Inside Out Living

I received a great question from someone on Sunday in regard to level of graciousness in their life. It came from a brother who loves Jesus and yet recognizes that in his life he does not demonstrate the level of graciousness that he desires to demonstrate. I think many of us can relate with this so I started a list of simple (and not so simple) things that each of us can do to increase the level of graciousness in our lives. These are in no certain order. Please comment on what you would include on this list.

Ways to increase graciousness:

1. Buy a stranger a cup of coffee next time you are in Starbucks.
2. Buy everyone in line at Starbucks a cup of coffee.
3. Spend a Saturday serving someone who cannot repay you.
4. Serve a mean at a local homeless shelter or soup kitchen.
5. Buy a single mother some groceries or diapers.
6. Ask five people you know how you can pray for them, then do it and follow up and ask how they are doing.
7. Deliver meals to shut ins.
8. Volunteer at a nursing home.
9. Volunteer at a hospital for terminally ill children.
10. Buy a stranger a tank of gas.
11. Give blood.
12. Mow you neighbors yard when they are at work.
13. Shovel your neighbors driveway next time it snows.
14. Tell a service employee 'thank you' next time they serve you.

What would you add?

This past Sunday I preached on James 3:13-18 about the wisdom that comes down from above.

NIV James 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. 17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

In the message I put an emphasis on how we are to give evidence of our wisdom through the deeds that are done in humility. Now in talking about humility I put an emphasis on how we do not promote ourselves and the acts of service that we do. The reason for this emphasis is that the "selfish ambition" James speaks of in verse 14 refers to some who promotes themselves like a politician with an agenda.

So the question was asked by someone after church, a good question no less, that how can we give evidence of our wisdom if we are not to promote what we are doing. To him these two thoughts seemed to conflict, and in a way he was right.

So then how do we 'show' our heavenly wisdom by deeds done in humility without being guilty of promoting ourselves and trying to gain recognition. I think the answer lies in how it is found out what you are doing.

The point that James is making is that if you truly are wise and understanding then there should be some evidence in your life of deeds done in humility. And we know that humility comes from wisdom. He isn't telling us to promote or proclaim the good deeds that we have done, but rather if you are doing what you should be doing then more than likely someone will stand up and take notice.

Yes some deeds we do will not be recognized, which is more than ok because our Father who sees what we do in secret will reward us accordingly. However, more often than not someone will notice your acts of service and will see the humility present within your attitude and that will reflect the godly wisdom that you are indeed exercising.

So then it is possible to give evidence of wisdom through deeds done in humility without shamelessly calling attention to our service.

Last week I preached a message titled tongue depressor on James 3:1-12.

It was a challenging passage for all of us to look at because as James says, no one is able to control their tongue perfectly. We all sin and we all stumble.

After the message I received the following question from one of our regular attenders.

Your sermon last week dealt with the tongue. You made the statement that none of us can control our tongues perfectly and yet James 1:26 says the following.

If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless.

I don't doubt that you are correct in your assessment; I just don't know what to do with this pesky little verse.

It is not entirely impossible to harmonize these two different passages.

In James 1:19-27 the point that James is making is that our beliefs should influence our actions. He says that we should be doers of the Word, not merely hearers of it. So in verse 26 his point is that if you think yourself religious and yet your religion does not impact your life, specifically here influence the words you say, then your religion is not accomplishing anything, it is worthless.

This would be the individual who maybe attends church religiously or even reads their Bible religiously but never allows God to change their life. They continue to live their life according to their rules and have merely added a religious life on top of what they are already doing. Religion that works, is that which actually changes us from the inside out so that we are changed not just in what we do, but what we say and think as well.

Now in the section I preached on in James 3:1-12, the main point that James is trying to make is that even though no one can ever live without making a mistake with their words, for those who claim to be children of God we should not be both cursing people and praising God. To say that you aren't always perfect in what you say is not the same as the 'uncontrolled' or 'unbridled' tongue that James speaks of in 1:26.

This morning I heard on K-Love about a newly proposed application for all of you iPhone users called "A Note to God." The application was designed by a Sacramento area teen named Allen Wright who thought the idea up when he was lying in bed and feeling lonesome. The concept is simple, you text your throught or prayer 'to God' where it is stored on a database. The app also allows you to view others' prayers and show your support of the prayers by clicking on a thumbs up.

I don't really want to discourage Allen from using his creativity in his efforts to exercise his faith, but I have a few concerns about some unintended consequences of this app. I don't plan on using the app myself, primarily because I don't have an iPhone nor plan on getting one, but also because I don't see it as necessary.

I understand the goal to be to give people an outlet for their prayers, to create a community of prayer, and to be able to pray for others' prayer requests that are posted (of course it is all anonymous). However as the Rev. James Murphy, who was quoted in the Sacramento Bee article, said, "Prayer is direct to God, and God should be the primary motive...If the motive is to be seen by others, be careful. There's a sense in which prayer is private." Now I do believe in corporate or group prayer and that there is nothing wrong with sharing prayer requests, but he danger of praying in groups or in public is praying to gain the approval of those around you. This is the first concern that I have is that the feature that allows people to state their approval of the prayer sets people up to be praying for the approval of others and not to connect or petition God himself. This is what Jesus condemned the Pharisees for in Matthew 6:5, "When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full."

The other concern that I have probably has something to do with my understanding of the grip that technology has on our culture. This may have something to do with the fact that I am old enough to remember when my family got our first home computer, when we first connected to the internet, and when we still used rotary phones, and cell phones were the size of bricks. Will God honestly hear and answer a prayer that is sent to a database somewhere in California. Is that seriously a prayer? Will people become dependent upon technology to prayer and forget that they can pray anytime anywhere regardless of their battery life or cell coverage. If a prayer becomes deleted from the database does that mean it is now invalid? I know I am getting a little scarcastic here but this are just some of the questions that I think about in reading this story.

Now I have to admit this isn't all that different than what myself and others are already doing on facebook and twitter. How much different is it really than the written prayers of the great spiritual fathers who have gone before us? I have typed prayers on both those applications and so they have been read by others. Some of them are responses of prayer for others and some are just expressions of what God has put on my heart. So maybe this whole rant has been hypocritical, I don't know. I like to think that when I have typed the prayers that the typed message is more for the benefit of the reader, not for God. God already knows my thoughts and my needs before the words even leave my mouth or my fingers hit the keyboard. So I guess this is my conclusion. The prayer is my personal communication with God (whether that is said internally or externally), the writing of the prayer down is not the prayer itself, but a record of it that is intended to benefit others or help them in their spiritual journey.

In the first chapter of the book of Romans in the New Testament, we read some helpful words for those of us who wrestle with trying to figure out what this sin nature is all about. Essentially the beginning of our depravity is the fact that we are unwilling to recognize and worship God as God. In saying the 'beginning of our depravity' I don't mean to imply that we are not born without a sin nature, for we most certainly are, rather it is to say that our refusal to recognize God as such is the source of sin and depravity. Now we see in this passage that even though we do inherit this depravity, its presence does not remove the ability nor the responsibility for making a decision to recognize and worship the one true God.

A key thought in this passage is in the middle of verse 21, "And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like." By definition the one who is created is not able to dictate who or what their creator is. This would be like a child who is able to pick their biological parents. The idea of this scenario would seem crazy to us and yet this is what many people do when it comes to their understanding of God. They pick and choose what they like or dislike about beliefs or statements of God, to create their own concept of who God is. Why would someone want to worship something that they have created in their own mind, unless the deity they have created then allows them to continue to live according to their own rules and conceptions of what life should be like. This is the issue for so many people is that they want to live life by a set of rules that they design rather than recognize that there is a God who created life, set the rules of the universe, and has lovingly revealed himself through Jesus Christ.

So the question for you today is this, are you worshipping a deity that you have defined to clear your conscience, or are you worshipping a Deity that created you and has revealed Himself to you?

This last Sunday our Sunday School class had a discussion about fellowship as a part or the 201 Discovering Spiritual Maturity class. As a part of that discussion I made the point that our fellowship as Christians, as the Body of Christ, should be qualitatively different that the fellowship of the local social or service clubs such as Eagles, Rotary, Elks, etc.

Before I continue I want to make a few things clear; I am not advocating that we pattern the way the church works after a social club, not I am saying that believers cannot be involved in these clubs. In fact I believe that we should be involved with groups outside of the church as a part of missional living.

So what am I saying here. What I am saying is that if our fellowship (relationships, community) is not qualitatively different than that of a social or service club, then we are not really functioning as the Body of Christ. If our relationships are not marked by a willingness to forgive and extend mercy and grace then why would anyone want to be a part of our community? If our faith in Christ does not lead to change in the way in which we interact, then what good is our faith for. If someone wants to go somewhere just to be accepted and make friends then they don't need the church for that.

What are ways in which you have been blessed by Christian Fellowship?

Do you see relationships in the church as deeper and more meaningful?

Are you able to be real with brothers and sisters in Christ?

How do you think Christian fellowship should be different than relationships within the world?

True Faced is a message by John Lynch (Not the football player) of Leadership Catalyst that you should definitely listen to. It is about how we don't need to go around with our masks on pretending that we don't have any issues and that everything is fine. Click here for a place to download the message.

I was reading in Luke 7 this morning and was impressed by the response of the immoral woman to the experience of being forgiven by Jesus. I have to ask myself if I am more like the pharisee or more like the immoral woman. Do I rejoice when someone who has lived in sin receives forgiveness? Do I judge instead of extend forgiveness? Am I happy to see people in my church that don't fit the social norms or "church goers?" Tough questions that we all have to answer for ourselves.

The bottom line is that without forgiveness none of us would have a life worth living. No one has the right to claim access to God without first being forgiven by the shed blood of Jesus. And since I am only made acceptable to God through faith in Jesus and his death and resurrection then I have no right to exclude someone else from experiencing the same forgiveness and justification before the father.

Here is a powerful story about forgiveness that I shared on Sunday.

Another Mother's Son
When my beloved 18-year-old son was murdered in 1996, I thought my life was over. When it finally sunk in that this vivacious child of mine was dead, I felt as if I were having a heart attack from head to toe. I was numb. In order to survive this twisted nightmare, I moved to a different level of consciousness.

During the trial, I wasn't allowed to speak to Robbie's murderer. On the day of the hearing, I got my first glimpse of Shawn. He stared at the floor as they led him into the dimly lit courtroom. Shadows masked his face, distorting his features, giving him a grotesque fiendish appearance. Although it was my decision not to take the stand, I made it clear to the judge that I wanted to speak with this evil perpetrator after his sentencing.

At the conclusion of the arduous proceedings, the judge summoned me to his chambers. Filled with rage and hatred, I followed the bailiff into a small, paneled office. My heart beat faster with each step as I prepared to meet the young man who took my son's life. Shawn stood in the corner, head down, crying like a baby. His hands and feet shackled; this trembling, pitiful 20-year-old wore little more than baggy orange prison garb. As I watched this boy, so forlorn - no parents, no friends and no support - all I saw was another mother's son.

Suddenly I found myself asking, "Can I give you a hug, Shawn?" He looked up, revealing a childlike face stained with tears and nodded his consent. The bailiff motioned me toward the prisoner. I walked over and put my arms around him. "I forgive you for this horrible thing you've done. I will pray for you every day that you're in prison. I would rather my Robbie be where he is than where you're going." Our eyes connected for a few moments, and then the bailiff escorted me from the room.

Shawn received a 20-to-40-year sentence. How do you compare that to the life of my son? No sentence could bring Robbie back. I still wonder what made Shawn commit this crime. He has given me several explanations, but I still don't have an answer. He has been in prison for five years now, and, so far, I'm his only visitor. Shawn's sentencing has given me no satisfaction, but I believe the compassion I felt in the judge's chamber that day was a gift from God.

Because of the abrupt changes in my life, I'm now part of a prison ministry. I know I could not heal the deep, dark places of hatred and revenge, imbedded within my heart and soul, had I not forgiven my son's murderer. Forgiveness has set me free.

Hatred and revenge won't bring back my beloved son, Robbie, but Shawn is someone's son too. The hatred has to stop somewhere. What better place to begin than with me?

About the Authors: Mary G. Lodge is a mother to five children, eleven grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. She is a Stephan Minister in her church and enjoys speaking on the subject of forgiveness. Contact her at LodgeDoor@aol.com . Together, Laura Lagana and Tom Lagana are co-authors of "Serving Time, Serving Others" and "Chicken Soup for the Volunteer's Soul." They travel the country as professional speakers and authors, incorporating motivational and inspirational programs behind prison walls on their journey. Laura is author/editor of "Touched by Angels of Mercy" and Tom Lagana is co-author of "Chicken Soup for the Prisoner's Soul."

Reprinted by permission of Laura Lagana www.LauraLagana.com , Tom Lagana www.TomLagana.com and Mary Lodge, Copyright 2003, from "Serving Time, Serving Others, Acts of Kindness by Inmates, Prison Staff, Victims, and Volunteers." In order to protect the rights of the copyright holder, no portion of this publication may be reproduced without prior written consent. All rights reserved.

In honor of Mother's Day this coming Sunday I thought I would share this little tidbit. This is also a teaser for this Sunday's message on "How Moms Reveal the Image of God." Enjoy.

The Meanest Mother in the World

We had the meanest mother in the whole world! While other kids ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast. When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches. And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was different from other kids had, too.

Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. You'd think we were convicts in a prison. She had to know who our friends were, and what we were doing with them. She insisted that if we said we would be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less.

We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work. We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do. She always insisted on us telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds. Then, life was really tough! Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the horn when they drove up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them. While everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16.

Because of our mother, we missed out on lots of things other kids experienced. None of us have ever been caught shoplifting, vandalizing other's property, or ever arrested for any crime. It was all her fault. We never got drunk, took up smoking, stayed out all night, or a million other things, other kids did. Sundays were reserved for church, and we never missed once. We knew better than to ask to spend the night with a friend on Saturdays.

Now that we have left home, we are all God-fearing, educated, honest adults. We are doing our best to be mean parents just like Mom was. I think that's what is wrong with the world today. It just doesn't have enough mean moms anymore.

Source unknown

Happy Mothers Day

I was reading in Luke 5 this morning about when Jesus called Peter and James and John to be his disciples. I was quite interested in Jesus' response to Peter, after Peter realized that he was in the presence of the Lord.

At the start of this account, Peter, a fisherman didn't fully understand who Jesus was, even though in the previous chapter Jesus had healed his mother-in-law (Luke 4:38-41). On a side note, it could be that Peter wasn't all that thrilled that Jesus healed his mother-in-law, I don't know I am just sayin'. But now in chapter 5 Jesus does something that really gets Peter's attention. He demonstrates his power over the sea as he orchestrates the largest catch of fish that Peter has probably ever witnessed. Is there any surprise that when they are back at the Sea of Galilee after the resurrection that Peter immediately recognizes Jesus to be the stranger who told them to cast their nets on the otherside providing them with a big catch. I do find it curious that Peter appears to be more impacted by the tremendous catch of fish than by Jesus healing his mother-in-law from a bad fever. It just goes to show that catching a fish is far harder than recovering from a bad illness, not that I think that is the point of the story.

Ok, back to the point. When Peter realizes what Jesus has done, he quickly realizes who Jesus is. This presents Peter with a problem because he knows that he is a sinful human who is not fit to be in the presence of a holy God. He is probably envisioning Isaiah 6 in his mind as he realizes that he is face to face with God in the flesh. While Peter's reaction is appropriate (that is his understanding of his own sinfulness), Jesus' next statement to him reveals that Peter's sin will not prevent fellowship with Jesus.

Why does Jesus tell Peter not to be afraid? The reason he tells this to Peter is because it is not Peter's sin that will prevent him from having fellowship with God through Jesus. Now don't get me wrong here and think that I am presenting a concept of universal salvation, because I am not. Peter is fully lost in his sin and is eternally separated from God at the point that he encounters Jesus, but the point of Jesus statement is that he doesn't have to fear because his sin does not disqualify him from being able to receive salvation as a free gift.

This is because it isn't our sin that prevents us from receiving salvation, but rather it is our refusal to place our faith in Jesus that prevents us from receiving the free gift of salvation. Yes God does take sin seriously and there are eternal consequences for our sin, but the glorious message of the Bible is that Jesus has taken the consequences for our sin upon himself and that through faith we can receive the gift of eternal life.

I was reading in Luke 3 this morning and I noticed that three times John the Baptist was asked the question "What should we do?"

These people who were asking the question had come to John to confess sins and be baptized in order to give evidence of their turning to God for salvation. So the question that they asked is not one of what should they do to gain salvation, but rather how should they live in light of putting their faith in God.

The answers that John the Baptist gives them are quite revealing for us as we consider how are we to now live as members of God's family. Here is a basic summary of John's instructions:

Give what you have to those who need it.
Practice honesty and integrity in all you do.
Be content with your material possessions.

If we lived this way every day, how great would be the opportunities for the gospel be?

In Luke chapter two is the account of Mary and Joseph taking Jesus to the temple to dedicate him on the eighth day according to the law of Moses. The priest at the time was named Simeon and the Lord had already revealed to Simeon that he would not die until he saw the Messiah. When Mary and Joseph arrived, Simeon was there having been led by the spirit to go to the temple. Immediately, I would presume with divine prompting, he recognizes Jesus as the son of God, the Messiah the Savior, and he gives the child a prophetic blessing"

Lord, now I can die in peace!
As you promised me,
I have seen the Savior you have given to all people.
He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel.

It is the middle line that contains "given to all people that I want to focus on today. Many evangelical Christians do not realize that there are many theologians and scholars in the church who do not believe that statement to really be true. They deny that Jesus was really sent for all people and that he died and rose again to say everyone.

This thinking was born with the five points of Calvinism and the Synod of Dort (1618-19) that formalized those five points. I am not going to provide here a full treatment of Calvinism nor explain all five of its points. The focus today is on the extent of the Atonement of Jesus. In essence Calvinism teaches that the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross only pays for the sins of the elect (Those that God chose to regenerate and grant the ability to believe to). The logical conclusion of this teaching then is that if you are unelect, Jesus didn't die for you and the penalty for your sins (death see Rom. 6:23) has not been paid.

The problem with this teaching in Calvinism is that it doesn't fit with the Bible. There are numerous verses in Scripture, including the passage above, that point to the fact that Jesus came to die for the entire world, not just for the elect. And if Calvinism is right then the message of the Bible is a cruel joke, because Scripture is very clear that Jesus came to die on the cross for everyone.

Our church preaches a message of Free Grace, meaning saving grace (forgiveness of sins and restoration of relationship with God) is available to all who believe in Jesus Christ for their eternal salvation. You don't have to prove anything or change anything in your life, God's offer of free salvation through faith in Jesus is available to all persons everywhere.

You can have confidence that you will spend eternity in relationship with God in heaven by simply believing in Jesus Christ for you salvation.

If you are uncertain if your pastor or church really believes that anyone can be saved, then ask your elders and pastor? And if they don't believe that anyone can be saved, then ask them why not, because the Bible clearly teaches that anyone can be saved.

Here is a very interesting article about the impact of technology on preaching and how we do church and plant churches. You may or may not agree with everything in the article, but if you care at all about the future of what church will look like the article is well worth reading.

http://www.the-next-wave-ezine.info/issue123/index.cfm?id=46&ref=COVERSTORY

This morning I was reading in Mark 14 and read again Peter's denial of Christ at his trial in the court of the high priest. I was struck with how quickly the denial took place. How easy it was for Peter to deny Christ in the extraordinary circumstances that he was in. I don't think that Peter planned to deny himself as a follower of Jesus that day. I don't think that he even doubted Jesus as Messiah at that point. But I do think that he was overcome with fear that led to his denial. Fear is a powerful emotion. Whether we are fearing for our physical safety our financial security or whatever else it may be, fear can drive us to do and say many things that we really don't want to.

It isn't fear so much that I wanted to speak with you about today, but rather the real possibility that we deny Jesus as much as Peter did. For we American Christians we never may be in a situation where our lives are on the line for our faith and that death awaits us if we refuse to deny Christ. But there are many more subtle and destructive ways in which we deny our faith in Christ by how we live. To me these denials are more destructive because of the deceptiveness of them. I think that most of us, if we are honest, will see the reality of our denials of Jesus in the following statements.

-I deny Jesus when I choose to live life according to my rules.
-I deny Jesus when I choose to speak harshly to my wife or children.
-I deny Jesus when I refuse to forgive someone who has wronged me.
-I deny Jesus when I give out of mere obligation instead of joy and generosity.
-I deny Jesus when I don't trust him to provide me with all of my needs.

The list of ways in which we deny Jesus could go on and on. Anytime we don't trust God's plan and provision for our lives we are essentially denying the life that Jesus died for us to have. We are telling God, thanks but no thanks, I don't need your help, and I can figure this life out on my own.

So what are the ways in which you deny Jesus with your actions?

Well I am back from a nice family visit over Spring Break. While it is always good to see family it is so nice to be home again. This was our first extended time away from the Peninsula since we moved here and it always helps make a new community feel like home when you leave and come back again.

Since I am still technically "on vacation" I am only going to share with you a quote on preaching from the blog Fresh Air of Grace by a good friend of mine. Click here to go directly to the post.

I was reading in Mark 10 this morning and I came across the story of Jesus healing the blind man Bartimaeus. Jesus' words in verse 52 caused me to think about the interaction of faith and works. In his response to Bartimaeus request to have his vision restored, Jesus says to him, "Your faith has healed you." I have read the passage a few times and no where in the passage do I see that Bartimaeus gives a confession of faith and a rehearsed three part testimony about how his faith in God has changed his life.

All Bartimaeus does is identify who Jesus is with his words and his request. He refers to Jesus as the Son of David, a clear Messianic title from the Hebrew Scriptures. Furthermore his request to be healed by Jesus is based on his faith that Jesus as Messiah is able to heal him. He doesn't have to say the right words or pray a certain prayer to show his faith. His actions in boldly approaching the one who had the power to "save" him from his blindness full demonstrated his faith in who Jesus is. Not only did Bartimaeus boldly approach Jesus, he "threw aside his coat" (v. 50) as he was jumping up to come to Jesus. This was no insignificant act as we will see in a minute.

Earlier in the chapter, Jesus interacted with a rich young man who was seemingly coming to faith in Jesus. Jesus didn't question this man's faith, but merely asked him to give up everything else that he was trusting in to save himself, which for this man was his money and possessions. Unfortunately, for him, his faith in Jesus was not sufficient to trust in Jesus as the only means of salvation and he chose to hold onto his possessions as a "back up" plan of sorts.

Now back to Bartimaeus and the casting aside of the coat. When Bartimaeus was told that he could approach the Messiah, he cast aside his coat in preparation for the meeting. It is quite likely that Bartimaeus' only worldly possession was that coat. The coat is what would keep him protected from the cool nights. It was the only other thing he had in this life and yet he forsake it for the opportunity to come to Jesus. This is the faith that God recognizes and honors. It isn't faith that is mere words, but it is faith that demonstrates that one believes that Jesus is the only one who can save me.

So what are you trusting in to save you? Are you willing to give up anything to follow the one with the power to save you?

"I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was." - Muhammad Ali

"I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest." - Muhammad Ali

"It's hard to be humble, when you're as great as I am." - Muhammad Ali

Have you ever wondered why people are constantly concerned with who the greatest is? As I thought about the disciples discussion about which one of the them was the greatest, I couldn't help but think about the outlandish quotes from Muhammand Ali about his greatness.

It really does say something thing about human nature that we are constantly concerned with who the greatest is. In our conversations we are always debating who the greatest athlete, or politician, or actor is. We compare and evaluate peoples lives based on their accomplishments and accolades.

I think this is one of the greatest, pardon the pun, teachings that we have from Jesus about how God really views our lives. Life isn't about who the greatest human being is, because from God's perspective we are all but dust. We cannot impress God with how great and powerful and successful we are, because in reality all that we have comes from Him, and we only live because of the common grace that is extended to all of humanity.

I think that oftentimes our conversations and statements about success and significance deeply grieve our heavenly father.

What would your life look like if you actually believed Jesus words that "Anyone who wants to be the first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else." (Mark 9:35)?

How would you treat people differently? How would you speak to your spouse when you get home from work? How would you treat your secretary, your bus driver, your coffee barista?

If you cannot remember the last time that you served someone else without gaining anything from it (no publicity, no recognition) then I think you might want to reevaluate how you are living your life. I am now going to go home and eat my words and make my family some lunch.

I was reading in Mark 6 and I was struck by something very curious. I had noticed this before, but for some reason today it took me somewhat by surprise. Jesus when he was in Nazareth was unable to do "any might miracles" because "of their unbelief." (Mark 6:5) At first glance this may seem to fly in the face of the doctrine of the omnipotence of God. However I don't think that it is actually the case. And in case your wondering I am not going to argue from the standpoint that because Jesus is the GodMan that his attribute of omnipotence is somehow limited or changed. That would be an entirely different discussion which I am not going to get into today. Someday, but today is not the day.

What this curious passage does communicate to us is that there is a connection between our faith and the power of God. In order to understand how Jesus can fully possess the divine attribute of omnipotence and yet be limited by the faith of the people that he is ministering to, we have to return to a biblical understanding of what omnipotence means. Biblically, omnipotence means that God has the power to do all that He wills to do. This is an important distinction from a simple understanding of omnipotence as just all-powerful. Now, how can we apply this to the situation of Jesus in Nazareth. Well, if you read the New Testament carefully you will discover that God does not work in isolation of the faith of people. Basically what I saying here is that God will, in many circumstances, freely choose to limit what He is doing based on people's faith.

This means that sometimes whether God's work gets accomplished or not isn't dependent upon God's desires or ability, but rather it is dependent upon the faith of his people. Why would God do this? Because God, in his wisdom and grace, has freely chosen to partner with us His people, in working out His plan of salvation and restoration in this world.

This is a picture of the remains of the church that was built to commemorate Jesus' healing of the demoniac in Mark 5.

I was reading in Mark 5 today and observed some interesting things from this passage that I thought I might share with you.

I found it very interesting that Jesus even entertained a conversation with the "legion" of demons that were possessing this particular man. I am not quite certain what we are to make of this. It isn't as if Jesus has to grant their request to enter into the swine. We could make the argument that He was attempting to demonstrate the value of a human life over animals. While, that is indeed true and consistent with the overall teaching of Scripture, I don't think that it is necessarily the point of the passage. One thing that this interaction does demonstrate is Jesus authority over the demonic forces. They have to receive his permission to be able to enter into the swine. This doesn't mean that God is always directly granting permission to demonic forces, but it does mean that He possesses authority over these forces, and when He chooses to exercise that authority, they have no choice but to obey. The reality that we face is that for the time being, God doesn't exercise that authority on a constant basis, but the Bible gives us hope because according to Revelation, God will eventually exercise that authority in a final judgment of Satan and his demons.

The next thing that I noticed is Jesus compassion for this man. The community around him had only attempted to lock him up as a way to deal with him. As is evident from the text, this effort was met with failure and frustration. I would imagine that the community would live with his behavior until the acts were offensive enough to bother them to the point where they would try to arrest him. However, no one had attempted to deal with his spiritual condition that was causing the behavior (at least we don't know from the text that no one had attempted to do so). Jesus, knowing the condition of this mans tormented soul, goes about the process of setting him free and extending hope to him. This is the difference between compassion and justice. Certainly the community was within its right to try to exercise justice towards this man for things he had done wrong, but what he needed was compassion and for someone to deal with his spiritual condition.

This is how we need to interact with the world around us. All to often the church of Jesus Christ is so concerned with justice and protecting our own rights, that we neglect the need for compassion. We have to realize that people are not the real enemy, but rather that our "struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens." (Eph 6:12 NET)

Another interesting thing to note is that the text mentions that after the demons left the man and the people from the nearby town come out to see Jesus, they find the man "fully clothed and perfectly sane." (Mark 5:15 NLB) Why does the text mention that the man was fully clothed, probably because he was naked when he was demon possessed. So the question becomes, where did the clothes come from. I think the most logical answer would be from Jesus and his followers. Since they were constantly travelling around, they would have carried additional garments to change into when necessary. They more than likely gave the man some clothes as an act of compassion and generosity. This reminds us of the need to not only meet a man's spiritual needs, but also his physical needs.

I was replying to some emails today and as I often do I was signing off with by typing "blessings" as a salutation. I got to thinking about that salutation and I think that I have it all backwards especially when I am writing to someone who already is enjoying the fullness of blessing through a relationship with Jesus.

I think as oppossed to offering a blessing to people who are already blessed beyond measure, I should remind and challenge them to be a blessing to others around them. People at their school or workplace that need encouragement and need to know that there is a God who loves them unconditionally.

So please excuse me if I generically type "blessings" on any email that you receive from me, and re-read that word as a challenge to bless others with the blessings that you have received already. To all of you out there who do not know the blessings or a relationship with Jesus Christ, then I do pray that you may know those blessings, because it has radically changed my life.

Just a random thought that I wanted to share with you today.

Blessings(That is be a blessing to others)

David

I have been thinking lately about what a modern day Pharisee looks like. Often times we chalk it up to simple legalism but I think that there are more subtle ways that we Christians today can act just like the Pharisees that Jesus condemned. More on that in the future. But for today I wanted to direct you to this post at theblazingcenter.com. I thought it convicting and thought provoking so please take the time to absorb what Stephen and Justin have to say on being a member of the Pharisees Anonymous club.

This Friday there will be an interesting Nightline debate that will take place at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. The debate will pit Deepak Chopra and Bishop Carlton Pearson who will argue that Satan does not in fact exist and Mars Hill Pastor Mark Driscoll and and Annie Lobert, founder of “Hookers for Jesus” will argue he does and that he’s impacted their lives. While the debate takes place this Friday the episode of Nightline will not air until Thursday March 26th at 11:35 pm.

I think that this will be quite a fascinating debate. Here are a few thoughts about the reality of Satan.

1.) If we take God's word, the Bible, as inerrant and divinely insprired then we have to believe in the existence of Satan because the Bible presents Satan as a real being that is quite powerful.

2.) It makes no sense for someone to believe in Jesus and to worship him as God, Savior, Messiah, Lord, etc. and then to deny the existence of Satan. Jesus readily acknowledged the existence of Satan and his demons.

3.) If we believe in an all-knowing and all-loving God and yet try to contend that Satan does not exist then where do we place the source of evil in this world. Satan as a created being chose to disobey his Creator and continually rebels against God seeking to take down as many other creatures with him as possible. If Satan does not exist then either God is to blame for evil or the purpose of mankind becomes reduced to overcoming some impersonal evil presence inside yourself and becoming one with your divine nature or some bizarre teaching like that.

As much as we dislike talking about Satan or thinking about his role in the world, he does exist, he is powerful, but he will not be victorious in derailing God's plan of salvation and restoration. Our hope in Jesus does not disappoint.

I know that it may sound like a strange question, but I think that it is a valid one for many people. I was reading Matthew 28 this morning and just was struck by how much fear and trepidation there was in the disciples, soldiers, and Jewish religious leaders. I wonder if there is that much fear about Jesus today.

Now I am not talking about old school, Old Testament fear of God that you might first think of, but I am more thinking about fear of who Jesus really is and what that actually means for us. Yes you might say at first that because Jesus loves us so much what do we actually have to be afriad of. But I want you to take a step back and think about what it would actually mean if we lived the way Jesus called us to lived. If we actually allowed the reality of who Jesus is and what he did for us to influence our lives how radically different would life be (That's right I said radically). Many of us professing Christians sing songs about how we are going to live for Jesus and we talk a lot about how we are going to live for Jesus but I think sometimes we don't really follow through on it because we are afraid.

Here are five things I think that people are afraid of when it comes to following Jesus:

1) We are afraid that we won't get to do the things that we think that we really enjoy, things that give us the greatest amount of pleasure becuase we think Jesus is boring and God doesn't want us to have any fun.

2) We are afraid of losing control of our lives because we question whether an all-loving and all-knowing God could really have what is best for us. Honestly, how many of you have made life altering decisions because of what God has called you to do? I hope you have.

3) We are afraid that we wont get the stuff we want, because when it comes right down to it we have bought into the lie that our true value is based on the stuff that we have.

4) We are afraid that we will lose friends or relationships that we value. Ouch! This one is tougher to criticize but again if we have defined our value based on our relationships then we really aren't in those relationships for the right reason. You are actually using those people because of how you feel about yourself because they are your friend/lover. To truly love and be loved we have to first give up our rights and enter into to relationship to recieve nothing back, and to give everything that we have.

5) We are afraid that people will think that we are just down right wierd. I know some people who are convinced that you have to talk, walk, dress, and eat differently in order to have it in with God. Whatever. Jesus said it isn't about what you eat/drink, wear, or do that makes you right with God, it is about putting your faith/trust in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who died for your sins.

The Bible tells us that perfect love casts out fear. You have to be willing to receive God's love (you are loveable, God says so) and then you will realize that you really do have nothing to fear when you embrace the life that God has for you.

Blessings,

David

As I was reading Matthew 27 today for some reason i got to thinking about the leadership of Jesus. Leadership is such a hot topic in the church today and I think that it may be overblown how much of a difference leadership makes. Yes pastors and elders are leaders of people but that doesn't mean that the key to pastoral ministry is effective leadership? What is pastoral leadership supposed to look like anyway?

I know that I don't have all of the answers, which is a good thing because if I had all the answers at age 31 then the rest of life would get rather boring. But having spent the last couple of weeks reading in Matthew and now thinking about the leadership of Jesus, I am thinking that you first have to learn how to follow before you can learn how to lead.

Think about it. The single greatest thing that Jesus did was that he perfectly followed the Father. His leadership flowed out of his relationship with the father. If there is anything that I can take away from Jesus teaching on how to live life, is that what actually works, the way God actually wants us to live is probably the opposite of what the world is telling you and what someone is trying to sell you.

This is why I think that the first lesson in leadership is this: You must first learn to follow before you can learn to lead.

Thanks to Don Miller for sharing this video on twitter. Hope you all enjoy this.

Today I spent my lunch at the local High School here on the Long Beach Peninsula. For those of you who haven't heard we unfortunately had a student commit suicide earlier this week. He was well liked and active in the student body so there are many who are struggling to deal with this news.

For me (not that it is all about me, but hey it is my blog) it was a strange experience on Monday and then today again stepping foot onto that campus hardly knowing a soul. Today was awkward at moments and I heard a few whispers behind my back after having talked to some students but hey little ventured, little gained. It just always amazes me at the teen subculture that goes on in the schools. I know that I went through that but it was just so long ago that witnessing it now is like studying a new culture as an anthropologist.

Anyway, just thought I might share a little from my experience of going back to school today and to ask all of you who read this blog to be in prayer for the family and for our community. The memorial service is on Sunday and there is a suicide prevention assembly at the high school the following day that I will take part in as well. God is good and the silver lining is that there are many ministry opportunities opening up out of the this tragedy.

After that slightly depressing post yesterday about the sad state of marriage in America, I had to post this moving devotional from Dennis and Barbara Rainey of Family Life Together. You can subscribe to these devotionals at crosswalk.com. You can also learn more about Dennis and Barbara's ministry at www.familylife.com.

Accepting Your Mate Unconditionally
1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear.


Why is unconditional acceptance so important? Because if you accept only in part, you can love only in part. And if you love in part, your mate's self-esteem will never be complete.
Remember, "Perfect love casts out fear." A powerful picture of how love casts out fear is found in the book Welcome Home, Davey. While serving aboard a gunboat in Vietnam, Dave Roever was holding a phosphorus grenade some six inches from his face when a sniper's bullet ignited the explosive. Here he describes the first time he saw his face after the explosion:

When I looked in that mirror, I saw a monster, not a human being... My soul seemed to shrivel up and collapse in on itself, to be sucked into a black hole of despair. I was left with an indescribable and terrifying emptiness. I was alone in the way the souls in hell must feel alone.

Finally he came back to the States to meet with his young bride, Brenda. Just before she arrived, he watched a wife tell another burn victim that she wanted a divorce. Then Brenda walked in.

Showing not the slightest tremor of horror or shock, she bent down and kissed me on what was left of my face. Then she looked me in my good eye, smiled, and said, "Welcome home, Davey! I love you." To understand what that meant to me you have to know that's what she called me when we were most intimate; she would whisper "Davey," over and over in my ear.... By using her term of endearment for me, she said, You are my husband. You will always be my husband. You are still my man.

That's what marriage is all about. Marriage is another person being committed enough to you to accept the real you. It means two people working together to heal their deepest wounds.

Check out this post on TonyMorganLive.com. It is sad statement about marriage in America, but much of it is true for many of the marriages. Hopefully we can reclaim commitment and genuine love in marriages.

http://tonymorganlive.com/2009/02/09/the-way-weddings-would-be-if-people-were-honest/

I absolutely loved this video. You will bust up laughing. It also turns out that I know the lady in the video. Dona Johnson the secretary at my last church admitted that it was her putting the remote in the microwave.

This morning I was reading Proverbs 28 and I was struck with the number of verses that had a reference to a national leader or ruler. I could help but think of the recent inauguration of President Barak Obama. Now I know that it may sound presumptuous for me to offer the president advice, but the advice is not really mine, it is God's. There are six proverbial truths in this chapter (probably more but six I will mention) that would help any leader succeed and be a blessing to those he leaders.

1) Avoid Immorality (28:2a) - Many presidents (and other leaders for that matter) who have gone before Obama could tell him the headaches of getting involved in immorality. Loss of respect and loss of effectiveness to influence other leaders come with this problem as well.

2) Exercise wisdom (28:2b) - I know this one really goes without saying anything except duh! But how many times have we seen foolish decisions from leaders because they are trying to appease someone else instead of focusing on the right thing to do.

3) Pursue godliness (28:12) - I don't know if Barack Obama is a Christian (one who has placed faith in Jesus for salvation). Whatever label he uses to identify himself with does not dictate the spiritual reality. Only God knows the heart of a man. However to pursue godliness from this point forward will drastically change his life for the better (as it would any individual).

4) Practice fairness & justice (28:15, 28a) - Yes this is something that God cares about, especially from leaders of nations. It is something that everyone should care about too. Remember God's love extends to everyone so we should care about what happens to everyone.

5) Honor other people (28:16a) - Whether you like them or not, you need to honor and give credit to other people whenever they deserve it. Show appreciation and gratitude of those you are leading. There is nothing more disheartening to have a leader that doesn't recognize your hard work and effective results.

6) Maintain integrity (28:16b) - This is different from the first point. It may be the most difficult item on this list as a politician and leader. That is not to excuse it away or minimize its importance. A high level of integrity is intregal to a leaders ability to lead and influence other people. Just as the mayor of Portland, OR.

"Don't praise yourself; let others do it!" - Proverbs 27:2 NLT

"Fire test the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised." - Proverbs 27:21 NLT

This morning as I read Proverbs 27 I was struck by these two verses on opposite ends of the chapter. It got me thinking about how we are to rightly handle praise when it is offered. The first verse really sets the background for this discussion. I think we all know people or at least have heard people who do not practice this verse. They praise themselves up and down until the people around them are sick of it. I was watching a couple of reality TV shows with my wife last night that had some of those type of people on it. It just makes me sick when I hear them talk. If you or something that you have done is truly praiseworthy then other people will take note of that and will give you the praise that you deserve. However if you are praising yourself already, it doesn't matter who great you are or what you have done, other people will not heap praise on you in addition to what you have already said. This is why you should leave room for other people to do the praising.

So this leads itself to the second verse regarding praising. How is it that a person is tested by being praised. I think the testing is how we respond to the praise. Your response to other people's praise is a direct reflection of your humility, pride, self-confidence, and your understanding of your position in Christ.

True humility is evident when you are being praised. Humility responds to praise with honesty, integrity, and gratitude. A humble response is appreciative of the praise but does not gloat in it. A humble response also gives credit to others when it is appropriate. This is where the integrity comes in. If you used someone's idea or someone else helped you get the project done that you are getting praised for you had better give them some credit. The honest part of a humble response is recognizing that you did do a good job and it is appropriate for them to praise you. If the praise is getting out of hand or they are praising you for something you did not do then that is different. But don't show false humility by rejecting appropriate praise and discouraging the person who is trying to encourage you.

Pride and arrogance can become evident through the testing of praise. This problem sometimes can become such an issue some people will error on the side of caution and not praise others for fear that they will become arrogant. How can you avoid becoming proud because of the praise of others. Much of what was said before will come into play here. Giving others credit when credit is do is a big one, especially credit to God. Remembering that for everytime you did something right there are probably three other times that you actually blew it and had to ask for forgiveness and lean on grace. Basically I am talking about perspective. We have to keep our successes and failures in perspective.

Your self-confidence is evident in how you handle praise. If you are uncomfortable with the praise then you are probably lacking in some confidence. Know that you can accomplish great and significant things and anticipate that people can and will praise you at some point. To bolster your confidence remember these times because if you blow the next time you can be guarnateed that you will wish that the person would be praising you.

Your understanding of your place in Christ is also revealed when you are praised. Paul declared that he can do all things through Christ and that apart from Him he was nothing. Not just that, but also that Paul had died and it was in reality that Christ was living through him. This is so key to passing the test of praise. Remember that when you do something significant for the Kingdom of God the praise you are receiving is actually praise and thanksgiving to God. The success and significance of what you have done is only present because God chose to work through you and the praise that they are giving is in reality praise to God for using you.

Just some thoughts this morning on handling praise. I hope you will be able to navigate the testing of praise.

My seven year old son is beginning to understand the larger world around him. The other night he asked if God was the president of the World? This was a very curious question and not one that was easily explained to someone with a second grade education.

He knows and firmly believes that God is in charge of the world and created everything we see. Every time he prays he thanks God for the whole world and for anything else that comes to mind. He has been learning in school about the inauguration of President Obama and about the role of the President of the United States. So to him it makes perfect sense that God would be President of the world because he knows that the highest position in our country is president. However as I tried to explain to him God is far greater than merely the president of the world. First I told him that God was more like a king than a president because nobody had to vote for Him for Him to be in charge. I think he understood, but for my son as for many Americans it is difficult to undertand what it is like to live under a king. However even that description of God falls short because kings can come and go and can be desposed of their power.

I got to thinking about this conversation when I read Proverbs 21:1 this morning. "The king's heart is like a stream of water directed by the LORD; he turns it wherever he pleases." (NLT) This proverbial truth helps us to keep in perspective that God is the one who is in sovereign control of the world regardless of who the leaders of the various nations are. This is not a debatable issue and whether you agree with it or not, it is still true.

This truth isn't always easy to work out in to the practicality of every day life because some national leaders are corrupt and oppress their people taking advantage of their power for their own personal gain. I think what will help us to reconcile that reality with the greater reality of God's sovereignty is to keep in mind that neither God's sovereignty nor his exhaustive foreknowledge of man's actions ever negate the responsibility of humans as free agents. So while God can and does direct the course of human events, He will always do this in accordance to the free decisions of humans.

This is why today is no different for me than last Thursday when Bush was still President. I struggle with understanding why so many of my fellow evangelicals get bent out of shape that we have a democratic president now. I think they lost sight of the fact that God is still the one in control regardless of who we vote in and acknowledge as our nation's leader.

Just some of my thoughts on the reaction to Obama's Inauguration. Love to hear your comments.

Christianity Today just posted a transcript of Rick Warren's invocation from today's inaugural address. You can read the transcript here .

For those of you who didn't watch the inauguration this morning it was a truly great prayer. One of sincerity and truth. I loved how Pastor Rick weaved in his personal testimony at the end. Not that he needed to add more about how Jesus changed his life, but the fact that he mentioned that Jesus changed his life and prayed in the name of Jesus means all the world to me.

"Wine produces mockers; liquor leads to brawls. Whoever is led astray by drink cannot be wise." - Proverbs 20:1

As I was reading Proverbs 20:1 this morning I got to thinking about the reasons why I don't include drinking wine (or any alcohol for that matter) with ministry or my personal life. The reasons are numerous why I choose not to drink, but here are the three main reasons that influence my thinking:

1) When I was younger my Dad shared with me a story about a time that he found his twin brother passed out in his bed, lying in his own vomit. My Dad told me how that sight influenced his own decisions about drinking and it greatly influenced my decisions as well. The idea of doing something that could lead to lying in my own vomit was repulsive to me.

2) I don't know if any of you have noticed but alcohol can be quite expensive. For me it would be exercising poor stewardship to ask my family to sacrifice so I can buy my alcohol.

3) Personally, I feel that underage drinking is a serious issue in America. I feel a need to model restraint on drinking alcohol to not only my own children, but also to the teens and children that I minister to.

Now, please notice that I am not saying that consuming alcohol is sinful, for scripture never says that. I am not attempting to be legalistic here, I am only sharing my personal convictions. Yes, I have tasted a few different alcoholic drinks in my time. Never have been drunk or "buzzed" though, which scriputre is clear that it is sinful to be controlled (i.e. impaired) by a foreign substance.

So for what it is worth, when I read Probers 20:1 it makes perfect sense to me and I ask myself what godly benefit ever comes from drinking alcohol.

For those of you out there who have given up on whether or not one person can make a difference in this world you need to check out this article posted on Food 4 the Hungry's website: http://www.fh.org/apblog/rss/a-child-sponsors-a-child

Way to go Emme, you totally rock!

This morning I am re-reading the story of Ruth in the Old Testament to prepare for my sermon this Sunday. I absolutely love this story.

As I read it again this morning I am struck again by the lavish grace that Boaz pours out on Ruth and Naomi. Boaz goes way beyond any requirements of the law for providing for the widows. He goes beyond the requirements of the kinsman redeemer in that he actively seeks out the one with the right of redemption.

Boaz' interaction with Ruth and Naomi is a wonderful illustration of how our heavenly father interacts with us. Boaz initiated the relationship, he extended grace through his provision and generosity, and he secured their redemption through a sacrifice.

What a beautiful picture of the great salvation that we have in Jesus Christ.

Well after many weeks of preparation and a move that spanned three days we are here and are now settling in to our new home. It is slowly starting to feel like home instead of just a nice vacation. Of course I've never met someone who went on vacation with all of their furniture.

The move went amazingly well. A big thank you to all of you who helped us load the truck in Burns and unload the truck in Ocean Park. The help in Burns allowed us to get on the road on Tuesday (sorry if you missed seeing us one last time since we left early) and stay the night in Bend Tuesday night. That made a huge difference because the pass was clear when we went over on Wednesday morning, but was white-out conditions within 2-3 hours after we made it over. The rain and flooding on Thursday didn't mess us up either and the rain stopped long enough for us to unload the uhaul. Wow, God has really been watching out for us.

Payton has his first day of school today. I dropped him off and had a chance to meet his teacher. He is in a 2nd & 3rd grade combined class. I hope he will be able to adjust to being around older kids in his class. The school is very nice. It is only three years old.

Today is Sydney's birthday so Kristi is working on making a cake for her, and we will be going out for dinner tonight.

Thank you everyone for your prayers for us during this time.

Blessings,

David