2009 "Teen Domination"--amazing pic

If you need a photographer for a coming event, I have several friends who are amazing. My friend Dan took some fantastic pictures at a recent youth activity. I'll only post one . . .

Everything's going to be okay

So, if you read this blog you know already: I am the eternal optimist. When it rains the flowers and plants grow (and I love food), when someone hurts me (generally!), it's just an opportunity to forgive and reflect upon how much I have been forgiven, when things don't go according to my plans, it's another reminder that God is in control and I am not. Sometimes it takes me awhile to get to these conclusions, but I usually crawl there eventually.

We have just completed another holiday that cause us to look back (they all cause us to look back!) with a somber heart. The more we remember, the greater our appreciation is for today. But the by-product of looking back to consider yesterday's effect upon today is generally pessimism about tomorrow. Our days can become full of talk of how great things used to be and how bad they are becoming. Consider the way that this president's (or the previous one, or the one before that) policies are messing things up. While I concur that decisions have impact and there are right and wrong ways to think and live, I officially reject the idea that our best days are behind us. Maybe as a country they are, maybe they are not.

But as believers, even if pain and trouble lurk in the future, I will never sulk and simmer about the absence of the what I think were the "good ol' days."

In these new days our personal freedoms may diminish, our taxes may skyrocket, our stuff could be taken, churches may go out of "business," and Christians may be imprisoned. So what?

If we believe that our chief calling and value is Christ and His gospel, then poverty and imprisonment will heighten it's glory (fame) and "our" message. The new days may be personally painful (maybe not), but they may better announce the gospel and prune the church. No matter how dark the situations we face feel, ultimately we can never depart from our understanding about who is manning the dimmer switch that decreases our perception of the light.

I write this blog entry in-between funerals and just days prior to a funeral for a close relative who took his own life in misery. If you read the posts below you see lots of pain in my world--and I know you live with the same pain. Hatred, brokenness, divorce, pain, and death? It's all part of the story.

In the title of this entry, I said everything is going to be "okay." Let me define this as I close. Okay= "God is using pain and trouble in this world to accomplish His appointed plans;" and "All history is marching toward God's intended end." I do NOT mean to say that everything for North American Christians will be comfortable. They won't--especially if God intends to do a great movement of marching against the gates of hell using us.

God used David and Solomon and Lydia (rich and influential people), but they did not accomplish God's purposes without lots of trouble. God also used Abel (in death), Joseph (in slavery and broken family conditions and famine), Joshua (through war), Samson (in death), Jonathan (by taking away what was lawfully his), Daniel (in kidnapping), Josiah (his parents died way early), Jeremiah ("weeping" prophet as Israel was "exiled"), Jonah (did he EVER believe???), Hosea (married a prostitute on purpose!), John the Baptist (lost his head), Saul/Paul (God would actually have to SHOW him how much he would have to suffer for His name's sake), Timothy (what was up with his dad??), and many others who were used in the midst of their broken lives and while they had to give up all conception of what their worlds deemed "normal."

I certainly don't pretend to say I know how things are going to turn out--for our comfort or pain. I do know that everything is going to be okay. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Oh death, where is thy sting?

This week is painful and sweet. Memorial Day is here and it represents everything to many and nothing to some. What is it for you?

A couple of years ago Memorial Day took on new meaning for me because I buried a student who had come through our church and gone off to serve his country in the Navy. He lost his life during active service, but in a tragic and completely horrifying way. While serving in a place that is in the heart of true peace, he was murdered by a fellow soldier--a co-worker, in fact that he knew pretty well. Since "Memorial Day" is about soldiers who have lost their lives in the service and defense of this country, my friend's death hit hard that Memorial Day.

Last year on Memorial Day weekend my wife and I were ministering to friends who had lost their precious baby. They had known for some time that their beautiful son was not alive, but he wasn't born until near Memorial Day. This is now the one year anniversary of his going home. Most days, it still does not make sense. Some days it still feels like he is still here somehow. And as I wrote the first sentence in this paragraph I have been reminded that it is often our friends--this precious boy's parents--who are ministering to Nikki and me, not us ministering to them.

So these two deaths are both hard to understand, out of "order" and troubling in my spirit. I know you could tell me stories just like these and we could wonder and reason together about why these things happen.

But then we come to Memorial Day. Not Iwo Jima, D-Day or Normandy. The ultimate expression of a soldier giving his life so that others could be free has nothing to do with armies or America. Don't get me wrong, I stand in awe and thanks of soldiers who have given their life so I can type my thoughts and put them online (and live freely and drink clean water and, well I could go on forever . . .). I LOVE Memorial Day. But truth be known, one day America will look nothing like it does today. Freedoms will be different--maybe gone altogether. This country could stand as she is for another 800 years (like the Roman Empire) or be unrecognizable in 8 years. So celebrating that Memorial Day which makes us proud to be Americans is good and right--but temporary, at best. It's just for us who live here now.

But there is an eternal and perfect symbol for freedom you will never lose.

It's the cross, right? The eternal and perfect memorial which symbolizes a once-for-all sacrifice to actually pay for the sins of every person who trusts Christ alone for forgiveness. This is not a dying or fleeting or temporary freedom that allows me to live how I want. It's a permanent and eternal freedom that compels me to live--forgiven--in the way that God wants. We cannot use this freedom as a license to sin, but must allow it to be a motive to hate sin.

This Memorial Day, I encourage you to make veterans prominent in your hearts and thinking, but to make Christ pre-eminent. Death came for Jared and Owen when we least expected it. Physical death will come for me, too. I honor people who bring freedom for a little while on this earth, but I RUN to the one who delivers my soul forever from the prison of hell.

If you live as a free person for 80 years and then find that Memorial Day was insufficient for the freedom of your soul you will be a miserable and wretched soul forever. My greatest desire as that we each find permanent freedom and a true eternal escape from death itself. That has happened in Christ.

Happy Memorial Day!

I LOVE church

You hear it all the time, don't you? "I love God, but I hate church." Can I tell you quickly before you stop reading that that statement is self-righteous and hypocritical. It's ironic to me that people who hate church usually hate church because of the self-righteousness and hypocrisy they see "at church" when they are participating in their own objection by making the judgment.

I LOVE church. I love people who have a strong preference for music because they always have an amazing story of how God worked in this world (usually about the time that their favorite music was popular). I love mistakes during the service because it reminds us that God will be satisfied with no pre-packaged, rote presentation. I love when the projected words are on the wrong screen because it gives a chance to improvise. I love when an older woman's wig moves on her head during a service because it reminds me how much she cares about what she looks like today and how much I don't. I love when the person in front says "greet someone around you" and I get to shake the hand of someone I never met, and I love it more when I shake the hand of someone who knows I'm a jerk (and maybe has even "judged me") but now we worked out and he still loves me. I also love it when I see the person across the room whom I have hurt shaking someone else's hand--it reminds me that I have work to do. I love conversations in the hallway with the neediest person (again)--the one whose been living all week off the stuff we talked about last week. I love when kids cry out during the service because children are a blessing from the Lord. I (usually) love it when some of my plans are interrupted with a surprise--an urgent need--because when I look back at things later, it is so often the hand of God which seems to be interrupting. I love brokenness because it so often leads to healing. I love open and far-reaching confession because faith and repentance are required for salvation. I love the bad coffee that churches are famous for because it reminds me that church should stick to Scripture (and community) and let Starbucks make the coffee. I love the huger pangs I get during the third point because it reminds me that man shall not live on bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the Word of God. I love (most) confrontations because it gives me (or the person being confronted; or both of us) opportunity to change and grow. I love giving grace to others because I love receiving it from them. I love singing that one praise song 3 weeks in a row because then I know the heart of the song leader better (that's his favorite right now). I love how diverse and unique all the people of the church are because it provides ministries to all sorts of different people. I love Saturdays because I can't wait for Sundays. I love walking with friends through their dark valleys (this is one of the greatest privileges about leading in a church); I love when friends walk my dark valleys with me. I love the Word of God because it does not change.

So, ya. In a week of unbelievably heavy circumstances and troubles (in the church!!), "I love the church!" And I am so glad that Christ loves her more.

If you have been hurt in a church, welcome to the club. I wonder if we would each ask the better question, "Who have I hurt through or at church." Since you are a priest in Christ, and therefore a "church leader," I implore you to ask that question before you miss another week of fellowship. If you are "in Christ" then you are the church. We are all hypocrites who have been forgiven and are being changed into the image of Christ. One cannot "love God" but "hate" his bride.

I LOVE church!!

Will God really judge/condemn people?

As a sort of "flip-side" to the post below, and as a sort of exercise in final prep for tomorrow's sermon, I put pen to paper (fingers to keyboard) today to crystallize a few thoughts.

I have a few friends who really want universalism to be true--you know, the idea that "in the end, everyone will be saved because God is, after all, loving." One or two of my friends even go so far as to say that even if this idea is NOT true, that all Christians should at least want it to be true. Now I haven't done tons of thinking about what I should "wish" to be true, but it seems to me that any and every wish or effort of my will that I have should line up with God's Word.

I would not want to wish for things that seem to violate Scripture. Doesn't that seem backwards? Like wishing that I could be godly without effort or that my troubles would all go away or that my elderly Grandma would never ever die??? Sure, it seems nice, but why even go there when I know what is real and true? In some ways it's a waste of time. God told me His will and mind on these subjects, and even though I don't necessarily fully understand things, I'm not going to waste lots of effort wishing them different.

So will your unsaved friend actually be judged to spend eternity in hell paying for his or her own sin? Yes. In fact, I answer this question in human terms, as if it "will happen." Actually, John 3:17 says the world who has not believed in Christ alone is "condemned ALREADY." The passage I've been reading this week says that the ungodly are now being "kept" (2 Peter 2:9) until the day of judgment. So the theological response to the title of this entry is that God has already judged and guaranteed the eternal punishment of the ungodly--the unrighteous.

No one takes delight in the judgment of those who die in their sin. It's a horrible reality. I hate even writing the words down. But they are true--a fact. Peter tells us that there are several reasons we should embrace the idea that sinners who die in their sin will actually be judged in hell forever:

• God has done this many times before. Look at "the ancient world" (Noah), and "Sodom and Gomorrah" (Lot), for instance. God "did not spare" them. Life is in His hands to do with what He pleases, and He owes no man an explanation. Judgment against sin is a comfort to sinners that God is truly just. That's why the cross is so beautiful and amazing. Nowhere does God's Word send out the idea to anyone that the cross accomplished the salvation of every person--even those who reject Christ and remain in their sin. 2 Peter 2 says that in the day of judgment, the ungodly will be eternally judged. The New Testament is replete with examples of this doctrine.
  
• The redeemed should take delight in our faithful God. In no way am I happy to see unbelievers judged. I am happy, however, to find God faithful in keeping His word, over and over again. Did He spare disobedient angels? No. The ancient world? No Sodom and Gomorrah? No and no. And His consistent judgment against sin should be a motivator for the redeemed to remember that God is serious about judging sin, trustworthy to always do everything He says He will and holy.
  
• Our hearts should be breaking for them! But not (as my friends above think) with some sort of sappy "if-only" mindset. Instead, my very soul should be (as Lot's was) troubled within me because of the filthy lives they live. This passion for God to be glorified must motivate me to lovingly speak up so they have the opportunity to hear the truth: they are not okay apart from Christ. They need the Savior!
  

May God embolden us BECAUSE His judgments are true and good, and may we never wish away reality with sappy sentiment. This whole world will give account to God. With a trembling soul, I take great delight in knowing that God will judge, how He will judge, and what "hope" is really all about.

My friend, come out from under the judgment of God right now by believing God and trusting Him exclusively! His forgiveness is not universal, but by His kindness, it is available through Jesus Christ, His son!!

God knows how to rescue the godly

Okay, so I admit that you are now helping me out as I think through a text that I'll be speaking on in two weeks, 2 Peter 2:4-10. If you don't have an open Bible in front of you, here's the text:

^"4For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; ⁵if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; ⁶if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; ⁷and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men ⁸(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— ⁹if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. ¹⁰This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority."

This is not the kind of text that I would usually pick to speak from on a Sunday morning. It's kind of gloomy and troublesome. But I started 2 Peter a while ago and feel a strong sense that I should finish it. So this passage is next up in the progression.

You can read the text over and over again--I don't need to say much about it here. But here's my one point for today and the reason I write:

"God knows how to rescue the righteous from trials."

This is written, of course, about Lot. We're told a lot (no pun intended) more about Lot's righteousness here than in some other passages. The story of Abraham and Lot leaves us with the idea that Lot was selfish, somewhat unwise and a guy who made compromising his integrity a steady, slow fade. Based on that reading alone we might lump Lot into the OTHER category this passage addresses. (God also knows how to "hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment.")

Here's the story of God rescuing Lot:

While Lot's friends all turned on him, he offered his own daughters up to be raped and abused, his house was crushed and destroyed (along with his town), his friends were killed and his wife loved that scene more than God and was herself killed, turned into a pillar of salt (that is one weird consequence), yet Peter tells us here that all these things were the action of God to "RESCUE" him through his trials. (I told you this is not necessarily a "feel good" blog entry.)

I do believe that Lot was experiencing the natural consequences of selfish and unwise decisions. In other words, had he made wiser choices early on, "that righteous man" may not have been as "tormented in his righteous soul" by the sin around him. In this case, some of the trials that Lot faced were brought about by his own choices.

Here's the BIG question: "What was the "rescue" that God knew how to offer?"

1. WARNING. A couple of angels showed-up and told Lot of impending judgment. Through God's grace, Lot listened. Hey, while the culture deteriorates around "the righteous" and our very souls are tormented, I implore you friends, to LISTEN to the exhortations that line-up with God's revealed word. Listen closely!! The warnings of Scripture should be studied, prayed over and heeded. They are God's grace to us and the beginning of His "rescue."
   
2. HARSH JUDGMENT on the sin. Lot's family was extremely blessed to see that God, in his grace, is NOT KIDDING when it comes to judging sin. I want my eyes & Nikki's, my sons' eyes and your eyes WIDE-OPEN. What if you and I had angels come to us one night and say, "Hey this entire place is going to be judged tomorrow because of all the nasty sin." And then, after hearing this, we saw it happen just as the angels said it would. I'd like to think that would make me take God's holiness even MORE SERIOUS than I do now. God's harsh judgment against sin is an expression of his ability to rescue the righteous. It's an expression of His grace, too.
   
3. BIG GOD. We don't have a psychological analysis of Lot for our report. It looked like God was blessing Lot in unspeakable ways through his family (Abraham), choices ("Which land do you want, Lot?") and wealth. But then God moved in and took away all those "blessings" in order to rescue him. How did Lot deal with the death of all his friends, the destruction of his property and God's righteous judgment of death against his own wife? How did he cope? What was the process? A big God. "Lot, when life falls apart, cling to your maker!" This is my favorite part of the whole story. Oh that I would allow my life to be defined by clinging to the presence and promises of the only living God! I often see discomfort as a sign that God needs to be hearkened into action on my behalf. In Lot's case, the discomfort itself was a gift from God, not the absence of God. How did Lot feel? Terrible! And that in itself was somehow used in the rescue. God is big. Really big. Lot's feelings about the aftermath of God's grace to him are missing from the story--and I'm kind of glad about that.
   

So this post is already way too long. If you're still reading, wow. Amazing.

I'm certainly not predicting or wishing for this kind of display of God's power and holiness. I'm not saying that because of the sin around us that God's judgment is soon coming on our land--I'm not necessarily saying that.

Concluding thoughts: it may be God's grace to us and His rescuing hand to take away our stuff, destroy our culture and offer a visible harsh judgment against sin. If that comes, please remember with me that being rescued does not equate to being comfortable and rich. Being rescued means that our real citizenship and secure position in Christ is never in doubt, and God will hold us in His loving hand until we are indeed and finally "rich and comfortable" with Him in heaven, forever. BTW, there's another reason to celebrate Easter! Christ is risen and the rescue is secure.

God knows how to rescue the godly!! Happy Easter.

2009: Be My Valentine

Okay, so this pretty personal, I guess. This is more or less an open letter to my wife. Read on if you dare.

I see Valentine's Day has come and gone for 2009. Valentines Day began with you and I having a cup of coffee together and considering the demands of day two of the "Sweetheart Banquet" at church. We went out together as a whole family to re-load your supplies for the evening banquet. From noon on you prepared at church while the boys and I took care of some picture developing and then went home. I returned to church around 4:00. Then you and I stayed at church until 9:45 together. You basically spent the whole day (from 11:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.) ministering to other people's marriages and providing an opportunity to share the Gospel with many couples (by the way, a whole team of people also did this with Nikki--thanks everyone!).

As I encouraged everyone else to honor their Valentine, the reality is that I didn't do ANYTHING on that day to honor you.

For a while, I made the argument that everyday is Valentine's Day in our relationship. I know I'm really short-sighted to say that. Now that I see it in print it's somewhat embarrassing that it even crossed my mind. Sorry.

You are my everything in this world. God has used you to strengthen me, to challenge me and to truly spur me on to a greater love for Him and greater works in this world. You provide for me friendship, love, knowing that no matter how celebrated or misunderstood I feel in this world that you'll be there at the end of the day to share it all with me. You are an ever-present reminder and expression of God's grace to me. To throw out wordy expressions of love seems somewhat trite and insufficient. You are me--and there truly is no me without you.

You know. I love you.