The True Man

The Gospel of Jesus - Part 2

2012-01-30T09:55:00.000-06:00

Last August I started a new position as Assistant Pastor at a church in Suburban Chicago. Listening to the Senior Pastor preach and teach, I heard a new way of articulating the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The GOSPEL of Jesus Christ:

… He was BORN – to be our SUBSTITUTE;

… He lived the PERFECT life – to be our RIGHTEOUSNESS by faith;

… He DIED – to earn the FORGIVENESS of all sin;

… He ROSE from the dead – that we too might RISE from the grave one day; and

… He ASCENDED with the promise to return and give all believers in Christ eternal life in HEAVEN.

2 Corinthians 5:21

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

St. Paul makes an absolutely incredible statement. In saying God made Jesus sin in order that we could become the righteousness of God is a tremendously awesome event. Look at what God has done for us! We have been reconciled to God by Jesus actually become sin!

While it is true that Jesus, during His earthly ministry, was tempted to sin, He actually never sinned. Yet He was punished by God for sin. In fact, all the sin of the world – starting with Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden and including my sin.

That is absolutely incredible!

That is absolutely incredible love!

Matthew 3:14-15

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”Then he consented.

The key to Jesus becoming sin for us and we becoming the righteousness of God is found in the baptism of Jesus. Matthew records Jesus saying, “it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

What is happening is that Jesus is making the Sacrament of Baptism connected to His perfect life, His sacrificial death, and His glorious resurrection from the dead.

Rather than Jesus needing baptism to wash away sins – because He didn’t have any sin to wash away – He put His righteousness in Holy Baptism.

When we are now baptised, we are buried with him into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead, we too might walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4).

This newness of life is the righteousness of Christ that we have been given when Christ became sin for us.

Here is your heartwork for this week:

Ezekiel 18:32 God Wants Us to Live

For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live.

2 Corinthians 5:21 Jesus Lived Perfectly

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Matthew 3:14-15 Jesus’ Baptism

John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

Romans 1:16 The Gospel is the Power of God for Salvation

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Romans 1:17 The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

The Gospel of Jesus - Part 1

2012-01-16T09:53:00.000-06:00

The GOSPEL of Jesus Christ:

… He was BORN – to be our SUBSTITUTE;

… He lived the PERFECT life – to be our RIGHTEOUSNESS by faith;

… He DIED – to earn the FORGIVENESS of all sin;

… He ROSE from the dead – that we too might RISE from the grave one day; and

… He ASCENDED with the promise to return and give all believers in Christ eternal life in HEAVEN.

He gives the Gospel in five points that can be learned quickly so as to be able to share with others. I am now writing a Bible study series based on this 5 point Gospel presentation.

The first point is the Christmas story. But it is also so much more. Christmas is, for many people, a wonderful time of year. The music, the feelings, the get-togethers, and the traditions help many people celebrate Christmas.

But at the heart of Christmas is the Christmas Story. The Christmas story – true in all its glory – is the fulfillment of thousands of years of promises and prophecies. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem He was born to be our substitute. Our sin separated us from God. The only way to remove sin is through shed blood and death. But if we shed our own blood and die we cannot survive. While we would pay the cost for our sin, we would not live. We need someone to take our place if we hope to live. The Good News is that God loves us so much that He provided that someone!

Jesus, the Son of God, was born as a human being to take our place, to be our substitute. He was born to fulfill the requirements of God’s Holy Law for us, because we could not do so.

I’ll be leading this Bible study on the Gospel of Jesus Christ over the next five Wednesday evenings here. I invite you to join me – either through my blog, byweekly devotion, or in person.

Each week there will be five Bible passages for our “heart work.” These are passages of God’s Word that we can lock away in our hearts so that they are “at the ready” when we are given opportunities to share the Gospel of Jesus with someone else.

This week, the heart work is:

2 Timothy 3:16

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness

John 1:1

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Matthew 1:21

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Isaiah 7:14

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Luke 2:10-11

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

One Word

2012-01-02T08:05:00.000-06:00

In response to my earlier post about not making New Year's resolutions, I'm now following "My One Word."

In setting goals instead of making resolutions, I've been able to narrow down what I'm trying to accomplish in 2012 to one word.

That word?

Listen.

I've got two ears and one mouth. So I should be listening twice as much as I speak.

My goal is to listen to what people say to - and around - me. I think it may be that I'll get to know them better and build stronger relationships.

My goal is to also listen to what God is saying to me. I tend to fill my world with a lot of noise. I'm going to try cut back on the noise so I can hear better what God is saying to me and others.

That's my goal in one word.

What's your one word?

Check out this blog for information on how to choose your word. My One Word.

In the Name of God

2012-01-02T08:00:00.000-06:00

²⁴The LORD bless you and keep you; ²⁵ the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; ²⁶ the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. – Numbers 6:24-26 ESV.

Happy New Year!

This is the day where we all get to start out fresh. I gave up resolutions years ago and switched to setting goals for myself. What’s the difference? My friend Sharideth taught me this one: The difference between a resolution and a goal is eight letters. And how it makes you feel when you don’t get it 100% right. In other words, the moment you miss the mark on a resolution, you feel like a failure and the resolution is over.

But when you miss the mark with a goal, then that’s just a setback. The difference is mental. One is devastating, the other can be mobilizing.

So, no resolutions for me, only goals!

My number one goal in this New Year is to wear the name of God like it was a brightly painted necktie! My goal is live my life so that everyone knows that I bear the name of God on me.

The Bible verse at the beginning of this devotion is known as the “Aaronic Blessing” or the “Benediction.” It is usually spoken to God’s people at the end of a worship service.

But it is more than a simple “amen, let’s get going” type of thing. It is the Word of God spoken to His people that literally puts His name on them. As God’s people leave the sanctuary, they head out into the world wearing the name of God.

The name of God is a powerful thing. In the name of God or the name of Jesus people are healed, raised from the dead, forgiven of their sins, saved from death and hell.

My goal for 2012 is to live my life in the name of God. I will fail at times. But that’s the beauty of living in the name of God, the name of Jesus – which means “The Lord Saves.” When I fail, God forgives me for the sake of Jesus! Living in the name of God is living in the awesome power of God.

I believe that now, more than ever before, we need people living in that power. 2012 is going to be an interesting year. Some people believe that this is the year the world ends. Who’s to say? It could happen. But an ancient calendar that happens to run out of dates on December 21, 2012 doesn’t really scare me. After all, Jesus Christ Himself said, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Matthew 24:36 ESV). So if that’s the case, there’s really nothing to get worked up about, is there?

Instead, live in the name of God in 2012. Make that your goal (not your resolution)!

A Father and a Son

2011-12-25T12:00:00.000-06:00

Does it feel like Christmas?

I was talking with several people this past week about this and a few of them mentioned that it doesn’t feel like Christmas to them.

They are not where they would like to be or are usually at Christmas time.

The family is all grown up and live far away some as far away as heaven.

Here (Chicagoland), there’s no white Christmas this year.

Some were so busy that Christmas just seemed to pass them by or got lost in all the busyness.

So, does it feel like Christmas to you?

The question behind that question is what is Christmas supposed to feel like?

I’ve come to the realization that all my feelings of what Christmas is supposed to feel like are mostly transitory. The presents, the white Christmas, the wonder and amazement in a small child’s eyes – these are all momentary, for me any way, of what Christmas is supposed to feel like.

You see, there were some years there are no presents, no white Christmas, and, of course, children do grow up. These feelings are fleeting and ephemeral. In other words, they don’t last.

That is why I chose to base this Christmas message on a somewhat unusual Scripture passage – Hebrews chapter 1.

Even before Jesus Christ was born, there was a Christmas Anticipation. It wasn’t based on a snowfall or anything fleeting like that.

¹Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.

God had been speaking to “our fathers” for a long time about a coming savior.

The savior would be an offspring of Eve Genesis 3:15

The savior would be a descendent of Abraham Genesis 12:3 and 18:18

The savior would come from the Israelite tribe of Judah Genesis 49:10

The savior would be a prophet like Moses Deuteronomy 18:15-19

The savior would be the Son of God Psalm 2:7

The savior would be born of a virgin Isaiah 7:14

The savior would be born in Bethlehem Micah 5:2

The savior would save his people from their sins Isaiah 53

These were all promises made to our fathers – our fore-fathers, actually. And it was these promises that formed their anticipation of Christmas.

These promises, these prophecies, were handed down from father to child through thousands of years and hundreds of generations.

These promises were most important when so many fathers and children were in exile from their homeland. That anticipation takes the form of a beloved Christmas carol for us today.

O come, O come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appear.

Anticipation for something that never happens is a cruel punishment. Our God is not cruel. He loves us with an everlasting love. One of the most awesome proofs of that love is that Christmas moved from anticipation to actuality.

¹Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets

²but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

Then, God spoke to our fathers. Now, God speaks to us by His Son. Jesus Christ speaks to us through words and action. Jesus speaks to us out of His humanity. Jesus was born.

On Christmas.

He became a man. He was the Son of God. And through His Son, God the Father speaks to us.

Christmas anticipation is culminated in Christmas actuality. But there are so many who are skeptical, at best, of any kind of Christmas authenticity.

Christmas is authentic as a father’s love. Ah, but that’s the problem, isn’t it? So many people today are missing their father’s love. Some call it a “father wound.” Some just call it reality today – with 17.8 million children not having a father at home. It’s not hard to look at the “Father’s Love at Christmas” with cynicism.

I can appreciate that. But there is a Father’s love that can be trusted, can be counted on, and that knows no bounds. In fact, it was the Son’s mission to convey that Father’s love to us.

Jesus was born on Christmas. And though many see today as the end of a long season of preparations, presents, and provisions, today is really just the beginning! It was the beginning of Jesus’ mission to bring us the message of God the Father’s love and it was the beginning of Jesus’ mission to bring us back to God the Father.

Today we mark the birth of Jesus Christ – who was born to be our substitute. Our sin, inherited from Adam and Eve and the sin we’ve committed during our lives, was paid for by Jesus Christ. Jesus lived the perfect life that we could not live. Jesus Christ then died on the cross to forgive our sin. He rose from the dead to give us new life (now and when we, too, will rise from the dead), and then Jesus’ mission was completed when He ascended into heaven with the promise that He will return one day to bring us to heaven, too.

Mission complete. Or very nearly so.

Until Jesus comes back, there’s something we have to do, now that we are saved from our sins. Let me, for a moment, speak directly to you fathers today.

Dads, this day can be a new day for you. You have what may be an historic opportunity. You could change history today. Think of it as a Christmas Act…

from a father to a child.

Dads, take the opportunity of having your children around you this day to first, pray for them. And second, tell them you love them and that God loves them through Jesus Christ.

I know some of you will feel uncomfortable because you feel you don’t know how to do that. I know how you feel. That’s why I lead a men’s Bible study each week; to learn more about God’s love for us, how to be men after his own heart, and how to share that with our kids. You can join us – we meet again Thursday, January 5 or Saturday, January 7.

But let me tell you a story about how a dad did this and made a huge impact on America.

“To my knowledge, no biographies have been written about the life of George McCluskey. But he was a man who decided to make a shrewd investment. As he married and started a family, he decided to invest one hour a day in prayer for his children. You see, he wanted his kids to follow Christ and to someday establish their own homes where Christ was honored. After a time, he decided to expand his prayers to include not only his children, but their children, and the children after them. Every day between 11 a.m. and noon, he would pray for the next three generations.

“As the years went by, his two daughters committed their lives to Christ and married men who went into full-time ministry. The two couples produced four girls and one boy. Each of the girls married a minister and the boy became a pastor. The first two children born to this generation were both boys. Upon graduation from high school, the two cousins chose the same college and became roommates. During their sophomore year, one of the boys decided to go into the ministry as well. The other didn’t. He knew the family history and undoubtedly felt some pressure to continue the family legacy by going into the ministry himself, but he chose not to. In a manner of speaking, this young man became the black sheep of the family. He was the first one in four generations not to go into full-time Christian ministry.

“He decided to pursue his interest in psychology and, over the years, met with success. After earning his doctorate, he wrote a book for parents that became a best-seller. He then wrote another and another, all best-sellers. Eventually he started a radio program that is now heard on more than a thousand stations each day. The black sheep’s name? James Dobson, without a doubt the most influential and significant leader of the pro-family movement in America. His ministry is the direct result of the prayers of a man who lived four generations ago.” (Steve Farrar, Point Man, pages 154-55)

This day – Christmas Day – is not just a birthday of a baby born 2000 years ago. It marks an event that changed the history of the world. It is also a day that can change your life.

Moving from anticipation, to actuality, to authenticity – Christmas is a day that a Father loved, a Son was born, and you are saved. It is also a day that you are put in a position to change the lives of a generation of children – change them with the Authentic Christmas Message.

Christmas Time is Here

2011-12-24T06:58:00.000-06:00

Christmas time is here
Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of the year

Christmas 1991 was the first Christmas Nancy and I celebrated as husband and wife. After talking about how we wanted to celebrate Christmas in our new family, one of the things we decided was that we would decorate our Christmas tree with one ornament a year. Each year we would find one special ornament, and only one, and hang it on the tree. It also had to have the year clearly marked on it.

That first was a traditional ornament that depicted a couple in 19th Century garb skating together on a snowy pond with the words, “Our First Christmas Together 1991.”

It didn’t matter that neither one of us skate, nor do we live in the 19th Century (however, I did have a mustache at the time), it was the perfect ornament for our first Christmas together.

The tree that year looked a little goofy with only one ornament on it (plus white lights and a simple garland). But we were looking ahead to the time when the tree would be filled with ornaments as we filled our home with children.

1996 was the sixth ornament for our tree and our first Christmas as parents. Nancy is a great mother, as I knew she would be. So the ornament that year reflected her new role as mother. (You can see R2D2 next to it, that was 2005′s ornament).

Snowflakes in the air
Carols everywhere
Olden times and ancient rhymes
Of love and dreams to share

Our tree now has a diverse collection of ornaments – from footballs to Ralphie with his Red Ryder BB gun.

My favorite is the ornament from 2001. It was our 11th ornament and our house was now full of those children that were just hopes 10 years before.

Sleigh bells in the air
Beauty everywhere
Yuletide by the fireside
And joyful memories there

Our tree now is full with 21 ornaments. The 2011 ornament was picked democratically – but also evidence of a family with three growing boys and one grown boy outnumbering the lady amongst us!.

In our family, Christmas is just about our most favorite time of year. We look forward to the time we get to spend together – playing hockey in the driveway, basketball in the gym, monopoly in the dining room, and baseball on the Wii. We also love the time we get to spend together at church. I’m usually preaching Christmas morning. When we first were married, Nancy had to sit by herself in the pew. Now that the boys are old enough to help with the service, carrying the cross or lighting the candles and taking the offering, she is again usually sitting by herself in the pew.

But we wouldn’t have it any other way. Because we are still all together, sharing memories and making new ones, since Christmastime is here again.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas time is here
We’ll be drawing near
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year…

Christmastime is Here lyrics by Lee Mendelson

Another Way of Looking At It

2011-11-29T08:00:00.000-06:00

“Oh that you would rend the heavens aand come down….” The cry of the prophet Isaiah is the cry of many of us today. That Christ would return and we could all go to heaven.

Yet we don’t know when that will be. Just sitting around and waiting for it to happen is not what Christ had in mind for us when He said, “Go therefore andmake disciples ofall nations….”

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, and many of us are still basking in its warm glow of family, friends, and food, what can we do now to carry out the mission Christ has given us?

I propose another way to look at this weekend, the first weekend in Advent 2011.

I think there are three reactions this first weekend after Thanksgiving brings.

Many people put up Christmas lights, their tree, and decorations this time of year. I won’t go into all the commercialism about Christmas in the stores – that’s been done in movies and TV shows and it’s become a cliché.

But many are now into the spirit of “full speed ahead” to Christmas. I’m included in that. I’ve produced my 2011 Classical Christmas show that will be broadcast very soon. I listen to Christmas music on my office computer. At home we have Christmas music on and we watch Christmas movies on Friday nights.

These are very visible and obvious things to do and will naturally draw attention. It can be a good way to tell people about Jesus as you have their attention.

Another reaction is the exact opposite. I know of people – good, Christian brothers and sisters – who are just as visible and obvious about not getting into the more public Christmas spirit at this time of year. And there’s nothing wrong with this – because it can bring glory to God and because doing this can also draw attention and the Gospel of Jesus Christ can be shared just as powerfully.

The third reaction is in the middle of the first two reactions. This is the reaction I most want to have. I really look forward to Christmas. Yet I also have to check myself so that I do not go overboard, trying to do all the Christmas things all at once.

I am eager. I pray to be patient – or at least as patient as possible – in my expectation of Christmas.

This third reaction reminds me of being eager yet patient for the coming – that is, the 2nd Coming – of Jesus Christ. How do I do that, though?

Where can I learn how to be eager yet patient?

By putting myself in some Old Testament Shoes.

1 Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence—2 as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil—to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence! 3 When you did awesome things that we did not look for, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. (Isaiah 64:1-3)

700 years before Jesus was born, God’s people were also expecting the coming of Jesus. They didn’t know how long it would be until God sent His Messiah. Much was going on – foreign enemies threatening them and actually attacking them. Their internal situation was also in question with some chasing after false gods.

Isaiah spoke for God as a prophet and I suspect also spoke for many of the people in their eager and hard-to-be patient expectation of their redemption that would come from God.

The question on everyone’s mind was “God, where are you?” Not unlike today, I imagine.

We are asking this question because of all the problems in today’s world. Wars, famine, crimes, economic failures, lack of jobs, infidelity, immorality, and all the others sins that plague us today.

The prophet Isaiah and the people 700 years before Jesus was born faced the same sins. The prophet is looking for God. Then he looks into his own heart and the heart of his people – as should we.

6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. (Isaiah 64:6)

When we ask where God is amidst pain, danger, and sin, we should also ask ourselves who we are. Not because God is absent because we are sinners – that’s not what I’m saying at all. I’m saying that we need to understand ourselves and our sinful condition in order to understand where God is and what He is doing. We are directed to the mirror of the Law to recognize ourselves as well as to be prepared to recognize who God is.

8 But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. (Isaiah 64:8)

God formed Adam out of the clay of the ground. In a sense, we are all formed out of clay. And we have a Master Potter – God our heavenly Father. The people of God 700 years before Jesus’ birth were told this again and again. In the same way we have to be reminded that God is our Father and we are the work of His hands.

All the more so as we wait – in whatever way we wait – for both the first and 2nd coming of Jesus Christ.

Now let’s take off our Old Testament shoes and put on our Advent 2011 shoes.

It is so important to be in a Bible study because we all need to look for God where God is. We need to know God and how much He loves, cares, and saves us.

God is here in His Word. God is here in the Sacraments. Worship and Bible study are an excellent – if not the most excellent – way of preparing for Christmas and the 2nd Coming of Jesus Christ.

We also need to recognize who we are in Jesus Christ.

Because of our sin, we cannot come to God. We cannot save ourselves. We need help. That is why God sent Jesus Christ to be our Savior. In order to save us, Jesus had to be God. But in order to save us – we who are clay – Jesus also had to be clay. He had to be born of a woman. He had to live the perfect life in our place (because we could not). He died once and for all to take our sins away. He rose from the dead to seal our eternal life and ascended into heaven with the promise that he would return again to take us to heaven – that would be the 2nd Advent.

Meanwhile, we are again at the beginning of the Season of Advent. Many are going full-speed ahead to Christmas where they will celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and our salvation. Many are taking a more low-keyed approach to the holiday season and will have a different opportunity to share the Good News of Jesus at this time of year. And some of us will be in the middle of these two reactions.

Yet we are all eager for the coming of Christ. We are all trying to be patient in our expectation of the return of Christ. And we all – in our own ways and observances – can share the Good News of Jesus Christ who came and will come again.

Thanksgiving Forgiveness

2011-11-24T09:05:00.001-06:00

"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.” – Matthew 18:15

According to Ken Sande, founder of Peacemakers Ministries, there are four promises one makes that involve real forgiving:

I won’t brood over this incident.
I won’t dwell on this incident, bringing it up again to use it against you.
I won’t talk to others about this incident.
I won’t allow this incident to create distance between us or hinder our relationship.

Does your family have an “incident” that keeps being brought up year after year or at more frequent family gatherings? For example, Uncle Ervin getting drunk and violent at the family picnic in the summer of 1967. Or cousin Suzanne being confronted by her husband at the family Christmas party in 1978. These incidents can become almost legendary, taking on the status of a “Hatfield-McCoy” type of legend.

But when they are continually brought up again and again for whatever reasons, they take on a life of their own. They also cripple any healing that can and must happen.

Some of the things we do or say do get out in the open. The consequences of that are enormous. But if we help that along by talking to others about wrongs that happen to us, we tear apart the healing process.

It’s natural to want to tell someone else when we’ve been hurt. We want to have someone else bear our burden with us. While there are circumstances where this is necessary and helpful, not everything should be shared. It could hurt both you and the person who has wronged you.

That’s why Jesus says that the first step in the forgiving process is to “go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.”

Jesus wouldn’t have said it if He wasn’t willing to model forgiving in this way. And so He did. His death on the cross was personal. It was between Him and you. Your sin separated you from God. But God loved you so much that He sent Jesus to restore you with His death and resurrection.

This salvation is also your power to forgive others. As God has forgiven you in Jesus Christ, so you can also forgive others when they sin against you. Your relationship can be restored through the power of the Gospel.

Keep that in mind when your family gets together this day to celebrate Thanksgiving!

Pilate's Choice

2011-11-22T08:12:00.000-06:00

: Image courtesy of photobucket.com

Thumbs up, or thumbs down.

Is this kind of stuff in your job description? Is it what you expect in life?

Probably not.

It was in Pontius Pilate’s job description. As Governor of the Province of Judea for Rome he was always making serious choices, yet at the same time he is, for us, a sort of everyman. He was troubled with difficult situations just as we are when he tried to resist certain pressures, listen to his spouse, have courage, recognize goodness, then make a choice. He did well for nearly 11 years. But he never quite recovered from his brief, face-to-face encounter with Jesus Christ. Three years later, with what became called “The Samaritan Uprising” he was undone. He made a wrong choice.

The result? He was exiled to Gaul (France) in shame and disgrace, committing suicide there in AD 38.

Pilate was good at keeping the peace. But keeping the peace isn’t always the same as doing what’s right.

Sometimes keeping the peace is just the opposite of doing what’s right. Sometimes we choose not to apologize. Sometimes we choose not to forgive. At what cost this peace — at home, at work or at play? Sometimes peace, as the world defines it, is the wrong choice. Sometimes it’s better to take the risk.

Sometimes we need to something hard in order to do what is right; to do what we should.

Did Pilate lose sight of that?

Do we?

It was just another early Spring workday for Pilate when Jesus showed up. One can imagine Pilate dropping whatever he was doing, and then going to see this criminal brought to his court. It’s just another day of the week to keep the peace and to keep his post. Just another life to judge. Ask questions, listen, weigh the evidence, then decide. Live or die.

The governor may have smirked at the irony of the circumstances — a captured, bound man accused of claiming kingship. A powerless peasant, really. An unarmed Jew from the underclass. Pilate asks, “Are you a king?”

It’s a question he may not have been asking seriously. He probably did not take the matter of Christ’s kingship as soberly as we do on Christ the King Sunday.

On the face of it, it’s a preposterous question. Obviously, to Pilate, Jesus was not a king. He had no army. He had no city. He had no funding. No robes. No weapons.

He had nothing.

He was nothing.

To Pilate.

Jesus responds to Pilate’s question with an unexpected question of his own. (How often are we faced with unexpected questions in our lives when facing terrible or tricky choices?) “Governor,” says Jesus, “why ask your question? Do you think I am a king, or were you told I am a king?”

Pilate may have wondered, “Is this stupidity, insolence or some kind of strength?” But he plays the situation with humor and skill — it is, after all, just a game to him. With slight irritation and perhaps a smirk, he replies, “How should I know? Am I one of your people? Your people, your leaders, brought you here to me.” Then getting to the serious point, he asks, “What have you done?”

The expectation of the most powerful man in Judea, the representative of Emperor Tiberius, is that Jesus will answer directly.

Jesus does not.

Instead he replies that he is a king, but from another world.

Ahhhh. Another world. Hmmm. A game is afoot. This amusing man is harmless.

So Pilate displays some sportsmanship. Jesus is no threat. The peace will be kept. There’s no justification for killing him. It’s an easy choice. But at the end of this little interview, Pilate rhetorically asks Jesus, “What is truth?”

What is truth? It’s not a serious question. It’s an unimportant and dismissive question. It’s a game question. It’s a sports question. It’s a question like “Who’s gonna’ win the game this Sunday?”

But there is another answer, because there is such a thing as godly truth, as opposed to gaming truth.

As it was, Pilate had godly truth standing in front of him, but he was so distracted by playing the game of keeping his post and keeping the peace that he missed it. He loses his footing, he drops the ball, he strikes out — because in making the wrong choice about Jesus, he loses power and he ultimately loses his life.

Jesus tells us that He is the way, the truth and the life. The Epistles further elaborate that Jesus’ birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension are the way to salvation, can be counted on to always be true and give us eternal life. That’s the truth that Pilate missed in his gamesmanship. It may be that we, too, miss this truth when we become so pressured by difficult choices that we forget, or never notice, that Christ is standing within us, beside us and among us as he told us he would.

In life we are not abandoned. God is present always.

It’s in the hard places in our lives that we must ask the tough questions while seeking godly truth. Then we should listen to the answers, weigh the evidence, judge and act — just like Pilate. Only let our choices be truth-seeking, not game-playing.

In the end, Pilate gave Jesus over to the whims of the furious rabble. He did the politically expedient thing. He kept the peace. Maybe he prevented a riot. He believed he had done the right thing.

That’s where Pilate and the rest of us are similar. When we are presented with life’s difficult choices we may choose to be expedient rather than do what is ultimately right. Making the right choice isn’t always easy or popular.

But is it Christian?

So what’s the hardest thing for you? Is it learning to forgive when we are hurt? Apologizing when we would rather not? Raising our children with love, kindness and direction every day, tirelessly? Loving our enemies, both personal and national? Having courage and faith in the face of our child’s death? These acts take hope and courage and are more challenging than anything in sports.

But we’re going to face them. No doubt about it. That’s what life is all about.

Saint? Sinner? Both?

2011-11-07T11:40:00.000-06:00

I’ve been having an ongoing ~~argument~~ discussion with a friend and brother inChrist.

It is about being “sanctified.”

The gist of the ~~argument~~ discussion is:

Him: We are sanctified. We’re perfect right now! God forgaveour sins!

His key Bible verse is “And by that will we have beensanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all”(Hebrews 10:10 ESV).

Me: We’re in process of being made perfect. A process thatwas started in our Baptism and will be complete when we go to heaven.

I have two key Bible verses (not that having twice as manyas his is better – that’s not my point):

“Not that I have already obtained this or am alreadyperfect, but press on to make it my own,because Christ Jesus has made me his own” (Philippians 3:12 ESV).

“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not dowhat I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, Iagree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, butsin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is,in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability tocarry it out. For I do not do the good Iwant, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I donot want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I findit to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For Idelight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members anotherlaw waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law ofsin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me fromthis body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, Imyself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law ofsin” (Romans 7:15-25 ESV).

There is a Latin phrase – simul justus et peccator - whichloosely translated means “At the same time saint and sinner.”

Even though Christ died and rose again to forgive my sinsand give me eternal life, I still have flesh and blood. I am forgiven but I amnot perfect. I still sin yet am going to heaven because of my faith in Christ.

It is hard to wrap my head around that, as it is for myfriend that I am having this discussion with. I’m saved. I sin. I’m forgiven.

I don’t want to sin anymore, but I’m right there with St.Paul.

I know that I shouldn’t sin. I even know how I can not sin –do what God wants me to do.

But I’m kind of like a major league baseball player. Heknows how to hit a ball but does it less than 40% of the time he tries. Isuspect my not-sinning average is below that, but hopefully you get my drift.

So I keep on trying. I live, breath, pray, repent, and keepat this thing called my Christian life.

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

A New Day

2011-10-03T09:31:00.001-05:00

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heavenand the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” – Revelation21:1

The Apostle John has seen some pretty amazing things – thingshe’s had a hard time, I think, describing. Seals and scrolls, devastation anddestruction, all the things that accompany the end of the world as we know it.At the end of Revelation, John is given a glimpse of what awaits all those whohave faith in Jesus Christ.

Heaven. That will definitely be a new day.

Often times I find myself in a predicament. I know thatheaven awaits me. I’ll be going to heaven someday. Most likely it will be faraway, years down the road, in the future. Even though its far away, I know I’llbe going. I’m certain of that because I have faith in the one who bled and diedfor me and now prepares a place for me (John 14:2-3). I know that’s coming.

But my trouble is that I don’t usually think about my lifenow as being “a new day.” But that isn’t right. Every day for me is “a newday.” Each day I wake up I’m not only a day closer to heaven, but I get to livea life that is filled with God’s presence. “Behind and before me” is what Godis. Every step I take today, God is there.

When you come to faith in Christ – when the Holy Spiritcreates faith in your heart through God’s Word – then each day after that is “anew day.” Each day will be an adventure to live. Each day will be a day thatGod will work some new miracle in your life.

As I write this, I glance out my window and I see a sky thatis a solid blue. This is “a new day” that the Lord has brought me to. It is aday that holds so much promise. At the end of this day, I will sit down, lookat the stars that sprinkle the sky and say a prayer of confession andthanksgiving. I will confess for wasting so much of this “new day” by sinning.I will give thanksgiving because Jesus forgives me and has turned my failuresinto victories (even if I can’t see it).

A new day will dawn where there will be no more tears, pain,or death. That’s the day when Jesus comes to take us home to heaven.

Each new day until then will hold the promise of being onemore day closer. It will also hold the promise that Jesus will be with us thisday and will forgive our sin and give us new life and a new adventure to live.

I Appreciate You, Pastor

2011-10-03T09:31:00.000-05:00

I've been a pastor for a little over 16 years. I've told people in the past that I'm a pastor because, 1) I feel I've been called by God to be a pastor and 2) I don't know what else I could do (or would want to do) with my life.

I first served as a pastor in a rather small parish in rural Michigan. A lovely church called Christ Lutheran Church. The people there were very welcoming and the call came with a nice home for my wife and I and our dog Seamus - and a year after we arrived, our first son, Eddie.

After two years there, I received a call to serve as Associate Pastor at a larger church -with a school - in Mayville, Wisconsin. I served under a very experienced Senior Pastor who was soon to retire. It was made clear to me that I would succeed him as Senior Pastor when he retired, and that is what happened two years after I arrived. While there, my wife and I welcomed Kurt and Mark to our family.

After 8 years in Wisconsin, I was called to Southern California and served a similar parish for exactly four years. I was a sole pastor for two years, and a Senior Pastor for two years while in California -with an Associate Pastor of Indonesian Ministry.

A little over a year ago my family and I left California to return to Illinois where I grew up. I was helping out in a local church and within a year was called to be the Assistant Pastor.

I mean no disrespect to the pastors I was privileged to serve with in previous parishes, but for the first time I am serving in a church where I feel that I have a pastor of my own. I was the pastor or on a staff of pastors in previous parishes. But I never really felt that I had a pastor who I could talk with, pray with, and be counseled by, before.

I do now.

Pastor Tim is someone I've known for about 10 years. But now that I am serving in a church with him, I have gotten to know him pretty well.

And I am very glad to call him my pastor.

Pastor Tim prays with me. That's huge. I never realized before just how powerful it is to have a pastor pray with me. I've prayed with people, as their pastor, but I've never prayed with someone who was my pastor (again, no disrespect meant to the pastors I had when I was a young boy and young man).

Pastor Tim also gives me advice. He tells me when I've messed up - in a loving, gentle, but instructive way.

Pastor Tim also teaches me how to be a better man, a better husband, a better father, and a better pastor. He shares with me his own experiences in each of those areas. He gives me "back-up" from God's Word. He administers the Sacrament of Holy Communion and pronounces Holy Absolution when I confess my sins to him.

So, during this month of October - Pastor Appreciation Month - I want my pastor (and you) to know that I appreciate him!

Heavenly Father, we thank you today for your work in creation and the abundant blessings that we have as Your children.

We thank you for the glorious gospel; the gift of your Son Jesus Christ as the one mediator between God and man.

Thank you for the church, the company of the redeemed, and for the local church where believers gather to express their faith and obedience such as we do here at St. Matthew.

Thank you for the gift of pastor, which your Word says you gave to your church "to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:12, 13).

Thank you for Pastor Tim and his faithfulness to your cause, for the Bible says, "it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful" (1 Corinthians 4:2).

Thank you for his personal commitment to Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savoir and to the Word of God.
Thank you for the love he has for his wife and family demonstrating a stable and healthy family. For the Scripture says of church leadership, "he must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect" (1 Timothy 3:4).

Thank you for his thoughtful exposition of your Word, as he heeds your call to "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction" (2 Timothy 4:2).

Thank you for his leadership in our church services and the orderly manner in which he leads us, seeking to fulfill the Biblical call that "all things be done decently and in order" (1 Corinthians 14:40).

Thank you for his interest in the flock under his care and the burden that he carries for your people.
Thank you for his wife Deb and her compliment to his leadership and her service and thoughtfulness as well.

May you continue to bestow your richest blessing upon this ministry couple as they seek to fulfill their call amongst the people of St. Matthew and thus bring You glory.

In the powerful name of Jesus Christ I pray, AMEN.

Baggage

2011-09-30T11:35:00.001-05:00

Long before the "checked baggage wars" erupted a couple of years ago, I've been battling against some checked baggage fees of my own.

In the spring of 1995 I was asked by my best-friend-from-high-school to marry him.

No, not that way. I was soon-to-be ordained and he wanted me to officiate his wedding. I met with him and his fiance and we began to plan my part in their wedding.

I owe a lot to this man. He was my friend in high school when I really needed a friend. He shared with me his locker when I really needed one (my own locker's combination was known to some bullies and I had lost quite a bit of stuff). We shared a passion of computers at a time when Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were just getting their start. He tutored me to a passing grade in math.

At first I was very happy that he was getting married and felt great that he asked me to do the wedding.
Soon after meeting him and his fiance, I received a note from them with some requests about the wedding itself.

Everything was fine until I reached the stipulation that I do not mention God or Jesus. The family he was marrying into were atheists and he didn't want me to offend them.

Here I was, about to be ordained. I was about to start serving a Lutheran church in Michigan. My best friend was getting married. I couldn't mention Jesus.

What was I going to do?

I am ashamed to tell you that I declined to do the wedding, sort of at the last minute. It was about a month before the wedding. I told them I had become unavailable. I was going to be visiting my new congregation for the first time the weekend of their wedding.

I could have changed the date of my visit. But I didn't know what to do about the stipulation. I panicked. I told them I couldn't do it.

And I haven't talked to him in 16 years.

I still wake up in the middle of the night, every now and then, thinking about this. About what I did to brake our relationship. How do I fix it?

I've written him a couple of times, apologizing to him. Seeking his forgiveness.
But I hurt him too much. I can't blame him for closing that part of his past and moving on with his life.
And for the most part, I can live my life in peace and joy, too.

For the most part.

Still, on occasion, I think about it. I get a sinking feeling in my gut. I shake make head. I spiritually palm-slap my forehead.

I carry this baggage around with me. Sometimes I set it aside, move it to the basement or the storage locker I keep in the back of my brain.

Then I'll see something or hear something and I'll drag that particular piece of baggage out.

I don't know how to stop paying this baggage handling fee. I know I'm forgiven by Christ. I live in that forgiveness every single day of my life.

Thankfully, I have a good friend who listens and prays with me about all of this and more.

Someday I'll talk to my friend again. I hope we'll be able to restore our relationship.

Someday.

Persecuted

2011-09-30T08:53:00.003-05:00

"Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. - Jesus (Matthew 5:11-2, ESV)

It is unclear what is going to happen to Yousef Nadarkhani, a Christian pastor living in Iran. What is clear is that he has been accused and convicted of abandoning the Islamic faith - which carries a death penalty in Iran. So far he has refused to renounce his Christian faith. His defense has been that he was never a Muslim as an adult and therefore, under Iranian law, has not committed a capital offense. Regardless, he says he will not renounce his faith in Jesus Christ.

He is facing persecution and execution.

Here in the United States, Christians face ridicule for having faith in Jesus. But rarely do we face execution for our faith today.

But it still happens in the world today, just as it did starting in the 1st Century AD.

The question I'm pondering today is: Would I be able to do what Yousef Nadarkhani is doing? Would I be able to publicly declare my faith in Jesus Christ, even to the point of death by execution?

Would you?

Wasteband of Brothers

2011-09-28T11:39:00.001-05:00

I read this on the blog: Some Wise Guy.

It was a guest post from Sonny Lemmons, who’s blog is Looking Through the Windshield.

Thanks to both Sonny – for writing it – and KC – for posting it.

Episode #23 of the Wise Guy Wednesday series features Sonny Lemmons (no, he’s not a bright citrus fruit).

Sonny is a stay-at-home dad, a writer of stuff, a receiver of grace, and a drinker of coffee. His wife Ashley loves him, but has been tempted to yank his boxer briefs straight up to his ears at times.

Disclaimer: I suggest you put down the coffee mug while you read this.

Wasteband of Brothers

We’ve all been there. We’ve seen it played out in a movie, bore witness during the glory that was middle-school gym class, or we may have been the unfortunate recipient of one ourselves (raises hand).

courtesy of Fox

That’s right: I’m talking about the bane of the existence of every prepubescent boy who was a band geek, A/V club member, or who ever played or talked about Magic: The Gathering while at school.

The wedgie.

That snag-and-tug maneuver that helps ensure high school choirs will always have a tenor section.

What’s interesting to note is that while the majority of physical wedgies may cease once all parties are old enough to have a learner’s permit, the spirit of the wedgie echoes on throughout many of our adult lives.

God knows if you put enough men in a closed environment, we will eventually revert to seventh-grade humor, ridiculing one another, throwing down “Yo momma” jokes – all in jest. Until. Until there comes the time when the waistband gets pulled a little too tight and gets looped over our heart.

I’ve been there and done that. I’ve crossed into that realm of Proverbs 26:18-19 where after offending or hurting someone, you try to cover it by saying “I was only joking.” I didn’t mean what I said. I didn’t mean for that to be as offensive as it came across. I didn’t mean to sound racist, sexist, homophobic, or to do or say something that could hurt you or make you stumble.

And certainly not to grieve the Spirit.

Now, this is not to say that we can’t sit around on the couch cracking wise to one another. But as believers, we are called to something more, something bigger. We are called to maintain a heart of Ephesians 5:4 and not get coarse in the course of our fun.

While many of us might not wish to literally greet one another with a hagios, that term for “holy kiss” found in Romans 16:16 refers to us acting to one another with our kiss (or, the administered wedgie) as being consecrated, as in devotion to service of our God. Kissing in spirit, not in actuality.

We can show the world – and make our moms proud – by demonstrating through our actions that our underwear is clean and holy, set apart.

Have you ever been on the receiving end of a wedgie?
Boxers or briefs? Hanes or Fruit of the Loom?

For more from Sonny checkout his blog or follow him on Twitter.

Perchance to Dream

2011-09-22T14:58:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if I could do something else.

Don’t try to read into that some deep-rooted psychological flaw, please. What I mean is, I sometimes sit here listening to Brian Eno music (if you never heard of him, google him), and wonder how my life would be different if I had the time and cash to sit at the Chicago lakefront with an iPad and just contemplate life while scrolling through some interesting blogs and writing stuff of my own.

Or maybe what it would be like to spend a week in a cabin in the Rocky Mountains, getting up early and enjoying a cup of coffee in the crisp, autumn air.

It isn’t that I don’t like what I’m doing, and able to do, now. I really do. I get to sit in my office overlooking very quiet neighbors on crisp autumn mornings with pretty decent coffee (if I do say so myself). I have a wonderful house to live in with a great family (my wife and three sons).

I appreciate doing this, I really do. But I also spend some time daydreaming about doing other things.

I guess (well, really the word I should use is “hope” instead of “guess”) that it is a sign of maturity that while I still daydream like a 9-year-old, I don’t wish my life was different. I don’t want my life to be any different than it is now. Ok, maybe a little more spending money would be nice. But really, my life is pretty wonderful the way it is right now. I’ve been married a good amount of time (twenty years) and have three sons I love very much. What’s more, I love being around them a whole lot, too.

As the song goes, “who could ask for anything more?”

But it isn’t a sin to actually ask for anything more. It isn’t that I’m not grateful. I really am. Thank you, God, for giving me such wonderful gifts! Your love for me in Jesus Christ has really blessed me in some pretty cool ways! And I’m not really asking for more. I’m content. Really, I am.

I’m just wondering what it might be like.

From Ground Zero to Holy Ground - 9/11 Remembrance

2011-09-09T09:07:00.000-05:00

: Image courtesy of Gary Hershorn / Reuters

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. (Jeremiah 29:11-14)

How can the tragic attacks of September 11 be used for good? How could God allow this to happen? On the other hand, does September 11 really mean anything different for us? Have we really be effected by it? Has life really changed all that much? My question is, “How do we get from ground zero to holy ground?”

In the movie It’s A Wonderful Life one scene refers to the end of World War II. The narration says that people wept and prayed on VE Day and VJ Day and you see scenes of people flocking to a church. When I talked with my clergy friends about 911 we thought that something like this would happen again. With such devastating attacks, we all made our churches available for people to come and pray. At my church at the time we had a prayer service. And at first, it did look like people would flock back to church to find answers to questions. But looking back to a year ago, it seems that America was more interested in getting back to the regular season of football and baseball. That was important. To “get back to normal living.”

The jury is still out whether we can “get back to normal” post-911.

What affect has 911 had on America? So much pain and destruction has to have some affect on us. It has been said that “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” (C.S. Lewis) I believe God is shouting to us, calling us from ground zero to His Holy Ground.

Like just about everything else man makes, we thought the Twin Towers would stand forever. And all indications were that they would. But in the span of a couple of hours, they were reduced to smoking rubble, burying over 2800 people. That site will forever be known as “Ground Zero.” The pictures from there are a part of who we are as a nation today. Smoking ruins, firefighters searching for people. The one that stands out in my mind is the one of the President of the United States with a bullhorn. It is that picture that gave me the words “From Ground Zero to Holy Ground.” Someone in the crowd yelled “We can’t hear you” as he was making a speech. He called back “But I can hear you!”

Can we hear God? God is calling us. He’s shouting at us. He calls us away from our own self-centeredness and things we make for ourselves to something that will last forever. He is calling us from ground zero and its uncertain stability to His Holy Ground that does not move and will stand forever.

When you hear the stories of 911, what do you think? The eye-witness accounts to show that 911 affected all of us, ordinary people and heads of state. But those stories are not the end. Each story can ber followed up by God’s story. For God does have something to say about all this.

God tells us about His peace. It is not peace like the world strives for. So often the world’s peace comes after devastation and the loss of countless lives. But God’s peace came only after one suffered and died, not thousands. God’s peace comes to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Even in the midst of tragedy, among the smoking ruins in New York or Washington DC, the peace of Jesus Christ, the Son of God comes through. Sometimes the Prince of this world – Satan – rears his head in a very public way and motivates people to carry out acts of terror and death. But Jesus Christ overcame Satan when He died on the cross. Satan is a defeated enemy. All these tragic events are but the last gasps of a vanquished foe. In the end they cannot harm us. In fact, they have backfired on Satan. He carries them out to try to defeat us, but the result is that many turn back to God and look for ways to make their relationship stronger with Him!

God also tells us to be ready. When those thousands of people showed up for work on September 11, 2001, or boarded those airplanes, they may not have given any thought that this was to be their last day on earth. But God repeatedly warns us that we do not know when our last day on earth will be. It could be today. In the mean time, God calls to us, shouts to us from ground zero, to be rich toward Him, to begin or strengthen the relationship with Him through Word and Sacrament and Worship. We are rich toward God because Jesus’ death and resurrection gave us the glorious riches of God’s eternal grace. No amount of smoking ruin can take that away from us who have been brought into the Kingdom of God.

A reading from Colossians seems to have been written with 911 in mind. “Since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you....” That has been true for many, many people. Since that day we have prayed, each time we gather for worship, for those in the midst of this tragedy, for our President, for our military personnel, prayed that the peace and comfort of Jesus Christ may be theirs.

“Patience and endurance.” This is what we have been praying for. God calls us to be faithful to Him and to seek Him at all times, but especially in times of tragedy. It is so hard to be patient when we’re facing such tragedy. We want to knownow about a loved one. We want an answer now. We are tempted to give up in the face of such horrible circumstances. But God’s call to us has been to be patient and endure.

For a better time is coming. Ground Zero is temporary. Holy Ground is forever!

There have been so many questions in the past 10 years. The biggest one, it seems to me, has been “How could God allow this to happen.” The answer is not easy. God does love us. So much so that He doesn’t want us to take anything for granted. But with prosperity and financial success like we’ve enjoyed in this country, we are tempted to take many things for granted. Young people live life like they will live forever, that nothing can hurt them. But the world isn’t a peaceful place. It is a dangerous place. Nothing should be taken for granted. Least of all God. He is here. He does love us. He allows tragedy to get our attention and call us back to Him.

The call from Ground Zero is a call back to Holy Ground. The stable, rock-solid ground established for us by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. On Holy Ground there is no sin, there is no death. There have been many “ground zeros” and I suspect there will be many more. But there is only one Holy Ground. There is only one way to get there. God is calling us. Through the smoke and death and devastation God shouts to us, getting our attention. Now that the smoke and rubble have been cleared, we’re tempted to say that God’s call is gone, too. But God still calls. He is calling you and me. He is calling us away from ground zero and the death that will forever surround it. He is calling us to Holy Ground where there is life and peace in His Son Jesus Christ.

God is calling you. Will you answer? I pray that you will turn from ground zero to God’s Holy Ground, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

2011-09-08T16:44:00.001-05:00

: Image courtesy of photobucket.com

What comes to mind when you read the following words:
Evangelical
Religious person
Christian

I'm thinking that for most people the images conjured up by these titles is more negative than positive.

Brandon, who writes at the blog outside the walls recently posted this:

I asked a handful of my friends outside of mainstream Christianity to tell me what comes to mind when I say the word “evangelical.” Here is what they came up with:

An evangelical represents religious talking heads, slick televangelists, the religious right, the moral majority, picket signs, the health and wealth gospel, plastic and phoney hypocrites, judgmental, blind and hateful zealots, brainwashed and close-minded non-Christians, showy megaChurches, unreasonable and illogical Conservatives, unpersuadable Patriots, and preacher sex scandals.

I sit here and ask myself, "What do I do about this?"

I was once told by a principal in a church school that I served as pastor, "Perception is reality."

But I struggle with that. Reality is reality. It's real, and as such cannot be altered in the same what that the truth cannot be altered. At least that's how I felt 10 years ago.

But having 10 years of ministry flow under the bridge I'm on has changed my perception and the concept of reality, especially in 21st century America.

So, what do I do now? I'm tempted to try to salvage our titles.

For example, I consider myself an evangelical - "one who belongs to the Gospel" - and not any of the things in Brandon's research. I consider myself to be a religious person in the sense of following a true religion as put forth in the Epistle of James. I serve others (James calls it visiting orphans and widows in their affliction) and I do my best to keep myself unstained from the world. (see James 1:27)

But here's where my faith walk has led me: the best way to change people's perception of these things is to live a life that gives glory to God and serves my neighbor.

But I've got my work cut out for me. For being an evangelical these days means more and more that you are affiliated with a particular political party. Being a religious person these days means more and more that you are someone who thinks they are somehow better than others. Being a Christian is more and more perceived to be a person who does not talk to non-Christians and shuts themselves off from the world.

How can I convince people that I'm none of these things? Is it important that I do?

I think it is. Because if I cannot convince them that I'm not what they think I am as an evangelical, religious person, a Christian (in their way of thinking of these things), then it will be very hard to share with them the Good News about Jesus.

And sharing the Good News about Jesus is what I've been called to do. It is my purpose in life. It is who I am.

That may strike some people as somewhat weird. After all, I'm married. I have children. Isn't my wife supposed to fulfill me? Isn't being a father supposed to be my purpose in life?

Well, yeah. But let's think about that for a moment. My wife and I have been married for over twenty years. We met and were married while I was a student at a seminary. Our life together has husband and wife has been inextricably tied to our calling to share the Gospel of Jesus. That calling has also been at the core of who we both are as parents.

So, the bottom line is that I am proud to be an evangelical, religious Christian. I may not be an evangelical, religious Christian to a lot of people's way of thinking, but once they meet me (whether online or in person) I think (I hope and pray, actually) that they will realize that.

And that will change their perception of reality.

Saved By Grace ... But Who's Grace?

2011-08-29T11:00:00.002-05:00

When I was a teenager, the question of my salvation was not exactly at the forefront of my thinking. I didn’t ponder often – or long – how I was going to be saved. I kind of knew about my salvation. I had been through two years of catechism instruction and had been taught both Law and Gospel by a pastor who himself had extensive learning in Law and Gospel.

I knew my salvation was based on what Jesus Christ had done for me (and the world) when He died on the cross and rose from the dead on Easter Sunday.

But I didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about it.

I wish I did. Because I think it would have made me think about just what it means that I am saved. It might also have made me think about how other people are saved.

I was taught – and I still believe with all my heart – that I am saved by grace.

Ephesians 2:5 says it plainly, “By grace you are saved.“

But then I was thinking, that’s how a Christian is saved, since Ephesians is part of the Christian Bible.

Muslims don’t use the Christian Bible in the same way. Neither to Jews. Are they still saved by grace?

Maybe a better way to say it is that we (Christian, Muslim, Jew, and anyone else) is saved by God’s grace.

After all, most of the planet believes in God in some form or another.

But it occurs to me that this would be to generalized to be of any good. For something as important as eternal salvation, you’d think that God would have been as specific as possible.

Then I came across this passage of Scripture in the Book of Acts:

“But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 15:11 ESV).

I don’t believe this is trying to say that only Christians will be saved. But I believe it is also saying that there is only one way to be saved and that is through the grace of the Lord Jesus.

Does that mean Jews and Muslims and Buddhists and any other person cannot be saved?

No, in fact just the opposite. All people can be saved. All can be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus.

We don’t have to go around searching for the right grace or the right way or the right religion. We only have to go one place – to Jesus Christ Himself.

We don’t have to spend our time trying to be good enough, do good enough, or say good enough to be saved.

Salvation is through the grace of our Lord Jesus.

God's Help - Not Self-Help

2011-08-21T06:22:00.000-05:00

: Image courtesy of photobucket.com

I've been told that I don't have what it takes to be a pastor. That I'm not well-suited for the parish. Thankfully, I haven't been told that recently. But I'm pretty sure that every pastor hears something along those lines at some point in their ministry.

I'm not entirely sure what qualifies a man to be a pastor in the minds of the people who have told me that I don't have what it takes to be a pastor. But I do know what the Bible says about the qualifications of a pastor.

He must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive ... He must not be a recent convert ... he must be well thought of by outsiders (1 Timothy 3:2-7 ESV).

It seems to me that these qualifications are not attainable without help. Help from other people, but most especially help from God.

It is the "help from God" that interests and intrigues me. I have been called by God to be a pastor. I didn't really strive to be a pastor on my own. The closest I come to that sentiment is that I answered God's call with all my heart. What I mean is that I didn't fight God when He called me. I agreed with Him. I want to be a pastor. I enjoy being a pastor.

Still, there are times that I question God's judgment about me being a pastor, just as there have been - at times - other people who also question God's judgment.

In that, I'm not alone. I'm in pretty good company, in a manner of speaking.

God called Moses to be the pastor of His people, Israel.

I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt (Exodus 3:10).

Here is how Moses responded to God's call:

"Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?" (Exodus 3:11)

they will not believe me or listen to my voice (Exodus 4:1)

I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue(Exodus 4:10)

Oh, my Lord, please send someone else (Exodus 4:13)

I get the feeling that Moses did not want to be what God was calling him to be.

How God didn't take Moses' no for an answer is what sustains me in my calling.

God didn't tell Moses that he was wrong in his self-assessment. Instead, God basically said, none of that really matters because what I'm asking you to do is going to be done by my power, not yours!

But I will be with you (Exodus 3:12)

"If they will not believe you," God said, "or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground." (Exodus 4:8-9)

I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak (Exodus 4:12)

Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. (Exodus 4:14-16)

When God calls us to do something, He doesn't expect us to do it by our own power. When God calls us to do something, He also gives us His power to do it.

I've been called to be a pastor, a leader in a church and a leader of people. That may not be your calling. You may be called to be a writer, or an encourager of others, or a teacher, or a salesperson, or _______________.

No matter what it is that God is calling you to do, it will involved sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Your reaction may be "I can't do that!"

God's answer is, "do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you..." (Matthew 10:19).

You can do it because God not only calls you to do it, God gives you all the power you will need to do it.

How Long?

2011-08-15T08:39:00.000-05:00

Image courtesy of photobucket.com

This morning I read Psalm 13. King David asks a question that I have asked myself from time to time.

“How long, O Lord?”

I notice that David says, “Will you forget me forever?”

He doesn’t ask, “Have you forgotten me?” David is feeling that God actually has actually has already forgotten him.

Have you ever felt that way? It’s a pretty devastating feeling. I imagine it is about as lonely as a person can feel.

But as I kept reading this Psalm, silently shouting, “Preach it, David! Right on, David! Yeah! That’s how I feel!” I get to verse 5.

“But….”

Even though David feels that God has forgotten him, abandoned him, he still trusts in God. He still rejoices in God’s salvation. He still sings to the Lord.

In spite of a devastating feeling, David still believes in God as his Savior.

That’s the kind of faith I want to have.

Image courtesy of photobucket.com

Thankfully, the Holy Spirit who gave this kind of faith to David also gives this kind of faith to me.

I will trust.

I will rejoice.

I will sing.

Love, Duty, Honor

2011-07-29T07:52:00.000-05:00

Major Sullivan Ballou of Rhode Island, just 32 years old, died on July 28, 1861.

Just a few days before he led men into the Civil War battle known today as the “First Battle of Bull Run” and “The First Battle of Manassas,” he wrote a letter to his wife.

In this letter we meet a man who loved his wife, his children, and his country.

I pray we could find such love in ourselves today, 150 years later.

Major Sullivan Ballou March 28, 1829 – July 28, 1861

My very dear Sarah:

The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days — perhaps tomorrow. Lest I should not be able to write you again, I feel impelled to write lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more.

Our movement may be one of a few days duration and full of pleasure — and it may be one of severe conflict and death to me. Not my will, but thine O God, be done.

If it is necessary that I should fall on the battlefield for my country, I am ready. I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in, the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter.

I know how strongly American Civilization now leans upon the triumph of the Government, and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and suffering of the Revolution. And I am willing — perfectly willing — to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this Government, and to pay that debt.

But, my dear wife, when I know that with my own joys I lay down nearly all of yours, and replace them in this life with cares and sorrows — when, after having eaten for long years the bitter fruit of orphanage myself, I must offer it as their only sustenance to my dear little children — is it weak or dishonorable, while the banner of my purpose floats calmly and proudly in the breeze, that my unbounded love for you, my darling wife and children, should struggle in fierce, though useless, contest with my love of country?

I cannot describe to you my feelings on this calm summer night, when two thousand men are sleeping around me, many of them enjoying the last, perhaps, before that of death — and I, suspicious that Death is creeping behind me with his fatal dart, am communing with God, my country, and thee.

I have sought most closely and diligently, and often in my breast, for a wrong motive in thus hazarding the happiness of those I loved and I could not find one. A pure love of my country and of the principles I have often advocated before the people and “the name of honor that I love more than I fear death” have called upon me, and I have obeyed.

Sarah, my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me to you with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break; and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me irresistibly on with all these chains to the battlefield.

The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them so long. And hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years, when God willing, we might still have lived and loved together, and seen our sons grow up to honorable manhood around us.

I have, I know, but few and small claims upon Divine Providence, but something whispers to me — perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little Edgar — that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. If I do not, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name.

Forgive my many faults, and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless and foolish I have oftentimes been!

How gladly would I wash out with my tears every little spot upon your happiness, and struggle with all the misfortune of this world, to shield you and my children from harm. But I cannot. I must watch you from the spirit land and hover near you, while you buffet the storms with your precious little freight, and wait with sad patience till we meet to part no more.

But, O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the garish day and in the darkest night — amidst your happiest scenes and gloomiest hours — always, always; and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath; or the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by.

Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for thee, for we shall meet again.

As for my little boys, they will grow as I have done, and never know a father’s love and care. Little Willie is too young to remember me long, and my blue-eyed Edgar will keep my frolics with him among the dimmest memories of his childhood.

Sarah, I have unlimited confidence in your maternal care and your development of their characters.

Tell my two mothers his and hers I call God’s blessing upon them.

O Sarah, I wait for you there! Come to me, and lead thither my children.

Sullivan

For Your Safety

2011-07-21T10:11:00.000-05:00

: Image courtesy of Joe Shlabotnik, Creative Commons

A few days ago, three young people were visiting Vernal Falls at Yosemite National Park. They decided that they would hop the railing to enter the water right above the falls.

They were then swept over the falls and presumably fell to their death 300 feet below. As of this writing, their bodies have not been found and the families are holding out hope they they somehow survived.

The National Park Service had installed those railings years ago. Not with the intention of ruining people's fun. Not with the intention of limiting the lives of people. Not with the intention of controlling people's lives. Those railings are there to keep people safe so they can enjoy their lives at Vernal Falls.

That's the reason for the 10 Commandments - the Law of God. God doesn't establish His Law to limit people's lives. God gives us His Law to allow us to live our lives to the fullest.

The 10 Commandments have a three-fold purpose.

One, they are a mirror. They show us our sin. They show us that we are lost and condemned creatures. Condemned because God said that if we do not keep the Law perfectly, we will be punished. (See Romans 2:12)

Two, they are a curb. They are there to keep us from sinning. Sinning brings death and destruction. So really, the Law is to keep us alive.

: Image courtesy of gardkarlsen.com

Much like that railing at Vernal Falls or on the edge of the Grand Canyon, or on the observation deck of the Empire State building.

The Law's purpose in its second use is to keep us alive.

But it cannot do so on its own. We have to respect its railing. We have tonot climb over it.

Yet we do it all the time. We want to know what's out there beyond the railing. We think it might be better. It is the great unknown, it is an adventure waiting to be experienced.

We are warned that it is not an adventure but only death.

Stay inside the railing of the Law and you will live.

But we are also lied to. We are told that this is not really living. It is boring. It is mundane. It is ordinary.

Really?

The alternative is death - each and every time. Hop the railing at Vernal Falls and you will be swept over the edge to fall 300 feet to your death. Is that an adventure? Hop the railing on the observation deck of the Empire State Building and you will not live a life of adventure, you will fall to your death.

God does not want you to die. Keep the Law and you will live.

But you can't do this on your own. You need God's power to keep God's Law. That's why God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus kept the Law perfectly. He lived the perfect life. Yet in a great exchange, Jesus took your sin as His own and died the punishment your sin deserved. In its place, He gives you His righteousness and power to live - truly live.

The third purpose of the Law is a guide. When we have Christ's righteousness, when He takes our sin away, we return to the Law to find out how to truly live in this life. The Law becomes our road map to truly live a great adventure.

Remembering Moosie

2011-07-15T07:54:00.000-05:00

: Seamus 1993

Moosie is Seamus, a black Labrador Retriever that was part of the Blonski Family for 12 years.

Moosie had a lot of energy as a young lad...er, lab. His very favorite game was "chase the ball." I would thrown a tennis ball and he would chase after it, scoop it up, and then race back to me.

Funny thing was, even though Moosie was a Labrador Retriever, I had to teach him to actually drop the ball at my feet or let go of it when I grabbed it so I could throw it again. His idea of retrieving was to chase after the ball but then to hang on to the ball as if it were the most important artifact in the history of the world.

My idea of retrieving was that I would throw the ball, Moosie would chase after it, grab it in his jaws and then trot back to me, drop the ball at my feet, and then we would repeat.

Even though "retriever" was in his name, the concept of retrieving was either new to him or we each had a different idea of what it meant.

Chasing the ball came naturally enough to him. But there was a little bit of training that had to happen for the two of us to thoroughly enjoy the experience together.

As I venture through life, I understand how this is in my own life. A lot of things come naturally to me. But to really enjoy life, I need to learn how to do things with other people. I need to learn how to put others first ahead of my own feelings, sometimes.

Moosie could play by himself. He could take the ball and scoop it up in his mouth and then shake his head to throw the ball. He could then chase after it and repeat the process. But Moosie couldn't through the ball nearly as far as I could. So he would come to me with the ball, plead with his eyes to "play ball with me."

: Teaching my oldest son to throw.

In a similar way, I can enjoy myself by myself. I can sit in the early morning hours with a hot cup of coffee and the sun peaking over the eastern horizon. But my day gets so much more enjoyable when my three sons wake up and we go fishing or play basketball or throw a baseball around. I can do all those things by myself, but it works much better with them involved.

Moosie taught me that.

Why Do Bad Things Happen?

2011-07-12T09:48:00.000-05:00

Josh Hamilton threw a baseball to a fan last week. Then he heard the screams of the fan’s 6-year-old son. The fan who caught it fell 20 feet and died of his injuries, right in front of his son.

Why?

Why do bad things happen like this?

And why would it happen to involve someone like Josh Hamilton?

The answer is that there is evil in this world. The devil is prowling around trying to thwart all things good and all things God.

Last week the devil set his sights on Josh Hamilton – a committed and vocal follower of Jesus Christ. This was not the first time the devil had done this.

In 1999, after an impressive high school baseball career, Josh was given $4 million to play professional baseball. Soon after he had a car crash, was given prescription pain killers, became addicted and moved on to alcohol and cocaine.

It took nearly 10 years for Josh to climb back to a shadow of what he once was as a baseball player. But it wasn’t the time that changed him so much as it was Christ changing his life.

Josh Hamilton changed his focus on living for Christ, giving glory to God, and sharing the Good News about Jesus. He realized that he had been given a tremendous ability to hit and catch a baseball. So Josh returned to the game with his new focus.

He is now considered one of the best players in the game, an All Star.

The devil must be really threatened by Josh. And when the accident occurred last week – and that’s all it was, an accident – the devil must have been whispering non-stop in Josh’s ears.

Josh was faced with a choice. He could take all the blame, walk away from the game, and return to numbing his pain with drugs and alcohol.

Or he could once again put his faith and trust in Christ.

Josh chose the latter.

And that’s important. Because it really is a daily choice for Christians. It isn’t a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing, to be a follower of Christ. As one person put it, “by daily contrition and repentance, [our sinful nature is to] be drowned and die with all sins and evil lusts, and, again, a new man daily come forth and arise; who shall live before God in righteousness and purity forever.” (Martin Luther, The Small Catechism)

The bad things in this life are not God’s fault. But God does allow them in order that our faith may be strengthened when we rely on Him and His love and power – as Josh Hamilton is doing right now.

Bad things happen because there is a devil in this world, because there is sin in this world, and they are at war with God.

We are in the middle of this war, especially if we are on God’s side. The bad things will happen. It is what we choose to do when they happen that will make a difference in our lives.

Temptation

2011-07-11T10:16:00.002-05:00

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

That’s one of those “they-isms.” You know:

“They say you should not swim at least a half-hour after eating.”

“They say you should never discuss politics or religion in polite company.”

“They say the more things change the more they stay the same.”

I don’t know who, exactly, “they” are, but they are correct; when it comes to the devil’s schemes to tempt us to sin, he tends to not be too creative. He uses the same temptations over an over again. But I guess he sticks with what works!

Image courtesy of photobucket.com

The devil started tempting people way back when there were only two people in the world. He approached Adam and Eve and tempted Eve to disobey God. The devil had a three-fold temptation scheme (in Genesis 3:6)

1. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food…” (Hunger)

2. “and that it was a delight to the eyes…” (Attraction)

3. “and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise…”(Wisdom)

I’ve noticed that I’m tempted to sin when I’m hungry. I’ve stolen candy or some other snack from my sons when I’m hungry (please don’t tell them until I’ve had a chance to repent and ask their forgiveness – I’ll do that right after I finish this).

But hunger doesn’t just have to be about a lack of food. People are tempted (and rather successfully) to sin when they have a hunger for power, possessions or money.

Attraction is also used by the devil to tempt us to sin. Eve was tempted by the attraction of the fruit. Now, I’ve never been tempted to sin by how a fruit looks. Even the most gorgeous apple, orange or watermelon only makes me think, “That’s a nice piece of fruit.” But everybody is different. And we all have that weak point where attraction to something or someone can be used by the devil to tempt us to disobey God.

Wisdom is a very subtle point of temptation for the devil. In a world that seems to be increasingly lacking in wisdom, it may not seem like the devil is using this one all that often. But “knowing more” can be, and is, used. Some of the highest rated TV shows are those that promote “knowing more” about celebrities, politicians, and knowledge. These can – and are – used by the devil to tempt people to disobey God.

The devil is crafty. And when you look around today – not to mention throughout history – you see a track record of hall-of-fame temptation levels by the devil.

And the devil set his goals of temptation pretty high in that he even tempted the Son of God – Jesus Christ!

Where Eve was tempted with the idea that forbidden fruit was just as good to eat as all the other fruit, Jesus was tempted with food after having been on a fast for over a month. This is a hunger of a different kind. The devil, perhaps, is tempting Jesus to give in to physical hunger. If Jesus does that, He will have broken His fast, something He had set out to do for specific reasons, and doing it by giving in to a lost and condemned creature. Instead of listening and following Himself (God) He would be listening and following the devil – and this would be a sin.

The devil’s second temptation was to question Jesus’ wisdom in putting His trust in His Father. The devil uses God’s Word against Jesus here, just as he used it against Eve (“Did God really say…?”). Surely this was foolish on the devil’s part. Who would trust God more fully and intimately than God’s only Son? Yet, the devil does it.

The final temptation is that of power. While Jesus knows that the world is His by virtue of being the Son of the Creator, this temptation is more subtle. How Jesus fights off this temptation is important. Jesus must fight it off without giving even a hint that He might accept the premise that the devil has some claim to the world. And this Jesus does successfully.

Temptation is something that we all face. The devil tempts us to sin because we are God’s children. He hates everything that has to do with God and he wants to destroy our relationship with God.

Jesus teaches us how to fight against the devil’s temptations and win. Know and use God’s Word. Every time the devil tempted Jesus, Jesus responded by quoting God’s Word.

Jesus fought this battle and won. And by His death and resurrection Jesus gives us the power to also fight and win our battles of temptation.

Dear 'Ol Dad

2011-06-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

: My dad with my grandmother and grandfather.

Father's Day is a special day for me.

The reason is because I have three sons ("My Three Sons!") who are great young men.

In the looks department they take more after their mother - which is good.

But my wife and I work together to raise them to be men of integrity and honor - something I like to call "True Men."

Recently I was watching a movie with my family. In one scene a father and son are saying goodbye as the son goes off to war. He tells his father "I am the man I am today because of you."

It is certainly true for me and my dad. But it is more true than I might think at times for me and my sons. It scares me but also gives me great hope.

It scares me when I take a good look at the man in the mirror and worry that I'm not a good father. I'm a sinful person, I do sinful things. Surely, I think to myself, I'm messing up as a father.

But it gives me hope as I realize that the greatest gift my dad gave me was to introduce me to God the Father Almighty, His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and the great Comforter - the Holy Spirit.

My dad taught - and still teaches - me that a father doesn't have to be perfect. What he has to do is be a father who loves his children and introduces them to the only perfect Father there is.

That lesson I learned from my father is the one lesson that I do every day with my sons. Lead them to God, show them the love of Christ, and pray, with my wife, that the Holy Spirit gives them understanding and strengthens their faith in Jesus.

For me there is no greater lesson that I learned from my dad.

: My dad and the 1st reason I'm a dad.

: My dad and the 2nd reason I'm a dad.

: My dad and the 3rd reason I'm a dad.

Daddy's Heroes - My Review

2011-06-16T10:58:00.000-05:00

I am the father of three sons. I started reading to my oldest son at bedtime when he was just an infant. I started with “Good Night Moon” and that became a tradition with him until he was old enough to request new stories.

As his brothers joined him, I’ve read many different kinds of books. From classic Science Fiction (my favorite growing up), to fantasy, to classic literature (King Arthur, Treasure Island, etc.).

As time went on, it became a challenge to find books that keep my boys’ (now quickly becoming young men) interest.

Tom Garcia had the same challenges with his son. That’s why he decided to write a series he calls “Daddy’s Heroes.”

Tom’s publisher was kind enough to send me one of his books to review – “The 2004 Red Sox: The Curse is Broken.”

Written by Tom Garcia and Karun Naga it also features the wonderful illustrations by Jenifer J. Donnelly. It tells the story of the improbable 2004 playoff run of the Boston Red Sox at a level young children can follow and enjoy.

It also includes – at the end – the box scores for each of the games of the ALCS and World Series for mom and dad to enjoy.

I highly recommend Daddy’s Heroes to any mom or dad that wants to read – or start to read – to their children at a young age.

You can find out more and order books for Daddy’s Heroes at the Daddy’s Heroes website here.

Be Incarnational

2011-06-08T13:27:00.002-05:00

I use three of the biggest social network media available today: Twitter™, Facebook™, and email. The reason I use these is

Image courtesy of fredonia.edu

because I have been called to tell the Good News about Jesus. Through these tools I can tell the Good News about Jesus to nearly 2000 people every day.

Twitter™ has been in the news a lot over the last two or three years. Facebook™ had a multi-million-dollar-earning moving about it last year. Email messages outnumber postal mail (“snail mail”) 81-1.

Social network media is here and it is popular and it is growing. Over 40 million Americans tweet. Facebook has over 500 million members. There are 39.6 billion email messages sent every day.

1/12 of the planet is connected socially – and doesn’t have to see the light of day to connect.

This is why these media have been called virtual media. People can connect with other people and never have to actually be in the presence of a flesh-and-blood person.

That’s pretty cool. It is also efficient and immediate – two things 21^st Century American culture loves very much.

But when it comes to telling the Good News about Jesus, it isn’t enough. I believe that Jesus came when He did – 2000 years ago and not today – because of the social network media stuff didn’t exist then as it does today (not only because of it but it was part of the reason, I believe).

Jesus may have been able to reach more people using Twitter™, Facebook™, and email than He did in the three years walked this earth. But I don’t believe Jesus would have changed nearly as many lives.

The whole point of Jesus Christ coming was so that God could interact with humans in the most intimate way – by taking on flesh-and-blood and dwelling among people.

I will not condemn social networking media but I will emphasize that we must livebeyond the virtual media and actually go out and talk and walk and live among flesh-and-blood people.

We must be just as incarnational with people as God is with us.

D-Day 2011

2011-06-06T08:16:00.000-05:00

June 6, 1944 - the largest military invasion in the history of the world began as paratroopers dropped into occupied

: Image courtesy of PhotoBucket.com

France and troop transports steamed across the English Channel towards the beaches of Normandy.

The commander of this invasion - General Dwight Eisenhower - wrote this letter to his troops:

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-1941. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory! I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!

Good Luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

Signed….Dwight D. Eisenhower

That happened 67 years ago. It is quickly becoming relegated to history as each day there are less and less people who lived through D-Day and World War II.

But we are still at war today. I'm not talking about the War on Terror or the conflicts in Afghanistan or the Middle East.

We are at war against evil. This war started with a temptation by a serpent in a garden thousands of years ago.

But there was an invasion - not by a expeditionary force but by one person.

Jesus Christ, born of a woman, born under the Law, came to redeem each one of us. He fought the good fight, died on the cross and took the sin of the world away.

Jesus won the war, but the battles still rage.

Satan is a defeated enemy, but he's still fighting against us. Our battles are not "against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12 ESV).

How are we to continue to battle? We can learn from the example of the men who fought in the world's battles - battles like D-Day, Monte Casino, Bastogne, the Argonne Forest, Waterloo, Gettysburg. We learn their history not to glorify war, but to find ways to fight against evil in this present day.

We also learn from the people on the front lines of today's battles - certainly the men and women who wear our nation's uniform. But also others - pastors like Rev. K and Rev. M; teachers like Mrs. R and Mr. D; writers like Kat and Billy, youth ministers like Natalie; moms, dads, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Saints and sinners who - through faith and with the Word of God - stand up to evil and say "this further and no more."

Today can be your D-Day - your Deliverance Day from evil and sin. Jesus Christ called many to this fight and they are praying for you to be saved.

Resurrection Change

2011-04-27T08:35:00.000-05:00

⁴Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵And stooping to

look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. ⁶Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, ⁷and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. ⁸Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; ⁹for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. ¹⁰Then the disciples went back to their homes. – John 20:4-10

They saw the empty tomb. Jesus’ body was not there. The burial shroud was, but Jesus was not.

For John, seeing is believing. He sees the empty tomb. He believes that Jesus’ tomb is empty. John believes that Jesus’ body is not there anymore. John may even believe that Jesus has, indeed, been raised from the dead just as Lazarus had been raised from the dead just a few weeks before.

For John, “seeing is believing.”

But it isn’t enough.

Peter and John’s initial reaction to the empty tomb of Jesus is to go back home.

It would not be until later that evening that Jesus “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, ⁴⁶and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, ⁴⁷and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem’” (Luke 24:45-47).

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is pretty amazing. He is on a very short list of people the Bible records as coming back to life after dying:

The son of a Zarephath widow (1 Kings 17:17-22)
The son of a Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:30-37)
Lazarus (John 11:38-44)
Another widow’s son (Luke 7:11-17)
Jairus’ daughter (Matt. 8:28-43, Mark 5:1-20, Luke 8:26-39)
Eutychus (Acts 20:7-12)
Dorcas (Acts 9:36-42)

But Jesus’ resurrection is different. His resurrection from the dead was not – or at least should have not been – a surprise. The Scriptures say that Jesus would rise from the dead.

For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. - Psalm 16:10

After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. - Hosea 6:2

O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? - Psalm 30:3,9

Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. - Isaiah 53:10

Even Jesus Himself – whom John calls the Word – told the disciples on numerous occasions that He would rise from the dead.

Ultimately, the resurrection of Jesus Christ can only be truly understood and believed because of Holy Scripture.

Personal experience of the resurrection is very important. I have been changed by the resurrection of Jesus. My heart nearly bursts with joy at the final scene of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. Because Jesus lives, I live my life (or try to live my life) differently from the way the world says I should.

But this personal experience isn’t enough. If I watch the movie enough, the emotional impact will fade.

But there is something that will not ever fade, something that doesn’t change, something that is ever-living.

The Word of God.

Only when John, Peter, and the rest of the disciples had the Scriptures opened to them could they take the resurrection to the ends of the earth and actually be changed themselves.

They saw the empty tomb. They saw the resurrected Jesus with their own eyes. But that wasn’t enough. Only when the Scriptures were opened to them did they truly understand the resurrection.

Personal experience of Jesus Christ is a wonderful thing. But only when that personal experience is grounded in the never-changing truth of God’s Word will the resurrection change your life.

Given and Shed For You

2011-04-20T10:08:00.001-05:00

The Lord’s Supper.

Celebrated by millions of churches and billions of people each week. But what is it? What is given in it? What is the power of the Lord’s Supper?

Image courtesy of PhotoBucket

When Martin Luther drew up the four questions he used to teach people about the Lord’s Supper, the fourth question was a question of worthiness.

Martin Luther wrote this in his Small Catechism:

Fasting and bodily preparation are certainly fine outward training. But that person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” But anyone who does not believe these words or doubts them is unworthy and unprepared, for the words “for you” require all hearts to believe.

There are three areas – all related – that we should focus on whenever we plan on coming to the Lord’s Supper. Repentance, personal faith, and a common confession of faith.

Repentance

The Lord’s Supper gives us three things: forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. We receive life and salvation because we are given the forgiveness of our sins.

The forgiveness of sins is the chief blessing in this sacrament. Jesus Christ gives us His body and blood in, with, and under the bread and the wine. He shed His blood on the cross. He sacrificed His body on the cross. He did this because He loves us. And when He did this, our sins were forgiven.

This is a free gift, given by grace alone.

But do not make the mistake of thinking that this gift – while free – did not cost. It cost Jesus everything.

The Lord’s Supper is a gift given and a gift received. God has to give it. We have to receive it.

How do we receive it? We have to prepare ourselves for it.

Martin Luther mentions “fasting and bodily preparation.” Apparently these were common things to do in the 16^th century. Luther’s problem with them was not their commonality but that they were required by the Church. People had to do them to receive the Lord’s Supper in a worthy manner.

Luther didn’t find that in Scripture. What Luther did find was that faith is the only requirement; faith in Jesus Christ. And faith in Jesus Christ leads us to repent of our sins.

Repentance is the key because the Lord’s Supper destroys sin. Repentance is us letting go of our sin before Christ’s body and blood destroys it. If we do not repent – if we do not let go – we can be destroyed along with our sin.

This is what might have been happening to some of the members of the Corinthian church that St. Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 11: 27-30

²⁷ Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸ Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. ²⁹For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. ³⁰That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.

Repentance is a key element to receiving the Lord’s Supper worthily. But repentance can only happen if we have faith.

Personal Faith

By faith I mean believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior, having a personal relationship with Christ. It is more than just knowing about Jesus. Even demons know about Jesus and it causes only fear. Christ died for you, not in some abstract way or in some general way. He died specifically for you, and you, and you, and me.

Too often, I think, we are content to be “John 3:16” Christians and not “Galatians 2:20” Christians.

John 3:16 says, ¹⁶“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

But Galatians 2:20 says, ²⁰“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

The Lord’s Supper, then, makes our Christian faith intensely personal. Jesus doesn’t say He shed his blood “for the world” but “for you.”

This is the faith you have been given. This is the faith that is strengthened by God through His Word and the Lord’s Supper.

Common Confession of Faith

By “faith” I also mean our common confession of faith – that we all believe the same thing. This also is an important part of our reception of the Lord’s Supper.

Acts 2:42 and 1 Cor. 10:17 both tell us how important this common confession of faith was to the first-generation Christians. It was a way for them to define “family.” It was a way for them to make public confession to the world what they believed.

Today, we are criticized for this because it is perceived as being “stand-off-ish,” “closed-minded,” or even arrogant.

But even though we call this practice “closed communion” it doesn’t mean we’re “closed minded.” It means we take serious what God’s Word says.

Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before He eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.(1 Cor. 11:27-29).

This is no game. The Lord’s body and blood are powerful things. It is a gift that requires great responsibility. It can be dangerous, as the church in 1^st Century Corinth found out the hard way – they misused the Lord’s Supper and it literally killed some of them.

Conclusion

It was on this night – the night that Jesus was betrayed – that Jesus said the wonderful words “Given and shed for you.” This gift that we partake of once again is amazing. It is amazingly powerful. It is amazing love.

And as Jesus walked the way of the passion following what we call the Lord’s Supper, the words “given and shed for you” take on a profound meaning. Let us think on this as we walk with Jesus over the next several days – to the Garden, the courtyard of the High Priest, the Judgment Hall of Pilate, the cross on Golgotha, and finally the Garden Tomb.

Engraved on the Palms of His Hands

2011-04-18T09:00:00.000-05:00

Image courtesy of wileywillows.blogspot.com

Palm branches remind us of … what?

- A tropical beach vacation.

- A warm January day in Southern California

- A welcomed oasis respite in the burning desert

- Children processing and singing “Hosanna to the Son of David!”

The custom of palms at the end of Lent can serve to remind us of a Sunday long, long ago.

¹²The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. ¹³So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!" ¹⁴And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

¹⁵ "Fear not, daughter of Zion;behold, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey’s colt!" (John 12:12-15 ESV)

Why palms for such an event? In Jewish culture, palms are symbols of victory. What an awesome connection – Jesus rides into Jerusalem amid shouts of praise and symbols of victory. Little did the people know that the victory Jesus would win was not political or military victory but salvation victory!

Jesus is riding into Jerusalem amid the shouts and palms on His way to the cross. The cross would be where He won the victory for us over sin, death, and the power of the devil. The palms represent the victory that Jesus won over our sinful, corrupt nature. And God said of this nature,

^9"By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, ill you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken;t for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19 ESV).

Remember those words? They were spoken over you when you received a cross of ashes on your forehead or the back of your hand on Ash Wednesday.

And the ashes we used were of palm branches used on a previous Palm Sunday. Interesting connection, isn’t it?

There’s one more connection I found. In the English language, “palm” doesn’t just mean a certain type of tree or the branch of that tree. It also means the part of the hand from the wrist to the base of the fingers. Our English word for this part of our hand – “palm” – came from the Latin word for the tree or branch. One source says the word traveled to Northern Europe (where the English language developed) via the Christians bringing the word for the tree they used on Palm Sunday in celebration of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

While that may be interesting to some – ok, maybe just me – that isn’t the connection I really wanted to make.

This is the connection I want to make. The English word “palm” – meaning the part of the hand – is used in an Old Testament Bible passage.

Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. (Isaiah 49:16 ESV)

God says this to us to remind us that He has not – and never will – forget us.

Have you ever thought – or even cried out loud – “The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me”? I know I have. I’m pretty sure that you have, too. It feels that way sometimes.

But God specifically tells us that He will not forget us. In fact, He says He cannot forget us because every time He looks at His hands, He remembers us. He has “engraved” us on the palms of His hands as a reminder of us, as a reminder of how much He loves us, as a reminder of what He did because He loves us.

Our names are not engraved on the palms of His hands. Our names are written in the Book of Life. I like to think that our names are written in the Book of Life not with ink but with the holy and precious blood of Jesus shed on the cross. Shed on the cross when He died for our sins.

Written with the blood of Jesus shed when nails where driven through the palms of His hands – thus marking Him forever.

Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.

The custom of palms – may it ever serve to remind us that God will never forsake or forget us.

The custom of palms – may it ever serve to remind us that God loves us.

What To Do With Words

2011-04-13T09:22:00.001-05:00

The competition begins with two volunteers and two cans of shaving cream.

Round 1 – the first one to empty their can of shaving creams wins!

Round 2 – the first one to put all the shaving cream back in their can wins!

Just as we can never put the shaving cream back in the can, we can never really take back the words we say.

Like trying to un-shoot a gun, or un-ring a bell, un-saying a word is impossible.

The words we say are as immortal as anything can be in this world.

So be careful what you say.

That’s part one of this little message.

Part two is: what do you do after you say your words.

Take a look at that pile of shaving cream. You can’t put it back in the can. But what you do with it is important.

It would be funny – to someone, at least – to take that pile and push it into someone’s face. A whole movie genre is base on that concept!

But let’s think of this in relation to our words and what we do with the aftermath of saying them.

And here I’ll use an unlikely character – Judas Iscariot.

¹⁴ Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵and said, "What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?" (Matthew 26:14-15 ESV)

Judas said these words. He couldn’t take them back. He couldn’t “un-say” them. The chief priests were expecting Judas to do with what he said he would do.

And, of course, Judas did just that.

But there was still hope for Judas. He couldn’t put the shaving cream back in the can, but he could have cleaned up the shaving cream by asking Jesus to forgive him. He didn’t do that, though. Instead, Judas decided – wrongly, I add vehemently – that Jesus wouldn’t forgive him.

And Judas gave up any future he would have had with the forgiveness Jesus won for him – and all of us – on the cross.

Do not give up as Judas did. The shaving cream can never go back in the can. But we can clean it up instead of spreading it around.

In the same way we can never “un-say” our words. But we can clean up their mess with words of love and kindness, with words of Jesus’ love and kindness.

LiveJournal Tags: Jesus Christ,Christian,words,Judas,Christian life

Not a Village But a Church

2011-04-04T10:00:00.000-05:00

A few years ago, First Lady Hillary Clinton stirred up a bit of a controversy by declaring “It takes a village to raise a child.”

Controversy or not, she wasn’t all wrong.

It doesn’t take a village, but it does take a church.

The Christian Family is created by God the Father Almighty.

It flows out of the ultimate relationship – the Holy Trinity. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are the perfect family relationship model.

God the Father creates us. You know the story – God created all things in six days and the crown of His creation of humans. He created Adam and then out of Adam God created Eve. Adam was created out of the dust of the earth and the breath of God in him. Eve was created out of Adam’s side or rib. Not out of Adam’s head that she should be head over him, not out of Adam’s foot that he should tread all over her. God created Eve out of Adam’s rib that they should walk side-by-side together through this life – as a family.

Jesus Christ came thousands of years later to fulfill all prophecy. When the human race fell into sin, a savior was needed. Jesus Christ is that savior. He was born, lived the perfect life, and suffered and died to save us from our sins. Jesus spent about three years with a group of people, in a relationship with what could be described as His family. In fact, that exactly how Jesus described this group.

⁴⁶While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. ⁴⁸But he replied to the man who told him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" ⁴⁹And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! ⁵⁰For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." – Matthew 12:116-50

After Jesus rose from the dead, He said that the Holy Spirit would come. Ten days after Jesus’ ascension in heaven, the Holy Spirit came with power to the disciples on the Day of Pentecost. That is the day that is celebrated as the “Birthday of the Church.”

The Church is not a building; it isn’t a philosophy, or some ethereal concept. The Church is flesh and blood people. The church is a family.

Read through the Book of Acts and the Epistles of St. Paul and others and you will see a family that rejoices together, cries and is sad together, and helps those who need help together.

Unfortunately, as the Church grew bigger and bigger, and the Empire of Rome got smaller and smaller, the Church changed from family to a world power and government.

The concept of “family” might still have been there, but the structure was not in place anymore to actually live as a family. Some parents sent their children to “the Church” to learn and grow. But it wasn’t the same as having a group of people who love each other take care of each other and assist in the developing of the next generation.

Today we are at a crucial point in the world’s history where the Church is needed more than ever before – the original Church as family.

When all the world seems to sink into chaos, there will be only one thing that will stand these tests of time.

Jesus said, “on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18). “This rock” refers to the faith of Peter and the rest of the disciples that was given them by the Holy Spirit. Given to us, as well, through our baptisms and strengthened through Word and Sacrament.

When the Church became the dominant political force in the world, the family-void left behind was filled by other things.

One of those things was the military. Stories abound of groups of men who found themselves in grave situations but banded together to survive.

Because the church had advocated its God-given role to be the extended family of people, others filled the void. But because they are not God-instituted and ordained fellowships like the Holy Christian Church, they are inadequate to fill that role.

Proverbs 18:24 says, “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” That friend is Jesus Christ. And Jesus has called us to be part of larger fellowship – the Christian family!

A word of caution needs to be said here. It has been my experience that many people have turned to the Church to raise their children, but have not been truly a part of the family. This, in my opinion, is just as detrimental as turning to the government or the military or other entity to fill the void of family in a child’s life.

If you look at the beginning of a Luther’s Small Catechism, you will see words written there that –when taken to heart and put into practice – will change your child’s life, your life, and the life of the Church Family.

At the beginning of five of the six chief parts of Christian doctrine, it says, “As the head of the family should teach them in a simple way to his household.”

Our Church Family, then, begins in the home!

When True Men Ministries started six years ago, it was because families were in desperate need of finding a way of bringing back God’s Will for them. God has a dream for our families.

Part of that dream is that mom and dad should be present and the integral part of raising the family. All depends on this.

Dads, Fathers, Papas, Daddies, Pops – whatever you call him or yourself – you are vitally needed in your home. In fact, the Church Family starts right in the home.

Young children need their moms and dads in their lives. A mother gives birth and nurtures and feeds a newborn. A person’s first exposure to love and care is through their mother! Take that away and a newborn will not thrive.

As a son or daughter grows older, they continue to look to their moms and dads for the answers to the questions they have. “Am I beautiful?” “Am I going to make a good wife or husband someday?” “Do I have what it takes?”

The vast majority of broken homes in this world are missing the dad who can answer these questions like no one else can.

A mom and dad that can tell – and show – their sons and daughters that they love them and will always love them will begin to restore the Church Family to the place that God intended it to be.

You see, the Church begins in the home with mom and dad! Fathers are the “High Priest of the home,” as one pastor puts it. He is the one who is specially called by God to be His representative to his family. And mothers walk along side their husbands in carrying out that role:

⁵You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ⁶And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. ⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. – Deuteronomy 6:5-9

What happens in church on Sunday mornings actually begins in the home. The Church Family actually begins in the home. There is a movement today among new church starts to go to a model of the “house church.” This, I believe, is an attempt to capture this truth.

But we don’t have to tear down our current church structures. What we can do is simple – bring back the family altar to our homes. Set aside time for your family to eat together, talk together, have a daily devotion together, and pray together.

If we can set aside time in our busy schedules, as a family, to eat, talk, devote and pray together – it will do three things:

1. Change our home life for the better;

2. Change your churches in to the rock-solid foundation that people need;

3. Change our world.

What do you think? Leave your comments!

LiveJournal Tags: Family,Christian,Church,Christ,Jesus,military,leadreship,Trinity,worship

Why Are We Afraid of Hell?

2011-03-28T09:00:00.000-05:00

Hermione Granger says, in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (movie version), “Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.”

I think there might be some truth to this. When was the last time you heard the word “hell” in a sermon in church? It is far more the exception rather than the rule that the word “hell” is even uttered in a Christian sermon these days.

Granted, it is mentioned in any church that publically recites the Apostles’ Creed: “He [Jesus] descended into hell.”

Even rarer would be a sermon about hell itself.

Why are we afraid of the topic of hell?

Just recently, a book has been published that argues that hell doesn’t really exist. Apparently this book argues that hell doesn’t exist because no human is actually going to hell because in the end “love wins.” I haven’t read the book, only reviews of the book, so I won’t comment any further on what this book says or does not say.

I will ask my question again, though. Why are we afraid of the topic of hell? It is a Biblical topic, after all.

“Hell” is mentioned 14 times in the English Standard Version of the Bible and “Hades,” often a synonym of “hell,” is mentioned 9 times.

We shouldn’t be afraid of talking about hell. What we should be afraid of is people going there.

The Bible teaches that those who do not believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will be condemned to an eternity in hell – completely apart from God.

But the good news is that Jesus Christ won us from death and hell by suffering the punishment of unbelief (which is sin) on our behalf on the cross.

Hell is real. It is a real, geographical (so to speak) place. People will go there. This is not God’s intention, however. Hell was originally designed to be the place that Satan, and the evil angels that follow him, would be kept for eternity. But since Satan deceived Adam and Eve and brought sin and death to the human race, some humans will also go there with Satan.

But this doesn’t have to be. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed to all the world and by it (the Gospel), we are saved!

What Can We Do?

2011-03-14T12:00:00.000-05:00

Mel Gibson, Charlie Sheen and Japan

“One of these things is not like the other,” the old song from Sesame Street goes.

But actually, that may not be the entire truth in the case of Mr. Gibson, Mr. Sheen and the nation of Japan.

They have two things in common. One, they are very much in trouble. And two, they can be saved.

Mel Gibson was in court this past week. He was facing a misdemeanor charge of battery. He was sentence to undergo a year’s worth of counseling and sixteen hours of community service.

Charlie Sheen’s life has been well-documented lately. It would seem he’s also going to be in court soon. He’s being a lawsuit against the CBS television network after being fired from his TV show.

And Japan has faced the fifth largest earthquake in the last 100 years. This earthquake resulted in a tsunami that wiped out many of the seaside communities on the eastern shore of the main island.

Until Japan’s news hit the headlines, Charlie Sheen was pretty much on the top of every news outlets’ list of stories. Mel Gibson was, for the most part, flying under everyone’s radar.

But I’ve been thinking about all three today. And I was thinking about what I could do for all three today. And that led me to thinking about what the Church could do for all three today. In fact, what the Church could do for them, the Church can – and should – do for all people. For we are all in need of help.

By “the Church” I mean the flesh-and-blood Church. I mean the men, women and children who are disciples of Jesus Christ and are the spiritual stones that make up the Church.

Mel Gibson has made his public confession of faith in Jesus Christ at the time he was making and releasing his film “The Passion of the Christ.” But after that, he took a turn for the worse down a wild path. The Church needs to reach out to him and help him find his way back to the peace that passes all understanding – Jesus Christ. I’m not saying I think he gave up his faith. But Mel Gibson has had some problems and challenges and faces more consequences in the future.

Let’s not turn our back on him. He is a Christian. Jesus loves him. Jesus died and rose to save Mel Gibson from his sins (just has He has for all of us).

Then there’s Charlie Sheen. I’ve never heard him make a public confession of faith in Christ. What I have heard him say this past week makes me believe that he does not believe in Jesus as his savior. But the Church can’t give up on him, either. It is clear, to me at least, that Charlie Sheen is a lost soul desperately trying to find peace and love. As a Christian, I have the answer for him. Like many others, I’m tempted sometimes to just write him off as a lost cause. So many have written him off. And so many are watching him and waiting for him to finally destroy himself. But God has spoken. He says, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9 ESV). God wants Charlie Sheen to know the peace and love that only can be found in Him. And it is our duty to share the Gospel with Charlie Sheen – before it’s too late.

Many prayers have been lifted up for the people of Japan. And that is a good thing. But we can do more than just pray for them.

If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? (James 2:15-16 ESV)

Now is the time to bring the Gospel to the people of Japan like never before. Good people are there now who have laid the groundwork for the rest of the Church. Pastors, teachers, and missionaries are on the scene right now. Let us support them. Let us join them in bringing the peace that passes all understanding to people whose lives have been literally washed away.

The Church is here for such a time as this. To reach out to these and all others like them. We have a tremendous and powerful message for the Mel Gibsons, Charlie Sheens, and Japans of the world. Now is not the time to sit back and watch from the sidelines or the comfort of our living rooms. We have to get in the game, using the power of the Gospel to reach the world.

Gag Order Lifted

2011-03-14T08:43:00.001-05:00

When I was 22, my parents divorced. They told me about it the day after my college graduation party. It was also the day before I was to leave for a summer working as a student minister in Grand Teton National Park.

I didn’t see it coming, although I probably should have. I lasted two weeks out in Wyoming.

But it was several years before I came to grips with my parent’s divorce. I was hurt, confused, and mostly angry with my father.

That is, until I came across this Scripture passage.

³And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?" ⁴He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? ⁶So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate." ⁷They said to him, "Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?" ⁸He said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. ⁹ And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery." (Matthew 19:3-9ESV)

This seems pretty straight forward to me. There’s really only one reason for divorce – sexual immorality. But that isn’t all Jesus said at this time in His earthly ministry. Look what He says immediately after this teaching.

¹³ Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, ¹⁴but Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." ¹⁵And he laid his hands on them and went away. (Matthew 19:13-15 ESV)

It was about 1991 or so when I read this and something clicked in my mind and heart.

Divorce is not God’s plan for a husband and wife. But then again, neither was sin and death. Yet they are all the reality we have to live with (if “living” is the right word).

The Good News is that God deals with our reality. He dealt with sin and death – and yes, divorce – by sending Jesus Christ to be our savior from sin and death – and yes, also divorce.

Divorce still happens. Yes, it isn’t what God intends. But Jesus tells us to “let the little children” come to Him for healing and love. A marriage could be saved. A soul certainly will be saved.

Divorce is not the unforgiveable sin. It took me years to come to understand that. When a husband and wife divorce God doesn’t hate that husband and wife. He still loves them and wants what’s best for them. Jesus “calls and draws” them closer to him during this very painful time.

And if the disciples in Matthew 19 represent the “one Holy Christian and Apostolic Church” (and I believe they do), then the Church needs to let even these children – divorcees – come to Jesus for love and healing.

My thanks to Anne Jackson who reminded me today that this is a neglected topic in the Church.

LiveJournal Tags: divorce,Jesus,Love,Scripture,Matthew 19,healing,salvation,savior

A Prayer for the Pacific Nations

2011-03-11T08:40:00.001-06:00

Psalm 77:1-2, 7-15

¹I cry aloud to God,
   aloud to God, and he will hear me.
² In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
   in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
   my soul refuses to be comforted.

⁷"Will the Lord spurn forever,
and never again be favorable?
⁸Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
⁹ Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?"

¹⁰Then I said, "I will appeal to this,
to the years of the right hand of the Most High."

¹¹I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
   yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
¹²I will ponder all your work,
   and meditate on your mighty deeds.
¹³Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
¹⁴You are the God who works wonders;
   you have made known your might among the peoples.
¹⁵You with your arm redeemed your people,
   the children of Jacob and Joseph.

Almighty God, merciful Father, Your thoughts are not our thoughts, and Your ways are not our ways. In Your wisdom You have permitted this disastrous earthquake and tsunami to befall us. Keep the people of Japan and the other Pacific nations affected by this disaster from despair and do not let our faith fail us, but sustain and comfort us. Direct all the efforts to attend the injured, console the bereaved, and protect the helpless. Deliver any who are still in danger, and bring hope and healing that we may find relief and restoration; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

No One Gets Out Alive

2011-03-08T11:57:00.001-06:00

Tomorrow I’ll be reminding people – and be reminded myself – that “to dust you are and to dust you shall return.”

This reminder will be in the form a little cross of ash on the forehead. The palm branches and leaves that ended the Church Season of Lent last year have been burned to ash and are now used to begin this year’s Church Season of Lent.

This dust – and all dust – reminds us that we are mortal. We will die someday. Well, probably. I mean, Jesus could come back before we die – and then there will be no more death for those who believe in Him as savior.

But the reality that I live today is that I will not get out of this life alive. And that’s ok, because for me, death is not the end. Jesus’ death was the end of my death. When my body ceases to live – when my heart stops beating and my brain stops waving – my eyes will close to this world and open to see Jesus. I will see – and live in - the new heaven and new earth. I will be with all those who fell asleep in Jesus.

In the mean time, I have been given a promise of life from Jesus Christ. He warned that “the thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.” But Jesus also promised us, “But I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10 ESV)

The ashes remind me that this life is not all there is. There is more to have, more to come.

The whole Season of Lent is a microcosm of life for the disciple of Jesus. We begin with a reminder of our mortality (and a great reminder to teenagers and young adults that we are only immortal for a limited time).

Then we quickly move on to a reminder that in this world we will face temptation. Many temptations, in fact, but they all come down to the same thing. We will be tempted by the devil (yes, he really exists. Jesus faced him down in the wilderness – recorded in Matthew 4). We will be tempted by the devil to question who we are and whose we are.

When the devil tempted Jesus he started two of the three temptations with the same words, “If you are the Son of God.” Right away, the devil was trying to cause doubt to rise in Jesus’ mind that He (Jesus) was who God said He was. A little over a month before this temptation, Jesus was baptized and heard the words from His Heavenly Father, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” But Jesus hadn’t had anything to eat since then. He was tired, hungry, exhausted to the point of collapse (as I’m sure I would be if I hadn’t eaten for 40 days).

That’s when the devil strikes. When we are riding emotional highs and also at the point of exhaustion, the devil will tempt us so that we try to convince ourselves that we are not really a child of God, we are not saved, we are not worthy of God’s love, and on and on.

But Jesus didn’t give in to this temptation of the devil. The weapon Jesus used to fight off this temptation He gives to us.

“It is written….”

The Word of God. The Sword of the Spirit. This is the ultimate – and only – weapon we have to fight the temptation of the devil.

Pick up your sword, and get ready to fight … and win!

Sun Shine

2011-03-07T11:00:00.000-06:00

Will winter ever end?

Friday night I fell asleep to the sound of rain on the roof. It was a welcomed sound of spring. But when I woke up, shuffling down to make my Saturday morning coffee, I caught a glimpse of the backyard – once again covered with snow. Sometime during the night, the rain changed over to snow.

Just when I was beginning to get in the mood for spring, winter made an appearance to remind me that it isn’t quite time yet. Baseball is coming. Spring training games have begun for the MLB. And my oldest son begins his first season of high school baseball next week.

But then there was that snow on Saturday. It was, in a word, “frustrating.”

The sun came out today, though. After a great morning of leading a Bible study and then worshiping, I was lounging in front on the TV this afternoon watching a baseball game and the sun started shining through the window.

My beagle immediately found a spot to take a nap in the sunshine. He’s got the right idea.

When the sun shines, I feel better. When the Son (of God) shines on my heart I feel better, too.

Today at church the theme was the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ. Jesus showed His divine glory to Peter, James, and John. It blew Peter away!

He showed them this in order for them to get through the next month or so – which would end with the death of Jesus on a cross. Not really an end, though. Three days later Jesus would rise from the dead.

When Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John, He told them to not tell anyone what they had seen until after He rose from the dead. I think that Peter’s immediate reaction was a very good reason for this admonition. He was practically babbling because of what he saw.

But after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, Peter and the rest of the disciples-turned-apostles would turn the whole world upside down telling the Gospel story.

Jesus shined on that mountain briefly. But He would shine through the apostles’ lives for the rest of their lives and others – including you and me – would come to faith because of the Holy Spirit working through their message.

The sun was shining through my front window today and it warmed me up.

When Jesus is shining in my heart, He is also shining through my heart into other people’s lives, and maybe the Holy Spirit will use me to bring the warmth of salvation to them as well.

Do What You Love

2011-02-27T07:00:00.000-06:00

What is contentment? What does it look like? How do you know you’ve found it?

Well, one thing it is not is “settling.” This is a concept I’m still working out. I’m reading a book called “The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs” – the co-founder of Apple computers. I think that sometimes settling for something can feel or look like contentment. But it isn’t really. It can begin as contentment. But if what starts out as contentment doesn’t move you to carry out your mission in life, then it ceases to be contentment and degrades into settling. Here’s a quote from the book:

“You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know it when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.” (Steve Jobs 2005 Commencement Speech at Stanford University, quoted in The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs, by Carmine Gallo, page 21).

It would be easy to dismiss because Steve Jobs is a multi-billionaire. The perception is that he must be greedy – the opposite of contentment. But if you do a little digging into who Steve Jobs is, you will find that he really does epitomize contentment instead of greed. He found something he loved and did that with his life – not to make gobs and gobs of money but because he simply loved to do it.

And Steve Jobs didn’t stop with the Apple ][ computer, but moved on to the Macintosh. He didn’t stop at the Macintosh but continued until the iPod was introduced. He didn’t stop there but continued with the iPhone and then the iPad. He doesn’t need the money – which is easy to say now that he’s got billions. But Steve Jobs was content with having nothing, as long as he was able to do what he loved.

Like I said, I’m still working through this idea but so far it seems to be a good illustration on contentment versus greed.

Where Is God?

2011-02-06T11:00:00.000-06:00

Sometimes people run away from God. They are basically good people. They were brought up by faithful parents, when to church and youth group all through high school. They may even have felt a certain calling from God.

But then they get scared and they ran from God’s calling.

Like Jay.

Jay was a good man. He was financially secure. He paid off his mortgage and financially was able to do just about anything he wanted. He also was a godly man. He worshiped God regularly. He tithed willingly. He prayed daily. He thanked God for blessing Him. He prayed for his friends and family. He asked God to forgive him when he sinned. He talked to God every day.

One day God answered back.

He told Jay to go to a far away city and tell the leaders and people of that city that they need to change their ways or God will destroy them.

This did not sit well with Jay. He did not want to do it. So, instead of going to this city, Jay booked passage on a ship going in the opposite direction. Jay was a godly man, but he didn’t want to do this. Even though God asked Him to do it. So he ran away.

God found him.

God sent a storm, threatening Jay and everyone on the ship. Jay didn’t even wake up from a nap.

God made it so Jay was thrown overboard. A giant fish swallowed Jay whole. And Jay had three days in the stomach of this fish to think. To really think about where his life was at that moment.

And Jay prayed to God:

I called out to the LORD, out of my distress, and he answered me….

Jay tried to run away from God. But God found Him and Jay ran back to God. He went on to do what God asked Him to do.

There are other people who feel like God has run away from them. They are also good people. They may even hear a calling from God and answer that calling. But there comes a time, maybe even a season of time, where it seems like God has run away from them.

But everything I’ve read in the Bible tells me that this isn’t the case. Not for those who are men or women seeking the will of God, seeking to be after God’s own heart.

God never runs away from a person who seeks Him.

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us…. (Acts 17:26-27)

So cry out to God – like Jay did. If you have trouble finding the words, use the Book of Psalms.

Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray. Psalm 5:2

Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit! Psalm 17:1

In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. Psalm 18:6

Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me! Psalm 27:7

Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary. Psalm 28:2

To you, O LORD, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy…. Psalm 30:8

God will answer you. How do I know this? Because this has been my own experience. I have cried out to God when it has seemed like He has abandoned me and I found that He’s been here all along. Why didn’t I see Him? Why didn’t I experience His peace? Maybe it was because I was so caught up in my own troubles I wasn’t looking to God all the time. Yes, I was praying. But maybe I was praying in such a way that I was mouthing the words but just going through the motions. Maybe I wasn’t praying in faith that God would actually do something.

That’s been my experience. God has broken through to me to show me that He is here, that He was never really at all far away.

And He has shown me that He has a plan for my tomorrows and the rest of my life.

A Deafening Silence

2011-01-23T06:00:00.000-06:00

I’ve been going through a season where it has seemed to me that God has been silent in response to my prayers. I’ve been praying for very specific things and I’ve been praying for more general things. But it seems that God has been silent.

I’ve been banging on heaven’s door, pounding long and hard till my hands bleed. But no one seems to be home. No one answers. I know I have the right house – I double- and triple-checked the address. I bang and pound some more.

I cry out to heaven. I understand the Psalmist who wrote

O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest. - Psalm 22:2

As I cry out day and night, there is a deafening silence from heaven.

Or so I thought.

In reality, this isn’t the way God is responding to me. He’s not been silent at all. I have been a little like Elijah in 1 Kings 19.

Elijah was expecting God to show up in a dramatic and loud way – as He had in the past. But God was not in the “great and strong wind” like He was at the shores of the Red Sea or in the Upper Room at Pentecost. God was not in the “earthquake” like He was on the day that Christ died and again the day Christ rose from the dead, and again when He released Paul and Silas from jail in Philippi. God was not in the “fire” like He was at Sodom and Gomorrah or during the night of the wilderness wanderings of Israel at the Exodus.

God sometimes shows up in answer to prayer in huge and loud ways.

But sometimes –and this has been my experience lately – He shows up in the gentle whisper of a prayer, a song that plays on the radio, a Bible verse in a daily devotion, in a line from a sermon, in an envelope in the mail, in a phone call from a friend.

The deafening silence from heaven has had the effect of making me listen all the more intently. Like when you can’t hear what a person has said and you stop what you are doing, turn to them so you can see their face, and listen all the harder.

In Lamentations 3:25-33 it says this about the good of a deafening silence

²⁵The LORD is good to those who wait for him,
   to the soul who seeks him.
²⁶ It is good that one should wait quietly
   for the salvation of the LORD.
²⁷It is good for a man that he bear
   the yoke in his youth.

²⁸Let him sit alone in silence
   when it is laid on him;
²⁹let him put his mouth in the dust—
   there may yet be hope;
³⁰ let him give his cheek to the one who strikes,
   and let him be filled with insults.

³¹ For the Lord will not
cast off forever,
³² but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion
according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
³³for he does not willingly afflict
or grieve the children of men.

God has not been silent in the way I thought He was – not answering my prayers. He’s been silent so I change or stop what I’m doing so I can hear him.

As I turn back to Him, as I face Him once again, He has been in the process of answering my prayers.

And this gives me courage and hope to carry on.

Moving over to Wordpress

2011-01-17T09:53:00.000-06:00

The True Man blog has moved over to Wordpress - come join us over there!

The True Man - Ed Blonski's Blog

Thanks!

What the Church Can Learn from Target

2011-01-16T07:00:00.000-06:00

Those who work at Target, Inc. are part of a team. There’s the Guest Services Team, Sales Team, Flow Team, among others – all working together to fulfill the corporate mission of Target.

There are four aspects of this team concept at Target that the Christian Church and Christian ministries can learn from.

The Huddle

One of the special aspects of the Target team mentality is the “huddle.” Every work shift includes a “huddle” of the team members. They get together at certain parts of the store and talk. There is opportunity for “recognition” – more on that below. The huddle also is the opportunity for the executive team leaders to share some of the “business” aspects of the store such as how much in sales they did the previous day, how large the daily truck delivery was, and new promotions that are coming up. The huddle also gives all team members an opportunity to ask questions and make comments about the current work shift and what is coming up in the work day.

Recognition

At Target there are opportunities to give recognition to fellow workers. For example, there could be recognition by one team member for another team member, during a huddle, who specially helped them complete a project. But it could also be a recognition of something as simple as being friendly and outgoing. There are also recognition cards posted in the team members’ area.

Thankfulness

Whenever a team member arrives for work, leaves for home, or is asked to complete a certain job or project, the team leader always is polite and appreciative to that team member, thanking them for doing the work or being there to work.

Fast-Fun-Friendly

The motto for team members is to be “fast-fun-friendly.” That means that you do your work fast (but always safe – safety is a huge priority at Target), in a fun (but efficient) way, and always, always, always being friendly. Target is a “guest service” store and team members are there to always help guests find what they are looking for (next time you are in Target, when a red-shirted team member comes up to you, notice that they will begin by saying “Can I help you find something?”). A major part of this friendliness is that team members are friendly to each other. Guests in the store witness, as well as experience, the friendliness of team members.

What the Church Can Learn

The Christian Church should be a place where these types of things come naturally. Does your church or ministry team have a daily “huddle”? It could be part of a daily devotion or prayer time. It is so important to keep the lines of communication open among ministry team members and a daily huddle would be an excellent opportunity for that.

Church team members need to both be recognized and give recognition regularly. If a team member doesn’t receive regular affirmation they may give in to a somewhat natural tendency of questioning whether they are doing good work or not. People do better work – and tend to enjoy their work – when they know they are appreciated.

Church or ministry team members should be fast (but always safe and efficient) and what they do should be enjoyable. But the most important aspect is the friendliness. I heard a church member once describe the other members of her church as the “frozen chosen.” A church or ministry team member is on the front lines of telling others the wonderful Good News of the salvation won by Jesus Christ. They also need to experience that salvation for themselves (which probably goes without saying). And if they have experienced that salvation for themselves, how can they NOT have joy in what they are doing?

The Church can learn a lot from these aspects of working at Target. I know I am!

LiveJournal Tags: Leadership,Target,Church,Ministry,Gospel,Jesus,Christ,Christians,Ed Blonski

Life with Purpose

2011-01-15T14:33:00.001-06:00

We are looking at the 10 Commandments. You’ve probably noticed that we are not taking them in the order they are given in Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5 or in Luther’s Small Catechism. That’s because we are looking at each of the 10 Commandments in the context of the 2011 Epiphany Season and its readings.

The Old Testament Reading for the 2^nd Sunday of Epiphany is Isaiah 49:1-7.

Look at verse 1, where it says, “The LORD called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name.”

What does this tell us? That God knows who you are, not from the time you are baptized, not from the time you were born, but from the time you were in your mother’s tummy. Our God is omniscient – all-knowing – and He knows who you are from the time you were conceived … even before that, really.

He’s known you from before all time began, but that’s a different part of the Bible (Ephesians 1:4 “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him”).

Yes, God knows who you are before you were you!

Now look at Isaiah 49, verses 5-6, “And now the LORD says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him—for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength—he says:"It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Not only does God know you, God has a purpose for your life. That’s why the 5^th Commandment is so important. It isn’t just about keeping peace in a society by forbidding murder; it is also about God’s gift of life!

When Martin Luther wrote his small catechism, he put it in a question-and-answer format. He also presented the explanation of the 10 Commandments in a two-fold way – what we should not do and what we should do.

The 5^th Commandment, in both Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, is to-the-point. Both passages read “You shall not murder.” Dictionary.com defines murder as “the killing of another human being under conditions specifically covered in law.” Basically, it means the illegal killing of a human being.

In a civilized society, it practically goes without saying that people cannot and should not kill other people. There are exceptions to this, I’m sure, and I’ve been in debates whether even governments should have the right to kill anyone – a debate the State of Illinois is having right now.

When God set up the Laws for His people, He simply stated “You shall not murder” because the people knew what He meant.

Martin Luther picked up on the fact that even though it is stated simply, there was something “behind” this text and this commandment. 1400 years after Moses, Jesus brought what was behind to the forefront.

²¹ "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' ²²But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire. (Matthew 5:21-22)

Thus, Luther would explain the 5^th Commandment as meaning “We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.”

Not only are we not to kill our neighbor, we are not to even hate our neighbor. And not only are we not to hate our neighbor, we are actually to help and support our neighbor!

Yikes! There goes Jesus again! Setting the bar impossibly high for us! I could handle not killing my neighbor. I think most of us can. But not hating him? Ok, I can pretty much handle that as well. I mean, I don’t really hate my neighbor. Oh, there are times when I’ve been annoyed at my neighbor – when I’m trying to sleep at midnight and he’s got a raucous party going on right outside my bedroom window. But hate? Nah.

But that isn’t what Jesus says, is it? We are actually to help and support our neighbor! In fact, we are to love our neighbor!

Jesus said “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39), quoting Leviticus 19:18.

Wow. There’s more to the 5^th Commandment than it at first seems. Such a simple, little statement, “You shall not murder” isn’t really about death. It’s really about love. It’s really about life.

That makes sense to me because God is really about love and life as well. From the very beginning of His Word, we read about life and love. He creates life. He loves His creation. He loves His people. He provides for those whom He loves. Sin introduces death to this life. There are consequences to sin. But God overcomes sin. God overcomes death. He overcomes with life.

And even a commandment which – at first glance – forbids the illegal taking of life is really about the life that God gives.

God is the author of life (Acts 3:15). He created life. He sustains life. He wants us to live – abundantly and forever (John 10:10).

See? Life has purpose! That’s why abortion is so bad. It snuffs out a life that God has given, a life that certainly has purpose. Think about it. What might have been for all the millions of people who were not born because their mothers terminated their pregnancies?

What if Maria Keverich had chosen to terminate her 2^nd pregnancy? After all, she had suffered the death of her first born child already. While her husband had a job, things were not that secure in their lives. Change was in the air and the economy was uncertain. But if she had terminated her 2^nd pregnancy, Ludwig van Beethoven would not have been born.

What if Pauline Koch had chosen to terminate her pregnancy? She was from an upper-class family but had married a commoner who was poor and had trouble in business. A child would certainly have put a strain on their lives. What if she had terminated her 1^st pregnancy? Albert Einstein would not have been born.

What in Nancy Hanks had chosen to terminate her pregnancy? She and her husband already had one child, they were very poor with little prospect for a better life and she was not a healthy woman. What if she had terminated her pregnancy? Abraham Lincoln would not have been born.

I tell you this to emphasize that all life has purpose. Each of us has a purpose for living. God has a plan for us. God said to a young man named Jeremiah, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). I believe that this is no less true for you and me.

You may not write magnificent symphonies; work out complex scientific theories; or save a nation from the devastation of a civil war. But God does have a plan and purpose for your life.

I know that sometimes it isn’t clear at all what that plan is. But that doesn’t make it any less true! On this truth you must have faith!

I have a friend back in California who is a drummer. I told him this joke once and he laughed and laughed: “A boy says to his mother, ‘When I grow up, I want to be a drummer!’ To which his mom said, ‘Oh honey. You can’t do both.’”

What did you want to be when you were a young boy or girl? At various times I wanted to be: an airplane pilot; a baseball player; a robotic engineer. When I was a senior at Grant High School, my guidance counselor gave me an aptitude test. You know what it said I had an aptitude for? Social work! Not that far removed from the pastoral ministry!

And so for 20 years now, I’ve been a pastor. I’ve been a teacher. I’ve been a men’s ministry leader. I’ve been a husband. I’ve been a father.

I think most importantly, though, is that my life-purpose has been to be a man after God’s own heart. Your life purpose is the same thing – to be a man or a woman after God’s own heart. What will that actually look like in your life? Pretty much what it looks like right now for most of you – being a doctor, lawyer, teacher, pastor, legal secretary, PR person, mother, father, husband, wife, student.

Whatever you do or will do in life, you do have a purpose – a God-given purpose – because all life has purpose.

Some of you may be skeptical. How can I know this about your life? I don’t’ know what you are going through in life, right? You may lose – or have already lost – your job. Your spouse has just been diagnosed with cancer. Your son is dropping out of school. Your daughter just found out she’s pregnant. Your mom suddenly died. How can I possible say that your life has purpose?

Because I know who lives in you. Galatians 2:20 says,

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

And Jesus Christ’s life has purpose!

I will say this as simply as I can – the purpose of Jesus’ life is to give you life.

But to say it simply is not to imply that it is simple. I think you could unpack meaning out of that simple statement for the rest of your life. The purpose of the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ is so that you can have life.

Nearly 200 times the New Testament talks about “life” – but my very favorite verse is John 10:10

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

The “they” Jesus is talking about is you and me and all believers in Him. When you are feeling robbed of life and that your life is being destroyed, remember this verse. Memorize it; keep it in the forefront of our life. Write it on a post-it note and tack it to your bathroom mirror or the rear-view mirror of your car (although be careful there, in the cold air post-it notes don’t stay tacked on rear-view mirrors very long).

When Jesus Christ gives us life through his birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension that means he removes all that steals, kills, and destroys – namely our sin.

Let’s go back to the Garden of Eden for a moment. While it doesn’t specifically say why God created Adam and Eve, we do know that it was for a “good” purpose. It was for a “good” relationship – both with each other and with God. They walked and talked with God. They had perfect fellowship with God.

I like how the Westminster Catechism puts it: “Man’s chief end [purpose] is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” I might add, “Starting right now.”

I say that because Jesus’ life is given to you when you were made a child of God – that is, when you were baptized. Again, I know there are times when it doesn’t feel like your life has any purpose.

But it really does. God says it does. And I believe with all my heart that God cannot lie. If you are going through a time in your life where it doesn’t seem like there’s any purpose to it, I pray you will not choose to go through this time alone. Talk to someone. Talk to your wife or husband; a trusted friend; your pastor. Someone that will talk with you and also, this is so vitally important, will pray with you. Even Jesus – going through the toughest part of His life – chose three of his closest friends to pray with him in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Your life has purpose because Jesus’ life has purpose. Your life has purpose because God has given you life.

All life has purpose and is precious. Life is a gift from God. The next time you come across the 5^th Commandment – “You shall not murder” – remember what’s behind it: life with purpose and meaning from God.

Follow Me

2011-01-11T13:21:00.001-06:00

He survived the trip down to the ground. That, in and of itself, was something to marvel at – but there was no time. He was separated from the rest of Easy Company. He had no weapon except his jump knife. He was certain he was surrounded by enemy troops. And he had a mission to accomplish.

He came across other paratroopers – sometimes one by one, sometimes in groups of three or more. He quickly assembled a reasonable fighting force.

As he took a moment to consult his silken map of the Cherbourg Peninsula, he worked out where they were and which direction to go.

Putting his map away, he looked at the men looking expectantly at him – with not a little fear in their eyes – and said, “Follow me.”

Richard D. Winters – at the time a Lieutenant in the United States Army – was a man of character and integrity who did his best to get done what he was called upon to do.

And like so many of the other 2.6 million men who answered their country’s call to defend liberty and freedom, Richard Winters did it to the best of ability and training.

But there was something else. Something more. He was a leader of men sent to a foreign land to do a very difficult job. And when those men looked into his eyes and heard him say, “Follow me” they did. Without question, without doubt.

But Dick Winters exhibited this leadership quality best in Holland in September of 1944. He and the rest of Easy Company were crouched low on the edge of a field. A dike was on the other side. Lots of open space – or more accurately killing field – for any enemy soldier that happened to climb on top of the dike and look their way. Winters told his men to wait for the signal – which would be red smoke - and then charge across the field, climb the dike, and engage the enemy.

Winters did not order his men to do this while he stayed behind. He didn’t gather his senior NCO’s, tell them the plan, and then wait in the rear for the results. He was crouched alongside of them. He held the canister that would – when activated – give the signal. He then pulled the pin, tossed the canister, rose up and started running across the field. It took a few seconds for the smoke to appear. His men – good soldiers – did as they were told. They waited for the red smoke. By the time they got the signal and started sprinting across the field, Winters was dozens of yards ahead of them.

Dick Winters led from the front. He told his men, “Follow me” and then took off, leading the way.

That’s the kind of leader men and women will follow. A leader who leads from the front.

On January 2, 2011, Richard Winters died at his home in Pennsylvania at the age of 92. He was a quiet leader of men, never looking for glory or chasing fame and fortune. Few would ever have even heard of Richard Winters had it not been for Stephen Ambrose, who wrote the book Band of Brothers, for Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks who produced the mini-series based on the book, and actor Damian Lewis who portrayed him in the mini-series.

In the HBO series, he recalled a question that a fellow veteran was asked by his grandson - which also sums up the character of Richard Winters: " 'Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?' Grandpa said, 'No, but I served in a company of heroes.' "

Richard Winters also said, upon completion of his own memoirs: " 'Wars don't make men and women great. But it sometimes takes wars to bring out the greatness in men and women.' "

During a quiet moment on the evening of June 6, 1944, Richard Winters said that he prayed to God. "If somehow I manage to get home again, I promised God and myself that I would find a quiet piece of land someplace and spend the rest of my life in peace."

This is exactly what this leader of men did. After the war he married and bought a farm outside Hershey, Pa., where he spent the rest of his life.

Richard Winters no longer walks among us. But he still can inspire us to say, “Follow me” and then lead from the front.