The passing storm

The ship is listing badly

Water pours over the side

The storm continues

Lightening flashes

Waves grow

Hope fades

Weary.

But

the dawn

is near

it promises hope

a new day begins

Soon we will forget the storm

that nearly sank us 

and 

celebrate 

the light of a new day

A day when the King arrives

and calms the storms that threatened our night

Storms come and they pass

but in the middle of the storm don't every forget

that it will not last

The sun will rise

The storm will cease

Hope will grow

And you will discover 

the grace of God

in new ways 

because 

you lived through the storm

Madmen and tragedy

Today, early in night hours, a madman created a tragedy that is hard to imagine.  In a few hours he killed over 50 people and injured another 50 or more.  I'm sure, if you haven't been in a cave, you have heard the details of this day in great detail.

Let me simply (if such a thing is possible) address two issues, 1. the madman, and 2. the tragedy.

First, thankfully, madmen are a rare thing, but when they strike we are surprised, shocked, grieved and saddened.  We all know this is not the way things should be.  We hope for peace, kindness and civility, but madmen have chosen to abandon the common good and either because of insanity, hate or revenge (who knows all the motives involved) they act and the rest of us suffer.  If there is an example of evil in  human form madmen show us what that is like.

Second, the tragedy in Orlando this morning is a tragedy because of lives lost.  Senseless murder, no matter the reason, is condemned by everyone.  Evil is evil, and this was evil.  I hope we can take the motive out of the discussion, it only takes our eyes off the real issue. Whether hatred, revenge, terrorism, or prejudice...whatever the reason, this event, these murders are a terrible and sad loss.

I am praying for the families.  I'm praying for our culture. Every life is important to God.  He loves every soul lost and grief is our proper response because each of these people was a person Christ died for.  Each one was loved by God.  

This is a terrible and sad tragedy.  I pray we can focus on the lives lost and not on the motive of the madman.

Culture without a king

 "In those days there was no king in Israel; 

everyone did what was right in his own eyes."

-Judges

A culture without a king produces compassion without care, choice without consequence and confusion leading to chaos.

Israel experienced this in the book of Judges and the results were horrible!  

When I am my own king, my own "god," and decide truth for me then my little kingdom with clash with your little kingdom and the result with be confusion and chaos, and finally truth without a truth giver.

"Everyone did what was right in his own eyes" looks very much like our culture today!  "My truth" is the guide for our day as we declare, with great authority, what is right!  Everyone should think as I do!  If you don't agree with me then you're not compassionate, caring or good.

The world around me lives without a king and so they crown themselves and demand you bow.  

When a culture lives without a king chaos is the outcome...it's the culture we live in today.  The only solution is a king we can trust, a king who will rule in truth, who will bring real compassion. 

To be honest, there is only one King who should rule the hearts of man and it's not me, you or any other man. 

David wrote in Psalms these amazing words, 

"It is better to take refuge in the Lord 

Than to trust in man." 

And Paul tells us of the day when the rightful King will come, 

when we all will hand the crowns we have claimed to the only one who deserves them,

"God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on  Him the name which is above every name,  so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

A culture without a king produces chaos as we each clamor to claim the throne, but soon, perhaps today, the rightful King will come and we will all bow to him.

He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He is Jesus Christ.

As our culture sinks into chaos we long for someone to help us, to lead us, but it won't be the men and women we put in office.  It won't be the governments who will save us.  There is only one who can help us, and he is the rightful King of every heart, of every life.

Do you know him?

Consider....

We, as a church, have just started a summer series in the book of James.  As we began this amazing study two words caught my attention in the first verses.  These two words had never stood out to me before, so let me share my new discovery with you.

The verses are 2-4.  They are the most challenging verses in the book because of their invitation to a decision.  Here they are with these two words highlighted,

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,  

knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

These two words are the keys to the invitation!

Let's reverse the verses and see if it sounds any different,

Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance, let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing... 

...therefore, Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,

Because we know the outcome we can respond differently to the problem!  I had not really captured that clearly before.  

(I'm sorry, I'm quite slow.)

But suddenly I saw this- when we know that God's

goal is to make us perfect and complete, lacking nothing, it's much easier to see trials as the training camp for that outcome.

Similar to the gym experience that takes the pain of a workout in light of the goal, we can endure the trials knowing what we will look like when God is finished. 

Consider, knowing.  If you knew how you were going to turn out could you endure a few trials to get there?  Could you do it with joy, knowing God is working for your final good?

I worship....

I worship

the one who

walked on water

and

calms my storms

Acceptance, tolerance and inclusion

The new sin of our culture is to speak of truth, sin, right and wrong.

The new religion of our culture is acceptance, tolerance and inclusion.  

But, just for a moment, indulge me as I ask one simple question:  

Who is your king?

That question is the only question that matters!  It's the defining issue of Matthew 25 as Jesus tells the story of the judgment when he will separate sheep from goats.  All of us will fall into one of these groups and the only difference between the two groups is this one thing-  Jesus is king of one group, but not of the other.

What does that mean?  The question is simply this, whether gay or straight, murderer or lover, liar or glutton...the question is simple:  

Is Jesus King in your life? 

If he is, then HE gets to define the rules of life for you.  He gets to tell you and me what is right and wrong, what he expects, how we should live.  

HE IS KING and that means I bow to him, his will and his way. 

Christians do not define this issue well.  We discuss rules, who is in, who is out and appear terribly intolerant....and in many ways we are, but what we need to focus on more clearly is this one issue, this one question:  Is Jesus your King?  And if he is, will you obey him even if you don't like it?

Will you stop lying because God's not a liar?  Will you stop stealing, because Jesus is your King and he's not a thief? Will you curb your appetites because God will meet your needs, you don't need to "stock up for winter."  Will you allow him to be King over your appetites both physically and sexually?  Will you walk in love because that's what Jesus called us to do?  

It means we pray for one another.  It means we love one another as we each struggle to bow to the King. It means we focus on the main thing-  Is Jesus your King and will you obey him...even if you don't like it?  These questions apply to all of us because we are all broken and need a savior.

There is only one gate we each walk through and it defines everything....

Is Jesus your King? 

Seeing Father

Prodigal son

or 

older brother?

Which one are you?

But where

is

the good

brother?

Where is

the brother

who

loved the 

Father?

Where is the

brother

who sees

the

Father

as loving,

caring,

and kind?

The story

from Luke 15

tells of only

two brothers,

But where is 

the good brother?

Where is the son who loved

and obeyed the Father?

The good son

was the one telling

the story,

Jesus

He knew the Father,

he loved him,

he obeyed him

and fully 

pleased him

But we, like the two sons

in the story

either wander away

or stay with father 
and resent him

How do I see

the Father 
Jesus knew?

How do I know

and trust that Father?

All my problems

all my fears

all my doubts

are resolved

in one thing-

seeing Father

clearly

Loving

Kind

Forgiving
Father,

let me see your face.
Let me see the face that
moved Jesus to obey
you completely...

...even to death.

Let me see you clearly
Because until I do,
until I see
the Father
as
Jesus did
I will be a
rebel
or
a
prodigal.

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you to all those who served our country and gave their lives to protect it.  We are in their debt.  It's a debt we can never pay.

All we can do is remember and say "thank you!" 

Difficult days

“When the Son of man comes, 

will He find faith on the earth?” 

(Luke 18:8)

These are haunting words.  

These words have bothered me for years.  

I can't imagine a day that faith is rare, but Jesus saw that day as he looked ahead.

What would cause such a day?  

Apathy? 

Arrogance? 

Affluence? 

How could it be that faith would be a rare thing?

As I watch the world around me implode I see, for many, a response of fear rather than faith.

They have already abandoned God so all they have left is fear.

Will Christ find faith in me when he comes?

Will I let fear overwhelm me?

Has my faith already been eroded 
by the culture I live in?

Difficult days demand a rekindling of faith in God, trust in him alone.

These are days when our faith will be tested.

Will it become stronger or will it fail?

As Peter said to Jesus, "Where else can we go? You have the words of life?"

Where else can we go?  

Faith in Christ, faith in God is our only hope, but what a wonderful hope it is!

The Getty's wrote a wonderful hymn that gives help when faith is weak. Let me close these thoughts with the words from this wonderful song,

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless Babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save

Till on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I stand

Christian lepers

This morning I had coffee with an old friend who recently got "kicked out" of his church because of sin in his life.  It always surprises me when a church, the place where sinners are supposed to find help, kicks those sinners out of church for the sins they most need help with!

What is wrong with us?  How do we think this is anything like Christ?

His comment to me (edited for your ears) was simply this, "It's a great church, just don't f--k up or be honest about your problems."

Did he sin that bad?  Oh yeah, he did!  But how would Jesus have dealt with the same thing?  He forgave!  He forgave the woman caught in sin, he forgave the leper for breaking the law by reaching out and touching him, he forgave Judas...he forgave me!

There are Christian lepers among us, people who sin, and are trying to deal with the sin, repent of it and walk with Christ, but we seem to have trouble with sinners, we expect everyone to have this whole Christian thing figured out, but no one does.  We are all messed up, we are all working on it....and no one gets it right... no one.

I'm forgiven, but I still mess up.  I still sin.  I don't want to, but I still do (Romans 7).  I'm forgiven, but I'm not perfect.  I will be one day, but for today, I'm a work in progress...a Christian leper, forgiven, but still dealing with some of the sin that has ruined my life.  One day, when Christ returns, I will be like him, but until then give me grace, give me space.  Forgive me, because I'm going to sin....and I might hurt you.  I'm not doing it on purpose, I would rather not,  but I know I will.  

As a pastor I know that we all struggle, we are all lepers becoming like Christ (Heb. 10:14), but until we are complete here are our instructions from the master, (Luke 6:27-38)-

27 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also.30 Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. 31 Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

32 “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! 33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! 34 And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.

35 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. 36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.

37 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back."

Deserving

Last week we were out of town visiting family.  I got to do something I rarely do....visit another church.  It was a great service.  The worship was God focused, the teaching was biblical and well done and the church family was warm and engaging.  I pretty much loved the whole thing....

...until the pastor closed in prayer with these words, "Thank you, Father, that we are deserving of your love..."  

Wow!  I thought for a moment, "did he really just say that??"  I couldn't believe it!  

First of all, it's profoundly untrue.  That alone should have been obvious to him if he had read almost any of Paul's letters...Romans, Galatians, Ephesians...well, you get the idea.  In all of them Paul makes it clear that what God did was totally undeserved by us!  In fact, we deserved wrath not grace.  To see God's grace when we were his enemies is a totally undeserved gift of God.

Second,  if his prayer were true it would put God in debt to us.  It would mean that he owed us salvation, because, by God, we deserve it!  Clearly, apart from Christ, all we "deserve" is wrath!

Third, this simple idea of us deserving God's love elevates us above God.  Imagine that!  We, the fallen sinful rebellious creatures are elevating ourselves above God.  We deserve his love, look at us God, you owe us!  Now step up!  This idea assaults the nature of both God and man.

And, last, in my little tirade,  when I believe I deserve God's love I am not seeing myself clearly.  It makes it really hard to grow in faith when I think I am better than God reveals I am.  To esteem myself worthy of God's love clouds the truth about my nature and where I am in my walk with God.

I do not deserve God's love!!  Neither do you!  The fact that he gave it at all is amazing, wonderful, glorious and gracious...because he gave it when we were his enemies, when we hated him, when we hung him on a tree and spit on him.  It is totally undeserved, totally free...and, it's available to any one of us unworthy undeserving sinners who will receive it.

Am I deserving of God's love?  Not at all!  But I'm so thankful he gave it anyway.

The meaning of fear

Fear is the declaration 

that there is no good, 

wise and sovereign God 

in your future.

Quote of the day

Why focus on Jesus?

I'm constantly having to refocus,

recalibrate my thoughts and priorities because I wander.

I wander from the main issue of life and get in trouble.  

We face a culture that is forcing us to focus on the main thing or get lost in the confusions of the day.  So we struggle to somehow balance the ideas of grace and truth, of being gracious to those who disagree while still telling the truth about right and wrong, but we always fall on one side or the other.  When we try to balance grace and truth we always lose our balance and fall.

To get this right we have to keep our focus on Jesus.  

John 1 says this,

"grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."

If I am going to keep grace and truth balanced I can't focus on either one, I have to focus on Jesus...only in him do they balance, only as I walk in him can I stay on the tightrope of grace AND truth balanced in love.

Why focus on Jesus?  Because when I do, when I live as Hebrews 12 invites me, 

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,  fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith."

Then I am able to love others well, teach grace clearly and model Christ rightly.  

Why focus on Jesus?  

Because in him we all find the grace we need and the truth that will correct the errors we each get into so easily.

Why focus on Jesus?

There is nothing more important!  No topic more relevant, no question more important than this one,

What do you think about Jesus?  Who is he?

You are my God!

"You are my God, and I will praise you.

You are my God, and I will exalt you."

Psalm 118:28

My God.  What a thought...to know, serve, love and talk to the one who made you is an idea that's not part of any other religion or faith.

Only the God of the Bible invites us to know him, to love him, to walk with him and be his child.

You are my God.  This morning I rejoice in this simple truth- The God who made everything is MY God!

I bow before him and willingly offer my life to him

because he gave his life for me.