And so blessing and cursing (truth and lies) come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! …If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. James 3:10&13-18 (NLT, parenthesis mine)If someone’s words don’t match their actions, which do you believe? Or more importantly, can you believe them?At a party attended by only white people is it okay to talk about black people in degrading fashion and muse on how to exploit them? At party of all black people is it okay talk about white people in a degrading fashion and consider how to exploit them? Is degrading and predatory talk about women, which includes my wife and girls, really okay because it is boys letting loose on a bus or because there is a lot of testosterone in the “locker room?” And if I do, what does that say about me?If you get caught speeding in a 25 mph school zone, are you not guilty because you didn’t see the posted signs? And if the officer points to the sign you just ignored is it a legitimate defense to claim that you have no idea what that sign actually means? And if you top it off by telling the highway patrol that this has never happened to you, but when she checks your record that turns out to be lie, what are the chances of you not getting a ticket? If you destroy evidence after being it being subpoenaed, and if you repeatedly don’t tell the truth about the same matter, can you claim to be trustworthy?I suppose this has always frustrated us about our politicians and politics, this discrepancy between words and actions, public image and the truth, those slick presentations and actual agendas, the promises made, not to keep, but to tell us what we like to hear, mouths incongruent with closed doors behaviors, the things shown and that which no one is supposed to see and know.In most big elections I have witnessed the answers to this discrepancy has been, (1) that is just the other side running a smear campaign, (2) character, morals, and ethics are overrated, they are not nearly as important as getting things done, (3) politics is not for squeaky clean choir-boys/girls, it’s a contact sport.True, politics isn’t any cleaner than running a dairy farm, there is a whole lot of s…/cow-pucky. Sooner than later you will step into some, have some flung at you, or get it on you some way or another. You will have to deal with it on a continual basis; it is an ever present reality. But I also know this, some dairies are a lot cleaner than others, and that depends entirely on the farmer, the person in charge, and how important running the farm clean is to him or her. I also venture to say that the cows’ welfare has a lot to do with how all of this inevitable manure is dealt with. One thing’s for sure, slinging manure, pointing out how filthy others are, or excusing your own crap doesn’t do anything as far as cleaning yourself up or staying clean goes.I have been encouraging you to be fully engaged with your God-given political responsibly, including your vote. The present dirtiness should offend us but not disengage us. We would do well if what we require of, what we wished were true of our candidates are the standards we set for ourselves, and that we check those standards to what God expects of us personally and collectively.To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans
Elections and Daily Voting
Did you ever not really want do it, the right thing, the pressing thing, the needed thing that is? That for which you were born, for which the sovereignty and providence of God had placed you there and then (and here and now)? That which makes you have to decide between what is good for you and what is good for others, between playing it safe and risky, between comfortable and suffering, between carefree and weighty responsibility, between your will and God’s will?Often we talk about politics and politicians in ways that depicts the whole thing as them versus us. We freely express our disapproval, our disappointment, our frustration with “them,” the Washington establishment, the president, Congress, the courts, the EPA, FDA, DHS, …, and often very justifiably so. We bemoan the partisanship, the corruption, the fiscal irresponsibility and waste, the disconnectedness, the shortsightedness, double speak, the lack of morality, and … We want more honesty, more integrity, more selflessness, more restraint, and more wisdom from those politicians, judges, and officials. We wish for more caring for what is good for all for the long term rather than what is good for just some, and worse, what is merely good to staying in power. We want treasured values to be upheld, not undermined, or for sale to the highest bidder, or prostituted to garner ratings and votes. Those people in Washington D.C. and Sacramento need to get it together!Like many of you I received my absentee ballot this past week, it is reminder that you and I have political responsibility beyond opining and complaining. We have a responsibility to participate, to embrace our part, to practice the very integrity, selflessness, discipline, foresight, caring, and wisdom we have judged our politicians and leaders lack.Politics, power, and influence always walk together. You combine the power of a large group if small, seemingly insignificant, people and their influence grows as well. They might even become a movement that changes the political landscape. One person embracing God’s will, taking up the responsibility the power and influence granted to him/her can make a huge difference in a family, community, a nation, in this world (e.g. Joseph, Genesis 37-50). The fact that the two candidates, one of whom will most likely be the next US president, are deeply flawed, rate low on the truth telling index, do not have a track record that inspires trust, and are dogged by corruption and scandal is also a reflection and indictment of the politicians at the most grassroots level, the voters, you and me. In the 2012 presidential election less than 55% of the total electorate voted, more than half of evangelical Christians abdicated their responsibility to vote. These are staggering statistics testifying of political and spiritual irresponsibility and disengagement.The two highest values in the universe are loving God and loving people, caring about cares about and caring for others like we care about ourselves (Mark 12:29-31). Both of these values will lead you and me to service, serving God, serving others, serving our nation, serving the world. Those values will call us to do things we don’t really want to do, things that stand in the way of self-serving, self-indulgence, self-seeking, and the like. Those values will compel us to be engaged, to embrace every responsibility, every opportunity to influence our world to the glory of God.Mordecai posed a rhetorical question to his niece Esther, the queen of Persia, who hesitated to become politically involved, “Who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" Esther 4:14 (NIV). Of course she was! Just like God has placed you and me into this time with power and influence to affect lives and politics for the glory of God. And so we must chose both at the ballot box and in the daily voting of our lives.To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans
Hoping, crying, living, and fighting for something better (A Memorial Day reflection)
Human history a tale of conflict, strife, enmity, violence, and war. The Bible reflects this reality from the 3rd chapter of Genesis to the 20th chapter of Revelation. All the advancements of science, all the modern advancements of technology, all the study of history, all of the religious practices and rejections of the one true God by mankind have not changed that reality. In fact, we just have gotten better at it. At the battle of Cannae it took Hannibal and his army a day to slaughter 80,000 Romans, today we can level a city of millions in a flash. We can’t even imagine peace without strong armies standing guard and willing to fight.The threats are not only external, nations and peoples pitted against each other, but also internal. Try to name a nation that is without strife, without conflict, without violence, without corruption, without various groups pitted against each other and willing to fight, clashing over ideologies, policies, liberties, rights, wealth, and … Just think about how much blood has been spilled between the East and West coasts of the United States from long before the Europeans settled here down to the present day.Even the history of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, incarnate for 30 odd years is marked at its very beginning by Herod’s regional infanticide, serval attempt on his life, and eventually his crucifixion. The words of Isaiah the prophet are as true today as when he first wrote them and when Jesus walked the earth, “The way of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their paths. They have turned them into crooked roads; no one who walks in them will know peace. So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows” Isaiah 59:8-9 (NIV. Take a few minutes, get out a copy of the Bible or find one online, and read Isaiah 58-59 and let it sink in).Both presently and ultimately it takes the intervention of the prince of peace, a Savior, the one who can change both the human heart and history to interrupt the cycles of depravity we cannot escape on our own, to regenerate what sin has killed, to redeem what has been lost, to reconcile us to God and his will, and to make us merciful as he is merciful (Luke 6:36).Things are so much cleaner on paper, neater on a page filled with words. The hard part is translating what is right, what is good, what is just, and what pleases God into our lives, our private life, community life, political life, national life, our “neighbor’s” life, our enemy’s life. How do you that?
- You have to care - “Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” Galatians 6:2 (NIV). “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” Philippians 2:4 (NIV).
- You have dream of something better - Jesus cried out, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings …!” Luke 13:34 (NIV). ‘‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” Matthew 5:6 (NIV). “(Abraham) was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” Hebrews 11:10 (NIV).
- You have to be willing to weep for others and over the brokenness you see –“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God” Matthew 5:4&9 (NIV). “…, weep with those who weep” Romans 12:15 (NASB).
- You have to orient yourself on God and his Son Jesus Christ -“(Father God) Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” Matthew 6:10 (NIV, parenthesis mine). “…, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” 1 Corinthians 1:24 (NIV). “The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” James 3:17-18 (ESV).
- You have engage and don’t quit - “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you, …" Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV). “Be doers of the word (of God, the Bible) …” James 1:22 (ESV, parenthesis mine). “I want each of you to extend that same intensity toward a full-bodied hope, and keep at it till the finish. Don't drag your feet. Be like those who stay the course with committed faith and then get everything promised to them” Hebrews 6:11-12 (MSG).
To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans
Jesus, Mary, Joseph - Refugees
After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.” Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance. Matthew 2:13-16 (NLT)Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were political refugees. They had to pack up in the middle of the night and flee a violent madman named Herod, who had no regard for human rights. Among those he slaughtered were an untold number of babies in children in order to hang on power. What they needed was to be out of harm’s way, safety, protection, a place where the threat and violence could not reach them, a place where they no longer had to run. Luckily for Jesus and his parents Egypt did not have a closed door attitude and policy regarding Jewish refugees.From the Roman perspective the Jews were a strange lot, with strange beliefs, odd practices, folks who created their own enclaves, who stuck together, and who didn’t integrate well. The place they called their homeland was a region of continual unrest, terrorism, and instability. And of course they were easy to blame for all kinds of things, it was easy to marginalize them, to reduce them to one lot, to make them an impersonal issue.I wonder how Jesus, Mary, and Joseph thought and felt about refugees after they had been refugees themselves? When the topic came up in their home, in the carpenter shop, at the well, in the market, or on Saturday in the synagogue, what was their tone? What opinions did they hold and defend? What did they wish for, advocate for, and pray for regarding refugees? Because the things that we go through ourselves do shape us, do affect how we think and feel about them, and often make us more empathetic.How many people helped Jesus, Mary, and Joseph along the way, during the time they were exiled in Egypt, the time they could not go back home? I am sure what the Wise Men gave them came in handy. But from my own experience of being an immigrant I know how much it means for people to reach out to you, to engage with you, to care about you, to help you, to be generous to you, to include you, to pray for you, to give you a chance. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for all who have treated me that way, and I can’t help but think that Jesus and his parents felt the same.How should the church, the organization Jesus started, the group of people he calls his body, think, feel, and act regarding refugees? What would he have us advocate, stand up for? How would he have us engage with those who are on the run, who can’t go back home, who are displaced by violence, politics, disasters, and economics? And where does the church get its cues to discern Jesus’, God’s (Jesus is God incarnate), opinion, heart, and directives? I believe the answer to that last question is: Through the Holy Spirit, through God’s written word (the Bible), through the example of Christ, and both through a willingness to follow where these lead us and to radically love.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
More Than Just Showing Up
Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him." Genesis 2:18 (NASB)Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment. Proverbs 18:1 (ESV)For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body— Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. … The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 1 Corinthians 12:13, 21 (ESV)Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Hebrews 10:23-25 (ESV)Do you live in spiritual community? If you are a Christian you should show up, go to church, be with other believers, you can’t have any sort of community if you do not show up. Showing up regularly should be a foundational habit; you should not even have to think about it, it should be “normal” for every believer.Spiritual community is more than going to service, it is a way of life, the interaction does not stop when you leave the church service. In spiritual community, in a real church family, you develop a closer circle of brothers and sisters. Men and women with whom you pray, are honest, and seek to encourage each other to grow in Christ and do God’s will.You can go to church and still isolate yourself. You can go to church and participate in nothing but small talk and superficiality. You can go to church not at all participate in the opportunity of, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another” Proverbs 27:17 (ESV). You can go to church and interact with other believers and be nothing but a fountain of negativity, carnality, and worldliness. You can go to church and be alone.Do you have brothers and sisters (it is both right and good foe Christians to think of each other as family) who really know you, who challenge you, with whom pray outside of church gatherings? Do you have brothers and sisters in your life with whom you not only talk about personal issues of life but about kingdom of God issues, the knowing and doing of God’s will? Fellowship where the word of God becomes conversation, where the leading and impressions of the Holy Spirit are shared, and where you are encouraged to dream kingdom dreams and give you all for Christ and his Gospel? Are you surrounding yourself with people who seek and practice that kind of fellowship?The wise Christian does show up, faithfully, rain or shine, but the wise Christian never settles for just showing up.To God be all glory, Pastor Hans
Better than Nutella or whipped cream
I believe Nutella®, the famous hazelnut/chocolate spread, is one of the great culinary inventions of our time. It transforms ordinary toast into a fabulous dessert, it is the queen of frosting, it turns most things sweet into a delight, and it is absolutely delectable all by itself.Long before Nutella® there was whipped cream. Pretty much whatever I told you about Nutella® is also true about whipped cream. You can’t count all of the sublime uses of whipped cream. And if you want to go for the coup de grace use them both at the same time, Nutella® and whipped cream – unbelievable, out of this world.I admit, both Nutella® and whipped cream have their limits. I would not put either on a bratwurst, nor would I add them to a tomato basil salad. I would not dip a pickle in them or barbeque with them.Maybe Nutella® and whipped cream leave you cold. Maybe for you it is TABASCO® Sauce, or salsa, or ketchup, or garlic, or …? (Feel free to email me your “makes most everything taste better” – dergermanshepherd@gmail.com).Let me advocate for something even better than Nutella® or whipped cream, something that truly has universal application: Gratefulness, Thankfulness. “Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” 1Thess 5:18 (HCSB).Actually Thankfulness, the giving of thanks, the expression of gratefulness is just one of several things on a list of things God encourages us to continually practice, to put on everything. “See to it that no one repays evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all. Rejoice always! Pray constantly. Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Don’t stifle the Spirit (what God wants to do). Don’t despise prophecies (what God says), but test all things. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil” 1 Thessalonians 5:15-22 (HCSB, parentheses mine).Can you imagine a world, a nation, a community, a neighborhood, a work place, a school, a church, a family where everyone is committed to what is good for one another and for all, where everyone avoids evil but hangs on to what is good, a world full of rejoicing, continual prayer, and thanksgiving, a world that listens to God and does his will? If we were to put that on everything, how sweet would that be?Now contrast that to the following, “But know this: Difficult times will come in the last days. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people!” 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (HCSB). I don’t want to be a person of whom God says, “to be avoided.” I want to be part of list A, part of the group of people who keep putting on the stuff God endorses, the stuff that makes life more delectable for everybody else.I am grateful for the life God invites you and me to, the life that is made possible through his Son Jesus Christ, the life the Holy Spirit encourages us to and empowers us to live. Let’s stock our cupboards with it. Let’s have others taste it. Let’s get ready for Thanksgiving, a life of thanksgiving.To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans
For a Better Community
Make the Master proud of you by being good citizens. Respect the authorities, whatever their level; they are God's emissaries for keeping order. It is God's will that by doing good, you might cure the ignorance of the fools who think you're a danger to society. Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules. Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government. 1 Peter 2:13-17 (MSG)There was one policeman in my hometown of Heiningen (at that time population 2,500), yup, just one. When our grammar school teacher took us on a field-trip to the Rathaus (city hall) we got to meet him and he showed us the two jail cells. They were full of boxes and paper. I don’t think they were used very much. I liked his uniform, which he filled out nicely, but I was especially impressed with his gun. I don’t know what all he did, but he did a lot of patrolling, when we rode our bicycles around he seemed to be all over the place, he kept watch.We were on vacation camping when severe weather hit. So in the middle of the night my Dad piled us all into the car to drive to our Great Uncle’s farm to sit it out there. On the way a fierce lightning bolt split the sky and hit the far corner of the roof of one of the large old farm houses in the distance. It was instantly on fire and my Dad wheeled the car around and raced to the farm, jumped out, woke up the sleeping family, and began helping with getting the animals out, while my Mom tried to restrain us in the car. It wasn’t long before fire trucks arrived and they were impressive. My Mom finally relented and let us go out into the rain to watch the fireman do their work. In the end everything living was saved but the farm house was lost.Why am I telling you these two old memories of mine? For one because my entire life I have thought of both policemen and firefighters as a positive and not a negative. Wherever I have lived things were not worse but better because of their presence. I don’t imagine life to be better without them, I am glad they are among us doing their work.I don’t know how it is that so many want to tell some horror story about how “the cops” did them or someone they know wrong, or how the fire department was too slow to respond and didn’t know what they were doing. It’s kind of like most everyone is always ready to tell some medical horror story, but boy when they are sick they are more than glad to visit a doctor. A few weeks ago I checked my facebook page (something I don’t do very often) and someone was complaining about how the “cops” had cramped their style at a weekend party, followed by are more general rant against law enforcement. I commented that I am not their camp. How many of us have to put on a bullet proof vest to go to work? Generally if I police myself I don’t have much to worry. In fact I don’t get up worrying about “the cops” (I don’t even like the word “cop/s”, to me it lacks respect). They have not cramped my style, but they and the fire department were there when my daughter wrecked her car. They were there when people acted stupid during fire season, when people were dying or died, when things got out of hand, and they have continually kept watch.However I have observed a trend over the past thirty years. We are increasingly shifting the responsibility of “watching” away from ourselves. A healthy family rarely if ever needs police intervention. Why, because in a healthy family each person takes responsibility to police themselves. The same is true in a healthy community, responsibility to watch isn’t shifted to just a few but is shared by all. Think about it, how many incidents, accidents, and emergencies involve irresponsibility, drinking, drugs, general butt-headedness, and outright evil.And since this is a “pastor’s note” I venture to add what few are still willing to recognize, namely, where godlessness increases self-centeredness and lawlessness increases (Matthew 24:11-12, Romans 1:28-32). In the absence of God we exalt ourselves and deceive ourselves in our sinful arrogance. The Apostle Peter in his first letter hits the nail on the head when he reminds followers of Christ specifically as well as anyone willing to listen to, “Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God” 1 Peter 2:16 (NIV). And servants of God major on loving God and loving their neighbor, they focus on the things the Spirit of God would have us do and be, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV).I am fully convinced we will have better lives, a better community, and even a better country if we dare to practice the wisdom of God’s word.To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans