We don’t know where he came from. He just showed up one morning last week? One thing’s for sure, he is the ugliest, most beat-up, ragged looking creature ever to invade our lives. There is no telling where he’s been and what he’s been through, but he looks like a strung-out addict run over by a truck. Looking at his naked butt I am amazed he can walk. One thing, however, still worked fine, his crow. Yes, at first sunlight that rooster crowed and crowed some more, in fact he got into a full-blown crowing competition with the neighbor’s rooster.Looking like he does, his feathers, where he still has them, look more like shaggy fur than feathers. I already mentioned his derriere, which is literally a sore sight. You would think the fellow would have nothing to crow about, but you would be dead wrong. This guy would never win a ribbon at the fair. In fact he looks like a pack of coyotes got a hold of him and one by one spit him back out. You would think he’d tone it down a bit, but no, he greets every new day with gusto, and there is no way he is going to let my neighbor’s pretty boy outshine him in giving his morning praise.Maybe, you are wondering what makes me think he is giving praise to God each morning and not simply doing what roosters do in the morning? Have you ever watched birds in the morning, how they greet the day? Before they get all busy with their day they take time to sing, or crow if it’s a rooster. They welcome the day, they’re glad to be alive, and they have reason to praise because even if they’re not aware of it, “ Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” Matthew 6:26-27 (NLT). I’m not always like that rooster. I don’t greet every day like that, do you? I forget the praise when life beats me up, when things are raw and sore, when I feel lost or out of place, when life feels terrible. I lose the simplicity that greets each day as gift, that simplicity of faith that my Heavenly Father knows how to and will take care of me. I stop singing, crowing, not because I forgot the songs or lost my ability to praise, but because I let worry fool me into thinking that so much depends on me. I can get so turned around that I miss the daily invitation to offer praise to the one who gives me life and breath, “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!” Psalm 150:6 (NASB). That rooster sure hasn’t forgotten.Come to think of it, with everything going on in my life over the past few weeks that rooster showing up was anything but an accident. Thank you God, thank you my Heavenly Father, you are glorious, and kind, and have a terrific sense of humor.To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
Junior, Shaheed, peace, and a short list
It has been a trying few weeks for Susie and I. Our Grandson, “Junior,” was abused so badly by his Dad, our son, that he went into cardiac arrest and ended up at Oakland Children’s Hospital with catastrophic brain injuries. We often referred to Shaheed as our bonus son, because God placed him into our family when he was almost fifteen. He presented us with lots of “challenges” that stretched our love thin more than once, but nothing like this. A few days into the ordeal Shaheed finally confessed, was arrested, and is now jail waiting for the judicial process to take its course.Anger, such anger, confusion, deeper than deep disappointment, shame, questions, so many questions, disbelief, shock, broken-heartedness, sorrow beyond words, yes, overwhelming sorrow and grief have filled our days. How could he? Why did he? The lies. The brutality. The caring for nothing but himself. The utter absence of excuses. The senselessness. The pain, Junior’s pain, his Mama’s pain. Hoping for a miracle, constant bleak medical outlooks, praying that this will not end with Junior in a long term vegetative state. Changes that look good and seem encouraging and yet might not be at all. Weariness. Sorrow. Our hearts and minds like parched ground yearning for drops of peace, that peace of God beyond understanding.I haven’t taken his calls, not willing to pay $15 per call, afraid I’d say things I’d regret. A letter is as far as I have gotten. I have gotten various unsolicited advice though, which I am sure was meant to be helpful but if I am honest was hurtful.I was sitting on our back deck a few days, in the coolness of early morning, thinking, praying, wondering how to navigate through this in a godly, Christlike way. So I reviewed in my mind sure directives from God’s word (the Bible), things I knew applied regardless of how I felt, words I could fully trust to be of the Holy Spirit. It didn’t take long before I had a short list, and surprisingly that list poured peace into my heart, settled my mind, refreshed my soul. I believe that moment to be an answer to the many prayers friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, have lifted up on my behalf. I believe that moment God wept with me and let His mercies and compassions, which are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23), fall on me.Maybe you are wondering what the list mentioned above entailed? Here it is:
- I have to forgive, forgiveness is not optional for a follower of Jesus.
“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you” Ephesians 4:32 (NASB).“And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation” Luke 11:4 (NASB).
- I have to love, it too is not optional for Christian.
"This I command you, that you love one another” John 15:17 (NASB) “We love, because He first loved us. If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen” 1 John 4:19-20 (NASB)
- I have to be careful not to let bitterness take a foothold in me.
“ Make sure that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and by it, defiling many” Hebrews 12:15 (HCSB)
- I am allowed to be angry, but I am not allowed to sin in my anger.
“ BE ANGRY , AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger” Ephesians 4:26 (NASB).“This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God” James 1:19-20 (NASB).
- I need to guard my tongue which means I need to guard my thoughts.
“ Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” Ephesians 4:29-30 (NIV).Thank you for all your praying, caring, and loving.To God be all glory, Pastor Hans
Dad, what are you passing on?
Dad, what are you passing on? Like it or not, you are passing something on. It might be your presence or your absence, great memories or lousy ones, health or dysfunction, tools to succeed or habits for failure, love or anger, selflessness or selfishness, and so much more.Putting a child into this world is the easy part. It is what we do after that gift of God is conceived that determines whether or not he or she is either blessed or cursed by their father. Yup, fathers are meant to be blessings to their sons and daughters and that means taking on the lifelong responsibilities of being a Dad. Strange, we go to great lengths and spent millions of dollars to teach our children how to avoid conceiving children and how to get rid of them if they “accidently” do, but we teach so little about the lifelong responsibilities of godly parenthood (especially to boys/young men).Dad, what are you passing on? God devoted an entire book of the Bible, Proverbs, to things Dads should pass on to their children. But the most fundamental, the most important thing for Dad to pass on to his child/ren is a love for God and His Son Jesus Christ. “You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind, or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands” Deuteronomy 5:7-10 (NLT).“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well” 1 John 5:1 (NIV).“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” Ephesians 6:4 (NIV). Can you raise great kids without the Bible, without any emphasis on God? Yes you can. There are wonderful Dads who are not believers and there are lousy Bible wielding dads (lousy dads of any sort don’t get a capital D). However, the God-given responsibilities of all Dads go beyond passing on what is good and upright, it also includes the godly, the holy.Our responsibility as Dads is to pass on the right stuff, including being a living example of what we pass on. Our responsibility is to be a blessing according to God’s definition. Then at some point our children have to make a choice to embrace responsibility themselves, decide whether or not they themselves will be a blessing or a heartache to both God and their parents. May we give them every reason to choose the former.To God be all glory, Pastor Hans
When God Confronts Your Bad - Repent
That squirrel must have done something, something bad, at least in the eyes of the two woodpeckers giving it the beating of his life. I don’t know why I’m assuming that gray squirrel was a male, girls get into trouble too, don’t they? Those woodpeckers pecked, dive bombed, sat on the squirrels back and wacked it with their beaks. Now I imagine a woodpecker beak is as tough as steel. I am sure if you’d ask that squirrel she would totally agree. Finally after about fifty yards the squirrel made it to the side of the road and disappeared down an embankment. I thought about throwing out a few aspirin in that direction, because I was sure that was going to be one sore little arboreal rodent. I was also glad to be in a car in case those acorn woodpeckers were going to unleash their fury on me.I am curious what that squirrel did to reap the wrath of those birds? And what is it going to do in the future? My guess is that it will not do “that” again. But it might go the opposite route, like we often do, and decide to invest a helmet and some body armor (but if I write a pastor’s note claiming to have seen a squirrel donning a helmet and armor then you might want to stop reading them).What when our conscience fails us, when we do bad and nothing is pecking away on us? What if we have developed armor, calluses that allow us to continue in our wrong without anymore sense of guilt?I don’t speak squirrel, and they do speak (you should hear all their yakking in our back yard trees), but I could bet I heard, “I’m sorry guys. Really, I am really, really sorry. I am so sorry you can stop now. Please. Pretty please. I really mean it please!” But I think its sincerity was questionable. I think it was just sorry enough to get out of the presently administered pecking. It probably cussed those #@%@## birds out the very next day, albeit from the safety of a distant tree.What if God is pecking on you? What if God is trying to prick your conscience? I am grateful God doesn’t unleash steel beaked woodpeckers whenever I transgress, whenever I trespass into bad behavior, bad attitude, bad thinking, bad motives, or bad words (bad words usually accompany anything bad, but not just in the form of cuss words).In the second chapter of Acts the Bible records people’s response to Peter preaching the word of God, the gospel. They were “pierced in the hearts,” their conscience was wounded. In fact the Greek word “katanusso,” according to the NASB dictionary means to “prick violently,” like two wood peckers on a squirrel. Feeling as they did they asked, “What should we do?”“Repent, deal with your sins, and identify yourself, your life with Jesus Christ,” was Peter’s reply. Many did just that, and many went and bought helmets, put some calluses on their consciences and hearts. But it really doesn’t matter what they did or didn’t do. What are you going to do when God confronts your bad?To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
The Old Mower and Psalm 119:9&11
My 33 old Montgomery Wards riding mower finally gave up the ghost, went kaput, died. It came with our house when we bought it and although it looked pretty good it didn’t run. At some time before it became ours it was parked in the garage and sat. When I took a closer look at it a found three main problems: 1. The battery was deader than a door knob, 2. Somebody had tried to mow rocks and busted one of the mower blade mounts, 3. Both the gas tank and carburetor where gummed up with old shellacked gas. Once I took care of those three things the orange beauty ran like a champ, made my life easier, and helped my son earn a lot of money mowing around the neighborhood.I would say 33 years is a “ripe old age” for riding mower. I attribute this to three main factors: 1. God answering my prayers to make my things last, 2. Proper use, 3. Regular maintenance.Now let’s pretend your and my life is like a riding mower. If we are going to run like a champ, last, and be a blessing we need to pay attention to three things: 1. God, 2. The written Word of God (aka the Bible/Manual), 3. The ways of God. That’s the instruction given to a new mower/young person, “How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your (God’s) word” “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” Psalm 119:9&11 (NLT, parenthesis mine).Somebody designed that mower for the purpose of mowing, and they wrote a user manual so the eventual owner would know how to use the mower and get the most out of it. Can you ignore the designer and all the included instructions? Absolutely, you can ignore its purpose, use it for whatever and however you want to, and never do any maintenance. But don’t be surprised if you get hurt, beat it up, be frustrated, have to spend money to fix it, and wear it out way before its time. Of course if you have enough money you can just go and buy another one, but that doesn’t work with life, no amount of money will buy you another one. So it might be smart, wise, to recognize that God made us, designed us for a purpose, and has written a manual so we would use our lives properly and know how to maintain them.Maybe you are reading this and you no longer qualify as young. Maybe you are like a broken down mower, maybe you abused your own life, maybe you never changed the oil, mowed rocks, were stupid, and more than just your gas tank and carburetor is corroded. Does that mean the instruction of God’s Word you read above is not for you? I suppose not if that’s what you want to settle for. But what if you were to pay attention to the designer, to God? What if you were to start reading the manual, the Bible? And what if you were to start doing what you read in God’s Word? What if you were to let God use his knowhow and tools on you? What if you learned to look out for rocks, change the oil, and keep the blades sharp?Was it only important for me to seek God’s blessing and pay attention when I first got the mower? Of course not, it is important throughout life, a mower’s life, but even more importantly your and my life.To God be all glory, love you, Pastor HansP.S. If you wondering where to start reading your Bible I suggest you start reading the Gospel of Matthew and one chapter of Proverbs a day.
worry, anxiety, fretting, and panicking
Worrying, being anxious, fretting, panicking.More than once I have witnessed men and women who lived through the Great Depression save everything, every Cool Whip bowl, every rubber band, every bread bag twisty, every old nail, every old tooth brush; cup boards full, boxes stacked high, bags and pails in the attic or deep under house. It is tough for us to understand, us who live in a throw away culture, us who are collectively and chronically overweight. Worry inspired by hunger, anxiety induced by the hollow stare of your hungry children, fretting over whether or not you will eat is different from fretting over what you will eat.Every baby should come with a warning label, “This precious child will give you cause to worry, produce anxiety disproportionate to his/her size, is guaranteed to rob you of sleep and replace it with fretting of all sorts, and it will bless you with moments of mind blowing panic. This child’s health, disposition, friends, and decisions all have the potential to drastically increase all of the above.”Every leadership position, in business, government, and even church has its own bag of worries, anxiety producers, fretting, and panic buttons. Life is unpredictable, people are unpredictable, and kids are, as are economical climates and political realities.Of course there are worry, anxiety, fretting, and panic enhancers. Try stealing a car, or robbing a bank (I am not actually encouraging this) and then check your worry and anxiety level every time you see a police car. Lying, cheating, violence, illegalities, and such will increase your worries, your anxiety, and reasons to panic. But these will not only increase your anxieties and worries but also of those around you. How many kids fret, worry, panic, and are anxious because of their parents’ drug use or constant fighting? How many wives and children worry and are panicked at the slightest indication of a temper ready to explode again? How many work places are pits of worry and anxiety because of the bad decisions and lousy behavior of ownership and management, or even coworkers?One of the great benefits of the Christian life, of walking through life with God, of building your life on the wisdom and truths of God’s word is peace. Peace instead of worry, anxiety, fretting, and panicking. Not because there is all of the sudden nothing to worry about. Reasons for worry, anxiety, and panic sprout new every single day, ““So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today” Matthew 6:34 (NLT). Nor do we have to minimize or deny real issues and circumstances. No, the peace comes from knowing that in the midst of my worries and fears God keeps me. In the midst of what is out of control God is in control. In the midst of overload God shares my load, even takes my load. In the midst dark storms and drowning waves God is in my boat unfazed and able to bring me through, one word of his is enough to bring calm and peace (Mark 4:35-41).“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:6-9 (NLT). To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
My Mama's Love
My Mama has been with Jesus for over 24 years and I miss her still. This July I will be back in my hometown, Heiningen/Germany, visit her grave, and wish she was still among the living. I would love to eat some more of her cooking, for her and my children to know each other, to sit out on the veranda for Kaffee und Kuchen, to laugh and sing together, to reminisce and bask in that incredible love between us.My Mama’s love, my love for her has not waned. It is as strong, as precious, as wonderful and beautiful as it has ever been. It has not ceased to blossom and bless. It is not a relic, not just a memory, but it is alive. I think it is so because her love was real, uncomplicated, constant, free of manipulation, and sweet – so very sweet. This love she lavished on us, poured into us, and cultivated in our hearts was not fragile, or fickle, and above all it was without fear, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, …” 1 John 4:18 (NIV).I know this is not everyone’s Mothers’ Day reality and I know my Mama was blessed with terrific Mom and Dad herself, but the loving has to start somewhere and if didn’t begin with us we have to decide to continue the love we received. Life, health, my Dad, and we her sons did not make it easy for my Mama. She could have easily felt sorry for herself, become bitter, complained, repaid evil for evil, decided that it was time to make life about herself. But she didn’t, she chose to love, and love some more. She believed that’s what God would want her do, what following Christ meant. She was right.“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins” 1 Peter 4:8 (NIV). My Mama’s love was healing, just the memory of it is like aloe vera on a burn. It brought sanity into insanity, perspective to chaos, forgiveness to bitterness and hate. She refused to add to the sins, she wanted to be part of the crew who made the pile smaller, cover up the stink, and grow flowers on the wasteland of sins. And she did, I still get to pick them every day. Thank you Mama, you bless me still.Happy Mothers’ Day, to God be all glory, Pastor Hans
Passions, Pursuits, and Hobbies
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NIV)“ As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." John 20:21 (NIV)It is astounding, all the different pursuits and hobbies there are. Each one is its own world consisting of subcategories, lingo, knowhow, magazines, and industries supplying everything you could possible need. Take fishing, the world of bass angling is different from ocean fishing, which is different from trout fishing, which is different from commercial fishing. Or cars, you can be into muscle cars, or old timers, or new cars, or trucks, or racing street or oval, NASCAR, Indy, or Formula 1, or a specific Brand, or who knows what. Horses are no different, as are motorcycles, RVs, surfing, hiking, diving, running, cooking, barbequing, wood working, pottery making, painting, video games, antiques, photography, civil war reenactment, Celtic enthusiasts, sports and collecting of every kind. I once took a wrong turn at a conference center and after passing through the lecture hall where the nano engineers had gathered I wound up in the middle of the quilting convention. Now I have spent a few hours of my life waiting in various fabric stores, have even been sent there once or twice for an errand or two, but none of that prepared me for the this excursion into the world of quilting. I had no idea, the quilts were amazing works of art, craftsmanship, and creativity, but there were also dozens of vendors selling quilting supplies, lecture schedules, and workshops. I listened in on one group as they were discussing stitching techniques, they might as well have spoken ancient Babylonian. It was a beehive of activity; they loved being there, paid money to be there. It was another world with not another man in sight. So what turns your crank, what makes your heart beat faster, what gets you talking, rearrange your calendar, and open your wallet. Maybe it is gardening, traveling, golfing, hunting, or cooking? Maybe it is bird watching, star gazing, theater, music, movies, or car audio? Maybe it is football games, sewing, guns, crafts, dogs, cats, or history? Whatever it is I would love for you to drop me a email and tell me what it is for you and why (dergermanshepherd@gmail.com). What is God’s passion, pursuit (I am not sure about hobbies)? What makes his heart beat faster? The answer is people, you and me, your neighbor, the person working next to you, your boss, your teacher, your classmate, your family members, your doctor, your mechanic, your friends, and even your enemy. God’s heart beats for the poor, the oppressed, the neglected, the suffering, the hungry, and the forgotten. God’s heart beats for the lost, for sinners on their way to hell. “How can we know that?” you ask. Because he held nothing back. God put his treasure where his heart is and offered up his Son, Jesus Christ, because of his love for people, for you and me. One of the challenges of the Christian life is acquiring the heart of God, to be passionate about what He is passionate about, to pursue what He pursues, to use our time, treasure, everything as God would. Let me ask a few questions and throw out a challenge, “Are we using what we are passionate about, even our hobbies, the way God would? Are our pursuits, loves, and hobbies mere self-gratification or are we redeeming them to accomplish what is on God’s heart? Are our hobbies and pursuits a reflection of Christian boredom or do we have a vision for using them to reflect the heart of God? I challenge you to use what you love, to take your hobbies, to engage your passions in the work of God’s kingdom, to love, reach, and grow people in Christ. To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans P.S. Two additional thoughts: There are sinful pursuits, passions, and hobbies. I am not suggesting they are somehow redeemable, they must be let go. Secondly, if our core passion is different from God’s passion much of our lives, no matter how much fun or gratifying, will in the end be an empty pursuit and wasted opportunity.
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
Your Last Breath, And Breathing Till Then
“ GOD formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive—a living soul!” Genesis 2:7 (MSG) “The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”Job 33:4 (NIV) I have witnessed it many times, someone taking their last breath. That’s all that separates life from death – one breath. You can almost see it, life leaving on the wings of that last exhale. The transformation is instant and decay visibly and almost instantly moves into that now hollow shell of a body. The Spirit, the soul, life has departed and you can sense the sacredness of the moment.We hardly ever think about the value of just one breath, or the next breath, or how close to the edge of life each breath really is. There is grace in the fact that most of our breathing is a subconscious, automatic activity. Living life would be very difficult if every breath required conscious effort. But every now and then God confronts us with how precious, how wonderful, how great a gift life and breath really is.Each breath allows us to live, gives us an opportunity to bless or curse, to sing or complain, to worship or ignore God who gave us breath. And it does make a difference what you live and breathe for. At the end of our last breath, the objections of the atheist or doubter none withstanding, we don’t cease to exist. At end of breathing our last we are summoned to give account (Romans14:12; Hebrews 9:27) how we spend the gift our life, what we did with what each breath enabled us to do.As a kid I loved the first autumn mornings cold enough to reveal my breath. On the way to school my friends and I would pretend to be smoking. Ironic, we admired something with our breath that actually robs you of your ability to breathe. That’s how it is, things that rob us of life and breath usually dress up nice in the beginning. Life is full of a million invitations to waste your breath, to lead us down the path where your last breath reeks of regret.How different God’s invitation, God’s challenge to us. At the end of the collection of songs and poems called the Psalms. At the end of pages filled with pain, worry, fears, highs, incredible lows, repentance, agony, deliverance, and goodness this is the invitation of God, “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD” Psalm 150:6 (NIV).How I pray that both your last breath and mine, and all our breathing and living until then, will give wings to our praise of God and Christ.To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
Bull pines. Bark Beetles, and Never Being Dry
Drought conditions and bark beetles are doing a number on the on the bull/digger pines around our property. So far this spring we had to cut down twelve of them and several more might soon follow.Two years ago they all looked healthy, now they were just brown ghosts looking completely out of place on the green blanket of spring. It is doubly sad, for one they are part of what makes our property unique and once dead they also become hazards.I am always amazed at how much space a tree occupies (Something you should take into account when planting a tree). When a tree hits the ground it leaves a large gap that takes some getting used to, and it will take a long time to fill that gap. On the bigger trees I counted the rings and I will have to live for another fifty years to see a replacement growto their size, which is highly unlikely since I am almost 53.Drought and bark beetles will kill your spiritual life as well. However, drought in our spiritual lives is usually self-imposed. There is no shortage of water to hydrate your soul and spirit. The Holy Spirit is a believers source of water, “Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone is thirsty, he should come to Me and drink! The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.’ He said this about the Spirit” John 7:37b-39a (HCSB). He, the Spirit of God, will compel you and me to build our lives around spiritual waters, the most essential being:
- God’s word, the Bible, “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do” Psalm 1:1-3 (NLT).
- Prayer, seeking the presence and conversation with God, “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake” Psalm 23:1-3 (NIV).
- Fellowship with other believers, belonging to and participating faithfully in a church, “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another” Hebrews 10:24-25 (NLT). “They've refreshed me by keeping me in touch with you. Be proud that you have people like this among you” 1 Corinthians 16:18 (MSG).
- Obedience, trusting in and living by what God wills and says, “Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way you should go. ‘If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your well-being would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea’” Isaiah 48:17-18 (NASB).
When we are dry we are vulnerable just like trees. Life is full of bark beetles, full of spiritual attack, and has no shortage of temptations, challenges, and trials. The good news is we don’t have to live in drought conditions, ever.Compared to trees your and my life takes up vastly more space. We are meant to grow into towering, fruit bearing trees of blessing on the colorful landscape of life. Make up your mind and daily follow the Holy Spirit to the water.May the roar of the chainsaw be far from you.To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
Easter people, living redemptively
Some things only God can do. Only He can create a universe out of nothing except himself. Only He can lay eternal plans. Only He can execute perfect justice. Only He can save and forgive a sinner. Only He can raise the dead. Only He can instantly restore withered limbs and open blind eyes. Only He can do the impossible. Sometimes the things only God can do become our excuse to do nothing. Often, very often, God chooses to work through you and me, through our capabilities, our limitations, our frailties, to accomplish His glorious will. Remember Boaz, the kinsman redeemer, in the Old Testament book of Ruth. Yes, he illustrates the ultimate redeemer Jesus Christ, who alone can redeem our souls. But Boaz also illustrates God calling us to live redemptively here and now. Redemption is not just about going to heaven but also about our responsibility to engage in the symphony God has orchestrated around us and relinquish our insistence to play our own tune. Redemption is not needed where nothing is broken, where nothing needs restoring, where there are no needs. But that is not the reality of our world, not even cozy Don Pedro. Boaz had to decide, and so do you and I, whether or not he would live redemptively in the context God had placed him in. What does it look like to live redemptively? You use your blessings to bless, you grant mercy because you received mercy, you care because you are cared for, you love because you are deeply loved, you give because you have received (Ephesians 1:3; Matthew 18:33; Luke 3:11; Matthew 11:28; Galatians 2:20; Matthew 10:8; Acts 20:35). What God has poured in, filled up, restored, and healed, you and I pour out and employ where and when we can. It is the week after Easter, the celebration is over, everyday life has returned. That’s where the challenge is, that’s where we are supposed to live like Easter people. There was another besides Boaz whom God gave an opportunity to act redemptively. He thought that gave him an opportunity to increase his wealth, but when it became clear that redemption is about people he checked out (Ruth 4) with some kind of lame excuse. I pray that will not be you and me. Finally, how serious is God about us living like Easter people? What difference does letting redemption play out in my everyday life make? For the answer would you take the next five minutes and read Matthew 25:14-46. 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
The Challenge of Spring - Talking Poppies
I love spring. It is like an explosion of life, of color, and of song. I love the fresh green of new leaves, the morning songs of birds, the evening choir of frogs, the humming of the bees, the splendor of blossoms, the spell of fragrances, and the soft carpets of grass. I love the return of longer days, of warm sunshine, of open windows, and eating outside. I love tilling Susie’s garden, the smell of fresh cut grass, and our goose laying eggs. I love the abundance of spring, its happiness, and being able to see God’s glory reflected in innumerous ways.I love the challenge of spring, to join in, to participate in life, to leave last year behind and concentrate on growing something again. There is a spot, right before Marsh Flat Road drops down to Moccasin, which explodes with wildflowers each spring. Yesterday, on my way to Sonora, I stopped there for a minute to look at some small California Poppies blooming on a rocky bank. They are in a hurry, they have to be, they don’t have much time. So each year they give it all they got and anoint an utterly barren spot with undeserved beauty and life, they make that place glorious. They waste no time complaining why they couldn’t be across the road and down a small swale where the dirt is rich and their cousins grow tall.God told the ancient Israelites that he was giving them a “land flowing with milk and honey.” This wasn’t the dry side of the road. He wanted them to blossom in that land and make into something even more incredible, a land of justice, un-poverty, of love for one’s neighbor, and of devotion to God. But the story of ancient Israel can by and large be summed up with “what could have been.” That can happen to you and me – to us, you know. There are qualities that need to blossom and grow into fruit to create lasting beauty. Qualities each person, each generation needs to embrace. Qualities that are only sustainable if we are connected to, and rooted in God – “the fruit of the Spirit (of God) is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV, parenthesis mine). I have stopped to look at those poppies for going on thirty years. Every year they refuse to wait, refuse to complain, refuse to throw in the towel. They are committed to bloom right there on that inhospitable and unforgiving rocky bank, they are committed to bring to bear all of their God-given potential for beauty, they are committed to grow.I pray you and I refuse to simply resign ourselves to merely growing older and instead answer the challenge of spring to grow, to produce all that is good and godly to the benefit of my neighbor and the glory of God.To God and Christ 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
Numbers
NumbersI have a social security number, passport #, alien registration #, a medical record #, driver’s license #, three telephone numbers, Flying Blue #, student I.D. #, and a AAA number. There are also credit card numbers, PIN #s, bank account #s, power, water, phone, insurance account #s, tax assessor #, and our street number. All of our cars have both a license and VIN #. Every appliance in our kitchen, anything electronic in house, each power tool in my garage has at least a model and a serial number. Heck even our dogs have a number on their tags.Some of these numbers are pretty important. If they fall into the wrong hands your identity can be stolen, your money can be drained from your accounts, your life turned into a mess.What about if you are assigned a number, or if you have to take a number? When you are reduced to number, when your name is no longer important, when who you are is no longer important?How about if some has your number, when they have you figured out? If they don’t love that can be scary, frustrating, and filled with pain.And what do you do when your number is up. Nothing I suppose, because we don’t decide when that is.Some keep waiting for their lucky number to come up, for some machine to spit out some balls with numbers they picked and paid for. Waiting and hoping to beat the odds, to have enough money for paradise now.There are haunting, weeping numbers like the number of children who went to bed hungry today, the number of lives snuffed out by war and violence today, or the number of women and children abused today, the millions who are enslaved, aborted, forgotten, discarded, and spiritually lost..There are shameful numbers like our National and individual debt, the number of pounds of our collective overweight, the number of children killed by abortion, the amount of money spend on gambling, porn, self-indulgence, decadence, and war and destruction vs. what is spend on doing good.There are also glorious numbers. Like the number one, when one sinner repents, or when one person returns to give God thanks (Luke 15:7, 17:114-15). Or the number of the acts of compassion and kindness that qualify for what Jesus said, "…, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” Matthew 25:40 (NIV).One thing is for sure, no one knows the numbers better than God. He knows the number of birds flying, the number of the hairs on each head. To him we are never a just a number, He knows our names. If we are not careful we will care about the wrong numbers, or fall prey to the way numbers can depersonalize and keep from caring.So what do your numbers say about you? What are the numbers you care about? And how do your numbers square with what God cares about?To God be all glory, love you, Pastor HansP.S. Why did God have the Israelites count so much in the book of Numbers if He already knew the numbers? Send your reply to dergermanshepherd@gmail.com, Pastor Hans, 4175 Abeto Street, La Grange, Ca 95329.
Finger-pointing and the Day of Atonement
In this way he will make atonement for the Holy of Holies because of the uncleannesses of the Israelites, their acts of rebellion, and all their other sins. …Leviticus 16:16a (MSG) It is always easier to point at others. It is easier to spot their faults and correct their ridiculous ways. Politicians and lawyers make easy targets, and depending on which side of the political isle you’re on, liberals, tea-partiers, NRA members, environmentalist, the rich, the entitled, unions, banks and big business, socialists and the conservatives are all easy targets. Rednecks, immigrants, gays and lesbians, gangs, welfare people, trash of various colors, young people, old folks, druggies, Muslims, Christians, and atheists make fine targets for finger-pointing as well. If the president Obama and the Congress would pay more attention to all of our finger-pointing and connected problem solving skills everything would be so much better.I am sure the ancient Israelites did their share of finger-pointing, including the priests and High Priests. But God had ordained a day when their fingers could not point at him, or her, or them, a day where the only pointing to be done was at me and us – the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16).On that day the High Priest had to first of all deal with his own sin and every citizen had to take responsibility for his contribution to our sin, the collective guilt. There wasn’t anybody who could say I did not contribute, I am without sin, without guilt. Only after the High Priest dealt with his own sin was he allowed in the presence of God to make atonement for the people’s sin. Maybe we should learn from that? Maybe we need to do less finger-pointing and more concentrating on our own affairs, our own sin before God? Maybe we need more of an us and less of a them mentality?Atonement (covering my sin properly, dealing with my sin God’s way) is about me, it is about us. Of course ultimate and lasting atonement comes only through Jesus Christ, “When these things were all in place, the priests regularly entered the first room as they performed their religious duties. But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. And he always offered blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. … So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever” Hebrews 9:6-7, 11-12 (NLT).We like holidays, celebrations, feasts and fests. Give us Mardi Gras, Carnival in Rio, Fasching in Germany, the Super Bowl, Fourth of July, yes give us a party. But what we need is Holy days, none more important than the Day of Atonement, the day Christ – God dealt with our sin and guilt. The day we stop evading, look in the mirror, stop speaking about them, and acknowledge our need for God’s mercy, and find atonement in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
When Slowing Down Makes Sense - Keeping God in the Center
It didn’t make a whole lot of sense, a lot of things in life don’t (make a list of ten things that don’t make sense to you and email or mail the list to me – dergermanshepherd@gmail.com, Pastor Hans, 4175 Abeto Street, La Grange, Ca 95329). The ancient Israelites left Egypt to go to the “Promised Land” and then on their way, out in the wilderness God stops them to construct a Tabernacle, a portable Temple. It doesn’t make sense; why not get the people as quickly as possible to their new home, and then build a temple?It was twelve months after they departed from Egypt when they set up the tabernacle for the first time. New Year’s Day to be exact (Ex.40:17). So for months they stopped to build the Tabernacle according to God’s specifications.What was the tabernacle? It was God’s tent, where God dwelt, right in their midst. When they set up camp the Tabernacle was the center, encircled by the Levites, and then surrounded by the other tribes (Numbers 1-3).Remember, God invited the Israelites into a covenant relationship with Him (Ex. 19). He did not force them, but they accepted. Just like God now invites us into a covenant relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. Once you are in a relationship with God the challenge is living with God. Having and maintaining that relationship with God is more important than getting to the “Land flowing with Milk and Honey,” more important than “going to heaven.” So God slowed them down to construct the Tabernacle.They needed to learn how to live with God, how to stay connected with Him, how to foster their relationship with Him. Too many who call themselves Christians got saved, were born again, and haven’t slowed down since. Too many Christians have God living at the edge, the fringe, the margin of their lives, far from the center. Too many have never slowed down to carefully build a “Tabernacle,” to learn the habits that keep God in the center. Maybe it is time to slow down to construct a life that is truly centered on God, a life that has time for the activities within the curtains of the Tabernacle: Awe, consecration, sacrifice, gratefulness, God’s word, prayer, forgiveness, worship.What will your life look like a year from now? Will you have build a “Tabernacle that moves to wherever life takes you, a life with God in the center?To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
To Love
To LoveI know it is wrong to bring up being on a sunny beach in the middle of winter, but we were laying in the Southern California sun, Huntington Beach to be exact. I was recovering from being pummeled by a massive wave, which is what happens when you turn your back to the ocean. That’s when my prayers were answered, she put her hand into mine. That’s when we went from being best friends to romance, to complete twitterpation.33 years latter I still love for her to put her hand into mine, and I still feel like I am the luckiest guy in the world. Actually I think it was Mother’s prayers at work. Susie and I talked about it the other day, trying to figure out how she ever said yes to me. Without my Mama’s praying I am certain I would have fell for some bimbo and ended up with hard drinking, chain smoking, nagging floozy. But somehow her prayers had me looking for godly, gifted, graceful girl, a bright, beautiful, and breathtaking woman.I knew she was something special, but I had no idea how special. Actually I am still finding out just how blessed I am to have her as my wife, my best friend, my love. She is God’s abiding favor in my life. It is true, “The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the LORD” (Proverbs 18:22, NLT).What my Mama prayed for me and my brothers I am now praying for my children, to look for, pursue, and find godly men and women who will turn out to be the greatest blessing of their lives – the very favor of God. To experience how wonderful, how thrilling, and how lasting love can be.Happy Valentines, Pastor Hans