D-Day +25,567

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon a 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 1940-41. 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 war on the ground. Our home fronts have given us an 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 all beseech the blessings of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking. -- Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower

70 years ago, on June 6, 1944, 156,000 Allied soldiers – the bulk of which were made up of American and British forces – made amphibious and air landings on Normandy, France. Their task was to drive German forces away from the shore in order to obtain a foothold in Europe from which to win back Europe from Nazi, Germany. Movies such as “The Longest day” and “Saving Private Ryan,” and TV shows such as “Band of Brothers” have brought the stories of D-Day to my generation. But movies and such can only convey so much truth. There are very, very few people today who were actually there to tell their story of D-Day. 

The number grows smaller every day. In this regard we can be thankful for the movies, TV shows and books in order to keep the story alive so that we can never forget. And we should not forget. Not because so many heroic things were done during the war. And certainly not because war is glamorous or a glorious adventure. No, we should never forget for at least two reasons. One, men and women sacrificed themselves for a cause greater than themselves. Men like my grandfather who would survive D-Day and men like my great uncle who died on Iwo Jima. Whether we agree or not with why they fought in war, we should not forget their honor, their integrity, nor their sacrifice. The second reason we should not forget is so that we understand what war is all about. It is not something to be entered into lightly or inadvisdedly. It has been said that war is hell. But is that true? 

Here’s a quote from the M*A*S*H TV series (written by Burt Prelutsky):

Hawkeye: War isn’t hell. War is war and hell is hell, and of the two war is a lot worse.

Father Mulcahy: How do you figure that, Hawkeye?

Hawkeye: Simple, Father. Tell me, who goes to hell?

Mulcahy: Sinners, I believe.

Hawkeye: Exactly. There are no innocent bystanders in hell. But war is chock full of them. Little kids, cripples, old ladies, in fact, except for a few of the brass almost everybody involved is an innocent bystander.

War is ugly. War is dirty. It is not an adventure to be sought out, but rather sometimes a necessary fight to overcome evil. I believe it is to be avoided if at all possible. But I also believe that sometimes it cannot be avoided. No, war is not hell. But as bad as it is, war is not as bad as hell, because all wars come to an end eventually. Hell goes on for eternity. But like Hawkeye says, there are no innocents in hell. In fact, there doesn’t have to be any human in hell. It can be avoided. There is a way out. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born, lived, died, rose again and ascended to save every human being from sin, death (hell), and the power of the devil (for whom hell was created in the first place). As we remember the men and women who sacrificed 70 years ago on what was called “D-Day” – let us also remember that Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself for us on the cross to save us from our sins.

Water and Fire

It is early autumn. The weather is perfect – sunny days in the upper 70’s and clear nights in the upper 50’s. The hills surrounding Jerusalem are dotted with sukkots or make-shift tents with green, leafy roofs. The air is fragrant with citrus. It is the Feast of Booths or the Feast of Tabernacles, and the city of Jerusalem is filled with pilgrims from all around the known world.

Jesus had initially told His family he would not be in Jerusalem for the Feast. Things are getting tense for Jesus. The “Jews” are plotting to kill him – and will succeed in about seven months.

Soon after, Jesus changes His mind. He and his disciples quietly make their way to Jerusalem and slip mostly unnoticed into the city to celebrate the Feast.

During the week of the Feast, Jesus makes His way to the Temple and teaches. The focus of His teaching is that He is from God and teaches the Truth of God.

The Feast of Tabernacles is a remembrance of the 40 years of wilderness wanderings that the Children of Israel experienced after the Exodus. It is also a celebration of the provision of God – taking place at the time of the corn and grape harvest.  King Solomon dedicated the Temple he built to the Glory of God during the Feast of Tabernacles. The celebration includes reading of the Word of God, family meals, and the ceremonial bringing of water to the Temple from the Pool of Siloam.

It was during the bringing of water, on the “Great Day” of the Feast (when the people would walk around the temple seven times and recite Psalm 118:25 - Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.) that

Jesus stood and cried, saying, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. ³⁸ He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” – John 7:37-38

Jesus was speaking of the coming of the Holy Spirit in about 7 months.

Our story fast-forwards through those seven months to the spring of the year. Jesus has celebrated Passover with His disciples, and then was betrayed, suffered, and was crucified for the sins of the world. Three days later He rises from the dead – giving us the promise that we, too, will rise from the grave one day!

For 40 days, Jesus goes in and out among His disciples, giving final teaching and preparing them for the coming of the Holy Spirit and their new mission on earth – to proclaim the Gospel and make disciples.

The Feast of Pentecost arrives – a celebration 50 days after Passover. It is a remembrance and celebration of the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai. Jerusalem is again filled with pilgrims from all around the known world.

The Holy Spirit arrives just as Jesus promised. Now the minds and hearts of the disciples are opened by the Spirit to understand the Scriptures. They now understand how Jesus fulfilled the Law given on Mt. Sinai and why Jesus came and what He did to save the world.

And now the disciples have the power to proclaim this Good News. The air of Jerusalem is filled with the fragrance of the barley and grain harvest. With the coming of the Holy Spirit as a loud, rushing wind and what look like tongues of fire on the disciples’ heads, they proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

And the world is turned upside down!

The Feast of Tabernacles includes water and wine. The Feast of Pentecost includes bread and fire.

Jesus Christ uses water, wine, bread and fire to make us new people – His people – who will share the Good News with all that we meet. As Jesus has promised – you have streams of living water flowing from you as you proclaim the Gospel.

Almighty and ever-living God, You fulfilled Your promise by sending the gift of the Holy Spirit to unite disciples of all nations in the cross and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ. By the preaching of the Gospel spread this gift to the ends of the earth; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

I Love My Church - Part 10

This is based on an article from Hal Seed (accessed here on February 13, 2014).

Hal Seed writes, “A quick read of the book of Acts or the letters in Revelation proves that Jesus loves his church. He died for it, prays for it, lives for it and is going to return for it.

[But] let’s be honest: It’s not easy to love the church. It’s easy to love Jesus. Loving His bride is another story. Churches are filled with frail and fault-riddled people. Every church has a unique personality. All are loved by Jesus, but not all are loved in equal measure by each of His people.”

I agree, loving Jesus is so much easier than loving His bride, the Church. But just like the love of a spouse in marriage, love of the church is more a choice than a feeling.

Based on Hall Seed’s ten reasons that he loves his church, I have ten reasons that I choose to love Jesus’ bride, the Church. They are in no particular order – this is not a ranked list. This week, reason number ten:

10. Full of Marines.

The United States Marines is the smallest branch of the U.S. military. It exists to project military power from the sea (working closely with the U.S. Navy).

U.S. Marines are usually the first armed forces to confront the enemy, doing so in small, compact forces. They may be small in number, but they are powerful! They are dedicated! They are loyal!

That’s the way the Church is, as well. Because let’s face it, we are a small force of powerful, dedicated, and loyal (to God) people who are at war against Satan and his minions.

I think that God intends the Church to be that way – small. If we were a huge army we might get it in our heads that our victories are our own doing. (See the story of Gideon for an example of this idea).

Like a U.S. Marine, we need to be thoroughly trained. The Church has historically done this through what is called “catechetical” studies. Church members are to be in God’s Word daily. Studying the Word, reading it, alone and in groups.

Like a U.S. Marine, we also need to be a part of a “group.” Here, I mean a congregation. There is no such thing as a solitary Christian. In fact, that’s Satan’s most favorite tactic – to get Christians to disengage from their “groups” (congregations) so he can pick them off one by one.

And finally, Like a U.S. Marine, we will never face true defeat. As Christians, as congregations, as a Church, we have already won this war because Christ defeated Satan through His death and resurrection.

There is an added bonus for me personally. The U.S. Marines have the best dress uniforms (in my opinion). And the Church has the best clothes of all – the Robe of Christ’s Righteousness:

“These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Revelation 7:14

It is dangerous work being a U.S. Marine (my uncle gave his life as a Marine in World War II – I wrote about that here). It is also dangerous – in a sense – to be a member of the Christian Church.

Jesus said,

“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. (Luke 10:2-3)

Did you catch that? Jesus is sending us out as “lambs in the midst of wolves.” Think about it. What are the chances that a lamb will survive being in the midst of wolves? Next to nil!

But survival isn’t the point of being a member of the Church. Proclaiming the Good News of Jesus is the point! Our survival is assured, not that we’ll live on this earth, but that we’ll live in Paradise forever with Jesus, with no pain, sorrow, tears or death!

Hal Seed echoes my thoughts about why I love my church with these final words:

“I’ll admit again, my church isn’t perfect. We have lots of warts to work on. But Jesus is working on them daily—which may be the most important reason I love my church!” (read his whole article here).

Why do you love your church? I’d love to hear from you!

I Love My Church Part 9

This is based on an article from Hal Seed (accessed here on February 13, 2014).

Hal Seed writes, “A quick read of the book of Acts or the letters in Revelation proves that Jesus loves his church. He died for it, prays for it, lives for it and is going to return for it.

[But] let’s be honest: It’s not easy to love the church. It’s easy to love Jesus. Loving His bride is another story. Churches are filled with frail and fault-riddled people. Every church has a unique personality. All are loved by Jesus, but not all are loved in equal measure by each of His people.”

I agree, loving Jesus is so much easier than loving His bride, the Church. But just like the love of a spouse in marriage, love of the church is more a choice than a feeling.

Based on Hall Seed’s ten reasons that he loves his church, I have ten reasons that I choose to love Jesus’ bride, the Church. They are in no particular order – this is not a ranked list. This week, reason number nine:

9. Commitment to church planting.

Why do we need more churches? That is a fair question. Where I live there are six churches with a radius of five miles.

Do we really need to plant another church?

Well, let’s take a look at some numbers.

There is estimated to be 350,000 churches in the United States (according to a survey in 2010 here).

The population of the United States is estimated to be 3.18 million people (as seen here).

One poll puts the number of people who attend worship weekly at about 64,000,000. (20% of the U.S. population, see that information here).

That leaves approximately 254 million people not worshiping each week.

Do we need more churches? It can’t hurt!

I love my church because she is involved in “church planting.” That doesn’t mean we are right now starting a new congregation (although “church planting” can mean that). But what it means is that we have a mindset that we are learning how to be active disciples of Jesus Christ and sharing the Gospel with other people – which “plants the church” wherever those people go!

“Planting” has the idea of seeds and growth. We – as a Church – are surely planting the seeds of faith. The Holy Spirit has given us the seed – the Gospel. We share it with others – plant it in them – and the Holy Spirit causes it to grow.

Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” (Mark 4:26-29)

We desperately need to sow the seeds of the Gospel among the people of this world. And I love my church because she has a commitment to church planting!

Why Go to Church?

I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.” – Psalm 122:1

Pastor Anderson was opening his mail on Thursday morning and he noticed a hand-written letter from Maria. He had noticed that Maria was in church the Sunday before – Easter Sunday – and that was the first time he had seen Maria in church for over a year. What he read in her letter both told him why and dismayed him.

Easter had been a refreshing worship experience for Pastor Anderson. This Lenten season had been particularly grueling. In addition to the regular weekend services, his church also held two mid-week services on Wednesdays. He also had two big funerals during Lent this year. Then there was Holy Week. Special services on Thursday (two), Good Friday (two), an Easter Vigil on Saturday evening and then Easter Sunday services (two). There are different sermons for each day’s service (except for the Easter Vigil, which traditionally doesn’t involve a sermon). By Easter Sunday afternoon, Pastor Anderson was exhausted and near collapse. But he felt good. He saw a lot of people during all the services, some new faces and some faces, like Maria’s, which he hadn’t seen in a long time.

He took a couple of days off and Thursday he was back in the office to get ready for the coming weekend’s services. He was feeling refreshed and re-energized, which is what he expected from the Easter worship services.

But Maria’s letter took him back to earth.

Maria wrote:

                        Dear Reverend,

I just had to write to you to let you know how disappointed I am with you and your leadership of our church. I was in church this last Sunday and I’ve never been to such a boring service. This has been a pattern I’ve seen develop since you’ve been pastor here.

Tell me, why is that every time I come to church you always pick the same songs and preach on the same topics. Since you’ve been pastor, every time I’ve come to church, we always had the same song – Jesus Christ is Risen Today – and you’ve always preached on the same topic – the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

             I hope you can get your act together or I’m afraid our church will die soon.

                        Maria

Unfortunately, there are many Christians like Maria. They even have a rather cynical name. “C & E Christians.” (That stands for “Christmas and Easter” Christians.) That is the only time, other than weddings, funerals or the odd special service like a baptism or confirmation, which these Christians come to worship.

Why was King David happy to come to church?

King David wrote in Psalm 122, “I rejoiced with those who said to me, “’Let us go to the house of the LORD.’”  That kind of happiness is rarely felt in today’s church. But why is that? I don’t think worship was too different back then than it is now. In fact, in some ways it is similar – including music, ritual, and teaching about God’s Word.

What made David different from a lot of Christians in America is that for a long time he was not able to go to worship. He spent a lot of years in the desert, running from an insane king who wanted to kill him. He also spent years at war against his enemies and didn’t have opportunities to go to the house of the Lord.

How can we capture the happiness King David felt today?

Unless you want to follow David’s example (running from an insane king or going to war), there must be another way to capture that happiness of going to church. Know what worship really is one of doing that. Worship, when it is done according to God’s Word, is a powerful experience. You actually come into the presence of the Almighty God and receive from Him promised gifts of grace and mercy. It is also an opportunity to respond to God’s active working in your life by offering prayers and songs of thanksgiving.

Why would we want to?

A question occurred to me when I got to this point. Do people want to have this kind of happiness? I’m tempted to say that most people do not, but then I’m faced with the facts of all the numbers of people who seek happiness in so many ways. There is the popularity of theme parks, exotic vacations, bigger and better homes, and more family time. Then there are the less “family orientated” pursuits of happiness such as internet pornography, extra-marital affairs, alcohol and drug abuse. All of these pursuits tell me that people actually are looking for the kind of happiness that David conveys in verse one of Psalm 122.

This is why I’ve made it my mission to tell as many people as possible that they can have the happiness they pursue in a relationship with Jesus Christ, the Son of God who died to give us life. Not only as a writer, but also as a pastor, I do my best to tell people that happiness can be theirs. I do my best to write about it. I do my best to preach about it.

I’m sure that you will be among the many, many people who go to church this Easter Sunday. I hope you’ll go again next week. That may be breaking a tradition, but happiness can be yours in the breaking of that tradition. Give it a try! If you do, let me know how it turned out.

Easter Change

Several years ago, I called a radio morning show because they asked the question on the Monday after Easter, “Now that Easter is over when will you take down your Easter decorations?”

I called in to tell the host that Easter was, in fact, not over! Easter Sunday is past, but Easter is a season that lasts 40 days! After Easter Sunday we remember what Jesus said and did with His disciples between His resurrection and His ascension 40 days later.

Many people are tempted to believe that come Monday morning Easter will be over and we can get on with their rest of our lives. It may even be inadvertent, but they equate Easter Sunday with the Easter Season.

Easter continues. And thankfully so. Jesus rose from the dead on that first Easter Sunday. But He remains risen from the dead. He is active in our lives. He is sustaining His Church, His people. He is alive and He is giving life.

John wrote His Gospel with this very thought in mind.

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. – John 20:30-31

What do we know about the post-resurrection Jesus and how we know it?

What We Know

What we do know is that Jesus died. No one survives crucifixion. We also know that Jesus Rose from the dead three days later. If this didn’t happen then our faith, as St. Paul says, is in vain. And we know that Jesus’ resurrection was for our justification. (Romans 4:25)

How We Know It

How do we know these things? As the song says, “For the Bible tells me so.”

There are some things you need to know about the Bible because of certain movies you may see. Or someone you know will see a movie and ask you about it (or worse, tell you what the “truth” is about the Bible).

The truth is that God the Holy Spirit inspired the writers of the Bible to write what they did.

The truth is that the Key to understanding the Bible is Jesus Christ Himself.

How It Changes Our Lives

Up to this point, this is – while interesting to me and maybe to you – really only “facts” and “history.” But it can be more than that because what we are talking about is something that is alive. The Holy Word of God is inspired by the Holy Spirit and He uses it to change lives. He wants to change your life. Will you respond?

It has changed my life. No matter what happens to me, I can handle it, usually well although at times not so well, as some of you may know.

That God is in control of my life, I am positive. He works everything out for good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8). The circumstances are sometimes a bit mysterious, sometimes painful, but always work out for good, of that I am sure.

This application of Easter – the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and how we know about it – can change your life if only you will let it. I urge you not to resist the work of the Holy Spirit. Give yourself to it. Trust in the Lord. Trust in Christ’s resurrection. Trust in the Bible – all of the Bible. Don’t let others tell you it isn’t true. It is.

And it can change your life – in ways not even dreamt or imagined.

I Love My Church Part 8

This is based on an article from Hal Seed (accessed here on February 13, 2014).

Hal Seed writes, “A quick read of the book of Acts or the letters in Revelation proves that Jesus loves his church. He died for it, prays for it, lives for it and is going to return for it.

[But] let’s be honest: It’s not easy to love the church. It’s easy to love Jesus. Loving His bride is another story. Churches are filled with frail and fault-riddled people. Every church has a unique personality. All are loved by Jesus, but not all are loved in equal measure by each of His people.”

I agree, loving Jesus is so much easier than loving His bride, the Church. But just like the love of a spouse in marriage, love of the church is more a choice than a feeling.

Based on Hall Seed’s ten reasons that he loves his church, I have ten reasons that I choose to love Jesus’ bride, the Church. They are in no particular order – this is not a ranked list. This week, reason number eight:

8. Helps the family.

The church is often referred to as a family. I’ve often referred to members of the congregations that I have served as “brothers and sisters.”

What happens to one member of a family often happens to all members of a family. When one is hurting, all are hurting – in one way or another.

It is basic human nature that people in families help each other.

But in the church, it is not just “nature” – it is a calling.

And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. Acts 2:44-45

Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. Acts 6:1

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. James 1:27

When a family needs help, the church is there for them. To help provide a meal, a ride, money, and the list goes on.

I know this first hand. When my son was diagnosed with epilepsy, the Church came together to pray for us. They also helped us when we need rides, babysitters, ideas and resources.

This is what Jesus came for. He became one of us to bring to us what we needed most, restoration to the family of God. He came to bring us forgiveness and power. After his ascension, he left us with the power and the calling to be a family and to help the family.

One of the things that I hope that the Church can get better at – all around – is to act like a family. In the nearly two decades I’ve been a pastor, I’ve heard from many people who leave a particular church because “they don’t like so-and-so.” “She sings too loud.” “He’s not friendly.” “I don’t like her teaching style.” “I don’t like his ideas.”

But this happens in families, too. Yet, most – if not all – people don’t leave a family because he picks his nose or she folds socks differently than my mom used to.

The Church is a family - not one of several clubs or organizations a person can join.

She is a family that is there when you need her – and we will all be in need at some time in our lives. If you find yourself NOT in need at the moment, someone in your church IS! Thank God He provided the Church to be his hands and arms and provision house for that time!