Susie and I started our life together like many others with basically nothing in regard to money and possessions. Married halfway through college our major goal was to finish college without being in debt. So after two years of marriage all we owned fit into our tiny Datsun F-10 alongside our baby son and lone piece of furniture, a rocking chair.Things didn’t get any better financially the next few years. I ended up out of work and we were poor, really poor. When I finally got a job it was minimum wage. I don’t know how Susie managed to feed us the way she did. And somehow, by God’s goodness, we paid our bills.Well that baby who traveled with us in the Datsun F-10 turned out to be a very smart little fellow. Turns out he has like an almost photographic memory, which meant he beat me at Memory at age three, right after he figured out that for the past six months Daddy only won by following his eyes. When he started looking in other directions I was toast.That little rascal wasn’t just good at Memory, he was also good at money, saving it, managing it, keeping track of it. I don’t remember exactly when it started, but I remember why. I needed some money for gas and we lived an hour from or bank, and we really didn’t have anything in the bank. In my need I borrowed from the smart little fellow. He was more than willing, but I think he already had memorized Proverbs 22:7, “The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower becomes the lender's slave” (NASB). So now he could not only beat me in Memory but he could also call in my loan. “Hey Daddy, you might really want think about that spanking because your current balance is minus $30.00.” Good thing he was not the kind of conniving kid his Daddy was as a kid.Once, as I was trying to settle my current account with him (I think he was twelve by then) we disagreed on the figure. I could have sworn I had made a previous payment, but whose memory was more reliable? Whose figures did we eventually go by? You probably guessed it.That little guy is now a grown man with his own family. I so hope his sons will have photographic memories and whoop their Daddy’s behind in memory and who knows what. But they won’t end up loaning him money because he is still good at managing it, saving it, keeping track of it, and even more importantly, being generous with it.It is much easier to be generous when you are not in debt. That little “loan shark” of ours figured that out too. He delighted in figuring out his tithe (10% you honor God with) of whatever money he was blessed with. He loved buying his sisters treats. He enjoyed giving extravagant gifts. That’s much easier to do when you are in the black and not in the red. In the red the first obligation is to the one you owe, and depending on how much you owe there might not be anything left to be generous with. It is tough to experience “It is more blessed to give than to receive” Acts 20:35 (NASB), when you are in debt.One more thing, it is amazing what can happen to us financially and materially when four things come together: 1. Working hard, 2. Managing well, 3. Honoring God, and 4. Generosity.“I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive” Acts 20:35 (NLT). “Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce” Proverbs 3:9 (NLT). “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip. The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more …” Matthew 25:14-16 (NLT). “… God loves a cheerful giver” 2 Corinthians 9:7 (ESV).Wouldn’t it be great if we’d figure all of this out before the age of five? But even if we didn’t, today would be a great day to start.To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor HansP.S. If you live in or around Don Pedro and you wonder how to make a start on the above why not sign up for an upcoming Biblical Financial Seminar in the month of May. Contact the church office ldpbaptistchurch@gmail.com, (209) 852-2040. If you do not live around here check out http://www.daveramsey.com/fpu/ or http://www.crown.org/ .
How Rich Is God? - The Best Financial Wisdom
How rich is God? “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him” Psalm 24:1 (NLT). “’The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,' declares the LORD of hosts” Haggai 2:8 (NASB).Let the reality of what you just read about God’s unfathomable riches sink in for a minute. It means:
- He is able to supply for all of our needs.
- He will never run out, be in debt, go bankrupt, or worry about tomorrow.
- He is completely unfamiliar with not having enough.
- He knows how to manage for the long-haul. He has been doing an outstanding job with the entire universe for as long as it has existed.
- He has better financial wisdom than all those wealthy people listed in Forbes Magazine combined (which doesn’t mean we cannot learn from those who manage well).
- He owns everything you and I and everyone else has. Which means we are accountable to him for how we manage what we have.
- The ultimate purpose of wealth is to please and honor its owner - God.
How in the world has the wealthiest nation on earth got itself into an over $19 trillion and counting national debt hole? Take a minute and go to http://www.usdebtclock.org , it will make your head spin. Even more staggering is the over $64,000,000,000,000 (64 trillion) total debt in the USA. That means it’s not just the government, the states, counties, and municipalities that are lousy in managing money, it is also the average citizen (the total personal debt is over $17 trillion). Somewhere along the lines we have forgotten an important truth about managing money, “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender” Proverbs 22:7 (ESV). When it comes to money and managing wealth we are collectively ignoring God’s wisdom and as a result are missing out on God’s blessing and ability to supply. God is not in the slavery business, but somehow our entire culture thinks that debt and the slavery that comes with it is a good thing.If you are continually scraping by, never have enough, always borrowing, straining under a load of debt, forever worried, then maybe it’s time to tap into God’s wisdom, learn God’s ways, and seek God’s blessing.The ancient Israelites needed to get back to God’s financial wisdom, they were limping from one financial crisis to the next. God told them, “Bring the full tenth into the storehouse so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this way,” says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure” Malachi 3:10 (HCSB). They needed to go back and learn what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians who weren’t following God’s financial wisdom either, “And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others” 2 Corinthians 9:8 (NLT).If what you have read so far in this pastor’s note is hitting a nerve, if the last two scriptures you read is something you want then here is what you do:
- Establish or reestablish a real connection with God. It is always about more than money. You get into a right relationship with God trough faith in Christ. Call me, email me, or come to the next church service if you have questions on that (209 852-2029, dergermanshepherd@gmail.com, http://www.ldpbaptistchurch.com ).
- Come to all of the April church services because God’s ability to provide and his financial wisdom is this month’s topic.
- Sign up for the seminar that will follow the sermon series, so you can learn the practical application of God’s wisdom. Call or email to get on the seminar sign-up list. (If you don’t live in Don Pedro check out http://www.daveramsey.com/fpu/ , or http://www.crown.org/ ).
- Take a moment right now and ask for God to help you, tell him you need him and his financial wisdom, ask him to forgive you for where you have mismanaged both finances and life, tell him you are interested in his ways and blessing.
The best time to get started is right now. Love you, Pastor Hans
Deliver Us from Evil
Fill in the blanks (find possible answers at the bottom):
- When you get yourself a puppy you will have to ________________________________________________________
- When you get drunk you will ________________________________________________________
- After you buy a car you will ________________________________________________________
- If you leave the windows down on that car and it rains overnight, you will ________________________________________________________
- If you grab a strange man or woman’s butt thinking it is your wife/husband you will _______________________________________________________
Now you don’t have to get a puppy, get drunk, buy a car, marry, or grab things, but if you do inevitable things will happen. This is not only true about things we can choose it is also true about things we don’t chose.Wouldn’t it be nice if life were as benign as inadvertent grabs or windows not rolled up? Wouldn’t life be awesome if it were as cute as puppy? Yes, it would be, but it isn’t. As a son of an alcoholic I can’t tell you how quickly funny went out of being drunk. Having clocked my fair share of miles on the road there is nothing funny about losing your cool, road rage, endangering others.Why did Jesus teach his disciples to pray, “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil” Matthew 6:13 (NASB)? Because we will encounter evil, we will be enticed to choose evil, we will be both the object and the source of evil. We will encounter evil that poses as cute and funny. We will be tempted to buy things we shouldn’t, to anger that excuses itself, to words that are bitter, wrong, and wound. Evil and the temptation to do and be evil is inevitable, inescapable in the world we live in. It is never just someone else’s problem it always is also our own.Evil always tries to start a chain reaction, even as it inflicts it tempts, it suggests that the best way to get back at evil is with evil, to answer anger with anger, hate with hate, wounds with wounds, bitter with bitter, always in kind. But the will of God is absolutely clear whenever and however evil touches us, be it small superficial scratches or having been keyed from head to tail and down to the metal, to the bone, “Never pay back evil for evil to anyone” Romans 12:17 (NASB); “See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people” 1 Thessalonians 5:15 (NASB), “Avoid every kind of evil” 1 Thessalonians 5:22 (NIV).If we need to pray, “Deliver us from evil,” then it is obvious that we need God’s help for evil to be defeated, for us to respond correctly to it, and to not be a contributor to and perpetuator of it.Now that you have made it the end of this pastor’s note take a minute and reflect, take responsibility for yourself, and reach out and take God’s hand to help you deal with, cope with, evil in and around you, and pray, “Heavenly Father, God, please forgive me my sins, as I forgive those who have sinned against me. And don’t let me yield to temptation, but deliver me from evil” Matthew 6:12-13To God Be all glory. Love you, Pastor HansP.S. This weekend go and worship at a nearby church with others who seek to live out the above.Puppy: Clean up messes, find things chewed up, be bitten, have that tongue put slobber on you in laces that ought not to be slobbered.Drunk: lose control, say stupid things, do stupid things, be stupid, hurt someone sooner than later.Car: See lots of other cars like it on the road, buy gas, get a scratch on it, run into numerous idiots who should never be allowed on the road, be one of those idiots.Windows down: Pronounce yourself an idiot, drive sitting on several towels and still get your posterior wet (so bring an extra pair of pants), drill drain-holes because obviously you can’t trust yourself (maybe not).Butt grab: (could also the sneak up from behind kiss): For answers ask my wife she has experience with this, get laughed at for a very looong time – basically for the rest of your life, get slapped, turn very red.
Victorious Living
“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”1 Corinthians 15:57 (NIV).Yesterday was a great day, my grandsons came up (well, Mom drove them). The one month old mostly slept and holding him that’s pretty much all I wanted to do too. The twenty-month old came with a to do list on his mind: Feed the chickens, put up the swing and try to wear it out, play guitar, get into the truck, and help Opa any way he can. He wore me out.All week long I have been thinking about victory, it is what I want for my grandsons, it is what their parents hope and pray for, it is what I hope and pray for both you and myself. But I have lived long enough to know that defeat lurks around every corner, even in victory defeat doesn’t surrender. Don’t misunderstand, I am not advocating for being paranoid, that is a form of living defeated (sometimes also mental illness). But I have looked into defeated little faces in kindergarten, in fancy houses, on the other side of the world, in hospitals, churches, food-lines, and in the mirror. I have seen some of the vast arsenal defeat has as its disposal, words that wound and maim, violence that shatters, poverty that chokes, injustice that demoralizes, foolishness that wrecks, hate, bitterness, betrayal, pain, suffering, disappointment, regret, helplessness, seeing those who you love self-destruct, ruts too deep to get out of, evil, the evil one, wickedness, sin and its inherent twistedness and self-deception.I wish there was a shot to inoculate my precious grandsons from all of the above, because I know they will be assaulted, defeat will try to bust through their doors throughout their lives. They will come to plenty of forks in the road where they will be forced to choose between the road to victory and the path to defeat. So I want to be a contributor to victory in their lives, after all the joy is in victory not in defeat.You, me, and my grandsons can learn a lot about victory from history, from examining people who overcame, who triumphed, who refused to give in, cave in, or to give up. History will also expose us to people who did great things, won tremendous victories and ended in utter defeat - the final verdict on victory comes after we cross the finish line. But hands down, the greatest, the best source for victory is God and his written word (the Bible). Anyone who lets the Bible shape their character, determine his/her decisions, heeds its wisdom, relies on its power, submits to its authority, and takes the hand of the God and of the ultimate victor, Jesus Christ, will live victoriously, will overcome, will even overcome the onslaught of death. I pray these grandsons of mine will have an Opa who will serve as a life-long example of living out God’s word and they themselves will embrace it with all of their hearts, because if they do, they will be victorious – and so will you.“My hands have made both heaven and earth; they and everything in them are mine. I, the LORD, have spoken! “I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word” Isaiah 66:2 (NLT).To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans.
Family Love - Committed to Blessing, to Reconciliation
Take a minute and go to the nearest bath or restroom and look in a mirror and open your mouth and examine that wiggly, moist muscle living behind your teeth. - (Did you do it? Or have you decided to just sit there and read on?) - In many ways it is stronger than all of the rest of your muscles combined, “With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so” James 3:9-10 (ESV).Family is another place where the power to bless or curse reside. In fact there are few things that affect us more deeply and profoundly than the blessings and/or curses of our families. Family can and should be like a sweet slice of heaven, a haven of happiness, but all too often it is like a putrid plate of hell, a hall of horrors. Often it is a mixture of, somewhere between the two, but how much doo-doo baked into a brownie makes it unpalatable?Everyone reading this p-note is someone’s daughter or son, but not everyone is glad to be someone’s daughter or son. Many reading this are someone’s Mom or Dad and not at all happy how things are working/have worked out. All the members of a family have the power to bless or curse. Children can love and honor their parents and make them glad. Parents can love, bless, and raise the children right. But neither can do it without love, our power to bless diminishes with every choice that is contrary to love.Both blessings and curses have the power to perpetuate. Love births love, generosity inspires generosity, kindness fuels kindness, hate conceives hate, violence begets violence, injustice cries for revenge, pain likes to bite. But it is our choosing that can both break the chain of blessing or end the cycle of sin and its curses.It is not difficult to figure out which side God is on. The cross of Christ is about redemption, about reconciliation, and about forgiveness, regarding our individual relationship with God and being part of his family, but it is also about the redemption and restoration of the human condition and relationships. God in Christ is able to break the strongest curse, heal the deepest wounds, loosen the heaviest chains.The book of Genesis ends with a family that is broken, dysfunctional, painful, fake, full of bad blood, secrets, and rotten history. It was meant to enjoy God’s promises, fulfill God’s purposes, and experience God’s blessing, but they settled for jealousy, betrayal, lies, and superficiality. They were much better at cursing than blessing. They were flushing both their own potential as well as God’s wisdom and help. That family was self-destructing. Except that one of them, Joseph, realized that he had both the power to bless and the power to curse and he chose the former over the latter. He decided to bless where he was cursed. He chose to orient himself on and rely on God who knows how to redeem, restore, reconcile, and forgive. He decided to love. And guess who was on his side helping him? “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” Genesis 50:20 (ESV)“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation” 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 (NIV).To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans
Being in Love - I'm for It
There are three things that amaze me— no, four things that I don’t understand:how an eagle glides through the sky, how a snake slithers on a rock, how a ship navigates the ocean, how a man loves a woman. Proverbs 30:18-19 (NLT) This is Solomon’s song of songs, more wonderful than any other. Kiss me and kiss me again, for your love is sweeter than wine. Song of Songs 1:1-2 (NLT)Love really messes with you, but it feels wonderful. I remember when it happened to my brother Andi. It was at a “Fasching” (like carnival) dance at the gym in my hometown. You could see how it was messing with him, hooking him, and how the wonderful of it was intoxicating him. In one evening all of his plans changed, our plans changed, she was in and his friends and I were out. Other than God/Christ captivating his heart this was the best night of his life, for the first time he got to sip from the cup of true love, a love that held him captive for the rest of his life.I remember the moment when my heart went from friendship to “in love.” It was when I opened another letter from Susie and out fell her High School senior picture, all I remember is “WOW!” I recall my heart jumping for joy when I spotted her with my former exchange student family picking me up from the airport when I returned to the US. And how the moment of her placing her hand into mine is etched into my very soul. To this day I feel something wonderful when her beautiful, slender hand rests in mine. Loving and being loved by this incredible, tantalizing, and beautiful woman is nothing but an extension of the amazing grace of God, “Find a good spouse, you find a good life— and even more: the favor of GOD!” Proverbs 18:22 (MSG).Wherever and whenever two people get to drink of true love they get to experience something that originates from, is part of the very essence of God, even if they reject the very notion of God. And of course the first sip yearns for more, for greater intimacy, for something that lasts. This is so because real love has nature like God’s, who “is love” (1 John 4:8,16), and thus is willing to commit, to hang in there, to keep on dreaming of and working towards a beautiful future, to give yourself for the benefit of the other, “Long ago the LORD said to Israel: ‘I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself’” Jeremiah 31:3 (NLT). “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV). "For God so loved … that he gave …” John 3:16 (NIV).How good is it to know that God is 100% for true love, for falling in love, for that love to blossom into something marvelously beautiful and lasting down to our very last breath? How good is it know that true love does seek commitment, to be married, to be exclusive, to be intimate, to be faithful, to dream? How awesome is to wake up and look at the love of your life and know that God is on your side? How good is to know that that sweet love is a constant invitation to discover more about God and Jesus Christ, to grow in our ability to love, to emulate the One who “is love.”Happy Valentine’s Day, Pastor Hans
I'd love to get better at _____________________
“… And I will show you an even better way.” 1 Corinthians 12:31 (HCSB)Take a moment and complete the following, “I would love to be better at ______________________________________________________________________I would love to be able to play my guitar as well as my guitar teacher. He told me about going to a Tommy Emanuel (one of the world’s finest acoustic guitar players) concert and was completely blown away by some of the things he saw and heard. He went home inspired to become even better.I am reading a book on preaching and how I would love to be a much better and effective communicator of God’s word.I have loved being a dad, and of course I will be a dad the rest of my life, I would love to still get better at it.I love being a grandpa/Opa, and since my oldest grandson isn’t even two yet I don’t have a lot experience and knowhow in the Opa-thing, but oh how would love to get better and better at it.I have been married to this super cute girl for over 35 years, and I am far (sometimes very, very far) from having this marriage thing figured out, but I would so love to be better at it.I have been a Christian, a believer in and follower of Jesus Christ since I was 17 years old. I wouldn’t trade my life and experiences with Christ for anything, but how I would love to be more like him.I have read, studied, and taught the Bible throughout my Christian life to the point I know it better than many, but would love to understand it better, remember more of it, and be better at applying it to my own life.There are so many more things I would love to better at, but if had to pick just one it would be LOVE. I wish our whole world would be better at LOVE. Wherever there is more love things are better. All of God’s commands are summarized by: Love God with all you got, love you neighbor as yourself, and love each other like Jesus loves you. Can you imagine the impact if we’d all excel at love above anything else? I think it would be fantastic, God and Christ certainly think so.I already bought some Valentines chocolates, sometimes love is easy like that, sometimes it is just plain hard, but no matter what I want to better at it.Hopefully you’ll join me. Pastor Hans“If I … do not have love, I am nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:2 (HCSB) “Love never fails (ends)…” 1 Corinthians 13:8 (NASB, parenthesis mine)
Four Dollars of Hope
Four Dollars of Hope(If you have access to a Bible read John 5:1-15 and then proceed to the rest of this p-note)My $4.00’s worth of hope of winning the $1,500,000,000.00 evaporated the moment I read that the only winning ticket in California was sold in Chico. No 1.5 billion of high living, generous giving, and doing good for me. My $4.00’s worth of hope ended up in someone else’s pocket. Dang!I probably shouldn’t have even bought those tickets being a preacher, after all gambling is gambling, isn’t it? And had I had the winning ticket could I have given glory to God for this gambling windfall? How much criticism would winning the thing have garnered me? And would I have cared if I did? Probably not.It was no wonder that scores of crippled, lame, blind, and paralyzed people were hanging around the pool of Bethesda. Every now and then there was a mysterious stirring of the water and whoever got in first - Bam! Healed! Didn’t even need a $4.00 ticket. But that was actually worse because you couldn’t leave, getting something to eat, going to the restroom became the gamble, it decreased your odds to no chance. It was a constant race, incessant pushing and shoving for a spot right by the water. And if you had to give up your spot, how long before you made it back to the front? How much kindness and civility do you think would we have found among all of that desperation, among these cramped hands clutching the tiniest sliver of hope for a normal, healthy, better life?Was it worth it? This brutal wait, this hope that would come at someone else’s expense, that could only come to pass if it is “me and not you?” The answer of course depends on who you interview. I am willing to bet those healed, those able to escape the shackles and miseries of their disabilities would give it both thumbs up, “Worth it? Are you kidding me!” On the flipside, the man crippled for 38 years, who had camped out by that pool for who knows how long had a different answer. He had come up short so many times his response to the question, “Do you want to get well?” was no longer, “Yes!” What kind of dumb question is this?” All that came across his tired lips was resignation, “Someone always beats me to it,” and more painful still, “No one helps me, no one cares about me.” He sat hopeless by the oasis of hope.And then Jesus comes by. He does heal him, hallelujah! But before he does he notices him, he talks to him, he listens to him, he cares about him, he has hope for him. These are all things I can do, even if I never win that big jackpot, my $4.00 and me are enough for me to engage, to care, to be generous, to bring hope. But I always have more than myself and my $4.00, I do know how to introduce people to the same Jesus who changed the life of that hopeless man by the pool of Bethesda. What do you think, maybe it is even greater if someone wins it all with my $4.00 tickets?To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans
Christmas Lips
The Us Postal Service, UPS, Fed-Ex, DHL, are all busy delivering packages. Several of them were dropped off at our doorstep this week. I’ve never worked for any of those outfits but it has to be crazy around Christmas time.Just today the UPS man delivered a new artificial Christmas tree, complete with lights. Our old one was dropping needles like a dried out real Christmas tree, slowly morphing into a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. This of course means it is time to bring up the decorations from under the house and get everything looking like Christmas.In one sense it is good that Christmas only lasts for a short (albeit ever expanding) season, we’d be worn out, even fatter, and broke if it were. But wouldn’t it be great if some of the things of Christmas were to persist all year long, like generosity, the effort to bless people and make others happy, an emphasis of recognizing and worshipping God?Back to the delivery guys this pastor’s note started with. All of us actually do deliver something most every day and throughout the year. Sometimes our deliveries bless, bring joy, help, and encourage. Sometimes our deliveries resemble more a Waste Management truck backing up and dumping its load at the local landfill. I am talking about what our lips deliver on a daily basis. If you have a few minutes get out a Bible and read the Christmas story in Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2, as you read look for what comes out of the mouths of the people who really get Christmas, look for “Christmas Lips” and ask yourself if you have yours on? Hear the words of praise and worship, of kindness and blessing, of hope and peace, of awe and surrender, of truth and compassion, of wonder and amazement, both spoken and implied, from both the tongues of men and angels. So do you have them on, your “Christmas lips?”Imagine what difference it would make if long after all the Christmas decorations are put back under the house we still had our “Christmas lips” on? What if kind, peaceful, and encouraging words would scent the air throughout the year? What if truth, hope, and mercy would be packages we regularly, continually, and faithfully deliver? What if the fruit of our lips were never foul but sweet, forgiving, and beneficial? What if the words from our mouths were more God-centered, more spiritually aware, more filled with worship and praise? How would it impact our relationships, our homes, our places of work, our public discourse if we decided to not take down and pack up our “Christmas lips?” What would it be like if others anticipated with joy things delivered with our mouths?Let me end with a “Christmas Lips” prayer, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer” Psalm 19:14 (NASB).Merry Christmas. Pastor Hans
When We Share
One suitcase of our two piece luggage allowance was dedicated to transporting materials, video equipment, printed materials, seminar supplies, children’s ministry resources, and a guitar. All of it we planned to use and leave behind with our Tanzanian ministry partners.We didn’t return with less. We simply shared that of which God has given us an abundance but in return God, through our Tanzanian ministry partners, packed bags for us we did not even have to carry. We were part of what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers a long time ago, “At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need” 2 Corinthians 8:14 (NIV). And we experienced the dynamics Paul described, “This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you” 2 Corinthians 9:12-14 (NIV).It will take us some time to unpack all God has sent us home with. As we do the blessing will be multiplied and shared with all of you who gave, helped, and prayed to fill the bags we went with. Now we get to unpack together and rejoice in all that God has sent home with us, the experiences, the encouragement, faith that has blossomed and grown, the awe of what God can do with what little we have when we are willing to surrender it for his use and to his glory.In the end we end up at the foot of the cross, looking up, in awe, filled with praise, wanting to worship, “Giving thanks to God for his indescribable gift!” 2 Corinthians 9:15 (NIV).To God be all glory. Love you and miss you, Pastor Hans.
Life-long Commitments
On the way to my oldest daughter’s wedding I thought about commitments we make in life, after all marriage is supposed to be a commitment “till death do us part.” If you think about it, there are not too many commitments that are meant to be life-long. Our commitment to God through Christ is meant to be for life, until we take our last breath (2 Timothy 1:12-14). Our commitment to our spouse, if we see it as God means for us to see it, is to the end of our days, a God-ordained union we are not to sever (Mark 10:9). Our commitment to our children, if we have been blessed to be parents, is supposed to be for life (Psalm 127:3; Proverbs 13:22). We cannot un-mom or un-dad ourselves; the question is merely what kind of parents we will be. Our commitment to the body of Christ, the church, sometimes also referred to as the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:25-32). Every believer becomes part of Christ’s body through the work of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). Being committed to Christ means being committed to his body, contributing to the functioning of his body (Romans 12:3-6). Have you ever thought about how much hurt, pain, frustration, and heartache come into the world when we enter into life-long commitments and then break them? The devil and his minions work overtime to sidetrack us from them, to think of them as being less serious as they are, to fool is into underestimating the consequences of not honoring them. On the flipside there is enormous blessing that flows into and through us when we stay fully committed to Christ, to our spouse, to children, and to Christ’s body. In order to keep these life-long commitments love and perseverance are indispensible. Real love just won’t quit, it “always perseveres,” “endures through every circumstance,” “keeps going to end” (1 Corinthians 13:7 NIV, NLT, Msg). There is good news about these life-long commitments, they are God’s idea and God supports his ideas. We do not ever have to wonder whether or not God will help us with our commitment to Christ, with staying faithful to our spouses, with being a parent, and with belonging to and being active in Christ’s body. God is committed to walking with us, blessing us, keeping us, strengthening us, and making us blossom into something beautiful when we honor these commitments for life. I am in. I hope you are too. To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans
They Have No Wine
Ideally, before you read this pastor’s note you should a Bible and an empty bottle. Fill the empty bottle with water and then read John 2:1-11. Did you do it? Great, now read on."They have no wine." John 2:3 (NASB)This wedding started great but it was about to fizzle, what everyone had been talking about was not going to be the same as what everyone was going to talk about, what was planned to be a success was going to end in embarrassment and disgrace, all that had been invested was going to be overshadowed by what ended up lacking. How many marriages, how many lives does that describe?“Why did it have to be such a hot day?” “Can you believe how much these people are drinking?” “We are going to run out!” When did the headwaiter, the person in charge of this wedding let the happy couple know that they were going to run out? But obviously the word was already spreading. How long before the first one would work up the gumption to leave and start the exodus?Every marriage, every life, will inevitably encounter the unexpected, the point where dreams, plans, the unpredictable, the unreal becoming real, and nightmares collide. Life and marriage offers plenty opportunity at finger-pointing. Maybe it was a lack of planning, inviting more people than what was wise and affordable, a case of naively just wishing for the best.It is far easier to get more water then to get more wine, especially when it is late, too late to get 700 more bottles of wine. What you do and who you turn to when you run out makes a big difference in life in general, but very much so at weddings and in the marriages that follow them.When they put Jesus and his Mama on the guest-list? Why did they invite him and her? Not because they were famous, that came later. Who did they consider the most important guests? Sometimes we don’t realize how important God is until we run out, until the stores are closed, until the even the experts, the headwaiter, are at their wits end, are left scratching his head and worrying. Too often we make the VIP mistake, especially when we are in love.It makes no sense to try to fix a running out of wine problem with filling the empty bottles with water. Funny, marriage, especially in our culture, is a step of faith, “I’ll love you forever, for better and worse, to the end of my days,” that’s stepping out in faith, all the variables, statistics, and complete uncertainties be damned. But why not trust the Son of God with not just our weddings, but our marriages, all of our endeavors, our lives? When all we can do is fetch more water wouldn’t it be the very epitome of wisdom to turn to the one who knows how to turn water into wine?The headwaiter was confused, you’re supposed to start with the good stuff and serve the cheap stuff when everyone is well schnuckered and can no longer tell the difference. I am sure that’s what happened at this wedding until Jesus did what he can do and turned what is normal upside down, confused the headwaiter, helped the party to continue, kept a wedding of an unknown couple from becoming a disaster, and made things turn out better than planned.We can just keep sipping whatever we are sipping and when it runs out cry, complain, blame, bemoan, or make excuses as we sit among empty bottles, or we could can take our cue from Jesus Mama, she said, "Whatever He says to you, do it" John 2:5 (NASB), and find ourselves experience God’s incredible and miraculous best.To God be all glory, Pastor Hans
A Beautiful Mouth
“Your teeth are as white as sheep, recently shorn and freshly washed. Your smile is flawless, each tooth matched with its twin.” Song of Songs 4:2 (NLT)It seems rotten and missing teeth have never been considered beautiful, even 3000 years ago beautiful white teeth were highly valued; a bride did not want to have any missing teeth. Of course our culture has taken it to a whole new level, far beyond diligently brushing, flossing, and rinsing with mouthwash. Multitudes of kids and many adults suffer through braces, retainers, expanders, rubber bands, globs of wax, and various other contraptions and procedures. It is not enough to have healthy teeth, they also have to be perfectly straight and perfectly white. So what comes out of a tube of tooth paste does far more than clean, it also dispenses fluoride, breath freshener, whitening agents, peroxide, and even sparklers. However, beautiful teeth and a great smile do not make for a beautiful mouth.I was lucky; my teeth were fairly straight except for a small overbite. This got me a retainer I had to use for some years to expand my upper jaw, which it did beautifully. Then my wisdom teeth started to come in and shift things around until I had them pulled. My older brother had bigger issues but he hardly ever wore his contraptions (he thought they interfered in the girlfriend department) so the orthodontist kicked him out of the program and his teeth never did get straightened out. However, he did end up with a beautiful mouth.So how did my older brother, how can you and I end up with a beautiful mouth?
- Know God’s definition of a beautiful mouth: “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” Ephesians 4:29 (ESV). “Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone” Colossians 4:6 (NLT).
- Deal with and clean up what operates your mouth – you heart: “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks” Luke 6:45 (NIV).
- Daily brush, floss, and use mouthwash on anything that corrodes: “But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth” Colossians 3:8 (ESV).
- Talk to who you need to talk to instead of everybody else: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother” Matthew 18:15 (ESV). “Argue your case with your neighbor himself, and do not reveal another’s secret, lest he who hears you bring shame upon you, and your ill repute have no end” Proverbs 25:9-10 (ESV).
- Don’t participate in gossip with neither your ears nor your mouth: “The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts. Like a coating of glaze over earthenware are fervent lips with an evil heart. A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but in his heart he harbors deceit. Though his speech is charming, do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his heart” Proverbs 26:22-25 (NIV). “A gossip goes around telling secrets, so don’t associate with a gossip, with a person who talks too much” Proverbs 20:19.
- Speak truth, it is the best breath freshener and teeth whitener: “Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart” Proverbs 3:3 (NASB). “Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body” Ephesians 4:24-25 (NLT)
So do you have a beautiful mouth? Is what comes out of it refreshing? Can others trust what you say? If someone were to point out beautiful mouths would yours be among them? If God’s the groom and you are the bride, how would he describe your mouth?To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans
Mouths - Yours & Mine
In nature you find some wicked, nasty looking mouths. Like the mouth of the shark someone landed on deep sea fishing boat I was on, rows and rows of serrated teeth forming the gateway to a nasty abyss. That possum who cornered Susie in the staircase of our apartment years ago, what nasty, slimy, snarling mouth. Don’t forget the hippo, what a mouth, no wonder it’s one of the most dangerous creatures in African rivers. Gators, snakes, piranhas, komodo dragons, or go no further than the bats living under my roof tiles with their sick toothy grins. But the nastiest, most wicked mouths are found among our own species, no creatures in the animal kingdom can compare.A shark can maim, kill, and eat you with its mouth but it is incapable of spewing lies, planting rumors, twisting the truth, wounding the soul, destroying trust, shamelessly exaggerating, deceiving, maligning, misleading, making all it up, embellish, being malicious. A komodo dragon’s mouth might be full of deadly bacteria but it will never repeat what shouldn’t be repeated, deny what is true, incite riots, degrade others, dehumanize, make empty or false promises, dish out abuse, fuel anger, slander, or encourage wickedness and violence, no that would be our mouths. A possums mouth will never filled with insincerity, deliberate barbs, say too much or say too little, it won’t circumvent, euphemize, minimize, evade, or inflame. Those bats will never stay silent when they ought to speak, issue empty apologies, spit out meaningless platitudes, speak without thinking, talk behind someone’s back, , gossip, or talk to everyone except who they should be talking to, no that would us.No wonder God’s word addresses our mouths, “Curses and blessings out of the same mouth! My friends, this can't go on” James 3:10 (MSG). If there is any part of us that needs redemption surely our mouths need it. If we are serious about living the way God wants us to live then our mouths will have to become a construction site, we will have to schedule ourselves with a spiritual dentist, oral surgeon, orthodontist, and dental hygienist. We will have to have things pulled, implanted, filled, drilled, shifted, wired shut, and whitened. We will have to acquire new habits to keep our mouths clean and alter their use. How much treatment, learning, and change do you think you will need to make the following a reality? “We will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.” “Each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor …” “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” Ephesians 4:15a (NLT), 25a, 29 (NIV).If you want to see a lot of different creatures with nasty, wicked, bizarre, and frightening mouths I recommend you go visit a zoo, or where people gather, or sadly often times the church. But this should not be so, the church should be the place you’ll find the most amazingly beautiful mouths. May that be true of the church you are attending because you are attending it.To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans
Grow Up
Our dogs have it made, at the productivity level of around 0%, they still get full benefits, tenure, unlimited time off, plus free food, free rent, free just about everything, all for occasionally looking cute, doing something dogish we can laugh about, going for an occasional walk, and welcoming/harassing the UPS man or whoever happens to drive up. They even get a free burial at the end of their days. I have to hand it to them though, they do know how not to mess up a good thing.What’s cute and acceptable among dogs does not, and should not translate to people. We are meant to grow up, to contribute, to take on responsibilities, to be productive. Being a baby when you are baby is very cute, but being a baby at 15, 25, 35, 45 is anything but cute. A toddler is supposed to be a toddler and it is okay for them to do toddlerish things and have a productivity level of around 0%, but it is ridiculous for an adult. You expect for kids to do the kind of things where you say, “What in the world were you thinking?” to which they will reply, “I don’t know,” and it will be true because they were absolutely not thinking (and many times you have to keep yourself from busting up laughing). This, however, does not fly for an adult, not thinking is inexcusable, as is being stupid and doing stupid things. For a young teenager to continually test the limits and to come up with half-baked excuses is halfway normal, but if he or she doesn’t grow out of it, it is anything but normal, but growing up is, becoming responsible is. There is a time to be baby, to be a toddler, to be a kid, to be a teenager, but then there is a time to be grown up, to be mature.I admit, being grown up is not all it is cracked up to be, it entails a whole lot of hard work, it has just about 0% of room to live a dog’s life or any other kind of life. But if you have kids they will appreciate it, so will your coworkers, your bosses, your neighbors, your parents, your friends, and your community.God’s word, the Bible, never encourages immaturity, irresponsibility, and laziness, no matter how it tries to excuse itself or how cute and funny it tries to present itself. Even to the church, the family of God, which has a responsibility to love and care for the needy, God through the Apostle wrote, “Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: ‘Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.’ Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living. As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good”2 Thessalonians 3:10-13 (NLT). To the Ephesians church he wrote, “God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love” Ephesians 4:15-16 (MSG).Can you be mature, responsible, productive, and be young at heart, not lose your sense of humor, not act old and grumpy, be full of love, and be a source of delight to others? The answer is, absolutely, just imitate God.To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans
Leave Something Good
“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children” Proverbs 13:22a (NASB)We are going to leave something to our kids, it is not a matter of if but of what. Leaving them something good and worthwhile requires we recognize how important that is and the determination to do something about it, that in turn requires the determination to be good ourselves because we usually produce what we are, or as Jesus put it, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him” Matthew 12:35 (NIV). It is tough to hear it that bluntly, isn’t it? So what will your children inherit? Not just financially but culturally, ethically, intellectually, and spiritually? Are we passing an inheritance of blessing, of how to think, how to be, how to act, how to care, and how to worship?Good doesn’t just happen; you have to work on good. Ordinary, mediocre, messes just happen, but good takes concentrated and sustained effort. You have to want good, practice good; excellence and blessing rarely just happen. You only get an inheritance if someone didn’t spend it all, if someone was smart, if someone saved, if someone cared enough to pass something on. To a good man/woman that’s important, to good parents and grandparents that’s important.To be good, to do good, to pass good things on you have to know what is good, good has a definition. Good was good before we came along and good will still be good after we are gone. Good is not arbitrary, it is constant, it is eternal, it finds its roots in the reality and truth of God. We, the parents, the grandparents, our children, and grandchildren have the ability to alter the meaning of good (which far too often renders good no good) but ultimately we will be held accountable to God’s definition of good. Thus the wise man, the wise woman, wise parents will be careful to pass on a spiritual inheritance even more than a material inheritance. Our kids are not blessed if they are rich and godless, if they are wealthy and wicked, if they have the “good” life but are immoral, if they have opportunity but don’t perceive it as a means to care about others and to glorify God.A good and sizeable inheritance enables, it gives future generations a head start, that’s why good men and women work on leaving one to their children and grandchildren. This is why we should care about politics, the national debt, justice, hatred and bigotry regardless which flag it hides behind, violence, education, personal responsibility, wickedness, freedom, education, values, morality, and our responsibility before and accountability to God.“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” Ephesians 6:4 (NIV)."For what does it profit a man (woman, child, son, daughter, grandson, or granddaughter) to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?” Mark 8:36 (NASB). Let’s leave our children and grandchildren an awesome inheritance, one that God would applaud.To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans
Life-time Warranty
The kitchen faucet was leaking. It shouldn’t do that after only 10 years, don’t you agree. After several short-lived attempts of fixing the problem I faintly recalled that said faucet had a life-time warranty. So I looked in the file drawer where we keep manuals and warranties and sure enough there it was, a life-time warranty with the original receipt, and that’s when the fun began.Actually fun is entirely the wrong word, more like run-around, frustration, “you’ve got to be kidding me.” The first live person, after navigating the automated menu which supposedly is to make things easier, informed me that there was no such thing as a life-time warranty. I read her what was printed on my life-time warranty, only to be accused of making it up. I figured this would be a good time to ask for someone with more authority and tact. This request got me thrown back into the automated menu which ultimately disconnected me.The next live customer service representative did take down my personal information but didn’t think that she could help me. She was, however, willing to connect me to someone who might be able to help. This put me on hold where I was forced to listen to some really bad music, until I got disconnected.The next customer service rep did confirm that my personal information was in the system and managed to connect me to said person with higher authority. The higher authority informed me that they did indeed did not have life-time warranties on my faucet, so I read from my printed warranty. He was unwilling to take my word and but would consider my claim if I would send in the original warranty and receipt. I informed him that I would not send in the originals because I wanted to hang on to my warranty for the future and that I would gladly fax him copies. He wouldn’t budge, so I thought that this would be a good time to ask to speak to someone with more authority than him. He didn’t like that idea, and I found myself on hold listening to more bad music. After a while he came back on to inform me that copies were okay but to not get my hopes up. I told him that my hopes were not anywhere near being up but that I thought life-time should mean just that. He thought that at 10 years I pretty much got my money’s worth. I obviously disagreed. A few weeks later I installed a new faucet.My garden hose reel broke, having learned from the past, I checked whether it had a warranty, it did, and life-time at that. I called the phone number, “no longer in service.” Took it to the store where I bought it and found out that the company went out of business and that my warranty was worthless. (To that store’s credit they did give me a new reel because they wanted me to know that they stood behind what they sold).I know of only one whose guarantees are hassle free and eternal (which is a significant upgrade from life-time). God’s word, God’s principles, and God’s promises are rock solid, they are as good and trustworthy today as they will be 100 or 10,000 years from now. And they cover things much more significant than faucets, roofs, power-trains, and such. They cover matters of the soul, of destiny, of salvation, of blessing, of conscience, of happiness, and of success.Warranties are great when things break but God’s word and promises hold guarantees that are not only good when things brake but keep things from braking in first place. But don’t take my word on it, read and rely on the Bible (God’s written word) for yourself “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ… Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall” 2 Peter 1:3-8, 10 (NIV).To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans
The Cardboard Box
I don’t know how the small cardboard box ended up at the youth yard sale raising money for camp, but it did. Cristy brought it to the office; it was leaking ashes, someone’s ashes. No urn, no burial, not even a deliberate sprinkling of the ashes at some meaningful or beautiful spot. They just got picked up in the standard box, were stashed somewhere, and finally where scooped up with a bunch of other no longer wanted stuff and taken to the yard sale at the church. No takers though, some stranger’s ashes are not what people are looking for.What a contrast it was to Lodgie’s memorial service held in our church’s sanctuary while the yard sale wrapped up in the parking lot. People came from far and wide, wept, gave glowing eulogies, played beautiful music, sang their hearts out, gave praise and glory to God for her life, her influence, her contribution, and her love. Brought together by her death they lingered long afterwards to reminisce, to remember, to comfort each other. There was no obscurity here, no carelessness, to Lodgie’s family and to us our church family that would have been unthinkable, she was too precious, too valuable, too much of a blessing.I knew Lodgie. I have nothing but speculation about the individual in the cardboard box. However, I think the chances of your remains ending up in a dusty, uncared for, standard box at a yard sale are greatly diminished if you live a life that pleases and honors God. We reap what we sow, “Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith” Galatians 6:7-10 (NLT).Death, our mortality, should cause us to think, should cause us to make better, wiser, and eternally significant choices, “A good reputation is more valuable than costly perfume. And the day you die is better than the day you are born. Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies— so the living should take this to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us. A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time” Ecclesiastes 7:1-4 (NLT). I don’t think the family of the person in the cardboard box heeded the advice Solomon, it might have been because of what s/he did or did not sow, but we really don’t know. What we do know is that you and I have limited time to do good, to love, to bless, to please and honor God, and then we face the reality of Hebrews 9:27-28, “Just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him” (NLT). Where and how we end up depends on our choices, whose wisdom we follow, and whose power we trust. Lodgie left no doubt, the person whose ashes were in the cardboard box at the youth yard sale, who knows. I know where and how I want to end up, that’s why I trust and follow Jesus Christ.To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans
Dad - Don't - Do
For as long as have had the awesome, God-given, privilege of being a Dad I have wondered about the best things a Dad can do for his kids. My motivation was that I did not want to screw up, hurt, or negatively impact the lives of the children entrusted to Susie and me, instead I wanted to be a source of blessing, a contributor to my children’s success, a source of joy, and an example of wisdom, integrity, faith, and godliness. Thus I have observed, picked the brains of Dad’s I admired, read books, contemplated, attended seminars, and studied the God’s word (the Bible). Here are a few things I have learned:Don’t
- Be stupid. Stupid is never funny, kid’s pay a high price for parental stupidity.
- Be absent. You can never be a good Dad if you don’t show up.
- Be drunk, high, or addicted, unless you want to curse your children.
- Be violent or abusive. A strong and good man does not hurt or abuse his children.
- Be a jerk, you’ll make your children angry.
- Think that giving your kids stuff will make anything.
- Live your dreams through your kids.
- Chase the American dream, have a kingdom of God dreams instead.
- Break your word or lie. Let your children be able to trust what you say.
- Sin, sin is always corrosive and destructive. And if you sin do don’t cover it up but quick to repent.
Do
- Get involved in your children’s lives, you they will be the richer for it.
- Show your love in as many ways as you can. There is safety in love.
- Affirm your kids in who they are, help them to be all that God has made them to be.
- Laugh, have a great sense of humor. If your kids make fun of us in front of us they’re not afraid of us. This will also help in not making mountains out of mole hills.
- Have a plan, a clear picture of what you want your kids to be like. Great parents don’t leave things up to chance.
- Have standards when it comes to conduct, character, courage, commitment, chores, community, charity, quality (working hard and doing things right), compromise, and compassion. Make sure you model them or it will be a tough sell.
- Love their Mom, openly, constantly, and beautifully. It sets a tone. It exposes your kids to something rare and precious, it will also undermine their efforts to divide and conquer.
- Earn and require respect. Respecting Mom, siblings, other people (even those who you don’t like or disagree with) is not an option.
- Make room for expressing anger, but never let anger be expressed in sinful ways. This means you have to be really good at it yourself.
- Apologize when you messed up. Eat crow when you need to. Model how to take responsibility and not make excuses.
- Encourage your kids to dream, to try things, to not be afraid of failure.
- Use your mouth to bless your kids, to sow good things into their hearts and minds, to cheer, to encourage, to be kind, to build up, to be straight forward, to set a beautiful tone in your home and your relationship with them.
- Love all the things God loves: Jesus Christ, people, the church, the Bible, generosity, justice, compassion, creation, doing good, sinners being found, worship, praise, blessing others.
- Pray yourself, as a family, with their Mom, with others. Pray constantly, pray bold, pray with your mind and heart engaged. Ask for big and important things regarding your children and family. Pray beyond everything to merely be smooth and effortless in your children’s lives.
- Strive to be consistent in your conduct, discipline, and behavior.
- Shoot for being the godliest Dad you could possibly be, for your kid’s to be able to call you a man of God.
Ancient King David is near the end of his life. He is busy organizing everything so his son Solomon is set up for success, and then David prays, “Give my son Solomon the wholehearted desire to obey all your commands, laws, and decrees, and to do everything necessary to build this Temple, for which I have made these preparations” 1 Chronicles 29:19 (NLT).To God be all glory. Happy Fathers’ Day, Pastor Hans
Your Kingdom Come
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”Matthew 6:10 (ESV)Why should you and I yearn for, pray for, and work for God’s kingdom to come? Is it worthwhile to completely abandon yourself to God’s kingship, God’s authority, God’s rule? The answer is, “Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes!”Critics and scoffers have maintained that devotion to God and Christ is the root of narrow-mindedness and the cause of all kinds of ills. This is simply not true. What is true is that the disposal of God and any practice of halfhearted devotion causes both narrow-mindedness and all kinds of human ills. Where God is rejected and subjected is where we are far from the kingdom of God. Contrary to the accusations we will never be villains or fools if we commit ourselves to the pursuit of God’s kingdom. “Let your kingdom come.”The overarching reality of God’s kingdom is that his will is done. The subjects of God’s kingdom consistently and completely embrace the will of God, the wisdom of God, the ways of God, and the commandments of God. Have you ever dared to imagine what that looks like? Everyone relating to one another out of heart of love, with no thought of injuring, defrauding, oppressing, or hurting your neighbor for your own ends; no fear of losing out on life because the love of God anchors your life and you know nothing can separate you from it. No need for jealousy because you can freely rejoice in the success of your neighbor, his/her success does not threaten or diminish you, it brings glory to God and that is enough. “My your kingdom come.”People are not dispensable in the kingdom of God, everyone is assigned an eternal place, contribution, and purpose. This is not so with godlessness or idolatry, people are dispensable there. Those who cannot contribute, those who threaten the current power structure, those who became a financial liability, those who can be a means to an end, those believe differently are all dispensable in the kingdoms, philosophies, and man-made religions of our world. Not so with God’s kingdom, sinners, the broken, the feeble, the weak, and the poor are esteemed and invited on the same level as the powerful, the rich, the privileged. “Your kingdom come.”How many keys do you have? How many PIN #s and passwords? When God’s kingdom is fully realized you won’t need any of them because you won’t have to be afraid of someone coveting or stealing your stuff. “Your Kingdom come.”We are not meant to just wait for it, that’s a gross misinterpretation of eschatology. As a follower of Christ I am citizen of the kingdom (Philippians 3:20), I am called to live out God’s kingdom will now, yearn for it now, pray for it to unfold now. But to do so in a world that seeks its own kingdoms will be costly, will require faith, will stretch and challenge us daily, but it is worth it, a thousand times worth it. “Let his kingdom come.”To God be all glory, Pastor Hans