A few years ago, the idea of working in foreign missions was definitely not on our radar. I had just begun a new position at a very successful company, my wife Susan and I were happily married with an increasing number of children, and early last year we were able to purchase our very first home. We welcomed this new sense of security and peace, especially after going through two job transitions and moving four times in the first five years of our marriage. But just about the same time our family would begin to grow biologically, we began walking together with a new spiritual family here at Lighthouse. I remember struggling with the priorities of my life when, in one of our small group studies, we went through an intense book study that challenged all of us to really consider what it meant to follow Christ. And Sunday after Sunday, my family and I have been convicted and encouraged through the faithful preaching of God’s Word to replace the many idols on the throne of our heart with the King of Kings, Jesus Christ. So about a year ago, when a missionary couple serving in Thailand came to share about how the gospel was moving forward and disciples were being made in a region that was notorious for child-trafficking, we were interested in learning more. Here are a few of the appalling statistics we have since discovered:

1. Thailand is located in the so-called 10/40 Window, and a 2000 census shows that in a population of 66.4 million people, 94.6% are Buddhist, 4.6% are Muslim, and 0.7% are Christian.

2. Estimates of the number of child prostitutes in Thailand vary; but one report cited between 200,000 – 250,000 children being exploited and abused in the sex trade.

3. Another report estimates that 50% of child prostitutes in Thailand are HIV positive.

When I first began to learn more about this horrible injustice, I was angry, nauseated and repulsed by how anyone could commit such crimes. I was reminded of Ephesians 4:18-19, when Paul describes the Gentiles in Ephesus during the first century: “They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.”

Because of our sin, we too, were once separated from God and deserving of our sentence of death and an eternity apart from Him in Hell. But by God’s mercy and grace He planned a way for us to have the life and fellowship with Him that he designed us for; that by believing that God the Son, Jesus Christ, came into the world, lived a perfect, sin-less life, completely exhausted the holy and just wrath of God the Father for our sins in our place, died on a cross, and rose again, we can be forgiven of our sins and experience unparalleled joy as we worship and glorify our Creator in this life and for eternity in Heaven. That is good news! And that is why my family and I are excited about working with ZOE Ministries International in Thailand; they understand that only in the Jesus Christ of this message, the gospel, can there be hope and comfort for the abused children that they rescue and salvation for 66 million Thai people living in spiritual darkness. Please join me in praying that God would soften their hearts, that they would agonize over their sin and be desperate for the Savior, and that they would be reconciled to God for their joy and the glory of Christ.

"After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'" (Revelation 7:9-10)

God is good! It has been almost a full year since our last visit to Mexico to build a home for a family in the Tijuana area.  Although we went with the same intent and the same hearts’ desires, with many of the same people going to the same region, this trip was different for me in one profound way. 

After the recent study we completed on a life centered on prayer, I am now realizing what has always been true: God is constantly present and evident in this world and in this life that He has blessed me with.  It is my sinful and self-focused eyes that are just too nearsighted to see Him at all times.  Occasionally, by His sovereign provision, He will draw me out to the mountains or onto the trails in some far off place so that I may truly see and be in awe of Him.  This time, He called me back to Mexico. 

Yes, we built a home, yes, we painted and hammered alongside one another, and yes, we certainly were blessed by the warm and easy friendship of the Ortiz family.  But the one thing that God truly impressed upon me this trip was that His love is a very personal and a very tangible love for each of us individuals.  As personal and intimate I know God’s love to be, He blessed me with the opportunity to witness His personal and uniquely intimate love for each member of the Ortiz family.

God’s presence in their lives that weekend first became evident standing upon the bare foundation of their future home.  Paul, the foreman from Baja Christian Ministries, shared with Abel, the father of the family, that although God may be providing a physical home for his family here on earth, their true and eternal home, by His grace alone, is in Heaven.  By the time lunch rolled around on that first day, Alejandra, the mother of the family, and her four children, Hemeli, Yarexci, Tomas, and Gerardo, had all eased their way into work on their home and into our hearts.  We prayed for the family as another member of Baja Christian Ministries shared the Gospel message in its entirety in Spanish.  A prayer circle was formed, and by God’s grace alone, all six members of the Ortiz family accepted Christ as their Savior that day. 

God spoke to each one of them and moved in them in His own unique way.  Witnessing an entire family coming to faith was when I realized that God truly is evident and tangibly present in this world, no matter where we are in this world or what circumstance He has us in.  Just six short hours before that moment, I was a complete stranger, who spoke a foreign language, who came from a different culture, who lives a completely different life.  But at that moment, God made it clear, I will rejoice in heaven alongside Abel, Alejandra, Hemeli, Yarexci, Tomas, and Gerardo for eternity.  In perhaps a mere glimpse of what it will be like when we are all in Heaven together (Revelation 7:9), by the end of our time with the family, we prayed together, worshipped our Creator together, and shared joyful tears and hugs as we celebrated one amazingly blessed weekend together in Mexico!   

There have been many memorable moments with each of the three homes that the Lighthouse Crew has helped to build, but this time, for some reason, it had a little different feel for me.   As we learned in our small group studies of A Praying Life, “Thanksgiving helps us to be grace-centered, seeing all of life as a gift.  Watchfulness alerts us to the unfolding drama in the present.  It looks for God’s present working as it unfolds into future grace”.   Through God’s grace we’re all getting better at understanding how to build the home.  With each paint brush stroke, each hammered nail, and every piece of dry wall cut, we all were part of the tapestry that God was designing in helping to guide the Ortiz Family to come to Christ. 

To witness the true delight of all of the Ortiz Family and watching them help paint and pound nails in the building of their home was really indescribable.  The enjoyment of being able to observe the children eat a home-made chocolate chip cookie or brownie or even a Spam musubi was pure joy and thanksgiving.  Mrs. Ortiz wanted to be sure that I would thank the baker (my wife Loris) for the treats that the family was able to enjoy.  It became very clear to me that I do not fully appreciate all of God’s blessings like I should. I do need to become more like a little child when coming to Jesus.

It’ll always be an unforgettable weekend since it coincided with John Wooden’s passing (1910 to 2010).  Coach Wooden was a devout believer in Jesus Christ, and it was on this day that he left to join his wife Nellie in heaven.  Why do I bring up Coach Wooden?  One of the people that he admired was Mother Teresa, and her famous quote,  “A life not lived for others is not a life," meant much to him.

As, we stood and listened to the tearful and joyful father, Abel Ortiz, giving thanks and praise, it was pretty clear that God wanted us to be involved with the building of this pink house, and that the story that was being woven that day did not just involve the team members in Mexico, but also all of the Lighthouse congregation because even those who were physically not present had a hand in providing a powerful and amazing testimony of the Christian life to the Ortiz Family.  God was definitely present and he helped us "walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.  Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person”. (Colossians 4:5-6)

Side Note: I think I even heard a few of the Ortiz children being taught the UCLA 8-clap and the worst thing I heard anyone say when they hit their finger with a hammer was, “Goodness gracious sakes alive!”  I’m going to start praying for the next house we build to be Bruin Blue!

Throughout his book he shares numerous vivid visions of how the Lord spoke to him, ranging from his first about receiving a Bible from two servants to how he would escape from prison.  During his first year as a Christian, Yun read through the entire Bible, memorized the whole Gospel of Matthew in just 28 days, and was able to lead more than 2,000 people to Christ as he shared the gospel during village meetings.  He met his wife Deling, who also shared the same love for the Lord and agreed to serve alongside him despite pressure from her family and community.  In addition, at the end each chapter, Deling also gives her perspective and feelings on the same situation(s) that Yun just described. 

For the majority of his imprisonments, Yun was able to escape with the exception of a few lengthy terms that included one that lasted for four years.  During this imprisonment, he chose to fast for 74 days, eating and drinking nothing.  Despite his weak body, continued beatings with electric batons, interrogations and unsanitary conditions in his cell, the Lord had sustained him through it all.  The Christians who had heard about Yun’s suffering and fast were deeply touched and grew in their own prayer and trust for the Lord.  Also during this particular imprisonment, Yun was given the assignment to watch over a murderer named Huang who tried to kill himself everyday.  With God’s grace and Yun’s faithful sharing each day, Huang repented of his sins and became a new creation of Christ before his own execution. 

There are many accounts of God’s gracious work in Yun’s life in this book, but perhaps the most compelling and surreal situation was when Yun was imprisoned again, this time in a maximum security prison.  He was beat until his legs were crippled to ensure that he would never escape again which began the lowest point of his life.  Depressed and surely thinking that he was going to die from having legs that turned completely black with no feeling in them at all, the Lord had sustained him once again and provided him with a miraculous opportunity to walk out of the prison six weeks later.  For whatever reason, the gates and barriers that had always been closed were opened, no guard tried to stop him as if the Lord had blinded them and before he knew it, Yun was outside the prison walking to a yellow taxi van. 

Although still wanted by the Chinese government, Yun was able to reunite with his family in Germany in 2001.  The family became involved in preaching the gospel and facilitating the Back in Jerusalem movement which aims to “establish fellowships of believers in all countries, cities, towns and ethic groups between China and Jerusalem.”  Since writing The Heavenly Man, Yun has also published Living Water which is based on the biblical teachings that he used to share with those non-believers he encountered on his journey.  Yun continues to “challenge Christians to grow deeper in their faith and become bold in their witness for Christ.”  He says, “We’re not called to life by human reason.  All that matters is obedience to God’s Word and his leading in our lives.”

"This seminar is not for victorious Christians, but Christians defeated in the trenches, asking, "How do I focus when I’m distracted with so much to do? How do I pray longer than five minutes? How do I ask when I’ve tried it before and it doesn’t work?"

Delving into our frustrations, we look at Jesus’ powerful, yet simple teachings on prayer. We practice becoming child-like, patterning after Jesus’ own teaching and style of praying. We learn to ask our Father anything – with eyes wide open to the story he is creating in our lives. Further practical tools and helps are explained and demonstrated. Throughout the sessions people have time to pray, making real what they learned.

Location: Pacific View Baptist Church

Time: Saturday, June 12 at 8:15 AM

Cost: $20 (includes materials and lunch)

Click here for more info.

Our own member and impending intern, Brian Chang, has given a sneak-peak review of Platt's recent book, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream. He writes:

"Wow. I’ve only read one chapter of this book but clenching my fists and breathing warm air through them is all I can do to keep myself from falling to the ground because of the overbearing burden of conviction. I needed this chapter as a reminder of what I used to believe and live out but has succumbed to the comforts of life.

"David Platt calls believers to be radical. No. Rather, Platt makes clear that it is Jesus who calls his followers to be radical. Jesus was radical. In the midst of a culture that is quickly fabricating a convenient image of Jesus, Platt is calling us back to a right view of our biblical Savior. Platt writes, 'We are giving in to the dangerous temptation to take the Jesus of the Bible and twist him into a version of Jesus we are more comfortable with.' Have we indeed forgotten the Jesus of the Bible? This is my fear, and I’m glad that Platt has decided to take up the issue."

You may also be interested in Justin Taylor's blog, where he has begun a fascinating series of online interviews with Platt, discussing issues like the relationship between the cross and radical Christian living, how to deal with the guilt associated with not being radical enough, and much more.

The answers were myriad. Perhaps you can relate to some of them. "It's so long!" "I don't understand the stories." "It doesn't seem relevant." "I tried reading the Bible all the way through, but then I got to Leviticus and I just gave up!"

One of the most helpful steps you can take in reading Scripture more faithfully and with greater enjoyment is to get the big picture of the Bible. As Scott Yoshikawa reminded us in his sermon from last week, we must see Scripture as the unfolding of God's single story, with the smaller stories making up the tapestry of that greater story.

If you're looking for a better understanding of the big picture of the Bible, I'd recommend listening to Mark Dever's bible overview sermons. Over a period of several years, he preached one sermon for each book of the Bible to give a bird's-eye view of the biblical landscape. You can find the links to those sermons at the bottom of this page. Those sermons have also been transcribed into two books, Promises Made: The Message of the Old Testament and Promises Kept: The Message of the New Testament.

If you would like to continue exploring the beautiful depths of the Trinity, I know of no better guide than Bruce Ware (that is, if Josh Kira is busy). I had the privilege of taking a week-long intensive course under Dr. Ware, specifically on the Trinity. I know I am prone to exaggeration, but those five days of study were some of the most formative, helpful, and worshipful moments in my theological education. While Ware has a world-class mind, he is wonderfully clear as a writer and preacher. He exhibits not only an extensive understanding of the topic but also an infectiously worshipful attitude. You will be drawn into better worship of our God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

I'd highly recommend starting with Ware's book on the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, and Relevance. In this small volume, Ware sets out a clear presentation of the Trinity, the specific functions of each person of Trinity, and implications for the church that stem from the Trinity.

Here are four messages from Dr. Ware on the Trinity, delivered to a church in 2008. They generally follow the same outline as his book.

The Trinity: An Overview

The Trinity: The Father

The Trinity: The Son

The Trinity: The Spirit

I hope those are helpful. And if you still have questions, just ask Josh Kira about it.

Would your answer ever be "worship"? That is, does your family engage in significant, meaningful, clear times of worship?

Maybe the idea of family worship is pretty intimidating. After all, you're busy, the kids are restless, chores need to get done, and sleep needs to be had. But, brothers and sisters, may I encourage you that immense blessing is to be had? After all, God has always intended the family to be a primary arena of worship (Deut 6:4-6); don't you think God will honor you and your family as you intend to fulfill His purposes?

Here are some resources to help encourage you as you construct your family worship time:

"Three Main Steps to Starting Family Worship" - this author suggests that you 1) plan worship after an evening meal, 2) read a good book, and 3) close in prayer.

The Jesus Storybook Bible - a great collection of Bible stories that go through the scope of God's redemptive plan

This blog compiles a bunch of family worship resources into one site. Yay!

Blessing as you continue to worship together as a family!

As I mentioned, we were in a conference in Kentucky called Together for the Gospel. The messages were incredible. Some were more academic, but all were a blessing. I encourage you to talk to some of the guys (elders, small group leaders, interns, etc.) and ask them what their favorite message was and then try to listen to it. You can find most of the messages here. C.J. Mahaney's message on preaching the word is posted here. Matt Chandler shared his testimony about his battle with cancer, which you can find here.

I know no one struggles with anger at Lighthouse (please note my sarcasm). Here is a good article by Ed Welch on disarming an angry person. It is both theological and practical.

You also may be interested in a series from Grace to You on evolution and an evolutionary worldview.

A couple of years ago, we went through The Peacemaker by Ken Sande on biblical conflict resolution. Here is a helpful blog on the role of e-mail in conflict resolution

Lastly, don't forget our Anniversary Service and Lunch this Sunday. I have had the chance to read some of the testimonies and know that you will be blessed as I was.

Thanks and God Bless.

By His Grace,

pastor kim

After each small group series ends, one of my hopes is that I would continue think and live out the lessons I’ve just learned and that it would not just be another study I went through and a book to check off my list.  So in lieu of completing In Light of Eternity, I decided to read A Quest for More.  Along the same lines as Randy Alcorn, Paul Tripp explores the concept of living for something more than our earthly lives.  He even takes a step further stating that the “entire book is meant to stimulate [us] to think about one central biblical concept, the Kingdom of God.”  For those who’ve read Tripp before know that his writing style is easy to understand and very practical, but yet convicting because he is not afraid to speak the truth from God’s word.  He begins with the idea of transcendence which he continues to refer to throughout the book.  I think this concept of transcendence is very important in understanding that we were all created to be a part of something bigger and that the desire to transcend is an innate feeling because God placed it in all of us when He created us. 

Tripp refers to our self-focused lives as the “Little Kingdom” and says it’s shaped by our earthly bound treasures and our need to be able to control all things.  Therefore, there will always be a constant war between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Self; it’s just a matter of deciding which kingdom you want to live for.  Immersed in a culture that is centered on worldliness, there is tendency to forget who we are as Christians and what we were made to truly live for.  In the midst of our busy schedules, whether it be work, family, school, or other obligations that we deem to be more important than living for God, we must remember that were made to experience, be consumed by and live in the pursuit of one thing; and that is God’s glory.

One of the most humbling chapters for me was titled The Costume Kingdom.  This chapter in particular made me stop and examine my own life because of the statement, “The most dangerous thing about the Kingdom of Self is how easily it masquerades as the Kingdom of God.”  Tripp reinforces this idea by mentioning Psalm 115: 1-8 and how it teaches us that we will become like the treasure we seek.  If we are not careful, instead of taking on the traits of a Christian character that pursues and treasures Christ, we will take on the qualities of the Kingdom of Self.  I also appreciated the chapter on living a Jesus Focused life.  Again, being a graduate student trying to balance a school schedule, time with God, time with friends, and exercising, I must remind myself daily that I should be living a life that is focused on Christ and not everything else that I deem to be important.  Luckily though, with God’s grace we have all been rescued from the “me-focused” living and that grace calls us to live in a new and better way that is focused on the person, the work and the will of Christ.

I believe that living a life for God is fulfilling, the only problem is that most of us, myself included, don’t recognize it because we are too busy trying to live out our lives in our own way, being satisfied with pleasures of  this earthly world.  However, we forget that these pleasures are only temporary and that they tend to leave us bitter, hurt, disappointed, angry, and demanding.  A Quest for More was a true challenge for me to read, not because of its complexity, but because of the concepts and notions that made me realize that I do live in a “Little Kingdom” more often than I would like.  I agree with Tripp when he says that, “A true follower of Jesus holds him as the central treasure to his heart and so is willing to make significant personal sacrifices in pursuit of him.” We were never meant to live for ourselves, but God is gracious in His never ending love and patience as He continues to remind us daily of our need to live for His Kingdom.

Brothers and Sisters,

Sorry this is a little late. Maybe needless to say, not every link I have given you is for every person. Some have been geared towards parents, another for singles, some for leaders. However, I hope some of them have been a benefit to each one of you. If there is a topic you would like to read about, e-mail me and if possible I will try to find something on the topic. I hope you are encouraged by this week's links.

First, here is a new blog on The Gospel Coalition's website. In this blog Scotty Smith desires "to help us set our minds on things above through daily, gospel-rich, Bible-saturated, Christ-centered prayers." In light of our study on prayer, my hope is that it will encourage you in your own prayer life.

Christian Audio has offered another free audio book for download this month. It is and abridged version of "The Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan. It is a fictional story which is an allegory for the Christian life. Aside from the Bible, it is the most published book in history. I think it will be an encouragement to you and also one that you may eventually want to read to your children. Download the book here.

Do you want your kids to be happy? Maybe the answer is not as obvious as we might think. This article speaks about adoption (something I have been thinking a lot about lately), but actually addresses the bigger question of what do we want for our children. In this post a mom write why she doesn't want her children to be happy.

Here is another post on parenting. This one is by C.J. Mahaney on how we represent God to our children. Parents are called to represent a God who demands our obedience but who is also a God of love. I think his insights are encouraging, insightful, and challenging. Read the whole thing here.

God Bless you this week.

By His Grace And For His Glory,

pastor kim

If you're interested in learning more about the role of adoption in Christian families, the Adopting for Life Conference is being held this weekend at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville. That may be a little bit out of the ways from Torrance, but if you're interested in watching the general sessions online, they can be livestreamed here.

General Session Schedule

• Friday, February 26. 2010
• 3:15 PM — Jedd Medefind
• 6:30 PM — Russell D. Moore

• Saturday, February, 27, 2010
• 9:15 AM — David Platt
• 2:45 PM — Question & Answer Panel Discussion

The site also features some great videos from the director of the conference, Russell Moore, wrote Adopted For Life, a great book on the priority of adoption for Christian families.

Pastor Kim

It's easy for me to lose perspective in my daily tasks. There are two sides to this. On one side, I can get lost in meaningless distractions, prohibiting me from being diligent or productive. I am a slow writer and reader, so this can be extremely crippling for my productivity. Or on the other side, I get lost in my ambition, prohibiting me from being a good father, husband, or friend. I over-estimate the importance of my tasks, make an idol of my accomplishments and self-worth, and forget that God is the one who holds the universe together.

Below are a few things for the ambitious — those who tend to make an idol of work, accomplishments, and their self-worth — to keep in mind:

Similar to Chan’s writing style in Crazy Love, he communicates truths about the Spirit that are clear, concise, and practical. He also incorporates short stories and interviews of individuals asexamples of the work that Spirit has done in their lives, much like those individuals he used in Crazy Love. He begins the book by discussing our need for the Holy Spirit even though we already have a relationship with Jesus.  He gives the example of how a church can grow numerically just by combining a charismatic speaker, talented worship band and great fellowship, but none of it necessarily means that the Holy Spirit of God is actively working in the people who are attending; it just means that the church has created a place that is appealing enough to draw people to its service on Sunday.  Chan observes that many of us may have a lot of “head knowledge” about the Spirit, but not much of a relationship with Him.

One of the Chan’s simplest and most practical truths is that many of us do not want to be led by the Holy Spirit, or more fundamentally, we don’t want to be led by anyone other than ourselves.  It ultimately comes down to trust - we must trust God and have faith in him alone . We must trust in the God who has sent the Spirit to dwell in and guide our lives.  We must remember that it is the Spirit that led us to the cross just as He led Jesus to the cross.  As believers, if we truly want to live empowered by the Holy Spirit, than we must honestly be willing to do His will.  I appreciate the fact that Chan challenges us as Christians with the truth that  if  “a person is habitually and actively submitted to the Spirit, [then] what comes out of his or her life is the fruit of the Spirit.” 

In the chapter titled “Theology of the Holy Spirit 101,” Chan states six practical truths about who the Spirit is and what He does in our lives. Some of the examples include how the Holy Spirit is a person, the Holy Spirit is God, the Holy Spirit has His own mind, and He prays for us and how the Holy Spirit is omnipotent, omnipresence and omniscient. While the Holy Spirit will always remain somewhat mysterious, this should not prevent us from seeking to know him and worship him for his work in our life.

The ultimate goal of the book is not to formulate or explain the entire doctrine of the Holy Spirit, but it is to learn how to live faithfully by the Spirit, acknowledging the Sprit’s work within us.  Hopefully this book will be an encouragement to Christians on how to be obedient and live the Spirit-filled life. 

The elders recently committed some of the church's mercy ministry fund to provide aid for the Haiti earthquake. We also took a churchwide special offering which we will be sending shortly. The organization that we've chosen to send the money through is Children's Hunger Fund. One of our major criteria for partnering with a ministry is that they be committed to the Gospel. After the elders researched CHF, we found their ministry to be extremely Gospel-centered. CHF conducts their ministry through a network of local pastors; all aid is directed through local, gospel-believing churches to meet both physical and spiritual needs. Lord-willing, we will continue to partner with CHF in different ministry opportunities. I'd encourage you to check out their ministry to see what they (and we) are doing.

The second link is a sermon by C.J. Mahaney called "The Pastor's Charge." I think that it would be a tremendous blessing to anyone in a position of leadership, whether it be in the church, in the workplace, or in the home. Pastor Gavin and I were at the conference where it was given, and we were both tremendously blessed

This third link may seem a little random, but in light of our discussion of truth this coming Sunday, I thought this clip from an episode of ER was very intriguing. The clip portrays a man who is well aware of how the postmodern understanding of God brings no comfort when faced with death. I think it is interesting that a secular TV show addressed so well how vague pictures of God offer us nothing. I have showed this clip in our Christianity 101 Bible study to encourage conversations about pluralism. Maybe you can use it as a conversation starter. Watch the clip here.

Finally, I wanted to point you to Discerningreader.com. It simply offers solid book reviews from a strong Christian perspective. I don't agree with every review in its entirety, but I do trust the reviewers and use this site when I investigate books.

I hope this helps. Let me know if there are particular topics of interest and I will see what I can do. God Bless.

By His Grace and For His Glory,

pastor kim

1. Strategically assign the remote.
2. Watch proactively.
3. Foster fellowship.
4. Draw attention to the eternal.

Read the whole article here.

"We awaken each day with a tendency to forget that which is most important: the gospel. All of us should assume this tendency and be aware of this tendency. Because of the Fall and due to the effects of remaining sin, we have a daily tendency and temptation to forget stuff in general and to forget that which is most important in particular. Assuming this tendency, we must create practices that will enable us to remember what we must not forget—the cross. So each day I seek to spend time in a location where I am not distracted, unhurriedly reading and meditating on Scripture and finding my way in Scripture to a hill called Calvary to meditate each day on Christ and him crucified. Each day I need to remind myself of the gospel. I cannot live on yesterday’s recollection of the gospel. I need to review and rehearse the gospel each day or I will assume the gospel, forget the gospel, and prove vulnerable to all manner of temptation and sin." It is from a blog post by Mahaney on "Cross-Centered Books."

The blog post is worth reading in its entirety, especially since it offers some great suggestions of books on the cross. Read the whole blog here.

Along those lines, Sovereign Grace (the ministry CJ Mahaney oversees) is having a massive February sale. They're selling great, cross-centered music albums for $6. They're also featuring excellent books like Mahaney's The Cross Centered Life for $5 and Humility: True Greatness for $7 and Paul Harvey's When Sinners Say I Do for $7  (one of the best books on marriage). My wife recommends Carolyn Mahaney's Feminine Appeal (for wives in particular) and Shopping for Time (for women in general); both are $7.

You should also take a look at this post by Tullian Tchividjian who, with help from Elise Fitzpatrick, discusses the importance of "remembering" the gospel (perhaps more articulately than I did during this past Sunday's sermon).

The final link I have for you was one I thought was interesting: Have you committed the unpardonable sin? Ed Welch from CCEF (a counseling organization I highly endorse) writes about it here with some great insight.

I hope these are a help and a blessing. Let me know if these encouraged you this week. God Bless.

By His Grace,

Pastor Kim

The back cover of the book says, “Let’s face it, prayer is hard!  In fact, prayer is so hard that most of us simply do not pray unless an illness or a public setting, such as saying grace at a meal, demands it.  Prayerlessness is rooted in a core unbelief that can shape our lives, even as Christians.  Because of prayerlessness, our lives are often marked by fear, anxiety, joylessness, and spiritual lethargy.  If prayerlessness marks your life more often than not, then this book is for you.”

Here is what different people have written about this book:

Dr. Philip Ryken, senior minister, Tenth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania writes, “Paul Miller refuses to separate the spiritual life from the rest of our daily living.  In A Praying Life, he shows the difference that constant communication with Christ makes in the everyday experiences of life, especially the life of the family.  Reading this book will help you make prayer a more important part of your own life story by integrating prayer into the daily routine of life.” 

Bob Russell, retired senior minister, Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, Kentucky writes, “Like many Christians, I struggle to maintain a meaningful prayer life.  Too often my prayers are hurried, shallow, and perfunctory.  In his book A Praying Life, Paul Miller has provided an inspirational and helpful resource for all of us who want to pray better.  Paul uses compelling stories, solid scriptural support, and insightful spiritual principles to first explain the nature of prayer and then to provide practical suggestions on how to pray.  You will enjoy reading this book and then, I think, marvel at how much more meaningful your prayer life can become.”

David Powlison, faculty member at Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation writes, “A Praying Life will bring a living, vibrant reality to your prayers.  Take it to heart.”

You can also read a review of the book by Tim Challies at http://www.challies.com/archives/book-reviews/a-praying-life.php

So we invite you to join one of our weekly small groups as we set our sights on loving God through connecting with Him in prayer! 

"One reason we don’t grow in ordinary, grateful obedience as we should is that we’ve got amnesia; we’ve forgotten that we are cleansed from our sins. In other words, ongoing failure in sanctification (the slow process of change into Christlikeness) is the direct result of failing to remember God’s love for us in the gospel. If we lack the comfort and assurance that his love and cleansing are meant to supply, our failures will handcuff us to yesterday’s sins, and we won’t have faith or courage to fight against them, or the love for God that’s meant to empower this war. If we fail to remember our justification, redemption, and reconciliation, we’ll struggle in our sanctification."

Read the rest of his post here.

In an effort to encourage your love for our Lord and others, this is the inaugural edition of "Pastor Kim's Link of the Week" (If someone can think of a better name, please let me know), which I will try to post every Tuesday. It will simply be a link or two to an article, sermon, book review, or just about anything that stuck out to me in the previous week that I think might encourage you as you run the race of faith.

First, here is a pretty amazing testimony from a Korean who minister's in Japan as to God's transforming grace in his life: http://bookstore.peacemaker.net/blog/?p=381

The second link is on teaching our kids to love those who are different. The application is endless: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2010/01/21/8-ways-to-help-the-children-love-different-people/

God Bless you this week.

By His Grace,

Pastor Kim

"The truth is, the Bible is big on meditation as well. Psalm 1:2 says of the godly man, “… his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” Which brings me to the question: what exactly is meditation? According to our culture, meditation is the relaxation of the mind to the point where little or no thought occurs. But according to scripture, meditation is the increased focus of the mind with much deep thought occurring. The goal of secular meditation is to empty the mind, the goal of godly meditation is to fill the mind with God’s truth. To put it in a succinct definition, godly meditation is the practice of filling the mind with God’s word for the purpose of applying God’s word."

Read the rest of the article here.

Amy Ho

Becoming God's True Woman edited by Nancy Leigh Demoss
Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh Demoss
Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus edited by Nancy Guthrie
Age of Opportunity by Paul David Tripp

Scott Yoshikawa

That Scripture Might Be Fulfilled: Typology and the Death of Christ by Paul Hoskins
Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek by Constantine Campbell
The Old Testament in the Gospel Passion Narratives by Douglas Moo
Perspectives Old and New on Paul by Stephen Westerholm

Mandy Zia

Holiness by JC Ryle
A Praying Life by Paul Miller
William Carey by S Pearce Carey
The Doctrine of Repentance by Thomas Watson

Kevin Yee

The Future of Justification by John Piper
The Gospel According to Jesus by John MacArthur
The Prodigal God by Tim Keller
A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Dan Lim

In an age when churches are crumbling under the weight of cultural pressures, when church leaders are daily disqualified from the call of ministry, and when congregations have assumed a calloused cynicism toward church government, a return to biblical leadership is in desperate need. Alexander Strauch’s Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership is a masterful work that calls the church to such a return. This is an essential book, not only for those who aspire to the noble office of elder, but to those who are called to submit to their leadership.

Strauch introduces the book by describing his own varied experiences with church elders. I found myself nodding in sympathy as he recounted the differing attitudes that elders and non-elders alike held toward the concept of eldership. Sadly, I resonated with his interaction with “elders” who had no real comprehension of what it meant to possess a relationship with Jesus Christ; such were many of the leaders of my youth. Because of the importance of the issue and the general lack of understanding surrounding it, Strauch submits that “this book is aimed primarily at churches that practice eldership but misunderstand its true biblical character and mandate. Its purpose is to define, as accurately as possible, what biblical eldership is” (10).

The first section of the Biblical Eldership is dedicated to describing biblical eldership according to five major features: pastoral leadership, shared leadership, male leadership, and servant leadership. Here, Strauch emphasizes that the priority of those in church leadership is the care of God’s flock, the church. He writes, “As keepers of sheep, New Testament elders are to protect, feed, lead, and care for the flock’s many practical needs” (17). To enter into ministry for any other reason then to care for God’s people is tantamount to occupational suicide.

One of the simplest yet most significant discussions of the book is Strauch’s emphasis on plural eldership, rather than a single elder or pastor overseeing the church. By practicing shared, plural eldership, leaders are able to complement each other and distribute authority. Strauch suggests that individuals will only benefit from sharing the load with others: “I believe that traditional, single-church pastors would improve their character and ministry if they had genuine peers to whom they were regularly accountable and with whom they worked jointly” (41). The dangers of the single-pastor government are legion, not the least of which is the tendency for the pastor to become a sort of Protestant Pope. “It was never our Lord’s will for the local church to be controlled by one individual. The concept of the pastor as the lonely, trained professional – the sacred person over the church who can never really become a part of the congregation – is utterly unscriptural” (43).

The discussion in this section of biblical eldership as servant leadership was particularly humbling. As a young pastor, this is the qualification that I most often disregard in my own personal self-assessment. Far from being a sort of religious despot, the elder exists to serve both his fellow elders and his flock. Strauch wisely points to the Lord Jesus Christ as the paramount example of such servant leadership: “To discover how a plurality of elders works together, look and listen to Jesus Christ” (86). When relating to one another, elders must be able to work together with love and humility, readily regarding others as better than themselves (Phil 2:3-5). Similarly, “elders must not wield the authority given to them in a heavy-handed way” (97), shepherding the church with great gentleness.

Section Two focuses on the defense of plural eldership as the only prescribed biblical model of government for the New Testament church. Such a discussion cannot be ignored by believers. Strauch makes this excellent insight: “Church organizational structure matters because structure determines how people think and act” (102). It is important, then, that the earthly manifestion of God’s family look like a family rather than a business or anarchy. Strauch argues well that the New Testament consistently affirms a plurality of elders for church leadership, citing numerous direct and indirect passages. The most intriguing element of his argument was that the plurality of elders best comports with the nature of the New Testament church, particularly as a nonclerical community. Perhaps more precisely, the church is an equiclerical community, with all true believers being priests. But the point is well taken that “the distinguishing mark of Christianity was not found in a clerical hierarchy, but in the fact that God’s Spirit came to dwell within ordinary, common people and that through them the Spirit manifested Jesus’ life to the believing community and the world” (112).

The third major section consists of expositions of the most significant biblical passages concerning eldership, including the book of Acts, James, 1 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Hebrews, and 1 and 2 Peter. These expositions are careful and measured, demonstrating that plural eldership is not a theological construction but the regular testimony of Scripture.

The final section discusses some logistical issues related to eldership, specifically the appointment of elders and the relationship between elders and the congregation. Strauch is careful to point out that while the Bible affirms appointing elders, God grants leeway with regards to how those appointments are carried out. The discussion of the relationship between elders and the congregation was greatly enriching, as it highlighted the co-laboring nature of these two bodies of the church.

The church has been blessed with Strauch’s book. It would serve both the church and its Sovereign Lord well to heed its counsel and return to biblical model of church leadership.

Jason Ho

This Momentary Marriage by John Piper
The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
Right Thinking in a World Gone Wrong by John MacArthur, et al.
What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell
Engaging With God: A Biblical Theology of Worship by David Peterson

Gavin Kajikawa

Finally Alive by John Piper
Adopted for Life by Russell Moore
Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp
The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller
John Adams by David McCullough

Kim Kira

ESV Study Bible
Magnifying God in Christ by Thomas Schreiner
Christ-Centered Preaching by Bryan Chapell
The Trellis and the Vine by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne
What Did You Expect?: Redeeming the Realities of Marriage by Paul David Tripp
Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promise of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters by Timothy Keller
Dominion by Randy Alcorn
Adopted for Life by Russell Moore
Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers John Owen
Finally Alive by John Piper

Jee Suh (Dear Church Family, please ask me how I'm doing on my reading list. Thank you!)

Uprooting Anger by Robert D. Jones
A Steadfast Heart by Elyse Fitzpatrick
Dominion by Randy Alcorn
My Heart in His Hands by Sharon L. James
After Darkness, Light (Essays in Honor of R.C. Sproul) edited by R.C. Sproul JR.
Salvation Belongs to the Lord by John M. Frame
Counterfeit Gods:The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope That Matters by Timothy Keller

Eric Lau

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
Feed My Sheep: A Passionate Plea for Preaching by Various Authors
The Reformed Pastor - Richard Baxter
When Sinners Say "I Do" - Dave Harvey
Gardens of the Moon - Steven Erikson

David Lee

Age of Opportunity by Paul David Tripp
Shepherding a Child's Heart by Ted Tripp
Instructing a Child's Heart by Ted Tripp
Big Truths for Young Hearts by Bruce Ware
When Sinners Say "I Do" by Dave Harvey
A Survey of the Old Testament by Andrew Hill and John Walton

Jesse Terasaki

How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler
Overcoming Sin and Temptation by John Owen
Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Prodigal God by Tim Keller
Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters by Tim Keller
The Trellis and the Vine by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne
Feed My Sheep by Various Authors
Shadow of the Almighty by Elisabeth Elliot

Pray...

1. That [your pastor] would know and love the living God, would have a saving interest in Christ, being purchased by His blood, and thus would be bound to the Lord by the indissoluble bond of the Holy Spirit.

2. That [your pastor] would know, embrace and ever more deeply understand the Gospel and be shaped by it in life and ministry.

3. That [your pastor] would be useful servant of the Lord, that he would know and love God's word, God's people, and God's kingdom; that he would be used to build it up and so that it prevails even against Hell's gates.

4. That [your pastor] would study, practice and teach the Word of the Lord, by the grace of the Holy Spirit.

5. That [your pastor] would love to pray, because he loves to commune with his God, and that he would be a man of prayer, characteristically.

6. That [your pastor] would be ever dependent upon and filled with the Spirit; and that he would possess true Spiritual wisdom.

7. That [your pastor] would be holy unto the Lord. That his tongue and heart would be wholly God's.

8. That [your pastor] would be kept from pride, and especially spiritual pride. That the Lord himself would be gracious to slay pride in him, and that your pastor would endeavor to always be putting pride to death, by the grace of the Holy Spirit.

9. That God would give [your pastor] guidance as to where to focus his efforts in ministry.

10. That He would protect [your pastor] from himself, from the enemy of his soul, and from all earthly enemies.

11. That no decision which [your pastor] ever makes or desire that [your pastor] ever pursues would restrict his ability to pour his whole soul into the Gospel ministry.

12.That many would be converted and many built up under [your pastor]'s ministry, to God's glory alone.

13. That the Lord would bless [your pastor]'s wife, [. . . ], with holiness and happiness, Gospel assurance and Gospel rest.

14. That God would make [your pastor] a decent husband and father.

15. That [your pastor] would be a good friend to his wife, and love her self-sacrificially,

16. That [your pastor] would be a good daddy to his children. That they would love God, their parents and the church.

17. That [your pastor] would be a testimony in the home so that his wife might be able to respect him when he is in the pulpit, and so that [your pastor] will be able to feed her soul, along with the rest of the congregation.

The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop, look up, and get our bearings. To that end, here are some questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God.

Whitney writes:

The value of many of these questions is not in their profundity, but in the simple fact that they bring an issue or commitment into focus. For example, just by articulating which person you most want to encourage this year is more likely to help you remember to encourage that person than if you hadn’t considered the question.

Whitney also offers an additional 21 questions to help us “consider our ways.”

Read the whole article here.

Click here to see the whole post.

I say “usually” because there are certain times when I find it difficult to serve.  The hardest time for me to serve is when I perceive someone to be treating me like a servant.  When someone expects me to serve, or when I’m looked down upon in my service, then I have a hard time serving the Lord. (Of course this never happens at Lighthouse, but you understand what I’m getting at).  Suddenly, my service to the Lord becomes unpalatable because I’m being treated like a servant.  It’s as though I’m saying to the Lord, “I’ll serve you, Lord…as long as I don’t actually have to be a real servant.”

In John 13, Jesus washes His disciples’ feet.  He takes on a lowly, dirty, and humiliating job.  Jesus humbles Himself before His disciples in an act of love and devotion.  He acts as a servant with all His heart.  He does not separate serving from being a servant.  Later, during Jesus’ greatest act of humility and servanthood, He goes to the cross as people spit on Him, mock Him, and physically torture Him, even though He is serving the very people who are attacking Him.  Jesus’ acts of love and service represent a genuine servant’s heart and not simply service rendered.

Are you a server?  Or are you a servant?  The former is someone who performs good acts occasionally.  The latter is someone who serves from a heart of true humility and love for the Lord.  May we be true servants of the Lord and follow the example of Jesus. 
   

Here's a link for the free online player of Andrew Peterson's epic Behold the Lamb of God: http://andrew-peterson.com/players/btlog/

Have you ever felt like you don’t have much to offer? Look again at the first phrase of the passage—“As each has received a gift”—it doesn’t say “for those who have” or “if you have,” but the implication is that each person has a gift that they can bring.

Ok, so what is my gift?

Well, as the passage tells us, we are “good stewards of God’s varied grace.” Our gifts come from God’s grace (we can’t take credit) and they are varied. So, each of us has a unique gift and often it is a blend of different types of giftings. Some are called to teach, lead, administrate, others are called to helps, prayer, mercy, giving. Some have musical or other creative arts type giftings. Some are gifted to make money so that they can give more to those in need. The list goes on. Examine your life. What areas have you served in? What service has borne fruit? What do you seem to be good at? Ask others who know you well.

What am I supposed to do with this gift?

Simply put—“serve one another!” We need to use our gifts; if you have the gift to speak, speak! Gift of serving? Serve! So another thing we learn about gifts is that they are to be used for the betterment of the body, not to be kept for ourselves.

Anything else?

Why, yes. Notice that we “serve by the strength that God supplies,” and that we do so in order that “God may be glorified.” So, we each have a unique gift that is used to serve one another by God’s strength for His glory.

Let us be a 100/100 church! 100% of the people doing 100% of the work. If you have not found an opportunity to share your gifting, talk with one of the leaders at Lighthouse and find out how you can get involved.

Unless you’ve been hiding in a cave for the past few weeks, you’re well aware of the fact that the Christmas season has once again come upon us with sound and fury. And along with the Christmas season have come all the normal Christmas accoutrements: Christmas trees, Christmas gifts, Christmas food, and Christmas lights.

But nothing announces the arrival of Christmas more than Christmas music. When else would it be culturally acceptable to hear songs about a large man dressed in red surreptitiously delivering packaged goods to children based on morality? When I was growing up, my sister was so excited about the music of the season that she would start playing it in June; the result was a mild overdose of Christmas music that has lingered to this day.

I have no beef with Christmas music as a genre, but as with all things, Christians should exercise discernment. The danger of Christmas music is that it is often more about Christmas than it is about Christ. After all, the angels that announced Christ’s birth sang of the Savior, not snow and sleighs. We should sanctify the elements of our Christmas traditions, including the music we listen to and sing.

If you’re looking for an alternative to Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” and the Carpenter’s “Sleigh Ride,” here are some recommendations for excellent music to celebrate the coming of our Savior:

Andrew Peterson - Behold the Lamb

This is a masterful Christmas album from singer-songwriter Andrew Peterson that moves through the redemptive story of Scripture, from the Passover Lamb of imprisoned Israel to the manger in Bethlehem. While the songs may not be suited for caroling, this is one of the most theologically rich and thought-provoking albums I have ever heard.

Sounds like: Rich Mullins, Caedmon's Call, James Taylor, Michael Card

Sovereign Grace – Savior: Celebrating the Mystery of God Become Man

As with all Sovereign Grace music, Savior is biblically rich and deeply worshipful. This Christmas album is particularly profitable in its direct connection of the Christmas story to the Gospel. Many of the songs would be a great addition to corporate or family worship.

Sounds like: Chris Tomlin, Mercy Me, Casting Crowns

Sojourn - Advent Songs

Sojourn is a church in Kentucky with a burgeoning music ministry, having already released several CDs of modern hymn arrangements. Advent Songs is their contribution to the Christmas pantheon of music, with fresh arrangements of classics and outstanding original compositions. Their style moves gracefully from folk to pop to rock and back again; there’s even a metal-tinged arrangement of “What Child is This” that is nothing short of electrifying. I've listened to this album at least once a week since November. It's that good. Best of all, Advent Songs can be found for free through Noisetrade. Yay free!

Sounds like: Nickel Creek, Toad the Wetsprocket, Counting Crows

High Street Hymns - Advent and Christmas Songs

New hymn arrangements are the new pink; everyone seems to be doing them these days. Add to the list High Street Hymns, who have compiled a very tasteful five song CD of Christmas hymns. Elegant acoustic guitar parts fill this folk-rock album, making it a welcome addition to anyone's mellow Christmas music library. You can also find this album free on Noisetrade.com.

Sounds like: Nickel Creek, Toad the Wetsprocket, Counting Crows

Future of Forestry - Advent Christmas EP

Future of Forestry has emerged as one of the most sonically innovative Christian rock bands in recent years. They do far more than push the envelope; they've set the envelope on fire and then chucked it over a mile-high cliff. They set classic Christmas hymns to their characteristic post-rock style, achieving intricate tapestries of sound that are both captivating and haunting.

Sounds like: Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Explosions in the Sky, Jeff Buckley

Songs about heaven have been so helpful for me in not just filling my head with knowledge about our future home, but stirring my heart to be filled with longing for it. Here are a couple of albums that may be helpful to you as you long to not only live in light of eternity, but sing in light of eternity.

O For That Day - Enfield

This is the debut album for Enfield, the college ministry worship team at Grace Community Church. Named after the Connecticut town where Jonathan Edwards preached his famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," this band is anything but puritanical. When they purposed to create an album themed around heaven, they were disappointed to find that they few and far between. So, they wrote their own! And what songs they have written! The songwriting is phenomenal and Biblical to boot (what other album has a credit for a theological consultant?). The well-crafted lyrics paint such a wonderful picture of not only what heaven will be like, but express the deep longing of the Christian to finally be home. Musically, Enfield fits into an aggressive rock-pop style that is dynamic without being overwhelming, accessible without being cliche. If you have to own one album on heaven, this is it.

The Far Country - Andrew Peterson

Since my original purchase of this album in 2008, I have listened to it approximately 1.2 million times. Andrew Peterson is more than a singer-songwriter out of Nashville; he is a wordsmith of epic proportion. More than almost any other songwriter I've heard, he is able to craft lyrics that do far more than express theological truth; they tell a theological story. "Far Country" is his attempt to tell the story of living in this world for the next. He draws his themes from a variety of sources: Abraham's desire for a country he had not seen, leaving Middle Earth from Grey Haven's in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, the child longing for adventure found in make-believe games; all are fuel for Peterson's creative fire. His style is a folk-pop that works well with his story-telling skills. If you're a fan of James Taylor, you're a fan of Andrew Peterson. Fellow intern Jesse Terasaki told me recently that reading about Aslan in Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia makes him want to know Jesus better. Listening to Andrew Peterson makes me want to go to the Far Country more.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name

The Apostle Peter reminds us of this fact in the introduction of his second epistle:

“Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ."

Our standing before God is not based on anything we do, what sins we’ve committed today, or what good works we’ve performed.  Our standing is based on the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. There are no better Christians.  And there is no such thing as a Christian having a good or bad “Christian day.” 

Yet oftentimes we live like this, don’t we?  If we miss our quiet times, if we get mad at our family members, if we give into any sort of temptation, we feel that our standing before God has somehow been tarnished.  That we’re bad Christians.

But Peter reminds us that this is not the case.  Our standing is just as good as the apostles.  You know why?  Because our righteousness is not from ourselves, it is from Jesus Christ.   
If you do your quiet time for the day, good!  You spent time with God and that is a joy and a privilege.  But it doesn’t make you more righteous.  It doesn’t make you more deserving of salvation, more holy in God’s eyes.  It’s not like God is looking down from heaven and saying, “Yep, I definitely made a good pick with that one, he’s so godly with his one hour quiet time.” Our standing before God is based on the righteousness of Christ.  Period.  If we fail we are sinners saved by grace and if we do good works we are sinners saved by grace.

How freeing grace is, that we are free to live and to fail and to be redeemed and to give glory to God, all powered by grace, all built on the foundation of a righteousness that is not of ourselves but of God.

Next time you sin, remember this.  Next time you do a good work, remember this.  Think of where your hope lies.  It will remind you just how amazing grace really is.

Facebook Page - Lighthouse Community Church - Torrance CA

Twitter - LighthouseSB

Here's a sample from the second article of the series:

"When I meet a young man today, I pretty much assume that he is into pornography or at least that at one time he has been. It is sad but true. The sheer accessibility of pornography almost guarantees that every young man will find it; and once it has been tasted, it is difficult not to indulge. I know that the issue of pornography is spoken about so often in Christian circles that it is in danger of becoming cliche. But it is a reality we cannot avoid or overlook. The purpose of this short series of articles is not to say, “quit porn” as much as it is to say, “look what porn is doing to your heart.” I hope that this message will help you first see that you do need to quit looking at porn and, second (and even if you’ve already broken free) that you need to find a new way of looking at sex. Just quitting, while it is the right thing to do, is not enough. You need to replace the lies with truth."

Read the entire article here.

I feel such a burden for us as a church to swim against the tide of almost every current in our culture. More and more and more, America is a nation given over to play. The industries of play are huge! Houses are built today with entertainment centers. Computers and videos and television and stereo all coordinate to give us ever more stimulating and captivating distractions from the realities of the world. When we need to be dreaming, for the glory of Christ, about how to spend our lives alleviating ignorance and sickness and misery and lostness, we are becoming more and more addicted to amusement.

Make a little test of evangelical vocabulary, and calculate, for example, the increasing frequency with which we use the world "fun" to describe almost everything we like. But when do we describe our good experiences as "meaningful" or "significant" or "enriching" or "ennobling" or "worthwhile" or "edifying" or "helpful" or "strengthening" or "encouraging" or "deepening" or "transforming" or "valuable" or "eye-opening" or "God-exalting"?

Examine yourself with this text: Whatever else it teaches, this is clear, it teaches that after death there is eternal life and glory and honor and peace, and there is eternal wrath and indignation and tribulation and distress. And in the twinkling of an eye, even before this service is over, you could be irreversibly in the one or the other. I am a watchman on the wall. And I have warned you as clearly as I know how. Get ready and stay ready.

Live in the light of eternity. And I do mean light, not shadow. When you have come to know your God, and love his Son so much that you can say, "For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain," then living in the light of eternity will replace your "fun" with deeper, higher, wider, longer, more unshakable, more varied, more satisfying, more durable, more solid pleasures than all the fun that entertainment could ever give. O come, and let us be a different breed of people for the few short years we have to live upon this earth! Dream some dream of making your life count for Christ and his Kingdom. "Only one life, 'twill soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last."

There is a truth that we can learn from the nation of Judah (and Israel) and this truth is that just being called the Christian Church is not good enough.  Christians can’t just live off of reputation and deeds of the past.  The times are changing and the evangelical church must take up the torch and be a light in this ever-darkening world.  But how?  How can we raise our grade? 

Unfortunately the nation of Israel thought they could live off of their reputation which led to their pride.  They thought they could live without submitting themselves to the laws of God.  God even uses a visual illustration of how worthless they are.  They are like a ruined loincloth.  When it is ruined, it can’t be used.  God equates this ruined loincloth with Judah and calls them “good for nothing” (Jeremiah 13:10).

In Jeremiah 13:1-11, the prophet Jeremiah declares God’s judgment upon the nation of Judah.  They were being judged for their lack of humility.  This pride found in the hearts of the people was the source of their outward sins.  God says, “This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth” (v. 10). 

Pride always takes us away from God.  Pride thinks we know what is best for ourselves.  Pride makes us think, “God doesn’t know what He is doing nor does He know what is best for me.”  Our prideful hearts turn away from God.

How has pride manifested itself in sinful actions in your life?

We must understand that in order for the Church of Jesus Christ to make an impact upon our country, we must individually seek after God.  For when we individually seek after God it means we corporately are seeking after God resulting in us being how Israel should have been, “a people, a name, a praise, and a glory” for God and His kingdom.

Come before God humbly and ask God to reveal where you are prideful and where your idols are in your heart.

As my interest in coffee has increased, so has my conscience been pricked as to the role of such passions in my Christian life. Has coffee become an idol to me? Am I allowed to enjoy it this much? Perhaps you have such qualms about an area of your life: Is it wrong for me to like sports as much as I do? Is God okay with me enjoying playing board games with my family? Should I feel guilty for having so much fun on my vacation?

While any object of our pursuit may potentially be an idol that vies for our worship of God, I am not convinced that it is wrong to take pleasure in our experiences in this life. This became clear when our junior high ministry was studying through the book of Ecclesiastes. Often portrayed as a book of demoralizing pessimism, Ecclesiastes in reality offers some of the most refreshing exhortations for the people of God to enjoy life and its pleasures.

Ecclesiastes 2:24 is the first of such exhortations: “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw is from the hand of God.” In this verse and others like it, we are encouraged to find enjoyment in life! Enjoy it! Drink that coffee! Play that game! Have fun on that vacation!

But such endorsement comes with a caveat. Enjoyment of such things is only right when seen through the correct lens: they are gifts from God. The enjoyment of life “is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?” (Ecclesiastes 2:24b-25). Indeed, life is enjoyable when we recognize the God who has gifted that life to us! Drink that coffee, because God has given it to you! Play that game, because God has given it to you! Have fun on that vacation, because God has given to you!

Enjoyment itself is not an evil thing. Enjoyment apart from God is an evil thing. Evil is to enjoy the real pleasures of this life but to deny God the glory as the great giver of gifts and the source of all pleasure. This would be akin to a child unwrapping a new bike at Christmas and riding off down the street without so much as a backward glance at the father who had given it to him.

What are the simple pleasures of your life? Have you enjoyed them the way that God intends for you to? Take time to consciously thank God for whatever you take pleasure in this week. Then we can go out for coffee and talk about it.

If I were to choose one book, outside the Bible, that has been most influential to me as a
Christian and a minister in the church, I would say it is Desiring God by John Piper. For much of my life I had served God largely out of duty. To me, this seemed like the right thing to do. In fact it seemed very godly to give up what I wanted to do for my commitment to Christ. Along with this was the unspoken feeling that Christian joy was found in your faith only when you did Christian activities. In other words there was Christian joy to be found in serving, sharing your faith, or giving offering to the church. However, though there was joy to be found in a good meal, playing a sport, or hugging your wife, these were not Christian joys.

My thinking changed when a friend came to me with a significant struggle with sin in his life. We decided to meet to study and pray, and in God’s sovereignty, we chose to read Desiring God. Piper’s premise was truly earth shattering: there is ultimate joy to be found in God and that joy in Him is what brings Him the ultimate glory. It turned much of what I thought about faith upside down and has influenced my thinking about life and ministry ever since. 

In Desiring God, John Piper’s aim is to establish from Scripture that Christian Hedonism, the belief that “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him” (50),  is true. It seems that Piper is successful in this endeavor as he takes us to Scripture to show why it is a biblical belief. Piper begins his defense of Christian Hedonism by establishing the truth that God’s greatest passion is His own glory. As it says in Isaiah 48:11, “For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.” Piper says, “God’s overwhelming passion is to exalt the value of his glory. To that end he seeks to display it, to oppose those who belittle it, and to vindicate it from all contempt. It is clearly the uppermost reality in his affections. He loves his glory infinitely” (43).  God’s pursuit of His own glory is the foundation of Christian Hedonism. This is important in that whatever our pursuits are, they must tie into this idea of the glory of God. If God’s greatest desire is His own glory, then we cannot pursue our own joy for our own glory.

Piper also establishes the idea that men seek happiness and joy. He was enlightened to this through the writings of C.S. Lewis, Blaisé Pascal, and Scripture, especially the Psalms (37:4; 42:1-2; 63:1; 36:8; 34:8; 119:103; 43:4; 16:11). Piper also teaches that our greatest joy is to be found in God. He is our Creator and He created us to live in worship of Him. So for us to be truly joyful it must be found in God Himself. As Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord…” and in Psalm 16:11, the Bible says, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” This means that if God wants to love us and bring us joy, He must give us Himself. Piper says, “In view of God’s infinite power and wisdom and beauty, what would his love to a human being involve? Or to put it another way: What could God give us to enjoy that would prove him most loving? There is only one possible answer: himself! If he withholds himself from our contemplation and companionship, no matter what else he gives us, he is not loving” (48).  Later he says, “So if God loves us enough to make our joy full, he must not because he needs to shore up some weakness in himself or compensate for some deficiency, but because he loves us and seeks the fullness of our joy that can be found only in knowing and praising him, the most magnificent of all Beings. If he is truly for us he must be for himself" (49).

To bring this two ideas together, God’s pursuit of His own glory and our greatest joy being found in God, Piper also argues that God is glorified when He is our greatest joy. As said earlier, “God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him.”  God is glorified not just when we choose Him above other things, but when we prefer Him above other things. When we can say like Paul, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Phil 3:8), then we truly bring God honor. From a theological perspective you can imagine the benefit. If God’s greatest passion and pursuit is His own glory and His glory is most greatly displayed when His children take their ultimate joy in Him, then this means that He is going to pursue our joy (for His glory). It is a stunning doctrine that God would so passionately pursue our joy. In part, this is what changed my faith so much. No longer did I have to avoid joy as some earthly vice, but I was to passionately pursue it, only in the Lord. It also meant (as he discusses in chapter 3) that my problem is not that I have pursued joy, but I have not pursued it enough. As he says, “That’s it!  The enemy of worship is not that our desire for pleasure is too strong but to weak!  We have settled for a home, a family, a few friends, a job, a television, a microwave, an occasional night out, a yearly vacation, and perhaps a new personal computer.  We have accustomed ourselves to such meager, short-lived pleasures that our capacity for joy has shriveled… Many can scarcely imagine what is meant by ‘a holiday at the sea’ – worshiping the living God" (88).

Piper’s view of Christian Hedonism is not abstract theology. As the rest of the book shows, it is undoubtedly practical. In fact as you look at the rest of the book, he explains how Christian Hedonism affects the Christian life. He looks at prayer, money, marriage, mission and suffering. Within the context of Christian Hedonism, these aspects of life are transformed and given new and often more significant meaning. For instance, though missionary work is a struggle, in reality you are denying yourself “a lesser good for a greater good” (202). Or as Paul puts it in Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Similarly he says in 2 Corinthians 4:17, “or this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison…” Another example would be money, which Piper calls the “currency of Christian Hedonism" (159). Piper quotes 1 Timothy 6:6 which says, “Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment…” Piper’s point is that the Bible does not say that there is great gain in having a lot of money for selfish reasons but that in contentment, we have great gain. To put it in even more obvious terms he quotes Jesus in Matthew 6:20, “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Rather than use our money for ourselves, we are to use it to show that our real joy is found in the Lord.

Obviously, since this book has been so influential to me, I do not have much to critique. However, if I were to bring up a concern, it would be the term “Christian Hedonism.” It seems that this concern has already been brought up many times (much of the Introduction is a defense of the term). Though I may not agree with the magnitude of the concern that others have expressed, I do see it being a troublesome term. Webster’s Dictionary defines hedonism as “the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the sole or chief good in life.”  It is a belief that does not usually include God and conversely often exists in belief systems in which there is no God to judge right or wrong. Even if you can offer, as Piper attempts to do, that we can choose the object of our hedonistic pleasure (whether Christian or not), the stigma associated with the word seems to make it a poor choice. It seems that since it is not a biblical word, why fight so hard to be allowed to use it? Since the beliefs of Christian Hedonism are biblical, why not use another term so that the focus stays on the doctrine and not the semantics of the issue? It is a small critique, but if you take away that stumbling block it might be more palatable with readers who are new to the beliefs (specifically, Christian Hedonism).

In Desiring God, John Piper successfully proves his thesis that “God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in him.” It is a theology, when taken to heart, that means rather than avoid joy, I should passionately pursue it, only in the Lord. For me, it has been something that has influenced life and ministry, and for that I am very grateful. Needless to say, I cannot recommend this book enough. I believe that if read thoughtfully and humbly, it will be transforming to your entire life, and you will be encouraged to live all the more for the glory of God.
 

I believe that there is no greater thing for the Christian than to learn about and then to meditate upon the person of Christ.  What he is like, what he loves and hates, his glory.  

Hebrews 1:1-4 says,

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but 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. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

There is an ocean of truths that we can dive into in just these four verses.  The author of Hebrews says that Christ is the “radiance of the glory of the God.”  He is the visible manifestation of the invisible God.  Christ is also not the reflection of the glory of God, but he is the radiance—the glory of God emanates from the very person of Christ.

This means that we should be seeking to know the glory of the Living God everyday more and more.  We should take heart that we can somehow catch a glimpse of this glory in Christ.  Read Matthew.  Read Mark.  Read Luke.  Read John.  Read the Bible.  See for yourself what is this radiance of the glory of God.

Rub shoulders with the crowds, feel the desert heat, smell the salt air of the Sea of Galilee.  Don’t skim through the Bible like it’s just words on a page.  The glory of God is to be seen in Jesus turning water into wine, in Jesus feeding the five thousand, in Jesus rebuking the demons and healing the blind and raising the dead.  

Hebrews 4:12 says that “the word of God is living and active.”  Do you want to know the living Christ?  Come to the living word and meet him, know him, behold his glory, love his person.
Have you gotten your daily dose of Christ today?  Is it as important as breathing, or eating, or sleeping?  Is Christ the medicine for your spiritual sicknesses?  Is Christ the cure for your debilitating sins?  

He is.  It’s Bible reading time.  

 

“A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich” (Prov 10:4).
“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out” (Prov 10:9).
“One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.”

Have you ever read through Proverbs and wondered, “Really? Is this really true or just a nice fortune cookie kind of saying?” There are some lazy people who are rich and some hard working people who are poor. There are plenty of people who don’t walk straight and seem to get away with it. And some of those rich folks, they don’t seem to give all that freely, yet don’t seem to be in want. What’s going on here? How does this apply to my life?

As we study through the book of Proverbs, it is important for us to understand the genre of literature in helping us to interpret and understand what we are reading. The book of Proverbs, along with Ecclesiastes and Job, are considered the wisdom literature of the Bible. They are often poetical and complement each other to give a more complete picture of God’s wisdom. Proverbs offers up general truths and nuggets of wisdom in an almost idealistic manner. Job, in contrast, challenges the surefootedness of Proverbs by presenting doubts to these generalizations; as a result the sovereignty of God and His authorship of all wisdom are seen. Ecclesiastes shows that there are exceptions to the wisdom taught in Proverbs, but that ultimately, wisdom if found in the fear of the Lord—He is the perfect judge of the motives behind all that we do. Taken together, a balanced and more comprehensive view of God’s wisdom is seen.

So, in studying Proverbs, we need to understand that these teachings are general truths, not hard and fast ones. Yes, the lazy person typically will struggle in poverty and the hard worker will prosper—but this isn’t always the case. Yet it is wise and good for us to understand and live out this wisdom as much as we can. Plus, in an eternal sense, these Proverbs are fulfilled—diligence in the Lord will lead to eternal treasures.

What about the structure of Proverbs? It all seems somewhat random. There often seems to be little flow in ideas and deep truths are juxtaposed with seemingly simple thoughts. There is often repetition as well—the same truths are found in multiple places. This is a good reflection of life. Challenging moments that require more wisdom are often found amidst the mundane routine of daily living. God usually has to teach us something over and over before we finally get it. You will also notice the use of couplets each verse typically has two lines of thought related to one another. Contrasts, comparisons, illustrations, and explanations are often employed to better emphasize a truth.

Hopefully armed with a foundational understanding of what this rich book of wisdom has to tell us, we can all grow as we continue to try to live God’s way. “Trust in the Lord with all of you heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all of your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths” (Prov 3:5-6).

Do you think that the verse above comes from the Old Testament or the New Testament?  My guess is that many people would say the New Testament because it emphasizes the forgiving, merciful and patient aspects of God.  We sometimes have a mindset that the God of the Old Testament is very different from the God of the New Testament.  We wrongly see the God of the Old Testament as a harsh rule-giver and the God of the New Testament as loving and forgiving.  While the Bible does show us different aspects of God’s character throughout its many pages, placing more emphasis on some of God’s characteristics in some books than others, God does not change.  God is always just, and he is always loving, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

The passage of Scripture quoted above at the top of the page comes from the second half of Nehemiah 9:17.  It describes the loving God who we often associate with the New Testament, but in this case, Nehemiah is referring to God’s loving actions towards the Israelites after the exodus from Egypt and their time of slavery.  More specifically, it refers to God’s loving actions towards the Israelites just after they rebelled against God and Moses by choosing a new leader to take them back into slavery in Egypt.  In the midst of the people’s sin and lack of faith in God’s plan to take them to the Promised Land, despite all of the wonders he had showed them with their eyes (the 10 plagues, the parting of the Red Sea), the people rebelled.  The people rebelled, but God was ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.

Aren’t we blessed to have a God who acts in this way even though we are sinners?  We deserve eternal punishment, but God is ready to forgive.  We don’t deserve a second, third or even fourth chance, but God is gracious and merciful.  We don’t deserve to live one second after we sin against God, but he is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  We deserve to be forever separated from God and all of his blessings, but he will not forsake us if we will return to him. 

I hope that this passage encourages you to see the love and forgiveness of our Father.  If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins and have asked for forgiveness, then this is the love God has for you.  It doesn’t matter how big or how small your sins are.  It doesn’t matter how guilty or ashamed you feel.  Remember the context of our passage today – the Israelites had directly rebelled against God’s plan to take them to the Promised Land!  It doesn’t get much worse than that!  There will still be consequences for our sins and we must live them, but we should take great joy and find perfect peace in knowing that God is ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and he does not forsake us!

Today’s culture does not encourage wives to respect their husbands. Our culture teaches women to love themselves and to think highly of themselves. Women are encouraged to think highly of their husbands only when they do something that they see is right. Television shows portray women bashing their husbands with sarcasm and mean comments. Many women “vent” with their girlfriends about all the things they don’t like or don’t appreciate about their husbands. Generally, women show very little respect to their husbands.

Contrary to our society, the Bible teaches in Ephesians 5:33 that, “However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” Here, it is very clear that women are commanded to respect their husbands. Not only do we need to know that this is what the Bible commands us to do, but we must also know how to practically live out this command. If we are not obeying God’s Word, then we are in sin. Thus, it is very important that we understand and apply this command to respect our husbands.

In Ephesians 5:33, the word, “respect,” means “to esteem him highly.” Another definition is, “to be in awe of, to revere, to reverence, or to treat as someone special.”  We can see that a wife who is respectful is one who reveres her husband, thinks highly of him, speaks highly of him and treats him as more important than herself. Wives are to respect their husbands in their thoughts, words and actions.

Now upon reading this, some wives may be thinking, “Respect my husband? Are you crazy?” Some wives cannot think of any reason to respect their husband. Maybe you graduated from a more prestigious college, or maybe you know much more about the Bible than your husband, or maybe your husband is not a Christian. However, the command to respect your husband still applies to you. Wives need to remember that they are to respect the position of the husband as head of the family (1 Corinthians 11:3). Because God has given this position to the husband, wives are to show respect to their husbands in obedience to God.

So what does this type of respect look like? There are many ways respect can manifest itself in marriage:

The first way a wife can show respect to her husband is in her speech. Too often, women can get together and share “prayer requests” that end up being complaint lists about their husbands. They share the irritating things that their husbands do with one another, or they may speak poorly of him in front of other people. This is not showing respect. A wife who respects her husband will speak highly of him to him and to others. She will not put him down, but build him up. She will speak with a gracious and loving tone of voice. She will not speak to him as if he is dumb.

A second way that a wife can show respect is in her thoughts about her husband. If a wife dwells on things that herhusband has not done well or has failed to do for the family, it will be difficult to show respect. However, if she thinks about the things that he has done well, it will be much easier to show respect to her husband.

A third way a wife can show respect to her husband is in her confrontations with him. Many times if a husband is in sin, a wife will become angry or frustrated with him. His sin will be brought up in a fight or argument. This is not respecting one’s husband. In confrontation, wives need to gently and lovingly reprove their husbands for their sin. Wives can be a wonderful, God-given tool used to grow husbands in the sanctification process. However, a wife must confront sin in their husbands’ lives with a respectful attitude.

Last summer, I had the opportunity to take a marriage and family counseling class. I was very convicted from the teaching that I needed to grow in showing respect towards my husband, Kim. One area that God showed me I was not showing respect towards him was in my speech about him to others. I had grown up thinking that it is not good to brag about yourself, and, thus, I applied that to not wanting to brag about my husband. However, after learning about the command to respect my husband, I have learned that sharing things I appreciate about Kim is not bragging. Instead, it is a way that I can encourage him and grow my own heart in the area of respect. Thus, I have tried to grow in sharing about things that I appreciate or love about Kim. For example, I enjoy sharing with others that I am so blessed that Kim is a man of the Word. It is so wonderful to be married to a man who knows God’s Word so well and can help me to understand it better. I personally love being around women who speak highly of their husbands. I can think of a few ladies at Lighthouse who have nothing but gracious and wonderful things to share about their husbands. Keep at it ladies! It encourages my heart and reminds me that I need to respect my husband in that way too!

Ladies, I hope this blog does not discourage you, but rather encourages you. It can be difficult at times to show respect to our husbands. But have HOPE! God can use your respectful attitude in wondrous ways! 1 Peter 3:1-2 says, “Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct.” This tells us that even in marriage to a non-believer, God can use a respectful wife to with him over to Christ! Many may think that it would take a wife who could argue about theology or a wife who is articulate to bring a non-believing husband to Christ. But here we see that the Word says a wife can bring a husband to Christ through her respectful behavior towards him. That is amazing! Proverbs 16:21 says, “the sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.” If we can speak kindly, we are more able to be persuasive to our husbands. What a blessing it will be to our Lord, our husbands, and our marriages if we can work on this area of respect.  

For further study:

Excellent Wife, by Martha Peace.
Feminine Appeal, Carolyn Mahaney
“Girl talk” blog, girltalkhome.com

First, I think it is interesting that when Jesus says what not to worry about, he uses the lowest common denominator. By that I mean he says that we should not be worried about the very basic necessities of life (food and clothing), so we can assume that there is nothing we should be worried over. It is easy for me to recognize that being anxious over whether or not you might have to sell your vacation home in a down economy is sinful, but food or clothing? If someone came to me and said that they were worried because they weren’t sure if they would be able to feed their family that night, I wouldn’t just understand, but I’d assume that they are justified in their worry. After all, who wouldn’t worry in that situation? But Jesus makes no such allotment: “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on” (Luke 12:22). This isn’t because he was indifferent to people’s struggles. On the contrary, no one exemplified compassion like Him. Jesus tells them not to worry because of one simple truth: they can trust in the faithfulness of God. To Jesus, trusting in the Lord is not some Christian cliché, but was applicable to the nitty-gritty of life. It was not just words, but a profound truth that if lived out will wipe away anxiety.

In light of this, let me ask you this question: Are there areas of your life that you are justifying your worry? Maybe you justify worry about work because you might be laid off. Maybe you justify worry over your kids become one has gone astray. Maybe you justify worry over money because you are not sure if you can pay the bills. If you are worried about something, take time in humble repentance asking for God’s grace to overcome your anxiety through a trust in Him.

The second idea from this passage isn’t actually found in the passage, but in the context. The context of a passage is the surrounding verses which help us place a passage into the framework of a bigger section (whether it be a teaching, story, song, etc.). In the cases of both the Luke 12 passage and the Matthew 6 passage they are both preceded by different teachings, but with similar ideas. In the case of the Matthew 6 passage, Jesus instructs his audience to lay up treasures in heaven. In the case of the Luke 12 passage, Jesus tells a story that shows the danger of laying up treasure for yourself. Then, in both passages, Jesus says, “Therefore.” Whenever you are studying a passage in the Bible and come across the word “therefore,” we should ask, “What is the therefore there for?” In the case of these two passages, the “therefore” indicates that not being anxious has to do with what rules your heart, God or money. The logic is simple: if making and saving and spending money is what rules your heart, then you will be very anxious about those things. However, if God is supreme and money does not have a grip on your heart, then you can be assured that the loss of money or not having enough money, won’t cause you to be anxious. Robert Jones says it much more eloquently than me in a journal article from the Journal of Biblical Counseling (vol. 7, no. 3, Spring, 1999). He says:

“Jesus tells you in verses 19-25 that worry is idolatry.  Idolatry means to worship someone or something other than the true and living God.  It is giving yourself to some person, goal, idea, or object other than Jesus.  It involves hitching your heart to some false savior and refuge; exalting your personal desires above the Lord; serving some master other than God.  Worry expresses idolatry in the heart.  Your worry is a sign that in some way you are trusting in yourself, that you are building your life on things or people other than Jesus.  Your anxiety is an automatic indicator of a heart that is not fully following the Lord but is temporarily following something else.”

Let’s bring that truth to our own lives. If I am worried, it is because something other than God rules my heart. It means that I am trusting in and worshiping something other than God and that idolatry is causing me to sin. The question I could ask myself is, “What is it that I want that I am not getting?” The answer shows me my idol.

Take an example from my life. I use to get incredibly anxious over preaching. Why? Because I really craved and wanted the approval of people. I was worried that people wouldn’t like my message. I was worried that people wouldn’t think I was a good speaker. I was worried that I would embarrass myself. Why was I anxious? Because having people’s approval ruled my heart. Things are different now (though I still occasionally struggle), but what has changed? I try to trust in God and am more concerned about what He things rather than what other people think. No longer am I worried that my idol (of people’s approval) will be attacked, I just trust that if I am faithful to God, I do not need to worry about what people think.

If you are worried over a certain issue, is there something that you are worshiping or trusting in that is not God? If so, take time in humble repentance to ask forgiveness for worshiping other things.

In one sense I may be pointing out the obvious. However, I know for me, it is helpful to continue to think of these truths as I face the many trials of life. May our hearts trust in the Lord alone!

Free time at last,
Enough to catch my wind, go for a spin,
View my cable, sit on a table, read a label
What’s that?  Who’s on the phone?  Is it overblown?
I’ve been busy all day
Is it true the Lord is one click away?

My day goes by in a haze, a dream I barely perceive
It’s like being lost at sea, eating tofu for free, losing a house key
I’ll sit and rest and think, but I blink and I get lost for a sec
Okay Father, did I forget, are you still there?  I still care

It’s time for rest, the kids are asleep
Chores are done, it’s my time to keep
I’ve been running all day, making hay, catching rays, feeling a bit laz…
Better read the word, so I’ve heard
To pray without ceasing is to keep God on call waiting

I’ve got to click over and talk a bit, share some chit, chew the spit
God is on the other line.  Am I so blind?
Just a reminder from time to time
That’s a lot to rhyme…when this world is all you mind.

I’ve got to pray, PRAY!  I’ve got to pray just to make…
What’s that I hear?  A noise, a lark, a child playing with toys, a dog’s bark?
Keep up and don’t look back, He’s here…He’s always here!
God’s always been here on hold,
Break the mold, I’m told
Gotta go, I can talk all day to the God of the universe I cannot delay.
Click click, it’s my time to pray…all day

I Thessalonians 5:17
“Pray without ceasing”

First, some context: These words respond to John’s concerns over a man who was casting out demons in Jesus Christ’s name yet did not number himself with the other followers of Christ.  Jesus did not want John to forbid him from doing this work since it was in fact the service of a true believer (as evidenced by the success of casting out the demons in Jesus’ name). There are at least two truths detailed in this statement.

The first lesson, again, is that there is no middle ground when it comes to matters of faith and salvation.  We cannot be both for Christ and His teachings and at the same time in opposition to them.  Though neutrality is coveted in our present-day, where political correctness is deemed virtuous, Jesus makes it clear that we must choose sides—even being non-committal is ultimately making a choice against God.  Whether it is through omission or commission, these are still sins against God.

In addition to establishing the truth that all have a position when it comes to Jesus Christ, this passage also directs our attention toward motivation and away from appearances.  For whatever reason, the exorcist was neither traveling with nor publicly identifying himself with Christ; for John that meant he was forbidden from serving in this manner, but for Christ, He looked at the man’s motivation and heart and allowed him to go on.  The account of this episode in Mark 9 adds further insight as Christ reassures that “no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.” So the paradox continues: some who were numbered with Christ were not true believers, and some who were not counted as disciples were in fact true believers.

Applying this verse to our lives, we see that there is simply no neutral ground regarding Jesus Christ.  May this truth transform the way you share the gospel in a world increasingly committed to seeing both sides but not choosing one.  Finally, may Christ’s words encourage us to worry not about the Christian circles we run in or the Bible teachers we ally ourselves with, but to focus rather on our motivation, our heart, and our purpose: to worship, serve, and glorify God.

Spend a few minutes at your local Borders bookstore and you’re bound to come across books like The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, The End of Faith by Sam Harris, God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens, and Breaking the Spell by Daniel Dennett. Who are these men? What are they writing about? And what do they share in common?

These men are the pillars of a movement known as New Atheism, a view that holds to the likely non-existence of God. Do they believe religion, and Christianity in particular, is false? Yes, they do. However, their main thrust isn’t so much that religions are untrue; rather, religions are bad (morally, not Michael Jackson-ly). So there’s more an emphasis away from epistemology and toward ethics as the basis against the existence of God. Interesting.

This is interesting because morality doesn’t have a foundation apart from religion (or more specifically, Christianity). CS Lewis commented in Mere Christianity, “My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?” Precisely.

New Atheists argue against Christianity by asserting it is harmful to humanity, that it produces wars, oppresses women, and indoctrinates children with delusions of fairy tales and the like. Hence, Christianity is evil and bad. But what is evil? Who decides? And on what basis do they make this objective moral judgment? The New Atheist has his feet firmly planted in mid-air.

For a good read and rebuttal to Dawkins’ The God Delusion, I highly recommend Alvin Plantinga’s “The Dawkins Confusion." It’s on the mark…and very funny too.

How many times do we hear a sermon and vow to never get angry again?  How many times do we resolve to love our enemies more or to write down the name of a co-worker to pray for and then we fail or forget?

Christianity can be really frustrating, because Christianity is not about flying solo.  In fact, it’s not us flying at all.  In Luke 7, a centurion soldier knew this. 

After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue." And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith." And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.

What do you think is easier, for Jesus to heal a disease or for Jesus to change a sinful heart?  Trick question.  Neither is easier—both are miraculous.

When we strive for godliness and holiness and to glorify God, we can’t do it on our own.  We need Christ to kill the sin our lives, we need God to transform us from the inside.  We are not our own sanctification—Christ is (1 Cor. 1:30). 

Turn to Christ!  Pray to God that you will really be changed and believe that HE CAN AND WILL change you.  He says ‘go’ and ‘come’ and all creation obeys him.  Believe that he will bring you along from one degree of glory to the next (2 Cor. 3:18).   

Believe.     

In yesterday’s sermon from Philippians 1:12-18, the apostle Paul himself was dealt a seemingly full bag of lemons. Imprisoned for his ministry, constantly chained to Roman guards, restricted under house arrest, Paul was in the midst of very sour circumstances. But what great hope there was in his assertion that “what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.” Because of his imprisonment, Paul had been given opportunity to share the Gospel with his captors, which in turn would have had impact on the whole of the Praetorian guard. The Gospel continued to spread outside of Paul’s prison walls because his imprisonment emboldened evangelists to share the Good News of Christ. This, for Paul, was the great hope of his struggles; the proclamation of the gospel. Despite Paul’s hardships, God was marvelously orchestrating great gospel activity. How amazing is our God to use such difficult trials to save sinners!

Life may have recently dealt you lemons; do you see them as God’s recipe for opportunities for ministry? No matter what circumstance God has placed you in, he desires for you to be faithful in ministering the Gospel. Who can you tell about Christ this week? How might others be encouraged by your witness? Which of your Christian brothers and sisters could be spurred on to greater faithfulness? Be encouraged by Paul’s example. Make some lemonade.

How could a little organ cause so many problems? Because it is part of the greater body. Everything must work together. If even one of the organs begins to fail, the whole body will suffer. As Christians we are all part of a body – the body of greater believers as well as the body of our local church. We are all members, or organs of this body. Which organ are you? Some of us think we’re the brain, the heart, or the lungs. Others of us feel like the left 5th toe, the right elbow, or the appendix.

However you fit in, and God, in His grace, has given each of us a role, the body must work together; there needs to be unity. “Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph 4:1-3). So how do we, with our diverse and unique set of spiritual gifts, work together in unity?

•    We must be humble: every gift is important; maybe yours is more visible, but realize that it is a gift from God and that you are responsible to use it to edify the body, not flaunt it over others! The pastor can’t be heard without a sound person; the sound equipment can’t be bought without a finance team; the offering can’t be collected without ushers …
•    We must be gentle: our spirit and attitude must be mild, we need to show self control; this results from a humble attitude. Sinful people working together will inevitability cause friction! How do you respond?
•    We must be patient: when this friction happens, our humility and gentleness will result in patience – when that team member forgets to bring something or is late, how do you react?
•    We must bear with one another in love: the first three attitudes all stem from and are seen in a forbearing love for each other. Love for God and one another underlies all that we do. Do we lovingly bear with one another, or do we complain, get bitter, gossip?

So, no matter what organ you are, we need to all love one another for who we are and what gifts God has given us. All of us are important members of the same body. And something wonderful happens—we not only have unity but as Ephesians 4 goes on to tell us, the body grows to be more like Christ!

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” 1Tim.6:10

“For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.”  Rom.14:10-12

These verses tell us about the love of money and how we will be accountable before God.  We know these verses, yet when we are constantly bombarded with the values of the world, it’s difficult to resist and obey God’s commandments.  If you look at all the questions above, is there a “yes” or “no” answer, or is there a “gray” area?

As a businessman, I must watch our company’s profit margin and constantly be aware of how economics and even politics can affect our bottom line.  As a father and husband, I must make sure that my family needs for home, food, and schooling are met. 

But the study that we are going though, Crazy Love, is teaching me something different.  There are tough questions that make me examine my life and my walk with the Lord.  One of the toughest questions is, “What are you doing right now that requires faith?”

This is followed by the question, “So how do I do this?”  Notice the word “I.”  That’s a big part of my problem.  “I” want to solve the problem.  Francis Chan quotes John 16:7-8, 13:

"Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.  And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment…When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come."

Is this part of the answer?  I need to rely on the Holy Spirit to guide me.  Sounds simple enough.  When there are questions about finances and money, be secure in the knowledge that God will provide everything you need.  The hard part - I need to get out of the way and have faith.

Can you imagine growing up in a world without the protection, the guidance, the care, and the love of a parent or relative? You can imagine the toll it takes on a child’s heart.  But the hurt and pain don’t evaporate as soon as these children become adults, they just become better at masking the suffering and scars.

The Bible teaches that every single human born is a spiritual orphan.  There are people who have grown up in a family with two parents and all the luxuries of life, but are still spiritual orphans.  There are people who have grown up with no parents and no luxuries of life and are in the same predicament.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 4:3, “In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.”  Every human is orphaned from our one and only Father.  Every human is born into the slavery of sin.  We are all lost needing a Heavenly Father.
Paul writes in verse 4 that in God’s perfect timing He sent His one and only Son into this world to be the Savior for humanity.  Through Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, He opened the door for orphans to be adopted out of the slavery of sin and into the joy of redemption.

Verse 7 says, “So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”  This verse poses three questions that humans long to have answered in their souls.  They are, “Why am I filled with pain?  Who am I?  Why was I created?”

“Why am I filled with pain?”  The answer is because we are filled with and controlled by sin.  But Paul says, “You are no longer a slave.”  When a person offers his life to Christ, he is no longer haunted with the pain of past and present sin.  Adoption means freedom.  Paul declares that we are no longer held by the shackles of sin.  We are free.  Our souls are freed from the pain of past choices and hurts.  The grace of God provides freedom through the forgiveness of our sins.

“Who am I?”  Every human seeks an identity.  Unfortunately we seek our identity in the wrong things: material items, pleasure, friends, music, and the list goes on.  The Bible teaches that every human is a worshiper.  Each person wants to know his identity, therefore he worships something when he feels he has found who he is.  Paul says that when a person is saved by Jesus Christ, he becomes a son or daughter.  Men and women become children of God.  Adoption means family.  It is only when we embrace the Father that we begin to know who we truly are.  We begin realize who we were created to worship and that we are not alone.  Our identity was always created to call God our Father and other disciples of Christ, brothers and sisters.

“Why was I created?”  You may have heard friends and family say, “Is this life all that there is?”  For Christians we know with certainty that there is more.  We were created to live forever in relationship with God and with others.  Adoption means a future.  Paul says that Christians are “heirs through God.”  We were created to reign and rule over this earth under God’s authority.  This is our future, heirs to an everlasting spiritual kingdom.

Do you live knowing that your adoption as a son or daughter of God means freedom, family, and a future?  Know these truths because these are the questions that many people who surround you are searching for answers.  You have been given the answers, now live like it and share the good news of adoption!

By the way, I was spiritually adopted and so were you, if Christ is your Savior and Lord!

For several years, my Mother’s Day has always included dinner at our family’s “special occasion” restaurant, Gina Lee’s Bistro in Redondo Beach.  (Try the catfish!)  Then it’s back home for cards and presents.  When our kids were in elementary school, they made similar gifts that my students make.  I would get cute handmade cards proclaiming that I was the best mom in the world!  Once it was a class cookbook with the students’ interpretations of their mom’s best dish.  One of my kids made me a coupon book that I could use to redeem for a free car wash or a promise to wash the dinner dishes for one night.  I don’t think I ever redeemed them!  Where did those coupons and cards go?

But, the best gifts I ever got didn’t come on Mother’s Day.  They came on two seemingly ordinary days, a couple of years apart, when my two kids accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior.   These gifts didn’t get discarded and forgotten in a drawer or thrown away when faded and falling apart.  These gifts will forever be in my heart and bring me much peace and comfort as I watch my college-aged kids grow into adulthood.

Moms, use all those teachable moments to help your children learn that Jesus died for their sins.  And, children, if your mom is an unbeliever, give her the best gift possible.  Sit down and share the gospel with her.

“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above…” James 1:17

I talked about Paul’s view on suffering this past Sunday, but since we are reading through the end of 2 Corinthians this week, I thought it bears repeating.  To understand Paul’s view of struggling for the gospel, we first must remember that Paul knew suffering. That last statement might win the Understatement of the Year Award; it would be like saying that Lance Armstrong knows how to ride a bike. Listen to Paul’s description of his own suffering in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28:

Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

Can you imagine such suffering? Just think of enduring “forty lashes.” Remember the whipping that Jesus endured that was so vividly portrayed in the movie The Passion of the Christ? Paul says that this happened to him five times! I imagine that by the time he wrote 2 Corinthians his back would look like something out of a horror movie. Who knows if he could even sleep on it without being in pain? And that was only one single aspect of his suffering; his credentials for suffering extended far beyond being whipped.

Why is this significant? Because while Paul describes his sufferings, he doesn’t complain about or even hate his sufferings. In fact, he feels they are a blessing. He writes in 2 Corinthians 4:17, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.” He considers all his suffering to be “light momentary affliction.” Can you believe that? I can think of a lot of “light momentary afflictions” in my life but almost dying wouldn’t be one of them. But Paul speaks the way he does because his sufferings are preparing him for glory in heaven that is “beyond comparison.”

Understand Paul’s logic here. The reward in heaven was so great that all that he suffered paled in comparison and made it worth it. As we discussed on Sunday, the stunning thing is that Paul had actually gotten to visit heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2-4). He wasn’t speaking hypothetically. He suffered beyond what anyone suffered and yet because he got a glimpse of heaven he came to this astonishing conclusion: suffering for Christ is more than worth it.

For me there is difficulty in trying to describe how great heaven is. The Bible purposely doesn’t give us a complete picture. On top of that at times I struggle to be articulate. But maybe a simple way we can understand how amazing heaven must be is to look at through the lens of Paul’s suffering. Read 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 again but do it slowly. Think about the significance of each bit of suffering that Paul went through. Think about how you would have reacted. Think about enduring suffering so great that you would want to die. Think about physical pain, sleepless nights, loneliness and worry. Now think about this: heaven makes those struggles a blessing. Heaven is so great that if those struggles are part of the path to rewards in heaven, then a Christian would be blessed to have them in their life. In fact, heaven is so incredible that as horrible as these struggles are, it cannot even compare to the eternal weight of glory that awaits us.

I admit, words fail me. I wish I could use better words for heaven than “great” and “awesome.” I wish I could make you long for and live for eternity. But I can’t. So I will simply point you to the conclusion of someone who had suffered more than we will ever suffer and yet had seen the heaven that awaited him: IT IS WORTH IT.

Perhaps the most important implication of Moltmann’s perspective, which Volf gives expanded treatment in After Our Likeness, is that the church is an eschatological body.  In other words, the church is going to be around in the end.  If this is the case, then the church is not simply a means to an end, but is also an end in itself.  We are not only meant to hear the message of the church and grow in the church, but we are meant to be in the church.  The individualism that is pervasive in modern (American) society has often deprecated the corporate aspects of the Christian faith.  However, heaven is not depicted as persons in their own individual compartments of paradise worshipping God, but the glory of the Almighty is magnified in the holistic fellowship of believers in the City of God.  This appears to be part of the significance that God creates a New Jerusalem, for a city is never a city of one, but a community of individuals interacting socially for some reason.  Further support can be seen in the fact that not only did Christ die for the individual, as can be seen in Paul’s claim that Christ “gave Himself up for me” (Gal. 2:20), but Christ died for the whole church (Eph. 5:25).  Would Jesus die for the church if it would merely to pass away as some transient institution or stop-gap measure?  It seems that Jesus died for the church so that believers can live out eternity within the body of Christ.

So, what are the implications of the church as not merely a means?  First, as Volf notes, our understanding of church missions will be affected.  Large revivals that have no connection to the local church, no way for the new convert to be integrated into a congregation, may be a failure to recognize the importance of Christ’s body.  Missiology should, then, revolve around the life of the church, with missions for the purpose of planting churches.  Second, not only should the joys of being in a church be stressed, but perhaps even the importance and necessity of such fellowship.  If Christ died for individuals to bring them into relationship with Himself, and died for the church to bring individuals into relationship with one another, then the right place for the believer to live out their faith is within the congregation.  Last, the church as not simply a means would place a greater premium on the purity of the church then often recognized.  It has been argued that individuals who are in unrepentant sin should not be put out of the church (no matter what Matthew 18 says), since the church may be the best place for them to grow and learn about God.  Yet, unaddressed sin can affect the whole life of the church in a manner that is contrary to it being pure bride that will live out eternity in fellowship with Christ.  If the church was simply a means, one might be able to argue that perhaps certain ends can be attained without it, but as an end, life in the church is meant to be one of things we strive to attain.

We hear a good sermon or read an article, book, or blog and feel convicted.  We feel convicted that we need to be better Christians, better people. Then we leave church on Sunday.  We resolve to be better, to do more, to try harder.

But we almost always fail, don’t we?  We catch ourselves getting impatient with the same people, forgetting to read the Bible again, complaining, grumbling, lusting, SINNING.  The harder we try, it seems, the harder we fall. 

I heard an interesting thing, though, a couple of months ago.  Tim Keller, a pastor in New York, made a comment that, in preaching, the pastor cannot just give people dos and don’ts as application.  Why?  Because people will always fail.  We’re weak.  We’re sinful.  Willpower only gets us so far, but never over the hill into real, true, lasting life change. 

All application, he said, must revolve around Christ.  Only Christ can change us.  Only letting Christ into our lives will transform us in a permanent, lasting way. If we want to stop sinning or be better, we can’t just do it.  We must turn to Christ. Desire Christ, love Christ.

In Psalm 84 the Psalmist says:
“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.”

The answer is our problem is not to just stop sinning or start trying harder.  It’s not about making a to-do list, having a three-step program.  It’s about loving Christ.  That will lead to change.  HE WILL CHANGE US, he is at the door and knocking.  But so often we don’t even want to spend 30 minutes in the morning with him, much less desire to be in his house.  We don’t even want to let him into our hearts!     

Do you want to stop arguing with your family?  Open the door.  Do you want to evangelize more?  Turn to Christ.  Do you want to be less stressed?  Behold Christ and love him.  Do you want to be a “better” Christian, do you want to live out your convictions?  It starts with your relationship with Christ. Are we going to let our tempers flare when all our hearts want to do is be in Christ’s presence?  I doubt it.  Can you say with the psalmist that your soul faints to be with God?  After you read this take a couple of moments to really think about it.  Can you say it? 
    

In 2 Corinthians 2:5-11, Paul paints and utterly different picture of a believer’s response to the repentance of a fellow believer.  To put it in context, Paul refers to an incidence of church discipline within the church at Corinth.  Verse 6 gives us some insight into the path the discipline took: “This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man.”  The sufficiency to which Paul refers alludes to the guidelines established in Matthew 18 for church discipline.  The reference to the “majority” gives fair indication that this individual was approached by a brother in Christ and the leadership (to no avail), prompting the entire church to be made aware of his sin.

Paul’s concern here is the proper response of a church to one who has indeed repented from the sin (we know that because Paul says the punishment of the majority is “sufficient”).  Three things stand out in terms of God’s desire for a biblical response.  First, in cases of church discipline, one person’s offense offends the whole church.  Verse 5 makes clear the idea that the effects of sin can debilitate the entire body of believers.  No longer can we convince ourselves that one’s sin is between him and God.

Knowing this, we learn that forgiveness is not optional.  As brothers and sisters in Christ, we are to forgive the sinner and treat him with an attitude no longer shaped by the offense, but instead filled with comfort and restoration so that God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness can work in the life of the repentant sinner and the church (vv. 7 and 8).  As we are called to discipline in love and not in anger, so too we are also called to reaffirm that love to help bring renewal.

Finally, the passage ends with a warning: our failure to forgive and restore repentant sinners is a means by which we give Satan a foothold.  The disgust and contempt we harbor debilitates the unity of the body, makes our individual worship of the Lord virtually impossible, and produces sin.  So knowing that Satan seeks “to take advantage of us,” we can realize that although we may never forget the sin, that has nothing to do with our call to forgive the sinner so that we can be “obedient in all things” (v. 11).

There Is No A God: How the world’s most notorious atheist changed his mind, by Anthony Flew (New York: HarperOne, 2007, paperback, $14.95)

During my time at UCLA I took numerous philosophy classes for fun. One of which, I remember, included a handful of essays taking opposing positions on the existence of God. Front and center, Exhibit A, the “go to” guy to argue for atheism was British philosopher Anthony Flew. I remember reading his articles (and being upset by them).

Imagine the firestorm produced by the headlines in December 2004, which announced that Flew had changed his position to a theistic one! He did not become a born-again Christian (more of a deist, believing in a “Divine Mind”), but to have switched away from an atheistic position, having been one of its chief champions for decades, was an enormous blow to the atheistic, apologetic community.

His book There is No A God is a self-reflective description of his journey to believing in God. In brief, he was convinced of theism on the basis of three apologetic points: “the laws of nature, life with its teleological organization, and the existence of the universe” (155). These are all aspects of the classic Christian “argument from design”.

Flew found it difficult to ignore questions of where the laws of nature came from, with all of their complexities and precision (first point). Add to that what Christian apologists call the “anthropic principle,” which is a fancy way of saying that certain laws and physical phenomena in the universe must be in place and must be so “finely tuned” to an infinitesimal degree of precision, apart from these life could not exist anywhere at anytime. In other words, the universe seems to be designed for the existence of biological life. Or as Flew puts it, “Did the Universe know we were coming?” (second point). And finally Flew came to grips with the cosmological argument, which inquires into the origin of the universe and how everything could come from nothing (third point). Together, these three strands of thought formed, for Flew, an unbreakable chain of logic that led inexorably to affirming the existence of (some kind of) God. It’s an amazing read.

Just as helpful are the book’s two appendices. The first criticizes the “new atheism” movement that is more bark than bite, more bombastic than bomb. The second is an essay by New Testament scholar Tom Wright who gives a brief historical argument for the resurrection of Jesus. This summary itself makes the book worth the buy. But listen to Flew’s response to Wright’s presentation: “I am very much impressed with Bishop Wright’s approach, which is absolutely fresh. He presents the case for Christianity as something new for the first time” (213).

Listen also to Flew’s preface to Wright’s essay. “… I think that the Christian religion is the one religion that most clearly deserves to be honored and respected whether or not its claim to be a divine revelation is true. There is nothing like the combination of a charismatic figure like Jesus and a first-class intellectual like St. Paul…. If you’re wanting Omnipotence to set up a religion, this is the one to beat” (185-6).

These are enormous praises from someone who once was an ardent atheist and is now still figuring out which God is the one to believe in. This book is an exciting and edifying testimony to the influence of Christian apologetics. I recommend it as a read for those struggling with such issues or those who may have a friend who may be on a journey similar to Flew’s.

Perhaps it’s the perversity of one’s thoughts or the insidiousness of one’s actions that separates evil from good. If you’ve ever heard a story of abuse, hate, or cruelty, you’ve probably felt yourself burn with disgust and anger at EVIL. But what is evil?

I personally love fantasy worlds, and two of my favorite worlds to read about are the Lord of the Rings and Star Wars universes. A big part of the reason I love these stories, beyond the magic, fights, and romance, is the clear emphasis on good and evil. In a fantasy world, it isn’t too hard to tell the good guys from the bad (at least once the token traitor reveals his true colors).

In a fantasy world the sides are drawn, the intentions are noble or devious, and the characters can choose good or evil with their oaths and weapons. But it isn’t always so east in real life. In fact, in real life good and evil can be seriously confusing, because nobody thinks they are evil!

The last few chapters in the book of Judges tell the horrible stories of Israel’s growing apostasy, and contain some accounts that you would be uncomfortable hearing on the nightly news. These stories seem so obviously evil. But to describe and explain the evil state of the people of Israel, the book ends with the following simple statement: “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

It wasn’t just that the nation of Israel turned from God to other means of protection (though they did), nor was it because the Israelites had many ungodly leaders (though they did). Instead, the Bible condemns the people of Israel because as a whole they did what was right in their own eyes, not God’s.

In college, our AACF class used to jokingly use the phrase “do whatever you want” to describe the fact that we really couldn’t convince others to do what we wanted or thought was best. But the more I learn about people, the clearer it becomes that each of us really is inclined to do what we think is best. Yet when we lose sight of God’s commands we naturally begin to live our lives by our own judgments of what is right and wrong, and it is dangerous.

The scary thing to think about is that those who abuse their children, abandon their spouses, exploit others, commit genocide, and harbor racism seldom believe they are evil. Instead, they simply act in accord with what their sinful hearts and minds are convinced is right for them.

The end of Judges is not a pretty picture of what humans are capable of. And as the book of Judges tells the story of what happens when God’s people live without the God-given King over their lives, so it is for the Christian. Christ is the rightful, righteous king of our lives. And he has provided us with His word.

This week, my encouragement is that you make Christ your King and inform your mind with the truth of the Bible. Don’t be fooled into living each day according to your own judgments of what is good. Don’t just do whatever you want. Don’t be evil!

The main research for the historicity of the resurrection in this article is credited to Dr Gary Habermas, Distinguished Professor of Apologetics and Philosphy, Liberty University, Lynchburg Virginia, and author of numerous books on the Resurrection. Other statistics are from Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ and Josh McDowell’s Evidence that Demands a Verdict.

The Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, also known as Christ, is the single most pivotal point in all of history. From that one event, we have the emergence of the Christian Church, which in turn has been the driving cause of countless developments in our world. The emancipation of slaves in America and Europe, the creation of hospitals, orphanages and public schools, the founding of Harvard, Yale, Princeton and other universities, laws for prison reform, child labor laws, and even all of modern science – all of these have had their roots in the activity of men and women who were followers of this risen carpenter from a backwater town in Judea. 

Yet, all these wonderful things are merely peripheral to the Main Event – that a man, who was scourged with a whip laced with bone or metal, who was brutally executed on a Roman cross, who died uttering forgiveness for his tormentors, who was then buried in a tomb, sealed in with guards stationed at the entrance, that this man did not remain dead. Compared to this one miraculous occurrence, everything else pales. The Resurrection of Jesus the Christ is the central claim of the Christian faith. It is His resurrection that gives us assurance of the completion of His redemptive work, confirmation of His death-defeating sovereign reign, and hope for our eventual resurrection, glorification and entrance into eternity with Him. Paul the Apostle said, “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile… If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Cor 15:17-19). Without the resurrection of Christ, there is no deliverance from sin, no salvation from death, no justification before God, no redemption, no heaven, not eternity with God. Only the darkness of Sheol, the torments of hell and the eternal separation from the omni-benevolent God and all His blessings.

Thankfully, Jesus was raised. He did fulfill prophecies. Death could not hold him and the grave could not restrain him. He is alive! O glorious day, when the tomb is empty and the stone is rolled away!

But since that time, many opponents of the Christian faith and of the bible itself have attempted to discredit the Resurrection. They have claimed everything from Jesus swooning on the cross (yeah, right), to the resurrection accounts being myths or cleverly formulated lies. Others have even claimed that the accounts were written long after the events, and are thus on par with legends and tall tales such as the adventures of Jason and his Argonauts. However, when we do look at the facts, we find simply this: The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the single most well attested event in all of history.

Many historical figures, like Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar, are known through records and documents about them. The problem is that many of those documents are written many years after these people lived and died. For example, the most contemporary source for Tiberius, the Roman emperor in power when Jesus was crucified, was written about 65 years after the fact, and is the least useful of the four sources which mention him. The other sources are written 75, 80 and 180 years after his reign. These documents, and others such as Tacitus’ Annals of Imperial Rome, written around AD 116, have another problem – the earliest copies are usually very far removed from the events. The earliest manuscript of the Annals currently known is a single document that was copied around AD 850, more than 700 years after the fact. Who knows what kind of errors have crept in during that time. For Plato who lived around 400 BC, we have 7 manuscripts, the earliest copy of which is dated at around AD 900. By contrast there are more than 24,000 New Testament manuscripts in existence, including fragments and texts that can be traced back to 40, 50, 60 and 65 years after the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

As powerful as it is, there is, I think, an even better case for the historicity of the Resurrection. Dr Gary Habermas points out that there is an alternative approach to support that claim, and that is by tracing the creeds. Most critics, including the Jesus Seminar, would concede that what we know as Paul’s writings were actually written by Paul and are historically reliable. We can therefore reasonably use these documents to figure out where this resurrection claim came from.

We begin in 1 Cor 15:3ff, where Paul writes, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time…”

The phrase “I delivered to you… what I also received” is a formulaic phrase used by Pharisees to pass on tradition, and was the standard way of accurately handing over teaching from one generation to the next. (This is in contrast to Jesus’ “Truly, truly I say to you,” but that is a matter for another time.) This is one of the earliest mentions of a creedal system in which the resurrection is central, preceding even the Gospels, since Paul wrote to the Corinthians in around AD 55 (that’s about 25 years after the crucifixion). In the same passage (1 Cor 15:1), Paul says that he proclaimed the gospel (the deity, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ) to them when he came to Corinth, which we can date to around AD 51.

Now, Paul had to have received this creed it from someone (1 Cor 15:3). Most would agree that the most likely place he could have received the formalized creedal material was from the Apostles in Jerusalem. He went there twice, the first time was 3 years after he went into Arabia following the Damascus Road conversion (Gal 1:17-18), and then 14 years later (Gal 2:2). In his first trip to Jerusalem, Paul records that he went to historeo Peter. The word historeo, means much more than a mere visit, but holds the connotation of someone going to check something out in the manner of an investigative reporter. It is a detailed, in depth investigation. It is probably more apt to say that Paul not only visited Peter, but went to interview Peter. This is therefore probably where Paul got the actual creedal formula or the data that would become the creedal material.

Furteen years later as Paul returns to Jerusalem, he comes not to “recalibrate” his teaching, but according to Gal 2:2, he anathitemi or sets forth his teaching before the Apostles. He is saying, “Guys, this is what I’m teaching.” And the Apostles (specifically James, Peter and John), effectively said, “Yup, that’s kosher!” agreeing with him and giving him the right hand of fellowship (Gal 2:9). In 14 years, the message had not changed, and this is what the Corinthians received.

But then, when did Paul go to Jerusalem the first time? If that is when he got his creedal material, which contains at its core Jesus’ death and resurrection, then that would be an important date in tracing the formulation of this creed. By all indications, Paul went to Jerusalem 3 years after the Damascus Road conversion – 5 to 6 years after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus! We now have strong indication that this claim of the resurrection was not merely found in the Gospels which were about 40 years after the fact, but that people were claiming that is happened a mere 5-6 years after the event!

It gets better! If Paul received the creed of the resurrection of Jesus from the Apostles (even discounting the Damascus Road), that means that the Apostles already had it! In fact, they would have been proclaiming this creed before Paul left for Arabia for three years, since this was the very reason Paul (then Saul) was persecuting them. So, now we are down to the claims of Jesus’ death and resurrection a mere 3 years away from the crucifixion.

There is one last consideration. The Apostles needed two doctrines in order to have built the church into what it was: The Deity of Christ, and the Resurrection of Jesus. Without either of these, the church would have folded very quickly. These doctrines were clearly present during the time when Paul was persecuting the church. However, for the church would have taken about 2 to 3 years to develop into what we find at the time of Paul’s conversion – and these doctrines would have to be present from the start. The creedal material can therefore be traced back to around the fall of AD 30 – the fall of the year Jesus was crucified – or perhaps the spring of AD 31. Any later than that, and the church could not have been sufficiently formed for what we see in Acts.

So what does this all mean? It is simply this: that we have strong historical evidence to show that the creeds containing the doctrine of the resurrection of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, also called Son of Man and Son of God, began within a few months of his death by crucifixion. This is in contrast to other records of historical figures, which have comparatively huge time gaps between the event and the records of those events. In terms of its historical reliability, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most well attested event in all of history, bar none. Paul claims that this same event is the great Christian victory, for in the Resurrection, we gain heaven, the eternal fellowship with the God of the universe and the defeat of death itself. In the Resurrection is liberty from slavery to sin, freedom from fear, the reversal of the curse of the fall, and life everlasting. In the Resurrection, we find God to be Father, and ourselves taken from death to life, from darkness to light, with the hope of eternity with God. Death has no more hold over us, and we echo Paul’s grand cry:

  “O death, where is your victory?
   O death, where is your sting?”

For in the historically attested Resurrection of Jesus Christ, death is swallowed up in victory. The question is then, what will we do with this good news?

Just in time for Easter, Newsweek editor Jon Meacham has penned an article provocatively titled, “The End of Christian America,” the cover story of an issue whose cover is all black, save the red words framed as a cross: “The Decline and Fall of Christian America.” The impetus, besides Newsweek’s semi-annual interest in “religious” things (Christmas and Easter), seems to be polling data from the 2009 American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS).  This survey, among the twenty-four pages of information, reported a decline of self-identified Christians from 86% to 76% since 1990, and an increase from 8% to 15% of those who claim no religious affiliation whatsoever. The conclusion of the article is that we are now in a post-Christian America, where the influence over culture and policy is waning. So just what, as conservative Christians, should we make of this?

Not much.

First of all, most of us have long-lamented the ease with which so many identify themselves as Christian and have struggled to distinguish committed Christianity from cultural Christianity. If statistics are showing that there is more polarizing going on in this country, then perhaps there is a resurgence in the seriousness and dedication with which people are approaching their relationships with Christ.  In fact, the ARIS survey also details an increase in the numbers of those who identify themselves as Evangelical Christians, and the numbers of today’s youth who are turning toward conservative, biblically sound and rigorous teaching is also on the rise. These are encouraging developments, not the stuff of funeral-black.

In addition, it should be noted that the title is a bit misleading. Many are undoubtedly going to take the title and run with it, glowing about how Newsweek has declared the death of Christianity; this is not Meacham’s point.  In fact, he tries to make it very clear that “this is not to say that the Christian God is dead, but that he is less of a force in American politics and culture than at any other time in recent memory.” Given views on abortion, stem-cell research, gay marriage, and prayer in school, this may be true, but there is a valuable lesson embedded in this decline: Christianity’s influence over culture and politics, now matter how great or how small, cannot save people—only Jesus Christ can. Christian thinker Augustine distinguished between the City of Man and the City of God; given that distinction, regardless of the influence Christianity enjoys in that City, it is still just that: the City of Man.  Our focus needs to stay fixed on the lost, or as Albert Mohler, a Christian thinker quoted heavily in the Newsweek piece, describes it:

My greater concern is not with political influence and what secularization means for the political sphere, but with what secularization means for the souls of men and women who are now considerably more distant from Christianity -- and perhaps even with any contact with Christianity -- than ever before.  My main concern is evangelism, not cultural influence.

If articles like this, which are not exactly new, cause us as Christians to reconsider and reevaluate how we are living out our faith, cause us to search harder and deeper into God’s Word so that we best know how to love God and love others, cause us to listen and learn about a culture we are called to evangelize, then they are worthwhile; absent that, rest assured that the reports of Christianity’s death have been greatly exaggerated.

One of my favorite aspects of every retreat is the interaction between the different age groups. It’s not uncommon to see a college senior in hysterics with a high school freshmen, or for junior higher to be showing college students how to make a funny face. The wonderful aspect of these interactions is that they aren’t frozen on a mountainside; they’re carried down into the life of the church. These relationships grow and last far beyond one weekend. It’s a vivid picture of what the body of Christ looks like: a true family comprised of different people from different stages of life, striving together to bring glory to our God.

One of the reasons I love to watch older students build relationships with younger students is because of Psalm 78:

“Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth! I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children."

God’s Word is not intended to remain with any one generation. It is meant to taught to all generations. And that is exactly what happens when a college student looks into the eyes of junior higher and tells him how Christ is to valued above all things. God desires that the cumulative wisdom of older generations be disseminated to those who need it.  The truth of Scripture must be handed down from the old to the young.

Are you wiser than a sixth grader? Do you recognize the impact that you have on future generations? How are you actively pursuing passing on God’s Word to those who are younger than you? It may be those in your immediate surroundings, like your own children, or it may be within the church, like the youth or college or Pathlights. No matter what season of life you’re in, you have the high privilege of passing on God’s Word to those who will follow you.

Kidner introduces wisdom by recognizing its presence in all of creation and showing that it is a unified, coherent, single system. Wisdom literature is distinct from the rest of the Old Testament in that it approaches wisdom not didactically, but rather by provoking thought and questioning. Each of the three books offers up a different vantage point that when taken to an extreme may become problematic, but when held in balance with one another, give a full view. Kidner wisely points out that underlying each of these books is the idea that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (17).

Kidner helpfully breaks the books down into workable outlines. For Proverbs, this allows the student to take seemingly randomized statements of truth and fit them within a framework, making Proverbs more approachable for counseling. Furthermore, Kidner examines the structure of the teachings to help the student better glean wisdom from them. He explains how proverbs are “designed not to spoon-feed the reader but to prick him into thought” (19) – good to remember while studying these verses and a useful technique in challenging a counselee. Their apparent randomness and trivialities are used to link wisdom to all of life, even the mundane aspects. Their variety and elusiveness (34) allude to how wisdom is attained – at times straightforwardly, and at others, more subtly. Brevity, odd links between separate thoughts, and illustrations help make this type of teaching easier to remember. Although Proverbs can be taken to be overly optimistic and idealistic, Kidner does well to consider how these terse teachings depict the “disciplined qualities and habits that make for stability and that work with the grain in God’s world” (36). Before leaving Proverbs, Kidner summarizes and critiques some contemporary studies on the book.Similarly, Job is outlined in three sections (prologue, dialogue, epilogue) with each contributing to the message that God is sovereign, His wisdom and judgments beyond man’s understanding. Job’s doubts are held in contrast to the surefootedness found in Proverbs. Ecclesiastes is viewed in two major parts: truths about God and truths about life. Wisdom is found in seeing that the seeming hopelessness and despairs of life are not mitigated by temporary joys but rather by service to an all powerful God; this realization brings value to all that we do.

Kidner closes with a look at how the three Wisdom books interact. The pessimistic view of life in Job is in sharp contrast to the rose-colored glasses donned in Proverbs. Put together, a full picture is seen: righteous living generally leads to blessing, will always have painful exceptions, but ultimately, the promises of Proverbs will be realized in the resurrection. Similarly, Ecclesiastes brings the wisdom of Proverbs into the harsh light of reality – wisdom and hard work often lead to blessings but, “in this ungrateful world … may get scant regard” (121). Again, in the end, it is the Lord that judges every deed and motive and rewards accordingly. Though it would have been helpful to discuss the interplay between Job and Ecclesiastes, this book is still an excellent resource for those interested in beginning a study of Wisdom literature.

It is amazing to me that their are so many doctors at Lighthouse. There are more doctors than you can shake a stick at. I occasionally wonder if I could have been a doctor. The answer is always a resounding "no." Apart from the needing-to-be-smart thing, one of the big reasons is that I am a bit of a hypochondriac. There are those times when I will here something on the news about a disease, or hear a commercial for medication and  my mind automatically starts to see if I have any of the symptoms of the described disease. I start to worry an  become convinced that I could possibly have the disease. It is only when I learn that is a disease that affects only elderly women that my fears are abated. So being a doctor was never really a career option for me. Can you imagine a doctor that never really wanted to touch his patients for fear that he migh catch whatever they had? I know doctors must be careful, but touch is such an important part of the health care process.

Here we have in this passage the great Physician Jesus, and Jesus being God could have merely looked at this man or said something to this man and his leprosy would have been healed. But Jesus goes a little bit farther and touches this man while speaking healing into him. It is always important to be in awe of Jesus healing power, but I think it is also important here to see Jesus compassion. The passage says that Jesus was “moved with pity”. He then shows this compassion through touch. You have to remember that in these times lepers weren’t allowed to be with others. As one author wrote, “People didn’t touch them because they were considered cerimonially unclean and were outcasts to society.” The rabbis of Jesus day avoided them because they feared becoming unclean themselves. So human touch is something lepers probably just didn’t receive. Can you imagine being denied human touch? Not a hug from a niece or nephew, nor a pat on the back when things were difficult, not even a hand shake of welcome. Jesus touch may have been the first human contact this man had received in a very long time, and it showed him that the Savior cared. Brothers and sisters,as we serve the Lord let us not to forget to show our love for others. Ministry can be difficult and dirty, but it needs to be compassionate.  Let us remember our Savior’s touch.

From the movie dust jacket: “At work, inside burning buildings, Capt. Caleb Holt lives by the old firefighter’s adage: Never leave your partner behind. At home, in the cooling embers of his marriage, he lives by his own rules. His job is to rescue others. Now Caleb Holt is ready to face his toughest job ever…rescuing his wife’s heart.”

Fireproof is a movie about a firefighter named Caleb Holt, his wife of seven years Catherine, a book called The Love Dare, the pursuit of our Lord Jesus, and the power of a transformed life in Christ.  The movie was made by Sherwood pictures, the makers of Christian videos “Chasing the Giants,” and “Flywheel.”  I heard on Family Life Today that all the actors and crew volunteered their time to make the movie, even Kirk Cameron, formally of “Growing Pains” fame. 

Caleb and Catherine are ready to end their marriage or as she says after the fight, “I want out, just want out.”  They are engrossed in their own wants and desires; they are lost.   Caleb talks to his father who offers him a challenge, the Love Dare, which he reluctantly accepts.  Caleb soon becomes frustrated as he follows the instructions with little success.  Here we see the climax of the story where Caleb’s father listens to his son and explains the gospel through the object lesson of the Love Dare: Jesus’ relentless pursuit of us despite our stubborn rejection of Him.  Our Lord then uses Caleb’s transformed heart to draw Catherine back to both Caleb and Jesus.   There are a few good twists at the end that left me wiping my eyes…allergies I’m sure.

I do recommend Fireproof.  It can be purchased at most Christian stores for about $20.  It is not as slick or well acted as a major Hollywood production, but the gospel is at the heart of the story and many people can relate to the conflicts, pressures of relationships and the heartbreak of trying to do good on their own merit.  Buy it, rent it or borrow a copy from someone, then sit back, with a box of Kleenex, and enjoy.  It just may spark a fire in you as well.

Romans 15:7 teaches us to copy someone as well. And that someone is Jesus: “Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (italics mine). Now we all know that we are to be Christ-like, and try to live like He did – as the popular question asks, “What would Jesus do?” But this verse is actually telling us to copy him in a specific manner – in the way we welcome one another. To be more specific, this passage is dealing with issues of conscience – those areas that are not clearly sin, that are within our liberty as Christians, but for various reasons (cultural, maturity … ) some Christians feel differently in regards to whether these things are ok to do. In these matters of the conscience, we are to welcome others in the same way Christ welcomed sinners into God’s family.

What kind of matters might these be? What about musical worship? Sadly, this issue has divided many a church. Drums, no drums? Hymns, no hymns? Fast, slow, loud, soft? Electric, acoustic, organ, piano, a cappella!?! What about Sunday morning dress? Suit, tie, shorts, sandals, dresses, skirts, shoes, sneakers, t-shirts, button downs, Hawaiian, tank tops!? Po-tay-to, po-tah-to. The lists go on. The point is, if it’s not an issue of sin, but rather conscience, or in many cases, preference, we ought to be welcoming.

Now welcoming isn’t mere acknowledgment or tolerance -- “Alas, let them do what they have do to…” – but rather we welcome like our example, Jesus. We welcome warmly, acceptingly, lovingly, embracing(ly). Jesus welcomed us while we were still sinners, how much more ought we to welcome our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ?

In the interest of full disclosure, I grew up in the Catholic tradition and so my early view of Lent was that six-week period where we had to give up something, ideally something we did not want to give up.  One year I remember changing the rules and deciding to do something I really didn’t want to do instead, like brushing my teeth after every meal.  As a six-year old boy, this was enormous sacrifice—though ultimately I only learned that brushing four times after a meal to make up for the three times you failed was not really pleasing to anyone!

Needless to say I’ve changed my approach and after careful consideration have the following observations—not quite recommendations:

In closing, I wanted to share these words from Ravi Zacharias International Ministries:

"The forty day period that leads to Easter is both an invitation and a quest, albeit a difficult one. The deliberate and wearisome journey with Christ to the Cross is a crushing burden, even with the jarring recognition that we are not the one carrying it. On the path to Holy Week, the fellowship of the church far and wide is given time to focus in detail on what it means that Jesus came into this world that he might go the fearful way of the Cross…, the temptations are real, the waiting is difficult, and the call to listen or to look, to obey or deny is wearying…'The Cross of Lent,' as Augustine referred to it, is one that we bear year round, but one we learn to bear all the more intensely along the way to Holy Week. On this path, we remember that we are dust, we follow Jesus to his death, we recollect the acts of God to be near us, and we throw off the idols that keep us from the Son who saves us."

In Deuteronomy 4, Moses was telling the people of Israel about the importance of knowing and living by God’s rules and statutes in the Promised Land.  In v. 9, he specifically tells the people to make these rules and statues known to their children and their children’s children.  God’s intention was for parents and the Israelite community to pass them on from one generation to the next, “so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.”

Moses knew that God’s people were prone to forgetting what God had told them.  Moses also knew that the consequences of not obeying God would be a chosen people who would fall into sin, lose out on the blessings that God wanted to bestow upon them and fail in their mission to glorify God and be a light to the rest of the world.

At Lighthouse, our hope is that the children in our church will grow up to glorify God with their lives and be a light to the rest of the world.  We can do this by teaching or passing on God’s Word to them every Sunday at church.  Based on Deuteronomy 4 we believe, “A child who knows God’s Word…”

• Listens to God’s commandments (v. 6)
• Lights the path of others (v. 6)
• Learns of God’s goodness (v. 7)
• Lives in the fear of the Lord (v. 10)

God’s Word transforms lives and this is the reason we teach from it every week in the children’s ministry.  We know that even young lives can be changed as they hear the rules and statues in God’s Word and learn to live according to it.  As the children do this, our hope is that they will understand the importance of glorifying God with their young lives.  Deuteronomy 4 does not apply only to children though.  People of all ages should be encouraged to live according to this passage for all of us can grow in the areas of listening to God’s commandments, lighting the paths of others, learning of God’s goodness and living in the fear of the Lord

I am not alone in my passionate love for hymnody. In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in hymns. Many are recognizing their rich theology and are trying to recapture their value for the church. If you're interested in hymns, I would highly recommend looking into some of the following.

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This is a music project out of a church in Arizona "with the idea of making hymns accessible and known again." The arrangements are spacious and melodic, eminently listenable. Their new album is available for free download here (Yay, free!). The name of the album comes from the page number of C.S. Lewis' The Magician's Nephew where Aslan sings Narnia into existence.

Indelible Grace

A group of Nashville singers and song writers (Derek Webb, Sandra McCracken, Matthew Perryman Jones, and others) have collaborated to produce a series of albums dedicated to the quality modern arrangement of hymns. The folk-rock sentiments behind most of the arrangements are wonderful for corporate worship.

Keith Getty

Keith Getty is one of the few modern day song writers producing all new hymns for the church. His most well-known songs include "In Christ Alone," "Speak, O Lord," and others. His contribution to the church in the area of hymnody is invaluable.

I have heard many people tell me that they appreciate history so much more as they have gotten older.  There a number of reasons, but one is having a personal perspective.  What I mean by this is that a person is able to see how history has repeated itself in one’s life or one has seen in it repeated in this country and have been personally touched by it.

The book of Deuteronomy records Moses’ last teachings to the people of Israel who he has led for forty years.  Moses and the rest of Israel had the opportunity to enter the Promised Land, but due to their sin and stubbornness God punished them.  Their punishment was all those who were part of that rebellious generation was not going to enter the land God had for them.

How sobering to think that they wandered for forty years just waiting for everyone who was part of that generation to die because of their sin!

But now Israel is about to enter the land God has chosen for them and Moses does not want them to make the same mistakes of following themselves rather than God.  Moses accomplishes this by teaching God’s commands and by reminding them of God’s faithfulness.

Deuteronomy 2:1-5 is God commanding through Moses what they must do as they travel to the Promised Land.  And we come to two important verses, verses 6 and 7.  “You shall purchase food from them for money, that you may eat, and you shall also buy water of them for money, that you may drink.  For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands.  He knows your going through this great wilderness.  These forty years the LORD your God has been with you.  You have lacked nothing.”

God is reminding Moses and the rest of the people that throughout their forty years in the desert they always had food (manna and quail), water, shelter, guidance (the pillar of smoke and fire), protection, order, and peace.  They lacked nothing in order to survive and prosper as God’s people!
As we continue seeking a piece of property may we not forget about God’s faithfulness to Lighthouse.  He has always provided for us a Sunday morning location for our worship service and children’s ministry, a church office for administration and ministries to use, people to love and serve with, finances to have numerous ministries, His Word to lead and guide, and His Son for grace and mercy.

The God we worship and trust in will lead and guide us to the location He desires, but let us not overlook the fact that God is demonstrating His faithfulness to us while we wait!

Some features of note:

• Ability to make and save personal notes
• Audio reading of the entire Bible
• FREE!

What does it all mean?  It means a lot of us really like the good ol’ days, or at least we think we do.  Barbara Streisand’s “The Way We Were” is surprisingly instructive in considering the dangers of nostalgia.  The singer asks incredulously, “Can it be that it was all so simple then?” and follows it up by offering the answer, “Or has time re-written every line?” How often we create more palatable memories to feast on. The real insight comes later: “What’s too painful to remember/We simply choose to forget/So it’s the laughter/We will remember.” This pretty much sums up our attitudes toward our memories. This makes the past a popular option for our thought life, but is it a wise option?

Now you must be wondering what in the name of My Three Sons this has to do with our faith. 
Simply this:

As believers in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as followers who have chosen to strive daily to conform ourselves to His image, as fallen but forgiven humans who are called to hold in tension the “already but not yet” of our faith, the future hope and the daily sanctification, where is the room for nostalgia? To look back, to fix our gaze on the past, to wax nostalgic on what was, is to push out what is and what is yet to come.

I would venture to say that the enemy is more than willing to have our heads turned toward Mayberry—a distraction we justify as innocent, happy, and healthy.  Does it mean memories are insidious by nature?  Of course not.  The Psalms are replete with remembrances, and Jesus and Paul reference history and members of the faith Hall of Fame so that we can learn. What sets those examples apart is that the looking back is intended to drive us forward, not to mire us in Molasses Swamp waiting for the A-team to rescue us.

So am I claiming that VH1 is antichrist and that we need to burn our yearbooks? No.  But I am asking for a more critical approach to all things retro. To feast on thoughts of a simpler, happier time disrespects our father in heaven and sorely misrepresents what His Word teaches. As I grow and mature and try to see, as Paul Tripp, that our Lord and Savior needs to be Lord of the mundane, I have less and less success justifying the value of nostalgia.  Remember, I write as a nostalgia junkie. Read my 25 Random things on Facebook and you’ll see the extent of my failings.

I would as you to consider these questions: What desire am I feeding? Is this helping me to understand and appreciate God in some way? Will the “then” help with the “now” and “later”?
But that does not change, again to borrow from Dr. Tripp, that always looking back makes that which is less seem like more, and what is so much more—a life lived now for Him and a future eternity in His glory—seem less.

Leviticus 16 provides a detailed description of the Day of Atonement for us.  This celebration was a solemn day for the people of Israel.  The people were supposed to cease from work and fast for the entire day.  This was the only time of the year the high priest was allowed to enter the most holy place or else incur death. The high priest was required to bathe and be dressed in pure linen garments as a symbol of purity.  He then sacrificed a young bull on behalf of himself and his family.  Then he sprinkled the blood from the bull on and in front of the mercy seat, which lay on top of the Ark of the Covenant.  The ceremony continued with the high priest casting lots over two goats.  One was offered as a sin offering.  The other was kept alive and used as a “scapegoat.”  The high priest would confess all of the people’s sins over the head of the live goat before releasing it into the wilderness.  It’s unclear if the average Jew back then understood the significance of all of these activities, but we’re sure none of them knew the full and eventual meaning of it all.

One purpose for this ceremony was to use Aaron and the subsequent high priests as a type of Christ.  Aaron entered the Holy of Holies, God’s presence on earth, a tent made with human hands.  Jesus would eventually enter the Father’s presence and sit down at the right hand of the throne of God in a heavenly tent not made with human hands.  Aaron offered blood of bulls and goats for the forgiveness of his own sins and the sins of Israel.   Jesus offered His own blood, not for Himself, but for the sins of the world.  Aaron offered sacrifices as directed by God to bring a temporary forgiveness to sinful man once a year.  Jesus’ blood brought the power of forgiveness for all generations on earth one time and one time only.

Not only does the Old Testament high priest point to Christ, but it points to us as well.  Aaron had confidence to enter God’s presence so long as he did everything commanded of him.  He needed to enter at the right time as set out by God, clothed and bathed, and in possession of the requisite blood of the sacrifices.  In the same way, as Christians today we ought to have the same confidence to enter God’s presence.  We can enter His presence because because God is a God of grace and mercy.  We are properly clothed and bathed thanks to the forgiveness and efficacious work of Christ on the cross.  Lastly, and most importantly, we can enter God’s presence because Christ has gone before us.  We are made clean and forgiven by His blood and not the blood of bulls and goats,.
God has a great way of making sense out of apparent confusion.  And just like a good movie ending, God ties up all the loose ends and brings ultimate understanding and fulfillment for us all.  Praise be to the wise God of the universe!

But you say, "If anyone tells his father or his mother, 'What you would have gained from me is given to God,'  he need not honor his father." So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.  You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;  in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'" (Matthew 15:4-6)

As I continued to think about Jesus’ words I couldn’t shake the horrible feeling that maybe our American traditions have become much like the Jewish ones of Jesus’ time, and that they are just as pervasive in the church.

What traditions do I mean?

The jokingly “accepted” hatred of in-laws, the forcing of aging and sick parents into retirement homes, the disregard for the opinion of the elderly in the church, young adults and college and high school students talking in harsh, brisk and hurtful tones at their parents but being “godly” with strangers.

Are these the traditions you hold onto instead of the word of God?

Maybe it’s not so blatant, but perhaps some of us have made it a habit of simply saying to our parents, “I can’t spend time with you because I’m busy with church, ministry, discipleship, my children, studies, PTA,” or any other good thing. In other words, “What you would have gained from me is given to God.”

It all seems very normal. But the Bible is clear on this subject. If you say you honor God but don’t honor your parents, you are a hypocrite.

What a convicting message! I don’t have to look long or hard to see the cultural excuses I personally love to make to not honor my father and mother, and I suspect it is the same for many of us. Young or old, if we have parents (in blood or law), Jesus tells us the word of God is that we honor them.

Paul focuses on the same issue of family in 1 Timothy:

But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever (1 Timothy 5:8).

validity of our faith can be shot by an unwillingness to HONOR our parents. Don’t let your Sunday worship be in vain and deny your faith through your actions. This week, forget your traditions and take the word of God to heart: honor your father and your mother.

See if you can recognize one of Lighthouse's members in this video! (Hint: His last name rhymes with -oshikawa.)

I present to you: ALL THINGS ARE BETTER IN KOINE!

Here are some interesting facts that may make the video a little more understandable.

• Koine was the form of Greek that was used to write the New Testament.
• The opening lines in the second verse ("en arche ehn ha logos") come from John 1:1.
• The "lego my ego" bridge is an actual Greek phrase that means "I am saying" (I thought it was funny too when I first saw it in my Greek class).
• William Mounce and Daniel Wallace, the subjects of the rap bridge, are prominent Greek scholars who wrote the standard Greek grammar textbooks used in many schools.
• Textual criticism is the process of comparing extant manuscripts of the original languages to determine what the original Biblical text would have said.

This video is very tongue in cheek, but in all seriousness, you don't need to have studied Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic in order to understand the Bible. God's Word is not limited to the academic elite. The English translations that we have access to, like the ESV, are excellent and do a fine job of providing accurate translations of the Biblical text. Thank God for those have labored in the original languages so that we can understand the Bible in our own tongue!

There are deadlines to meet, children to take care of, and tests to study for.  There is that chapter you need to read for small group tomorrow and that checkbook you need to balance. Life never slows down for long and it can be so easy to just want to escape.  There is so much stuff flooding your senses, keeping you up at night.

The key is not to take a deep breath.  The trick is not to take some Tylenol.  The solution is a single-minded focus.  King David knew what was up.  In Psalm 27:1-4 he writes:

“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?  When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall.  Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.  One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.”

Even though his enemies surrounded him and his very life was in danger, he wasn’t stressed or worried.  The reason is that he wasn’t focused on everything around him.  He didn’t dwell upon circumstance.  He focused upon the Lord, he wanted to see him in all of his beauty every day of his life.  To be satisfied in him.  ONE THING have I asked, that is, to see the Lord.

Don’t be blinded by the hustle and bustle of the today and now.  Seek the Lord.  Read his Word, pray to him, rest assured in his promises—that he works all things for our good (Romans 8:28), that even if we walk in the valley of the shadow of death he is with us (Psalm 23).

Believe that knowing Christ is better than escaping from all the stuff you have to do.  Believe that knowing Christ really is as joyous as the words we sing on Sundays.  Believe it.

As Paul writes in Philippians 4, the peace will be overwhelming.

Have you ever been so obsessed with something that you would do anything?  When we are obsessed, we don’t hold back but give our all. In his book Crazy Love, Francis Chan gives a picture of what our life should look like when we are obsessed with God. Too often, Christians settle for a life of lukewarm service and devotion. By giving us an accurate picture of God and His commands, Chan shows us how we often fall woefully short in our understanding and obedience, but we are really called to live a much more radical life for Him.

Using an enjoyable and approachable style, Chan engages the reader with simple and familiar truths in an upfront manner. Yet, he consistently challenges the reader to think beyond the comfortable Christian view of these very truths to see that God is calling for an extreme response.  His goal is to move the lukewarm believer from a once-a-week seat at services to a passionate, all-out lifestyle for God. This “crazy love” that we ought to have for Jesus must move us beyond the "checklist serving" lifestyle of those who are too busy chasing the American dream to one that results in tangible action in every facet of our lives. Chan himself demonstrates this type of love; he shares how he downsized his own house in order to give money to the poor. Although on the surface this may seem unwise as he has a wife and four kids to support, he was simply following Jesus’ command: “feed the poor.”

This book has personally challenged my life as a Christian and my love and desire for God.  It has shown me that the commands that Jesus has given me are not theologically deep things that I need to always ponder over and figure out, but that sometimes I just need to obey. I am realizing that it’s too easy to settle for a lukewarm lifestyle when it comes to loving others and serving God. But God is not calling me to lukewarm love; He wants a “crazy love!” I realize that this kind of love calls for sacrifice and continual re-evaluation, not settling for the norm but always being challenged to look beyond my corner of the world to see how I can be part of what God is doing. Although the kind of living that Crazy Love is calling for seems extreme, I am learning to see that obedient living is how all Christians ought to joyfully live – this should be nothing crazy, but rather the norm.

Well, in the end I achieved my goal and pizza was eaten and games were played. At the time this bit of Scripture was lost on me, but as I mature, I see the beauty and wisdom of His scripture. Growing up I merely looked on this passage and understood it to mean that God was my champion and would take care of me, His sheep. While this is true, there is a great nugget of truth that I recently found at the end of chapter 23:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

It says that it is for His name's sake. God's preservation and keeping of His sheep brings glory to His name. It is not our worthiness or likeability. We are dumb sheep ready to leave the flock if given the chance and unaware of the dangers that lie around us. The Shepherd is the one who deserves all praise and honor. As we look at our lives and think about the goodness we experience, the wise counsel we receive and the satisfaction that comes to us, let us not think that we are receiving these blessings because we are somehow deserving, but consider how we might magnify His name through the victories He has in our lives.

"Because I have a congregation that loves me more than I deserve, I am often asked by them: "how can I pray for you?" I've tried to put some thought into how I answer that question. So, maybe these ideas will help you pray for your pastor, or tell others how they can pray for you."

Our elders labor hard to care for the church. Would you take up the worthy mantle of praying for them?

Read the article here.

Several large retail companies have recently been embroiled in controversy after removing any references to Christmas in their stores and advertising.

The scientific community continues to scoff at the idea of intelligent design. Richard Dawkins of Oxford University, in his book, The God Delusion, compares the teaching of intelligent design to child abuse.

What is the bible's response?

"The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.'" Psalm 14:1

The world is full of fools. Many outright deny the existence of God: the universe started when two Hydrogen atoms collided, we are all victims of fate/destiny/the cosmos, we are all gods. Others accept that there is a God, but pay no attention to him. Either God was the creator who just left us alone and doesn't care, or they don't care for God. Now, how do we tell who is the fool? Psalm 14 goes on to tell us that there are none who are good, who seek for him, who understand, all have turned aside. Who is the fool? At some point, all of us. Before salvation, even if we believed in the existence of God, we lived lives that could be characterized by the very statement "There is no God." We lived for ourselves, for our own pleasure, for our own glory. We were all fools. But, Psalm 14:7 speaks of a Savior to come - Jesus. Through him we see God. We can then seek him, know him, turn to him, live for him. As Christians, we can live life saying "There is a God."

Then, why do we still live like fools?! How many times do we tell God we don't need him as evidenced by our lack of prayer? How often do we deny our need for his wisdom as seen in our irregular Bible reading? How is it that we fail to be empowered by the power of the Holy Spirit but would rather get it done by our self will? How come we reject his gifts of encouragement and accountability when we skip out on times of fellowship and corporate worship? Beloved, there is a God! We have a God who loves us and wants to teach us, guide us, empower us, and use us for his glory. But, we need to first stop living like fools.

What is a sabbatical and why do pastors need it?

The idea of a sabbatical is a biblical concept that comes from the Old Testament.  In Israel’s history God instituted a year of rest from working the fields every seventh year (Leviticus 25).  This idea is the basis for sabbaticals for pastors.

Pastors face a variety of difficult challenges during a typical week.  One of the weekly challenges is the spiritual wear and tear constant preparations sermons, devotionals, small group materials, and counseling sessions can have on a pastor.  A pastor must remind himself not to get in a rut of just manufacturing spiritual materials without having the biblical truths have a sanctifying effect upon his life.  But over time a pastor needs to have time of studying and being with Jesus without having to worry about teaching, leading, writing, or counseling someone.

Another reason why pastors need a sabbatical is to have their creative juices start flowing again.  It takes a lot of creativity to weave together sermons on a consistent basis.  Sabbaticals give pastors time to just think and reflect upon biblical truths without being rushed by a deadline.

And a huge reason why a pastor needs a sabbatical is the emotional toil caring for people can have.  Pastors have a deep care and concern for the church members and when they go through a difficult trial, so does the pastor.  It is tough to go back to sleep after a late night emergency phone call.

What were your personal goals for your sabbatical?

My main goal was to finish my last semester of seminary strong and graduate.  I took three and a half classes.  The three classes I took was a Hebrew class called “Exegesis of Genesis and Selected Old Testament Passages”, a class covering the books of Daniel and Revelation, and a class called “The Life of Christ”.

Another goal I had was to write a reflection on my years in youth ministry.

And one of my other goals was to relax by heading up to the Eastern Sierras to go fly fishing.

I also planned to participate in a Lighthouse and Victory Fellowship missions trip to Mexico to build a home for a needy family.

What did a typical day look like during your sabbatical?

My daily schedule revolved around my class schedule.  On Monday and Wednesday I had classes from 1:30-4:30, so in the mornings I spent time with the Lord and then used the mornings to read and study.  On Tuesday and Thursday I had my Hebrew class from 7:30-9:00, in the morning.  There was no sleeping in.  After class I would go to the library and study to around lunch.  On Tuesdays I would leave a little earlier to meet with the guys in my accountability group in Torrance.  My afternoons on these days were mostly spent on studying and doing papers for these classes.  A few nights of the week I would get out of the house and went to the gym to work out or play basketball.    I spent other evenings reading, learning more about photography, watching Laker games, and hanging out with Lorraine.

What was the most surprising aspect of your sabbatical?

There were two.  The first and biggest surprise was how much my love for Jesus grew during the past few months.  This took place by having times with Jesus that were unhindered and not rushed; so valuable!  I also appreciated the opportunities of going down rabbit paths with the Lord and just exploring portions of scripture I never really took time to study.  I really love Jesus so much more today; my first love is back.

The second was how much I enjoyed being a full time student.  It was such a change from my previous seven and a half years in seminary where I worked full time and tried to fit school into my schedule.  It was nice to experience studying full time and having the opportunity to be on campus a lot more.  Looking back, I would not have traded my slow pace because over the years I have appreciated what I was learning so much more having the years of practical ministry experience at Evergreen SGV and Lighthouse.

What was the most enjoyable aspect of your sabbatical?

Technically it wasn’t on my sabbatical, but the most enjoyable aspect was finishing up my studies and graduating with Ryan Narasaki.  After graduating, I took some time to reflect on my eight years of seminary and was so thankful to God for being so faithful in teaching me, encouraging me, and changing me.  This graduation meant so much!  It was so good to celebrate with Lorraine, since we went through it together!

I also enjoyed catching my first cutthroat trout and the largest brook trout for me personally!

What’s the best way to support a pastor who is on sabbatical?

Pray for him and his family that God will do a transforming work in his heart.

Also, when you see him, don’t ask him a ministry question.  Just let him enjoy having a conversation with a brother or sister in Christ.

1.      The Holy Spirit empowers us to speak the Word of God

In the first days of the church, the book of Acts shows us that the disciples began preaching about Jesus and thousands of people became Christians.  These disciples were the same timid men who had abandoned Jesus when he had been arrested.  They were the same disciples who didn't seem to "get it" when Jesus was trying to teach.  In the book of Acts however, we see that these same men have been transformed into bold proclaimers of the gospel.  How can people be changed so radically?

Acts 4:31 says that they were filled with the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit empowers us to speak the Word of God with boldness.  When you are sharing your testimony with a coworker or answering a question that a family member asks you about our faith, the Holy Spirit can empower us to speak God's truth boldly.  This doesn't mean that he will magically fill our brains with answers to every question, but he will give us peace that what we believe is true and guide our words in what we say.  He will bring to mind the truths you know from studying God's Word and help you share them with boldness.

2.      The Holy Spirit is God

Acts 5:1-11 is a passage that clearly shows that the Holy Spirit is God.  Ananias and Sapphira were husband and wife.  They sold a piece of property to give money to the church.  This would normally be an act of worship that honors God.  In their case however, they dishonored God by lying about what they did.  Ananias and Sapphira gave the proceeds with the impression that they were giving all of the money from the sale.  In reality, they held some back in a dishonest or secretive way for personal use. 

When Peter confronted Ananias and Sapphira, he explained that they had lied to the Holy Spirit, which is lying to God.  Just as God the Father is God and Jesus Christ is God, so is the Holy Spirit.  Each of these three persons is distinct members of the Trinity and yet there is one God (see Deuteronomy 6:4).  

Although the Holy Spirit may seem "mysterious," I encourage you to grow in our love and knowledge of him.  When Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God (Matt 22:37), he certainly had all three members of the Trinity in mind - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Here are some of books that the staff and leadership hope to read in 2009. Some are serious, some are funny, some are Christian, some are questionable, all are books. What's on your list?

Kim Kira

Gavin Kajikawa

Jason Ho

Ryan Narasaki

Jee Suh

David Lee

Jesse Terasaki

Eric Lau

Early in human history there was one language and one location where all the peoples of the earth lived.  The peoples of the earth lived in different areas, but migrated to a plain in the land of Shinar (modern day Iraq and Iran).  It was here that Moses, the author of Genesis, recorded in 11:4 what took place, "'Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.'"      

It can be observed that humans look for security.  Humans find security in numbers, in retirement funds, in their homes, in those they love.  The inhabitants of Shinar found their security in the city they lived in together.  For many Americans their "security blankets" have been taken away as a result of the financial situation our country is in.  Some Americans are having to re-evaluate how secure they feel.  Regardless of culture, humans seek security.

Moses also records that the people of Shinar built a tower and "let us make a name for ourselves".  Humans desire praise.  Babies at an early age want recognition by saying, "I did it" and adults vying for a promotion are saying, "I did it."  Humans want to hear the praise from other humans.  I have heard it said from a retired professional athlete that the one thing he misses most is not the money, nor the competition, but having the fans scream his name and cheer for him.     

Underneath humans seeking security and praise is the sin of self-sufficiency.  Humans, regardless of culture want to find their own security and their own praise.  This self-sufficiency is in complete opposition to God's plan of humans being God-sufficient.

The dwellers of Shinar rejected God's command found in Genesis 9:1 and 7, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth." They were to go and spread abroad, but they wanted the security of staying together.  They also rejected God by not praising him.  The tower was just a symbol of their self-sufficiency in denial of God.  The response to their sin is found in verse 8, "So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city."  God confused their language so that they did not have the security of being alike due to language and they could not praise each other together.

From the city and the unfinished tower the people spread throughout the earth, thus birthing different cultures with different languages.  But each culture came from the same ancestors, the ancestry of self-sufficiency.  Each culture needs to be saved from their sin and the only solution to this global sin is the cross of Christ.  So across the different cultures, only the cross of Christ can save.

Remember when you meet people from different cultures in your neighborhood to look beyond the exterior differences and see that every human regardless of culture has the common issue of sin and the only solution is the saving work of Jesus Christ's life, death on the cross, and his resurrection from the tomb.

I like the way Paul put it, "You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9). Maybe to put it simply, Jesus became poor so that we might be rich. Becoming poor was not just about the incarnation (Jesus becoming flesh), but about His death on the cross as the bearer of our sins. He did this so that we might be rich.

What does it mean to be rich? The answer is endless, but here are a few ideas:

It means that I am forgiven of my sins. If I am honest I would have to admit that I deserve hell and yet I am given heaven. It means God knows the absolute ugliest and darkest parts of my life and yet loves me none the less and chooses to remember my sins no more (Ephesians 1:7; Jeremiah 31:34).

It means that though we live in a fallen world beset by trials, we can look at those difficulties and know that God is using them for our good and His glory. It means trials have a purpose. They are not just unfortunate twists of fate or the result of evil people, but rather they are God's wise and loving plan to change us for the better (1 Peter 1:3-9).

It means that when it feels like we can't go on and we are struggling just to get through the day, we can remember that God grants us grace to get through every challenge. In other words, we don't walk this Christian life alone, but are indwelt by God himself in the Holy Spirit, and He grants us grace not just to endure but to live victoriously (Romans 8:32).

It means that there is hope to overcome the sins that I struggle with. What do you struggle with? Is it anger? Stress? Impatience? Lust? Materialism? Lack of love? Whatever it is, you can overcome it by the grace of God (Romans 6:12-14).

It means that my identity isn't tied into what I look like or what my occupation is or what I own or if I am married or if I have kids or what school I went to or where I live or what people think of me. Ultimately it means that I am a child of God and nothing defines my identity more than that (Philippians 3:20).

It means that I have God's Word which gives me guidance in a world full of questions. The Holy Spirit applies it to my heart so that I know how to live in this world (Psalm 119:105).

It means never having to fear death, because we are just visitors here on earth and in reality, heaven is our home (Philippians 1:21).

Why should we be merry this Christmas? Because we are rich. Not in the monetary sense, but in a way that has true eternal value. I pray that this Christmas you will give Christ the glory He deserves because He became poor so that we might become rich.

Jonah could've been one of the great action heroes of the bible, but instead he's consigned to the lowly status of a disobedient minor prophet.  Jonah is given an impossible task to preach to Ninevah, Israel's enemy, and bring them a message of repentance and forgiveness from God.  But instead of obeying the command, he literally heads in the opposite direction.  He subsequently is swallowed by a great fish, vomited onto dry land, at last obeys and preaches a message of repentance, but then finally broods in self-pity as he realizes his part in bringing forgiveness to his mortal enemies.  That's not exactly your typical movie hero in action.

As great as our modern day action heroes are made out to be on the large screen, there actually is the greatest action hero of them all.  God Himself should be seen as the ultimate hero of the bible.  Consider the following from the book of Jonah: God chooses to save a group of people who are His sworn enemies.  Instead of accomplishing the task Himself, God chooses to work through a weak little man named Jonah to carry His message for Him.  When the messenger balks at the idea, God pursues him by creating massive waves on the sea, bringing a giant fish to swallow him alive, and then having the fish vomit him onto dry land.  God will stop at nothing to win the day!  When Jonah finally obeys God's commands, God ensures success by softening the hearts of the Ninevites so that they turn in repentance from their wicked ways.  When the supporting actor Jonah feels sorry for himself and angrily asks for his life to be taken, God grows and withers a plant as a tangible lesson of His love, even for those in complete defiance to Him.  What a hero!  God stops at nothing to accomplish His will!  God always triumphs over evil!

Whenever you read the bible, always look to God as the center of any story.  It's easy to get caught up with Jonah or other lead characters when in fact the true hero is God Himself.  God is the hero of the story of David and Goliath.  God is the hero of the parable of the Prodigal Son.  God is the hero of Daniel and the Lion's Den.  God is always the hero.  May we always keep God at the center of our bible study and of our very own lives.  Jack Bauer and Jason Bourne have nothing on the God of this universe.

This is a masterful Christmas album from singer-songwriter Andrew Peterson that moves through the redemptive story of Scripture, from the Passover Lamb of imprisoned Israel to the manger in Bethlehem. While the songs may not be suited for caroling, this is one of the most theologically rich and thought-provoking albums I have ever heard.

Sounds like: Rich Mullins, Caedmon's Call, James Taylor, Michael Card

Sovereign Grace – Savior: Celebrating the Mystery of God Become Man

As with all Sovereign Grace music, Savior is biblically rich and deeply worshipful. This Christmas album is particularly profitable in its direct connection of the Christmas story to the Gospel. Many of the songs would be a great addition to corporate or family worship.

Sounds like: Chris Tomlin, Mercy Me, Casting Crowns

Sojourn - Advent Songs

Sojourn is a church in Kentucky with a burgeoning music ministry, having already released several CDs of modern hymn arrangements. Advent Songs is their contribution to the Christmas pantheon of music, with fresh arrangements of classics and outstanding original compositions. Their style moves gracefully from folk to pop to rock and back again; there’s even a metal-tinged arrangement of “What Child is This” that is nothing short of electrifying. I've listened to this album at least once a week since November. It's that good. Best of all, Advent Songs can be found for free through Noisetrade. Yay free!

Sounds like: Nickel Creek, Toad the Wetsprocket, Counting Crows

Joel Osteen, described in the article as "a charistmatic pastor with a radiant smile," says the following about his "message of optimism:"

“I don't talk about money,” Osteen said. “God wants you to be blessed. And being blessed means having good relationships, having money to be able to send your kids to college, being healthy in your body. That's what we talk about. I believe God wants you to live a blessed life. … I don't go around talking about God will make you rich.”

Click here to read the rest of the article.

2 Cor. 4:16-17 - "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature  is being renewed day by day. For  this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."

Instead, I am talking about the existential experience of reading the Word.  Many look forward to the gospels and epistles, feasting on the sermons of Christ and the passion of Paul, yet those same people feel that joy wane as they work through histories, prophecies, and disobedience. For others, the division is even more stark: the Old Testament speaks of a God of Judgment, the New Testament of a God of Love.

Oh what a mistake that is.

The Old Testament book of Hosea talks not only of the judgment that awaits the sinful and idolatrous people of Israel, but also communicates, with great passion, the faithful and loyal love of the Lord.  The prophet Hosea, speaking to the northern kingdom of Israel, speaks the truth of the Lord with zeal throughout, but it is chapter 11 where that passion captures a glimpse at the depth of God's love.  For each step away from obedience to God, His persevering love moved steadily toward His son. Even though the judgment that is meted out on Israel is necessary and deserved, it is mitigated by that love that asks, "How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel?" (Hosea 11:8)

Though the Lord burns with righteous anger, He will "not come in wrath," will not "again destroy" the people of Israel, but instead deals with His people with a "compassion [that] grows warm and tender" (Hosea 11:8). What a picture of a Lord who will not let us rebel forever, will punish, yes, but will call us back to Himself. Hosea 11:10 speaks of a roaring lion that will cause trembling, a needed rebuke, yet that roar also signals a Lord declaring He is God, a loving father sounding the call for His children to return to Him to find protection and blessing, namely, salvation. This points ultimately and clearly to our lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

So, in Hosea we see a Lord whose love will not only tolerate no rival*, but also a Lord whose love has no rival.

This book reminds me that when it comes to reading God's Word, whether it is the New or Old Testament, it deserves the same excitement, the same devotion, the same desire to meet our Lord. Hosea helps fill in the picture of how deep the father's love for us is.

* Macarthur, John. The Macarthur Bible Commentary. (Nashville, Tennessee : Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2005) 971.

Al Mohler, the president of Southern Baptist Seminary and one of America's leading evangelical minds, provides an intelligent, educated, and steady voice to help Christians stem the tide of our ever present and sometimes overpowering environment. 

Culture Shift is a collection of separate essays that all touch on various social issues.  Since the book was not written as a unified whole, there is some overlap in material covered.  Yet the variety of issues he covers is definitely sufficient.  From how to successfully defend morality in an increasingly immoral culture, to how we should respond to the proliferation of a secularized curriculum of the public school system, to abortion, atheism, and the war on terror, Mohler takes us through a comprehensive look at the culture we face.  And he does it all through a biblical lens.

His arguments are well thought out and succinct.  You can read this book in one afternoon, on an airplane, or you can split it up and read it an essay a night.  If you are interested in learning more about how to biblically interact and respond to our culture, then I would highly recommend this book. 

That is, except for God. While God is abundantly generous to mankind, there is one thing that does belong to God exclusively and eternally, which he will not share under any circumstances: his glory.

King Nebuchadnezzar, lord of the Babylonian empire from 605-562 BC, learned this lesson the hard way. As the ruler of the world's greatest superpower, he possessed more than a little pride. Daniel 4 gives an account of the king taking a walk on the roof of his Babylonian palace, musing to himself, "Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty" (v. 30)? Did you notice all the references to self in that statement? Can you imagine his head and his heart swelling with pride? Nebuchadnezzar made the foolish error of stealing the very thing that God does not share, God's glory.

Even a moment's reflection on Nebuchadnezzar's arrogance should allow us to see much ourselves in his statement. Certainly none of us are lords of empires, but we certainly aspire to be the lords of our own lives. How many are the times when we credit ourselves with all our accomplishments, when we shower ourselves with accolades and self-praise! We too are guilty of asking God to share his glory with us.

If the brazenness of Nebuchadnezzar's declaration is remarkable, then God's response is downright terrifying:

"While the words were still in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, "O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will." Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles' feathers, and his nails were like birds' claws" (vv. 31-33).

The situation is simultaneously tragic and comic. The once mighty king is immediately stripped off everything he had boasted in just moments before. The ruler who had just previously puffed out his chest with pride at his own accomplishments is reduced to something subhuman; notice how all the descriptions of his transformation are likened to those of animals. The irony of it all is almost laughable, but King Nebuchadnezzar's punishment carries a solemn note: this is the intensity with which God refuses to share his glory.

Thankfully, God often chooses to rescue such bold sinners from their own pride. In a moment of grace, Nebuchadnezzar is miraculously awakened from his insanity. The result is more than a physical transformation, but a spiritual one:

"At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done'" (vv. 34-35)?

What a reversal! Having been humbled to the ground (quite literally), God graciously opens his eyes to who the true Lord is, not merely of the Babylonian empire, but of the whole earth. The once-proud king realizes that the God alone is to be honored; he does not share his glory.

Thank God that he spares glory-thieves like Nebuchadnezzar and like us. All the same, let us never steal that which belongs to God alone.

I first began attending church when I was in elementary school.  I wasn't raised in a Christian home, but I believe that even at that early stage in my life, my mother must have seen something different about believers in the church that she would choose to send me there every weekend.  The next few years of church-attendance consisted largely of hearing about God in Sunday school but never really feeling like I understood Him personally.  I couldn't understand why the more I knew, the more distance I felt between God and me.  What I didn't realize and perhaps didn't want to know at the time was that I was trying to work for God's favor; my desire to obtain knowledge of God was for selfish gains, by which I could never truly know God much less have a personal relationship with Him.  Slowly, God replaced my head knowledge of Him with a right view of His character by showing me what a life devoted to His glory looked like.  I knew by the exemplary lives of my friends that God must be greater than anything I could imagine because there was something strangely different about their perspective on life, but I still didn't personally know Him.  I entered college, unaware that God had plans to change my life in the next 4 short years.

One night toward the end of my first year at college, I was sitting alone in my dorm room, having done nothing different that day than the day before, when I realized that no human pursuits, ambition, nor accomplishments would remain after death.  The thought of my certain death forced me to reconsider why I wake up each day and why I live.  That night, I believe God called me to understand that He alone gives meaning to my life.  As I continued to work through my questions about faith, I began to take a more earnest interest in what I was learning at church.  Through my search for God's truth about me and my life, God called me yet again to understand that I needed a Savior to save me from my sins.  In Romans 3:10-11, Paul writes "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God." I realized that I do not seek God, that I have done nothing to merit God showing me any grace. But I also realized that Christ Jesus lived a perfect and sinless life so that when he died on the cross and suffered God's wrath for me, I would be free from punishment for my sins and be counted as a child of God, with Christ as my Lord and Savior. This realization brought me to my knees and continues to humble my heart.

Most recently, God has called me to understand that the gospel should be permeating every single moment of every day of my life because it is by His grace that I wake up the next day and it is for His glory that I do anything.  Faced with the question of "what will I give to follow hard after God, to take Jesus' life as the foundation and example for mine," I have committed to living a life of obedience to the commands of my Lord and Savior.  And that is why I am getting baptized today.

In fact, President elect Barack Obama has nobly stated that he would like to reduce nuclear stockpiles and destructive weapons throughout the world. More and more, the world is convinced that we'll be the end of us all.

Strangely enough, in this case the world is right.

In the letter of 2 Peter, the apostle reminds us how the world will end. As one might expect, it is human beings who ultimately cause the world to be burned away, dissolved, melted, and destroyed. But it isn't our nukes or our greenhouse gases that are the cause, it is our sins!

Peter writes,

2Pe 3:10-13 ESV  But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

That is the destructive power human sin! It is because of humanity's rebellion against God that He will destroy creation. It is humanity's prideful belief that we can live our lives apart from the rule of God that will be the end of this physical world. Since God is holy and just, He will burn away this physical world in order to expose the rebellious deeds of each and every one His creatures. Now THAT is a disaster!

But the Christian who has been saved by faith in Christ has great hope. Peter continues,

2Pe 3:11-13 ESV  Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,  (12)  waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!  (13)  But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

While the world unknowingly waits for destruction, the Christian waits for restoration. As we live our lives in eager anticipation of the day when God will make all things new, we must forsake sin. Lives of holiness and godliness prepare us for the day when we will become citizens of a new creation where righteousness dwells, and Christ reigns. When you read the words written by the apostle John, may they stir you up today towards a godly and holy life today:

Rev 21:1-4 ESV  Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  (2)  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  (3)  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.  (4)  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."

What a glorious picture of God with man! Don't let your greatest hope for humanity be a world without nukes, but rather the new world without sin!

On October 19, 2008, we were blessed to witness the baptisms of four members of the Lighthouse church family: Sean Ohira, Nicole Rubalcava, Kevin Yee, and Mandy Zia. The following is Kevin's testimony, which was read before his baptism.

This afternoon, I'd like to testify to God's gracious choice in the way He has called me to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I had a church-attending childhood, and yet while I considered myself a Christian, I didn't know what it meant to submit my life to Jesus. I didn't understand God's gospel of grace, and I didn't recognize my own personal sin.  My lifestyle of habitual and worsening sin revealed that I did not have a true saving faith to begin with.

By the grace of God, He brought me to a true relationship with Him in my first year of college. Though I had heard the gospel while visiting local churches, I continued in sin and found myself in difficult circumstances.  God in His mercy and grace compelled me to pray one night. I hadn't done so in a while and I felt ashamed to approach God whom I had rejected. While I prayed on my dorm-room bed, I was humbled by the undeniable presence and reality of God. I was moved to sorrow because I had rejected this truth and had sinned against an infinitely holy God. My heart was prostrated as God quickened my thoughts to the profound truth of the Gospel. I was overwhelmed by God's love for me in Christ, that Jesus suffered on the cross the wrath that I deserved and had incurred, paying for the penalty for all my sins, and yet He brought hope by rising again to conquer death. I knew that I was completely unworthy. Considering God's holiness and love, I could identify with David in the Psalms, "I said to the LORD, ‘You are my Lord; I have no good besides You'...What is man that You take thought of him...And You crown him with glory and majesty." 

I made some direct changes in my life that night, I got involved back at church, and I started reading the Bible everyday which helped reveal the richness of my salvation in Christ. I'm thankful that at Lighthouse I can worship God, be encouraged and challenged as living as His disciple, and now be baptized as a public expression of my love for and obedience to Jesus.

Part of what made this trial difficult was trying to see the purpose in it. How could this little dog's death be anything but something sad and hard for out family to go through? Well in James 1:2-4 it says, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

So whether I can see it or not, there is purpose in this trial, I am supposed to grow. My faith needs to become more steadfast because of this difficult time. As our little family weathers this little storm, we will be more prepared to weather the next, possibly greater, storm. As we are compelled to pray, hug and encourage one another, think about God's word and His attributes, we through God's grace get through the pain and are a little more battle tested for the next difficulty we face. Joy in pain. Not joy because of the pain, but joy because of what the pain is doing... making us a little more like Him.

We will miss our little puppy, but it is good to know that God's purpose and plan will not be thwarted. He wants our hearts and will continue to pursue it. My brothers and sisters seek Him during the tough times and allow His refining process bring you a deep and abiding joy.

I became a Christian around the age of 8 or 9. I knew that if I believed that Jesus died for my sins, I would get to go to heaven, so I said a prayer with my parents one morning before school. But I didn't know what it meant to live the Christian life after that. All I knew was that I wanted to go to heaven and I wanted to be like my parents.

This changed when my family started coming to Lighthouse my sophomore year in high school and I started going to the high school youth group. A mix of youth group, plugged-in groups, ad Sunday morning messages made me start to wonder and question what it really meant to be a growing Christian. I wanted to live a life for God as a growing Christian. I learned that things I was doing in my everyday life that I didn't think was sin, actually IS sin!! So now that I know I was sinning, I try not to do those sins.

God is still growing me and showing me areas in my life that I need to work on, on specific area in my life that God has helped me grow in is being more patient with my family. I'm NOT always patient with them, but I AM trying with God's help!

So all these years I thought I was a growing Christian I really wasn't! I'm thankful that God has shown me what it really means to be a growing Christian and he will continue to grow me.

We probably all know people who seem to do so many good things yet are not believers. What does Scripture teach us about them? Hebrews 11:6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." To make sense out of all this, we must first understand what is meant by good. The world often defines it as something that brings benefit to mankind or to our planet. Peace, social justice, economic welfare, basic health care, even promoting feelings of harmony and love, are all considered good. As Christians, we see the world through different lenses. While all of the above can be considered good, ultimately, good can be defined by what would please and honor God. Striving for peace at any cost, even while overlooking sin, would not please God. Setting up a hospital or a charity group even with a hint of self glory or self satisfaction, would dishonor the Lord. In fact Romans 3:20 teaches us, "For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight." It is impossible to please God through our own good deeds.

So then what? Back to Hebrews 11:6 - it is only by faith. We must believe in who God is, that He is moral, loving, just, wise, our salvation. It is our faith that is rewarded; we are given the gift of salvation. So what about good deeds? Well it is true, no good worldly deed goes unpunished, since it is done not for God and ultimately things that are not pleasing to Him are sin. But good deeds stemming from a right faith will be rewarded. Beloved, continue to live out your faith in love. Good works demonstrate or faith and assure us of our salvation.

Though I was created by God, to live for Him, to glorify His name, I was born sinful man, dead in my trespasses and in rebellion to my Creator.  While still a young child, my parents divorced and remarried thereafter.  By God's grace, I was able to spend weekends with my mother who began regularly attending church.  Each Sunday, I learned about God, about notable Bible figures, about something referred to as the Gospel.  However, as a mere hearer of the Word, I deluded myself, lacking any understanding of God's saving grace.  Though I recited the "Sinner's Prayer" countless times, claiming to know God, I did not know Him and continued to walk in the darkness, not practicing the truth.

Such behavior continued into middle school and high school, as I indulged in the desires of the flesh and of the mind, a child of wrath by my very nature.  I lived in disobedience to my parents, seeking worldly relationships to replace my family, continually dishonoring God, fully deserving of His righteous wrath.  My parents would often instruct me to leave the house, as my conduct became unmanageable.  In addition, my closest friends rejected me, causing me to fall deeply into depression, even to the point of suicide.  However, before each fatal attempt, I would contemplate the afterlife, reflecting upon Heaven and Hell, upon this familiar, but unknown, God.  Such thoughts averted any further action, as I feared the unknown and my potential eternity in Hell.  Though still physically alive, I remained dead in my transgressions, continuing to store up treasures on earth, seeking the approval of man, disregarding God.

In His sovereignty, God allowed me to be abused by an older church member immediately prior to entering college.  This experience revealed to me my utter human weakness, stripping me of all pride, causing me to search for something greater than the pleasures of this world.  At the first large group meeting of AACF, God allowed me to understand and believe that I was not righteous, I did not seek for Him, nor did I do good.  But God demonstrated His love for me in that while I was still a sinner, Christ died for me.  He was crushed for my iniquities, though He lived a perfect life upon this earth.  That night, the word of God pierced my soul, as I understood that it was by His grace that I had been saved, through faith, nothing of myself.  I understood that salvation is God's gift, all grace, not a result of works, that if I confess Him as Lord and Savior, I will be saved. 

There has been a constant struggle within me since then, as I must earnestly be seeking to kill sin, lest it be killing me.  While my life as a Christian has included numerous trials and countless failures, God is faithful to provide abundant grace through His Son.  Though I am weak and sinful, I am confident that He who began a good work in me will perfect it until the day of Christ.  What a great, holy God we worship, a God who saves even the worst of sinners, a sinner like me, a God who provides abundant grace, a God who provides abundant love.

A passage that teaches this truth well is Jeremiah 17:5-8. It says,

5 Thus says the Lord:
"Cursed is the man who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 He is like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.

7 "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
8 He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit."

The Lord, through Jeremiah, makes the point that in the "heat" of life we can trust in the Lord or trust in our own strength. The point, that is so clearly illustrated, is that the person who trusts in themselves withers in the heat and is like a shrub in the desert. On the other hand the person who trusts in the Lord is like a tree planted by the stream. He does not fear the heat (trials) because he knows that in Christ he will continue to bear fruit. The difference between the two people described is not circumstances. They both face heat and drought. The difference is not even in getting out of the heat and drought as if someone who trusts God will get out of a trial earlier. In both pictures the person remains in the heat and drought. The difference is how each one flourishes or withers during the heat. The one who trusts in himself withers, while the one who trusts in God flourishes.

This truth, that it is better to trust in God than man, was illustrated well to me by John Piper (whose material we are going through in small groups). In early 2006, he found out that he had prostate cancer. He decided to write an article about it called "Don't Waste Your Cancer" in which he gives 10 ways not to waste your cancer. Point number three was this, "You will waste your cancer if you seek comfort from your odds rather than from God." As he elaborates on this point he discusses that the world finds comfort in odds (i.e. "you have a 75% chance of beating this cancer). However, "The design of God in your cancer is not to train you in the rationalistic, human calculation of odds... Some count their chariots (percentage of survival) and some count their horses (side effects of treatment), but we trust in the name of the Lord our God (Psalm 20:7). God's design is clear from 2 Corinthians 1:9, ‘We felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.' The aim of God in your cancer (among a thousand other good things) is to knock props out from under our hearts so that we rely utterly on him." His teaching begs the same question that Jeremiah 17 does, "Where are you putting your trust?"

What trial are you going through? What is the "heat" in your life? My prayer for you and for me is that we will trust in the Lord that we might flourish in drought.

Why Lord?  Why did this happen?  Ultimately, only God knows the reason for anything that goes on in this world, but in my case, some divine events occurred after this injury.  After my season had ended, I had more time to spend with a certain group of friends.  Among them were a couple of Christians.  They encouraged me to go to church.  I always resisted such invitations, but after some convincing, I finally took them seriously.  I attended my first youth group event in the summer after my junior year.  The people were friendly and the message that night pierced my heart.  The Holy Spirit touched me in a way I had never experienced.   I had finally met Jesus!  What began as a season ending injury ended with an eternity changing victory.

Do you have a similar story?  Has there ever been a time where you wondered aloud what God was doing with your life?  It's normal to wonder, but impossible to fully answer.  God's thoughts and ways are so far beyond us, we will never fully understand the sovereign will of God.  It's comforting to know though that the God we worship is infinitely wiser than us and in complete control.

Sadly, the next guy in the batting order made an out to end the game.  I thought my injury for the team was a waste.  Little did I know back then that my baseball career would end but my life as a Christian was about to begin.  I'll take eternity with God over baseball any day!

As a father of two I am painfully aware of my inadequacies as a dad. There literally is not a day that passes without some aspect of my sin showing itself concerning how I interact with my son Jaren and daughter Allison. So it really should not come as a surprise that as I read through Colossians I was drawn to this command to fathers: "do not provoke your children," accompanied by the reason behind the command, "lest they become discouraged."

In context, Paul has spent the first half of Colossians responding to heretical teaching by demonstrating the supremacy of Christ above all, and now has turned to consider the implications of Christ's supremacy: namely, our submission to him and the ways that submission manifests itself (in terms of personal relationships). As fathers who are striving to evidence to a lost world our new life in Christ, we are told in no uncertain terms not to provoke.  Now "provoke," rendered "exasperate" in some translations, has that sense of irritating or stirring up. John MacArthur paraphrases the idea simply as "stop nagging your kids." This was the first point of conviction. Now I wouldn't go so far as to say I tease my children, but the litany of dos and don'ts that echo more of my preferences than any justifiable behavior requiring training is enough to push even the most docile child.

But more than merely pointing out good parenting tips, this command points back to Jesus Christ and our relationship with him. As fathers, we are not to provoke because our heavenly father does not provoke us. This is where the application of the passage extends beyond dads; it sheds light on who our heavenly father is and how he sees us: as his glorious children who are given room to breathe, to grow, and to develop as he has created us.

So, we work hard to avoid exasperating our children not so that we can be good fathers (or parents for that matter), but so that our kids can see how good God is. John Piper points out that we provoke when we ourselves fail to be happy, hopeful, and confident in God, and when we discipline in "an impulsive, erratic, and inconsistent way."[1]

The byproduct of these poor behaviors is children who are discouraged. In this context, discouraged means spiritless, disinterested, moody, "losing heart, or having a blank resignation toward life."[2]  But remember Paul is putting this all through the lens of Christ's supremacy.  Again, this is not Parenting 101 with Dr. Jill (the names have been changed to protect the innocent); this is the call of Christians who should be happy about our position relative to our Lord and savior, hopeful about our future glory, and confident and courageous about all God has planned and has asked of us. As new creatures, we should past the test of letting that joy be part of our parenting.

As a teacher who sees the march of the joyless every day, and as a parent who has been guilty of sucking the joy out of my family through my own sinful moping, I want to leave you with two encouragements:

First, for fathers, I would encourage you to not look at Colossians as merely warnings against bad parenting, but as a way to show our children, our spouses, our families, and the world about the great God we serve and the loving father we submit to. There is a real consequence for provoking our kids, yet real joy in introducing them to our heavenly father through our actions.

And second, for those who are not fathers, I see Colossians 3:21 as a chance to thank God for who he is: that perfect father who is patient, kind, and loving; a father who brings the only true hope and happiness.

As dads let's bring that to our children; as believers let's bring that to the world.

[1] Piper, John. "Fathers Who Give Hope." (www. desiringgod.org). June 15, 1986.

[2] Ibid.

If you had to improve your ability to effectively witness to people, what would you choose to work on? Would you practice drawing the Two Ways to Live diagram? Would you study the cosmological, teleological, and ontological arguments for the existence of God? Would you memorize the various evidences for the historical accuracy of the resurrection?

While these would be valuable assets to any evangelist's tool belt, the apostle Paul calls our attention in Philippians 2 to a surprising means to more effectively witness to non-believers: not complaining.  He writes, "Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world."

Paul tells us that by refusing to engage in grumbling and questioning, we can be an effective witness to the dark world around us. After all, what could be more inconsistent with the world's way of thinking then not complaining? We see it around us everyday: complaining about work, complaining about family, complaining about money, complaining about school. The shameful fact is that we don't just see it in the world; we see it in ourselves! You probably don't have think back too far to recall the last time you grumbled about the circumstances in your life.

What is it about complaining that is so sinful? Fundamentally, it's because complaining reveals a lack of trust in God's love, sovereignty and wisdom. We complain because we doubt that God truly cares about us or is pursuing our good. We complain because we doubt that God is truly in control of the universe he created. We complain because we doubt that God really knows best.

Think about what unbelievers must think when they see Christians complain. What kind of picture do they get about the God we supposedly believe in? It is no wonder our invitations to trust in a loving, wise, sovereign God fall so flat; we don't appear to trust him ourselves! But on the other hand, when we refuse to complain, we demonstrate to the world that we have an abiding trust in our God. What Paul indicates to us in this verse is that when we don't complain, the world will take notice. We should not be surprised that the unbelieving world refuses to trust God. But we should be shamed if we ever do the same.

I urge you to trust in our God this week. He is loving. He is sovereign. He is wise. You have no reason to complain.

For instance, someone wants to merge into your lane in traffic.  You know you should let them in, but do you really want to?  Or a family member is washing dishes all by themselves.  You know you should help them, but they have it under control right?  Maybe that seemingly unlovable co-worker stops by to chat when you have a ton of work to do and you just want to rudely tell him to leave you alone.  You know you should try to be patient and have a loving attitude, but you really need to get this work done ASAP, so this guy needs to leave ASAP, right?

We see a non-Christian friend we haven't talked to in a while and we have the perfect opportunity to share the gospel.  We know what to do, but so often the fears of being judged and the desire to remain comfortable choke the right decision clean out of us.  We know what to do. 

It seems a lot of times doing the right thing seems to add up.  Like the grind of making the right choice every time takes a toll on you.  I know I feel it.  Maybe you feel it.  I think the apostle Paul knew that it was a temptation for all Christians to grow tired in doing the right thing. 

In Galatians 6:9, Paul writes, "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."

There is reward for doing good.  We don't love people or wash dishes or act selflessly on the freeway just because.  We do so for the harvest we will reap, for eternal reward, for the sake of pleasing God. 

In verse 10, Paul writes, "So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.   

Each time we have the choice to do the right thing, we aren't given a chore.  It's not another notch of exhaustion to add to our growing list of "good deeds we felt we had to do even though we didn't want to".  Paul says it's an opportunity, an opportunity for us to do good to people.  If you look at verse 8, Paul writes that we sow to the Holy Spirit when we do good deeds. 

It's an opportunity to please God.  And pleasing God is what we want to do, isn't it?   

Today you undoubtedly will have many opportunities to do good.  And maybe you really won't want to.    Don't grow weary.  There is greater reward than getting to work on time.  There is greater reward then not washing dishes, or not having to talk with that co-worker. 

There is the reward of pleasing God.  Don't grow weary in doing that.

My daughter is only five years old, but is never afraid to voice her opinion: "Daddy, that looks weird." My wife of seven years is a bit more shall we say, tactful, and now simply gives me the shake of the head, or a, "Hmm, interesting ..." or simply, "No." My three year old son, at least for now, he's on my side. What am I talking about? My choice of attire in the morning, of course! Now, I'm not complaining. Apparently, I'm not the most coordinated when it comes to choosing clothes (what, you can't wear a striped top with checkered shorts?) so I truly appreciate the input of the more fashion-abled women in my life. It's funny and sad to think that for at least a decade of being a single guy, I suffered from fashion impairment and didn't even know it!

This reminds me of a verse found in Proverbs 11:14, "Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety." Now, clearly, this verse is talking about things more important than matching outfits. Life is full of tough decisions-where to go to school, where to work, who to marry, how to handle a difficult break-up, how to deal with a problem child, etc. There are also many, daily, personal, spiritual issues that we deal with as well-how do I deal with my stress or anger, how do I spend my money, how do I handle my struggles with sin? Too often, we seek counsel pretty much from one source, ourselves. But the problem is we're often blinded to our own sin, our own way always seems right. "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice" (Prov 12:15). God has put loving Christian friends in our lives for this purpose-to give us wise counsel.

Do you turn to friends for advice in times of difficulty? When you're struggling with sin, or are unfruitful, do you seek the counsel of other believers? Do you regularly meet with mature Christians, seek their accountability, prayer, and wisdom? What might keep you from doing so? Embarrassment? Pride? Now, all counsel must be held up to the light of God's truth found in Scripture, but realize that our friends often see things in our lives that we don't and also have a more objective view of our situation. So, if you're not in a regular accountability or small group, I encourage you to find one! There you will find the blessings of wise counsel, you will be held up instead of falling, and there is safety.

First, the good.  This book is definitely enjoyable to read.  It presents a clear challenge to the stereotypical lazy teenager, but also to anyone shackled by low expectations.  Brett and Alex Harris (brothers of Joshua Harris, of I Kissed Dating Goodbye fame) explain that, nowadays, teenagers are expected to goof off and mess around and not do all that much with their lives and they rise (or fall) to these expectations.  No physical constraint keeps a teenager from doing big things with their lives.  Only the mental chains of low expectations keep teens on their couches all day.

They go on to explain three different pillars of doing hard things: character, competence, and collaboration.  If you possess these three qualities you can go on to do five different types of hard things:

1) Things that require you to get out of your comfort zone

2) Things that require you to go beyond what is required

3) Things that are too big for you to do alone

4) Things that do not have an immediate pay off and take time

5) Things that go against the popular opinion

Character, competence, collaboration, and doing hard things are not bad at all.  In fact, I wish I had read this book when I was a teen.  Maybe you do too.  Maybe you have a lazy teenager son or daughter and Do Hard Things is just what the doctor ordered.  For these things alone I would recommend this book. 

But despite the good of this book-even the great of this book-it has one glaring weakness.  The book does a fantastic job of outlining HOW to do hard things.  Yet the WHY it provides is lacking.  The book pretty much says: "Do hard things because you can.  There is nothing stopping you.  Rebel against low expectations."  This is true.  There is nothing stopping a teen from doing hard things.

Yet this answer is insufficient.  It is good to do hard things, but what ultimate good is there if the glory of God is not front and center?  At Lighthouse we understand that our lives are bigger than ourselves and our plans.  We have learned that our ultimate aim in life is not to do hard things-it is to worship God.  Every aspect of our lives should worship our God and Creator in some way, everything we do should say "God is great." 

It is not as if the Harris brothers make zero mention of God.  The appendix is entitled "Do Hard Things, the Gospel, and You."  Unfortunately, the gospel does not really come in to the equation until after the book is over.  Alex and Brett even write that you do not have to be a Christian to benefit from doing hard things.

And that's the problem, because what is the ultimate benefit of a life not devoted to Christ?  What does it matter if a teen ventures out of his or her comfort zone, leaps beyond what is required, does big things with others, patiently waits and see beyond immediate the immediate payoffs, and fights the popular opinion if he or she are not living for the glory of God in light of the gospel?

This book has a gripping premise and would be great for any teenager, lazy or hardworking.  I would recommend giving it to your teen, or if you are a teen, to read it.  Yet be sure to remember the why-we are to do hard things because of the gospel, for the glory of God.  Our lives are bigger than ourselves.

Regardless of what form our struggles take, what a blessing it is to know that the Bible gives us one bit of wisdom to guide us through all of them.  Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do you lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." 

Proverbs 3:5-6 is a passage of Scripture that many of us learned in Sunday School when we were children, but just because we learned it long ago doesn't mean that this passage isn't relevant to our struggles today.  Living as a Christian means living as a child of God and trusting in our heavenly father.  It means trusting that our struggles are opportunities for spiritual growth that our loving Father has allowed us to experience so that he can use them to mold us more into the image of Jesus Christ.  It means trusting that God's plan for our lives will bring him glory and is what is best for us. 

Many times we are so caught up in our struggles that we forget this one simple command to trust in the Lord.  We get too focused on trying to come up with our own way out of the situation or what we can do to improve our situation.  We get bogged down with worry or stress.  We turn to sinful habits or addictions in an attempt to escape from the situation.  This passage tells us to do exactly the opposite.  We should not take matters into our own hands, but instead should trust in the Lord with every ounce of our being.  The "with all your heart" part of v. 5 is where trusting God gets difficult, but this is the key to persevering through our struggles.  It's easy to trust God a little, but this passage is telling us to trust God 100%.  If we aren't trusting God 100%, then, we are still trusting in ourselves and leaning on our own ways.  God wants us to trust in him with all of our hearts through all of our struggles, for he is glorified in our lives when we put our hope solely in him.

King David understood the importance of Israel coming together during different feasts.  This truth is the centerpiece for Psalm 133, especially verse 1.  It says, "Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!"  David knew the impact a unified people could have as an encouragement to the nation and as an evangelistic tool to the non-believing nations around them. 

The people of Lighthouse Community Church come together each Sunday in unity to praise our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  The truth that we as Christ's disciples are unified is an important aspect for us to remember.  Our unity in Christ is overlooked when we mistakenly think we are unified because of common past experience, or live in proximity together, or being part of the same ministry.  We are unified because of Jesus Christ and only because of him. 

When we remember we are unified because of Christ, then God will be able to use us for different purposes.  One area is in evangelism.  Non-Christians will be able to see what true unity looks like.  The Apostle John wrote in John 13:34 and 35, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." 

Another purpose in remembering our unity in Christ is when we may have differences or disagreements with one another.  We all understand that when sinners, even forgiven sinners congregate, there will be disagreements and broken relationships.  When we remember the unity that we have in Christ Jesus, then it is good and pleasant. 

You can apply this truth of unity through Jesus in two different ways.  One way is to contact someone in our congregation this week and encourage them to remember and savor Jesus.  You can encourage them through writing a letter, sending a card, sending over flowers, baking them cookies, or just visiting them.  Tangible things will help to unify us.

Another way you can apply this truth is to prayerfully meet with someone who you may have hurt or you may have been hurt by.  Broken relationships or relationships in conflict must be dealt with in ways that are truthful, loving, and kind so that God may be glorified.

I hope that the Lighthouse church family will understand the truth of how good and pleasant it is when God's people are unified as one. 

I really like the illustration used here which is that of a courtroom scene. The term "advocate" literally means one who comes along side, but the general view is that it has in mind is a courtroom scene in which a lawyer comes before God on our behalf.

I used to enjoy courtroom dramas and as I would watch I would imagine what it would be like to be certain characters in the story.  Sometimes I would be the prosecuting attorney trying to bring some criminal to justice. Other times I would be the judge trying to be a beacon of justice. Other times I would be the plaintiff trying to win a case against some evil corporate entity. But in the 1 John scene, realize who the characters are. God is the Judge, Jury, and Executioner who is the epitome of justice and has the right to judge and deal out punishment. Jesus is the defense attorney. Who then is the criminal in this story? We are! But don't imagine yourself as some marginalized citizen looking for a break. In fact the trial is over and the verdict is in. We are guilty and deserve the court's greatest punishment.

So, using a little sanctified imagination, try to picture the scene putting yourself in the place of the convicted criminal:

Setting: The scene opens with your head on the desk. The Judge has asked if you have any words in your defense. Do you have any words to offer the court to explain the life you have lived? You just shake your head... after all, what could you say? In the presence of perfect justice you have no excuse for any one of your sins, must less a lifetime of sin. So you are silent. Jesus, the Advocate, then stands up. He is the hero of the story. He is the righteous One, so He can stand and speak to the righteous Judge and even make requests of Him.

Advocate: "Judge, I am here to plead for mercy on behalf of this criminal. I know he is guilty, but I am asking for the court to dismiss the charges and declare this lawbreaker innocent"

Judge: "Your love for this person is great, but you know that I cannot do that. This court is just... I am just. So I cannot just dismiss his offense, it must be punished. Death awaits him."

Advocate: "You love him like I love him. Is there anything that can be done?"

Judge: "You know there is only one thing that can be done. Someone must die in his place. Someone must take the punishment that he deserves. A propitiation must be made. But herein lies the problem. Every one of these other persons in this courtroom is also a criminal. None of them have lived a perfect life. None of them has a righteous life that can be credited to your client's account. In fact they are waiting their own judgment and you can be assured, each one of them is guilty and each one of them will be convicted."

*[Then the Judge and the Advocate take a sidebar as your life hangs in the balance. That is when the Advocate comes back and says the words that are stunning.]

Advocate: "I will do it. I will die in his place. I have lived the perfect life. I am the only one who doesn't deserve punishment so I will bear Your wrath for him."

Judge: "Understand what this means. I am going to credit this sinner, this criminal with Your life. In the eyes of the court, he will be innocent. It will be as if he never sinned and as if he lived Your righteous life. On the other hand You will be credited with his life. Every sin is Your sin and You will be treated as if You lived his life. You will bear my full wrath and the wrath of this court. There will be no mercy for You, there will be no reprieve. It's Your life for his."

[There is a moment of silence, you can't even fathom that Jesus would even consider such an unfair proposition.]

Advocate:  "He has nothing to offer me, but he does trust me. He knows that apart from me, he deserves the full brunt of Your wrath. But I will be his Savior. I will take his place."

[You watch as Jesus is led out of the courtroom to go to the cross and die in your place. But the story doesn't end there, there is a twist that we read later in 1 John 4:10, "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."]

[There is a flashback to the courtroom scene and we hear the contents of the sidebar in which the Judge talks to the Advocate.]

Judge:  "Son..."

[There is a pause so that people can take in the unfathomable fact that this Advocate that is being led to the cross is the Judge's Son.]

Judge:  "I want You to do this. You need to give Your life for his. My love for You is perfect, but I also love him very much. You know that I am a just Judge so payment must be made, this is the only way. You have to die in his place. "

[Screen fades to black.]

            If this were a movie, you would be speechless. This is not only because it has the twist to end all twists, but because it is a demonstration of love that has never been seen in all of eternity. But this isn't just a movie. It is the picture that John paints about when Christians come before God one day. It is our Advocate coming before the Judge and saying, "My life for his." The amazing thing is this, one day when we stand before God to be judged, no longer must we remain silent. When asked if we are guilty, we can now stand up in court and say these simple words, "Christ died for me and so my guilt is His guilt, I am innocent because He was innocent." In a sense, this is the most amazing court room drama of all time and we are a part of it, and because of Christ, though we are guilty, we are declared innocent.

                The Roman Christians wondered if it was permissible for them to eat "unclean" meat.  Some thought perhaps it would be better to eat only vegetables.  Others disagreed.  Which made you more holy? For Paul, eating or not eating the meat in question was not the real issue.  What mattered most was that their decisions followed certain guidelines that honored God.

                Here is a helpful set of guidelines from Romans 14 regarding grey areas.  This list was compiled by one of my seminary professors:

1) Be convinced of what is right and wrong for you and live accordingly (14:5, 22-23)

                When it comes to issues without a clear right or wrong, be convinced in your own mind what is right and hold to that conviction.  Others may not agree with you 100%, but the important thing is that you determine for yourself what is best and follow through with it.

2) Don't judge others (14:1-4)

                Whatever you decide to do in regards to a questionable, minor issue, don't judge or look down upon others that may disagree with you.  Be careful about being haughty.  Your convictions may not be for everyone.  Have a spirit of humility towards those who disagree.

3) Don't cause another to stumble (14:13)

                Whatever your stance happens to be, make sure your freedom does not cause another person to stumble.  Although you may have the freedom to act according to your convictions, you should never use your freedom in such a way that harms another's faith.  Love must always be paramount when acting out of your convictions.

4) Seek peace with, build up, and accept one another (14:19, 15:17)

                Whatever your decisions are regarding grey areas, make sure you live at peace with all those in the body of Christ.  There will always be minor differences within a body of believers.  The church body should always accept each other despite such little differences.

                So let's look at an issue in today's world.  As an adult, can I watch an R rated movie?  The answer is possibly yes and possibly no.  If it's your conviction that your watching a particular movie is God honoring, will not cause you or someone else to stumble, will not harm the body of believers, and will not make you judgmental of those who choose not to watch the movie, then by these principles it would be fine.  On the other hand, if by your watching a particular movie it causes you or someone else to stumble, makes you arrogant, brings division in the body of Christ, or goes against your convictions, then what you're doing is probably sin.  The same principles can be applied to drinking alcohol, gambling, and other questionable areas.

                Christians will disagree on many issues of personal liberty.  Paul didn't expect everyone to perfectly agree on every grey area.  What matters is that each person's choices follow the aforementioned principles. God is honored when we carefully make decisions with the intent of honoring Him above all else.

But apart from all of those wonderful things, it was such a good time to serve the pueblos in San Pablo and San Felipe. We partnered with Pastor Rolando, who has been working hard in the rural areas of Oaxaca to bring the gospel to the people. Many of the smaller towns in Oaxaca are either Catholic or don´t believe in God at all, so it was quite an experience to do Vacation Bible Schools at both sites.

At our first site on the first day, we had more ADULTS than kids, but Denisse said that each one of them could find their ïnner child¨and bring him out to play. We did crafts, puppet shows, a Bible story and lots of games and all, the kiddies and grown-ups alike enjoyed it.

The second site was at Lorenzo and Yolanda´s home. Throughout the week, we got to know them and found out that they had just recently become new believers! Their story of what Christ is already doing in their lives is amazing. When Lorenzo was living in Chicago to work, he used to drink, party and argue a lot with his wife, but now God has saved both of them and has been changing them. =) So exciting. Please continue to pray for them because Lorenzo will be going back to the U.S. to work for a few years. Please pray for him and his wife, that they´ll continue to grow in their faith in the Lord!

Hm... I had so much more to write last week, but my mind is blank right now. We´re just touring the city and seeing the cultural sites. The World AIDS Conference is in town and we´ve run into a lot of people in our hostel who are attending the conference. Apparently Bill Clinton is one of the guest speakers. Heh.

On Sunday, when we were meeting together, we talked about the summer and read Galatians 5:19-23 together:

¨Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.¨

We realized that for most of the summer, we hadn´t demonstrated the fruit of the Spirit... but as we continued to pray and talk things out, we begin to reconcile relationships. Unfortunately and sadly, not all are all mended, so please continue to pray for those who are holding onto things. Only the Lord can completely heal brokenness in relationships.

Anywhoo, my teammate needs to use the computer, so I gotta jet. Thank you so much for YOU. Yay. Until we meet again!

Kaycee

I've probably committed a cardinal sin of devotional writing by titling this piece with two heavily technical words, but it is nevertheless appropriate in describing Paul's response after a thorough unpacking of God's plan for salvation in Romans 9-11. After talking about Jews and Gentiles and their respective parts in God's plan for redemption-a subject that is not the focus of this devotion-Paul is moved with a proper fear of the Lord, that reverential awe that returns to the simple truth that "from him and through him and to him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen" (Romans 11:36).

There is as much to learn in Paul's worship than in the scholarship of the preceding chapters. Martin Luther wrote that Romans is "the most important piece in the New Testament," where one finds "the richest possible teaching about what a Christian should know: the meaning of law, Gospel, sin, punishment, grace, faith, justice, Christ, God, good works, love, hope, and the cross" (from Luther's Preface on the Letter to the Romans). And how does Paul respond as he is considers the profundity of the truths he details? He marvels at "how unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways" (Romans 11:33).  This is not merely throwing up his hands exclaiming, "I give up God! I don't get it!" Instead, it is the reverence of a man, one to whom God has revealed much, as he realizes and celebrates the fact that we cannot possibly know the mind of God.

This leads to another observation: this inability for our finite minds to comprehend God's ways is not a stumbling block for faith, but is rather cause for praise. So many today say they cannot believe in a God that does not make it clear what He is doing, or they refuse to follow God because things happen that do not make sense. First, many people are really saying that they will not serve a God who does not handle things the way they would-which is pure pride and ignorance. Second, this is such a limited view of who God is: He is much bigger than that; He is a God who declares that "my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways" (Isaiah 55:8).

Having spent the past Bible study season looking into The Joy of Fearing God, this topic is hardly new to anyone. Yet, to see Paul practice that reverential awe, and to practice it in the midst of perhaps the greatest exposition of the Christian faith is such an encouragement to us.  So, studying God, His character, His purposes, and His plans, should never be an academic exercise in isolation, but should lead to proper worship. And the inverse is true as well; namely, proper worship should be based on considering the totality of God and not an empty emotional experience. Can it be emotional? Absolutely. In fact, Paul's use of "O" to begin the doxology communicates an emotional crying out to God. However, emotion for emotion's sake strays from the proper worship God desires.

As you continue your study in Romans and beyond, let Paul's model of theology to doxology be instructive. May you sit before our God, awestruck at who He is, what He has done, and what He continues to do.

King David was a bonafide celebrity in the nation of Israel. As the prolific general who would garner victory after victory on the battlefield, as the talented musician and lyricist, as the able king who expanded the realm of his rule beyond anything his nation had previously seen, David was the word's most beautiful, talented, and wealthy. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel catalogue his meteoric rise to the top from humble shepherd to trusted aid to victorious king. But as many celebrities are wont to do, David suffered his own tragic fall. Second Samuel 11-12 record the infamous account of the king's affair with Bathsheba, the resulting pregnancy, and the subsequent murder of Bathsheba's husband Uriah.

Thank God the Bible is not a tabloid. God does not use His Word to drag His people through the dirt only to leave them shamed, crushed, and hopeless. The Bible goes beyond merely reporting the tragic downfall of a king, but illuminates the glorious redemption of God in the life of a sinner.

David penned Psalm 51 after his sin had been revealed and condemned by the prophet Nathan. The fallen king's divinely inspired words offer hope, not just for his own life, but for all who have ever failed God. The Psalm paints one of the richest pictures of repentance and forgiveness in all of Scripture. He pleads for forgiveness on the basis of God's covenant, steadfast love and abundant mercy (v. 1). Despite the immense relational damage his sin has wrought, David recognizes that God is the primary one who has been sinned against (v. 4). The psalm reaches its climax in verse 10, where David pleads that God "create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." The king realizes that the source of his sin was his own sinful heart, and the only solution to his sin is a heart that has been cleansed and made new by a gracious God.

How could such a sinner like David be forgiven? How could such sinners like you and me be forgiven? God's answer to David's Psalm 51 and to our own cries for mercy came at the cross, where Jesus suffered the penalty of our sin in our place. He died for King David, for this David, and for all who trust in Him for salvation. May this week be filled with gratitude to the God who forgives "according to [His] steadfast love, according to [His] abundant mercy" (Psalm 51:1)!

I only have 6 more days how in Davao, Philippines and I will be heading home early Monday morning! I'm sad to leave here since I feel that my time here is so short, but I'm also excited to go home.

I just finished my assessment for my missions trip that I will be presenting to the team during our team meeting this afternoon, and I've been able to do a bit of reflecting on all God has done this past month. It is truly humbling to see God work and it has been a privilege to labor for God. Even though a lot of the ministries here requires long term perspective, I am glad that I was able to a small part of their work and a minute part of God's perfect plan. Overall, I've gained a greater perspective of God and His work in the urban poor communities. Most importantly, I am constantly reminded of my purpose in life- to glorify God. I've also come to experience the power of the prayer and the centrality of the gospel.

Just to fill you in:
I'm still working with the two different preschools for the last week that I'm here. I've come to understand some of Bisaya so I can somewhat communicate with the little kids. They are bundles of joy and energy!

We have our last health day this Friday at another Muslim community. The first two went well, I was surprised how much the kids retained from what I taught them about hygiene and the importance of brushing their teeth.

I'm been doing tutorials with the street children three times a week. Even though it's difficult to get them to concentrate, we've seen progress in some of the kids and it is truly a blessing. I just love spending time with the kids and being able to hold them and love them. We've had complications with one of the homeless families because of some "signs"of child abuse, so continue to pray for wisdom for God as the team decides what is best for the family take initiative to help them. PRAY PRAY PRAY!!!

Yesterday I had a great hour and a half conversation with one of the street youth named Bryan. He is a 15 year old boy who was in an orphanage for 4 to 5 years and because of some conflict was asked to leave. He has been on the streets for two years with his biological father, and he dropped out of school a couple months ago because of other "complications". As our conversation got deeper, he shared with me some of the things he learned from the orphanage and a lot of his hopes for the future. This 15 year old boy has the same dreams as most of us when we were 15 and growing up in VERY blessed homes compared to him. I found out he likes to read and so I asked him what he likes to read. He told me he has read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and he wants to be able to read more. Then our conversation took a turn and I was so encouraged to hear the hopes that He has in Christ. Most of these street youths are truly searching for something in life and some, like Bryan, still hope in Christ. I was able to chat with him some about the Bible and about the significance of the Gospel. Pray that I can continue to build on our conversation as I return to the park everyday this week. Pray that even as I leave (and some of the other short term workers leave) that God will move the long term workers to continue to build on these relationships.

That's it for now. Time for lunch and meeting! Hope to hear from you all soon!!!!!!! (I'll be seeing some of you in a week or so!)

Blessings,
Berry

The weather here is currently rainy.  We have quite a ways to walk back to the house we´re staying at, but maybe we´ll take a cute little moto-taxi (they´re about 1/2 the size of a VW Bug.  Fun!)

Oh the Joys of Camps!

Last Friday, we finished up the week of ministry at Dios Es Amor for the kiddie camp and youth camp.  What did I do?  I played ´cafeteria lady´and served the kiddies their food (hot dogs, cereal, spaghetti, pancakes-- a very American menu, although we did have beans and rice for a few meals.  Haha), tried to explain the crafts in Spanish, played with the kids and... well... yeah.  The group from Corona was pretty self-sufficient and didn´t need much guiding, so I just helped out whenever and wherever I could.

My favorite highlights of the week were:  1)  Getting to know Pastor Jesus Vera, pastor at Dios Es Amor.  He reminds me of a clean shaven version of Santa Claus, with a big booming voice and jolly laugh.  Haha.  He is such a wise person and a funny funny guy.

2)  Serving with the youth and getting to know them-- I felt pretty welcomed and at home amongst the youth, despite the fact that I´m not a native Spanish speaker.  They have big hearts to serve the Lord and the kiddies.

3)  Getting to chat with some of the CCAC (Johnson, Christine, Allen).  I was quite sad I didn´t get to staff for their group, but it was so good to see them down in Mexico, serving!

Adios Ensenada!

Brian, Joy, Diana, Diana & I left Tijuana at 1:45 am on Sunday morning to fly into Oaxaca.  I was sad to leave my second home (Ensenada), but it´s also nice being in Oaxaca.  It´s very green and rainy at times.  Interestingly enough, I felt homesick on Monday night, but I´ve been doing better since then as I readjust to being down here.

What excited me the most was the arrival of the group from Guadalajara!  Pastor Raul, his wife Elena,  plus 2 other youth came to serve with us this week.  THeir oldest son, Raulito, had to stay behind because he´s paralyzed from the mid waist down =(  Their family continues to encourage me everytime I see them... The Lord has always provided for them, although it hasn´t been easy.  They still lack a wheelchair sufficient for Raulito´s needs and a few other things... Please continue to pray for their family, for strength for all of them and for continued patience and faith in the Lord.

The VBS Marathon

This week, we´re working with a missionary couple,  Amerigo & Norma.  Interestingly enough, Amerigo is from El Salvador & Norma from Mexico... and they met in the United States!  Haha.  I´ve been running into a LOT of people who either have family up in L.A. (Santa Monica or Whittier area) or who have been to the U.S.  Anywhoo, Amerigo is the pastor at 3 missionary churches in the area.  It´s been fun getting to know them and playing with their kids, Ruth & Julian.

And so, our assignment this week:  2 teams, 4 Vacation Bible Schools-- Woo hoo!  On Monday we started our week of VBS.  The group that I´m in is in 2 locations-- Tlacolula (try saying that 10x fast!) in the AM and San Miguel in the PM.  I was super nervous going into the week because it was just me, Diana Monrroy and 2 of the Guadalajara youth for VBS (Joy & Ann are doing Women´s ministry) and well, this is the first year that I´m not with Camilo.  God has been so faithful and good.  I´ve had to lead the game time a few times, but I just run out there with the kids and they come up with the games I just roll with it.  Haha.  In San Miguel, it was pretty hard for the kids to warm up to us.  The culture is very Zapotecan and conservative and there were a few cultural barriers that even the Mexicans had to adjust themselves to!  But it´s been so much fun to play with the kids.  =)

I´ve had to remind myself many times this week that I´m here to serve the Lord, not myself.  Duh.  But ít´s so easy to go about the day, being selfish and complaining to oneself¨, "I´ve got so many bug bites and they´re killing me... I´m so tired... It´s not going the way I planned... etc" and forget that the Christian life wasn´t meant to be easy.  When I complain, I complain against GOD and what He has done for me and blessed me with. 

Heya, how are things on the U.S. side of the border?  Let me know!  =)

Take much care.  Thank you so much for praying for me... for reading this emails and... yes!  Let´s go grab a cup of Mexican hot chocolate and pan dulce when I get back!

Hasta luego.

Kaycee

In Acts chapter 20, we find the Apostle Paul in such a situation. Here he is giving his last words before he would leave behind the people and Church at Ephesus whom he dearly loved. Luke gives us the touching recount of Paul's final departure from Ephesus in verses 17 to 38. Paul was very beloved as a spiritual Father to the Ephesians and they were very dear to him. You can imagine the emotionally charged farewell as it took place. Paul had poured out his life to the Ephesians while he was in Asia, but would never see these believers and the Church there again until he saw them in glory. Verse 25 reveals as much to us.

We probably have a hard time imagining how hard it must have been for Paul. But even in that trying, difficult, and emotional time, Paul's final personal encouragement for the elders of the Church in Ephesus was ultimately to follow his example in their lives and leadership. The same call to emulate Paul is relevant for us today.

Paul served the Lord with humility v.18-21

First, Paul served with humility. Through tears and trials Paul did not think highly of himself, but highly of those whom would profit despite his pain. His leadership was marked by valuing others more highly than he valued himself.

Paul suffered for the gospel v.22-24

Secondly, Paul suffered for the sake of the gospel and for teaching about repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Previously, Paul had been subject to much criticism and persecution. More astounding than that is the fact that Paul knew by the Spirit of God what awaited him in Jerusalem - torture, pain, bonds, affliction, and ultimately death. Yet he did not consider his life or his comfort important, but rather the ministry and the grace he received from God. Our lives are not as important as we naturally think. A life poured out for the sake of the gospel is truly precious.

Paul preached, taught, and admonished with love v.25-31

In verse 31, Paul reminds the Ephesian elders of how he taught and admonished each one of them "with tears." Paul taught and corrected the Christians in Ephesus with great affection and conviction. In fact, all the ministry done in the Church at Ephesus was done according to the great love Paul had for the saints there. Paul did not shrink from declaring the whole purpose of God and likewise asked the elders of the Church to not shrink from their duty of guarding the flock with great love and care. When we shepherd others, when we disciple children or teach one another, we must do so with love and care to the point of crying. As Christians, Christ has called us to love one another.

Paul lived an obedient and generous life v.33-35

Finally, Paul lived a humble life of obedience and generosity. Paul worked hard and ministered to the weak in obedience to Christ. Even though he was an apostle, Paul took the call to follow Christ in his personal life seriously. The Ephesian elders were to remember how Paul lived his life and then live their lives in the same manner, understanding the truth that it is better to give than to receive. So must we if we are to honor God in our leadership.

That Paul could tell the leaders and believers at Ephesus to simply do as he had done is a testimony to God's wonderful grace that was at work in his life and ministry. His parting words are such an encouragement and yet so piercingly convicting at the same time.

Each one of us will eventually say goodbye (at least for a while) to every person we have known on this earth. What will be the goodbye message that we give? Can we say as Paul did to "follow my example?" Will the recounting of our lives be enough to encourage believers to grow in their faith and commitment to Jesus Christ?

In our families, in our fellowship groups, and in our friendships each of us will leave behind a memory of how we lived.  What example will you leave behind?

Ultimate Fulfillment in Eternity

As the Gospel is preached throughout the world, God's elect from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages are translated from death to life and heaven awaits them all! The picture given in Rev 7:9 is in many ways a startling one. For whatever reason, the typical Christian vision of heaven has some element of conformity and uniformity. Perhaps that is because of the striking image of the white robes of the innumerable multitude (Rev 7:9), or because we think mainly of our Christian friends and family who tend to be culturally similar to us when contemplating heaven. There is often an unstated assumption that in heaven we will all be one people who have the same culture, the same nationality, the same ways of thinking, even, perhaps, the same style of worship and the same taste in music. On the other end of the spectrum, we sometimes say with tongue firmly in cheek that there will be an organ section, a rock band section and another area where the older saints will be playing their lyres and lutes. There seems to be an unstated understanding that there will either be a complete unity (which tends to put me in mind of the clone army from Star Wars - white armor, perfectly synchronized march and all!), or a full expression of individual preferences with complete understanding (or is it tolerance?) from everyone else.

However, John's vision of heaven is quite different. As glory is given to God there is indication that there will be distinct nations in the eternal state. Other than the specific mention of the varied nations, tribes, peoples and languages in the context of the multitude who worship God in Rev 7:9, Rev 14:6 mentions them in the context of the ones to whom the Gospel is proclaimed. Furthermore, there is indication that God is glorified as different nations come in worship in the eternal state. Rev 21:24 and 26 gives a snapshot of heaven where the nations, complete with kings, walk by the light of the New Jerusalem. Rev 15:4 indicates that it is all nations who come and worship and give glory to God. Similarly, Ps 86:9 reads, "All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name" (author's emphasis). Interestingly, in Rev 21:3, the word commonly translated people is in the plural (laoi), rendering the verse, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them as their God,"[1] indicating that the final state will be one where distinct people groups will exist.

The human residents of heaven, the ones who were made to fulfill God's purpose for creation by fulfilling their ultimate purpose of worshipping and glorifying God, are more than just the people of God. The innumerable multitude are the peoples of God, who are gloriously united in their declaration of praise to Him. Interestingly, in the book of Revelation, we are constantly told the words of praise that the multitudes declare to God, yet we are never told what the melody is. Can we truly expect believers from all tribes and tongues and nations to only express their worship in just one way? Are we then to say that our own way is the way this is to be done? Of course not. It is the identities of those who declare the worship and the state of harmony that they have under the Gospel and the rule of God that completes the restoration of all things, adding another glorious facet to an already immensely majestic chorus of praise. It is here that Babel's curse is finally and fully broken, when the disparate notes of many people and nations join together to form one glorious harmony.

Imagine the parade of nations that opens the Olympic Games, each in their finery. Now replace athletes with believers from every nation from every walk of life. Add to this the thousands upon thousands from each nation, from all of history. There is the converted African militia man, the Chinese martyr, the American mother and the Romanian orphan. Each with their unique stories of grace, the testimony of God's unyielding love that brought them to their knees. See them come together, the innumerable multitude, standing before the throne of God. People, saints of God, further than the eye can see. There is excitement in the air, there are those who just stand in awe, others who are dancing in celebration. The murmur of the crowd is deafening. But suddenly, as one...

They begin to sing.

As New Jerusalem resounds with the majestic declaration of praise, a harmony grander than earthly words can describe, hear the distinct parts: the jazzy improvisation of an American believer, the deep beat of the African tribal music, the hauntingly beautiful Chinese harmonization, the joyful strains of Irish folk songs and the steady voices of ancient chants. Each different, yet each the same. They declare the same glory, praise the same God. There is no discord, only perfect harmony. Thousands upon thousands of voices raised in united praise, each unique, each distinct, building together into one glorious, majestic harmony:

"Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns!"

In that eternal moment, as the multitude in heaven raises its voice in thunderous praise, part of that worship is an implicit wonderment that acknowledges God's reversal of the curse of Babel. Once, man was united in language and nationality, yet also tragically united in rebellion against God. But God has worked gloriously in, through and in spite of man's Babel-tainted rejection of God and anyone who is different from himself, bringing a unity that is deeper than anything language, nationality, culture, or race could ever hope to achieve. God transforms fallen man at his deepest core, indwelling him with His One Spirit, and in doing so produces a bond between the regenerate that transcends every worldly distinction. This is done not to make everyone alike, but to have a Body of many varied members. What is the glory in making an multitude of clones? Is there not greater glory in uniting that which was once at war, bringing forth peace and harmony from strife and chaos? Is that not the story of Redemption?

What the greatest minds and mightiest political leaders have strived for centuries to achieve, God through the Gospel has succeeded in doing, and infinitely more! The visions in Revelation are a celebration of cultural distinctives within the unity of the Spirit made possible only through the blood of Christ by the will of the Father. While there is good indication that this will be an aspect of heaven, we cannot be absolutely sure.  But, there are two things we know for sure; 1) that it will be greater, grander, better and more glorious than anything we can imagine, and 2) that the nations will rejoice as one, as many, as God's people, as God's peoples for all eternity!

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice,

and let them say among the nations, "The LORD reigns!"

- 1 Chr 16:31

[1] Piper, Let the Nations, pg 184.

I just wanted to update you all on any news and such.

We had a health day with the homeless moms and I got to watch all the kiddies. :) I got to use my super skills, courtesy of working in the pink room, and put a diaper on a sleeping baby without waking him up! haha

ANYWAYS, the plan for the rest of my stay...

I will continue helping in the preschool and teaching my english class with the women in one of the Muslim communities.

I will be helping another SAW (serve asia worker) with her dance class.

And I will hang out with one of the homeless girls.

Hopefully through these programs, I can reach them and have wonderful conversations.

Some things you can be thinking about:

-good health

-being a good leader

-humility

Alright... I'm running out of time.

Thank you to those who have emailed me :) I really appreciate it! It's nice to hear what's happening in your lives too!

-Kimmie

Wow, I'm almost at the 2 weeks mark since I've arrived in the Philippines. A lot has happened in the last two weeks and since my last update about a week ago. Time passes by so fast here and in another 2 weeks I'll be returning home.

What I have been doing:
After one week of orientation, meeting the team, joining in on all the team meetings, and sitting in on all of the different ministries/projects, I've started picking up a few of my own ministries this past week. Every morning I teach preschool English at a muslim community from 6:30am to 8:30am, and then I travel about 30 minutes to another muslim community and teach another preschool class from 9:30am to 11:30am. It's been amazing working with the little ones even though I don't understand them and they probably don't understand me. haha The language that they speak here in the southern philippines is called Bisaya, and it's different from Tagalog. A few of the words are similar to Spanish (which I can semi-understand), but for the most part I just nod and smile. I've been going through the alphabet with the kids, and teaching them how to write them, pronounce the letters, and we're also working on writing the first 5 numbers. The best part about teaching the preschool classes is that usually I try to arrive a bit earlier and stay a bit later so I can talk with the teachers. Hopefully through my interaction with the teachers that I can build relationships with them and to be able to show Christ's love. The condition of the preschools is not the best, but they make do with what they have. The kids are so delighted when someone different comes in to teach them and play with them. Hopefully I'll be able to spend more time with the teachers and really have meaningful conversations with them.

I'm also coordinating 3 health days for the kids in three different muslim communities for the next two weeks. I'll be doing a general health education with the kids and some of the moms, teaching them the importance of hygiene and eating healthy. A few of the other short termers (ServeAsia workers) will be helping me with teaching the kids to brush their teeth, comb their hair, clean their nails and clip them, wash their hands. These may sound really basic to us, but a lot of the children in these communities do not have access to any of the things above. Toothbrushes and nail clippers are too expensive for them to buy, and many of the families do not have direct access to clean water.
Two of the communities are built here the beach, and the tides mixed with the rain create floods underneath their houses. Many of them use that water for everyday living. So as a team we are providing all of the material for the health day and hopefully they will be able to carry on some of these practices at home.

Every Wednesday and Friday night, Kimmie and I have been participating in the night walks. What we do is we go out around 8pm and we go to a park in the downtown Davao area to play with the homeless children and hang out with the homeless adults. It has been eye opening to see their living conditions and what they call home. Many of them have so much to say and so many stories to tell that it just breaks my heart. There has been ongoing tutorials for the homeless kids to help them with their school work, and I am helping out on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday afternoons. Many of the homeless kids are either repeating first grade several times already or have given up in school and dropped out altogether. Some of the other SA workers (some are here for one year) have been trying to work with them to get them motivated to go back to school. After playing with the homeless kids we then move over to the street youth several blocks down. Many of these boys live on the streets and they work by parking cars for people to make money to buy food. I met a 18 year old Daduon who parks cars all day just to make p40 to eat one meal a day. Then we walk several blocks down again and try to talk with the men in sex trade (MIST) and the gays in sex trade (GIST). These are the two groups of people that break my heart the most. It's hard to understand why they are engaging themselves in such dark professions. They are trapped in the sex trade because this is the only way most of them can make a living. A lot of the MIST have families and children to feed. It's a long process to try to work with them to find alternatives and to rebuild their lives. The capacity to do so for all of them is very limited, but PRAYER is the one thing that I can give...

All in all, this is a place that needs the light of Christ. It's interesting yet puzzling to know that more than 90% of the Philippines is "Catholic" but most by tradition, yet there are muslim communities, homeless communities, and sex trade communities that have never been reached. Even though I'm only here for a short one month, many of the long term missionaries here are giving their lives to show the love of Christ to these people.

Prayer requests:
1. Pray that I will continue to rely on God as I serve Him the next two weeks. It's been busy and tiring, especially when I have to get up so early every morning. Many of the night walks go until 1 or 2 am and I have to get up at 6am the next morning to teach. Pray that I will rely on the strength of God even when my physical body may be tired.
2. Pray for the long term missionaries. Our "host" family has really been so gracious and caring to us, and they are really making us feel at home. Kuya Emo is one of the funniest people I have ever met, always cracking jokes here and there. Ate Kathy is so sweet and very motherly to me and kimmie, so we are so thankful for that. I've been having good conversations with Ate Kathy just about her life and her work on the missions field.
3. Pray that I will continue to be disciplined in the Word. I've been spending time with the Lord daily to reflect on His goodness and my time here serving Him. Pray that I will continue to meditate on the Word and love the Word.
4. /Pray for my grandpa. I got an email from my mom today that grandpa back in LA had to go to the hospital. My mom wasn't too clear in the email, but something about hurting his eye and having to rest for a few days. /

That's it for now! Thanks for all of your prayers and your emails.
Thank you for some of your encouragements via email especially to help me figuring some things out and understanding the different concepts
here on the missions field. Let me know how I can be praying for you
as well. Hopefully I'll be able to update again before the end of next week. ;)

In His grace,
Berry

I'm sitting here in downtown Ensenada, a bit sad, but at the same time, so thankful that God let me spend the week with the Lighthouse kiddos. It was refreshing to serve alongside of them and hang out. One of the lovely blessings is that just as the Lighthouse Youth Group was leaving, 4 of my UCLA friends came down for Hermana Rebeca's wedding. When they go home tomorrow, friends from Community Christian Alliance Church will be coming later in the day to serve for the week. Yippie!

Building relationships (and buildings too):
In the mornings, Lighthouse worked on the Dios Es Amor church building for a few days, putting up drywall on the second floor. They worked with such gusto. Hehe. And in the afternoons we all went to Guadalupe, Pastor Claudio's church, to have a VBS for a few of the kids. Man-- it's just so cool to work at the same sites over the years because you see the kids grow up. I've known some of the VBS kids down here in Mexico longer than I've known.. some of you! Crazy to think about, eh?

The youth group continued to build relationships within the group and within the AIL staff and within the church at Guadalupe. I absolutely loved seeing them work hard and give their all in whatever they did. Some dressed up as clowns- heh heh. Others cleaned the boys and girls' bathrooms (which isn't an easy task since the used toilet paper goes in a trashcan next to the toilet, ick). But they did it cheerfully. I miss the already, but I'll be seeing them soon. :)

Taking up Your Cross:
I was reading Matt. 10:37-39 this past week and pondering it. "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Hm... so as I live life and make decisions, are they based on loving other things, loving comfort, loving other people more than God himself? Please pray for me as I fight to love... Jesus alone!

Well, that's all for this edition of Chocoflan. I hope you'll tune in next time. The team splits up this week, as we host 3 different churches. I'll be staying at Dios Es Amor with 3 other teammates for a week of kiddie camp. YAY! Then we'll be off to Oaxaca next Saturday for 2 weeks of ministry there. Crazy!

Thank you for your friendship and support. Miss you guys. Come visit me and I'll feed you tortas and tacos and fill you with Manzana (apple) soda.

<3 kaycee

--
PSALM 145:17- "The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works."

Church service at Pastor Martin's starts at 12:00 pm (late, eh?), so we have some time to kill. =)

Presentin' da 2008 AIL Team- wooo hoo!
Workin' in close quarters with people is an experience. We laugh together, pray together cry together, get on each others' nerves, insult each other and offend each other, but at the end of the day, we all know that we're united by Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for us. Here's a little breakdown:
1) Becca- my team leader from Idaho; teaches during the year and does AIL during the summer; she's fantastic; please pray for her as she coordinates ministry things (been workin w/ AIL for 10+ years)
2) Dave- executive of AIL; like a 2nd dad to me while I'm down here; please pray for wisdom as AIL continues to branch out to do other ministries in Mexico
3) Brian & Joy- both married, living in Las Vegas & workin as HS teachers; Brian translates for us and is the muscle for the team of primarily all girls; Joy- my prayer partner this year, very sweet and good to talk to; please pray for them as they serve the Lord together as hubby and wifey
4) Diana Monrroy- just graduated H.S. in Ensenada, Pastor Chava's daughter; good at teaching the kids at VBS; funny gal; please pray for her as she teaches the kids
5) Diana- 1st timer from Oregon; going to Gonzaga next year; brings a new dynamic to the team; please pray for her-- she's been homesick and has some other issues that have been bothering her
6) Camilo- been workin' w/ AIL for a few years coordinating Children's Ministries; from Ensenada; married to Reina & has a little girl, Diane; please pray for him as his family moves to Oaxaca; please pray especially for his marriage and his wife-- it's hard being a wife of a man in ministry.

4th of July Exists in Mexico (and so does the 5th of July and 6th of July... haha)
We had our own little 4th of July party with Pastor Martin & Marine (they're 2 of UCLA AACF's favorites... hehe) and Hermana Rebeca and her fiance! If I haven't already told you, Hermana Rebeca, who has been our faithful cook for AIL for the past 11 years, is getting married this coming Saturday!! Her husband to be is none other than... her former husband! They were separated for a few years and she's been praying long and hard for him to be saved. About 2 years ago, he started coming to his daughter Marine's church and... the Lord saved him and changed his life =) My teammate commented that they are the cutest 'old people' couple that she's ever seen and ain't that the truth. I've never seen Hermana Rebeca so happy and.... gah, it's just so cute.
Yesterday, we went over to the house she'll be living in to give it a paint job (it's a lovely lavender color now) and just enjoy the day with her and her fiance, Alfredo. These are the times I enjoy the most, sitting around and chatting with our friends and family down here.

WA-CA-OR
A combo group from WA, OR & CA came down to do VBS/Bible Olympics over at Pastor Chava's church (he's also a favorite of UCLA's AACF). What a week! The group was big (40+ people), but my, they have such servant's hearts. They were fantastic with loving the kids over at Pastor Chava's and they served the Lord with all that they were. They were also fantastic with workin' on the new building for Dios Es Amor Church, the big project' for all summer long that all the American groups are going to have a chance to work on. :)

I don't feel like I'm "on a missions trip." It feels just like I'm at home, except that everyone speaks Spanish. Haha. But yanno, that's okay. God has called us to be 'on mission' all the time, no matter where we're at. We are to be "lights of the world" and let our good deeds shine before ALL men so that they may see our good deeds and praise our FATHER who is in heaven. My life down here for the next 2 months is to be the same as my life during the other 10 months of the year. So, serve God wherever you're at right now-- work, school or at play-- because that's where he's placed you. =)

Thank you MUCHISIMO for praying for me and for emailing me. I'm sorry that I don't have time to reply to your emails, but I got them =) Take much care and let me know how I can pray for you. Take much care!

::Kaycee::

P.S. Lighthouse is coming this week to serve! YAY!!
--
PSALM 145:17- "The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works."

We often think of the Psalms as songs of praise and adoration, but they can be quite instructive as well. Psalm 1 tell us how we can live a blessed life; let's take a look.

V1 "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;"

First we learn how not to live a blessed life: associate with the wicked. When we let the ways of the world (who have rejected God's truth) influence us, we lose out on blessings.

V2 "but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he mediates day and night."

There's the secret! That's it. To be blessed, we must delight in the law of the Lord. That means we are to live out and obey God's Word not out of mere obedience, but out of joy. We don't see God's law as a bunch of do's and don'ts, but as a path to true blessings. And so we immerse ourselves in his Word. We study, mediate on, thirst for it day and night.

V3 "He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither."

Like a continually refreshed tree, we will be filled by God's word and yield abundant, lasting fruit. That's blessing!

V4-5 "The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;"

God's word allows us to stand firm both through the trials of this life and the final judgment to come. More blessing!

V6 "for the Lord knows the way of the righteous; but the way of the wicked will perish."

Finally, God will know our way. He will walk with us intimately as our guide, sustainer and refuge. He will not allow us to perish.

If you want to live this life of blessings, of fruit, of walking with the Lord, then ask yourself - how do you view God's word? Is it an outdated, out of touch, only somewhat relevant guide? Is scripture something you think you know pretty well from years of being a Christian, and now you turn to only occasionally or once a week at church? Or do you read a couple of chapters because you know you're supposed to and feel satisfied that you've done your daily duty? Or is it the living infallible voice of the Lord that is sufficient for all things, that sustains, directs, teaches, convicts and transforms your life? Do you truly delight in God's word and meditate on it continually? I pray that you do and enjoy a life full of blessings.

From Kaycee, written on June 28...

Hola, friends and fam!

After returning yesterday afternoon from family vacation in Mammoth (hooray!), I unpacked my suitcase only to repack a giant backpack bound for Mexico. I leave in just a few hours-- oh my! But I wanted to thank you for sending me off again this year. God has been so good to bless me with you guys to encourage and partner with me & Adventures in Life (AIL) to ALL go forth TOGETHER to tell the people about the hope we have in Jesus Christ!

The bare essentials:
- My thoughts: I'm feeling a bit of excitement, mixed with a dash of... apprehension? Yeah-- it's my 3rd summer going and I should be used to going to Mexico, but I 'don't feel ready' and I'm sad to leave behind Torrance for a few weeks. But despite how I feel, I'm still going because well, this trip ain't about me. This 'missions trip' exists because of God and for God to give honor and glory to God because He is God... Hm... please remind me of this.
- Departure : 10:00 am-ish from "mi casa" in Torrance.
- Transportation: Well-- my dad and I are packing up our bags and roadtripipng to Ensenada. Please pray for a safe trip to and from Ensenada (my dad's driving back solo after he drops me off).
- Week 1: I believe a group from Brush Prairie, WA is coming down on Monday for a week of VBS and construction??? I'll find out for sure when I get there.

Muchisimas gracias to all. I shall miss your smiling faces (hahaha) for these next few weeks. Have a marvelous weekend.

Till we meet again,

::Kaycee::

Mexico Update: Arrival

From Kaycee, written on July 6...

G'mornin friends and family!

Church service at Pastor Martin's starts at 12:00 pm (late, eh?), so we have some time to kill. =)

Presentin' da 2008 AIL Team- wooo hoo!
Workin' in close quarters with people is an experience. We laugh together, pray together cry together, get on each others' nerves, insult each other and offend each other, but at the end of the day, we all know that we're united by Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for us. Here's a little breakdown:
1) Becca- my team leader from Idaho; teaches during the year and does AIL during the summer; she's fantastic; please pray for her as she coordinates ministry things (been workin w/ AIL for 10+ years)
2) Dave- executive of AIL; like a 2nd dad to me while I'm down here; please pray for wisdom as AIL continues to branch out to do other ministries in Mexico
3) Brian & Joy- both married, living in Las Vegas & workin as HS teachers; Brian translates for us and is the muscle for the team of primarily all girls; Joy- my prayer partner this year, very sweet and good to talk to; please pray for them as they serve the Lord together as hubby and wifey
4) Diana Monrroy- just graduated H.S. in Ensenada, Pastor Chava's daughter; good at teaching the kids at VBS; funny gal; please pray for her as she teaches the kids
5) Diana- 1st timer from Oregon; going to Gonzaga next year; brings a new dynamic to the team; please pray for her-- she's been homesick and has some other issues that have been bothering her
6) Camilo- been workin' w/ AIL for a few years coordinating Children's Ministries; from Ensenada; married to Reina & has a little girl, Diane; please pray for him as his family moves to Oaxaca; please pray especially for his marriage and his wife-- it's hard being a wife of a man in ministry.

4th of July Exists in Mexico (and so does the 5th of July and 6th of July... haha)
We had our own little 4th of July party with Pastor Martin & Marine (they're 2 of UCLA AACF's favorites... hehe) and Hermana Rebeca and her fiance! If I haven't already told you, Hermana Rebeca, who has been our faithful cook for AIL for the past 11 years, is getting married this coming Saturday!! Her husband to be is none other than... her former husband! They were separated for a few years and she's been praying long and hard for him to be saved. About 2 years ago, he started coming to his daughter Marine's church and... the Lord saved him and changed his life =) My teammate commented that they are the cutest 'old people' couple that she's ever seen and ain't that the truth. I've never seen Hermana Rebeca so happy and.... gah, it's just so cute.
Yesterday, we went over to the house she'll be living in to give it a paint job (it's a lovely lavender color now) and just enjoy the day with her and her fiance, Alfredo. These are the times I enjoy the most, sitting around and chatting with our friends and family down here.

WA-CA-OR
A combo group from WA, OR & CA came down to do VBS/Bible Olympics over at Pastor Chava's church (he's also a favorite of UCLA's AACF). What a week! The group was big (40+ people), but my, they have such servant's hearts. They were fantastic with loving the kids over at Pastor Chava's and they served the Lord with all that they were. They were also fantastic with workin' on the new building for Dios Es Amor Church, the big project' for all summer long that all the American groups are going to have a chance to work on. :)

I don't feel like I'm "on a missions trip". It feels just like I'm at home, except that everyone speaks Spanish. Haha. But yanno, that's okay. God has called us to be 'on mission' all the time, no matter where we're at. We are to be 'lights of the world' and let our good deeds shine before ALL men so that they may see our good deeds and praise our FATHER who is in heaven. My life down here for the next 2 months is to be the same as my life during the other 10 months of the year. So, serve God wherever you're at right now-- work, school or at play-- because that's where he's placed you. =)

Thank you MUCHISIMO for praying for me and for emailing me. I'm sorry that I don't have time to reply to your emails, but I got them =) Take much care and let me know how I can pray for you. Take much care!

::Kaycee::

P.S. Lighthouse is coming this week to serve! YAY!!

From Berry, written on June 26th . . .

This will be the last Pre-Philippines update because my flight into Manila is in 10 hours!

Thank you for your prayers for my preparation and for the people of the Philippines.  As Oswald Chambers said, "prayer does not equip us for the greater work- prayer IS the greater work."  It's amazing and daunting at the same time to know that I will be serving our great God overseas for a whole month.  The idea of God's glory and His love for His people is overwhelming at times.  Nevertheless it is a privilege and my joy to use my life to serve Him. 

Here are some things to pray for:

1. Kimmie- Kimmie left a few hours ago from LAX and she will be flying into Manila at 5:30am PH time (which is... 3:30pm Monday US time).  Pray for a safe journey and also for her heart preparation.  =)

2. God's glory- Pray that God will be glorified and magnified in our love and our service.  May I continue to ask myself "Do I love Christ SO MUCH that I must and am compelled to serve and tell the people about Him?"

3. My heart- Pray that my single desire is Christ and Christ alone.  Pray that my heart will be set on God and His glory, and that my eyes are always looking up to the Source of grace. 

4. Humility- As stated in Micah 6:8 "What does the Lord require of you?  To do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."

Some thoughts before I leave:

I do want to encourage you with Psalm 145 as it has encouraged me today.  Live every moment of your life for the glory of our God for He is good and He is faithful. =)

I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name forever and ever.

Every day I will praise you and extol your name forever and ever.

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.

One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.

They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds.

They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.

The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.

All you have made will praise you, O Lord; your saints will extol you.

They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might,

so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splender of your kingdom.

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.

The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.

The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.

The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. 

You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and loving toward all he has made.

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.

The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.  Let every creature praise his holy name forever and ever.

Please email me and let me know how you are doing.  Let me know what the Lord is doing in your life and how I can be praying for you specifically.  As you pray for me and Kimmie, I am also praying for you.

Blessings,

Berry

Philippines Update #1: Arrival

From Kimmie, written on July 2nd . . .

It was a rather long trip, but without many problems at all. It has been rather rainy at night. I was even cold the past two nights, and I had to get up to get a blanket or sweater or something! That was rather unexpected.  Bug bite count: 0! woot!

We are in the middle of orientation / training. So far, these past two days, we have just been resting and learning about what goes on here. And things are going quite swimmingly.

Some things you can be thinking about:
- Team dynamics: Learning to lead effectively without actually spoon-feeding my teammates.
- Future programs: How I can get involved in what is already going on. I'm rather unsure of what to do and things like that.
- New friends: Coming back and seeing familiar faces, help me think of ways that I can continue what was founded last year.
- Jet lag. It's hard. Enough said. 
- Wondrous thanks: Just to be back and healthy

That is all for now!  Just wanted to send a quick update now that we've arrived :)

-Kimmie

From Berry, written on July 3rd . . .

Hi everyone!

Our team has arrived in Davao City, Philippines safely!  Praise God. :)  The weather here has been kind: warm during the day and raining at night.  Since we haven't had to go out at night for the past two days, we stayed in for some good ol' team bonding while it was raining outside.  BUT... the down side of rain is that it brings a lot of bugs... A LOT OF BUGS.  I've gotten 7 bug bites since I've arrived, so that's not very fun.

Overall, we have been resting for the first full day that we're here, getting used to the environment and the weather.  Kimmie and I got a chance to walk around the subdivision that we will be staying in for the month and I got a chance to see the housing around this area.  The public transportation here is quite interesting- we rode the "jeepney" to the mall to exchange out money.  The Jeepney is pretty much a jeep that has no doors and two long benches for people to sit on in the back of the jeep.  That is the main source of transportation here in Davao.  We also got a chance to eat Filipino homemade bread with homemade pineapple and mango jam. :)  Kimmie and I got a chance to help make dinner last night, and we had a chance to get to know the people who work at the SPTC (OMF team center).

Today, we had a full day of training (we're on break right now so I can email an update).  We went through culture and what to expect working with the Muslims in the Philippines.  We learned a lot about the different Muslim tribes and how we can connect with the people here.  We also got a chance to get a better understanding of the different ongoing projects that are set up here in Davao and the many opportunities we can serve in.  We will be mainly working with two couples who are long term missionary workers here: Ben and Cheche, and Emo and Kathy.  They are very warm and welcoming people, and they have made our stay here a smooth transition.  Tonight, we will be meeting with Ben to go through the street and homeless ministry orientation, so I'm looking forward to that.

Please continue to pray that God will be glorified through us as we learn to open ourselves to the people here and open ourselves to see God work.  I've been continuously reminding myself to preach the gospel to myself daily, for it is the gospel that can transform my heart as I reach out to the Muslim community and as I learn to love as Christ has loved in his ministry.  I am thankful daily for the grace of God and for the hope that we do have in Him.

Thank you for your prayers.  May we all continue to live our lives worthy of the gospel and worthy of His calling.

Until the next update... :)

Blessings,
Berry

God's Work of Restoration

Throughout history, God was neither silent nor inactive. Even as the world rebels against God in our fallen state, trying to render Him irrelevant, attempting to usurp the throne which is rightfully His, God still lovingly works to restore man and bring Himself the glory He desires. From the moment of the Curse, He speaks, promising redemption in the form of the Serpent Crusher (Gen 3:15) as He declares the proto-evangelion. As history progresses, God in His sovereignty chooses Abram from amongst all the people of the earth and sets about making him the channel of blessing to the nations (Gen 12:2-3). As God brings forth the nation of Israel from Abraham's line, He institutes laws and statues so that Israel will be a "light to the nations" (Isa 42:6), taking particular care to ensure provisions for the alien (Ex 22:21; 23:9; Lev 19:10; 23:22; 25:6; Deut 10:18-19; 23:7; 24:14, 19, 20-21; 26:11-13; 27:19) and the proselyte (Ex 12:48). Even in the Great Commandments, the mandate to love God and love one's neighbor is a command that holds within it a measure of the reversal of the curses.

Yet Israel projects the "spirit of Babel" instead of living out its call, division, war and unrest being the norm. As Israel is sent into exile, it turns inwards, becoming an insular community and remaining so until the advent of Christ.

As God the Son steps into history, a large part of His ministry can be seen to involve the reversal of curses. As the death of Christ reconciles man to God, it is also efficacious for reconciling man to man, thus reversing, the curses of Eden, in part now, and in full upon His return. However, there is another aspect to His ministry. The account in Acts shows the Kingdom inaugurated by Christ during His earthly ministry transcending national, racial, cultural and linguistic borders. As the Gospel goes forth from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth, Christ reverses the curse of Babel, bringing the scattered nations together once again as God's people under God's rule. The result of Babel was the sundering of nations. The result of the Gospel is their unification under Christ.

It is also interesting to note the New Testament does not speak of forcing worshippers into a certain mold or mode of worship. There are general guidelines for worship, a prescribed form of church government, even very specific doctrinal and theological truths that believers must affirm. However, the New Testament writers do not tell believers to change their culture in order to "fit in" with a prescribed method of worship or a single system church culture[1]. Rather, Paul says that he has "become all things to all people, that by all means [he] might save some" (1 Cor 9:19-23). This is particularly startling in light of just how deeply racial tensions ran, especially amongst the Jews. By declaring that, "Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all" (Col 3:11), Paul was introducing a radical change to the socio-political climate at the time[2]. He was advocating culturally contextualized applications of God's truths while retaining the absolute nature of that truth[3], celebrating of the uniting power of the Gospel and the reversal of the great estrangement.

This is not to say that all aspects of culture should be retained. The measure of what stays to be celebrated and what is put aside is the Gospel, which never changes. God's word to His people never changes. The things that change from place to place are the ways in which these truths are expressed. For example, the Chinese believer in the underground house church will not express their communal worship in the same way as we do at Lighthouse. However, they will retain and maintain the elements of the ministry of the Word, prayer, praise, singing and the offering. They just do it in a different way. They sing different songs, pray at different times (and probably more than we do any given Sunday). That does not make them somehow less spiritual than western believers. We call them brother and sister, embrace them as our own, identify with their suffering and share their joy. Under the unity of the Gospel, any who truly heed the call of Christ, regardless of their ethnicity, their culture or their social background become "our people". That is the reversal of Babel's curse.

No more do we divide because of cultural or ethnic differences. No more do we hold others at arms length because of national or social boundaries. There is one Gospel, one Savior, one Way, one Father. We are one nation, one priesthood and one people (1 Pet 2:9). We are, as people were before Babel, united in a greater cause and by a greater power. We are, as Adam and Eve before the fall, people of the Kingdom, whose home is not of this earth (Phil 3:20). We await the Day, when our countrymen from all tribes and languages and tongues will worship with us, and all will worship Christ, giving glory to the Father.

Heaven awaits. There is yet glory to come.

[1]  Robert L Saucy, The Church in God's Program, (Chicago: Moody Press 1972), 105-106, 118-119. While the New Testament describes a Congregational form of church government, and prescribes certain activities for the time of meeting, it leaves the finer details of that form for the individual congregations to work out.

[2] Andreas J Kostenberger, Peter T O'Brien, Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical Theology of Mission, Ed: Don Carson, (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press 2001), 153-157

[3]  Patty Lane, A Beginner's Guide to Crossing Cultures: Making Friends in a Multicultural World, (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2002), 135-137.

The Old Testament tells us of a man named Job who suffered through many trials and tragedies in his life.  Job lost his sons and daughters when their house collapsed in a storm.  He lost his livestock when enemies stole them and killed his servants.   Job lost his personal comfort when his body became covered with sores.   Through all of these difficulties, Job could have turned against God.  He could have cursed God.  He could have turned to sinful pleasures in an attempt to escape his circumstances, but Job chose to glorify God in the way when the going got tough.

Job 27:5-6 tells us that Job declared, "Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.  I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go."  An earlier chapter in the book of Job tells us that Job lived a righteous life before all of the trials and these verses show us that he was committed to continuing this righteous living even in the midst of the worst time of his life.   How might he have done this?  My guess is that Job probably spent time meditating upon God's commands and the words God gave to his people (23:12).  He probably spent a significant time in prayer, asking God to deliver him from these trials, but also asking God for the grace to live in a way that brought him glory.  I believe that Job was sure to purge his mind of any unrighteous thought or desire that popped up.   Holding fast to righteousness means not dwelling on those thoughts or desires and not allowing them to develop into sin.

If you are going through tough times, I pray that you will glorify God when the going gets tough.  I pray that you will seek God's grace so that you will not put your integrity to the side.  I pray that you will seek God's grace so that you might live righteously. 

The Purpose of Man

The Westminster Shorter Catechism states that "the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever"[1]. Jonathan Edwards also writes, "The great end of God's works which is so variously expressed in Scripture, is indeed one; and this one end is most properly and comprehensively called, The Glory of God"[2]. In fact, all of creation, mankind included, is directed towards worship, giving God the glory He deserves as Creator, Sustainer and Master. It is man's supreme task, as the ones uniquely made in His image, to render unto his Creator the glory due to Him (Isa 43:6-7).

To this John Piper adds, "the chief end of God is to glorify God and enjoy Himself forever"[3]. God Himself desires His own glory and has made man to fulfill that desire. However, He chooses to be glorified not through the mere existence of man and the cosmos, but through relationship with Him. Paul picks up this eternal truth as he speaks to the men of Athens in Acts 17:26-28: "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, for ‘In him we live and move and have our being.'" God, the eternal, all powerful Creator and Sustainer of all things, wants to be glorified through being in relationship with those He made in His image! He has created us in such a way that we, in our finite intellectual, spiritual and physical nature are somehow able to be in relationship to the infinite God. We bear His image not necessarily in the relationship itself, but in the ability to have such a relationship with Him[4].

Therefore, glorifying God is infinitely more than an option incidental to our existence, but is the very core of what we are and should be. This is a task that the sovereign, almighty God is desirous of, that transcends any introspective quest for purpose or goal, making any deviation from it not only sinful rebellion, but a deformation of the very essence of human existence.  Yet this is exactly what happened.

The Corruption of the Fall and the Rise of Nations

When Adam and Eve were first created, they were in relationship with God, with each other and with the rest of the Creation (Gen 2:23-25). Made to be God's vice-regents over the earth under God (Gen 1:28-30), man uniquely was created in the image of God and given an aspect of relationship with God that was not given to any other creature: Man alone would be able to know, understand and love his Creator, and in doing so would glorify God as he was created to do.

However, the fall broke this relationship between man and God, as well as their relationship between each other and the rest of creation. The Curse of Eden bears this out as the ground rebels against man, Adam and Eve are set against each other, Eve against the serpent and even against her own body (Gen 3:14-19). Blame shifting and the shirking of responsibility become the first few manifestations of the fallen, sinful state, passing down from generation to generation to this day. As Bart Simpson puts it so eloquently, "I didn't do it!"

The subsequent murder of Abel was the further outworking of this accursed state, as mankind, "Claiming to be wise... became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things" (Rom 1:22) and "exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator" (Rom 1:25). The estrangement had begun, and things just got worse from there.

Even after the flood, the Curse still bound mankind. They retained the same language and culture (Gen 11:1), and evidently had some measure of unity amongst them under the rule of Nimrod (Gen 10:8-12). In their fallen state, mankind desired to reclaim Eden, to recapture a measure of the eternal life that they lost at the fall by making a mark on history. The problem was that they desired to do so on their own accord and for their own glory. Calvin describes the fiasco of Babel well:

"...indeed, is here noticed, except their mad ambitions and proud contempt of God... We see the design and the aim of the undertaking. For whatsoever might happen, they wish to have an immortal name on earth; and thus they build, as if in opposition to the will of God... To erect a citadel was not in itself so great a crime; but to raise an eternal monument to themselves, which might endure throughout all ages, was a proof of headstrong pride, joined with contempt of God."[5]

The result was the sundering of the people as God confused their language, giving rise to varied cultures and nations[6]. From that time forth, the evil of nationalism and racism emerge in the form of wars and racial hatred. Nation rose against nation, and people gathered according to their languages, their family groups, and formed ever more varied cultures. Throughout the rest of history, even leading up to the present time, we continue to see the fallout of Babel. In each and every part of the world, people draw distinctions based on language, culture, race, geographical area, religious belief, and every other factor that they can find. Nation, tribe, people and language have become things by which people separate themselves. Wars, rivalries, national hatred, racism are merely the entropic deterioration of the great estrangement that began at the fall that was further exacerbated at Babel and has plagued mankind ever since.

Thankfully, God never left the scene.

[1] Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 1, Christian Classics Ethereal Library website, http://www.ccel.org/creeds/westminster-shorter-cat.html, accessed 4 Apr 2008

[2] Jonathan Edwards, ‘A Dissertation Concerning the End for Which God Created the World', Chapter 2, Section 7, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/edwards/works1.iv.iv.vii.html, accessed 4 Apr 2008.

[3] John Piper, Let The Nations Be Glad!, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic Press 2005), 21.

[4] Millard J Erickson, Christian Theology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic Press 2000),  520-536. There are many people who do not have a (good) relationship with God, yet the bible still views them as bearing His image (cf Gen 9:6). Therefore, relationship with God is not the marker of the image (which is known as the Relational View of the Image), but must be a result and outworking of the image. The Image of God must therefore be inherent in something deeper, in the substance of what we are as human beings, in our spiritual, intellectual and physical make up (aka the Substantive View).

[5] John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis, Vol 1, entry on Gen 11:1, trans. Rev John King, (Grand Rapids: Christian Classics Ethereal Library, 1996), http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom01.xvii.i.html, accessed 4 Apr 2008.

[6] Henry M Morris, God and the Nations, (Green Forest: Master Books 2003), 44-45.

Acts 9 records a man named Ananias that we do not know anything about.  He is an ordinary Jewish believer living in the city of Damascus, but Jesus calls to him and gives him a mission.  His mission is to go and give Saul of Tarsus a message.  Sounds easy, but we must understand who Saul is.

Saul of Tarsus was a feared man to those of the Christian faith for he was far from ordinary.  He was educated under one of the top rabbis, he was from a prestigious family, he had prestige as many knew of him, and he had power to enforce Jewish law, even to the point of death. 

A contrast between two different characters is established in verses 1-19.  One thing we can gather from these verses in Acts 9 is that human accomplishments mean nothing before Jesus.  This is why He uses an ordinary guy like Ananias to be His own personal messenger to Saul.

God may call you to do something special.  Will you be willing, more importantly, will you be obedient?

Jesus said to Ananias, "Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight."

"But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem.'"

Ananias balked at the command he was getting from Jesus.  We may want to balk when we are called to do something by the Lord that is a step of faith.  It could be that nervous feeling right before you share the gospel with a family member, it could be starting to be a spiritual leader of the house by initiating a time for you and your wife to pray, it could be a time to share a biblical truth with a co-worker, or it could be willingness to volunteer for a ministry that you have no experience in.  Has God called you to do something "special" recently?  Did you balk?

Let us learn from Ananias.  He had a special message from Jesus for Saul and even in the face of danger he feared the Lord more and obeyed.  Sometimes obeying the Lord takes faith, but we know that it is always the right thing to do. 

We must understand that God uses ordinary Christians to carry out His plans.  The lesson is to be obedient when God calls you to do something.  Remember, for without the obedience of Ananias, Saul would not have heard his new calling and purpose for his life, plus, he may have gone blind for the rest of his life!  Be an ordinary obedient Christian!

It has captured the imagination of many godly souls through the ages, and much ink has been spilled in describing its splendor. Yet, as Jonathan Edwards comments, "all we can say by our best rhetoric is really and truly, vastly below what is but the bare and naked truth"[1]. Nevertheless, many great men of faith have endeavored to describe the glory of the eternal state, the splendor of the New Jerusalem, the majesty of the angelic host, and the blessed bliss of being face to face with God Himself. However, while there is much that has been written on the contents of heaven and the nature of its inhabitants, it is more difficult to find much written about the identity of those inhabitants. It is generally and readily accepted that there will be "a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb" (Rev 7:9) at the end of days, but for whatever reason, many writers seem to then move on without pausing to contemplate and appreciate the sheer grandeur of this reality. Perhaps for the classic writers it was due to a lack of knowledge of the breadth of the myriad of cultures in the world. Perhaps for the more modern writers, the global village has made nations, tribes and peoples much less distinct, rendering the phenomenon of united multicultural, multiethnic worship somewhat less astounding than it would have been to John in the first century.

This is not to say that the grandiose vista of Rev 7:9 is commonly ignored. Many missionaries are captivated by it and have given their lives to see to it that this scene will be a grand one indeed. Yet this is not a vision that is meant only for those who work with native tribes in the far flung corners of the world. John's vision is meant for the whole church. In the next few articles of this series, we will explore the "thread" of the nations within the biblical account, with particular attention to how and why the united worship and praise of many nations brings a distinct and particular glory to God. We will do this briefly by examining 1) the ultimate purpose of mankind in creation and the corruption of this purpose in the fall, 2) God's work to restore this purpose and 3) the ultimate fulfillment of this purpose in eternity. Stay tuned!

[1] Jonathan Edwards, ‘Christian Happiness' (Isa 3:10), sermon preached 1722, in John Gerstner, Jonathan Edwards on Heaven and Hell, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House 1980), 8.

What is faithful fathering?  To find the answer, imagine a war waging everyday for your child's heart.  On one side is the God of the Bible offering a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.  On the other side is the world, offering identity in sports, security through money and a bright future through education and so on.  Fathers, battle for God, and this is the order from your General, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 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" (Deuteronomy 6:4-6).

This is from a passage in which Israel is being prepared to enter the Promised Land, a land filled with people who worship idols.  And God's concern is that they will love something other than Him; that His people will turn away from Him and worship something else.  This is what idolatry is, turning from worshiping and loving God to worshiping and loving something else.  An idol doesn't have to be a stone statue.  It could be sports, possessions, the approval of friends, or one's physical appearance.  This is why so much of the Bible talks about idolatry.  It is not because this was written thousands of years ago when idolatry was more prevalent, but because idolatry is always prevalent in our hearts.  We are always worshiping God or an idol.  The scary thing is that idols are all around us and our children.  So, in faithfully fathering our children, we must prepare them to stand firm against the idolatry that exists in our world.  This is what you are getting your child ready for, a world full of idols.  In other words, if you want to prepare your child for this world, if you want your child to stand firm against all our culture offers them, if you want your child to be faithful to the only One who gives eternal life... then you must impress this truth upon their hearts: love God above all things.

One practical way we apply this is to establish a home where God has no rivals (I am indebted to Voddie Baucham for this term).  In other words, nothing in our homes should ever give our children the idea that there is something else to be loved and worshiped above God.  Here is the frightening thing in the whole matter, not only do we often fail to protect our children from idols, we actually set them up in our house and encourage them(our children) to worship them.  For example, we tell them that education is the key to success in life and that what is important is getting into a good school and getting a good job.  Or we feed their passion for sports, allowing them to miss church or youth group for basketball or baseball.  Or we live as if money makes the world go around.  They learn from us that true joy is found in buying and having things and nothing that your kid wants is ever denied.  What idols have you set before your kids and have encouraged them to worship?  School?  Sports?  Activities?  Possessions?  Obedience?  Relationships?  Worldly success?  The opinions of others?

The reason this is so important is that we may unwittingly be setting our children up for a life of spiritual devastation.  The God of this world has said that there is one way to live rightly, not just to be obedient, but because this is the way to live as we were meant to live.  He has said that there is one way to keep your child safe, one way to prepare your child to leave home, one way to teach your child to understand life correctly, and it comes down to this idea: you must teach them to love God above all things.  The thing is this; I know in general that we have the best intentions for our kids.  We don't push education because we hate them or sports because we want them to fail.  We think that this is what is important in raising well-rounded kids who are prepared for the future.  And yet, the ironic thing is that in placing before them these idols, we are preparing them for a life of spiritual devastation in which they will not know how to live rightly in this world before their God.

I encourage you to sit down and think about your home and determine if there is anything that might interfere in your child's worship of God.  Then, speak to your child and explain that the only thing worth living for is a life of loving God with all our heart, soul and might.  God Bless you as you try to be faithful parents.

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed is a documentary film hosted and co-written by Ben Stein. Stein is probably most recognized for his iconic portrayal of a monotonous economics teacher in the 80's classic Ferris' Bueller's Day Off ("Bueller? Bueller?"), but his resume extends far beyond the silver screen. He is a graduate of Yale law school, where he was selected as valedictorian of his class. Stein served as a speech-writer for Presidents Nixon and Ford, he has held professorships at a number of universities, and he written numerous books and articles on politics and economics. Most importantly for the purposes of this film, Stein is an outspoken critic of Darwinian evolution and a staunch advocate of Intelligent Design theory.

"Darwin? Darwin?"

Some explanation of these terms are necessary at this point. Darwinian evolution is the predominant scientific view that variation in biological organisms is best explained by the undirected, purely materialistic process known as natural selection. According to this view, all variation in life can be accounted for by random gene mutation, with those organisms with the most advantageous mutations simply out-reproducing those without them.

Intelligent Design (I.D.) stands distinct from naturalistic evolution by proposing that the best explanation for life's variation is not an unguided, naturalistic process, but an outside intelligent source that had directed life's formation. In other words, life looks like it had been designed because it has been designed. This view has gained increasing attention in the media in recent years, particularly in issues concerning education curriculum.

It may be helpful to distinguish between I.D. and creationism. What relationship does do these two have? Are they the same or are they distinct in some way? The two are often mistakenly used interchangeably, but they are distinct with regard to their respective starting points. I.D. starts at the traditional scientific point of examining data and establishing the most probable hypothesis to explain that data. Christian creationism starts with the assumption that the Bible is God's Word, and is therefore inerrant, true, and authoritative. As such, the Genesis account of the origin of life is to be accepted, not by blind faith, but by trusting the God who inspired His Word. All creationists will hold to I.D., since they already believe that the world was created by the God of the Bible, but not all I.D. proponents are creationists.

The film has a two-fold agenda. Expelled first seeks to demonstrate the scientific community's suppression of I.D. According to the film, anyone who admits to entertaining thoughts of I.D. theory is immediately and harshly "expelled" ("Oh! I understand the title!") from the rank and file of the scientific community. Stein proves his point by conducting interviews with a number of these "expelled" scientists, all of whom had proven track records and good reputations prior to their association with I.D. Many were removed from their teaching and research positions and blacklisted from publications in peer-review journals, which are the primary means for gaining credibility within the academic world. Interviews with leading Darwinists like Richard Dawkins reveal intense hostility towards I.D. proponents, rejecting them as fundamentalist creationists in scientists' façade.

Expelled's second aim is to alert its readers to the dangerous social consequences of Darwinism. When the underlying presuppositions of Darwinism are pushed to their ultimate implication, the result is a complete breakdown of societal norms. If Darwinism is true, and all of life is simply the result of unguided, naturalistic processes that favor the fittest, then there is nothing more natural for humans than to pursue self-interest. Those who are more evolutionarily advanced should feel no remorse for their supremacy over "lesser beings." Stein points to Hitler's massacre of the physically handicapped during World War II as an extreme but real consequence of Darwinian ideology. Using evolution as his starting point, Hitler concluded that he could cultivate the highest form of humankind by simply eliminating undesirable characteristics from the human race. The lame, handicapped, and physically deformed were systematically slaughtered because evolution simply was not moving quickly enough. Stein carefully qualifies this observation by saying that while Darwinism does not necessarily lead to Nazism, it is a necessary component for it.

Expelled succeeds in meeting its two goals. As a student of biology who has spent time within the scientific community and devoted much effort to the study of evolution, I found myself agreeing with many of Stein's observations. There is indeed a blatant hostility towards those who support I.D., and the ideological underpinnings of Darwinism have dire sociological consequences. However, my agreement notwithstanding, the film is not without its shortcomings. In order to be most helped by Expelled, viewers would do well to understand what the film is and what it isn't:

• The film is a helpful introduction into the controversy surrounding I.D. For those who simply make the assumption that Darwinism is as certain as the rising sun, this film fires a clear shot across the bow to show that many competent scientists are not towing the party line

• The film is very entertaining. Stein's trademark deadpan narration is delightfully out of place with the film's fast-pace. The interviewees are shown at their best and worst, with many of their responses leaving the viewer absolutely floored. There's even a cartoon and a John Lennon song; a little bit of sugar makes the scientific jargon go down. The final climactic showdown between Stein and Dawkins was itself worth the price of admission.

• The film is not completely unbiased. The producers of the film employ a bells-and-whistles sort of movie-making which lends itself more to movie trailers and propaganda than true documentary. Interviews have undergone heavily editing to include the most potent soundbites. Small, intangible elements like background music, lighting, and camera angles help to portray I.D. proponents as hapless victims crushed in the cogs of the unfeeling machine of Big Science, while Darwinists come across as elitist bullies who won't let other children play in their sandbox. The film would have retained much more of its integrity had it simply let the stories and the data speak for themselves.

• The film is not a clear, detailed defense of Intelligent Design theory but has a far more limited agenda: to demonstrate the suppression of I.D. within the scientific community. Less time is spent investigating the science surrounding I.D than familiarizing the viewer with the personalities of I.D. Those who are interested in the science of I.D. should investigate prominent I.D. researchers like William Dembski and Michael Behe

• The film is not Christian. For those who are expecting this film to be the silver bullet for creationism, it would be wise to load your gun elsewhere. While it is in definite support of I.D., it is nowhere near being an advocate for Christianity. The I.D. scientists interviewed cover a wide-range of religious affiliation. One prominent I.D. think tank proudly states that it includes Muslims, Christians, and agnostics in its roster. Simply because one is an I.D. advocate does necessitate their being a Christian.

For all the strengths and weaknesses of Expelled, how should we as Christians react to it? First, we should welcome it as an opportunity to be informed of the science dealing with life and origins. Christians are far too often fearful of science, dreading the possibility that any knowledge of actual science will begin to unravel our faith. However, science and faith are not at odds. Recall that, historically, most of the great scientists of any given time period were theists (Galileo, Newton, Descartes, Pascal); it has not been until fairly recently that science was viewed through a decidedly atheistic lens. As Christians, we should feel confident that an even-handed assessment of data will lead to scientific conclusions that are consistent with what the Bible already states is true.

Second, we should not breathe a sigh of relief thinking that science has finally legitimized our worldview. It has not. Our worldview has been legitimized because the God of the universe has given us written revelation of exactly what our worldview is supposed to be. We can never allow science to be our final authority on what is true and what is not true; that responsibility rests solely on God and His Word. While science and faith are not at odds, we should not be surprised that sinful, unregenerate, God-opposing minds will look at the world and conclude that God does not exist. Science will be consistent with our worldview, but our ultimate source of trust must be the Bible.

Third, we should be resolved teach our children a Christian worldview with greater diligence and faithfulness. The implications of the next generation being bombarded by an increasingly atheistic culture, from the popular media to standard education curriculum, cause me great concern. While they may not develop into the Nazis of the future, the atheistic Darwinism that saturates the time does nothing to commend a God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-impacted worldview. We cannot expect our children to learn how to love Christ from their textbooks. That responsibility must, as it always has, lie with parents and the church.

In conclusion, Expelled is a helpful, informative introduction into many of the issues surrounding role of I.D. in our society. Unfortunately, this review will probably have been released towards the end of the film's run (Such is the consequence of getting married! Sorry!), but if the opportunity arises to see it in theaters or on a future DVD release, it will prove to an engaging, eye-opening, and entertaining experience.

The MPAA has rated the film as PG for "thematic material, disturbing images, and smoking."

Who is your favorite person in the bible?  Other than our Lord Himself, whom would you most like to emulate?  There are a plethora of choices.  David was a man after God's own heart.  Solomon asked not for riches but for wisdom to lead Israel as its king.  Noah built an ark even before rain fell on the earth.  Peter literally walked on water while the rest of the disciples were probably too afraid.  Daniel stuck to his guns and prayed to the Lord God of Heaven despite the threat of death.  Esther saved her people after putting her own life at risk.

If I had to choose one great man to emulate with my life right now, I'd have to choose Ezra.  If you've never read about the man named Ezra, I encourage you to do so.  Ezra was a priest and scribe in the 5th century B.C..  He was sent by the Persian King to help restore Israel.   He lead the 2nd wave of returning exiles to help rebuild Jerusalem both physically and spiritually.  When he saw the people lapse into sin, he spoke forcefully by the authority of God's word and he helped return people's hearts to the Lord.  Many scholars believe he not only wrote the book of Ezra, but also 1 and 2 Chronicles.  He may also have been the editor of the entire old testament.

What I love most about Ezra comes from the above verse.  Ezra devoted himself to God's word.  That means he not only studied God's word, but he also lived it out and taught it to others as well.  What a great pattern for everyone to follow.  In other words, he lived by the motto: "Learn it!!!  Live it!!!  Teach it!!!"  Awesome.

As a bible teacher at San Gabriel Christian School I'm constantly reminded of the importance of never neglecting any of these three parts.  If I study the word but don't live it, my kids will see me as a hypocrite for telling them to do something I'm not doing myself.  If I teach God's word but don't study it myself, eventually I'll run out of things to tell them simply because I'm not learning anything new.  But if I follow Ezra's example and I study it, live it, and then teach it, I'll have a blessed ministry.

Ezra was a man who was strong in every area.  How are you doing?  Do you study God's word only when it's convenient?  Do you encourage others to live the Christian life yet you regularly lapse into a pattern of sin?  Can you give a great lesson on prayer or evangelism or fellowship, yet your life is a poor reflection of those areas?  Do you store up truths from God's word but never share it with others?  We would all do well to follow Ezra's example.  Let's all learn it, live it, and teach it!

First, a change, civilly speaking, in the constitution of marriage will have a huge impact on culture both now and in future generations. For now, Christians will appear to be even more narrow-minded and exclusive than we already are portrayed, as our faith is given another coat of rust by a world already convinced our ideas and truths are antiquated and in need of more progressive changes. For the future, family as we know it will not look the same. After a generation or two of same-sex marriage, notions of traditional versus non-traditional marriages will go away as children are taught that all unions between two people are normal, standard, and acceptable.  In primers and textbooks, images of two moms or two dads would be as normative as the formerly traditional mother and father. To a mature believer, that may not seem like a big deal, but to children in public schools that would be dangerous.

Looking within the pale of Christianity, churches would be set at odds as liberal theologies opposed to static truth and sympathetic to cultural context would look dramatically different from conservative, traditional theologies committed to biblical inerrancy and the ultimate authority of Scripture. (See Albert Mohler's blog on this topic for a more detailed exploration of this idea.)

Furthermore, as mentioned in a previous blog, loving our neighbor involves living out our faith so that we can declare to a lost world who Christ is and what he demands. If the California decision becomes the norm for the rest of the country, evangelism will become more difficult.  Let me explain. How difficult would it be to talk to someone about same-sex marriage between two willing, loving people being wrong if the law on the books defended it? John Macarthur sees marriage as an integral part of the "genetic structure of civilization" and that the state, as instituted by God, has a duty to uphold that standard.

So what is a measured, practical, Christian response? First, this issue should highlight the need for increased biblical literacy among believers. As our world redefines marriage, we need to be more aware of what the Bible teaches about marriage. Yes, it involves love and commitment, but there is so much more to it. That love is mostly directed to the Lord-the one who created and instituted marriage; the One who has high demands for both husbands and wives.

Next, I would say that we need to be vigilant, looking for opportunities to share Christ with others who are interested in this issue. While I do feel, as Christians desiring to serve the Lord while living in this country with its political freedoms and opportunities, that we should be involved in the government process, that cannot supersede a keen awareness of the lost and what they ultimately need: Jesus.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we need to honor God and marriage by being better, more godly, husbands and wives. God has made men and women unique, and the true joy we are to experience as spouses (and parents, God willing) can only be realized as we understand and fulfill those biblical roles. Struggling Christian marriages steeped in disobedience to God destroy even the possibility of unbelievers recognizing what is unique, true, and good about God-sanctioned matrimony. If we only offer infidelity, strife, discord, and a subversion of our roles, what exactly are we trying to defend?

So I see last week's decision and the forthcoming maelstrom of controversy not as the beginning of a battle we will now fight for the sanctity of marriage, but as the continuation of a war against sin; a war we need to persevere in for the purposes of holiness and godliness. Our Heavenly Father does not change; nor does His gift of marriage.

This is not the first time mankind has been faced with horrific events, nor will it be the last. And this is not the first time, nor will it be the last, when, after people see such tragedies, they turn their gaze heavenward and damn God. After the earthquake, the questions came. One forum that I came across posed the simple question that invited a not-so-simple response: "Where was God when the cyclone ravaged Burma? Where was God when the schools collapsed on top of the students? Where was God when hurricane Katrina tore New Orleans to pieces?" The poster answered his own question, "God wasn't there, or else he would have intervened when Mother Nature slaughtered the tens of thousands of people in Burma and China. No one deserves to die like that." This is just one voice of out of countless many who do not see a loving God in the midst of such death and suffering.

Jesus himself was faced with death and suffering, not only his own life but in the lives of those he loved. As the Son of God, how did He respond to such tragedy? How does he respond to earthquakes in China, cyclones in Burma, and hurricanes in New Orleans?  The shocking answer is found in John 11, where the Gospel writer gives an account of Jesus' raising Lazarus from the dead. Remember that Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha had a longstanding friendship with Jesus, so when Jesus received word that Lazarus had fallen ill, he did not respond out of indifference. He was deeply invested in Lazarus' life. His initial response is strange: "This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it" (John 11:4) Jesus' statement here leads us to conclude that in the midst of suffering, God is most concerned with His own glory. So often, we misunderstand God's priorities. We think our own agenda should top God's priority list, while God has told us clearly that he orchestrates all things for his glory. Every atom in motion, every tectonic plate shift, every drop of rain in a hurricane is designed to declare the greatness of God. 

If Jesus' initial response is strange, then his following actions are downright shocking. John writes, "Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was" (John 11:5-6) The most shocking word in this sentence is "so," which reveals that because Jesus loved Martha, Mary and Lazarus, he refused to go to their home to heal Lazarus and instead chose to remain in Jerusalem and let Lazarus die. Jesus' actions highlight the fact that, in the midst of suffering, God's love may look different than what you expect. This absolutely defies our conception of love. How could Jesus' love cause him to allow somebody to suffer and die?

Remember what it means that God loves you. It does not mean that God will turn a blind eye to your sin, or that he will perform as a genie to grant you your every wish. The definition of God's love is his unconditional commitment to an imperfect person that seeks the other's highest good even at cost to himself. Despite the fact that you and I are sinful rebels that deserve punishment for our opposition to God, he is committed to our highest good. That highest good is not to avoid pain or suffering, but to enjoy the all-satisfying beauty of God himself. Such love is not superficial or sentimental; it is granting ultimate satisfaction of the highest degree. If God loves us, he will do everything within his sovereign ability, even if it takes suffering and death, to turn our hearts toward him.

How did Jesus love Martha, Mary, and Lazarus in the midst of their suffering? He brought them through illness, death, agony, and pain so that they would behold the glory of Jesus Christ as he miraculously raised a dead man from the grave. In his love for them, Christ allowed Lazarus to die so he could give them the highest good: a display of the power and beauty of God himself. They would gaze upon the Son of God and be satisfied in him.

So, what should Martha, Mary and Lazarus' suffering teach us about our own earthquakes in China, cyclones in Burma, and hurricanes in New Orleans? It teaches us that all suffering and death is designed by God to force our gaze heavenward, not to damn God, but to delight in him. He alone offers salvation from sin. He alone can rescue from death and hell. He alone will provide us with eternal joy in the life to come. This does not take away from the reality of the pain; we may weep as Jesus himself wept at the death of his friend (John 11:35). But the knowledge of his love for us may serve as the foundation upon which our grief rests.

I remember one time asking a younger brother of mine whether he had been in the Word regularly. He told me "Yeah of course man... I hear messages at fellowship every week. AND! Church... occasionally!"

Of course, I laughed at the silliness of his response. But I've come to realize that we're no different in these regards. It is said that one of the greatest challenges that all seminarians and pastors face is allowing for his study to be a substitute for his personal devotions. Over the last few years, I've seen this become a reality in my own life. In many ways I am that kid mentioned above.... I think we all are. I've come to see that this issue confronts not only myself or any pastor, but every one of us who professes to be a follower of Christ.

We can easily rationalize that we spend much time involved in the things of God- leaders studying for a lesson, leaders going over material for small groups, or attendees simply attending these studies, going to fellowship, engaging in conversations about God. Yet such "holy work" as it is called, can dull the Christian's awareness of his need to be personally communing with God. Leaders must realize that we will never be effective in our ministry if we are not nurturing personal worship in our own lives. Our ministry should be the overflow; the product of our fellowship with the Lord. A distinction must then exist between our ministry, studying for Bible study, preparing for small groups, etc...and our personal worship before God. Those who are have some form of influence in the lives of others from small group leaders, disciplers, those on worship team, to parents MUST make quiet times, devotions, their FIRST priority.

But this takes work. In fact, it takes A LOT of work. Spiritual growth, sanctification is not simply given. Phrases such as "Let go, Let God," "Let the Spirit Steer it," are unbiblical in the sense that it doesn't take into account that Scripture emphatically shows that we bear a responsibility to our spiritual walks; we take ownership of our faith.

Someone once said "a godly life is the result of establishing godly habits." We must then discipline ourselves to developing these kinds of habits if we are ever to walk in godliness. Read the Word with intentionality, pray purposefully, make it a priority to "calendar God" within our day. All of us, especially leaders, must strive to do this. No "holy work," can ever be a sufficient substitute for the blessings and riches of an intimate worship with the Father through personal quiet times. This has been something God's been convicting of as of late and I pray you'll share a renewed resolved in doing so as well.

Peace!

We only need to step one foot into one of the local superbookstores to discover that Solomon's statement is dead-on accurate. Even within the Christian community, publishers crank out volume after volume on every conceivable subject. At some point we all find ourselves looking for books, whether on prayer, parenting, or theology. What if we have no clue where to begin? How can we know what to trust? How can we be good stewards not only of our pocketbooks but most importantly of our hearts and minds, knowing that what we read can have a profound influence on our thinking and our choices? Here are some steps I'd recommend following:

Now as with everything in life, there are dangers and pitfalls. Books are no different. Here are some missteps, some faulty ways of thinking when evaluating the quality of authors and books:

The old saying goes: "You are what you eat." Not only is this true physically but also mentally and spiritually. What our minds ingest will have a huge impact on our souls and thus our daily, Christian lives. Filling them with prime-quality sustenance is a Christian imperative.

In John 1:9, Jesus is referred to as the true light: "The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world." This light represents life and truth. Jesus, the embodiment of truth, brings eternal life to all who believe in him. Psalm 19:6 tells us how this truth, the gospel message, is like the sun, going from one end of the heavens to the other and that there is nothing hidden from its heat. Yet, despite this great light shining, John goes on to tell us that "the world did not know him" (1:10) and "his own people did not receive him" (1:11). The light of Jesus is evident (8:12), it is clearly seen through his creation and man is without excuse (Romans 1:19-20); yet, so many still choose to walk in darkness (John 3:19). How is this possible? How can anyone miss the glaring bright light of the sun? Satan has blinded these people, he keeps them from seeing the light, they walk around with dark sunglasses on (2 Cor. 4:4-2)!

One of our calls as Christians is to continue to shine this light that is Jesus to the world. Matthew 5:14-16 tells us, ‘You are the light of the world ... let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." This is why we call our church family Lighthouse. We hope that the world will see our good works, our unity, our love for one another (John 17:21) and in turn, bow down before the one true light and give glory to God.

Beloved, may the way we live, the way we talk, the way we treat our neighbors, the way we love one another in unity, the way we share the gospel message, all shine the light of Jesus to a world that is desperately in the dark.

In Luke 22:39-46, we see four things that Jesus prayed for as he agonized over his imminent death on the cross. Based on his example, we know that in the midst of trials, we can

1. Pray for spiritual strength

a. V. 40 - notice that Jesus tells the disciples that they are the ones who need to pray so that they will not fall into temptation. In the midst of trials, we may be distracted by what is going on and we may not be fully awareness of the temptation that is coming our way. We should ask God to strengthen us spiritually so that we will recognize these temptations and avoid them.

2. Pray for deliverance

a. V. 42 - Jesus asked the Father to deliver him from dying on the cross if it was in line with the Father's will. It is ok to ask God to deliver us from our trials. However, we must pray with an attitude that is submissive to God's sovereignty over all things, including the trial we are going through.

3. Pray for God's will to be done

a. V. 42 - Praying for God's will to be done means praying that our hearts will be one with God's heart regarding the outcome of the trial. We must remember that in his infinite wisdom, God works all things for the good of those who love him (Rom. 8:28). Praying for God's will to be done means placing our complete trust in this verse and what God wants to do in our lives through the trial.

4. Pray for physical endurance

a. V. 43 - Trials take their toll on us emotional and physically. Quite often, trials are exhausting and when we are tired, we often make bad decisions. We should pray for physical endurance to persevere through the trial in the way that is most glorifying to God.

Within hours after praying in the garden, Jesus was hanging on the cross. Does that mean that God didn't hear his prayers? Definitely not. God hears all of our prayers. God heard Jesus' prayers, but God's will was for Jesus to die for our sins. The plan of salvation was already in motion and because Jesus chose to glorify God by going to the cross, sinners all over the world are forgiven and can look forward to eternal life.

In serving with Connections, the church's greeting and hospitality ministry, we have been focused on connecting people to God, to believers, and the Christian resources. This web log is one of those resources, useful for both the believer seeking encouragement and insight as well as the unbeliever wondering about the Bible's perspective on issues impacting public and private life. These issues may be dealt with in posts concerning current events (political and otherwise), social issues, important and/or controversial films, theological questions, and devotionals. Additionally, book reviews, interviews with the church body, and even the occasional spotlight on a must-eat South Bay restaurant may populate this blog-anything concerning life and a life lived for Christ is fair game.

God has blessed Lighthouse with many who have the heart and the training to serve in this capacity, and we will be culling the riches of the church body for contributions. From time to time we may post the work of other Christian leaders and scholars, or link to other sites, all in the name of building up the body.

Before signing off, or going to post, or whatever one does with a blog, there is one question I want to address: the question of why we are taking time and church space to weigh in on politics and culture. Discerning the proper Christian attitude toward politics and culture has not always been easy for me, but I want to share my current conclusions.

As mentioned previously, our mission is to make disciples of nations (Matthew 28:18-20) by loving God first and our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:28-31). Being aware of, concerned with, and involved in our world serves two purposes: first, it helps us to be faithful followers of Christ, wherever that leads. If we are indeed to love the Lord with all heart, soul, and strength, we need to be committed to submitting every aspect of our life to Him. The culture of this world is antithetical to God, his truth being challenged in every area from technology to education to morality. Christian thinker Dr. Albert Mohler, in his book Culture Shift, argues that "those who do not think seriously about how Christians should respond to these challenges will find that the dominant culture will simply pull them into its vortex" and "they will simply fail to live and think as Christians."

Secondly, a watchful eye on the world helps us fulfill our evangelistic mission with the proper love for our neighbor. Care for the issues of our day should be connected to a care for creating the best possible situation for evangelism. While the call to evangelize does not change from culture to culture, we can love our neighbor by letting the world know what God says and what He would desire in this world. Though undoubtedly we need to constantly check our motives and prioritize involvement in "the City of Man," I agree with Mohler that "our Lord has left us here for a reason-as His people we are to be salt and light to a dying world."

For many of us, we would think about a person's annual salary, maybe where a person lives, what kind of car they drive, how much they have saved, or how much money is in their wallet. The dictionary defines rich as, "Possessing great material wealth." There have been people in the Bible who have used their wealth for good and there have been some who have used their wealth for evil.

One danger of having great wealth is that it may keep a person from seeing and addressing his or her greatest problem: sin. This barrier is seen in a conversation between Jesus and a young rich ruler. The gospel of Luke records the ruler saying, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

Scholars believe that this rich young ruler was an influential wealthy lay leader or even a leader of the church. This man is seeking eternal life and Jesus asks if he has followed a number of the Ten Commandments. The ruler replies in affirmation that he has. It is at this point where Jesus gets to the heart of the matter by giving a command that unveils this young man's true heart.

Jesus states, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor; and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."

What would you have done if Jesus gave you the command? For when we place ourselves in the shoes (or sandals) of this rich young ruler does this become an extremely challenging command. One question we must ask ourselves is, "Why do I hold tightly to money when asked to give?"

Here are some that come to mind: money brings me security; money brings me happiness; money makes me feel confident; money brings me honor and respect; money brings me pleasure; money gives me control; money gets me what I want.

Do any of these things rule your heart when it comes to having money?

Remember being rich is not sinful, but the love of money is. The love of money leads to a number of other sins that have been listed above.

Take some time to think deeply about how tightly you hold onto money and repent and ask God to give you the freedom from the chains of sin associated with wealth. I hope that you will do so, so that you may gain eternal life and freedom that can only be found in the riches of the gospel. Be rich in the salvation that God has given to you through Jesus Christ. Think about the penalty of sin that has been paid by Jesus Christ. Meditate that death has been conquered by Jesus' death. Be moved that you have the most valuable thing any human can ever have . . . Jesus Christ and him crucified.

When you grow in your depth of love for Jesus, when you grab hold of Him, you let go of your idol of money.

And Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life."