John Lee Viewpoint

Marriage: Part One: The First Marriage

2011-02-28T13:54:00.000-08:00

The first human marriage was that of Adam and Eve. I say “human”, because eventually I’ll write on the “prototype”, and that was different (Christ and the church). It is an indispensable part of this discussion. But since I jumped in on Genesis 1 and 2, let’s anticipate that I’ll get back eventually to the “prototype” in a future blog.

At creation, God was setting precedents. Marriage was a big one. He first created the man. Then He created woman for man. Of course that’s tough to swallow. Much in the Bible is tough to swallow. So if you’re one of those who wants to write off the whole matter because it isn’t easy, my guess is that you’re like most people who feel that way: you have never seriously studied the Bible. (Forgive me if you happen to be an exception to the rule.) And then studying the Bible with the key person to interpretation and the 2-part division of law and grace must be part of your consideration. (I get a bit pedantic here because in my 59 years of experience knowing this has been so important and helpful to me.)

Regarding Adam and Eve, the New Testament affirms this same priority – that of Adam being prior to Eve. And it also affirms the innate worth of both female and male. But that they are different is assumed by the language. There are two in type, not one. God created “man” (humankind) in his image, male and female he created them. The work was not complete until female was created. The woman (female) was created because it was “not good” that man (male) should be alone. The woman Eve was made so as to be a helper for the man. This is read in wedding ceremonies that use a formal traditional liturgy. (But most pastors find ways to skirt around it. Apparently it’s too difficult to deal with. But we must remember that the abuse of position and authority never has proved that there is no such thing as position or authority.)

Was this the first marriage? Of course. God told the couple to be fruitful and multiply. And they did. Adam had relations with Eve and she bore a son. Then she bore another, and so on. When the subject of marriage and divorce is raised with Jesus, he referred to this first “marriage” (Mark 10:1-9). And in the process he made several points that make it clear he was referring not only the first marriage, but the Creator’s intention in marriage.

Jesus’ first point is that Moses’ law allowing divorce was given as a concession to humankind for their hardness of heart, and was not the first word regarding divorce. God’s was. In other words, the remedy for a marital problem was not the first teaching point on marriage from God. The first thing was the Creator’s design and intent. And that was, “the man should leave father and mother and be joined to his wife.” The joining was good: Genesis states it and Jesus underscores it.

Jesus underscored also the physical joining of the two bodies: The two become one flesh. It is clear from this that the separation occurring in divorce is a tearing apart of a body. (One of the prophets later cries out that “God hates divorce”.)

Finally Jesus warns that no human being should separate that which God has thus joined. God joins in marriage a man and a woman, and those who work to tear that apart should take warning. (Of course we all do our part to tear marriages apart, some by more covert means, yet still destructive. Only by God’s grace and mercy can our participation be rectified.)

It is really not a complicated matter. The Bible testifies that God made them at the beginning - male and female – and He made them in His image. The animals are not in his image. Humans are. And, incidentally, the animals understand by instinct, that male goes with female. Evan botanical life gets it. No confusion there.

Because this needs to be brief, let’s close with the blessing – just like a public service of worship! God blessed them, and said: “Be fruitful and multiply.” Its instructive that the command to be fruitful and multiply is the context for the blessing. There’s more than that, but it just so happens that marital intercourse, conception, childbearing and child raising are all part of something God wants to be a happy and blessed situation. He pronounced His blessing upon this, and with his blessing comes his very life-giving presence. Our part is to trust Him and take Him at His word when he speaks a blessing.

Marriage: A Short Introduction to a Big Subject

2011-01-19T10:59:00.000-08:00

So…what is marriage? Marriage is when two people commit to loving one another as long as they both shall live. They live together, and typically, they procreate; that is, they have children together because that is a natural outflow of relationship.

Marriage fosters the ongoing life of the species, to put it in biological terms.

Many things could be said about marriage, and many things need to be said, because there is currently a lot of confusion about it.

I’d like to speak on this over a series of sub-topics. It’s not what you’d call a minor subject. Here are the 12:

The Prototype
The First Human Marriage
The Public Side of Marriage
Work, Investment and Reward in Marriage
Private and Exclusive: Protecting and Cherishing What You Have
Care and Feeding
Storms
Shipwreck
Mercy and Grace
Children
Orphans and Adoption
The Culmination of Marriae

I invite you to join me in this quest, because that’s what it is. This is a search for truth on a life-and-death matter. One could say that human marriage is a key to understanding a great bulk of life. Do you think that’s overstated? I bet you won’t after you finish these twelve topics.

Tom Graham Flew Low, Now Flying High

2010-12-08T11:00:00.000-08:00

Tom was always an encourager to me. It was funny, because when I'd first introduce him to a new person who was close to me, Tom took advantage. He invariably began the conversation with a straight face and a "crooked" comment.

I would watch the person talking with Tom for the first time to see the reaction. His very first words to the new person would be something like, "How on earth did you come to hang around with someone like John?" And he wouldn't crack a smile at all. Usually had a stern look. And the other person, depending on how quick he was might say, "Well, uh, uh..." And Tom would then rescue him and break out in a smile and say, "I'm just kidding."

He flew commercial planes and jets his whole career. (United I think). He told me that in the fifties, when he'd fly passengers from Seattle to San Francisco, on occasion they'd spot a pod of whales out over the Pacific - maybe a hundred miles off the coast of northern California. He'd come over the loud speaker and mention it to the passengers. And then maybe something like, "shall we go down and take a look?" And they did! I think this was before the jets, the 707s; so it was a prop plane, and he'd probably come down from 15,000 to - who knows what! - and the people would love it. They'd get a bird's eye view of the whales in migration.

And then there was Crater Lake in Oregon. It's that super-blue, super-deep beautiful lake that fills a crater in the Cascades. At least on one occasion he rolled over and swooped almost into the basin so the people had the ride and view of their life. You'd get fired for doing that today, of course.

As I say, Tom was an encourager to me. Here at the church where I serve in south Seattle, he was an elder. A senior elder, so he didn't attend meetings as often. Margaret went home to be with the Lord a few years back, and it has really been tough on Tom. She was his wife of (I'm guessing) 60+ years. After my dentist appointment this morning, I saw the blue sky after a squall, and thought, "maybe I can jump on the Southworth Ferry and see him again. So, when I got to the office, I got the word, "Tom died last night." Another friend nearby said, "he's got his reward."

That's for sure. A very great reward. (Psalm 16:5; Gen. 15:1)

Waiting Up Late For Me - or - A Major Turning Point

2010-10-03T18:56:00.001-07:00

(I first wrote this for one of my relatives. Maybe it can help you.)

Going off to college was a turning point in my life. I think we have many turning points, but for me this was one of those major ones. I knew God, read my Bible and had even witnessed to friends a few times before this. When I got back to Northfield, Minnesota, I met people my age who were also Christians. They had a joy and confidence that I didn’t have. I also felt humbled, because, although I had heard the Word all my life, some of these new friends studied the Bible and knew parts of it better than I did; and I knew that they hadn’t been Christians as long. That got my attention.

More to the point was the joy, peace, and confidence I saw in their lives. These are for me still things I can’t live without. So here I was – away at college after four years of off-and-on conflict with my dad. It was about my dating life and the company I kept. On the one hand, I was involved in church and music ministry, for which he was glad. But I was stuck in some habits. The tension between my dad and me – and also between my conscience and my actions – was wearing me down. Part of the reason I left Tacoma and went to the Midwest for college was to tear myself away from my environment and habits and try to get a new start.

I remember a few times tip-toeing into the house long after the time I had promised to return home. Once it was way after midnight; the light was on in the living room. As I rounded the corner and tried to sneak up the stairs to my room, there was my dad. (That's him pictured in the sketch above.) He sat quietly in a living room chair, reading and waiting. He spoke in a low, controlled voice.

“Where have you been?”

I told him I had taken my girlfriend home and we had talked for awhile. He reminded me of the time I had agreed to return and asked why it was so much later. After stumbling through an excuse, I asked why he didn’t trust me. He was ready for that, and he responded right away, “Because you’re not trustworthy.” That stung, but I knew it was true.

There wasn’t much more conversation. It was late and he had made his point. There I was, soon to be a grown man, and he and my mother had spent 17 years raising me.

I remember another occasion, when I was again tip-toeing in after midnight. This time no light was on and I made my way upstairs, presumably undetected. As I slid into bed my heart raced and pounded for quite awhile before I was finally able to relax and fall asleep.

The reason that joy, confidence and peace mean a lot to me is that they were so elusive in those days! I suppose if I had to name qualities opposite to those things, I might say that I was “depressed, hesitant, and conflicted.” The weird thing is that in the midst of all that I saw myself as a Christian, and now still believe that I truly was. But maybe that’s why this was all such a raging battle! My experience and actions were pushing hard against where my heart wanted to truly go – where I knew I belonged.

So off I went to college. Sixteen hundred miles from Tacoma. I poked my way through classes and found myself struggling to make decent grades. (I went to Highline – in the SeaTac area – the year after that.) But in the midst of that year away, far from home, I did some soul-searching and got closer to God. It took some humbling. There were times of loneliness and it took work making new friends. I got involved with teams of students who went out and put on programs and led worship services at churches nearby. Sometimes we hitch-hiked several hundred miles to get to the church or youth group we were assigned to for the weekend.

So, now 40 years later, what does it look like for me to be sure life will bring confidence, joy and peace? How do I know for sure that I won’t have a herky-jerky ride that delivers only a weird mix of surprises I can’t depend on? The answer I’ve found of course is that the source of joy and peace is Jesus Christ. But for all of us the big question is how to maintain a life-line to him. To use that water illustration - one can have a lake of cool, fresh mountain water. But how do you get a good pipe to it and draw up the water for what you need every day!?

For starters, those who say that Jesus Christ is not Lord of all and giver of life – they are simply wrong. If you have been rationalizing away what people have testified to you about him, that’s a problem. If one wants the peace, confidence and joy that comes from the forgiveness of sin, Jesus Christ is the only one who delivers. Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Communism, Globalism, humanism – all these make empty promises.

But back to the water illustration. In John 7 we see Jesus attending the third major annual feast of the Jewish year, the Feast of Booths (Succoth). He stands up and says with a loud voice, “If any one trusts me, out of his innermost being will flow rivers of living water. (He was talking about the Holy Spirit, which those who trusted in Him were going to receive).”

God’s Holy Spirit actually lives in the person who trusts Jesus Christ. It’s sort of like you and me living in a house and making it our home. The Spirit of God lives in our body and makes it His home. And when He does, He brings with Him all the good gifts of Jesus Christ and daily reminds us that they belong to us. This is genuine good news. If you keep reading, there can be unbelievable benefit to you.

Maybe I should remind you, the gifts of God are not “spiritual” in the sense that they are for monks and nuns. They are not “other-worldly” in that you don’t get them until you die. Nor are they so hard to understand that only someone trained as a scholar can grasp them.

God gives daily food. He gives friends. He gives wisdom, jobs, understanding and insight. He gives laughter, and happiness in families. The Bible says that “all good gifts” are from God. (James 1:17). Without minimizing things such as eating, drinking and physical pleasures, perhaps relationships are the biggest.

When I would sneak into the house late at night and hoped to be undetected, my fear was not that my parents would never forgive me. Nor was it that God would send me to hell for being disobedient. I knew that He was forgiving. I knew that’s why Christ died, to pay for my sin. What I was stuck on was that my behaviors were chopping me off at the knees. I wasn’t owning up to things, and this was undermining my relationships – with Christ and other people. I now know that the opportunity to break away and go off to college was also a gift from God! This time away helped me back away from my situation and look at it. This became a time during which I got to meet a whole different group of people who affirmed, loved, and served the same Lord my parents served. (My parents weren’t perfect, of course, but they were trying their utmost to serve God and help their four boys do the same.)

God cleaned me up. He got me more deeply into His Word. He gave me a fresh look at people who walked the walk. Those people weren’t perfect either, but somehow this all helped. Jesus said, “You are made clean by the word I have spoken to you.” Jesus is the living Word. His blood atones for our sin. But to really know, experience and revel in that “clean-ness” every day is to be able to name the sins that need cleansing. Like Luther says, we don’t have to belabor this and forever make a longer and longer list of our ugly sins. Forget that. It’s impossible. But when God brings to my mind something I’ve done wrong, or an attitude I persist in that stinks, He’s putting a finger on it. He’s calling me to name it with my lips – between Him and me. (If my sin is also between me and another person, I need to name it to that person too, for we are all called to be family under Christ.)

The good news here is that this humbling and naming brings freedom. Freedom brings power over the evil. Naming and confessing defeats Satan. The power we gain brings joy and celebration. I really see this when I look around at so many people who live in the sewers of life. That’s where I was headed. I’m glad God helped me.

Where is all this going? Maybe you have some big decisions that are looming. I can’t walk you through all the applications of the gospel to your life. But I can tell you this: Through Christ, God who made you in His image is your Heavenly Father. He knows your needs and has the power and will to help you. He’s calling you now to trust Him.

Faith is the condition. Faith, and only faith. To have faith doesn’t mean you can explain it all. Faith is simply trusting that Jesus Christ died for your sin. Often it is a re-affirming faith: you re-visit that place where you once trusted Christ, say “I have wandered off the track,” and ask the Father again to restore to you the joy of salvation. Faith, in order to be faith, must look away from self. Break the mirror. Look only to Jesus Christ. This is a daily discipline. No one has this all figured out. Everybody has to learn to walk daily as little children do, step by step.

You might hear voices that tell you the “fear of God” is old-fashioned and must be discarded. But instead, discard those voices. They are liars, deceivers. (This is not said for dramatic effect. See John 8:44.)

Enjoying life is ultimately only possible by failing in love with Jesus Christ. Fall in love with Him. He’s in love with you. This is true not because you or I are always loveable. It’s because of His very nature. “Beloved, let us love one another…for God is love.” God loves people. That’s what He does. But of course, it all comes on His terms. Pull the clear water out of the reservoir. Drink it by faith. Let His scriptures – especially maybe the Psalms and the New Testament – daily build your faith. “Faith comes by hearing…the Word of Christ.” You won’t find faith deep within your own heart. By nature you and I are unbelievers. We are doubters and skeptics. Crush the mirror; pick up the Word.

Converting Cohabitation to Courtship

2010-10-03T17:37:00.000-07:00

The purpose of this document is to set out a plan for the creative and constructive use of a period of time the cohabiting couple can use to build a strong foundation for marriage. This is particularly for couples who profess to be Christians and those who wish to move in that direction.

The following are some guiding principles:

There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1). Therefore, there are two things which a creative period of separation is not: It is not punishment, because Jesus paid the price for all our sin. And it is not a way to earn more favor with God. We approach God with all our needs confidently because of the status Jesus has given us as a gift through the cross: we are God’s children.

Marriage is a picture of Christ’s love for the church; therefore we approach Christian marriage with the sense of a high calling. (Ephesians 5:21-31)

The roles of husband and wife shown in the Bible are not conditioned by culture, and therefore the gospel promise of life in Christ moves you in two manners: closer to God and blessing, and further from the world and compromise.

The decision to live in two different residences until the day of marriage must be mutual, and cannot be one that is enforced or policed by man. It is a sacred matter of grace between the man and the woman and their God. It is a faith decision made in response to God.

This period is expected to be creative and constructive. Therefore, resources will be given to the couple, chiefly God’s Word and special guided opportunities for learning and fellowship. God always shows His grace to be more than sufficient for our need.

The roles of the man and woman are laid out in scripture to correspond with Christ’s love for the church, His bride. Therefore, although these roles are not ironclad and inflexible by any means, the man will learn the art of initiating and the woman the art of responding. Some traditions call this time of preparing for marriage “courtship”. (Our culture has almost totally lost the sense of this: the church must not follow culture but lead it.) The assumption is that God in his wisdom calls the man to learn to initiate, because men in sin are prone to neglect things and renege on their responsibilities. The assumption is also that God, in grace, calls the woman to learn response because she, in some sense, needs to learn to wait upon the man as the church waits upon the Lord for His word.

Finally, a sacred period of separation is an act of love toward the community. It gains the couple a place of respect which their cohabitation had in effect undercut. And it gains for themselves a clear conscience and defense against Satan’s accusations, which he constantly hurls at Christ’s bride.

Dementia, Fear and Faith

2010-08-16T12:04:00.000-07:00

“Have you lost your mind?!” This question is often addressed in a shrill voice by a parent to a child in a tone of dismay or ridicule. The little one addressed stands ashamed because he got out of line. But some people really do lose their mind, many of them older people, and no shaming should be happening. It’s due to a disease that hits people with more predictability the older they get!

I remember driving my dad to his house after he had attended a pastors’ meeting with me. This was in 1990. He was a retired pastor, and I was an active one. We negotiated the freeway turns going from Everett, Washington to Redmond, where he lived. I was accustomed to him making aggressive navigational remarks when I was at the wheel, and usually tolerated these with minor irritation. But this day there were way too many of them and I mentioned it a mile before we pulled up to his driveway. I was shocked at his response, because it revealed a vulnerability I had been clueless about until then. “I just don’t remember things so well these days,” he said, trying to solve this riddle as he spoke. Immediately the thought came to me, “Dad was talking me through the turns on the freeway to help himself stay in the game. He was actually disoriented back there!” For a guy who flew in the South Pacific and pulled many all-nighters driving across country, this was a real change.

Those in the helping professions may refer to the condition generically: “It’s dementia.” That’s a convenient label, and we know so much less than we’d like at this point. Our minds get a lot slower as we age. Popular magazines even prescribe exercises for us to stay sharp with the hope of staving off the eventuality of this horror! My wife asked me to read one of these articles. But professionals continue to sound a warning about something called Alzheimer’s Disease. It stands in its own camp with a raging defiance. It killed my dad. But it took a decade.

Since I’m a pastor, I’d like to say something about the spiritual aspects of this disease. A person’s spiritual well-being can affect other areas of life. This has to do with relationships. Maybe our story can help you a little.

I remember a family gathering soon after our drive on the freeway. We gathered in the Redmond home; the young generation, grandchildren of my parents, were there. We were laughing, listening to loud music, and people were reacting to something on the TV in the family room. Adjoined to this was the kitchen where dad paced, scowling and staying out of the fun. Some of the people began to notice this, because his normal “stand apart from the crowd” posture was accentuated. When the music and laughter rose to a high pitch, he was observed making a complaint. “What gives?” we thought. Some in the group reacted to his unsociable mood. “Why is Dad throwing cold water on this occasion?” we thought. “We’re all having a good time, except for him.”

Loud noises and sudden movements are perceived differently by Alzheimer’s patients than the normal person. I think that was partly what was going on there. Maybe a car swerving in traffic would fit in that category. Thus, his agitation on the freeway earlier. But, without getting into medical analysis, which I can’t do, let’s look at relationships. When a person begins to suspect that there is a new reality (onset of Alzheimer’s), it ought to be checked out. If there is a bad relationship to begin with, such as unforgiveness between people, the moment a person doesn’t measure up becomes a moment to seize on. “He’s so uptight!” “Why doesn’t she enjoy life more?!” This situation is like what happens when a family has substance abuse in one or more members. The entire family system is often dysfunctional and the “disease” can exacerbate this. What are some key faith and relationship issues?

Unbelief and fear are related. Faith is a matter of trusting – that Jesus Christ really came from heaven, entered our history, died to atone for humankind’s sin and reconcile us to God. The God factor is everything, because He’s the one who made us for relationships. Through a right relationship with Him, we have meaning, peace, and security. He created us in His image. But if we continue alienated from Him, we live in guilt, fear and insecurity. There’s no way to keep from “transferring” those feelings onto the people we are closest to. Especially when pressures like Alzheimer’s, substance abuse, or money problems arise.

And even when reconciliation is effected, as long as one lives in the temporal sphere, there will still be unresolved things such as pain, loneliness and mystery. These, of course, can be met by the grace of God for the believer. But for the unbeliever, there must be alternative routes to resolve them. Blaming and shaming are things we all tend to fall back on, as opposed to trusting God and seeking His will for solutions. Those are two extremely different approaches. And, any honest “believer” would admit that he often fails and falls back into blaming and shaming. That’s why we write into our worship liturgies things called “confession of sin”. We don’t always live up to our calling and need renewal through daily forgiveness.

Back to some concrete terms. If your mother has dementia and is approaching death – certainly the death of relationships as you have known them – who will take care of her emotionally? When she’s fearful how can you reassure her? When the caregiver who’s paid below minimum wage and doesn’t speak English well has duty in the middle of the night, how well will things go? Do you feel guilty for letting things get to this point? Do you have someone to talk to about your pressures? I’m often reminding myself in pastoral work that the caregiver needs care! This person can easily get overlooked.

As Dad’s condition worsened he went into a nursing home. The second and final caregiving situation had a specialized Alzheimer’s unit. Toward the end of this nine month period, we had to commit him to a “gero-psych” evaluation. This was discouraging. He had always been healthy and strong, and because he was on the razor’s edge of being aware of things, he resisted them the intake people. He didn’t understand why they were putting him in a wheelchair, nor did he know why all the strange people were handling him while we were backing away. He got excited and resisted. From their point of view, he was making things difficult. Drugs were their answer. I felt like I was observing “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” in real life.

After this things settled down and we found a nursing home ten miles from my mother. Her decision to commit him to the unit had been precipitated by months of tussling with him and cleaning up in the wake of incontinence problems. I would have absolutely hated to go and visit him and just stare at the wall without much conversation. In the second nursing care situation I became “that nice guy”. He didn’t know my name or who exactly I was.

And then music came in handy. He had taught me chords on the piano, paid for my music lessons, and had driven me to them countless times, as had my mother. Now I dug out the guitar, and had the nursing home tuck his trumpet in a hall closet where I could quickly grab it during visits. Boy was I glad for the Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey hits that he had taught me! We both played them by memory. The old favorite hymns came back too. I kept a list of song titles in my wallet and in the guitar case.

Somehow, I suppose, God made our brains with an easy access for music. It seems that information tied to music, rhythm, and movement lasts longer than some other strictly cognitive things. This is not scientifically precise on my part, but I have observed it firsthand too many times to pass it off. What a blessing. We had many song sessions together and he didn’t even know my name. I also saw him reacting with simple glee when someone brought in a cat to the lobby. When you get older do you again enjoy the simple things like little animals and little children because you’re no longer busy keeping that pressurized schedule – and you’re unable to do the “treadmill”?

Back to relationships and our spiritual life: A close family friend named Cliff once said he wanted to write a book called Flowers are For the Living. He never got to it, but his concern was that we too often wait till our loved ones die to talk about what great people they were. Tell and show them while they’re still alive! I’m glad I was able to give Dad a shave and wash his face once. I’m glad I could push him in a wheelchair a few times. It was on a sunny sidewalk in Redmond, a block from the Microsoft campus. I sang, prayed, and recited scriptures aloud on that spring day. It was a way to “connect.” Had I not forgiven him – had he not forgiven me – whatever needed forgiving, we would have had a roadblock in our relationship. But because God actually entered our history, and we both take that seriously, there was a sizzling reality to this whole eternal life promise. So an ugly thing like Alzheimer’s enters the picture. You push through it, and the damned thing won’t have the last word. The Lord of the empty grave will! When you can’t keep yourself together, He can – and will. And He’s promised to call us out of our graves just like He did to Lazarus. That’s where the rubber meets the road.

Heaven Is A Big Deal

2010-08-11T16:05:00.001-07:00

I hear that many people aren’t terribly interested in going to heaven. They think it’s either sitting on fluffy clouds and being bored, or it’s just a theory that really has no substance.

I hear that there are even Christians that don’t look forward to it because they basically think the same thing! (Check out this link: http://www.epm.org/store/product/heaven/ )

This is a real problem.

Heaven is all about having a living, vibrant relationship with God through Jesus Christ. So the whole matter all stands or falls with the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth. If you’re a Christian, look carefully at what I’m going to say, because if you’re skeptical about heaven, these thoughts might help. If you’re not religious, or you have a different belief, check out some things you may have never seen. Consider carefully the following:

Jesus of Nazareth was a true historical person.
Jesus often said things that made people either angry or confused. My point is that if you haven’t studied the New Testament writings, you’re likely basing your notions of him on ignorance. You might be buying into the foolish notion that he merely taught people to love one another.
Jesus taught that there is a hell where people will be forever cut off from the possibility of heaven or paradise.
Jesus taught that he was the one and only Messiah, who could rescue people from being separated from God, and literally give them a free pass into heaven. (This very idea, of course, offends many people, but you can’t escape it in the documents that witness to his words and deeds.)
Even though he never said the words, “I am God”, many things Jesus said were tantamount to his making this claim.
The miracles he did, the courage he showed in the face of evil, and the compassion he demonstrated toward the downtrodden, consistently demonstrated his absolute uniqueness in the human family. (He was sine qua non – without peer.)

The idea here is to begin to lay a foundation of truth about Jesus Christ and the meaning of life. God created you and me “in his image”. The first couple, Adam and Eve, had a wonderful relationship with God in what we might call the “first heaven – the first paradise”, the garden of Eden. But a severe break in this blissful friendship took place! And with that breakup came disease, doubt, fear, guilt, estrangement and much more. In a word, man was cut off from this first heaven. Guess what happened.

God Knew the Need and Made a Plan
One of the very first things that happened was that God addressed the truth of this evil. And almost in the same breath He began to plant in Adam’s and Eve’s minds that their “heaven” could be restored. That’s the meaning of the words in Genesis 3:15. (Immediately God gets down to business with a positive, healing plan.) It was, admittedly, a shadowy promise, And even though they didn’t comprehend it then, His word was given. And it began to actually take fleshly substance when an animal was sacrificed for the man and his wife to have clothing! A life had to be taken in order to restore life. Sin and separation were attached with a cost. This “foreshadowed” the sacrifice of a Life in the future that would have infinitely more value than an animal. This future sacrifice would re-open Paradise and Heaven, but that wouldn’t be understood for quite some time.

There is much that could be said about how God called Abraham and gave him the covenant promise. We could speak of Moses, the tabernacle sacrifices and the Ten Commandments. But meanwhile, you’re wondering about Heaven.

Sin Separates

In this “fallen world” man’s sin separates him from God and Heaven. The door to paradise got locked tight. And we got “locked up” too: humanity became wrapped in the iron chains of sin, death, and the devil! We were imprisoned by sin, slaves to our lusts. (Some of the liturgies help us confess this in its manifold aspect: “We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed.”)

Jesus is the Key for Reconciliation

Jesus was somewhat like the sacrificial animal that had to be given up. He was the great “Lamb” of God, the life God put forward as the answer to our spiritual death. Jesus was the key to unlocking heaven.

God sent His Son, Jesus the Messiah, into the world at the right time, the Bible says. Why did He wait so long? We have some answers to that, but the main thing is – its good for us He did send Him, because Jesus’ death blasted open the gates to Heaven! And now when people look to the solution God put out there instead of their own self-made utopias and nirvanas, what a powerful and amazing thing they discover!

Heaven opened up when Jesus died. The curtain of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was torn in two, symbolizing what really happened: man could have friendship with God again! And when Jesus burst out of the tomb on the first “Easter”, people saw him and gave their eyewitness accounts (see the NT documents). But guess what else! Not only was the transcendent Heaven open to “mortals.” He brought heaven down to us. It became as close as the nose on your face. How could that possibly be – you say? Read on.

You might recall that Jesus not only healed people, cast out demons and pronounced the forgiveness of sins, but he taught a lot about “the kingdom of God”, and “the kingdom of Heaven.” These phrases are constantly cropping up in the gospel accounts!

Blessed are those who recognize their spiritual poverty, because the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for standing up for the right thing. The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them.
Whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Be sure that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that in Heaven their angels always are gazing at the face of my Father who is in Heaven.

And then he blasted some with this: “Woe to you scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites, for you shut the Kingdom of Heaven against men; for you neither enter yourselves, nor allow those who want to enter to go in!

Jesus Christ sent the Holy Spirit from Heaven as the “guarantee” that those who trust God and follow Christ will actually inherit all the great things he promises. Those who look to God’s solution to the great calamity (sin and the fall from grace) get the Holy Spirit to actually live in their bodies. Now, the Holy Spirit is only one. There are a lot of spirits but only one Holy Spirit. And if the Holy Spirit lives in you and you trust the God of Heaven, you get God, and you get Heaven. (After you die, Christ will raise you from the dead and welcome you into eternal bliss with Him at the exact time the Father has determined.) And this is especially great for those who suffer a lot on earth for the name of Christ. It does not go unnoticed by Him who sees all things.

The Final Sorting Out

So – heaven is coming – as truly as Jesus is coming in judgment, and every eye will see him and all the tribes will wail and moan because they’ll wish they had listened.
And when He comes in power and glory – “on the clouds of heaven” – with billions of people seeing Him at the same moment, He will judge all the nations. Every single solitary person will parade in front of him and He will separate them out, like a shepherd sorting out sheep from goats.

To some He’ll say, “Enter this fabulous paradise I’ve prepared for you. Enter my joy. You haven’t seen the half of it. I’ve been looking forward to having you as my special guest for all of eternity.” My friend, that’s going to be Paradise to an exponential degree. And the best of it will be that we will always be with this One who gave everything up so that we could live.

And then, yes unfortunately, there will be the other side of the matter. He will say to many, “Depart from me. I never knew you. We weren’t friends before; we aren’t friends now. There’s another place for you, a place of eternal torment.”

Stumbling or Building

Now if that sounds offensive, it is. The problem is, things can be both offensive and true at the same time. That’s what Jesus Christ is. Some people stumble over him. Others build upon him and get Paradise and Heaven. Because not only is He offensive and true. He is also good.

If you’re riding the fence of indecision, jump off it and get into His camp. Ultimately there is no fence, only a dividing line.

For Friends Who Helped Send Me to Ukraine

2010-07-06T11:57:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful trip to Ukraine. Thanks very much for your support and prayers. Dave Huck and Scott Erdahl were travel and ministry partners, and that made it great too.

My back, which is sometimes tight on long trips, felt great. And the weather was wonderful. Ukraine is a great place; God seems to be working in a special way there. I think I’m learning bit by bit to watch for the areas God is already at work, and to join Him (as opposed to trying to “make things happen on my own”). Anyway, the Bible School and Seminary in Zaporozhye continues to move ahead. We commissioned a team of young people to travel to Kazakhstan, where several of these same people had previously been arrested!

I taught a class of 5 men and 3 women on the book of Galatians. They seemed appreciative. I taught three sessions a day for 9 days, and we had time for questions and comments. My interpreter was fluent, and I never had to worry whether the true sense was getting through. Once it was sort of funny, because I felt that one of the young women was misunderstanding a crucial point. I quizzed her on it right there. She sat near the front. As I zoomed in, a friend next to her whispered an answer to get her off the hook. It was just like back in junior high. I wanted to chuckle at the thought of it, but I pressed through and made sure she answered for herself and got the clarification necessary.

On the fourth day I tried to navigate the public transportation after classes and find my way back to the apartment without help. I thought – I think I can do this. But I got off one stop too soon. Whoops. All the apartment buildings tend to look the same. The weather was beautiful, so here was this American strolling down one long block after another, doing his best to look as if he was just enjoying a walk. Finally something familiar came into view – the long park across from our apartment. But it seemed like I was on a different end of it than what I was used to seeing. So I quickened my pace and walked toward the other end. Halfway down I recognized a statue and saw how to put the puzzle into place. I crossed the park and reversed my direction for a few yards. Presto, I was home.

O well. The big adventure was the joy of meeting brothers and sisters on the other side of the world who know and love Jesus Christ. What a privilege to share the Bread of Life with them. Scott was faithful traversing the city, connecting with men on mentoring relationships he had begun the year before. He would often drag in late at night, tired. But the next day he was ready for more. Dave was construction man. The school’s twin building, right next to where I taught, received accelerated wiring with his help – a beautiful 5 story solid concrete structure. (see picture above.)

The city straddles the Dnieper River, and a large hydroelectric dam churns out power for the region, which even (unfortunately) Hitler made use of when he took over when the Nazis occupied. A large statue of Lenin stands in a park near the river. A museum nearby displayed for us the wars and conflicts the region has endured. Church services draw more older women than men. The communists kept the men working in the factories. Living conditions are improving physically in Ukraine, but there is great need to spread the gospel to a new generation.

As we drove to the airport to leave, the wind kicked up a lot of air pollution. My heart went out to those who must live there. They are pretty monolithic ethnically, and they have a pride in their region and language. Yet they imitate the West, as do so many cultures, and unless they hear the gospel, which of course, didn’t originate with us, they will imitate us with all the mixture of values we have here! Let’s encourage one another to stay close to God, be doers of the Word and not hearers only…and keep supporting missions as the Holy Spirit directs.

By the way, did you see the Wall Street Journal Friday, July 2? A column with a title something like “Houses of Worship” regularly appears. The writer said, “Some churches are really into doing missions these days by offering a helping hand and not being too preachy…but the church needs to remember to do both. To bring God’s Word and offer that helping hand” [my paraphrase of his comment]. Sometimes we get good reminders even through a “secular” rag.

Have You Heard the Good News?

2010-06-09T10:07:00.000-07:00

1. You are very special because you are created in the image of God. You are made by God, for his glory. (Genesis 1:1; Eph. 1:3-5). You and I can’t find our meaning when we look first to our own mind and reasoning. We find the real purpose and peace and security when we realize that we are “created by the Creator”. He made us so that we can know Him, belong to Him, enjoy Him and His creation, and serve our neighbor according to God’s will.

2. God loves you. “God is love,” the Bible teaches. That’s His very nature. The 4th point of this outline explains that further. But for the moment, to make a simple illustration, if you were to squeeze an orange, orange juice would come out. You would not get apple juice or tomato juice. You’d get orange juice, because that’s the nature of the fruit. Thus, when you “squeeze” God, or when you investigate God further, you will always see love, because that’s one of the key things about Him. There are other things, such as creative power. But, since there is a universal longing for love and acceptance and life, it’s important to know that the God who created you also loves you.

3. The “world” is currently at odds with God. There is much “disharmony” in the universe. The Bible simply agrees with what we see: In the midst of the wonder of creation, there is also much tragedy. In the beginning of the Bible (the 3rd chapter of Genesis), we see that the first people – Adam and Eve – fell out of favor with God. They did this by transgressing boundaries He had clearly laid out. And even before they disobeyed, the unseen angelic powers had their own rebellion. Their chief led Adam and Eve into rebellion. Since that day, weeds grow in gardens, people die, and mankind lives in a strange mix of good and evil. Every person born inherits this situation. This “sin” is a condition of our human nature, an attitude of the heart, and an open rebellion. Many even declare the God of the Bible to be a sinner – “its all His fault because He let it happen”. Thus they write off the whole matter and move on to their own self-made philosophies. But f you are willing to investigate the person the Bible puts forward as the “solution” to all this, you will be surprised, and even pleasantly drawn into to a new viewpoint beyond your imagining. Take a look.

4. Jesus Christ is the one the Bible puts forward as the solution to all this. Learn as much about Him as you possibly can. The “New Testament” writings, originally in Greek, are the historically solid testimony. These aren’t fabricated religious writings. The come directly out of the soil of history. Their credibility is solid. Take it or leave it. But it would be foolish to drop the matter here. The “Law and Prophets and Writings” of the Hebrew Bible foretold of Jesus’ coming. He appeared on the stage of history when the time was right, and lived an amazing life. He was born of a Jewish mother, and most people presumed Joseph was his father. But it was a miraculous conception, because the Holy Spirit of God caused Mary to conceive as a virgin. Jesus did miracles, healed people, raised the dead, and cast out evil spirits. When he taught, people were astonished at his authority. He was a threat to the powers, religious and secular, Jewish and Roman. They put him on a cross and executed him. It later became apparent that even though “they” did it, the sins of all people of all time made it necessary that this one should die for all. Jesus was the “sacrificial lamb.” He died for you. He died for me. And He did it so that we wouldn’t have to taste death in any long-term sense. He even died to restore harmony to the entire creation. Those who trust Him and accept what He offers by way of forgiveness are transferred from this world of decay into a new citizenship. With this new status, all who trust Jesus the Christ and submit to Him are guaranteed to overcome the guilt, fear, shame, and ultimately, the grave. The Bible also makes it clear that those who rebel against Christ must give an accounting to Him at the final judgment. He will be a fearful judge for some on that day, and not a savior.

5. So then, I have given you the Good News. If you’ve ever heard the word “gospel”, this is what it means. The “gospel message” is the “Good News” that Jesus Christ comes with the gift of life to a despairing and rebelling world. He offers it to you as you hear or read this. Life. Peace. An eternal family, with Him and His goodness at the center. Read the New Testament and check it out for yourself. Then also read the Old Testament, where the stage is set for His coming. If you have trouble reading long things, ask someone to help you. Many people will help. Receive Christ into your heart and into the center of your life. Forsake your self-centered, prideful living. It’s useless. It will end in death – eternal death, away from God and away from any possibility of joy, peace and life. Now is time – then will be eternity. Forsake your foolish pride. Sure, you’ve done many good things, but so has everybody. You’re no different. All you good works are good. But they don’t guarantee you eternal life, because on judgment day, your evil works and “hidden” attitudes and deeds will become visible. (ouch) Why live in fear of that? Why pretend that it won’t happen? It will

As far as other belief systems are concerned, of course there are many. But you always must compare the person and work of Jesus Christ with them. Which of them takes reality into account as does Christ and the Bible? As to the meaning of evil, there are difficult questions. But the one who did those mighty works and said those astounding things is the same one who went to the cross for you and for me. He is not far; he is near.

So there I’ve given it to you. Jesus, the Christ is amazing. Receive Him – now. He’s looking at you, because you can’t hide from God. “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself. Be reconciled to God. Call on the name of Jesus. Then go tell someone. And begin to get help from a Christian friend or a pastor or Bible teacher to help you grow. You’ve just begun the Great Adventure. It won’t be easy, but it will be very, very good.

The Good News is Out in Ukraine, Too!

2010-05-23T14:43:00.000-07:00

I got to travel to Ukraine for the second time in two years. Last time it was in the west, this time in the east. The western part is more favorable to returning to Ukranian as the official language. There they also do not favor Moscow generally. In the east (I was at Zaporozhye, where Hitler took over the city for a while, and torched it when he left), its just the opposite. Here the people prefer Russian language, and are more open to rapprochement with the big boys up north.

But all that is too much for me. I was "just" there for kingdom business. And of course, that was a joy. I was sent by my home congregation, Boulevard Park Presbyterian Church in Seattle, and had two great travelling partners, Scott and Dave. I taught two weeks on the NT book of Galatians, with 3 lectures per day. There were eight students, three women and five men, and they love to study the Word. Galatians is the "mini-Bible" on Christian freedom, and it assists with clarifying law and grace.(The law identifies and magnifies sin; the grace of Christ saves us from it. Study Galatians again if it's been awhile for you!)

The weather was beautiful over there in late April and early May. A couple of outings were memorable. We saw the huge hydroelectric dam on the Dnieper River one day. Another day we visited a Russian Orthodox church and saw a group of worshipers as they were finishing up a baptismal service. They say that the use of icons in the eastern orthodox church helps teach spiritual principles and Biblical stories. The facial features are all the same; they're not meant to be uniuque. Other aspects of each icon bring out the biblical message, whether baptism, the death of Christ, his resurrection, or whatever. Maybe we can learn from this ancient art form which, at its best, is meant to use art to point to God, as opposed to using art to point to the art itself or to the artist!

We also visited a Cossack Museum on an island in the huge Dnieper River. It was well done, though tough-slogging trying to read labels on large murals, statues and weaponry - all written in Russian! There has been a lot of war and conflict over that territory over the years. This country, the former "breadbasket of the Soviet Union," is farther east than most of eastern Europe, actually closer to what we call "central Asia".

As with other parts of the world, the human mind there has had shackles put on it by governments, illiteracy in previous centuries, and finally the same force you and I are subject to in a fallen world: sin and Satan. But because of the work of Jesus Christ on our behalf, freedom can be proclaimed in his name to all who will hear. We prayed for a youth team that was returning to Kazakstan, after having been there on Christian outreach, and after experiencing the imprisonment of several team members. (I believe they were released within a week or so.) But they wanted to return and do a day camp for children, teaching them the gospel through song, puppets, and other means. For them, shackles are a possibility, but they know, with scripture, "the Word of God is not chained!" (2 Tim. 2:9) The Word of God is not in prison and never will be. That's why you and I must speak it and make it clear, as we ought. (Eph. 6:20)

Speaking of making the Word clear, and speaking boldly, watch for a blog in the future on the "doctrine of the 2 kingdoms", or "the limits of secular and spiritual authority". Many believers these days teeter on the ragged edge of confusing these things. As long as they do, their witness is muddled and compromised.

Did Pat Robertson Overstep Again? Haiti's Heartache

2010-01-14T11:45:00.000-08:00

A friend wrote an email today mentioning Pat Robertson and his comments on Haiti, which seems to be hitting the media - YouTube and such. I wrote him back with words like this:

We discussed Pat Robertson briefly at a Pastor’s meeting at a neighboring church this morning. It seems to me that the issue there is not that he pointed out sin, but that – as far as the video clips show – he didn’t make an intentional and special effort at making the gospel clear in the same breath. That’s the huge issue for me, and I believe it is with the Holy Spirit.

The law of God is absolutely necessary. It shows us that we fall short, we rebel etc. But when you’re down for the count, you’re desperate for good news, for rescue. There are likely many deeply hurting people in Haiti right now. The Christian (whether Robertson, or you or me) is beholden to be truthful about law, but also very eager to bring a word of hope, that Jesus Christ loves people and wants to bring them grace.

(In Haiti some of the obvious sins include Voodo. In America, we've got a pile of them, too. Paul said the sins of some are obvious, and the sins of others may not be as visible, but will "follow after them." [I Tim. 5:24] I think America's sins are starting to catch up with us. God doesn't miss anything.)

As we speak there are probably thousands of Christians responding with gifts of money, medicine, clothing, food, - and even going there themselves to assist. Let’s pray that God will be honored. This is what Paul meant when he referred to behavior which adorns the gospel. (Living Bible paraphrases it like this: “…[to] make people want to believe in our Savior and God.” (Titus 2:10)

Need Help Getting Serious About Bible Study?

2010-01-04T22:16:00.000-08:00

I heard the Bible read by my Dad around the dinner table when I grew up. I even started reading in on my own and praying when I was young. Those experiences are so important to me now that I would never want to minimize them.

There are a few things that I have learned since then, though, that you might want to look at. If you're having a hard time going further with Bible study and your relationship with the Lord, check this out. These two go together.

Since your time is valuable, and my ideas are more clear when I'm brief, I will try to be clear and brief. The thoughts here are first about the "mechanics" of Bible study and reading and then about the spirit of the thing.

Here are the mechanics (for lack of a better word.) You need a regular place and a regular time. My time is the morning after I wake up enough and get a bit of hot coffee nearby. Life is changeable, so these things will change, but morning and coffee work for me. Find out what works for you. The place that works for me is our study, down one room from the bedroom. I can shut the door when necessary and tune out the radio that someone else sometimes has on in the bathroom. I always need a pen. You do too. Don't go to your regular Bible reading and prayer without a pen, because you want to underline or circle things that stand out to you. You may want to write a question mark or exclamation point in the margin. The first means "research this further". (Maps, Bible dictionaries, time lines, history books - all these are helpful for research. The very last choice is a commentary. That's ok when you're just starting, but you've got to eventually supplement that. You need to learn to really study and get the big picture.)

The lesson here is what someone said, "The gems of scripture are not going to be mined by the casual Bible reader." If you're going to be serious about Bible study and reading, get serious about a regular place and time. Those are necessary mechanics for me. I imagine they might be that for you.

A couple of things that are simple outgrowths of this are historical, and have huge implications for my next section. It wasn't until I went to seminary that I began to understand the flow of the Old Testament. I had heard of things such as the Babylonian captivity, but I never knew when or how it happened. I never knew what books were related to it. So such things as the prophets just clumped together in my mind like a ball of yarn with glue spilled all over it. They had no definition. Then I learned about the northern kingdom separating from the southern kingdom, and when that was. I learned that the north went into captivity before the south, and I learned about the different military powers who carried off God's people, and the men who were preaching when these things happened. It began to live in my mind like the very true and dramatic story that it was.

When you get beyond being spoon-fed and really do some digging, you begin to see that God's book is real history. And the divine drama that is the Incarnation is all about God's preparation for and actual coming to join the human race to effect our redemption. This is the point when the Holy Spirit jumps on you. You have to respond in worship or go out and find a way to tell someone. This sick world of ours needs something beyond the swill it usually drinks in. The Bible has the real goods. Are you going to really dig in and see if what I'm saying is true?

Some Real Skin in the Game

2009-12-03T07:38:00.000-08:00

December is amazing.

Yes, I know that there are tons of economic pressure. There are wars. And all this holiday obsessiveness causes many who are on the edge to feel their loneliness or depression even more acutely. But if you look at the old, basic message and really study it, you can be refreshed and actually transcend some of the mire "down here".

We pray in the Lord's prayer "thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." The reason we pray this way - and of course Jesus taught us to - is that it's God's will that His kingdom come among us here. Yes, we are in a fallen world, and yes, even the most righteous person actively at times participates in promoting the wrong things. But the hope and the power for great tomorrows is in the old basic message.

The beautiful "prologue" to the gospel of John says, referring to Jesus, "the Word became flesh". It's talking about Jesus of Nazareth, who was in the beginning with God the Father before the worlds were spoken into being. That's a loadful to swallow of course. You have to dig out your Bible, or go buy or borrow one someplace if necessary. Check it out. In a world full of blather and gossip and absolute idiocy in so many quarters, this passage gives you and me a mouthful of meat to chew on and absorb that can actually sustain us.

The ancients invented their deities, and we do that now too. But invented deities of man always end up being either in our own likeness and therefore as limited as we, or they are way out there and unattainable in the long run. This Deity was actually way out there, which is part of the point. But then, in the wisdom of the "triune conference" (research that one at a later date) our precious Lord Jesus came to this miserable planet and put skin in the game. (Think Bethlehem - and a baby that actually needed diapers, and an adoring mother, step-father, and common shepherds.)

Anyway, before getting to windy here, December is a marvelous time. Sure, the whole world generates more sales, and people have more parties, but the huge thing is that Jesus, our amazing Savior, came and took on human flesh in order to bring his peaceable kingdom to you. To me. To change our hard hearts. To offer forgiveness to the penitent. And to truly and actually guarantee us a good and solid eternity.

God bless you and keep you this December.

Worship at the Independent Church

2009-10-29T15:37:00.000-07:00

Some call it a post-denominational era. Whatever the case may be, many churches are disconnecting from their historic ties, and many others are springing up which have little sense of historic connections. As long as the gospel is being preached truthfully, the Spirit of God is at work, and we rejoice over that.

Having said that, each new generation needs to express the Word in a way its people understand intelligibly and emotionally. And it's a "downward and upward" expression. God's Word comes to us, and we respond to Him in prayer and worship and faith. But given our propensity to forget and confuse truth, we do well to continue learning from the good teachers of the past. Gathering regularly to hear the Gospel and respond is an important part of our journey. We dare not act as though we are so independent we need not learn from those who preceeded us about healthy ways to do this.

Perhaps the next-to-worse-case scenario is going to church and experiencing a minimalist approach something like this: pray, preach, sing songs and pass the plate. Such churches seem to give no thought to a well-prepared public reading of scripture (as Paul said, "until I come give attention to the public reading of scripture"). There is no recitation of a creed such as the Apostle's or Nicene, which, when used, are wonderful for summarizing the faith and provoking people to engage their minds more deeply in the indispensable substance of the gospel. But these things and more can nevertheless be developed as a congregation matures, if the Word of God is being taught with clarity and love, and law and gospel are distinguished.

Maybe the worst-case-scenario occurs when many churches engage in a work-up approach to involvement, so that singing, giving, hearing exhortation and testimonies are a means to "work up" the enthusiasm of the people. When the Word is rightly preached and taught, God's Spirit comes graciously to us and He does His creative work in our hearts and wills. And we respond with faith and joy and relief. Although the idea of response is a part of the revolutionary core of the gospel, it is foreign to many. Thus what many practice can quickly become a human effort by which we hope and attempt and struggle to produce a spiritual experience. The thrill, joy, and confidence in the Lord Christ (this often bears little resemblance to emotion) is not in the equation. A sad state of affairs indeed.

This commentary is not for the purpose of urging people to do things in stilted sequence. I enjoy going into a worship service and starting to sing songs and hymns right off. The Word says, "Come into his presence with singing". But there is something very special about hymns and songs which truly bring the Incarnate Word to me. Songs that contain really good lyrical content; hymns that marry the words with the music. Even when I was young I really didn't relish songs that had paper-thin content. I should qualify that: at Bible Camp, there was some of that, but in a setting with chilren aged 10-13 singing around a campfire is a bit different thing than feeding a flock on Sunday morning which comes with a great variety of ages, experiences, needs and backgrounds.

The task of leaders, pastors and laity, is to feed the flock. If they go away feeling hungry, they'll probably not carry out a ministry during the week where they are "planted". If we help serve them up a well-balanced meal of proclamation, teaching, singing, prayers of various sorts, it just follows that they will go on their way rejoicing.

Worship happens during the "worship service" but it also happens during the week as we "present our bodies as a living sacrifice". But this must come from down deep, and doesn't depend on outward circumstances. There's one thing, though, that it does depend on. The Spirit-empowered proclamation and teaching of God's Word.

Our current culture is cranking out quite an array of music resources, much of it within the church. Music is a wonderful gift. But we certainly do commoditize it at times. Worship is worship. But not all music is worshipful. God is not a music critic either. All he's looking for is a heart that is contrite, that is grateful for His grace. He's looking for people who have their ear attuned to His Word and who thirst for it.

"Take away from me the noise of your celebrations" God said through Amos. Let justice roll down. There is a time to celebrate - make no mistake. But when it resembles to prophets of Baal trying to get some deity's attention, Houston we have a problem.

God's already listening. I think the issue is often whether we are.

For the future:

Maybe in a future blog I can comment as to how the five parts of the ordinary of the liturgy, the church year, and the lectionary can be helpful to independent churches. Not as a legalistic template, but as resources to think about.

You're Incredible - Made in God's Image

2009-08-25T11:58:00.000-07:00

You're incredible! It’s really true, and I guarantee you that it will stretch you to consider the reason that you’re incredible. Most of us tend to gauge the value of people on what they accomplish or what type of image they project to others. This is all about something far beyond that.

Yes, you and I are incredible. And the great reason for this intrinsic human value is often referred to with a Latin phrase: imago dei. In English the phrase is image of God. You and I were "created in the image of God". If you are willing to consider this you may benefit, whether you think of yourself as religious or not.

There is one particular country where the pressure on young people is so intense to pass exams and enter the university that they are known to commit suicide over it. Their society places a primary value on performance and accomplishment. If you can't perform, you're not work much. And then there are countries where people are only valued if they are one sex, and not the other. So 50% of them, at least by traditional local practice, are trapped by this “system” of valuing some over others. But when people understand that they are created in the image of God, they can begin to be set free from these punishing value systems.

In the book of Genesis the words appear: “And God created man in his own image. In the image of God He created him. Male and female He created them.” This passage then goes on to describe something of what that meant. He blessed them and gave them the command to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” And God also commanded the first couple to “have dominion over the other living beings.”

Embedded in this early account of creation are some tremendous things that place a high value on us, because you and I are descended from these first people. We are created in the image of God. We are commissioned to be fruitful and multiply. And we have responsibility to have dominion, or stewardship, over the earth. We are accountable, in other words, to God for how we invest our lives and energies in our environment and fellow human beings. Working together with God, human beings can truly bring order out of chaos!

Even though they may have forgotten why, people in some societies tend to treat human beings more nobly than do people in other societies. Some societies seem more aware of this accountability to God. Even though its not politically safe to point this out, societies that place a higher value on human life tend to be deluged by waves of refugees from places where people are less valued. We even see pockets within every nation where people are more valued and where they are less valued. It all springs from the way people view the value of humanity.

Made in the image of God. This calls us to a higher level. Our purpose is to live for more than just survival or comfort, although the pursuit of these things isn’t simply to be scorned. It’s often a dangerous world, and many people don’t survive, much less thrive. Those who don't understand or accept this intrinsic value add to the problem by blindly pursuing creature comforts as ends in themselves. Life for them is escapism, or whatever form of getting high they choose. And the end is often chosen at the expense of others around them.

So, more power to you as you think about being created in the image of God! If you want to study further about this, you can see it in Psalm 8. In fact, through the entire Bible you see God calling people to know Him, enjoy Him, and work with Him in helping other image-bearers know His goodness and provision. If you want to study about what happened to severely disrupt this high calling, I urge you to do that. You can look at scriptures related to “The Fall” and “Sin”. John Milton’s great classic poem Paradise Lost is all about this. Learning about this makes a study of Redemption and Grace very fruitful. That’s what the good news of Jesus of Nazareth is all about. But get the background first, because you really are incredible.

The Professor Who Thought He Knew It All

2009-07-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

If you or someone you know is suceptible to being swayed by unbelieving college professors, take a moment with this. It's simple a variation on a statement by C.S. Lewis. But it's very important for young people to get a hold of some of this.

ALogical Discussion beginning with the Premise: "Jesus is the Only Way to Life". (An Imaginary Face-Off Between Student and Professor.) Location: Any College in the Post-Modern World

Student says: “Jesus is the only way to God.”

Professor responds condescendingly: “What a narrow-minded thing to say!”

Student says, “So then, would you say that it’s more correct to say “Jesus may be one of many ways to God…or at least one of many ways to view spiritual matters?”

Professor responds with approval: “Yes. That’s much more acceptable. After all, who are you to make such an exclusive claim about one faith?”

Student then says, “But it wasn’t my words. Jesus Himself claimed to be exclusive.”

Professor begins to be impatient. “How on earth can you say for sure what Jesus’ real words were. There are many conflicting reports over the years.”

Student: “Actually that’s not true. There is a remarkable consistency regarding the basic message and ministry of Jesus among those who wrote of him and witnessed these events.”

Professor: “How so?”

Student: “Before I share several things, I’d like to suggest that if I demonstrate the essential trustworthiness of these writings, there are actually three myths that can be debunked at the same time.

Myth One: That Jesus was a Liar. If he wasn’t telling the truth about himself, he was deliberately misleading people. But that doesn’t at all match with the person that the entire historical witness presents us with. He was a wise teacher, a compassionate healer, and a courageous confronter of those who were unjust. This doesn’t leave people any room to call Jesus a deceiver.

Myth Two: That Jesus was a Lunatic. This also is absurd. The record clearly shows that Jesus was raised in an orthodox Jewish setting, learning the scriptures and Jewish traditions, apprenticing under his father in the building trade, and growing up multi-lingual in an international environment (for that is exactly what the Galilean portion of modern-day Israel was, being at a fascinating crossroads of ancient mid-Eastern trade routes). Finally, he lead a peripatetic group of disciples and gathered – almost unintentionally – a huge following over a three-year period, even though doing this was a direct threat to his personal security and comfort.

Myth Three: That Jesus was a Legend. What people call the New Testament is, as you know, a collection of writings. They came into being as a natural consequence of an amazing life lived among the people who wrote. They couldn’t help but set it on the historical record. Their own personalities come through the writings, and the recipients of these letters and accounts, the situations, places, relationships, and urgencies are fairly bursting with the historical reality of the thing. The whole matter is anything but fabrication.

“Now, I believe,” the student continues, “that I have presented you with some information that should challenge you to study the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth further. But I also understand that - - this is a matter of life change, and not just a matter of debating viewpoints. So I wish you the best as you study the matter, and hope you’ll see, as I do, that Jesus Christ is worthy of you committing your entire life to.”

No More Memorials for Me

2009-06-11T06:36:00.000-07:00

The man across the table from me said, "Maybe we'll skip this part." And I caved, caught off guard. The Apostle's Creed was off the program. We agreed to keep the Lord's prayer in.

It's all part of the new way of doing things. Involving people in developing the agenda of what goes on at their loved one's memorial service is a sensible thing to do. Personal remarks are important. Laughter, tears - it's all fitting. Even a few photographs can be ok. After all, this is a significant life we're remembering. And we give God thanks for the privilege to have known the person.

And we call it a memorial. It's a time of remembering. But I wasn't raised going to memorials. I went to funerals. Somewhere along the way the name got changed, and the procedure with it. I realize there are some differences with the way various churches approach services for those who die. And that's my point, without getting into denominational labels. A public service for a Christian who dies needs to have certain things take place.

Were I to sum it up, a funeral for a believer needs to center on Jesus Christ and His saving work for people. That's it. And we get into trouble when these services are designed by committees.

Having said that, let's look at the main parts. People gather. Kindness and grief are shared. The pastor gives the invocation: "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." This must take place very soon in a public worship service, for by it the pastor or other leader declares the authority under which we gather. It's sort of like the seasoned veteran of board meetings or football games who, upon seeing some uncertainty or hesitation, says, "Let's get on with the real business or I've got better ways to spend my time." The real business is to look to Him who is Life itself and see if He has anything to say when we're surrounded by death.

Next the pastor might say, "We welcome you and trust that this will be a helpful time for you." It's helpful to be hospitable and acknowlege the various people and needs and backgrounds represented. This is a public meeting, not a private one. You let the people know that you're glad they're there, and that hopefully there will be a time of refreshments afterward where people can visit together and condolences can personally be shared.

During the service in our era there is often a time when people can speak up about personal remembrances. Pictures or stories can be told. That's why many call this service a memorial. Some of the somber services of the past didin't allow for personal sharing, and it can be a real improvement to have them. I have heard, though, of cases where far too much time has been spent in remembrances. It puts people to sleep. Or, when someone gets real weepy, others sit there and squirm because they have no idea of the cause for this venting. Then there are nice things said that the speaker shouldn't have waited to say until the person died. (Flowers are for the living.) So, to sum up this part, our age calls these memorials. It's sort of a combination of the old "wake" and the old funeral.

So since, I'm not a liturgical purist, and outward formality for its own sake is foolishness, let me state what is critical. When a person dies, and people gather in the Lord's name, we need to hear what the Lord has to say. He says that we are created in His image. He says, "the soul that sins, it shall die." God the Father says, "This is my Beloved Son; listen to Him." And God the Son says, "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. And I will raise him up at the last day."

You can say nice things about a person and people will feel better. You can put pictures on a screen, and have a touching time of shared memories. But if you must, for some reason, go without those things, you can still have a complete service. All you need is the Word of God. Because Jesus is the living Word, who came in the flesh. If he hadn't come to be born and die and rise from the dead, we'd still be in our sins. But because He came, those who put their trust in Him become children of God and have begun - here and now - living with eternal life. Even before physical death takes them, their citizenship has already been transferred.

One more thing must be said. Not everybody is a good candidate for a memorial. What about those who have lived an absolutely crummy life? Must we gather and tell lies about him? "This guy was really sincere in his own way." Or, "This lady just had a wild streak. Its too bad people didn't understand her." What absolute nonsense! A truly Christian funeral helps us maintain a discipline regarding death. In particular, when a person dies who has become a believer late in life, but most people knew him as a pretty unsavory character, so be it. We commend them to the Lord who gave His life for the forgiveness of sin. That's what redemption is about. If it's not that, then we put the cross of Jesus in a secondary position. Is that what you want to do? If not, start doing truly Christian funerals for people. As for the person who was not baptized and never confessed faith in Christ, don't lie about it. You can still give people an opportunity to tell stories and memories. But share the Word of the cross and resurrection of Jesus. That can bring life and renew faith for those who attend! Otherwise, perhaps the "memorial" can be carried out at a secular meeting hall or anyplace, by anyone for that matter.

You can count on it, at times of death people will say things like "I just don't understand it", or they will ask questions that hang in the air like early morning fog, without an answer. But for the Christian, it's different, and for the Christian funeral it's different. We gather to share sorrow and we gather to share the Bread of Life, because we are not citizens of this world. "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living".

Next time you go to a memorial, watch what the agenda is. If its mainly a time of remembering, ask yourself, was this distinctively a Christian gathering, or a humanistic one? For me, I'm hungry for the distinctiveness of a gathering that centers on the person and work of Jesus Christ. I love the personal sharing. But don't end it there. I don't have time to fool around. Give me the meat. Give me Jesus.

Water Rickshaw for Thirsty African Gardens

2009-01-07T15:14:00.001-08:00

My brother Bob tells me there are millions of "bucket farmers" in sub-Saharan Africa. This was a new concept to me, but I get the gist of it. People all over Africa are stuck with the difficult task of sending their women or children a fairly long way to get water and carry it in buckets back to their gardens.

If I had to do it, the first thing I'd worry about is sore shoulders. Then spilling a lot of the water on the way. Then heat exhaustion. But I guess these people are accumstomed to the climate.

Bob likes to design things and understands a bit about the physics of motion. He's a mechanic and has always liked tinkering with things. So he set about designing and making something he calls a water rickshaw. A child can pull one with four 5-gallon containers on it! The handles are comfortable and angled properly. The wheels are non-pneumatic, so there will never be a tire to repair.

But he could use some help from people who are good at the internet and good at administration. He's a designer and builder. And he can envision people benefitting from this thing, or some version of it. He doesn't care about profits, and has been advised that the design is too general to patent. But he needs helpers.

There are probably people in Africa using such things already, because they are simple. But the fact that researches give us such appalling statistics means this: More help is needed! There are two ways Bob envisions it. One is simply for many more people to have a great thing such as a water rickshaw. Another is for many enterprising people to grab the idea and get rolling (excuse the pun) with little micro-businesses producing the things locally! Then their families and communities could have some economic benefit, too. If you want to view a picture and see the website, its www.carts4communities.org

Is there anyone in my readership that knows about micro-loans, or how to disseminate such plans? Please let Bob know if you do. His name is Bob Lee, and his email is BoRoBeRe@comcast.net

Marion Mathews Preyer: A Tribute

2009-01-02T11:36:00.001-08:00

Marion went home to be with the Lord about a month ago. She was my sister in Christ, though you wouldn't know it by our skin color, worship style, or culture we were raised in.

She was black, I'm white. She was Baptist, I Lutheran. She was raised in inner city Seattle, born in then "Chinatown", now "The International District". I was raised in smalltown midwest and later in middle class Tacoma.

She and I signed on to a singing group temporarily named "Operation Listen" by our founder, Don Fladland. That was the winter and spring of 1970-71. The personnel shifted a bit, but by the time we hit the road "full time" in September of '71, we were 5 people. Bruce, Candy, Linda, Marion, and John. Before that autumn launch, Marion met the great guy who would become her future husband. We were singing for a military retreat at Warm Beach near Camano Island in Washington, because JC Preyer was currently in the Air Force.

Right from the beginning Marion brought a unique alto voice to our group, which was soon named Joyous Celebration by Candy. She was trained naturally. Her music school was the everyday use of spirituals and gospel songs in the style of a black Baptist inner city church and adaptations of Negro Spirituals from her rich and poignant heritage. The immediate context was her mother's generous use of the Mathews home for Bible Clubs for kids. These were sponsored by the Union Gospel Mission. Neighbor kids added to a household already crowded by the twelve who had the Mathews name.

When we were in Kobe, Japan, I remember winding up a steep terraced narrow road to the homes we were to stay in after a concert. Marion started singing Steal Away to Jesus in a very catchy rhythmic style. I was sitting in the back, too tired to participate. I think my Norwegian Lutheran heritage was keeping me at a quiet, analytical level. But Linda and Candy were joining in and even beginning to invent some harmonies. And so it began.

Over the five and a half years I travelled with her, Marion's gifts to our group spilled over naturally to those who came to concerts. Especially to those who would become "repeat customers". They would begin to request their favorites, three of which were O Happy Day, Christ is All and God Cares. We sang at Lutheran Churches and Lutheran Youth Encounter "Congresses" all over the country. Later our audience expanded to diverse churches such as Mennonite Brethren, Canadian Baptist, and Nazarene. I can remember even singing on or behind a counter top in a casino bar in Las Vegas! (That was a strange experience!)

Because we had a strong link, as former students, to the Lutheran Bible Institute in Seattle, we all shared the importance of reflecting the truths of the Bible in what we sang. Marion had a knack for keeping this objective level well balanced with concise but very personal and warm sharing just before she would solo. It wasn't uncommon that the content of her speaking would reflect some sorrow that she was currently going through. But at the same time, we had hilarious times of laughter together. Sometimes she would actually plead with us to stop some source of humor we were egging her on with, because her sides were hurting so bad from laughter.

To JC, Monique, Lisa, and Jamese, thanks for continuing to share her with the world after her travelling days! May we all persist in the Journey as she persisted during the Bill Williams interview for the LBI choir!

You see, Don Fladland had recruited Marion to come to this all-white school ten miles north of home. She was feeling very out of place. Bill shared at the memorial that Marion came in to audition. He had music notation in front of her and some formal "white-style" hoops for her to jump. That didn't fly. Bill was thinking to himself, "This just isn't happening." But finally, in desperation, he shoved back his chair and said, "Just sing me something. Anything at all." And out came some notes that neither Bill, nor I later on, could put on paper. They came from the heart and soul of what God does in a life that's surrendered to Him.

How To Study the Bible

2008-12-31T21:15:00.000-08:00

The Bible is long, diverse, old, complex, and often confusing. If you want to study it with good results you have to get a few things straight. First, the Bible, from beginning to end, is about the Lord Jesus Christ. I realize that takes a bit of explaining, but seriously, learn to read the Bible backwards. The name Jesus Christ doesn't occur at all in the first part - the Hebrew scriptures, sometimes called the Old Testament. He's there, but more subtly. In the second part, the writings that first appeared in the Greek language of the Mediteranean world of that time, we see Jesus the Christ more clearly.

The first four books show him in a sort of biographical form. But even there, its fascinating to see the huge portion the writers dedicate to the last week leading up to Jesus' crucifixion! Acts tells the fascinating story of the early church. The epistles are letters, and there are a lot of them. They were written by early pastors and traveling missionaries to help early congregations get established. Some of the content is on the character and nature of Jesus. Some is ethical teaching. Some addresses the needs of the community that is becoming interracial.

These people had to all learn that, although in early stages God chose a certain group of people called "Hebrews" (see Genesis 12:1-3) and later called "Jews", he then began calling all peoples to Himself! The "Gentiles" had to learn how to fit in, and the Jews had to learn to fit them in (Romans 9 & 11). It wasn't easy going then, and it still isn't.

Before mentioning the last book of the Bible, keep in mind that to have fruitful study, you must use maps, timelines, and see pictures of things. Otherwise you're just reading and glossing over things. You must take time and ponder the locations of happenings, and their relation to each other in time. A great example of pictures and diagrams is the Old Testament tabernacle. Find some pictures of that in a good Bible Dictionary or Study Bible. This kind of study will help you reap great rewards of understanding.

Once again, read the Bible "backwards", first getting acquainted both with the person Jesus Christ, as revealed in the "gospels" (the first four books of the New Testament). Then get acquainted with his work, which is to say, learn the importance of His incarnation, His pre-existence, His preaching and teaching, his healing and dealing with the devil. But in particular become acquainted with the "work" he performed in deliberately going to the cross. In doing that He was, as John the Baptist said, "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.".

There is world-shaking power in the atoning blood of Jesus. If you have no peace, you'll find it there. And then there is the thrill of his resurrection, the authority he received as He ascended to the right hand of God the Father, and the power of the Holy Spirit whom He sent for His followers to carry out His Word.

If you get lost in how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, you might as well go read the comic books or listen to a politician. There's a time for those things, but if you're going to study the Bible, really get a hold of it, and look for your life to be changed. Its a day to day thing that continues to be fresh, and there is nothing that compares to it.

Now, for the book of Revelation, I have no time for those who make excuses saying its too difficult to understand. Read it, underline parts you do understand, make references in the margin with other passages that have the same theme, and you find yourself getting drawn in. Life is a battle, Christ is the warrior and victor of the whole thing, the battle has been won at the cross, and those who persist in faith, despite the odds, will win with Christ. He will never let you go. Those are the great themes of Revelation.

If you read with a rationalist mind, thinking that the power of your cleverness will win the day for you, forget it. I Corinthians 1:18 and the passage that follows shows the folly of this. Certainly we must use our reasoning powers. But the Bible is all about helping us have a living faith and walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. Read and study it with a humble, yet energetic mind. You will be blessed.