Some things don’t mix well, fire and gasoline , coffee and pickle juice, ants and a kitchen, war and peace, lies and a clear conscience, wisdom and foolishness, love and fear, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love” 1 John 4:18 (NIV). That’s why violence, abuse, uncontrolled anger, alcohol and drugs, cheating, lying, deceit, manipulation, selfishness, bitterness, and foolishness do not mix with romance, marriage, family, community, and a life with God.When you are constantly in fear of the other shoe dropping, when you are constantly walking on eggshells, when you are always ducking outwardly and inwardly, when you are in constant dread of embarrassment, when words no longer hold water, when it all can blow up any second, when things are constantly out of control, when you are way past the first time, when the not normal becomes normal, when trust is a foreign word, when deceit not surprising, when disappointment is expected, when addiction and abuse have moved in, then you will find imperfect, twisted, perverted, and sick love.Love is meant to beautiful, without fear, free of constant worry of it turning ugly. In the scripture quoted above the New King James Version uses the word “torment” instead of the “punishment.” Real love does not feel like torment, does not live in dread of torment, does not dish out torment. In fact where real love is growing, where real love is pursued fears are growing smaller and fewer, and torment is never a fit description.Our problem is that so many of us are all too familiar with the tormented, sick, twisted, manipulative, and hurtful ways masquerading as love. The sad thing is that we are prone to settle for and repeat that which we know. It is easy to be in and get caught up in this web of love gone wrong, sometimes of no fault of our own, sometimes because of our own decisions, often because of both.The good news is that God did not have the Apostles John and Paul (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) write about love in terms of mere definition or diagnosis. No, God had them write of what is possible, not just of what should or shouldn’t be, but of what can be. What may not be possible on our own is possible with God, “What is impossible for people is possible with God” Luke 18:27 (NLT). It is possible to walk with God and escape cycles and chains of the past. It is possible to walk with God and get out of darkness. It is possible to walk with God and learn from him how to love. It is possible to walk with God and grow in our capacity to love. It is possible!When it comes to loving perfectly I am far from what I want to be, but God has been helping me to grow, especially when it comes to love. I am committed to real love because I don’t like the alternatives, because it is and feels right, and because God “renews my life; He leads me along the right paths for His name’s sake” Psalm 23:3 (HCSB).This Valentines weekend, if nothing else, make a start, be broken and repent of your wrongs, especially in regard to love and those you should love. Address that which is broken and twisted, pour out the full measure of your fears, and then take the loving hand of God to learn love without fear.To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans
The Most Important Meal
Six days of ordinary and way day of fancy, that’s how I grew up. From Monday through Saturday we ate simple meals, nothing fancy, but on Sunday we had soup, salad, roast, or tongue, or rotisserie chicken, or something else of my Mama’s kitchen wizardry, all followed by desert. In the late afternoon that was complimented with Kaffee (coffee) und Kuchen (cakes and other various baked delicacies). Which one of the meals during any given week was the most important? Which one was one was unimportant? I can tell you to my four brothers and I the vote for most important would have been for Sunday, hands down, no contest. However, invariably we needed food on Monday, on Tuesday, on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. There wasn’t a day when food was not important, when we did not get hungry. In fact most everything in our house was eaten, leftovers did not last, and almost nothing was thrown out. Every meal fed us, helped us to grow, enabled us to function, gave us energy, sustained us.We were lucky enough, blessed, to never go hungry; we always had something to eat. I do not remember a day without food, my parents made sure of it. My Dad worked his tail off; my Mom was frugal, grew a garden, canned, juiced, baked and cooked. I don’t remember ever worrying about food.So what is this pastor’s note about? It’s about spiritual food, reading, hearing, studying, and meditating on the word of God. Jesus said “People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” Matthew 4:4 (NLT). You and I privileged to live without any shortage of God’s word. It is available to us, in print, audio, electronic forms, and at churches everywhere. Now when is the word of God more important, on Monday, or Tuesday, Wednesday, …, or on Sunday? Of course it is important every day if we want to be strong, if we want to grow, if we want to be wise, mature, godly, Christlike, all that God means for us to be. Sunday might be the day for the fancy meal the preacher had time to cook up all week, it might be the highlight, soup, salad, main course, desert, Kaffee und Kuchen, but come Monday the spirit, soul, and mind will need to be fed as much as the stomach and body.My grandson cannot feed himself yet, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to eat every day. He can’t even open the refrigerator, but the day will come when you can’t keep him out of it. On his way from having to be fed to becoming a fridge raider he will make messes, spill things, look awkward handling eating utensils, but he will get there. He will get there not because he has just one fancy meal on Sundays, but because he is eating daily, because he pays attention to the needs of his stomach and body, because he will have had lots of practice. How many of the meals will he remember? Very, very few, but he will be a product of all that he has eaten. We are a product of all that we have eaten, all that we eat.So what is this pastor’s note about? It is about encouraging you to daily read, study, and meditate on the word of God, the Bible. It is about Monday through Saturday and the fancy meal on Sunday (or some other day you regularly attend church). It is about paying attention to what Jesus said is absolutely important. It is about being strong in spirit, soul, mind, and body. It is about growing, become mature, being godly. It is about being able to feed yourself. It is about starting and being committed to daily read, think upon, and living the word of God. O, I hope you do.To God be all glory, Pastor HansP.S. If you need help getting started please contact me.
When God invites you into his story
Zechariah, Elizabeth, May, Joseph, shepherds, wise men, King Herod, chief priests, scribes, the people living in Bethlehem, rich, poor, powerful, insignificant, educated, not learned, men, women, Jews, gentiles, they all got an invitation to be part of God’s story of redemption. You and I are invited as well.They didn’t all handle it the same. Most were afraid or troubled, many were apathetic, a few were curious, and some had their doubts. The problem is we are busy writing our own story and when God invites us into his story it feels like an invasion, an interruption. Stepping into God’s story requires trusting him beyond our comfort level, it cannot be done without submission to his will. That’s why most declined the invitation then, and most still decline the invitation today.We are all born into a story, maybe you were welcomed, maybe you were a surprise, maybe you were an inconvenience. Maybe you were born into a beautiful story, but maybe it was a lousy one, a terrible one, or just a boring one. It can be really tough to get out of story you don’t want to be in. Some of us have been sucked into stories, gotten into stories one way or another but really wish we hadn’t. You can get trapped in a story. That’s why we so like, or at least dream of writing our own story. We yearn to be free to write our own story.Can you imagine the story an engaged couple dreams of. I bet you it includes lots of hope, lots of happiness. Why did Mary and Joseph agree to join God’s story? It changed the whole scenario. It created more stress not less, more hardship not less, more challenges, not less. But it also gave their lives significance beyond anything they could write, and it made them part of more than a short story, it made them part of God’s eternal story of redemption.No one who has taken up God up on his invitation to join his story has ever regretted it. God knows how to “cause all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” Romans 8:28 (NASB). The regrets do not come with God but by excluding God, the regrets are with those whose hubris has them choose their own story over God’s, regardless of how remarkable their story might be. Our stories never end well, they all end in death, even if it is noble death. God’s story ends in life, even if we die. You and I cannot write that story as much as we might like to. In and through Jesus Christ God has invited you and me to join his story. What is your response? "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” John 3:16-17 (NASB).Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Love you, Pastor Hans
Thanksgiving and Ruts
I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD… — To give thanks to the name of the LORD.” Psalm 122:1, 4b (NASB)Have you ever been a rut and didn’t know it? Maybe you were working, working, working and someone had to come along and tell you, “You need to slow down; you need to take a break”. Or maybe when you were so busy you forgot to eat and someone had to remind you. It is amazing how many ruts there are and how when you are in one you often don’t even know it until someone comes along and hollers at you down in your rut.Maybe we should all get together and play, “Name that Rut.” I have been in both of the ones mentioned above, as well as in the rut of self-pity, greed , negativity, business (wait I am still in that one), over-commitment, being out of shape, joylessness, stubbornness, overestimating my importance, procrastination, …. Feel free to kick in and participate anytime with some of your own __________________________________________________ .Ruts trap us, they lock in our wheels, and they paralyze our minds to the point of unawareness. It is really easy to get into a rut but it is difficult to get out of one, especially when you have been in one for a while. It is possible to get in such a deep rut that that we can’t see anything else, we think it’s normal when it is not. If we let it, a rut will keep us until the day we die, it will have us circling, and circling, and circling, only a little deeper each time around. That’s why sometimes the only way out of a rut is if someone cares enough to shout down into it, cause to us stop, and give us a hand to pull us out – “I was glad when they said to me, ...”Why had that person stopped going up to God’s house – stopped coming into God’s presence, stopped worshipping God? How did s/he get into a rut where thanking God was no longer important, much less something primary? Maybe “praying for the peace of Jerusalem” seemed like a joke, much like praying for peace and politics can seem like a joke today? Maybe s/he had decided that there were already too many hypocrites going to God’s house? Maybe s/he wasn’t all that convinced anymore that there even is a God? Maybe s/he was simply stuck in some other rut where there was no time, energy, or sense of importance for spiritual things? We don’t know. But we do know that whatever the rut was that person was glad that someone cared enough to both holler and reach down into that rut. “Stop and come with us, to worship, to pray, to give thanks,” was the invitation.This Thanksgiving be the one who invites all the others who have gathered to go before God to acknowledge him, to praise him, and to give him thanks. Be the one who won’t let it be just an ordinary holiday circling in a godless rut of family, friends, food, fun, and football. "Let us go to the house of the LORD. … — To give thanks to the name of the LORD,” because this is where all giving of thanks should begin.This Thanksgiving lets bow before God who in is love, mercy, and grace hollered and reached down into the inescapable rut of our sinfulness, confirmed by human history, and has invited us through his Son Jesus Christ, to come into his house, and to give thanks.Have a blessed Thanksgiving, Pastor Hans
How Open Are You to Change?
“Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Accept my teachings and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find rest for your lives (souls). The teaching that I ask you to accept is easy; the load I give you to carry is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NCV, parenthesis mine)It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples." Luke 11:1 (NASB)How open are you to change? If you want rest for your soul, if you want to be a man/woman of prayer, if you want to be wise, if you want your finances not to be a mess, if you want to be a better husband/wife or a better father/mother, if you want to please God, be used by God, and be blessed by God then you have to be willing to learn and to be taught, which also means you have to be willing to change.Change is hard, in part because it involves giving something up, learning something new, doing things different, acquiring knowledge, wisdom, habits, and skills we do not have. Change is hard because we are already doing or not doing something that needs to be changed. Generally we would rather have someone, especially God, bail us out rather than do engage in the hard work, diligence, frustration, and effort of change. We much prefer to just shed some tears and then have someone else, preferably God, respond to those tears without us having to change.Repentance, living in the Holy Spirit, holiness, love, godliness, spiritual growth, living by faith, renewing your mind, submitting to one another, seeking first God’s kingdom, storing up treasure in heaven are all part of the Christian experience and they all involve change, a willingness to change, to be taught, to learn. Not just once but throughout our lives.Want rest? Want rest for your soul? Want to be great at praying? Want God to bless you? Want your life to bless God and others? Want your life to count and make an eternal difference? Then you have to change, first of all by coming to God/Christ who is both able to change the unchangeable (make sinner clean and acceptable to him through the blood of Christ) and help us change; secondly you have to be willing to learn new ways, adopt new attitudes, develop better habits, acquire new skills, seek wisdom from above and knowledge, and let God use you as he sees fit.How open we are to change will determine how much we will actually change. How open do you think God wants you to be changed, to be taught, to learn?To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
Leaky Pipes
One ten foot section has no less than seven patches, and that does not count all the other patches/fixes on the waterlines underneath our church building. All of these patches were meant to be temporary, but some of them are years old. The problem is that someone got a “good deal” on some cooper pipe that is the wrong grade, cheap doesn’t always pay. Somebody else put in a hot water heater for the kitchen but didn’t think about electrolysis and improperly connected different metals. Finally beyond the frequent fixing of leaks and talking about permanently fixing the problem we really haven’t done what needs to be done, until we do it is merely a matter of time before the next leak. Maybe you have a ten foot section in your life that continually springs leaks and sports numerous patches from the past? Maybe you have things that are incompatible connected to each other that will cause problems as long as you refuse to disconnect them and start over doing it right? Maybe you too know exactly what needs to be done but never get beyond the temporary fix and talking about really addressing the problem? Maybe the spots of the next leaks and breakdowns are already beginning to show? How are your spiritual water pipes? According to God they are problematic, “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23), they are leaky, the wrong grade, and faultily connected. They are continually decaying, held together by temporary patches, doomed to completely fail. They are a testimony to procrastination, misplaced priorities, bad habits, and a stubbornness that refuses to address the problem according to the knowledge, wisdom, and word of the Master Plumber. An Old Testament parallel is God’s indictment of the ancient Israelites, “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water” Jeremiah 2:13 (NIV). Godlessness causes us to leak the most precious substance of them all, life.To permanently address the problem we need to first of all be connected to God the right way and that is only possible through God’s Son Jesus Christ, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” 1 John 5:11-12 (NIV). Then we need to let the Master Plumber replace the old leaky pipes with new pipes that won’t leak even under pressure. We need our life to be re-piped with holy habits, right attitudes, and godly wisdom based on God’s standards and codes found in His word, the Bible, “…learn from me (Jesus Christ), for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (no leaks there)” Matthew 11:29 (NIV). How I pray our stubbornness, shortsightedness, procrastination, and pride will not keep us from finally letting God have a go at our pipes leaking life.To God be all glory, love you Pastor Hans
Could you be more generous? Should you be more generous?
What do you do with money you have, the wealth you have accumulated, the possessions you own? Do you primarily use them to do what you want to do, what you like do, to satisfy your desires and appetites? Have you ever considered that the primary functions of your money, your wealth, your possessions is to glorify God, be generous, and take care of your needs? The ultimate foolishness is to be rich and godless, to have means and not think of God, to indulge and bless yourself when you could bless others and cause them to give praise to God (Luke 12:13-21; 16:19-31).So, could you be more generous? Does your generosity begin with what’s left over after you have indulged yourself, or are you purposely denying yourself so you can be more generous? Are you managing your money, your wealth, your possession with the goal of being as generous as you possibly can be? If you would have to stand before God tomorrow to give an account of the wealth and possessions he entrusted you with would you wish that you would have been more generous, more thoughtful about how you used your measure of wealth to glorify and please God? Would you wish that generosity would have ranked higher in your priorities than your hobbies, your social status, or your need for comfort? Would you wish you would have settled for less so you could have given more? So could you? Could you be more generous?And should you be more generous? Yes, absolutely yes! The word of God, the Bible, continually warns against chasing after riches for all the wrong reasons (1 Timothy 6:9-10), it denounces greed as a form of idolatry (Colossians 3:5), and it calls us to forsake a lifestyle of self-indulgence (1 John 2:15-17). But it gives the green light to generosity, encourages it, and stamps God’s approval all over it. The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered. Proverbs 11:25 (NASB) Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.1 Timothy 6:17-19 (NIV) Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Luke 6:38 (NIV) So could you? Should you? Will you be more generous? So much so that “your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father,” Matthew 5:16 (NLT). To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
Jesus and Alice Cooper (back to school)
"… learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” Matthew 11:29 (NIV) Remember Alice Cooper singing “School’s Out?” Maybe you couldn’t wait for it to become true. Maybe you sang it at your graduation.“… No more pencilsNo more booksNo more teacher's dirty looksWell we got no classAnd we got no principlesAnd we got no innocenceWe can't even think of a word that rhymesSchool's out for summerSchool's out foreverSchool's been blown to pieces …” (Lyrics by Alice Cooper)I remember a young lady for whom Math was a nightmare. It kept her from finishing her college degree. She had almost straight As except for math, she had flunked it numerous times. Talk about frustrated.Did you ever ask a teacher or your parents, “Why do I have to learn this? How much of this am I actually ever gonna use in real life?”The reality is that throughout all of life you have to learn unless you want to be stupid, make stupid decisions, repeat stupidity, and suffer from the effects of stupidity. Learning can make your life better, make you wiser, make things easier.If I make the same mistakes over and over maybe it’s time to learn to do it different?If my life is full of turmoil, drama, and conflict maybe it’s time to examine what I have learned and how valuable it is. Maybe I need to show up for school again, regardless of how much I like Alice’s sentiments.If my relationships are not working, if I am always broke, if habits are hurting me, if I constantly hurt others, if lack discernment then maybe it is time to admit that I don’t know as much as I think I do and that I might need to depart from what I have learned so far.If others are not blessed by me, if love, goodness, generosity, wholeness, wisdom, joy, laughter, and peace isn’t something that others get from being with me then maybe enrolling with the best teacher ever isn’t a bad idea.As far as I know Jesus never taught a course on physics, math, biology, or chemistry, although as the creator of them all he certainly could have. No, he left that type of teaching to others. What Jesus focused his teaching on was on life, on God, on reality, on true success. You can know everything about math and be a terrible person. You can be the most skilled surgeon and be a heartache to your colleagues and family. You can be the savviest business woman and be dishonest and corrupt. You can be the best at football and be a jerk.“Learn from me,” maybe it’s time to take Jesus up on the offer. From what I have heard, even Alice Cooper did.To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
Stuck
StuckI was dropping something off at Dennis’ house and made the mistake off backing up onto some soft ground. Slick highway tires, nothing in the back of my truck, and soft ground, you guessed it, equals getting stuck. They flew passed us as Susie and I drove slowly through Yosemite to take pictures of the valley in the snow. As we came around the next corner, you guessed it, there they were stuck in a snow bank on the side of the road (we did help them to get un-stuck).It is so easy to get stuck, to get stuck in life, to get stuck in a mindset, a bad attitude, in grief, bad habits, an addiction, a bad relationship, a reputation, in a boring or lousy marriage, in lies, in something that ends with ...holic, and so much more. People are stuck in hospital beds, nursing homes, prisons, gangs, jobs, war zones, party lines, violence, abuse, oppression, cultural norms, religions, and so much more. And don’t forget being stuck in what ifs, in guilt, regret, pain, hopelessness, consequences of bad decisions, debt, and sin.When you read through the Bible (God’s word/written revelation) you constantly encounter people, groups, and even entire nations being stuck. By the time you get to the book called Lamentations you are ready to weep with the prophet Jeremiah, the stuckness is staggering, as it is today.There is a common denominator running through all of this stuckness: Human stubbornness, human sinfulness, human failure, an unwillingness to listen to God, to regard the wisdom of God, to follow the ways of God, to embrace the will of God, and to respond to the word of God with faith and obedience. When Jeremiah pens his lament, his cry, the measure of the consequences of all this unwillingness towards God has piled up. The Israelites personally and collectively find themselves stuck deeper than would have ever imagined.They were stuck in the anger and judgment of God, stubbornness and unwillingness to listen to God will lead you there, guaranteed. Amazingly, even the living hell they were experiencing was not enough to soften their hearts. It is a terrible thing to have a stuck heart, an angry heart, a bitter heart, a vengeful heart, an unforgiving heart, a merciless heart, a self-centered heart, a greedy heart, a lustful heart, a faithless heart, an unloving heart , an unyielding heart towards God.Jeremiah finally cries out and states the obvious, “I/we are stuck beyond hope – except forYou God.” Maybe that’s your cry, if it is, then turn or return to God.I have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity (happiness) is.So I say, "My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the LORD."I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." Lamentations 3:17-24 (NIV, parenthesis mine) To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
Daylight Savings Time and Eternity
Did you change your clocks to Daylight Saving Time? Or are you among those who keep their clocks and various timepieces unchanged, only to have to continually add an hour till November? I know, Arizona and Hawaii don’t change their clocks, but most of the US does. And regardless my point is that wherever you live you have to adjust your watch to that time if you want to function. Besides DST you also have to make time-zone adjustments if you want to keep your job, make it to appointments, go shopping, and keep people from getting mad at you.Since the switch to DST currently is made on a weekend (2nd Sunday in March), at 0200 hours (2:00 AM) to be exact, and since I am a preacher I get to perennially see people who forgot to set their clocks forward show up late for church (and see people show up early in November). And there are some who think you have to do the actual changing at exactly 2:00 AM, but it is ok to do that before you go to bed. I have tried both and I like the second option much better.Your and my opinion really doesn’t matter much in this, whatever the official time is you need to adjust to it. Your doctor won’t care that you have chosen to go by a different time, neither will the airlines, the courts, schools, restaurants, libraries, retailers, TV schedulers, your wife or husband, or boyfriend or girlfriend. And against all your objections I am fairly certain if you need life-saving surgery you will adjust your time to whenever your surgery is scheduled. If not, then you are just not very bright.Funny how we can adjust our watches (cell phones adjust automatically) and lives around things that are not very important, a television show, sports event, hunting or fishing season, … and forget to adjust to eternity. We can be meticulous about our clocks and careless about our souls.Funerals are the place and time when we are most aware that we should make adjustments regarding eternity, regarding the creator and giver of time – God, Jesus Christ. A funeral marks that someone’s time has run out, someone who can longer adjust their time and life to live for what God calls important. Someone who has entered eternity either well prepared or arrives embarrassed like those who will be late this Sunday. The wisdom literature of God’s word instructs us, “Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies— so the living should take this to heart” Ecclesiastes 7:2 (NLT).My hope and prayer is that you will adjust your life to eternity, to God, which in turn will impact your time and how you spend it. What counts in the end is that God thinks you spent it wisely, glorifying Him and His Son Jesus Christ.Love you, Pastor Hans
Of being a Grandpa, Moses, and doing God's will
Susie and I were awarded the rank of “Grandparent” last Tuesday. Shaheed Jr. greeted the light of day at 8 pounds 1 ounce, and 20 inches in length. Dad already claims he looks like him, and by the way Mom is okay. There is just one problem – Susie and I are way too young to be a Grandma and Grandpa, an Oma and Opa.How in the heck did this happen? It seems like just when you have somewhat figured things out things are changing. I think Moses must have felt like that. His life is marked by three sets of forty years. In each set he had to adjust, make decisions, take on different roles.The last big adjustment came when he was eighty, yup 80. He was very reluctant, even when he knew for certain that God was talking to him. He came up with all kinds of objections and what ifs, and finally he told God to give the job to someone else, “Moses said, ‘Please, Lord, send someone else.’ Then the LORD’s anger burned against Moses, …” Exodus 4:13-14 (HCSB). He ticked God off, He thought this was up for discussion, but it wasn’t anymore than becoming a grandparent is. God doesn’t come to us like He is working for Gallup Polls. He doesn’t reveal his will to us to see whether or not we like it. Moses didn’t realize what privilege it is to be called on by God to carry out His will. The question for Susie and I is not whether or not we like to be grandparents, the question is what kind of grandparents will we be.I am wondering, has God been calling on you and all He is encountering is reluctance? An unwillingness to change, to adjust your life to His will? Have you been telling God to assign the responsibility to someone else? Are you in danger of ticking God off? Or have you already made him angry?Moses could have written a book covering the first eighty years of his life, and it would have been great story. But it was the surrender, the adjustment to God’s will he made at eighty that made it a bestseller.Looking back years later, I wonder if Moses just shook his head at his own foolishness when he thought about the time he told God, “Send someone else.” I wonder what advice he would give to you and me? Then again, I don’t think it is too hard to figure out if you read the story.My prayer is that you and I will drop any reluctance, that we will see beyond the what ifs, and that we will rejoice in being called on by God?To God be all glory, love you, Grandpa Hans
Learning to live in the light
“However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"-- 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV) Someone observed, “Toes are for finding furniture in the dark” - Ouch! Some years ago Susie and I were driving home from Merced late in driving rainstorm when our alternator decided to quit. With still about thirty miles to go I tried to conserve as much of the battery power by driving with just the parking lights. About 10 miles I out turned off all the lights and had Susie hold the flashlight out the window to light the way – as we rolled into our driveway the car died – Whew!I don’t know about you but darkness isn’t much fun unless you’re an owl or a bat. It certainly is no fun to be in the dark when it comes to life. It is hard to orient yourself in the dark, so easy to get turned around, get lost, hurt yourself.Have you ever thought about how many nasty critters operate in the dark? Cockroaches, mice, rats, and worse. And how much stupidity, how many bad decisions, how much evil and sin takes places after the sun sets, the lights are turned low or out, the shades are drawn, and the doors are shut?“…: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all” 1 John 1:5 (NIV). God calls us to live in the light – His light, “… you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” 1 Peter 2:9 (NIV). “… you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light” Ephesians 5:8 (NASB).God calls to, offers us a life where we don’t continually stub our toes, a life where we do not have to hide things, or manipulate, make excuses, pretend, cover up and lie – a life in the light, a life of blessing, simplicity, and goodness.Can you imagine if our cars wouldn’t have lights? If our homes were without lights? I bet you we would do something about it, pronto. I am encouraging you to install God’s Word/the Bible into your life, your way of thinking, your decision making, your activities, your habits, your responsibilities, your roles, and your values. I am challenging you to make 2013 the year you can proclaim with the Psalmist, “ Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” Psalm 119:105 (NIV).To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
the look
The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, "Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times." Luke 22:61 (NASB) We’d all be in jail, if looks really could kill.If you want to be a good parent you have to be able to both recognize looks:“Don’t you give me that look young man!”“You had better not roll your eyes behind my back young lady!”“That’s about the daffiest face I have ever seen.”“I can tell you’re lying just by the look on your face!”“Those puppy eyes worked when you were three, what do you want.”“What’s with the sad face, what’s going on?”You also have to perfect your own “looks” as a parent. Your repertoire needs to include glares, stares, beams, as well as the looks of:“You’re in so much trouble, you don’t even know it!”“One more word and you’re grounded for life!”“I told you so.”“How could you?”“I’m so proud I think I’ll pop.”“That’s MY boy/girl!”Jesus had a lot of looks, looks of compassion, concern, grief, anger, peace. John 8 even records a non-look; it says something too, doesn’t it. One of Jesus’ looks has always fascinated and puzzled me. Peter, who had promised Jesus that he would die with Him if need be has just sworn up and down that he never knew Jesus. He has completely disavowed any association with Christ. What’s more is that Jesus had told him that he would do so before the roster would crow. Before the words of his last denial leave his lips a roster does crow, and at the very moment Jesus in His hand cuffs turns and looks across the courtyard. He looks Peter right in the eyes (Luke 22:54-62), He doesn’t speak a word, a look is all that’s needed. What look did Jesus give him? Wouldn’t you love to know? I sure would. This much I know, Jesus’ look didn’t keep Peter from repenting and returning. It also broke him. I think he remembered that one look for the rest of his life. He must have told Luke about it.I can’t prove it, but I think that look Jesus gave Peter, when Peter was at a minimum both scared and confused, reflected the depth of relationship Jesus seeks to have with you and me as well. Most people do not know God – Jesus like that, but gloriously He invites us to know Him like that. Do you?To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
Rain, weather, and changing people
Warning! In this pastor’s note you will be asked to help and to respond. So if you you’re saying to yourself, “I’d rather not,” then right now get up, walk away to do something else, but don’t read on. If you read this far and if you’re thinking, “I’ll read what that preacher has to say and then decide if I will respond and help,” consider yourself caught. From this point if you read on it is like when you have clicked the “next” button after you have checked off the license agreement on a computer. Well, I see you read even further, you obviously have no intention of walking away until you’ve read it all. I take that as a sign of good faith on your part, that I can count on you to interact and help.As you might know this rain season we have had not near enough precipitation here in Central California. It certainly has not been the first time or the last. I suppose this is the reason various cultures have invented a rain dance. Now trying to change the weather with my dancing skills would surely result in the opposite, an extreme drought. But yesterday I was reminded that some of my activities, in complete defiance of statistical probability, seem to be followed by rain. You ask, “What were you doing?” I sprayed weeds for several hours, and bam, by this morning it rained. The same seems to be true for planning a camping trip. Someone else told me that for them it is washing the cars. Would you email me (theGermanShepherd@juno.com) what seems to be your version of the rain dance. And I apologize for having been so slack in spraying weeds and planning camping trips. All kidding aside, we have prayed for rain, and God who holds sway over all things has been gracious (Matthew 5:45).Thinking about the weather made me think about “things I cannot change.” It is astounding how many there are. The weather, gravity and other laws of nature, the time, my age, your age, the past, stupidity (stupid is always stupid), people’s hearts, … What would you add to that list? Yup, you guessed it, email me that too.God is in the people changing business, turning spiritually lost people into saved men and women, spiritually dead people into regenerated people, sinners into saints, enemies of His into beloved children of God, the broken into the restored, the hopeless into champions of faith, the violent into peace makers, the greedy into givers, the evil into Christlikeness (yes, email me what you would add to that list as well). And here you and I thought changing the weather was difficult. That’s why I am asking for your help. God has called us, you and me, Christians, the Lake Don Pedro Baptist Church into the people changing business, “follow me and I will you make fishers of men (Mark 1:17-18).” I am asking you that between now and Easter to join me in doing two things: 1. Pray for specific people to come to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. 2. Each week invite at least five people to join you in your Bible study group and in a church service. I am sure that as smart as you are you will email or give a list of the people you are praying for and a list of those that you want to invite.May God let it pour! Love you, Pastor Hans