and be fruitful we will stay attached to Him for life and fruitfulness, and that not of ourselves, it is from Him into us.

The reason I bring these claims to your attention is this; when we read the claims that Christ made about Himself, we have only one of three conclusions to come to. From C.S. Lewis via Josh McDowell, Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic or He really is Lord. No sane individual would make such claims about Himself if he was not one of these things. Jesus' claims about Himself are perhaps the most striking thing to study in God's Word and the very things that set Jesus apart from any other figure in history, religious or otherwise. There is no one else in the world who has ever made those claims, then went on to prove them! That brings us to our next point…

4.) "The Deity of Christ" = Simply claiming to be God does not make someone God. Mental institutions all have someone claiming to be God or Jesus. How did Jesus prove His deity? First and foremost are His miracles. Each one demonstrates that He has the power to suspend the "laws of nature" for the purpose of demonstrating His Deity. Here are just a few examples; Matt.8:23-27 (even the wind and the sea obey Him), John 11:38-44 (if you would believe you would see the glory of God), and perhaps one of my favorites, Luke 5:18-26 (who can forgive sins but God alone?).

We also have scriptures like John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Or Col.2:9, "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." But let's also separate this out like we did last week in establishing the attributes of God Himself.

A.) Omnipotence of Jesus = He is all powerful, Is.9:6, Matt.28:18, John 5:21, 10:17-18, Col.1:17, Rev.1:8.

B.) Omnipresence of Jesus = He is everywhere at all times, Matt.18:20, Matt.28:20, Eph.1:22-23, Heb.13:5.

C.) Omniscience of Jesus = He knows everything, Matt.9:4, John 1:48-49, 2:24, 16:29-30, 21:17.

As we saw in the previous post concerning God Himself, we noted that these attributes are possessed by God alone, yet Jesus Himself demonstrates these very same attributes. There can only be one conclusion, and that is that Jesus is in fact God in the flesh. 1John 4:2-3 says that this one issue is the dividing point between the true followers and teachers of Christ and the false ones. Now, lastly…

5.) "The Return of Christ" = In all of the things we have looked at this morning, they have all been fulfilled by Jesus. There is only one thing that remains for us, Jesus' return. In John 14:1-2 Jesus made the promise. 1Thess.4:16 describes the next event on the prophetic calendar, the rapture of the Church. Once the Church is removed from this earth, then all hell brakes loose in what the Bible calls the Great Tribulation. Seven years of satan having his way and God intervening in judgment. Then, at the end of that seven year period (Daniel's 70th week, Dan.9:24-27), Jesus Himself will physically return to earth to clean up the wreckage and to rule and reign. (Rev.19)

I mention this because everything Jesus ever said or did was complete. The only thing left and remaining is this. After Jesus fulfilled everything else, what are the odds He will come back as He claimed? In His birth, life, death and resurrection Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophecies concerning Himself, I think He will fulfill this last one too.

But now the question becomes this; is this the Jesus you know? Or have you believed in some other Jesus? Even a Jesus of your own making? Jesus as He is recorded in God's Word is the only One Who saves, the only One with the power to rescue you and me from a life of futility and an eternity in hell. His life, death and resurrection from the dead delcares Jesus as the only One in all of human history to have done so. Is your faith in Him today? Or in a Jesus who is not savior at all?

Bible Basics

2008-10-26T14:48:00.000-07:00

Here's the last installment in the intro message on God. More Basics messages on the way, so keep checking back!

Grace and peace,
Brian

3.) "The Attributes of God" = It is difficult to distinguish between the nature of God and His attributes. Trying to separate God and His nature into parts is always a bit problematic because it presumes an ability on our part to understand these distinctions. As foolish as that is, let's plunge forward and see what many theologians call the "natural" and "moral" attributes of God. (I could certainly reference more passages from the Bible for each point but I've intentionally kept this brief...)

The "natural" attributes go like this:

1.) God is Omniscient; that means He knows everything. He has perfect understanding and knowledge of everything at all times. 1John 3:20 simply states that "…God...knows all things." (Also Is.40:28)

2.) God is Omnipotent; that means He is all powerful. God can bring to pass anything that He wills, nothing is impossible for Him, He has no limitations. See Job 42:2, Gen. 18:14, Luke 1:37. There is nothing outside of the realm of His control.

3.) God is Omnipresent; that means that He is everywhere at all times. He is not limited by time or space. Again Psalm 139:7-12, Jer.23:23-24 amongst others.

We might sum up the Trinity like this; God the Father is specially manifested in Heaven, God the Son has been specially manifested on Earth, God the Holy Spirit has been specially manifested everywhere. God is present everywhere at all times with all power and all knowledge.

The "moral" attributes go like this:

1.) God is Immutable = That means He never changes. Mal.3:6, "For I am the Lord, and I do not change."

2.) God is Holy = That means He is perfect in purity, in Him there is no shadow or variance, no spot or wrinkle. Is.6:3 God is declared to be "holy, holy, holy", the only attribute of God repeated three times. We can also see that the holiness of God is the primary message of the OT. (Lev.11:45, Psalm 99:9) This may be the most overwhelming of His attributes.

3.) God is righteous and just = These things spring from His holiness. This means that He is always right, and all His actions and decisions are right and according to perfect justice. Ezra 9:15 says; "O Lord God of Israel, You are righteous…" Also Psalm 11:4-7, 145:17, and Rev.16:5-6.

4.) God is full of loving-kindness and mercy = God is not mean hearted. Mercy is defined as "not giving us what we deserve". In that respect, everyday that this planet and it's inhabitants wakes up and breaths again is because of His mercy. His loving-kindness is seen in His grace. Not only do we wake up and breath, but He has supplied humanity all that it needs to survive and even prosper. Deut. 4:31, "…for the Lord your God is a merciful God…" Also Ps.92:1-2, Eph.2:4.

5.) God is love = 1John 4:8 makes this bold and startling declaration about God. He is simply love. He is also described as "Light", and "Spirit", but here He is love. God's nature is to love. 1John 4:19, "We love Him because He first loved us." That love was declared in John 3:16 then demonstrated in Jesus' death on the cross. (Romans 5:8)

God simply is. We can see many things about Him throughout His Word. He has manifested Himself in this world that we might see Him, He sent His Son that we might know Him, and sent His Holy Spirit that we might experience Him. There is only one way to do this, by faith. God cannot be proven or disproved by science. But He has made Himself known and knowable. Every other religion on earth disagrees. As we proceed further in our lessons we will continue to see the nature and attributes of God manifested throughout all of His Word. Though this doesn't even begin to scratch the surface so to speak, perhaps it will get us into a mind set to consider Who He is, and when we do there is only one thing left to do, that is to worship Him.

Seeing God for Who He is leads to only one thing, worship. He alone is worthy to be praised; He alone is worthy to be worshiped. But one last thing I want to leave you with. As we have very briefly looked at God in His Word I want you to walk away with this; God, Who is Self-Existent, Spirit, manifested in the Trinity, Creator of all things seen and unseen, Who alone knows all, sees all, and has all power, our God Who alone is Holy, holy, holy, righteous, just, full of loving-kindness, mercy and grace, Who alone is love in and of Himself, this God knows you, and He loves you, and He is calling to you to come to Him for salvation and forgiveness. He has made Himself known for you and knowable for you that you might enjoy all the mercy, love and forgiveness that He has for you. The Bible says that there is only one God, all else is a fake. Do you know God today, because He knows you and loves you with an everlasting love.

Bible Basics

2008-10-19T14:22:00.001-07:00

Here's the next installment in the Bible Basics series. The first dealing with God.

2.) "The Nature of God" = As we have already noted from John 4:24, "God is Spirit", and as such cannot be found in a "place" as we understand it. We may think of Heaven as up in the sky, but more to the point Heaven is all around, but not here. We dwell in a linear time and space, God dwells outside of this in a timeless eternity. Other scriptures tell us that God is "spirit". In Col.1:15 God is described as "…the invisible God…" In 1Tim.1:17 He is described as "…the King eternal, immortal, invisible…"

God also has "personality" and this is clearly seen in His Word. One is that He made man "in His image". Gen.1:26 we see God creating within His Triune being a man "…in Our image, according to Our likeness…" There is no end of debate on what this means. But let's look at a few things that are different between man and beast, like a will rather than instinct; creativity rather than curiosity; reason rather than urge; the ability to worship rather than simply respond. Whatever is the outcome of the discussion we as humans have been uniquely created by God to correspond to His Being.

His personality is also seen in His many names in the Bible. Like; "Jehovah-Jireh": The Lord will provide. "Jehovah-Rapha": The Lord that heals. "Jehovah-Nissi": The Lord our Banner. "Jehovah-Shalom": The Lord our Peace. Each of the many names of God in scripture describes an attribute of His personality. Not only in His names, but also in His actions are seen the attributes of His personality; He can be grieved ("repenteth" KJV), Gen.6:6. He is angry (1Kings 11:9), He is jealous (Deut.6:15), He loves (John 3:16), and He hates (Prov.6:16). These are sometimes call "anthropomorphic"; that is assigning to God things that are "human". We know that God is not jealous as we understand jealousy etc.

God's personality is also seen in the unity of the Trinity. Scripture clearly asserts that God is One. Deut.6:4, Is.44:6-8 amongst others. But God has chosen to reveal Himself in Three. First of all is the Hebrew name "Elohim", used in Gen.1:1 is a plural form of the word, plural not in the sense as we understand but plural as in "more than two". Then there is the use of personal pronouns for God, Gen.1:26; "Us", "Our". (Same as Gen.11:7, and Is. 6:8) Appearances of Jesus in the O.T. are known as "Theophanies" and can be seen in places like, Gen.16:7, and chap. 18 amongst others. The person and work of the Holy Spirit is clearly seen in places like Gen. 1:2, or Psalm 139:7 amongst others.

When we move to the New testament we have a flood of Trinity appearances. The baptism of Jesus; Matt.3:16-17, in our baptism command; Matt.28:19, 1Cor.6:11, 2Cor.13:14, are but a few of the more than 30 NT references that contain the Trinity directly.

So God is Spirit, He has personality, and He is Three in One.

Bible Basics

2008-10-18T20:57:00.000-07:00

Next up are the sermons notes, with some additions to make them more readable, of a series I taught called "Bible Basics". These will deal ever so briefly with a number of fundamental doctrines that are the foundations of our faith. The reason I did this series is because I believe that the 21st century Church in America is in a serious state of ignorance of God's Word. Members of other religions have a tremendous grasp on what they believe and why, though I believe they are mistaken. But as a Christian, even a Pastor, I know that I can never know God's Word the way I wish I could. That being said, it is not an excuse to not try. So the Bible Basics series was designed to get my congregation to thinking and digging on these topics. Hopefully they will bless you as well.

Pastor B.

Here's part one of the first in the series, more to follow...

Bible Basics: "God"

These studies will cover both doctrinal and theological basics. As always I encourage you to look up these things for your self. That is your responsibility. But let's also allow God, by His Holy Spirit and His Word to shake us up a bit when we find ourselves thinking outside the realm of His Word. The way to do that is to study these basic things and let God's Word instruct us.

One of the most important things we can posses as Christians is a good, solid systematic theology. That may sound big to you, but really it simply means that we understand the basic premises put forth in God's Word and we have them arranged in our minds in a systematic way. Like; Who is God? Or Who is Jesus? or Who is the Holy Spirit? Also things like; What is the Bible? What is the Church? What are Angels and Demons? Further things like; What is Man? What is Sin? What is Salvation? What happens in the end?

All these things are very important to understand, so let's see just how much we do know. And perhaps most importantly, that we know them from God's Word not simply because someone told us. Now obviously I cannot do justice to all of these great topics in a few sermons. These things all require further study on your part and a commitment to dig as deep as you can for yourself. So what I will give you here is a "primer" on each of these topics and enough references for you to read further. So, with all that being said, let's begin at the beginning…

God…

The idea of a God or "gods" has been around as long as man. Man has always worshiped something. The history of worship will not be a topic for us, rather let's look at three different considerations; the Existence, the Nature, and the Attributes of God as revealed in His Word. I will not be doing much with the arguments for God from non-Biblical sources; I want us to be clear about what the Word of God says.

1.) "The Existence of God" = Gen.1:1, God is "assumed" and He reveals Himself as the Creator of all things seen and unseen. God is never argued nor does the Bible engage in any debate about the existence of God, He is simply assumed. There are many engaged in this argument, but God in His Word has chosen not to. Rather by not engaging in this argument God has sent us a message; try all you want and you will never get it. The argument assumes an ability to understand the material. We are not arguing for the existence of an unknown species of fish, this is God the Creator of the universe we are talking about. Isaiah 55:8 puts us in our place in this regard. In the book of Job, God once again is assumed, never argued, but His actions and attributes are argued ad infinitum by Job and his friends. For all their understanding and debating on Who God is, what He does, and why, God then shows up with this reply to all of their questions, Job 38:1-18. Notice that God never answers any of their questions; He simply states their inability to comprehend Who He is.

So trying to explain God is like trying to explain eternity, we are simply not equipped to manage this information. But that being said, God has chosen in His grace to reveal many things to us that gives us enough information to get a glimpse of His glory. Go to Exodus 3:13-14. When Moses asks God what His name is God answers; "I Am Who I Am". What this means to us is that God is "self existent". He has no beginning and no end. He was not created by anyone or anything and dwells in a place outside of time as we know it.

In John 4:24 Jesus says that God is "spirit". That means He has no corporeal body as we do, He is simply "spirit", not "made out of spirit" because that would imply that He was "made". So He is without cause, without beginning or end, Spirit and not substance as we know it. John 5:26 Jesus states that God has "life in Himself" thus making Him the Author of all life.

Romans 1:18-20 tells us that there is much to be known about God through what He has created. He is Just (vs.18a "wrath"), He dwells in Heaven (vs18b), He establishes and upholds truth and righteousness (vs18c), He has made things about Himself manifest to mankind in an obvious way (vs19), He is the Creator (vs20a), His attributes are invisible but easily known (vs20b), they are understood by observing His creation (vs20c), what is visible through His creation is His existence, Deity and power (vs20d), God did so that all would know Who He is and have no excuses before Him (vs20e).

So as we have very briefly seen here, God has done much to reveal Himself to His creation, so much that as He says in His Word, "…so that they (mankind) are without excuse." (Rom.1:20) In God's Word God is assumed, asserted, and declared.

Christianity and Politics Part 5

2008-09-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

Here is the last part of a sermon on Politics. Re-reading and editing this for the blog here reminded me that I still feel this way, and maybe even more in this current political season.

Grace and peace to all,
Brian

5.) "The Supremacy of the Gospel" The entire protestant reformation turned on this very idea. Romans chapter 1 verse 16-17 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'the just shall live by faith."

Here we get to the real point of my entire message. Jesus' primary concern is with the person's eternal destiny, but not to the complete exclusion of their temporal needs. Here is where we need to find our balance. If we believe that the Gospel is a fact, "the power of God to salvation"; then everything we do needs to be motivated by that fact. We need to understand that all around us everyday there are millions and millions of people that are dying and are entering into eternity apart from Christ. And we, typically, do little or nothing about that. I, personally am under a great deal of conviction about that, and if you are not, then you need to talk to me after the service today, because I believe if we have been born again by the Spirit of God, if we have the conscience that God gives us, then we are going to be moved deeply and regularly by that fact.

The supremacy of the Gospel is that it is the power God to salvation. Now, when we look at another human being, we look at them through this lens; "Do they know Jesus"? Almost everything else I can set aside. I can set aside whether they are like me or not like me, whether they smell good or smell bad, and whether they are rich or poor. Do they know Jesus, and is there an impediment – right now – to their coming to Christ? Think about it like this - and this is what got me really got me going on this topic – in John chapter 3, this is Jesus' talk with Nicodemus; Nicodemus had certain objections, what did Jesus do with those objections? He just gently moved them aside so He could get straight to the point.

In Luke chapter 5, verses 17 through 24, is the story about the man who was crippled, and his friends couldn't get him to Jesus, so they whacked a hole in the ceiling and they lowered him down through the roof on this mat. Jesus looked at him (I think this is one of the funniest stories in the Bible – if you can imagine me preaching and chunks of the roof start falling in while I'm preaching here and then a guy comes down on a mat – I think that's cool). So what did Jesus say? He looks at the guy on the mat and says "Your sins are forgiven" (I don't know how long of a pause there was in that moment, there are a bunch of people sitting around going – "we'll that's all well and good, but the guy obviously needs something beyond that") Jesus went on and healed him, and he got up off of his mat and walked. But what did Jesus give him? He gave him the eternal gift! He gave him salvation. We may not be able to heal the sick at will, I wish that I could – God knows I wish that I could, but we can be instruments that God can use to clear away peoples doubts and objections that they may receive salvation. That is the first and most important thing of all!

It does no good to preach the Gospel to someone who is starving to death without meeting their physical needs. You can't go to Sudan and look at someone who is dying of starvation and malnutrition and say to them "You can be saved and go to heaven right now". "You can enjoy all the blessing of God in your life right now." "He wants you to be blessed and filled and prosper – Gods wants you to be healthy and if you have faith you could be healed right now. You can have all the money in the world because God wants you to be wealthy!" WHAT A FALACY – WHAT AN EVIL, EVIL LIE! You can't say to someone dying of starvation that it is God's will that he be healthy and wealthy. That's a lie from the enemy. You have to feed them first! And you know what happens if you feed them? You will then be qualified to share the gospel with them.

One of my favorite organizations is Samaritans Purse, and we are about to send off another check to Samaritans Purse for Tsunami relief. Samaritans Purse goes in and meets people's needs, and that qualifies them to share the Gospel. They don't go in, share the Gospel and tell people they ought to get saved if you want to get some of this relief material. No – they are going to go in and meet people's needs, and in the meeting of their needs it qualifies them to share the Gospel.

The Church has the right and the obligation to speak out on issues that are clearly defined in God's Word. We have the right to speak out about those things. The Church is the Body of Christ, and Christians individually and collectively have the responsibility to work for the restraint of evil, whatever that may mean in our lives; voting, or even becoming politically active, even running for office. But the context of that work – restraining – is the sharing and the living of the Gospel message.

If our hope for the future is in government or politicians we have a problem. God is not a politician, and has no party affiliation. God does not favor one political party over another. God is sovereign! God rules over all, He rules over everything, He rules with the ultimate and eternal authority – every human being is accountable to God. When a politician acts, regardless of how they act, they will be held accountable for those actions. Every human being will be held accountable for their actions.

Philippians 2:11 says; "Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God..." and you will confess that either on the way into heaven or on the way out of heaven for eternity. The interest of the U.S. government should never – ever – be confused with the interests of God Himself. Human government is simply not called or equipped to advance the Gospel. Remember that when Paul and Peter wrote the things that they wrote, the government that they were writing about was one of the most corrupt, and blood thirsty of all Roman governments.

When Paul went to the city of Corinth, the city was famous for its debauchery. In fact to be called a "Corinthian" was a slur, it was an insult and meant that you were completely lacking in all moral character. And when he wrote to the church in Corinth after visiting there and establishing a Church there this is what he wrote to them. "Protest against the immorality in your city – form blockades at the temple" No it didn't say that, I'm sorry. Paul wrote and said: "And I brethren, when I came to you did not come with excellence of speech, or wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God, for I determined nothing amongst you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear with much trembling and my speech with my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom but with the demonstration of the Spirit and Power that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." (1Cor.2:1-5)

The foundation of our faith and our interaction with the world around us is the Gospel. When we vote, we should vote our conscience on the basis of God's Word. How does my candidate stand on the issues that God's Word defines? But ultimately we must all understand that human government is limited in what it can or should do. Human government is temporary, human government is destructible. Our hope and our faith is in God Himself, and in what He has revealed to us through His Word, in the person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Anything else is less! Anything else is bound to fail, and to disappoint. Only the Kingdom of God is worthy of our hopes and our dreams.

Christianity and Politics Part 4

2008-09-20T17:29:00.000-07:00

Here is the fourth of five parts of a transcribed sermon I did on politics.

4.) "Our Rights" 1st Peter2:11-25; " Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. 13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, 14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— 16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. 17Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. 18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. 19 for this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. 20forwhat credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do well and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. 21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: 22“Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; 23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness— by whose stripes you were healed. 25For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls."

What Peter address's here is something we don't get to deal with everyday, which is persecution for our faith. But let me draw your attention to something else here, other parts that maybe we don't catch quite so easily. It would seem that what Peter is advocating here is the surrender of certain rights that we may have as citizens; verse's 18 to 23 address's that. That certainly goes against our grain doesn't it? In America we are "rights crazy." Everybody has a right to everything all the time; it's all rights – right? That's what this country seems to think – everybody has a right to do whatever they want – well – No they don't!

As citizens we are beholden to a set of laws and punishments for transgressions of those same laws. If you break the law, you're going to get punished; you don't have a right to do anything that you want. But what Peter address's here is that sometimes it's actually better to be wronged. It's better to have something wrong done against us. Maybe better is not the word, but a preferable situation as opposed to breaking the law yourself and suffering the just punishment. How do you square this with our understanding of the Word? Well – have we forgotten 1st Corinthians Chapter 6 verse 20? "For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s." 1st Corinthians 6:20 tells us that we were "bought at a price" – that we are not our own – so my question to you this morning is; to whom do you belong? Do you belong to yourself, do you belong to the State or do you belong to God this morning? Is God your Father, have you been born again by the Spirit of God, does Christ dwell in your heart by faith, have you received from Him the forgiveness of your sins the salvation of your soul, and the privilege of eternity with Him? Because the state can't give 'em to you! Whom do you belong to? And then, from whom do you derive your rights? Do you derive your rights from the state or from God Himself? The state gives us certain laws to follow and certain rights to enjoy, but none has any eternal value or any power to transform us.

So here may be the dividing line; our "rights" must be measured against the advance of the Gospel and the preaching thereof by our lives, as well as our words. This may be the "nut" right here. It would seem that in these days, the politics of the Church has overshadowed the Gospel itself. The predicament is that our political views have effectively hindered the preaching of the Gospel and the reaching of the lost.

When the world knows all that we oppose and none of what we promote we have lost our influence, or it is the wrong kind of influence. Our testimony to the world should be on the basis of what Christ commanded, Who He is, what He has done and not what we may think is the most effective.

In John chapter 13 verse 35; Jesus gives us the first step or the first and most obvious testimony that we should have and show to the world. "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." Not our political positions on certain issues, but rather our love for one another amongst the Body of Christ, not by our protests, not by our boycotts, that is not to say those things don't have their place – they do – but the testimony of the Church needs to be something other than those things. If the testimony of the Church is our protest and our boycott then we are wrong! We're wrong because that is not what it's supposed to be. Our rights must be measured against the preaching and advance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world. I may have the right to do something, but will my exercise of that right help or hinder someone from coming to Christ?

Christianity and Politics Part 3

2008-09-18T10:26:00.000-07:00

This is part 3 of a transcribed sermon I taught on Politics. Comments and questions are welcome...

3.) "The Power of Influence" Acts chapter 17, verses 5 through 7 goes on like this "But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king—Jesus.”

"...turned the whole world upside down..." The Apostles and the disciples had unintentionally created real phenomena here. Through the simple proclamation of the Gospel, look at the kind of impact they had, it had started a riot, they were dragged before the city authorities, who were told "these were the men that were turning the world upside down and now they're here". Trouble just rode into town! As we read the Gospels one of the interesting things that I think about Jesus is that Jesus never sought to change anyone's social position. Slaves and servants were dealt with as such, same as prostitutes, Pharisees, soldiers – it didn't matter. His primary concern was with their eternity, that their soul would be saved. He never marginalized their social position; it just wasn't His first priority. He had a work to do and that was to provide salvation for their soul.

When Jesus was brought the woman caught in the act of adultery He didn't say; "You need to get help, its society that has done this to you!" He didn't say to her "Why don't you take advantage of the local community college and get yourself an education and do something different in life instead of being a prostitute." What did He say to her? "Go and sin no more." (John 8:11) See - I find that interesting; because what she needed to know was that what she was doing was wrong. She needed to understand that what she was practicing was wrong and it was wrong before God – so Jesus gives her that context. Today, we seek to advance people socially while leaving their soul untouched OR we seek to save their soul and practically ignore their social condition. Obviously both of these positions are wrong. There needs to be a balance between both. Jesus knew, and established as a principal that we can not address one to the exclusion of the other.

When Jesus encountered someone who was blind or lame, He didn't say to them "Gee – if you only had faith you could be healed." He healed them first and then they followed Him. Understand? Jesus took their reason for being unable to follow Him out of the way by healing or by restoring them. So then – what is the best way to change society? To change it's laws, or to change it people?

Cal Thomas, an editorial writer, says in the American Enterprise Institute that; "...the Roper Center examined opinion polls on abortions for the last 25 years; In January 1998 then concluded that despite the rhetoric and campaigns on both sides, attitudes about abortion remained pretty much unchanged. In perhaps the biggest and costliest battle waged by conservative Christians – twenty years of fighting has won nothing, and our record is no better with other moral and social issues." Why is that? Is it because the church – generally speaking, all true Christians, have lost the power of influence?

Christians are often accused of "judging others" or of being intolerant or bigoted. I've been called much worse than all of those things. In John 7 verse 24 Jesus says "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” What's the one verse that every non-believer knows? "Judge not, least ye be judged." Every non-believer on planet earth knows that verse. But Jesus never said to never judge, but Jesus DID say that when you do judge – judge with a righteous judgment. What does that mean? Jesus is saying "see things as I see them, judge as I would judge them." He commands and holds us responsible for this. Should we not hold others responsible too for not obeying the law of the land? Yes, I think that we should. But God has graciously provided for us the means to change those laws if they are not to our liking. We can vote. We have a government in this country where we can vote. It's called politics, it's called democracy – if we want to change the laws of the land – we can. Understanding though, that there are competing influences for the same thing. The kind of freedom that we enjoy here in the United States is indeed given to us by God, I believe. So few places in the world have this kind of freedom. Christians and non-Christians alike have the responsibility to participate and thus influence the laws of this land.

But again, we're struck by this; changing laws or legislating morality has never saved anyone. You can't legislate anybody into Heaven. We can, through the government, restrain behavior through the enforcement of laws, but nobody gets saved through that, although maybe in spite of that! So how then, does the Church, or how do Christians influence the world around them? Is the church supposed to be trying to influence the politics of a nation? Should the Church be leading the way in the fight for social justice or women's rights, or equal rights or the fight against abortion – should the church be leading that charge?

Ed Dobson wrote a book with Cal Thomas called "Blinded by Might", I haven't read the whole book, but I've read portions of it. It's kind of the "after affects" of the influence of the "Moral Majority" on politics in the United States of America. And in his book, "Blinded by Might" he writes this: "When the church engages in a political system using the weapons of that system, then it becomes another lobbying group and ceases to be the church. The church then becomes an appendage of the state, rather than its moral conscious. It is transformed from a force not of the world, to one that deserves to be treated as just one more competitor for earthly power." Dobson goes on to sum up the crucial difference between the church and the government in this way. "The authority of the church is the power to change people and culture. By contrast the authority of the government is the authority to punish wrong doing and to restrain evil, but the government has no power to change the heart of evil doers. It can only incarcerate or execute them."

When the church looses its power to influence the world around it, it can only compete on the same basis as any other competing influence. The Apostles turned the world upside down with the preaching of the gospel. The Church of the 21st century hasn't turned much of anything upside down. Certainly not in this country, it certainly has in other places, not so much in this country. The whole nation, all of the United States seems to know what we are against, but very little of what we are for. What has happened to our power to influence?

Christianity and Politics Part 2

2008-09-16T13:13:00.000-07:00

Here is part 2 of a transcribed sermon on the issues of Christianity and politics. What makes anything right or wrong?

2.) "The Foundation of Morality", OR what makes anything right or wrong? My favorite question to ask people is: "When is it O.K. to lie"? Well – I think probably most of us would say "never", but try asking people and see what kind of answers you get. "Well – ya know that depends - - well I'm not really sure, let me think about that..." Well, to us we might say there is no question about that. "Never" is the answer to that question. So what makes anything right or wrong? Deuteronomy chapter 4, verses 1 and 2; God addressing Israel; "Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers is giving you. You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you."

What makes anything right or wrong is because God says so. God is the One that gets to define right and wrong. That's why Christians believe that things like homosexuality or abortion are wrong. God commands certain things about these issues and more. So then, God's Word is our standard, our baseline for deciding what is right and what is wrong. The real issue these days has become the fact that many people simply reject the Bible as that standard. For them it is not the standard for determining what is right or what is wrong. Some wish to establish an alternative to base their morality on. That's also a very good philosophical question for somebody, what is the basis for your morality or your ethics?

Now when man chooses any other basis for morality, apart from the Word of God, it is merely subjective, and man goes adrift. When the purpose and the meaning that God gives to life is rejected, man seeks to create his own purpose and meaning. God's Word alone is the solid rock that is immovable and it is true. As Christians then, how do we influence the world around us to reflect the standard of morality that we believe in? Can we make a nation, any nation, a Christian nation?

As you well know, Christians are laboring daily to change the laws of this country, some more specific, and some general. The fact is that there are other groups of people with their standards and agendas that are trying to do the exact same thing. These world views are often in conflict. There are many laws in this country that we, as Christians, object to, and many that we think should be on the books, and they are not. So, maybe the question to ask is this: Can the world be changed by changing or establishing laws? The answer to that question is, "No", it cannot be. There has never been a time in history where we have so many laws on the books as we do in this country right now. Those who would practice what God calls sin never have been changed by changing laws. They can be restrained, and they can be punished, but they can not be changed by a change in laws.

Here is an important distinction, and I want to make this distinction right here; the world that we live in today was created by God and given to man, Genesis chapter 1, verse 28, but man freely gave up the Lordship that God had given to him in the Garden of Eden. So when satan tempts Jesus in Matthew chapter 4, verses 8 and 9 – and offers to Jesus all the kingdoms in the world and their glory it was because he could! It was because satan himself is currently holding the title deed to the earth, He doesn't hold the pink slip, but he holds he holds the title deed. He is called in Ephesians chapter 2, verse 2, "the prince of the power of the air". Satan and his demons are called collectively "...principalities, powers, or rulers of the darkness of this age, spiritual host of wickedness in the heavenly places..." in Ephesians 6:12; and in 2Corinthians 4:4, he is referred to as "the God of this age."
As Christians we know, and we see the struggle of one kingdom, the kingdom of satan that knows it's dying, over against the kingdom of God, that we know will ultimately be victorious. Do you think that satan doesn't know the Word of God? Let me tell you something; satan is an orthodox believer in what the Word of God has to say. He knows his end is coming and he has a plan to bring about as much death and destruction as possible before that day.

So what is the basis for your morality? Does it stand up to the scrutiny of competing world views? The foundation of morality for us as Christians is the Word of God. God determines what is right and what is wrong. When we take a position on an issue, it must be derived from the Word of God, anything else is simply "relative" or "relativism". How do we get people to agree? Can we force people into following God's rules? That comes up in the next point...

Christianity and Politics - Part 1

2008-09-15T10:32:00.000-07:00

With a topic like this I understand that I am wading into deep and troubled waters! But if you will bear with me while I explain. After the last national election (2004) I spent a great deal of time going over what had happened during that election cycle. One thing that was obvious again was the role religion played in the campaigns. It's the same this year as the two sides hurl insults at each other, often times with religion either as the weapon or the target. But the concern that I have about this is one that goes back more than a few elections ago. It is clear that Christians are having an enormous impact on national elections, both parties are falling all over themselves trying to cater to the so called "Christian right". But something very precious seems to have been lost. That is the core subject of the next few posts here. I am reprinting here the full transcription of my sermon entitled "Politics" (with minor edits). It reads like a sermon that was preached, so bear with it. I am going to post it in 5 parts so here is the first one...feel free to comment!

Grace and peace to all,
Brian

If you are a Christian today the question that I want to propose to you today first of all is: What is your relationship to the world around you? If we are Christians, what should our relationship be to the world around us? I address this question like this because this morning you are either a Christian, that means that you have been born again by the Spirit of God, you have received from the Lord Jesus Christ, forgiveness for your sins, and Jesus now dwells in your heart by faith, OR – if you are not a Christian this morning, you are about to become one whether you know it or not – hopefully by the end of this service! So the bottom line is you are here, so I believe the Lord has something for you to hear this morning.

We would all probably agree that our essential responsibility – not only as a Christian – but for anybody is to be a good person. I had this conversation with a Mormon client of mine yesterday and to her dismay I told her that the Bible says there is no such thing as a "good person." Christ alone was good, but the Bible says that our righteousness is as filthy rags before God's holiness and perfection. (Isaiah 64:6) Well, she didn't like the sound of that – Most people on planet earth, and I use a rather broad generalization, are trying to be good people in their own way, through their own viewpoints or their own religion. They are all trying to be a good people as they define "good" and we are all doing that with varying degrees of success. But anyone can look around the world and see many things to be upset with. There's lots of things that are going wrong in the world, so that we look around and think "Now there's somebody that's not being good", or "here's a situation that is not good" – there's problems and what are we supposed to do about that? And when we look at the problems around us we are met with an overwhelming sense of helplessness about not really being able to do anything about those problems, or at least very little.

Stop and consider for just one minute the fact of homeless people. There lots of people that don't have adequate food or shelter for the day, these are overwhelming things when we think about them. We may think "well – what can I do about this stuff?" And we try to do our best. But here is the "rub" of this question; anybody of any other religion or political persuasion is trying to do the same that we’re trying to do, trying to be good. Now we have a slightly different viewpoint on what that means, but essentially everybody is trying to do that. There are very few people out there intentionally trying to be bad, although there are those. This means that the orthodox Muslims are just as concerned as the avowed atheist, who is not unlike the pygmy in Africa who has never heard the gospel, and just wants to live in peace and be left alone. We each have a world view, and a basis for believing that there are things that need changing, and then we have a methodology for bringing about that change. Hopefully this makes sense to you. This brings us to our topic for the day which is "Politics." I prayed long and hard about this message – I want you to know that, and like I said; "Stick with me."

We are coming out of an election cycle (National election 2004) that seemed to be as contentious, if not more contentious than the average election cycle, and I've lived long enough to see a few election cycles and everyone of them is contentious! I think there are a lot of people that are gloating over the candidates victory, and their may be just as many people that are depressed over that same candidates victory.

Is it possible, or is it even desirable to try somehow to reconcile the two worlds of faith and politics? Is that not a "hot topic" in the days we live in? Can the two worlds of faith and politics co-exist or should there be a massive wall of separation between politics and faith? Let me give you a quote: "Churchmen dabbling in politics should take note that their only task is to prepare for the world hereafter." You may agree or disagree with a statement like that, but I set you up with that because it is a quote from Joseph Gobles, the Nazi propaganda minister.

As with all other things let's look to God's Word and see the context He puts these things in. I have five points for you this morning and the first of them is this:

1.) "The Purpose of Government" Turn in your Bibles to Romans 13:1-7; "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 4 For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. 7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor."

Let's understand here that Paul was writing this during the reign of one of Rome's most notorious and brutal emperors – Caesar Nero. He outlines here the fundamental purpose of Government as defined by God: First of all that authority is established by God and as such we, as Christians, should be subject to those authorities. God is the One Who created the idea of human government. In Genesis chapter 1 verse 28; "Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Man was first of all intended and created to rule over God's creation. So God created the idea of authority and of rulership.

Authority Was To Be One of Force. Verse 4 in Romans 13 says "For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil." This is the enforcement of order and/or morality, since really every law that's enacted is a "forced morality", or at least it's the enforcement of morality as government has defined it. This is the maintaining of order as opposed to chaos and that is still preferable in most parts of the world today. That means that laws that are established have to be enforced and those breaking the established laws should be afraid. Because if they are caught in the breaking of one of those laws, then the full force of those laws and the power of the government will come down upon them. Now, understandably these days, even that itself has been compromised, because if you can afford a good attorney you can get out of just about anything, including murder.

Government needs funding to supply the enforcement of these laws and to maintaining some semblance of order within society. That's why taxes are levied. Jesus is the one that said "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesars and unto God the things that are Gods." (Matt.22:21) That's why we pay taxes. Taxes cover an awful lot of stuff – if you've ever been to a place where they don't pay taxes nothing gets covered! There are no streets, services or other comforts to take advantage of. When you travel in third world countries, one thing you find out is that the United States of America is a welfare country. You can get anything here and you can get most of it for free. Now that obviously is a broad generalization, but hopefully you can get my drift. Now this is certainly not designed to be an exhaustive treatment about government or what government is, or what government should be or should not be, but I wanted to give you those things as a working definition of the fact that God is the One that establishes authority, though we cannot hold God responsible for what men and women do with that authority. Understand that. God establishes authority, but He can not be held responsible for what men and women do or have done - with that authority. In 1st Samuel chapter 8, verse 7 – the people of Israel rejected God as their King and they wanted a human King, and they got exactly what they wanted and they paid a dear price for it. The United States of America and the world in general, rejected God as it's Sovereign a long, long time ago, and the world has been paying a price for that ever since and will continue to pay that price, particularly here in the United States of America, I believe.

Abraham Lincoln, in 1863, called for a "National Fast Day," citing the fact that we have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven, but we have forgotten God. Abraham Lincoln confessed that fact, as President, that we have forgotten God, and that was in 1863. I don't think we have done that good of a job remembering that to this day.

So governments are a way of life, we can't live without them, even so called "uncivilized people groups" have a form of government as opposed to total chaos.
This brings us to our first point of conflict; Acts chapter 4, picking it up in verse 13; Peter and John has been arrested and brought before the Jewish Sanhedrin and being tried for preaching the gospel; " Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them that from now on they speak to no man in this name.” So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done."

Our first point of conflict is when the established authorities sought to actively prevent the Apostles from preaching and the Apostles politely refused. So then a Christian comes into conflict with the State, when the State commands them NOT to do something that God has commanded us TO do OR to do something God has commanded us NOT to do. How do we define then, what we are to do or what we are not to do? How do we define where we should obey the government or where we should politely refuse or disobey the government, how do we establish what we should resist and what to respect?

...phenomena and the Holy Spirit

2008-09-11T13:44:00.000-07:00

One of the things that have occupied the religious media's attention recently has been the rise and fall of Todd Bentley. While we pray for restoration for his life and marriage what is not being looked at is the reason for his popularity. For years, decades really, the Pentecostal wing of the Body of Christ has been redefining terms to the extent that their "redefinitions" have become the popular definitions of those terms. A good example is the word "revival". This is the old fallacy of Charles Finney come back to life again. That is, if you do certain things, then God will do certain things in return. In this case, if you pray enough or get excited enough that will bring God's Spirit to do what you want Him to do. At the heart of this is simple mysticism. It makes God a genie in a bottle. The funny thing about that is they believe, falsely, that God must do what you want Him to do if you just do and say the right things. The problem with that is that it not only removes God's sovereign will but puts God in a box that He has not put Himself in.

Now the flip side of that is how many justify the phenomena that takes place in meetings like the Todd Bentley "revival" in Lakeland Florida, or the meetings of John Arnott, Rodney Howard Brown or Benny Hinn to name a few. Here it is the phenomena and the desire for it that takes center stage. Here it is all about "signs and wonders". God's Word gives us two things to think about here; Mark 13:22 Jesus says; "For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect." Then in Matt.7:22-23 Jesus says; "On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." The fact that phenomena are taking place is no guarantee that it is God that is doing it. So how do we know when God is at work in our midst?

Jesus makes that easy for us. He has explained in John 14:16-26 and 16:7-16. Here we have what we can expect from the Holy Spirit. Further in 1Cor.12-14 we have instructions on what we can expect from the Holy Spirit in an assembly of believers who have gifts to be exercised. The point I want to make is that commonly, when certain Pentecostal Churches are held up for examination by God's Word, their common response is "we don't want to put God in a box". Now let's look at it like this; God has put Himself in a box so to speak. He has told us in His Word what we can expect from His Spirit and what it looks like when His Spirit is at work. The instructions in 1Cor.14 are so specific that I am amazed at how many Pentecostal Churches seem to ignore them altogether! That being said, I am a believer in the gifts, offices and callings of the Holy Spirit as listed in Rom.12:6-8, 1Cor.12:4-11 and Eph.4:11. But I also see, and this is critical, how God's Word defines these gifts, offices and callings and instructs us on their uses.

Now before I get accused of being "anti-Pentecostal" let me say this; in my Church experience, which is primarily Calvary Chapel and earlier a vanilla flavored protestant denomination, I believe that we have much in common and much to be learned from the Pentecostal wing of the Body. But they in turn have much to learn from this wing of the Body. We have so often shied away from the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and the so called "phenomena" simply because of all the imbalance in the Church as a whole. The old "baby out with the bath water" approach. But the Pentecostal wing has always and need today a return to a systematic understanding and adherence to God's Word to balance out the issues brought up by their approach to Scripture. That is how Todd Bentley became the Todd Bentley that we saw.

An un-scriptural ministry with no spiritual discernment or grounding in God's Word. God's Word has told us what we can expect from His Holy Spirit, anything outside of that is just plain dangerous.

Why the Blog...

2008-09-11T09:53:00.000-07:00

A lot of people asked me if I was going to do a blog. I never really gave it any thought, just one more thing to fill my already full plate. But after a number of email conversations on a variety of theological issues with folks in my Church, and assorted friends, I decided that this might be the place to do something. When you are a Pastor the teaching from the pulpit actually accounts for a relatively short time of instruction/correction and encouragement. So what I hope this blog becomes is an opportunity to share some things that might not be coming up in the weekly teaching at the Church. Maybe timely issues that don't fit in the context of a sermon but this will give me a place to share those things. I'll be constructing this for a while to get it off the ground, then we'll see where it goes.

Grace and peace to you all,
Pastor Brian

Under construction

2008-09-10T08:49:00.000-07:00

Soon to be the blog space for Pastor Brian Heminger of Calvary Chapel of Half Moon Bay Ca.
www.cchmb.org