Treating Each Other with Value

"For by the Grace given me I say to everyone of you:Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you...Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another about yourselves." Rom 12.3-10

I am amazed everytime I hear about a follower of Christ who is 'on the outs' with another believer. Despite evidence to the contrary, Christ-followers are supposed to behave differently toward all men, especially each other. What Jesus envisioned and Paul described here is a kind of relationship that believes the best of one another and refuses to give the enemy any ground to stand in the relationship of the redeemed. If you have frutrations, bitterness, hard feelings, and other relational difficulties with other disciples God sees that as inexcusable. Jesus said that making things right with another believer is more important than your worship (Mt 5.24)[and nearly every thing else you will do today!] so leave your gift of worship at the altar and go get right. The vertical righteousness is easy for us (though it cost Christ his life on the cross!) it is the horizontal working out of the righteousness of God in and among us that seems to cause problems.

In the text above we find a sort of check list that might be helpful in relationships between christians. Check yourself against this...

1. Grace-esteem- None of us is worthy of salvation and we continue to be less than profitable servants. We must see ourselves as recipients of grace and mercy. Further, our view of ourselves must be in line with our "measure of faith". This leaves no room for pride or huberous or arrogance. Are you prideful and arrogant or humble in your esteem of your self?

2. Sincere love- In spite of our differences, God expects us to rally around the commonality of the cross. Our mission and our working together must spring from sincere love. The greek word for sincere here is 'without wax'. Sculptors used to mask flaws in their work by filling the blemishes with wax. God wants our mutual love to be without wax... after all there is no masking and no faking real brotherly love. How sincere is your love?

3. Hatred- Evil, sinful and behavior that glorifies anyone other than God must be eschewed vehemently. What's your hate level?

4. Mutual devotion- Because you are my brother in Christ, I want success for you and blessing on your life. I cannot be self seeking; I cannot prioritize my own comfort or desires above yours because we are devoted to one another's success. Are you living with this devotion to your fellow believers?

5. Honoring one another- To value a brother or sister this high stands in stark contrast to the way of the world. We are to defer to one another, to value each other as co-heirs with Christ as indispensably precious. This is more than a heart attitude, though it sure begins there. This is a matter of behavior and treating one another as valuable not dispenable. How are you treating your fellow heirs with Christ?

Temptation Question

I received the following question via the 'ask the pastor' site.

In Luke 11:4, "And lead us not into temptation". I am inquiring as to why the text is suggesting such a thing when clearly as christians it is understood that God does not tempt or "lead" us but rather Satan or our own sinful nature brings us into that place, yet Jesus says this is how we should pray to the Father? Please explain. Thank you

Clearly, God does not tempt anyone (James 1.13-15) but he does test us (Gen 22.1). While the determination of our occassions to sin is always the impurity of our hearts, or as Paul called it 'sin in us' (See Rom 7.21-25), circumstances play a big role. The glutton has no business in the bakery. This is a prayer that God would not lead us into circumstances that would put us in the place of temptation. It might be easier for the person with the penchant for gluttony to work in a steel mill. Perhaps there is less temptation there. This section of this prayer is a plea for God to be sensitive to the weakness of our flesh while he is directing our lives.
Some commentators say this is a rhetorical device used to show that God has the power to prevent us from falling into sin and so it is a plea for protection.

So, in summary, I would see this as a plea for sensitivity to our weakness (under the right circumstances I will fail you, Lord!)and a request for protection fo the most valuable commodity in our lives- our relationship with God. As one writer put it, "Such constant (daily) spiritual inventory serves us preventative care of the soul."

Some Reasons for Unanswered Prayer

1. Doubt James 1.5-8
2. Asking with wrong motives James 4.3
3. Treating your wife poorly 1 Peter 3.7
4. Praying for Show Matthew 6.5,6
5. Unforgiveness Mark 11.25,26
6. Lack of persistence Luke 18.1ff
7. Pride Luke 18.10
8. Unbalanced life John 15.7
9. Vain repetition Matthew 6.5
10. Not according to God's will 1 John 5.4
11. Not understanding Jesus' Name John 14.13,14
12. Rebellion Mal 3.7
13. Lack of Unity Matthew 18.19
14. Loving Sin Ps 66.18

Counsel, Anyone?

So you think you might need counseling, eh? Last night I realized that after listening to peoples issues most of my counseling comes down to one of 6 responses. Take a look- maybe you don't need my counsel at all!

1) God is good. Life is sometimes hard, though. Live and act in direct correlation to the simple truth that God is good. If he directed you to do something hard, to give generously, to love the unlovable... trust his goodness- you will, ultimately, be blessed for it! (Not to mention the personal development of the holy habits formed)

2) It's not about you. Sometimes we have our own pain and struggles so close to us that we suffer from a sort of spiritual myopia. We forget that God loves others and is working on them too. We need to be anxious less about our own self (our comfort, our agenda, our plans, etc) and look to find a way to bring the will of God into anothers life.

3) Just stop it. There is no easy way to say this but your overeating, your binge drinking, your drug habit, your nicotine issue, your obssessive/compulsive behavior, your sexual acting out, and all other self destructive behaviors are all under YOUR control. With God's help (and forgiveness) you can overcome them. And it begins with an ending. So knock it off!

4) Quit crying over spilled milk. Frankly, what you upset about is completely out of your control. It happened so long ago, or it wasn't a big deal to anyone but you. So it is time to get over it. Man up, get perspective, and move on with God's grace.

5) Read and Pray. 95% of all situations are answered in the Word of God. Dust off that Bible and get into it. Develop a godly routine in your life of prayer and the Word. His voice will direct, confirm, and speak to you as you faithfully develop these two most basic Christian disciplines.

6) Give it to Jesus. It is over, its it the past... or maybe it's just too much for you. Your worry won't change a thing, your fretting is killing you and interrupting all your relationships. Head to the altar and give it to your Savior. He cares for you.

There you go. Pick the one that is the most applicable and do it. You can send me the $95 counseling fee in the mail (smile)

9-11 Tribute?

I am worried about the unreasoned and reactionary responses from some Christians with regard to the Mosque 2 blocks away from the 9-11 site. The way I hear many Christians talking it seems like they think the government should somehow forbid this. Listen people - the last thing we need is government intrusion into religion! While I am no friend of Islam, I am a fan of freedom of religion.

Now this nucklehead pastor in Gainsville FL is buring the Koran. Exactly how does that make christians different than the flag burning terrorists? How does that even remotely honor the dead of the Trade Towers. Come on people... get a grip!

What is KILN?

The concept of KILN comes from Jeremiah 18.1-10. KILN is a place of reforming and reshaping then being placed into the fire to be set and made ready for service. KILN is a time of soaking in the presence of God and asking God to change us, his church, and make us useful for his purpose. This Sunday night will be our first KILN mtg this fall. I invite you to come out Sunday Evening at 5:30 PM for this special time of surrender and prayer.

Jesus Saves! and so should you!

Too many of us are living on the edge of economy. We are over indebted. We borrow too much money. We owe, we owe so off to work we go!

But in an economy that is fragile a great number of Christians are reviewing their budgets. I have often preached the 80-10-10 budget. We should be living off of 80% of our income, tithing 10% to the Lord through the local church and stashing 10% of our income into a savings account. At minimum we should do this until there is 3 months salary in a savings account.

It seems to me that the Lord has been warning us recently (with the fragile economy, etc) that we must get ourselves into a solid place financially. Are you hearing that in yoru prayer time too?

God No Longer Needed????

Stephen Hawking, the eminent British theoretical physicist says in his new book that God did not create the universe and the "Big Bang" was an "inevitable consequence of the laws of physics". In his previous writings Hawking was careful not to tread to harshly on the doctrines of the church and it's doctrine of God as the Ultimate Cause. He warned that the theory was incomplete. Hawkings surety and dismissal of God as Ultimate Cause and Creator is shocking in that he has not advanced the theory of the "Big Bang" cosmology much farther than in his previous works. certainly , not to completion.

"Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist," Hawking wrote. So how can a thinking Christ follower hold to the doctrine of creation?
1. Hawking, like Sagan and many along side him- does not explain where things came from, only how that which is could have come to be. His elaborate explanations of theory, while fascinating, are incomplete. Where did the universe come from? Like many before him, he treads the path of shoulder shruggers and best-guessers and claims the universe is all that ever was! In effect, the universe is eternal (though existing in many forms over time).

2. Hawking speaks of spontaneous creation as if he has seen it. But of course, no one has seen this happen and never will. just take a moment and think of all the other things that have spontaneously created over time... ur, I guess that is a short list of zero isn't it. (the thing in the back of the fridge was already something before it became the fuzzy stuff that it is now!)

3. This is based upon multiverse theory. This is the theory that there are many universes and we just happen by coincidence to occupy the one-in-a-billion universe that could support life. Of course, there is no evidence of these supposedly plentiful universes out there. The argument basically says that there must be billions of attempts to make universes that are all arranged differently and (licky us!) we get to be the ones who popped out of the primordial soup! So your life is meaningless- a cosmic accident without purpose. Enjoy! Even so, the multiverse may have been God's idea in the first place! listen to Dr. Don Pages "Does God love the Multiverse?"

4. And what of this gravitational phenomina? Are we to conclude that the gravitational rate is random? Check this out The precision of gravity is so amazing that I don't understand how anyone with half a brain could believe otherwise. And what of other fine tuning? Nathan Schneider of Seed magazine writes, "Scientists now recognize that if space were expanding at a slightly different speed, or if the strong nuclear force were just a little off, our universe would be a hydrogen mush incapable of supporting life. The chances that the cosmic conditions needed for even a single living cell would come about in a random toss-up are astonishingly low, often called the 'fine tuning problem.'" Certainly Hawking must see that? Coincidence? Mistake?

5. Ultimately, we must determine what and who to trust. Hawking is a brilliant and compelling mind but God is eternal and all knowing. Why would we trust anyone but God? Hawking is a flawed and fallable human. And if history of science tells us anything his writings, like his most recent opinion will change. But there is one that never has to adjust his theory... he is the Truth and the Way.

In the beginning God...

What is Above Reproach?

1 Tim 3.2 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. 4He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity 5(but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), 6and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. 7And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

There is a demand in the scriptures for those in spiritual leadership that is easy to misunderstand. In 1 Tim 3.2 tells us that spiritual leaders are supposed to be above reproach. Some feel that this means that a pastor or elder should never be accused of some activity that is offensive. This certainly cannot be the intent of Paul when he wrote this. Jesus himself, as well as Paul the Apostle, were accused of various activity that was scandalous. Jesus hung out with "sinners and drunkards" and Paul often faced the demand to accommodate the Jewish believers who insisted that he honor the Old Covenant rituals such as circumcision. The scandal was pervasive through out the NT church. The term "above reproach" does not mean that Christian leadership cannot be accused of wrong doing, only that the accusation should not be founded. Otherwise, Jesus and Paul would not be eligible for leadership in the church! Spiritual leaders cannot minister in truth when they are bound to the judgments of others.

While it is clear that there is a concern for the reputation of the Gospel in view, it has little to do with accommodating one's lifestyle to the wishes of others. One would have to limit his lifestyle to the lowest common objection of the most ignorant and spiritually clueless individual. The reason we know that this demand is not about accommodation to others "sensitivities" is that this "above reproach" is defined in the descriptors that immediately follow. These characteristics of respectable spiritual leaders are the kind of things that all Christians should aspire to. A solid and faithful marriage,sobriety, wisdom, sufficient knowledge of the truth and ability to teach, not greedy, solid family leadership, etc. These moral examples and the testimony of the leader should not be the issues that scandals are derived from.

Often, those familiar with older versions of the scriptures will quote "abstain from the appearance of evil" as if it meant that the spiritual person should avoid anything that looks evil. Well, this is precisely NOT what is being said in the 1 Thess 5.22. It has nothing to do with appearance (as in the way things look) and everything to do with where evil (sinful behavior) appears. In fact, the newer translations have picked this meaning up.(NIV Avoid every kind of evil!)

This frees that christian leader to worry less about what others are thinking as they judge behavior and concentrate on having truth in their hearts and serving
the Lord with integrity. There is less of a temptation to be a "man-pleaser" and a freedom to truly be a "God-Pleaser"!

Satan's Top 10

Here is Chuck Pierce's list of Satan's 10 ways to sidetrack us from God's will.

1. Cares of the world- We divert our eyes and desires to the world around us instead of keeping our eyes on the One who made us.

2. Anxiety-Anxiety is friction within our inner person that keeps us from walking in peace or wholeness.

3. Weights on our spirit- These weights are burdens that we bear in the flesh.

4. Unforgiveness- Unforgiveness is holding resentment toward and individual who has wronged us.

5. Poisoned spirit- We allow the hurts that we encounter in life to cause a root of bitterness to arise within our spirit and eventually defile our whole body.

6. Grief- Grief is a function of loss that can be embedded in our emotions. grief has a time frame. If we go past that time frame, the enemy produces hope deferred within us. We then lose our expectation in God and others.

7. Unstable emotions- Instability is the lack of being able to stand. Our emotions eventually rule us, and life becomes a roller coaster ride.

8. Accusations- The accuser of the brethren loves to reproach us and remind us of everything that we have done wrong.

9. Condemnation-Condemnation is the opposite of conviction. Whereas conviction leads us to grace, condemnation says that there is no way out for any wrongdoing we've done.

10. Sin and iniquitous patterns- Sins author is Satan. Unconfessed sin can lead us to a pattern of iniquity. Iniquity diverts us from the path of life.

Each of these can fragment the way we think and cause our spirit ot lose the power that God has made available to us. God has made each of us with a spirit soul and body; and He has ordained us to be whole. If Satan can trap us with any of hte above issues, we will become like the person whom James describes:" he who doubts... is a double minded man, unstable in all his ways" James 1.6-8. Our mind becomes divided (our way of thinking become unsure), and we lose the power of the Holy Spirit flowing through our spirit.

Thankful

You know I ran across an old box of letters
While I was bagging up some clothes for Goodwill
But you Know I had to laugh at the same old struggles
That plagued me then are plaguing me still
I know the road is long from the ground to glory
But a boy can hope he's getting some place
But you see, I'm running from the very clothes I'm wearing
And dressed like this I'm fit for the chase

'Cause no, there is none righteous
Not one who understands
There is none who seek God
No not one, I said no not one

So I am thankful that I'm incapable
Of doing any good on my own

'Cause we're all stillborn and dead in our transgressions
We're shackled up to the sin we hold so dear
So what part can I play in the work of redemption
I can't refuse, I cannot add a thing

'Cause I am just like Lazarus and I can hear your voice
I stand and rub my eyes and walk to You
Because I have no choice

I am thankful that I'm incapable
Of doing any good on my own
I'm so thankful that I'm incapable
Of doing any good on my own

'Cause by grace I have been saved
Through faith that's not my own
It is a gift of God and not by works
Lest anyone should boast

Caedmon's Call

A Question of Moral Perfection

Hey Pastor Dave, on occasion I stumble through passages of scripture that need some clarification and instead of emailing you I just keep reading. I have decided not to do that any longer...here's my question:

In the text, 1John 2:1 "I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One".

1Peter 4:1 "he who has suffered in his body is done with sin". (I know he is referring to Christ in this passage but missionaries have suffered as well)

1John 3:6 "No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him".

I think you get the picture as to where I'm headed. Now, I understand that all have sinned but these passages raise the question as to the possibility of escaping the clutches of sin or at least on a temporal basis. Am I reading to much into these passages as well as others? Deep down in my heart I would like to believe that there is a possibility to achieve this lofty goal but then reality sets in and tells me otherwise. I don't know, part of me thinks that by accepting our sinful nature means accepting second best and part of me would like to believe that God wants to pull us out of that defeated way of thinking. Perhaps the answer is just that, it's a process and although we will never achieve perfection we can draw closer to God, thereby, minimizing the amount of sin we commit. I am familiar with this way of teaching but you have to admit these passages are not clear in suggesting this. I know this inquiry may seem strange coming from me but these passages seem to paint the wrong picture that's all I'm saying. Appreciate your thoughts, when you get a chance.

Hey- good question

The struggle is a theological one and an anthropological one. The belief that one can achieve a sinless life is called perfectionism or sinless perfectionism. It is tempting to read verses like those you mentioned and others (be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect) as calls to sinlessness. Some of that desire is based on the misery of living with this burden of a weak flesh. The question is theological because it relates to what God has done. The question is anthropological because it deals with the nature of man (ie., is there ever a time on earth where man can be free from the flesh or the sinful nature NIV)

Jesus taught his disciples to pray for forgiveness daily (Matt 6.12); he told us to pray often because the spirit was willing and the flesh was weak (Matt 26.41); and Paul seemed to advocate (Rom 7.18-19) that grace would triumph over the fleshly nature not by eradication but by the Holy Spirit’s empowerment (Rom 8.1-4). In 1 John 1.8-10 the Apostle tells us that to say we have no sin is deception, and John assures us that we have an advocate with the Father who will forgive confessed sin. He tells us that to say we have not sinned is to call God a liar. While urging his readers not to sin 1Jn 2.1 he assures that there is a defense attorney (advocate) who speaks to the Father in our defense. Clearly he cannot move on to chapter 3 and then mean that he readers should reach perfection! The NIV is correct in showing the continual case of the verb meaning to sin. It reads “no one who continues to sin” has seen or known him. The powerful work of the new birth in the life of the believer uses the tools of conviction, teaching, and encouragement to free us from specific sins. (1 Jn 3.9) The Spirit also empowers our mind, body, and human spirit with the capability to deny the fleshly habits and cease to walk in those ways(Rom 8.9) . So we are growing in our divine nature 2 Peter 1.4. Through these “great and precious promises” we are “participating in the divine nature” and “escaping the corruption of the world caused by evil desires”.

My assessment is that there will never be a time when I am free from incidents of sin, because I cannot divorce myself from the weak flesh that is the result of Adam’s transgression. There will come a time when I am divorced from that sinful nature entirely when, as the Apostle Peter writes, salvation is revealed (1 Pet. 1.5) in the last time. The believer will be delivered from the fleshly nature and receive a spiritual body (1 Cor 15.45-55) like Christ’s resurrected body. Salvation and deliverance will then be complete.

This does not mean that the Christian does not strive to mature (perfect Mt5.48) his walk. There are theological systems that tend to bring believers into a lackadaisical and apathetic acceptance of their fleshly nature. These systems emphasize the finished work of Christ (cf. Col 1.24) to the detriment of the ongoing work of the Spirit in the life of the believer. Passive acceptance of our sinfulness is not a proper response to our sin nature. It seeks to control. When the Flesh controls (Rom 8.5-8) the believer cannot serve God, cannot please God, cannot think rightly or submit to God. The flesh is no friend… it is an enemy and the believer must be as ruthless as possible to overcome it by the Spirit’s power. The believer in Jesus must strive to grow and mature continually in Christ.

So what then do these passages mean that concerned you?

1 Peter 4.1 is a passage to suffering Christians (cf v 12) Peter is encouraging the disciples to have the attitude (4.1) that Christ had- suffering (in obedience to the Father- not for sins, crimes or sickness) helps us overcome the flesh. That is why (4.19) we should “commit ourselves to God and continue to do good” when we suffer in God’s will. Neitzche – the atheist philosopher (God is Dead) said “That which does not kill us makes us stronger” (He later lost his mind and spent the last ten years of his life in mental darkness because of his rebellion against Christianity). What Peter would say is “That which causes us to suffer in the will of God, makes us stronger by killing our dependence upon the flesh.”

So we strive for moral perfection all the while knowing that we will never reach it. That, however, doesn’t mean that there will be days when we can look back and say with the Psalmist (Ps 17.3) “Though you probe my heart and examine me at night, though you test me, you will find nothing; I have resolved that my mouth will not sin…” I wish those days would increase in all of our lives. But in the end 364 days of sinless perfection cannot cancel out the one day of lustful thoughts, greed, or pride. There is no redemption but in the shed blood of our King! So why grow? why pursue holiness? Why die daily (1 Cor 51.31)? It is but a tribute, an honoring, a replication, and an imitation (Eph 5.1) of the Lord whom we serve. In so doing we properly (Rom 12.1,2) worship our King. And the world looks on and sees us as a city on a hill, a light on the lamp stand and they will “see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven”.
________________________________________

This Too Shall Pass

If I can endure for this minute
Whatever is happening to me,
No matter how heavy my heart is
Or how dark the moment may be-

If I can remain calm and quiet
With all the world crashing about me,
Secure in the knowledge God loves me
When everyone else seems to doubt me-

If I can but keep on believing
What I know in my heart to be true,
That darkness will fade with the morning
And that this will pass away, too-

Then nothing in life can defeat me
For as long as this knowledge remains
I can suffer whatever is happening
For I know God will break all of the chains

That are binding me tight in the darkness
And trying to fill me with fear-
For there is no night without dawning
And I know that my morning is near.

...Helen Steiner Rice

Living DD in a Starbys World

If you have been to Christian Life Center, you know that it isn't Starbucks. Oh, we have a couple couches and free AC and coffee; but it is definitely not Starbucks. It is more like Dunkin Donuts than Starbucks. You won't be able to have your mocha-frappa- latte. Not that we are against that. I think you should drink whatever caffeinated drink you desire... but just don't expect massive trendiness here, bro. That's not us.

We keep spending money on orphanages and missionaries overseas- so we don't have money to repaint all the trendy colors. We worship in a classic building. By that I mean there isn't much in the way of recessed lighting and snappy ambiance. It smells like... like a church! Old wood, stained glass, candles, and coffee. And the people are sometimes preoccupied with serving and organizing studies and small groups and service projects and food pantries and missions dinners, etc. They are trying to be friendly... but they are working hard. The music, is kind of raw- definitely needs polishing if we were gonna record- but were probably not gonna. We sing, but for the King! (And we won't even mention our dance moves!!!)

But what we have is the real deal. We have worship that connects and sermons that are practical challenges to live a Christ-centered life. People who are genuine- and a little bit broken. We don't aspire to be the place where you come in and get comfortable- in fact, our prayer is that the Holy Spirit will make us all a little uncomfortable. At least too uncomfortable to stay and do so little when the world around us is hurting so badly.

So while Starbucks is all the rage, we are just keeping it real- like DD. Enjoy!

Why Speaking in Tongues is for everyone

Occasionally, I still run into the argument that only specific people can speak in tongues. This is of course true if we are talking about the public use of the gift. Concerning the saints gathered together the Apostle Paul writes, "Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good."(1 Cor 12.7) But of course, the Apostle is speaking of the use of the gift in public where it is needful that the gift of tongues be interpreted. (Looking at 1 Corinthians we see that he is dealing with the church gathered together from 11.17 onwards to 14.40) We read that Paul himself distinguishes the practice from private tongue speaking in 14.18-19. Declaring that he "speaks in tongues more than all of you."

Paul uses 1 Cor 14 to spell out his insistence that intelligibility is to be preferred when saints gather together. But in so doing he does reveal some benefits of speaking in tongues (see my June 5 2007 post). Among them Speaking directly to God, praying his perfect will, personal edification and strengthening faith and making a statement to unbelievers.

When we read the book of Acts we see people baptised into the Spirit. This is distinguished from salvation as a secondary experience as the Ephesian disciples found out (Acts 19). they had only been baptized into the baptism of John and had not "received the Holy Spirit" yet. We know that these "disciples" are believers in Jesus already because Luke never uses that term lightly and always refers to followers of Jesus when he does use it. When they did receive the baptism into the Spirit they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

We see that the Holy Spirit baptism comes after salvation. When, in Acts 8, they had heard the message and responded in faith and water baptism the Holy Spirit had not been distributed. After Peter and John laid hands upon them they saw the powerful demonstration of the Spirit fall and Simon witnessed this and wanted to purchase the power to Baptize people in the Holy Spirit.

If the Baptism into the Holy Spirit were identical to salvation then these verses would be confusing. How can one be baptized in water, and have faith but not have the Holy Spirit? Is the Holy Spirit given with the laying on of hands? How can one dedicate himself as a disciple and not have salvation? But since the Scripture is referring to a secondary experience we understand the role of these apostolic intercessors in bringing them into the expereince.

Paul commanded all believers to live under the control of the Holy Spirit in Eph 5.17. Living "Full" of the Spirit means more than to be excited about Jesus. It is an empowering (Acts 1.8) act that is desired for all of the followers of Christ. Jesus demnded that all "wait until they are clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24.49) before they attempt ministry. We have seen that tongues accompanies this baptism into the Holy Spirit. So it should be expected that this promise that Peter preached about at Pentecost, is for all "you and your children and for all who are far off- for all whom the Lord our God will call."

So "seek earnestly" the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and all the gifts of the Spirit. They are there for your asking.

Haiti: Redux

As I am thinking through some of the details of the up coming trip to Haiti, I am moved at the memories of the trip earlier this summer. The brokenness of the people and the epic proportions of the tragedy of that earthquake. It is hard to think about because I get so completely overwhelmed. What can we do?

We can build showers for the orphans and improve their quality of life. We can buy a water filter for their supply and the supply of the villagers around them... insuring health for the future. We can go and be a witness, help feed the poor,and support a local pastor who is meeting needs of orphans and villagers alike.

What can we do... we can raise money for the trip. I am inspired to see what can be done when we all come together and give toward this trip. Please help us if you can.

Jus' Stuff

I heard it again this morning on the news. A man was being interviewed and he recounted the tree falling from his front yard and through his roof. "Scary, he said but everyone is all right and it is just stuff- it can be replaced." Kudos to this dude who obviously has some things in perspective.

Stuff is important and expensive but it is not the important stuff in life. Ya know what I mean Vern? Stuff is the material that we spend our life accumulating and slaving for in order to come to the conclusion that it isn't worth all the effort.
now I like nice stuff. You should have seen my face when I ran over my cell phone with the mower... you would know that I appreciate some stuff.

But the reality is that the stuff can be (in fact, needs to be) replaced (frequently!) So don't get all stuffy... remember that people are the irreplacable things in life. So don't forget your peeps!

Uglier than Pride

You see it all over the place. The arrogant look of the competent soccer star; the smug look of the little league superstar; the haughty glance of the person who is a tad bit prettier than the rest of us. Pride is ugly. If you like me it repulses you to the core. For years there have been people who have tried to turn it into a positive character trait. We talk smack on the basketball court, we speak highly of ourselves on our resume, we blog as if we had all the answers to the questions of life (ouch!). But no matter how hard we try to promote pride and mask it as confidence it smells bad and makes us sick to our stomach! Even more so it sickens God. James 4.6 God resists the proud. Hmmmm. The God of love who pursued us even to death on the cross is repulsed by our pride- even to the point of resisting our prayers and our person. Wow, he is made sick by it too.

But there is something uglier than pride. It is hard to imagine but it is true. It is spiritual pride. Pride that masks itself in pseudo-spirituality; Pride that covers its ugliness with the language of the Spirit but is profoundly of the flesh; Pride that judges others as less than self. Spiritual pride condemns others, judges others, and can't see the failings in their own hearts. It is the ugliest thing that anyone will ever see! It makes me sick when I see it- especially so when I see it in me!

I was talking about spiritual pride the other day with my best friend. She said to me that "people who have this kind of pride- spiritual pride- had better have their knee pads on because pride comes before the fall."

Well said.

National Day of Prayer- On or Off?

Since President Obama has cancelled the White House's involvement in the National Day of Prayer one has to ask what the purpose of the NDP is.

For millenia national leaders have declared a day of fasting and prayer to show humility and reverence in times of stress and trouble. It is curious that the President, who "prays everyday" according to White House insiders, would not see value in leading the nation in that reverential humility. Especially so, with the violent storms that have ravaged the land, the terror threats and attempted bombing in Times Square, and the economic hardship that currently rocks the nation. We are left to assume that the controversy that might ensue from a nation unifying to pray is being avoided.

Nevertheless, we in the church must pray. We are commanded in 1 Tim 2.1-2 to pray for "for all men, for kings, and for all who are in authority". Of course, that should be more frequent that the first Thursday in May. (I pray for those in authority on Wednesdays, btw). We citizens, regardless of creed or religion, should set aside time to beseech God for blessing on our country. This is no vague patriotism. It is a recognition that mankind, and the US in particular, needs divine help.

We Christians need to pray, especially today, for God's blessing on America. Not that we may be blessed more than other countries (though we already are) but that we show God our recognition of our own desperation and a thankful heart for all that has come our way.

"if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chron 7.14

Getting Away with It

There seems to be some confusion regarding believers that sin. First, all believers sin - so I guess were talking about ourselves here. When believers sin we have an advocate with the Father... Jesus is our defense attorney! Thank God for that grace that we are assured of. But what about willful sins?

Willful sins are those sins that we willfully determine we will not repent for but continue to practice. The scarey thing about willful sins is that God didn't offer any sacrifice in the OT for willful disobedience. Look if you want but you will not find an OT offer for grace and forgiveness over willful sins.

This is because willful sins are those unrepented sins that we practice without yielding to the truth that we know from being taught the Word. The Word of God reveals that truth to us and we must adjust accordingly. It is a mistake to think that the Lord adjusts.... we are the ones who need adjustment!

The first step in the adjustment is repentance. Repentance is the reversal of all that has hindered our walk. Thieves stop stealing, slanderers stop talking junk, fornicators stop their sexual immorality, and lusting eyes learn to look away. Repentance is the 180 that God offers us. It is a U turn on a lonely stretch of highway that is going the wrong way. It is our privilege to turn around and respond to God's grace as he offers it.

The danger in ignoring this is that we can become hardened in our sin and miss the u turn opportunity. The bible clearly says that there is a sin that leads to death. It is dangerous to flirt with rebellion when the end is a Christ-less eternity.

"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion" heb 3.15