Easter QuestionsHow long can you live without breathing? – Minutes.How many days can you live without water? – Days.How long could you live without eating anything? – Weeks.How long can you live without Jesus? – Both milliseconds and years.You and I exist from moment to moment only because the entire universe, every atom and particle, is sustained by the power of Christ, “For everything was created by Him (Christ), in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together” Colossians 1:16-17 (HCSB, parenthesis mine). On the other hand you and I can ignore, deny, or be against Jesus our entire lives, till our very last breath.What has been the most important day of your life? – The day of your birth? Some other significant day? The day you became a believer in Christ?What has been the most significant event all of human history? - Easter, Jesus Christ, incarnate God, conquering sin and death on a Roman cross, his corpse sealed into a tomb, and risen from the dead three days later. God, through the life of his Son, loving you and me at an unimaginable depth and offering forgiveness, reconciliation, redemption, a place in his family, and eternal life to sinners like you and me. There is no more incredible and significant event in all of history.If you are scratching your head saying, “I don’t know?” or if you profoundly disagree consider the words of the Apostle Paul, “The message of the cross (Easter) is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.” So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God” 1 Corinthians 1:18-24 (NLT, parenthesis mine).My son is a diabetic. He needs insulin to live. He can complain, wail against the unfairness of it, summon his philosophical and theological objections, but that will not change a thing about his condition. No one is making him take his insulin, watch his diet, and adopt the lifestyle of a diabetic, but if he wants to live, if he wants to be well, he will. He can ignore his doctor, play Yoyo with his blood sugar, and drink or bathe in sugar, but he will not be able to escape the consequences that come with that. He can be offended, he can deceive himself into thinking it is all a bunch of …, but none of that diminishes his need for insulin.You and I are sinners; sinners need the cross of Christ, the power of Christ to save them. The cross of Christ is not meant to offend, it is not foolishness, it spells hope and life. None of us will escape the consequences of our sins, none of us can conquer death, no one will survive the scrutiny of God’s judgment, and no one will live in the presence of Almighty and Holy God except through Jesus Christ.“Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:25-26 (NASB)Happy Easter, love you, Pastor Hans
No Gospel for Gophers
Gophers and ground squirrels committing acts of subterranean terror, wood peckers in senseless destruction drilling holes into my house or by my office, ants trying to take over our home like Russia annexing Crimea, and termites like the NSA in cloaked secrecy chewing away on what is precious to me – my animosity, my loathing, my outcry over these is no secret.These critters are relentless, the damages attributable to them are significant, and their consciences don’t seem to be all that bothered. I wonder if there is a rodent hell, a wood pecker purgatory, an eternal lake of fire for termites and ants? If not, there should be. This kind of destruction, havoc, senselessness, disrespect, and lack of caring should not go unaccounted for. There should be some kind of justice, shouldn’t there?But what is our excuse? We are the creature with the most advanced brain, we are capable of figuring things out peacefully, we are able to empathize more deeply than any living thing. It is possible for us to make good choices that go beyond basic instinct, beyond emotion, beyond rage, beyond hatred, beyond what is just good for us. And yet no creature God has made is more destructive than us, than mankind. We are politically destructive, ecologically destructive, economically destructive, emotionally destructive, personally destructive, and even spiritually destructive. Yet somehow we are prone to cry foul at the very notion that God would hold us accountable, that he would judge us for our evil, our failure to do good, are unwillingness to live for the highest ends of loving God and loving our neighbor.Another observance of Easter, the recognition and celebration of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, conquering sin and death and rising from the dead, is approaching. I wish there was a gospel for gophers and the like. However, there is a Gospel for you and for me, for people. Unlike me, who has trouble eliminating a few gophers and ants, God could have exterminated us all, and no one could have faulted him because our collective and personal history indicts us. He could have responded with pure and justified hatred towards all of mankind. Somehow he didn’t and instead of withdrawing personally and emotionally He drew closer, and engaged himself deeper. He chose to love, to offer hope, to provide atonement and forgiveness, to conquer what we cannot - our sin and the reality of death.I have no desire to become a gopher, to dwell among ground squirrels, to be part of a termite colony. As you well know, I have no love for any of them. But God in Christ chose to dwell among us, that’s incredible. On the one hand it brings incredible hope to our moral, existential, and spiritual dilemma; on the other hand it robs us of our last excuse of having no other option than to be who we are.“Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good.But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.” Romans 5:7-10 (NLT)To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
Dollars and Sense
What can you get for one dollar? A squirt of gasoline, something of the dollar menu at a fast food joint, a can of soda , an apple. In general you don’t get very much for a dollar. On the other hand you can feed and educate a child for a day in many places around the globe.What can you buy or do with a hundred dollars? More than what you can with just one dollar that’s for sure. You can fill your tank with gasoline and have some left over (depending on the size of your car), you can go out to eat, you can stock up on soda, and you can feed and educate a child for several months.What about ten thousand dollars? Without a doubt that’s a lot more than a hundred bucks. You could buy a used car and zip all over the US, eat out a lot, go on a fabulous vacation, do some serious upgrading, or you could feed and educate almost thirty children for year.What could you do with a million, one hundred million, or even a billion dollars? A heck of a lot and also not very much. You couldn’t buy an ounce of integrity, it wouldn’t be enough to purchase a squirt of genuine love, it would not be enough from keeping death from laughing at you, it would be insufficient to post bail in the court room of God, it would fall short on a down payment for even a day of eternal life, it could not purchase God’s forgiveness, mercy and grace, and it would only be a fraction of the worth of one human soul. Jesus put it plainly, “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels" Mark 8:35-38 (NIV).Can you start doing good with just one dollar? Absolutely. Can you ever earn enough money to acquire what is most important in life and what you need the most? Absolutely not. Will money elevate your status, influence, and power in this world? Yes it does. Will money impress God and earn you his favor? No it doesn’t. “We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it,” 1 Timothy 6:7 (NIV). That’s why it is important for us to listen when the word of God reminds us, “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them,” Ephesians 2:8-10 (HCSB).I am hoping that the dollars passing through your and my fingers will remind us:• That the most important things of life money cannot buy.• That every dollar entrusted to me has the potential to accomplish something good.• That for the wellbeing of your and my soul we are completely dependent on God and Jesus Christ.To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
Rest for Your Souls
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV) What does it mean to find rest for your soul? To have your mind and heart be at rest? And why does this rest of soul seem so difficult to come by and so hard to maintain?Jesus’ words, “I am gentle and humble in heart,” just drip with restfulness, at least to me. Proud and harsh don’t go together with a soul at rest, that’s for sure, neither do anxious, worried, hurried, arrogant, violent, greedy, or being all about yourself.Jesus at once confronts both empty religion as well as simply ignoring the truth. The soul cannot find rest in either. Empty religion regardless of its name promotes something less than the truth and will peddle salvation and peace with God through some system of merit, of works of our own, and fill your bowl with guilt if you don’t comply. That’s why the religious leaders of the very people Jesus talked to constantly came out with new and more nuanced regulations. And that’s why people then and now turned their back on religion. Guilt is a big burden to bear it won’t let the soul rest. But godlessness does not bring rest to the soul either; it ignores the truth of the soul and of God. The truth of the soul is that exists because of God and is accountable to God, and death does not provide relief from accountability but simply ushers us into final reckoning. The truth of God is that he exists and his sovereignty extends over our lives, he can and does decree what is right and what is wrong, what is moral and what is immoral. If empty religion piles on false guilt then ignoring God fails to deal with real guilt before God. One is harsh and the other is proud. Neither can give the soul true rest.This is why I am growing ever more leery of moralistic preaching. It allows the soul to give itself a false sense of rest. It provides rest based on comparison to others, “I thank you God that I am not a sinner like …” (Luke 18:9-14). It steeps us in rest of soul based on merit and vaporizes the instant we transgress ourselves. It will strap the burden of hypocrisy on your back in the blink of an eye.This is why I am leery of empty preaching, the kind that looses itself in self-improvement, in comfort, in mere political action. The kind of preaching that leaves Jesus out or makes him secondary, the stripped down version of Jesus or the cleaned up version of Jesus. The fact is that he is more than psychotherapist, more than a guru, more than economist, more than a revolutionary, more than one among many. We exist because of him and only because of him (Colossians 1:16-17). He is not neat, comfortable, and clean, but beaten, bloody, crucified, buried, and risen because of his great love for us and our great sinfulness. He really can forgive, he really can teach me how to forgive, how to die to self, how to love God, how to love my neighbor, and how to love one another and find in that rest for my soul.Are you as amazed as I am that he says to us restless souls, “Come to me ..?”Thank you God for Jesus! Love you, pastor Hans
God's Goodwill - ... and Goodwill Towards Men
"Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" Luke 2:14 (NKJV)Long before the first Goodwill Thrift store opened its doors God has been in the not for profit business of goodwill. Sometimes we forget just how vast the goodwill of God is. But when the voices of a multitude of angels shook the countryside they were proclaiming the ultimate expression of God’s goodwill towards all of mankind, Jesus Christ.I learned something new (please hold your snide comments and show me some goodwill), in accounting goodwill is a business’s value beyond its tangible assets. That’s being worth more than you’re worth because someone assigns you that worth, and that is exactly what God has done to us in and through Christ. In fact our spiritual assets are not just zero but in the red. All of us, all of mankind, every last one is spiritually bankrupt, we are all sinners, we are creatures of not just goodwill but also of ill-will. God sent Christ not because our balance sheets neatly balanced out our good and bad, rather God in his love and goodwill through Christ assigned to as unfathomable and undeserved value. No wonder the angels started with, “Glory to God in the highest!”It baffles me how often God gets a bad rap, is accused of ill-will. Why are we so prone to begin anywhere but ourselves? I don’t think I am exaggerating in assessing our collective human ill-will as staggering, and that without including the neglect of goodwill. “I am not as bad as ___________,” is a poor excuse for not being as good as I should be. And how often do we devalue others, are unwilling to account them some goodwill but rather insists on only seeing and talking about their lack of assets.The lack of peace on earth illustrates this further. Why is there a lack of peace? Just this past week a Chinese and an American warships engaged in a game of chicken – why? You cannot ascribe the lack of peace on earth to any failure of God; he has given us a capacity for peace and peacemaking. It is us who chose otherwise. History is a long indictment when it comes to our lack of peace with each other and with God, it is a long record of both ill-will and a lack of goodwill.I suppose if it were up to us we would have pulled the plug on the humanity a long time ago, at least we would have withdrawn our goodwill. This is how we operate if we cannot see some results to our goodwill, we move on. Fortunately you and I are not in charge. Fortunately God did the exact opposite, rather than withdrawing from our brokenness and abandoning us to our bankruptcy, he simply poured out more goodwill. Actually in Christ he opened the floodgates of goodwill, he flooded eternity with goodwill so eventually all ill-will will be drowned. No wonder the angels shouted over the fields, “Glory to God in the highest.”It is because of the goodwill of God you and I received the gift of today. It is in the goodwill of God human worth and dignity are rooted. It is in the goodwill of God forgiveness and salvation has come to us through Christ. It is in the goodwill of God hope and mercy are offered to sinners whose balance sheets are wanting.Intuitively the shepherds, who heard the angels’ praise, understood that this wasn’t about just hearing some words, but an invitation. An invitation to discover God, to find peace, to experience the goodwill of God – “Let’s go,” … “Let’s see,” was their Christmas response. What is yours?Merry Christmas, to God be all glory, Pastor Hans
Christmas Giving, Giving to Meet Needs
Imagine yourself stranded in the desert. You have used all the tricks you learned from watching various survival shows, but this point you are so parched all you can think of is a sip of water and that someone will find you. Just then you hear your smart phone ringing. You think your mind is playing tricks on you and but reach in your pocket for the phone anyway. By the time you get it out it has stopped ringing. You check your phone for if it has reception – not a single bar. But there is a missed call and you don’t recognize the number. For some reason you try connecting to the number, but nothing. Unbelievably, right when you wearily put your phone back into your pocket it rings again. Quickly you yank it to your ear, push the right button, and squeak out a weak, “Hello.”“Congratulations!” proclaims the happy voice on the other end, “You have won ten million dollars and an all-inclusive vacation to the Bahamas.”“Help me, I need help,” you try to interrupt.“We have had a difficult time locating you, but thanks to your phone and GPS we now know exactly where you are and will deliver your prizes to you very shortly,” the still very happy voice continues.“You know where I am! You know how to get to me?” you scream out shaking and filled with hope.“Yes, we know exactly where you are and are so happy for you. You will be able to enjoy your prizes before you know it.” The voice still bubbles.“I need water!” you scream, “I need you to come and get me, please!”“Water will be last thing you’ll worry about when you relax at the beach in the Bahamas, and I am happy to hear you being so excited. That’s the most satisfying thing about this job, blowing the minds of lucky winners like you. Oh, I see they’re almost there.”“What! Where! Wait, you don’t understand! Please ...” is all you get out because you hear a plane overhead.“Good, I can hear that they’re there. Have a wonderful day, or life. Great talking with you, enjoy.”“No! No! Wait, don’t hang up! Please listen to me, I am lost in …” you get out before a suitcase lands in front of you. “Are you still there!” you yell as you return your attention to your phone, but all you hear is silence.Dejected you open the suitcase. It contains ten million dollars. On top of the money is a travel brochure to your trip to the Bahamas. You begin to cry.What is more important than responding to someone’s needs? Christmas is about God responding to the most essential need of all of humanity and each one of us individually, namely spiritual redemption and salvation. In Jesus Christ “… the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men” Titus 2:11 (NIV). We might never have to be rescued from dying of dehydration in the desert, but we do have to be rescued from death and the judgment of our sin. So this Christmas above all remember that through Jesus Christ God has responded to what you and I need the most. Maybe you are convinced that you do not really need Christ. Obviously God did not think so and that line of reasoning is the very deception, the very delirium of the desert of our sinfulness. In bringing us to another Christmas God is again trying to rescue, save you.One more thought, how about putting the emphasis of our Christmas giving on meeting real needs. Instead of raining down more toys and trinkets than anyone needs, how about meeting the real needs of people around us, or people far away, the needs of the poor, the hungry, the hurting, the oppressed, the sick, the widows, the fatherless. How about copying God’s giving at Christmas time.To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
Slacker Dogs and Watchmen/women
Dogs and Watchmen/womenOur dogs are napping more. Doing so means they are neglecting one of their two responsibilities they have. They are still doing a fine job greeting people, everyone is greeted with one dog squeaking like a toy and the other giving a hearty lick. But it’s the second task they’re slacking on. I can tell, the deer are chomping on stuff and in places they never have before, while our two well fed canines are snoozing their lives away. If it is true that one human year equals seven dog years then a two hour nap by my watch is a fourteen hour dog nap. Wow, I had no idea how bad that slacking thing has actually become until I just did the above math. These dogs are not just slacking a bit they are taking total advantage of the situation. The way this is going pretty soon they will install a bell so they can ring for us to feed them in bed.Don’t you wish you only had two responsibilities, you only had to watch over two things? Sometimes it seems like too much, all the things to watch over, to take care of, to be responsible for. I wonder if Ezekiel felt like that? When his wife got sick and died God told him to refrain from any outward, public acts of mourning (chapter 24). I bet he had to watch himself on that. Then God told him to be careful because God had appointed him, assigned him as a spiritual watchman for his countrymen, and that God would hold him responsible if he failed to warn people regarding their accountability to God, that they needed to change their ways while there was time or else suffer the judgment of God.And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Son of man, speak to the sons of your people and say to them, 'If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman,and he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows on the trumpet and warns the people, then he who hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning, he would have delivered his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require from the watchman's hand.'Now as for you, son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear a message from My mouth and give them warning from Me. When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you will surely die,' and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from your hand. But if you on your part warn a wicked man to turn from his way and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your life” Ezekiel 33:1-9 (NASB).Now Ezekiel’s contemporaries could have cared less, his warnings went in one ear and out the other (read the end of the chapter). His warnings fell on deaf ears. At what point do you begin to be tempted to slack off when no one’s paying attention? But regardless of the responses of those around him they needed to be warned, as do the people around us, our family members, our neighbors, friends, class mates, coworkers, employees, and acquaintances. Those we love, those we don’t care for, and even our enemies need to know that now is the time to repent, not later, the judgment of God is on its way. This is what Jesus told people everywhere, "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" Mark 1:15 (NIV), and it is what he told his followers to do, “So the disciples went out, telling everyone they met to repent of their sins and turn to God” Mark 6:12 (NLT).Followers of Jesus Christ are watchmen and women, may those who he has assigned us to find us faithfully “blowing the trumpet.”To God be all glory, love you Pastor Hans
I Believe
He said, “I believe.”So I asked him, “Then why are you not married?”He didn’t like where this conversation was going. His girl friend of the past four years tried to come to his rescue, “We’ve had some bad things happen,” she said with tears in her eyes, “We got hurt in church.”“But if I read the Bible correctly getting married would be the right thing to do,” I persisted. I could tell she agreed, and I could tell he didn’t want to agree, he didn’t want to be challenged on what he believed. And part of me can’t blame them; Christians have made a mess out of marriage as much as the non Christian culture. And, yes churches too often hurt people. I know, I lead one, and few people know more about the ugliness that can occur in church than pastors. In fact, and to my shame, I have hurt people. Not intentionally, but I don’t think that makes a lot difference. I have also been hurt, deeply, many times. What does it mean when I say, “I believe?”What does it mean when you say, “I believe?” I was young. I was ready to quit. I was out of church. The last three churches I was a part of were a mess. I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to be a minister after all. I was afraid of becoming a pastor and making a mess myself. I was shocked at how ugly things could get in a church. Somehow I ended up reading in Paul’s letter to the Romans, “So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God” Romans 14:12 (NASB). That’s when God asked me, “What does it mean when you say, ‘I believe,’ Hans? Will you quit believing because things are hard? Are you going to throw in the towel because others are living disobedient? Are you going to use your hurt as an excuse to do your own thing? Are you only going to believe if everything works out and is rosy? Are others responsible for what you do? Are you really going to use the disobedience and unfaithfulness of others as a legitimate reason not be obedient and faithful yourself? Are you buying into that Hans?”“No, Lord, I am not buying this myself. I am just confused and feeling sorry for myself. But I need your help,” was my reply. It hit me, “What if the whole world goes crazy? What if my life falls apart? What if God assigns me suffering, obscurity, and struggle? I will still have to give an account. I will have no one to blame for the choices I have made.”So what does it mean when I say, “I believe?” It means I believe God exists, that He has revealed himself through Jesus Christ, who alone conquered sin and death, who is the way, the truth, and my life. I believe Jesus pursued me as a lost sinner, convicted me of my sin and lostness through the Holy Spirit, and caused me to trust Him with my life for all of my life. I believe Christ saved me from my sin and God’s judgment of sin, keeps me from day to day, and will raise me from the dead even if I die. I believe I have belonged to Christ from the moment I called on his name. I believe Christ has called me to follow him, to live Christlike, to love, and to order my life according to the Bible, God’s written word. I am a servant of Christ, it is His will not mine that is important, it is His purposes not mine that are paramount, and His ways are better than mine. I have no excuse for not loving Him who died for me, no excuse for not serving Him, no excuse for faithlessness and disobedience. Though the whole world around me goes kaput He is able to keep me now and forever. I believe.To God Be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
Redeemeed
Redeemed how I love to proclaim it!Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;Redeemed thro’ his infinite mercy,His child and forever I am. (by Fanny Crosby) This past week someone in New Jersey won a $320 Million Power Ball Lotto jackpot. Talk about a nice sized Easter Egg. In order for that person to claim that winning prize he had to redeem it, take in his ticket and claim it. What would you think of that person if he would have just held onto that thicket and never redeemed his prize with it? My answer would be, “That’s ridiculously dumb, unbelievable!” There is something that needs redemption that makes $320 pale by comparison – your soul. “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world (get everything he/she wants), yet forfeit his soul?” Mark 8:36 (NIV, parenthesis MSG). That’s what Easter is about, redemption, your and my redemption.Maybe you are one of the many who quickly dismiss this as a bunch of religious horse puckey. But please hear me out. Can you escape death? Have you ever done something wrong? Are you absolutely certain you can stand up to God’s judgment on your own merits? I know my answers, “No, yes, and no.” That’s why I need redemption.Redemption has two sides. Through the death of Jesus Christ a sinner debt is paid for, the penalty of God’s law for sin, death, is forgiven, and God is able to pronounce a sinner justified. We have to be redeemed from, but we also have to be redeemed to. Jesus didn’t just die, He arose from the dead, He has the power to restore what sin and death claimed, to remake a sinner into a child of God, to grant someone destined to die eternal life. All of these you and I are completely incapable of accomplishing. When it comes to these we are utterly hopeless apart from Jesus Christ.You and I could win every lottery jackpot for the rest of our lives, although the chances of just winning one are remote, and they would not compare to what God offers to you and me through Jesus Christ. In contrast to the odds of winning a lottery the odds of dying and appearing before God are 100%. It is vastly more foolish to bypass Jesus Christ, the only source of eternal redemption, than to hang on to the winning ticket of last week’s Power Ball. In order for the redemption God offers to you and me to be applied and realized in our lives we must believe in Christ as your Redeemer, admit our need for redemption, and commit ourselves to following Him. “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” Colossians 1:13-14 (NIV). To God be all glory, Happy Easter, Pastor Hans
The Jesus you want might not be the Jesus you need
The Jesus, the Messiah you want may not be the Jesus you need, the Messiah God sent.On Palm Sunday we remember Jesus’ last arrival in Jerusalem. He rode in on a donkey (signifying He came in peace) and was welcomed by a huge crowd that provided an impromptu red carpet made of palm branches and coats (Matthew 21:1-10). They were welcoming the Jesus they wanted, the one who would advance their political agenda, end corruption, bring prosperity and peace, kick established religion’s butt, and work miracles to boot. The Jesus who would stay out of everyone’s bedroom and bring back integrity and profitability to every boardroom. The Jesus who sets everything straight without confronting or offending anyone. The Jesus who relieves guilt, erases consequences, and finds a way to bless no matter what. The Jesus who hangs out with sinners, loves sinners, and never challenges sinners to repent and change. Oh how they welcomed that Jesus, the Jesus everyone wants.Fortunately that’s not the Jesus who sat on that donkey, the Jesus who God sent. It took less than a full week for people to figure out that the Jesus they wanted is not the Jesus they put their coats in the dirt for. So they changed their vote from “Hosanna” to “Crucify.” They wanted more miracles not more sermons, especially not sermons on judgment, personal responsibility, serving others instead of self, or our need for God to provide a Savior, who can deliver us from sin and death. This was not the Jesus who ushered in religious tolerance at the price of truth, who promised everyone heaven regardless of whether or not this corresponds to actual reality. This was the Jesus who said “If I don’t wash you, you won’t be clean (John 13:5-9),” who declared, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” John 14:6 (NASB). This was the Jesus who changed the definition of blessing (Matthew 5:1-16), who challenged “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” Matthew 16:24-25 (NASB). This was the Jesus who claimed it was imperative that He would die, be buried, and rise from the dead in order to save you and me form sin, death, and the eternal judgment of God, “He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem’” Luke 24:46-47 (NIV). Maybe it is time to abandon the Jesus you want and embrace, believe in, and follow the Jesus whom God sent. The Jesus we want is a creation of our own hearts and minds, his only power is to deceive, he cannot save. Only the Jesus who lived, died, and rose again is able to save, to forgive, to reconcile you and me, that’s why God sent Him. “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved…,"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved"Romans 10:13 (NIV).May hope and prayer is for you and me to fully embrace the Jesus God sent.“Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” – Jesus ChristTo God be all glory, Pastor Hans
A Fine Time and Christmas
Lucille picked a fine time to leave, skipping out on four hungry children, a husband, and don’t forget the crop in the field. But undoubtedly Kenny Rodgers had a fine time singing about it all the way to the bank.It seems when our kids were little they had a knack for picking a fine time to get sick, for having us make hospital runs in the middle of the night.Our cars also seem to be very adept in picking a fine time to break down, usually waiting until there is little money and some form of high stress.Like most kids, my brothers and I became very adept in figuring out when things around home qualified as a fine time or wrong time. But the thing about a dysfunctional home is that a fine time can blow up in your face any time.So much in life depends on figuring out the right time, and even more importantly responding right regardless of whether or not it is the right time, fine time, or outright wrong time.If you would have asked when to set up a Christmas tree before I came to the USA I would have told you, “Christmas Eve, of course!” One thing’s for sure, most stores seem to be utterly confused about the right time to put out the Christmas goods.Maybe this is a fine time to actually get to the point of this pastor’s note. Christmas is about the “right time,” “But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, …” Galatians 4:4 (NLT).In fact all of Jesus Christ’s life, work, and even his death happened at the right time. “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly” Romans 5:6 (NIV).We have made Christmas into a fine time to go shopping, to give presents, to take time off and have a holiday. But for God Christmas is about redemption, hope, forgiveness, and salvation. Christmas is a fine time to unwrap the reality of Christ, the meaning of his incarnation, the depth of his love. As far as God is concerned, today is not only a fine time, but also the right time, to commit your life to Christ, to call on His name for the forgiveness of your sins, to receive His gift of salvation and eternal life, “God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation”. 2 Corinthians 6:2 (NLT).This 2012 Christmas season is indeed a fine time to embrace Jesus Christ, to make a new beginning with God, to return to living for God, to pray, "Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven” Matthew 6:9-10 (NASB), and then live that prayer.It would make for a fine time Christmas.To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
Wisdom and Horses
I have been encouraging you to become a person who consistently makes wise and godly decisions. So you might as well know that I am taking horse riding lessons. With our youngest daughter off to college we were left to take care of her horse, and I determined to become more than a ranch hand, or more precisely, someone who feeds and shovels. I have to admit I am a fairly accomplished horse feeder and pucky shovelor, but I know absolutely nothing about working with, training, and riding a horse. So I am paying Rhonda Dumolt for lessons to one day earn the right to wear Wranglers®, a big belt buckle, snazzy boots, and a Stetson® hat. I suppose those four are somewhat like a drivers license when it comes to horses.Yes, what you read above is correct, I am paying to learn something that will cause me to spend more money guaranteed. Just today, during lesson number two I found out that my work boots are not ideal (I told Susie it was a big mistake to sell my cowboy boots at a yard sale twenty years ago). Yes, I am paying to learn to control a beast that has serious potential to hurt me. In fact I have heard it is not a matter of if but simply when. Yes, I am paying for something that makes me feel like when I was sixteen and learning how to drive. Who knows, by the time I get the hang of this equine stuff my daughter’s horse will be so messed up I will have to pay a horses psychologist to straighten him out. And yes, I have put the horse magazines my daughter gets with my car/truck magazines next to the toilet. This past week I was tempted to enter a contest in “Young Rider”.Before I started this pastor’s note I looked up horses in the Bible hoping to make a super spiritual discovery that would directly relate to wise decision making and justify my horse adventure at the same time. Alas, the first scripture that mentions horses (Genesis 47:17) tells about the ancient Egyptians giving up their horses in exchange for food because they were starving.However, the last horse mentioned in God’s Word (Revelation 19:11-21) is a white horse ridden by the “King of kings and Lord of lords” – Jesus Christ himself, executing judgment, triumphing victoriously. And I was reminded that the wisest decision of all is to trust and believe in him both in this life and for eternity, because the day will come when “at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” Philippians 2:10-11 (NASB).How I encourage you to not be among those who simply horse around with the unshakeable and unchangeable truth of Jesus Christ, or even more sadly dismiss it as a bunch of religious horse pucky. It is the most unwise and foolish decision a person can make. Commit yourself to Jesus Christ today.To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
The Lake Don Pedro Baptist Church Mouse Is Dead!
The Lake Don Pedro Baptist Church Mouse is dead! Of all the ways a mouse could find its demise in the end this true Baptist rodent drowned in the baptistry. However, the jury is out whether or not this was one final act of religious devotion gone wrong or simply a life of heathen rodency catching up.If it was the former then this mouse was seriously deficient in its theology. A good Baptist mouse would have not just gnawed on Bibles but actually have read the scriptures. Then it would have understood that baptism cannot save you. True repentance does not lead one to religious rites but to confession of sin and trusting in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of those sins, because he alone has conquered both sin and death. This mouse would have known that baptism cannot wash away sins but rather is a public confession of faith in Christ, who grants forgiveness of sins based on the sacrifice of himself, his own blood (Hebrews 10:19, 1 John 1:7). This mouse would not have trusted in religious performance but in the mercy and grace God offers everyone through Jesus Christ. And finally this mouse would have been clear on the fact that it was a mouse and not a person, that mice don’t need a savior but that people like you and me do.If it was the latter, which I am inclined to believe (except for the “heathen” part), then this mouse services as a reminder of several truths. Carelessness can kill you, cost you your life, and religious labels offer no protection against it. Stupidity is not confined to just those outside of the church. God gives us one life to live, live it wisely. Being careless with the things of God, or God Himself is dangerous. Death stinks, all of creation yearns to be delivered from it, and Jesus Christ is the only hope for that deliverance (Romans 8:19-39).In 28 years I have seen many things in the baptistry of the Lake Don Pedro Baptist Church, various bugs, an assortment of arachnids (spiders), ants, scorpions, puppeteers, kids hiding, equipment, and one solitary and very dead church mouse. But the very best that has been in our baptistery has been men and women, young and old, who through Jesus Christ found forgiveness of sin, went from death to life, from darkness to light, and were transformed from being enemies of God to children of God. Glad and grateful women, men, young people, and children who were gloriously saved by the love and power of God in Christ. It might be that God is calling you to be one of them.To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
... the power of the resurrection ...
“… the power of Jesus Christ’s resurrection …” (Philippians 3:10)Sooner than later everyone runs into it.The elderly gentleman whose path I crossed last week did. You could tell that he used to do most everything by himself. He used to repair his own vehicles. He built the barn behind his house. If the tree that had fallen on the side of house five years ago he would have cut it up himself. But now he could just watch and cheer me on. I thought, “Someday that could very well be me.”The young woman lying in the hospital bed did. Young and sick just don’t seem to go together, at least they shouldn’t. There she was hooked up to monitors and IV lines, at the mercy of the disease and the doctors and nurses trying to fight it. When I left I thought, “That could very well be me.”The parents who asked me to come over did. Their daughter is making bad decisions. She is on a straight path of ruining her life, hurting herself and others in the process. Mom and Dad are at their wits’ end. When I started my car I thought, “I have kids. That could very well be Susie and me.”The faces on the TV screen did. In a way they are almost interchangeable. This was a documentary about refugee camp that has become a place with no way out, but it could just as well have been a documentary of people caught in a deadly drought, or of a crime and drug infested neighborhood, or of victims of a natural disaster. I thought, “I am glad that’s not me,” but it very well could be.The family gathered around the bed did. The no longer conscious, shrunken shell of their Mom, Grandma, and sister was still breathing, barely. But it was just a matter of time. No one was going to stop the inevitable. We all wished it would come sooner than later. I couldn’t help but think, “One day this will be me.”The man in the casket suspended over his grave did. The Honor Guard had conducted their ceremony, fired the gun salute, and carefully folded the flag and presented it. I spoke the benediction. Mourners laid flowers on the casket. Then we stepped back and watched it disappear into the ground. As we were walking away the grave diggers started to cover the grave. I thought, “Whatever was left death took it. Took it from everyone laid to rest here, every last bit. It doesn’t matter whose marker I read, or how fancy the grave stone is, all here have been rendered powerless.”The feeling and the reality of powerlessness is as inescapable as it is dreaded. It diminishes us. It is both humbling and humiliating. Human dignity is lost. Fear and helplessness are its companions. It challenges the slightest glimmer of hope. And it doesn’t matter, in the end each one of us will lose the fight. Whatever power was ours it will not be buried with us under that last shovel of dirt.There is, however, a grave that has been gloriously empty for the past 2000 years. Not because someone has dug it up, or because tomb raiders invaded it. It is empty because who was laid there walked out. Evil, the brokenness of this world, Satan, sin and death all tried their best to render Jesus Christ powerless. All of them failed. He rose from the dead. He alone can help us escape the condemnation of sin and the curse and power of death. You and I can live and be buried in real hope if we trust in and live with Jesus Christ. Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:25-26 (NASB) This Easter, if you have never done so, make a beginning with Jesus Christ – believe and follow.This Easter, remember that power of Jesus’ resurrection calls us more than comfortable holy huddles behind church walls, but to go where evil, sin, injustice, lostness, suffering, disease, fear, worry, darkness, hopelessness, powerlessness, and death prevails.Jesus is risen! Love you, Pastor Hans
03-25-12 You're invited
You’re invited“Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.” Matthew 22:9 (NLT)It’s one of the dilemmas of wedding preparation, and one of the reasons some just elope – who do you invite? The couple getting married makes a list, and starting with the closest relatives and their very best friends it spirals outward from there. What was originally a small intimate wedding can mushroom into the hundreds, and that’s before the mothers of the bride and groom get to check the list.“What you’re not going to invite the Nonnenmachers who were our neighbors when we lived in Coulterville?”“But Mom, we moved from there when I was four.”“But they still send us a Christmas card every year.”So the list grows, only to run into budgetary constraints. That’s when the folks who were going to be invited are being uninvited and they don’t even know it. And of course great attention has to be paid as to who will get their feelings hurt, and who has invited you in the past. Any misstep here can cause hard feelings that have the potential to linger for decades (I am not making this up).Long before the happy couple has to craft a guest list for their wedding they will have gained experience in this sort of thing going way back to kindergarten. Oh the headaches and politics of birthday party invitations. Since your Mom was in all likelihood very smart she probably said something like, “You can invite five friends to your birthday party.” See what I mean, because right there you were faced with a cut line. Sure, you knew you could squeeze a few more out of your Mom, seven, eight, and if you were really good even ten. Yup, I remember it well the social jockeying of those formative years. The girls, however, they had levels of drama and manipulation us boys could only dream of.I am glad I will never know how many times I have been scratched off an invitation list, aren’t you. And I know that unless something really crazy happens my name will not appear on Hollywood’s A-list, nor is it likely my name will appear on an invitation to the White House. I did get an invitation to appear in traffic court once.Somehow though my name, and yours, appears on the most important invitation list of all – God’s. Unbelievable you and I are invited to be part of the Jesus’ wedding feast in the kingdom of heaven. And in fact God is still sending out more invitations, we get to invite all of our friends, there is no cut line, no budgetary constraints, no politics to be played, no drama to avoid. All are invited, so let them know.What great words, “You are invited,” especially when they come from God. I am going, are you?To God be the glory, love you, Pastor Hans
Lost and Found
For the Son of Man (Jesus Christ) has come to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10 (HCSB, parenthesis mine)Hansel and Gretel would not have gotten lost in the woods if they would have had one (By the way that’s really a sad and gruesome story. No wonder those of us who grew up on that kind of literary fare are somewhat twisted).We, Mabel Tubbs, Joanna Allen, Mary Fleming, and I, could have used one as well. We were lost in San Jose, going to a funeral no less. And since this episode took place before cell phones were common, and since I had obviously read our map incorrectly, and being the secure male that I am, I finally caved to the collective pressure and asked for redirections at a gas station. I told the ladies, “The good thing is that they won’t start without the preacher.”Recently Susie and I were lost. We were trying to go to Saint Francis Hospital in San Francisco, but one wrong turn had rendered our Google Maps directions worthless. We tried to get back within the loop of the instructions, but to no avail. Finally, and desperately, we pulled over by an intersection and called our daughter Emily to help us. When we told her where we were she blurted, “What the heck, you’re almost in South San Francisco!” (I was tempted to tell her that it was her parents who had blessed her with that fancy GPS (Global Positioning System) device. But among other things, getting lost has a way of making you very humble). That wonderful child of ours, with the aid of her GPS, did get us to the Hospital in no time flat. And this past Christmas my children blessed me with my very own TomTom GPS – hello no more getting lost.In the 15th chapter of his Gospel (would you get a Bible and read it) Luke records three parables Jesus told in response to those who criticized him for spending time with sinners (spiritually lost people) and tax-collectors (I guess they have never been popular). Jesus tells of a lost sheep, which in likelihood, just wondered off. He tells of a lost coin that got misplaced by the woman who owned it. And He tells of two sons, one who got lost in his rebellion and foolish choices, the other who got lost in the wrong values and his self-righteousness.It could be that Jesus is describing you. When you are lost it doesn’t matter much how you got lost. What counts is that you are found. The reality is that if you are a sinner (and we all are, Romans 3:23) you are lost. You can be stubborn and tell yourself that you’re not, but that won’t change the facts. The only one that can save a lost sinner is Jesus Christ. Why? Because He came from God and knows the way back. He is the guide, the rescuer, and the restorer - Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to (God) the Father except through Me” John 14:6. One more thing, there is joy and celebration when what has been lost is found, when a sinner comes to God through Christ (Just for the heck of it, read Luke 19:1-10).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