When challenged to speak only truth

The following is a transcript from my Ordination Service on October 23, 2020, during which I was affirmed as someone who was committed to and able to teach the Bible accurately.  I was also challenged to do it more and more, with a growing love for the Lord and for people.  Here was my response during the service:

Thank you so much for coming.  I had no idea who was back there. I’ve been sitting up here this whole time.

I am thrilled to share this challenge with Birch Hills Community Church, those that are Covenant Members, those that call us their church home, and those who will.  Thank you, Dan and Jeff for your support of me and your faithfulness to the Lord. 

Thank you to all who have been and continue to be a part of my life, the life of my family, the life of this church.  I’ve said often that I’m so thankful that our church does not see our children as children that need to act differently than other children because their pastor’s kid.  Thank you to people in this community and for people in our neighborhood that have accepted my invitation this morning.  I will single out one person, though.  I don’t do it very often (pause as I start choking up, proving why I don't do this often :-)) because she wouldn’t want me to.  Becky, your love for God and support of me is truly a God send in more ways than you know.  I love you. 

I am willing to accept this challenge, personally, in as much as I know that you know something:

Everything that happens, good, bad, and indifferent, happens because of God’s perfect ability to manage life and it happens out of his perfect love for each and every one of us.  If you know me, you know of my foibles, my weaknesses, and the mistakes I’ve made and the mistakes I’m prone to make.  The more you know me, the more of these things you know about me. 

Standing before you is a man that is an exhibit of God’s grace.

• My sins have been forgiven and God will never hold them against me.
• God continues to graciously forgiving me as I come to Him day-by-day.
• I know that I am forever His.

But this isn’t just for the ordained or the ones who have straightened out their lives or the ones that are “churchgoers”.  This is for every single person.  This call of the Lord that Dan alluded to.  This is why we’re here, this is why I do what I do – for those that don’t know yet how full and final and forever God’s love for you. 

Until the day the Lord calls me home, I will plant my convictions in the fertile soil of God’s Word.  Let's take Psalm 23 as an example.   As some of you know, our call to worship is many times the Psalm number based on the day of the month.  Today is August 23:

1    The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
²     He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
³     He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
    for his name's sake.

Don’t you want your life grounded in a God like that?  In words of life like that?

Through this, and only through the Word of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, can mankind make any sense out of a pandemic, out of ongoing systemic and individual hatred or racism.  It’s only through the Word of God that we can wade through the waters of disagreement and confusion in this world.  I am here . . . and we are here . . . to display to people that “turning to Jesus” is not just a nicey-nice pie in the sky statement that cannot speak into the “real issues” of the world.  “Sure, you can have your Jesus, but how is He going to take care of me?”  Oh, He does!  Rather, He is the only person, the only truth, that tells the truth into any circumstance, that tells us that repentance comes before any lasting personal change, that tells us that taking care of your own stuff comes before being able help or being able to fill other people’s needs, that He brings lasting peace to you, NO MATTER WHAT!

Finally, I want you do know that no one can speak against God’s activity in our world and that nobody can accuse God of anything until they’ve given their life to Him, until you’ve given Him a chance in their life.  Go ahead, give your life to Him.  

10 years ago, I wrote down all the things in my life that I hold dear on a rock – the names of each person in my family, my reputation, my most valuable possessions, my future.  I threw that rock off of the 3^rd Ave. foot bridge over there, into the Sauk River.  I prayed a prayer of surrender and I threw it in.  I said, “God, this is Yours, all these things that I hold dear.”  We’re going to close after the prayer with a song that has spoken to me ever since high school.  Fortunately Daniel likes it to, and Kimi, who will sing with him. Enjoy it, the words are in front of you (written below).  It has those words that need to be said often because, I don’t know about you, but do you ever want to take your life back and say, “Well, I’m not sure I want you to have this part, God.”  So try Him, trust Him, dive in with us.

Amen.

 

Surrender

by Marc James

Verse 1

I'm giving You my heart
And all that is within
I lay it all down
For the sake of You my King
I'm giving You my dreams
I'm laying down my rights
I'm giving up my pride
For the promise of new life

Chorus

And I surrender,

All to You all to You
And I surrender,

All to You all to You

Verse 2

I'm singing You this song
I'm waiting at the cross
And all the world holds dear
I count it all as loss
For the sake of knowing You
The glory of Your name
To know the lasting joy
Even sharing in Your pain

CCLI Song # 3033179

CCLI License # 11006188

Covid-19 and Getting the Right Information

Observation #3:  A seemingly inordinate amount of attention is given to something that causes way less deaths than Influenza A or even old age.  Why?
NOTE: This one comes with credit to Joe Williquette, a pastor friend of mine.

 
First, experts who know about viruses and microscopic organisms are telling us how serious this has been and could be. 

Second, the numbers don't lie - as of this morning there's been over 60,000 deaths and over one million cases in the U.S. alone (1 per 17 cases is ending in death) and the numbers are still growing.

Similarly, there is a movement and phenomenon called, "Biblical Christianity." Though it is based on a person, Jesus Christ, that hasn't walked on earth for 2000 years and though it is empowered by God and His Spirit, who cannot be seen, the numbers don't lie. Voice of the Martyrs just published a stat that the amount of Biblical Christians in China outnumber the amount of Communist Party members 100 million to 90 million. Not only that, but just do a quick search of the origins of the many humanitarian efforts that have started and continue over the centuries. Christians love others, serve others, and trust God through all sorts of life situations. The numbers don't lie. 

Trust Jesus today for your salvation, for it is BECAUSE we're saved that we do these things, not IN ORDER TO get saved. See Ephesians 2:1-10, John 14, or Romans 3:21-26 for more good stuff! #bygracethroughfaithyouaresaved

Observation #4:  I have found it refreshing to know where I can get good, reliable, information during this time of COVID-19. 

Though there are many reasons why a person may not be able to ALWAYS trust information coming from the "authorities," I would say it's irresponsible not to listen to CDC at a time when we so are so NEEDY of the right information. 

Similarly, if there is good, right, and life-saving information available regarding spiritual things and your eternity, wouldn't you do your best to do two things?
1. Make sure it's right information.
2. Listen to it.

This is what the God of creation has offered to us. Starting with Genesis 1:1 and "In the beginning God . . . ", continuing with Psalm 51 and what His forgiveness does and finishing with John 3:16 and the need to believe in Jesus for your salvation. We need RIGHT information. 

Make sure you're getting it and listening to it. Be safe. Stay at home. Be kind. Do no harm. Seek God first.

Earning a voice without losing your voice

Where would we be without the right person, at the right time, saying the right thing about a certain wrong behavior.  We can point to William Wilberforce and the slave trade in England or Martin Luther King Jr. and the treatment of African Americans or even Mother Teresa and the treatment of social outcasts.  They, among many others, choose to address and judge culturally acceptable behavior as wrong. 

I will argue that what gave them that voice, is a combination of two things:  Their willingness to EARN that voice through their actions and their foundation being from something much greater than themselves.

Their actions not only prove how deep they believed in their cause, but their actions also go on to prove how ridiculous the cultural norm was that they were fighting against. 

What gave them even more of a voice and what, ultimately, led to great societal change, was the fact that their judgments were based on a higher authority, voiced in the Bible by God Himself.  It’s clear that they were fueled by a higher calling because in each of these cases, they continued doing what they did until they died, without ever seeing much (if any) cultural change.

What is that cultural change that needs to happen today?  We need an accurate, thoughtful, respectful view of homosexuality.  The church, then, needs to be on the forefront of promoting both truth regarding what the Bible says about homosexuality as well as unconditional love and compassion to all people . . . ALL people, because they ALL deserve it.

Yes, I agree, the church has lost its voice because we have NOT faithfully done either of the two aforementioned necessities.  We have not accurately portrayed the truth of Scripture nor have we accurately modeled Christ-like love.

I started this blog in early 2014 and have yet to post it after tweaking it here in May, 2015.  As I continue to revisit this topic and observe how society is handling it, my original premise, which is based on Scripture being the authority, will hold true:  The current societal norm regarding homosexuality will eventually be found out for what it is, a submission to what feels right through the path of least resistance as opposed to a submission to what's right.

Well, now in March, 2016, our country has neither submitted to God's authority nor is even interested in His authority.  We are embracing Presidential candidates who see no need for a personally involved God in any way.  As a church, and as a church leader, we need to wholeheartedly embrace the principles on which the first church was founded:  Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name than Jesus, given to man, by which we must be saved (see Acts 4:12).  If you're not a follower of Jesus, I should do all I can to show you Jesus, NOT tell you how far off you are from what I believe or expect you to honor the Word of God.  If you are a follower of Jesus, I should discover, with you, what God's Word says about everything, NOT try to make the Bible say what I think it should say or allow cultural norms to determine correct biblical interpretation.

May we earn our voice the way Jesus did.  As He was approached by a self-righteous rich man who declared his own righteousness, Jesus knew how far he was from the Kingdom.  Yet, Scripture says in Mark 10:21, "Jesus, looking at him, loved him . . . "  There is a compassion and love for those who are "far off" that is missing from the Evangelical community.  By the grace of God, may we capture that and boldly live it out.  At that point, our voice will be heard more and the counter-cultural, life-giving message of Scripture will be heeded. . . only by God's grace.

Everyone Worships . . . But Whom?

Robert Sarver, owner of the NBA Phoenix Suns, recently made some overgeneralized statements regarding "millenials" and how social media has effected them.  He has received much criticism from, guess who, the sports media which has benefited greatly from the escalation of social media over the past few years . . . hmmmmmm.  But is there some truth to this part of his quote: "But the other thing is, I’m not a fan of social media. I tell my kids it’s like Fantasy Land. The only thing people put online are good things that happen to them, or things they make up. And it creates unrealistic expectations."?

To be sure, you're asking for criticism when you make sweeping judgements and when you're a rich person that is already viewed as someone who is out of touch with the real world.  Yet, where do the rest of us (meaning those who are NOT filthy rich or even somewhat rich like professional athletes) get our reality from?  One finds out rather quickly on trending search engine sites, news sites, or sports sites what the "real world" wants to pan off as reality (see huffingtonpost.com, sports.yahoo.com., or bing.com for examples, which I just did and promptly wasted 15 minutes that I'll never get back :-{).

Webster's 1828 Dictionary (arguably, the purist dictionary around), gives the following as the first two definitions of REALITY:

1. Actual being or existence of any thing; truth; fact; in distinction from mere appearance.

2. Something intrinsically important, not merely matter of show.

It takes research, personal knowledge, or insider information to get to the reality behind what the public sees and perceives about anybody.  All of these things take time and desire, which leads me to one final quote, from Bob Dylan: It may be the devil, or it may be the Lord, but you're gonna have to serve somebody.

When I spend my time pursuing MY reality, whether it's my job, my favorite team, my next paycheck, or even my family, I am deciding whom, or what, I worship.

When I spend very little (if any) time understanding and pursuing the BIG PICTURE reality of who made this world, who runs it, who owns it, and who is really in charge, I am choosing to ignore REAL reality and choosing to serve MY reality.

In response to Sarver, some ESPN personalities have argued that "millenials" are actually more aware of the world than any other generation because of social media.  What world are they more aware of, though?

The determining factor of how well people handle social media (millenials or not) has more to do with their grasp on REAL reality than their age.  So, I would submit that you make a point of knowing your Creator, the only God, the God of the Bible, the Author or REAL reality.  Yet, you can do what you want, "But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served . . . or the gods . . . in whose land you are living.  But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15 from The Holy Bible).

Who do you choose this day?  How will you serve?