Left Here Right Now

The Christmas Message

2011-12-24T10:08:00.003-05:00

This is the transcript of the Sermon I am about to preach on Christmas eve. There are more then a few spelling and formating errors you will have to forgive me for those I will fix them later. I hope it will be a blessing to you.

What is the Christmas Message?

So often we just dwell on the fact that when Jesus was born that he was coming to die for us. But when Jesus came to this earth the first time He was coming not just to die for us but also to correct some misconceptions about who God was and the relationship He desired to have with us.

The people view of God had become distorted by the time of Jesus. The viewed God as an exacting God. One who demanded obiediance and anything short of that was unacceptable. They were looking for a Messiah not to come and be among them but one to come and rule over them.

The Circumsatances surrounding the birth of Christ give us a wonderful picture of who God really is and the type of relationship he desires to have with us. It is a picture that we need to see today as Christians and it is also a picture that the world needs to see.

Today like in time past people misunderstand and doubt who God is because of misconceptions propigated by Christians who also misunderstand the mission of Jesus and how God desires to relate to those who follow him.

In Luke 2:8-20 we find the story of the angels declaring the birth of Jesus to the shepards. in the middle of this passage the angels grandly declare to the shepards "Glory to God in the Highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men." When you contrast the angels reactions to Gethsemene and Clavary with their reaction to Jesus's birth it makes me wonder if the angels even really understood what Jesus was coming to earth to do. Never the less the message was brought to those shepards and as much as they couls they tried to bring that message to others they came in contact with.

"Glory to God in the highest." I don't want to dwell on this statement to much because it is so broad. And I think it is pretty self explainitory. The angels live to glorify God it is the ever present desire of their heart. As it should and will be for us some day. But on this day their was much to glorify God with, The plan of salvation was about to explicitly unfolded before the world..

Today however I want to dwell on the "on earth" part. "peace and good will towards men." Where men often run astray in their understanding of God is forgeting these 4 words "peace goodwill toward men" even as Christians when God is in the process of molding us into his image, fitting us to live in heaven we are quick to doubt when the process gets hard and starts to hurt a little bit. We need to always remember that God has plan of peace, to prosper us and not to harm us, to provide us a future and a hope.

There are 3 things that stand out to me in the story of Christ's birth that help us to gain a clear understanding of the peace and goodwill that God has towards us and how wishes to relate to us everyday and reveal to us why he chose to save us in the way that he did.

In Matthew 1:23 we find a reference to a prophecy from Isaiah. His name shall be Immanuel which is translated "God with us". Here we find the first thing that should help us understand Gods good will for us. God has always desired to be with us. From the very beginning he sought us out for this purpose, in fact I would go so far as to say that we were created for this purpose. God wants to be with you! Ultimately that is why you are here, to be with God. Every child that is born is born becaus eGod wants to know and be known by that child.

After the garden as man has perpetually wandered farther and farther from God he has likewise pursued us more and more. Throughout the Bible we see this theme. Perhaps the most discriptive story is the story of the Children of Israel in the wilderness. God instructed them to build the tabernacle and while it served many purposes there is one statement from God that reveals His main motive behind that building. He said "Build me a tabernacle that I may dwell among you"

So far from the deists assertions that God created us and has deserted us the bible shows through out and the story of Christmas specifically tell us of a God who desires nothing more then to be with us. To dwell among us. To be our God and for us to be his people.

When we recognize this it should give us a clearer picture of our relationship to God. He is desiring to be with us even when we are not desiring to be with him. Even after 4000 or so years of rejection God was still willing to risk everything to come and be with us. Which leads me to my next point.

God literally risked everything in coming to this planet. in John1:1-5 The apostle draws our attention to Jesus in a way that the other 3 gospels do not. John emphasises from the very beginning that Jesus is God and our creator. That he made all things and that without him nothing was made. if we take one other verse and stick it with this passage from John we get an amazing picture of what was at stake for everything and everyone by God's plan of redemption. Colossians 1:16-17, HE created all things and in Him all things consist. Consist means to exist or to be capable of existing. So in Christ everything finds it's ability to exist. You cannot exist with out Christ, I cannot exist with out Christ, the universe cannot exist with out Christ. In fact the only things that can exist with out Christ is the Father and the Holy Spirit. Christs mission was a desperate one. And the risk that was taken was unfathomably great.

Men today accuse God of being unfair, of not allowing free will, of being unjust because the Bible teaches us to live contrary to the desires of our sinful flesh. But what is not understood by many is that this world as it exists is a cancer on the rest of the universe. That sin is a plauge on all of creation. No one goes to the Doctor with cancer and determines to leave it in cause that cancer shold be allowed to continue to exist as it wants. We understand that Cancer in its very nature is contrary to us that it will destroy us and so if possible we have it removed or killed.

Is it really wrong of God to want to remove this cancer from the universe he created? Absolutly not. And when we consider the risk God took to earn the right to expunge this cancer. And make no mistake he condesnded to earn the right to detroy sin and recreate this earth, by risking the existance of everything. This shows us a God who prizes you and me, There are no words to describe this love He has for you and for me.

MAny people wander this earth in despair because they feel that they have no value. That no one loves them, no one cares for them. If they could only be shown and led to believe the truth that has been stolen form them by the atheists and deists, by the pagans and the secularists. That God risked the entire universe to have the oppertunity to be their Immanuel. They would find that their value is greater then they have every dreamed. The value of an item is determined by the price that someone is willing to pay for it. Not by the price someone else places on it. And God came so that if only one could be redeemed it would be possible so His estimation of just one persons value is everything he has ever created. Thats what he was willing to risk to save just one.

The story of Christmas is the beginning of 33 years of peril for the universe because for there to be true success there must be the possibility of true failure. Which makes this final point so amazing to me.

In Luke 1:26-37 Gabriel apears to Mary to inform her that she is about to be a mom. "Do not be afraid Mary you have found favor with God!" If there was someone somewhere taking bets on whether this plan would work the odds just tilted strongly in favor of the house. Jesus set aside his diety to become a human after 4000 years of degredation and he is going to start life as a baby and be raised by a sinful erring human family? It seems to me that God being God could have started jesus off an adult and just kind of programed him with knowledge and character and still been able to justly serve as our sacrifice. But God chose to place the destiny of the universe in the hands of Mary and Joeseph.

Many movies and stories these days paint a picture of a supreme being who thinks little of humanity, that doesn't believe that humans are capable of great things. They often look upon humans condecindingly and the humans in turn try to accomplish great feats to show that they can be indipendant of this controling being. But the Christmas message is that God looked down on earth, on humans and decided that Mary and Joseph were quite capable of playing a major role in His plan to save this world. I would say possibly the most important role. The values and principles they instilled in Jesus as a child are what made him the man capable of layign down his life for a people that were torturing and killing him.

God has faith in humanity. He believes that we can become more then we are that we can accomplish great things for Him. He still believes today as He did back then that Humans can raise their children to honor God and to be a witness in this world of the great and mighty things that God has done for us. That is our charge to occupy this place until our savior returns. God could have used angels to tell the world of the love of God towards them but He still chooses humans to bear that responsibility.

So much time is spent preaching about how the life of Christ or the death of Christ should impact our lives and often it feels that at Christmas time we talk about his birth almost as obligitory but the Christmas message is an important piece of the life that saved the world. It is a story that shows us in a unique way the character of God and reveals to us the special place we have in the heart of God.

The Christmas message is that God was willing to risk everything to be with us.

Are we willing to risk everything to be with Him?

Where from here?

2011-09-12T13:09:00.003-04:00

I’m not one to get home sick, never have been really. But today I am desperately homesick for a place I have never been. I am having trouble focusing at work because my thoughts are raptured to a place beyond this world. With every email that dings my inbox with useless questions about useless work I want to storm out of this office and never return. But our command is to occupy until He returns and for the moment anyway I am constrained by the harsh reality that it is for me to occupy this office.

Never the less my mind is not in this work, it is stolen away with the question, “Why are we still here?” Each passing day the detractors and skeptics become more resolved in their denial of God and the faith of another believer fails. Why does God wait?

The fact is that we are here because we fail to live the life we talk so much about. I’m guilty and so are you! I have been meditating on the message to Laodicea the last week or so. Particularly the early part of the message. So much time is spent focusing on the end of the message about faith and righteousness and the Holy Spirit that I think we often forget why that conversation is necessary. It is because when God looks at those who profess to believe in him in the world today it makes him want to vomit. That’s pretty powerful imagery. It is easy to excuse yourself from this group but the reality is that you can’t and neither can I. We make God sick.

So here I am feeling sick cause I want to go to heaven, faced with the reality that I am making God sick because I am not there. Not only am I not there but for all my heart ache I’m must not even be acting like I want to be there. At least that is the conviction that is on my heart right now. So now that feeling in my gut that was homesickness is becoming something else because I have been at this place before and the path I took pursuing perfection last time left me wanting. If that way didn’t get me where I needed to go then I am just a little frightened to discover what God’s estimation a remnant believer really is.

But for now I have to return to reality because the phone is ringing and the emails are piling up.

Emphasis - Sleeping At Last

2011-07-06T23:02:00.003-04:00

Emphasis by Sleeping At Last by sleepingatlast

I have really been digging this song, I found it about a week ago. The whole song is deep but the chorus really resonates with my soul. "The smartest thing I ever learned is I dont have all the answers just a little light to call my own... A speckle that can reunite the sun and swallow darkness whole."

All we have is what is between us and God. That light that is just for you even if it seems small in comparison to someone else or the light given to the body of the church is the only thing that will see us through the trials of life. Sometimes instead of dwelling on all the things we dont understand, we need to abide in that precious gift that is the light God has given each one of us as individuals.

It Could Be Worse

2011-07-05T22:00:00.002-04:00

If you have ever spent any time around a baby you have probably noticed that most of them cry about everything. At the least little discomfort they cry and scream. As they get older they get a little better however if a baby who just started crawling slips and their face hits the floor they will start screaming but give them a few weeks and a few more slips and they just get right up and keep going. Same happens when a toddler falls for the first time, or a young kid takes their first fall off their bike. But with time the response to each type of incident lessens.

It is an unfortunate reality that we live in a world that in many ways brings pain into our lives. However as we mature we become more capable of dealing with the pain. Each experience increases our ability to handle pain. Until the point that we can handle extreme pains often without responding with screams or tears. Though at times even adults need to express their pain in these ways.

Growth as a follower of Christ can be quite the same. As we go through the trials of deciding to follow Christ we become better equipped to handle greater tests. Not so much that we become calloused to the pain but we become more confident that God will see us through. Immediately after pointing the reader to consider Christ and his trials Paul writes...

In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. Hebrews 12:4 ESV

Each trial we pass through strengthens us to be able to endure a greater trial ahead. In pointing out that we have not yet resisted sin to the point of blood shed Paul brings to light two things. First, that our situation could be much worse then it is. Second, that God has not allowed us to go through more then we can handle. As he is about to point out in the following verses, God is building us up not tearing us down. Although the trials we are facing maybe painful, as Christians we look for things to get worse, our trials now are building us up so that should the time come that like our Savior we are called to endure death, we will be able to stand.

Look Unto HIm

2011-07-04T10:29:00.001-04:00

I love riding bicycles. However I don't ride as much as I would like. Lately I have been trying to go for a bike ride in the evening but I am sporadic at best. I started riding about 7 years ago. One of my good friends dad was and avid cycler and when I told him I was interested in getting into it he was very excited. He took me out and helped me pick out the right bike and helped me pick out all the gear I would need to get started on the right foot.

Once we hit the trail I thought I was going to take it by storm, but bicycling was not as easy as I remembered it from my childhood probably because I was out of shape. Plus Ronnie had many years of riding under his belt so he was in shape and he could ride very fast. The first couple of rides he held back so I could keep up but after that he rode at his pace and it was on me to keep up.

While we were riding he would explain different mechanics and techniques to make it easier to go faster and ride longer. At times I would fall behind but he would just keep going, and a funny thing would happen. As I looked ahead and saw him riding on strong it would give me a little something extra to keep going. To push a little harder and catch up with him. Now days I don't have anyone to ride with. No one to push me, no one to keep up with. So when I go out for a ride and it gets a little difficult I tend to back off a little bit or just turn around altogether and go home. Needless to say I don't make much headway in my riding.

Many times we go through the same thing in our spiritual lives we want to do good but when things get tough we often feel like we are all alone. It becomes hard to push through the tough times. In Hebrews 12 Paul is about to talk about the disciplining of God. How at times it will be hard. So he starts with this piece of advise.

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. (Hebrews 12:3 ESV)

2011-07-04T10:10:00.001-04:00

For years I tried to pursue God, only to find He was the one in pursuit. - Me

2011-07-04T10:06:00.001-04:00

The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. (Psalm 121:5, 6 NLT)

Back Again

2011-07-04T10:02:00.000-04:00

Well after 6 months off I am going to come back to where my blogging began. I have to tell you it has been an interesting time for me. I left this blog and tried to write only on secular / philosophical things but that really didn't take. In the last couple weeks I have tried to start another blog focusing on the experiences of my spiritual life past and present. But that hasn't worked out to well either. Ultimately Left Here has been and is what I have wanted all along. An open place to share what God is doing in my life and the lessons I am learning both through life and scripture.

I am going to bring over a few posts from the tumblr experiment and then take it from there. Here we go again.

Short thoughts on Genesis 28:16-17

2010-12-04T10:39:00.000-05:00

As Jacob left home one can be sure that he was consumed with grief knowing that his deceptive actions had been the cause of his banishment. He must have felt as though God was far away from him and greatly displeased. these verses illustrate his amazement to find that God was with him even now. It is important to note that God is always with us and sometimes we recognize him in the most unlikely places. I especially like what Matthew Henry has to say about verse 17 "so far was he from being puffed up, and exalted above measure, with the abundance of the revelations (2 Co. 12:7), that he was afraid" Here Jacob has recieved the most explicit revelation of Jesus Christ ever shown to a man up until that time and his response was not pride, no it was humility he could find no reason why he should be the recipient of this knowledge and it led him to see himself as he truely was, unworth. This should be our response also today as God reveals to us the deep things in his word we should not become lifted up by them, on the contrary we should be humbled. It was his supirior knowledge that led Lucifer to begin to envy Jesus, he began to believe that because he possed it somehow it should give him entrance to a higher position in heaven. It is a very strong pull for us to view all that God has shown to us and begin to think that we are somehow special that we are better then others, but this is not the case. Our access to this knowledge should lead us to humble ourselves recognizing our dependency on a higher power.

A short thought for your Monday morning

2010-09-20T08:32:00.000-04:00

I came across this quote this morning on a friends Facebook, I thought it was worth sharing.

Wherever the power of intellect, of authority, or of force is employed, and love is not manifestly present, the affections and will of those whom we seek to reach assume a defensive, repelling position, and their strength of resistance is increased. 2T 136

It is very easy to begin to think that sharing the truth with passion and conviction is the most important thing we can do for those who we come in contact with day by day. But the Truth is Love, therefore, even truth without the presence of love is a lie.

Let your light shine this week!

Why Are you an Adventist?

2010-09-15T11:27:00.002-04:00

Over the past few weeks a couple of people have asked me what they should say to someone who asks them why they are a Seventh-day Adventist. Some would take no thought as to what they should say to this question they would simply list off in dogmatic fashion the 28 fundamental beliefs and assure the person that if they truly loved Jesus they would believe these things also. For some reason this seems to be considered by many Adventists to be the appropriate response.

However, this belief leads to a great deal of stress on an individual who is not theologically trained, leaving them reluctant to even come close to any type of spiritual conversation with someone else for fear that they might be asked this question. Truth be told the Sanctuary doctrine and the 2300 days can be difficult to explain if you are not familiar with them. (As a side note if you are an Adventist an not familiar with these topics you should strive to become so, they are fundamental to our doctrinal distinctiveness.) But an understanding of them is not necessary to answer the question at hand.

In the book Gospel Workers on page 119 -120 Ellen White shared some principles regarding how we should begin the process of sharing our faith with others. She wrote,

"In laboring in a new field, do not think it your duty to say at once to the people, We are Seventh-day Adventists; we believe that the seventh day is the Sabbath; we believe in the nonimmortality of the soul. This would often erect a formidable barrier between you and those you wish to reach. Speak to them, as you have opportunity, upon points of doctrine on which you can agree. Dwell on the necessity of practical godliness. Give them evidence that you are a Christian, desiring peace, and that you love their souls. Let them see that you are conscientious. Thus you will gain their confidence; and there will be time enough for doctrines. Let the heart be won, the soil prepared, and then sow the seed, presenting in love the truth as it is in Jesus."

When we begin to share our faith with others who are unfamiliar with the SDA church or "a new field" it is not our "duty" to share all the things that set us apart from the person we are speaking with. Rather we are instructed to find points where we can agree with them. This is not to say fabricate something, but rather look for those points where we believe the same. There will always be something, but it will be different depending on who your speaking with. There is a handy little book by Mark Finley called Studying Together which has detail about the beliefs of other denominations and religions, where we agree and where we disagree.

There is also a tendency in some to be so afraid to mention anything controversial that they too will not share their faith for fear of upsetting someone. We must not be afraid that someone will be offended but we must be mindful not to offend. Like with so many things in this Christian walk there is a balance which only the Spirit of God can truly maintain.

So what do you say then when faced with this Question, why are you a Seventh-day Adventist?

Most importantly remember that it is not your job to convince them of Truth. That is the role of the Holy Spirit. (John 16:5-10) Also, understand what they are asking and what they are not. What they are asking is for you to tell them your personal reasons, they are not asking for a bible study on doctrine. Don't be afraid to share in simple terms why you believe what you believe. (1 John 1:1-3) That's it Just share what you faith means to you.

In the Light

2010-09-02T12:05:00.001-04:00

Here is another great post from the Jericho Road.
Rising To The Light

Something to Think About

2010-08-27T12:21:00.006-04:00

I have long struggled within myself regarding whether or not I spend enough time in the Bible. What I mean by that is, day by day what is the appropriate amount of time one should spend in the word? Is one hour enough? 10 min? 3 hours?

In the past I struggled because I would read the bible and I would only see the same things over and over again. I would never seem to really learn anything new. That made it very difficult to spend large amounts of time in the Bible. Maybe you have felt that way yourself. You go to the bible because you believe you need it and you believe that God wants to speak to you through his word but day after day, week after week no matter where you chose to read, the same things are simply repeated, I'm not sure if that makes sense but at the moment I cannot find any other way to explain it.

It got to the point with me where I didn't want to read my Bible anymore because I already knew what it was going to say. Now I would to clarify this, I am not talking about being convicted of the same thing over and over again while not responding to the Holy Spirit, that is an entirely different matter. I wasn't being challenged anymore, I would try to do verse by verse word studies to look for hidden meaning but all I ever saw were just the same old connections.

I knew that I should be learning new things, I wanted to find the deep things of God, but every time I would pray & and open my Bible, there it was same old same old. I don't know why I did it but I started just taking a passage of scripture and reading it studying it and then staying with it for awhile and I would look for ways that that story or passage applied to my daily life. And I didn't just find one application and then move on I just stayed with it.

The funny thing about this whole process is that it wasn't a conscious decision to do it. It just started happening. But the results have been amazing. Now I haven't just put down the Bible I still go to it to check out the things that are being revealed to make sure that all things are according to scripture. From time to time new scripture is introduced and as I spend time with it there is a transition time where I am seeing how it relates to what I came to understand from the previous text, and then The Lord begins opening the new passage up in its own unique ways.

It occurred to me yesterday afternoon that this would have been the way that all Jews and then Christians would have interacted with scripture for most of history it has only been in the last 500 years that the Bible was so widely available, so even Jesus would have used a method similar to this. When He would go to the synagogues and read or listen to the scriptures he hear a passage and then until the next time he was able to access the scriptures he would have had to try to understand what he had heard in light of his day to day life and the other scriptures which he had in his memory.

Have you ever experienced a time when it was hard to spend time in the word?... How do you get past those times and engage the Scriptures in a meaningful way?

7 Times

2010-08-22T19:50:00.003-04:00

I had a residual thought today as I was driving concerning my sermon yesterday. I mentioned Proverbs 24:16, the first part of which reads, “for the righteous falls seven times and rises again”

The number 7 represents perfection or completion. In the story of Naaman he was commanded to dip in the Jordan 7 times, while this may have several significance's I would like to explore the one that I think most closely correlates to Proverbs.

Yesterday I shared that once we have accepted Christ as our Savior and have surrendered our life to Him that he would then send his messenger, the Holy Spirit, to guide us so that we might become more like Christ in character. And that our response to that leading is to submit and do our best to follow where the Spirit is leading. I also shared that while we try to surrender to Jesus there might be times when we turn aside and go outside of Gods direction, that we may stumble and fall. Which led me to share this verse in Proverbs. When those times come all we can do and all that God expects us to do, is to acknowledge our inability and seek him for the strength and will to change.

I believe that Naaman dipping 7 times in the Jordan river symbolizes his complete inability to cleanse himself and his total dependence on a power outside of himself. If he had only dipped 6 times it would have come short of total dependence on the word of God which he had received. Had he dipped 8 times he would have demonstrated that he still thought that he had something to add to the work of God.

When Proverbs States that a righteous man falls 7 times I believe it is trying to convey the idea that we will have to struggle and fail as many times as it take for us to recognize that there is nothing we can do to save ourselves and that only perfect dependence on Christ will ever make us clean.

Proverbs 26:14 continues on to say that “the wicked shall fall by calamity.” Should we fail to rise again the 7th time, all hope is lost, for Christ has promised to finish the work he has begun in us until the day of the Lord. But his ability to work in our lives to change us is restricted if we refuse to acknowledge our own failure and get back up and follow Him.

The thing that separates the righteous from the wicked is that the righteous man never forgets that if God has called them he will deliver them, while the wicked fall and refuse to believe that God will lift them higher.

A Good Post From A Friends Blog

2010-08-22T18:59:00.002-04:00

Below is a link to a post from The Jericho Road. Check it out and then come back and share your thoughts.

The Law of Christ: Bear one another's burdens

Are we fulfilling the Law of Christ in our church? Am I fulfilling the Law of Christ in my life?

"Old things have passed away..."

2010-08-22T18:27:00.000-04:00

"...Behold, all things have become new."

Well my "new directions" have taken this blog in some new ones as well. The focus of this blog is changing a little bit. I am going to begin to invite others to write articles to be posted here so it will no longer be a one man show. I hope.

I have had it on my heart to do this for some time and God has given me a little nudge to get moving. All of the older posts, well the few of them that are on here, are just my personal thoughts and ramblings over the last 10 months or so. Feel free to read through them and comment and some new content will be coming soon.

Thinking about the future

2010-03-15T00:30:00.002-04:00

Well, I cant sleep. I slept in for the first time in a long time today. I am wondering about the future. Where will we go in August? What will we be doing? During the last couple of years while friends have been loosing their jobs and struggling to find new ones, I have felt so blessed that I have had a high level of job security.

Not too long ago I found out that the plans that I had been resting so securely in for the last couple of years were gone. It was easy to extol the goodness of the Lord when my friends and acquaintances were facing uncertainty because I thought I knew what I was going to be doing for the next few years. Now that is gone.

In the days that followed the phone call telling me that things were changing I began to panic just a little. Subsequently I have spent the last few weeks wrestling with understanding how much effort I should be putting into determining where my wife and I would go from here when my contract is up. I have called some conferences and emailed others at the unions trying to network and find a place for Lauren and I to go.

Finally I came to the conclusion that I was wasting my time. It is not that I was not making good contacts. From a professional stand point I am rather marketable. If I called enough people and worked enough angles I am confident that I would find somewhere for us to go. But anyone with a little know how can network and find a job.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:25 that we should not be anxious about life. I encourage you to read that section of the Sermon on the Mount it is quite comforting regardless of your current situation.

There are unfortunately still a number of character traits that remain form my life before Christ. But I have decided that worrying about the future is not going to be one of them anymore. I have praised God while everything was going good and now I am going to rest in Him while I pass through this short season of uncertainty.

As I am sitting here awake tonight thinking about the future I am not worrying about whats going to happen. No, tonight I am filled with peace and expectation I do not know where we will go from here, but I know this, where ever God takes us will be far more exciting then any place I could find to be.

Who Knows?

2010-03-12T10:54:00.001-05:00

Have you ever felt like you knew what would be best for you but it just didn’t work out? I mean you knew that if you got that job or if you could take that vacation that it would make your life so much better but yet you just can’t seem to make it happen.

It is our natural tendency to think that we are able to make plans for ourselves. At every stage of life we feel secure in our ability to do whats best for ourselves and yet in most cases when we have mature we can look back and see more clearly that if this had worked out, in the long run it would have been detrimental to us or that actually getting what we wanted wasn’t the best thing after all.

But even after those realizations we turn around and do it all over again. Now if we are not in Christ then there is no other option we have to look out for ourselves because no one else will. But when we are in Christ we have someone on our side who can see past the current circumstances and view our situation from an eternal perspective. He really does know what is ultimately best for us.

But if your like me you are quick to start making your own plans anytime your circumstances change and then after a while you remember that you should probably talk to God about it. Too often I sit around and think about my future like I know whats best.

This morning I have been dwelling on 1 Corinthians 2:10, the second part of the verse says “For the Spirit searches everything even the depths of God.” What really strikes me about this verse is that Jesus has given us the Spirit of God and this Spirit can see all the way through us, down to the depths of our soul He alone truly know who we are. But not only can the Spirit see these things in man but He can even search out the depths of God Almighty the infinite one.

So it has hit me this morning in a profound way that if the Spirit of God can search out the depths of God maybe He is wise enough to guide me through my day. But how can I let Him do that? For me Ellen White said it best.

When we take into our hands the management of things with which we have to do, and depend upon our own wisdom for success, we are taking a burden which God has not given us, and are trying to bear it without His aid. We are taking upon ourselves the responsibility that belongs to God, and thus are really putting ourselves in His place. We may well have anxiety and anticipate danger and loss, for it is certain to befall us. But when we really believe that God loves us and means to do us good we shall cease to worry about the future. We shall trust God as a child trusts a loving parent. Then our troubles and torments will disappear, for our will is swallowed up in the will of God. Mount of Blessing, p. 100

He Said, She Said

2010-03-11T17:28:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I was reading on a friends blog; in the last couple of days he has been engaged in discussion regarding a post from several years back. The post is a rather controversial one, probably only because of who it is regarding. Were the comments regarding a lesser known individual with the same teaching I doubt this amount of anamosity would still be harbored towards a post that is almost 2 years old.

As I read in 1 Corinthians today this ongoing debate my friend is involved in vividly illustrated remarks which Paul made in the opening of his letter to the Corinthians. Chapter 1 verses 11-13. As I have traveled around the country these last few years I have not been in a community of Adventists which has not been affected by this particular individual. Which for me enhances this passage even more.

11For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12What I mean is that each one of you says, "I follow Paul," or "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Cephas," or "I follow Christ." 13 Is Christ divided... (ESV)

I want to broaden the scope of this post now because the issue really is not with this specific individual or any other teacher per say. Consider what was happening in Corinth. The believers were fighting with each other and their debates obviously did not hinge on biblical truth. The basis of their arguments were the teachings of individuals, Paul, Apollos, Cephas and even Jesus.

I don’t know about you but I have been guilty of arguing one man’s teaching versus another rather then comparing scripture to scripture. It seems to me that there are 2 fundamental problems taking place that are encouraging the debates like the kind Paul is addressing in this passage.

1. Too many of us spend too much time listening to men rather then studying the word of God for ourselves. And then when we go to the bible we lens our own study through someone else’s eyes. We do not allow Gods word to just speak to us. Could this be why we have so little real power in our lives? If faith is power, and faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Then can we really have faith if we only hear the words of man and never the word of God?

2. When someone teaches something from the Bible we don’t like our natural tendency is to write it off by saying “thats just their opinion.” especially if it clashes with the teaching of someone we agree with. So we rarely test the teaching we like honestly against the bible and we don’t test the teaching we don’t like against the bible so all we can do is argue man’s ideas against man’s ideas and we throw in some proof texts to support our predetermined ideas rather then wrestling with the difficult texts which might oppose our view.

Really those 2 problems are only one! We don’t study for ourselves enough.

When the final events are unfolding, when we stand be for rulers to answer for our faith, what so and so said will not suffice to stay the enemy. The word of God only contains the power we will need to fight back the accuser of the brethren.

The Righteousness of God

2010-02-18T10:43:00.000-05:00

2 Corinthians 6:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God

There seems to be and truthfully always has been a debate among Christians concerning what it takes to be righteous. To be honest I have been at many different points in the spectrum throughout my experience; from despairing that victory over sin was impossible, to believing that to be sealed at the end that I had to attain to the same sinlessness that Jesus experienced while here on Earth.

Consider what Paul says about Jesus in this verse. God made him to be sin who knew no sin. In some way that we cannot fully understand God placed all of our sin on Jesus and he was judged just as you or I would be judged were we to be arraigned without his sacrifice.

However, Jesus did not have to sin to become sin. This was work that God alone did. Why is it then when we read this verse we tend to be so quick to say that God made Jesus to be sin, yet for us to become righteous we must do X, Y, &Z?

Can we not become righteous in the same way that Jesus became sin?

Serve Sombody

2010-02-16T11:14:00.001-05:00

Romans 6:16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

A verse such as this one can evoke a very negative reaction, not only in the non christian but also in the christian. The idea that we must serve someone just doesn’t sit well with our humanity. We like to think that we are capable of serving our self deciding for ourselves what is good and what is bad.

I find it ironic that the things that people often do when they are liberated from the tyranny of Christianity are quite self destructive things. And yet we fool ourselves into thinking that I am doing these things because I know whats best for me. The whole time not realizing that we are in fact being told what to do.

And while if it comes form the Bible it creates friction in our souls, if it comes from some other source, we idolize the one who told us and join in with them in admitting the Truth that we claim doesn’t exist.

“You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls

But your gonna have to serve somebody
Yes, indeed your gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But your gonna have to serve somebody” - Bob Dylan

The Lack

2010-01-15T16:48:00.002-05:00

The other day I was asked why in the story of the rich young ruler Jesus only listed the last 6 commandments in response to the question on how to obtain eternal life. At the time I didn’t have a good answer. Some ideas but nothing that really seemed like the right answer.

In preparing to preach tomorrow I was studying the story again and I have gleaned some new insight. You can read the story in Matthew 19, Mark 10, Luke 18 and also in the Desire of Ages chapter 57.

The Young man approached Jesus after observing His interaction with the children. In watching Jesus he had recognized that something was missing from his life. He recognized at that moment that what he was lacking Jesus could provide. So he threw himself at the feet of Jesus and asked the question what must I do to have eternal life?

Jesus responded by listing off the commandments dealing with love for others. The young man believed in his heart that he had kept these commandments from his youth but Jesus saw deep into the mans heart. He responded there is “one thing you lack.” Go and sell all that you have and give it to the poor.

We know that the young man did not heed the direction of Jesus. And often we apply the lesson as his wealth was his Idol. I would like to suggest another lesson that should be gathered from this story. Jesus was trying to draw the rulers mind to realize that in order to truly fulfill the commands concerning love for others a sacrifice must be involved. Consider this Statement from the Desire of Ages, pg. 523.

Christ's dealing with the young man is presented as an object lesson. God has given us the rule of conduct which every one of His servants must follow. It is obedience to His law, not merely a legal obedience, but an obedience which enters into the life, and is exemplified in the character. God has set His own standard of character for all who would become subjects of His kingdom. Only those who will become co-workers with Christ, only those who will say, Lord, all I have and all I am is Thine, will be acknowledged as sons and daughters of God. All should consider what it means to desire heaven, and yet to turn away because of the conditions laid down. Think of what it means to say "No" to Christ. The ruler said, No, I cannot give You all. Do we say the same? The Saviour offers to share with us the work God has given us to do. He offers to use the means God has given us, to carry forward His work in the world. Only in this way can He save us.

The call to follow Christ is a call to take up our cross. Jesus took up his cross and sacrificed all that he had to ease the suffering of you and I. If we are to inherit eternal life we must sacrifice ourselves for those around us as well. I am sure that that sacrifice is different for each of us but regardless of its worldly value it must be made.

Who's Talking?

2010-01-13T18:59:00.003-05:00

I want to continue my thought from earlier today on speaking the truth versus living it. To begin I want to be clear about what I am not saying. I am not saying we should not be preaching the 3 angels messages or telling people that God has placed a high calling on their life.

The problem is that to often we are to caught up looking for someone to tell something to, that we forget that we ourselves should be listening. Listening for the Holy Spirit and doing what He tells us. Being slow to speak and quick to listen. In my own life I can look back at many times when I would hear the Holy Spirit speaking to me and rather then acting on it I would go find someone and tell them to do what the Spirit was telling me to do.

There is a time to preach and a time to teach, but before those times there is a time to do. I think that we would find that if we would follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in our day to day lives we would discover that by our influence others would begin to follow Him as well.

The Truth in Love

2010-01-13T13:07:00.005-05:00

Throughout my time in evangelism there is a phrase that has been used repeatedly by others and myself. “Speak the truth in love.” We use this to explain how the truth needs to be presented to those we are trying to reach. Our focus is always on the information, get the information to the people, give them the truth.

But is truth just information? I would have to say that the truth extends far beyond information. How did Jesus spend most of his time? Was it preaching the truth? Calling out the pharisees? He did those things, but where Jesus spent the bulk of his time in ministry was in caring for those in need. The way he communicated the truth of the Kingdom was through his actions. In fact the bible actually tells us in James 1:19 to be “slow to speak” Then it goes on to command that we should be doers of the word verse 22. There is a time for speaking the truth in love, but could it be that we could actually accomplish more if we would simply live the truth and let the Holy Spirit do more of the speaking? To be continued...

Lesson from a Queen

2010-01-13T09:16:00.003-05:00

(this is a re-post of a previous entry)

I am by no means a theologian and if you asked me to explain to you the difference between typology and allegory I could not. I want to take a few minutes to consider the story of the Queen of Sheba, whether or not this story is typological or allegorical I think is somewhat irrelevant. The lessons it contains are important ones. It is found in 1Kings 10 and 2 Chronicles 9 they are almost the same word for word but there is one phrase that is different in Chronicles that I think is important so that is the version I like to use.

I think that possibly the most important lesson as it pertains to our saving relationship with Christ is found in the very first sentence of the first verse of chapter 9, it says, that when she heard she came. This is the heart of the Gospel coming to the King. But I think it is important to consider how she came. Transportation was a little slower than it is now so in order for her to come to the king it meant she had to leave her kingdom and travel 6 months across the desert one way so that means that all told she would spend a year just traveling to and from Jerusalem not including her time in Jerusalem so all told she was gone possible 2 years. She left the comfort of the world she knew, her palaces and her luxury and went to see if this King had something better for her. I think this is where we often go wrong in our experience with Jesus we act like He should come to us. But He said “If I be lifted up I will draw all men unto me.” And in Jeremiah 29:13, 14 it says that “you seek for me and find me when you search for me with all of your heart. I will be found by you declares the Lord.” You see we have to go to God and it cannot be a half hearted effort that means it may be a little difficult at times but the promise is that we will find what we are looking for. Do you think it was hard for the Queen to decide to leave her kingdom and sit on a camel in the hot desert for 6 months to be a stranger for another 6-12 months then to get back on her camel for another 6 months? In her palace she had all the worldly comfort she could ever want, why then should she subject herself to this hardship? For most of us we have a pretty cush life even if we are not rich we can eat whatever we want we have all the clothes we want , we can go where we want, do what we want, whenever we want. And when that doesn’t get us where we want to be our natural inclination when we feel the drawing of the Holy Spirit is to expect God to come to us and make us happy where we are at. But this is not the way it works. If the way things were was good enough then why are you looking for a change in the first place? It takes some sacrifice to find what you are looking for when you come to see the king. That sacrifice is different for everyone there were many people who did not have to make the same sacrifice as the Queen to come see the King.

In an effort to make Christianity seem more appealing I think that some well meaning ministers have tried to make it appear that you don’t have to sacrifice to come to Christ. They point to the sayings of Jesus and Paul and John as evidence that Jesus wants your life to continue on with little interruption when you come to him and in some cases they say that He will only make you comfortable. And it is true there are many promises of the blessings of Christ found in the New Testament and some would argue that these promises of peace and rest and comfort are temporal worldly blessings that we should expect here on earth. But consider the lives of the men who made these statements. What worldly advantage did Jesus have was he rich? No. Did He have Peace in this world? No, He had peace in his heart. Did he have rest in His day to day life? No, His was a life of sacrifice for others, putting their needs before His own. And think of Paul before Christ he had power and wealth and status but after the Damascus road he forsook it all and his live was a life lived in privation and in want of worldly comfort. And John’s story is much the same. Now of all the Christians who have ever lived Paul and John would have to be considered the cream of the crop, if their lives were one’s of sacrifice who are we to think that we deserve better then they? I wrestle with this thought a lot but lets move on to the promise that concludes this story.

When the Queen came she brought with her gifts for the King. As she dwelt with the king she saw that the life that He had and the life of His servants was a life that she desired. As she left the King He gave her gifts to take with her. In verse 12 it says that the King gave her much more then she brought to Him. Now I find it interesting that the queen brought gold and jewels and spices, but it doesn’t say that those are the type of things that the King gave to her. It says that He gave her all that she desired and much more. What did she come desiring? Knowledge, but she received much more then knowledge. Could it be that she received love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness? Could it be that she left echoing the words of Paul when he said “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection…”

I know that this is a struggle for me and it is my prayer that my life might represent my faith in the promise of Christ, that He came that I might have life and have it more abundantly and that I will be satisfied with his definition of abundant life.

A Curious Thought

2009-12-24T11:36:00.003-05:00

I have been spending some time this week reflecting on my spiritual journey through 2009. I have to say that this has been a good year all in all. Perhaps I will post at length the specifics sometime in the future. I Just wanted to post up a curious thought I had the other morning. Honestly it is one that a few months ago I would have considered liberal heresy but today it is giving me cause to further evaluate my relationship with Jesus. And is placing a burden on my heart for my church which I love.

Jesus said, "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." John 10:16 So God clearly has His people in many places in this world including "Babylon" Now, beyond that we have further light which tells us that a shaking time will come on this church and that so many people will leave that it will seem that the church will fail but that it will not because many people will come in from other churches to take the place of those who left.

Consider what this means. It means that the majority of Gods end time people are not currently part of Gods "end time people" and most of the people who think that they are part of God's end time people are actually not. Which brings me to the point that not long ago would have been heretical to me.

What is going on in Babylon that God in His wisdom is going to allow His people to remain there until the last possible moment? And why is it that so many people who now reside in the Adventist church will be bailing out at the last possible moment? My theory is this. Main line protestantism has what many would consider an over emphasis on God's love, at the expense of obedience. They down play the commandments most of the time only the 4th.

Adventism on the other hand has a tendency to swing in the other direction emphasizing obedience and down playing the Love of God in an effort to display our singularity. Now any one in Adventism knows that we believe and cherish the Love of God but it would appear based on what we know will happen in the future that for most our faith becomes more of an intellectual accent into knowledge rather then a living connection to God.

Could it be that God would rather have His people have a living connection to Him now and learn the fullness of truth later then to have them know all truth now and miss out on the relationship? Knowing something is right will only compell you to go so far when faced with personal detriment. But people die every day for the things they truly love.

None of this is to say that we should just leave people where they are and not continue to strive to present truth to the world. But I am inclined to think that we need to spend more time on Christ and less time on Anti-christ. "For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again." 2 Corinthians 5:14,15

What does conversion look like?

2009-12-18T10:26:00.002-05:00

I have been wrestling with something lately. What does conversion look like? In doing evangelism I have generally used a list of behaviors to determine whether someone is ready to be baptized and become a member of the church. Is a list of actions conversion or is conversion more? I was reading the story of Solomon’s request for wisdom in 1 Kings 3 this morning and something stood out to me. In verse 3 it says that God was pleased with Solomon except that he was burning incense and sacrificing in the high places. Now what is interesting to me that it is while Solomon is at Gibeon a great high place that God decides to appear to him. Was Solomon converted even though he was living and acting contrary what God would have him to do? I think that in looking at the story it is impossible for anyone to answer no to that question. Solomon’s response shows that he was converted he could have asked for anything and he would have gotten it. But he asked for wisdom to care for others. His interest was wrapped up in others.

The question I have then is this, is it more important to act a certain way or to hear the voice of God? Even though Solomon wasn’t living out everything according to the High ideal of God, he was listening and God could direct him in those areas of his life where he was off. I haven’t reached any firm conclusions yet but it is definitely something to think about, especially when it comes to evangelism.

Southern Tidings

2009-12-10T14:12:00.002-05:00

I was just informed that there is a little article in the Southern Union Magazine about my work here in Louisville.

Heres the link its at the bottom of page 31
http://www.southernunion.com/site/1/docs/Tidings/2009/Dec09.pdf

The Argument

2009-12-10T10:50:00.004-05:00

Have you ever been in an argument before, one that had been going on for a little while? Every time you see that person it picks up right where you left off. Maybe as a kid a little innocent teasing went a bit to far and then after a few days you pop off with a your momma joke but you had forgot that the other persons mother had died not to long ago. Then instantly you knew you had gone to far, as you look into the other persons eyes you can tell that that comment really hurt. Or maybe you have been arguing with your husband/wife or boyfriend/girlfriend and your just stuck in this place where everything they say is the wrong thing and after a couple of weeks of fighting in the midst of a big blow out you rashly declare that you want out, that the relationship is over. The room goes silent and both of you are thinking "how did we get here?" This isn't what you wanted and its definitely not what the other person wanted. But, here you are, can you take it back? Suddenly what you have been arguing about seems so pointless when faced with the reality of the situation you are now in. Where do you go from here?

Throughout His time with Jesus, Judas had fostered a argumentative spirit. He felt that if Christ would just listen to him that everything would be better. Especially during Christs last year on earth Judas became more bold covertly challenging the teachings that Jesus was teaching, inciting doubt in the other disciples. At Simons feast when Jesus rebuked him for his comments about Mary he decided that he would show Christ a thing or two. He had heard and believed Jesus when he talked about his betrayal and death but he did not let it change him. Judas could not let go of the idea that Jesus would rule as a king on earth. And so he decided to take matters into his own hands. He thought that by betraying Jesus he would force Jesus to reveal Himself as the Son of God and also gain for himself a place of distinction for his shrewd conduct in ushering in the kingdom if God on earth. As the trials of Jesus continued and he saw that Christ would not deliver Himself, the reality if what he had done hit him like a Mack truck.

I imagine him standing there amidst the crowds at Caiaphas's house watch as they beat Jesus, suddenly he realizes he has gone to far, Jesus is not going to free himself, He is going to die. Ellen White describes the scene this way "As the trial drew to a close, Judas could endure the torture of his guilty conscience no longer. Suddenly a hoarse voice rang through the hall, sending a thrill of terror to all hearts: He is innocent; spare Him, O Caiaphas! The tall form of Judas was now seen pressing through the startled throng. His face was pale and haggard, and great drops of sweat stood on his forehead. Rushing to the throne of judgment, he threw down before the high priest the pieces of silver that had been the price of his Lord's betrayal. Eagerly grasping the robe of Caiaphas, he implored him to release Jesus, declaring that He had done nothing worthy of death. Caiaphas angrily shook him off, but was confused, and knew not what to say. The perfidy of the priests was revealed. It was evident that they had bribed the disciple to betray his Master. "I have sinned," again cried Judas, "in that I have betrayed the innocent blood." But the high priest, regaining his self-possession, answered with scorn, "What is that to us? see thou to that." Matthew 27:4." Desire of Ages p. 721-722

Judas thought that his plans would be better then the plans of God and finally it brought him to that dreadful place just past the edge of the argument when you realize that you have gone to far but there was nothing he could do to fix it. A similar story is told of an angel who thought he could be a better leader then God and his end was much the same. Cast down to a dark shapeless abyss Lucifer looked back at what he had lost and realized he had gone to far as well, but in his heart he would not admit that he had been wrong. His pride would not allow him to humble himself before God and submit to His will.After pleading with the priest Judas threw himself at the feet of Jesus but he did so not out of repentance or in search of forgiveness but rather he pleaded with Christ to free Himself. If Christ would just escape then he could have some peace with what he had done.

How many times do we follow the path of Judas? Judas believed what Jesus had taught but wanted the teachings to be changed to fit into his plans, his expectations of the future. To often I find my self wrestling with clear teachings of the Bible trying to figure out how I can justify going contrary to Gods will. Arguing as it were with God time and time again, I come to God seeking a change but unwilling to yield my prideful heart to Him. For me right now temperance is a big thing. God is continually convicting me to be temperate in all things, but I want to do what feels good until it doesn't feel good anymore. I keep telling myself when the time of trouble comes I won't have a problem letting go of these areas where I am intemperate so its ok to keep indulging for now. I don't love these things so much that I would turn away from true principles and yet the Word of God is clear "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we an imperishable crown.Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified." 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 And I still argue that I can do things differently and be ok.

I don't ever want to reach that point were I suddenly realize that I have gone to far with God, where I look back and think why did I say that or do that? But this morning I am keenly aware that my decisions today are leading me in one of two directions either closer to God or further away. I am thankful that God is a longsuffering and merciful God and that He is not willing that any should be lost. I do not want to presume that the final day won't be today.For some temperance may not be an issue it maybe something else but the principle applies to all if we persist in arguing with God we run the risk of betraying Jesus in the midst of tribulation and realizing to late the cost of our lack of trust in Him.

Lord, please keep me in your will, take my heart for I cannot give it.

FYI

2009-12-07T22:11:00.000-05:00

Just a disclaimer if you are planning on reading this blog on a regular basis please do not expect the posts to be well written or to follow any common theme. They will be random and probably contain poor grammar. Thank you.

The Exchange

2009-12-07T11:45:00.001-05:00

I have been going through a study guide put out by Threads which is division of Lifeway that produces materials specifically for young adults. This particular one is called "The Exchange" it is a study of Romans 6-8. So far I have found it very interesting. One thing that is curious to observe is the authors struggle between his conviction that a Christians life should rise above the worldly way of living and his belief that once you are saved you are saved forever no matter what you do. I have to say that observing this is definitely changing my perception of mainline evangelical Christians. It is also causing me to reflect on my own beliefs and convictions to determine if there are any inconsistencies within me. Sometimes I think we accept things that don't make sense claiming our faith as the reason. Our faith must have a clear foundation.