Watching While Waiting (Waiting - Don't Waste It, part 2)

“So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, ‘Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?’ He replied, ‘The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!’” Acts 1:6-11 (NLT2)

For almost 2000 years Christians have been waiting for Christ to return, that’s a very long wait, that’s 80 generations (if you count 25 years as a generation) waiting their entire lives. I would call that serious waiting. There they were gawking into the empty sky Jesus just disappeared into when two angels told them to snap back to a life of waiting, watching, and working. Maybe we need some snapping back ourselves?

It is easy to get sidetracked, bored, and passive while waiting. Jesus had warned his disciples about becoming lax and irresponsible while waiting (Matthew 24:42-25:46, Mark 13:33-37), “Stay alert!”Staying alert is one of the big challenges in waiting, it so easy to slip into Netflix filled waiting, simply passing the time waiting, whatever I want to do kind of waiting, and before you know it you’re just staring into space – spacing out.So, how do we stay alert in both waiting for Jesus’ return and the waiting in everyday life? Here are there things to learn to practice: 

1. Waiting with your ears open (Acts 8:26-31)

• To the Holy Spirit – He has where you are in time, location, and situation for a reason.

  1. Listening to obey (James 1:2-7). Listening to the Holy Spirit is about wanting to do God’s will, not about evaluating options.

  2. To what you hear around you – Learn to listen for clues of God being at work in people, hearing people’s questions, confusion, searching.

1. Waiting with your eyes open (Acts 17:16-17)

• To spiritual reality – There is a spiritual dimension, a bigger picture to all of life.

  1. Noticing what is right in front of you.

  2. Seeing opportunities to advance God’s kingdom.

1. Waiting with our life open (John 4:3-10)

• When you are tired, exhausted, busy.

  1. When you encounter different people and situations.

  2. When you are alone or with your group.

Maybe God is trying to open up your ears, your eyes, your life in the midst of all the current waiting. What does God want you to hear, to see, to be open to?

To God be all glory.
Love you, Pastor Hans   

Changed Plans - Changing Plans

Susie and I were supposed to have gone camping this past week, but like everyone else living in these COVID-19 days, we had a change of plans. Of course, having to change plans is nothing new, but to have so many people’s plans change all at the same time is new to most of us. Career plans, business plans, wedding plans, retirement plans, educational plans, vacation plans, graduations plans, financial plans, … all of them affected and in serious upheaval.

How good are you when it comes to having to change your plans, adapting to new realities? Flexible and positive, grumpy and complaining? A having-to-change-your-plans kind of crisis certainly does reveal who we are and what we are made of. Few of us like to be forced into changing plans, the only time we really like changing plans is when it is our own idea, when we’re the ones cooking up the changes.

50 days after Easter, on Pentecost, the Bible tells us about two groups, the followers of Jesus and the Jewish leaders. The disciples of Jesus were changed by the fact of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on them. The Jewish leaders thought they had brought everything back under control, everything running according to their plans, until, those Holy Spirit-filled believers started preaching.

“’The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and glorious day of the LORD arrives. But everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.’ People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know. But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him. But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip'” Acts 2:20-24 (NLT2), Peter declared.

Did you notice the clash of plans? God’s plan or the Jesus plan and the Jewish leaders’ plan?God’s plan – a long-range, eternal, good for all plan

• To save people from judgment

• To offer Jesus’ life for our sins

• To defeat the grip of death (death for is the ultimate plan changer)

The Jewish leaders’ plan – a short-sighted, evil, what’s-good-for me plan

• To have no change

• To get back to and maintain the old

• To kill the plan of God

The question becomes, which side of God’s plan will you be on? Will you oppose it, or will you accept the changes needed to accept it? Will you brush the center of God’s plan, Jesus Christ, to the side, or will you organize everything in your life around Him?

God is neither silent nor inactive in our current crisis, He has put us in the vise of change not just try to get out and back, but to examine our plans and make both temporary and life-long changes that put Jesus, God’s plans, God’s purposes and will in the very center. We are collectively yearning to get back to “normal,” and we pray it will be sooner than later, but I can’t help but think that God would love for us to emerge from this chaos changed for the better.

Listen to what God delivered to the exiled to Babylon Jews in the days of the prophet Jeremiah, “This is what the LORD says: ‘You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again.  For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the LORD. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.  In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,’ says the LORD. ‘I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land’” Jeremiah 29:10-14 (NLT2).

God did not just want them to return and get back to the same-old same-old, He wanted them to came back better, changed, completely in tune with Him. May this be true of us.

To God be all glory.
Love you, Pastor Hans   

Don't Get Spiritually Infected

But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves.  Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. 2 Peter 2:1-2 (NLT2)

Coronavirus, Coronavirus, Coronavirus, … COVID-19, COVID-19, COVID-19, …Social distancing, shelter-in-place, wash your hands, sanitize, …Respirators, masks, PPE, hospital beds, shortages, …Infection totals, death tolls, …Shutdown, …Crisis…

Daily we are bombarded with Coronavirus news, facts, statistics, changing predictions, revised timelines, official guidelines and orders. Mix that with our own worries, fears, anxieties, economic and existential threats, and it leaves you feeling confused, unsure, powerless, and vulnerable. Christians should be uniquely equipped to navigate in, even thrive trying times and circumstances. Not because we, in ourselves, are somehow better than everyone else, but because the life of Christ and the Spirit of God indwells us, and because true and well-taught followers of Jesus have a theology that incorporates and embraces suffering.Satan also thrives in chaos and crisis, he is the master of instigating and using them for his godless, evil, and destructive purposes (John 10:10).

It should come as no surprise that he will fan the flames of the current massive fire, not only in the world at large but also within the church. Much of the New Testament is devoted to warning believers against devil’s attack on the Body of Christ, the church, specifically against:
-Gutting the Gospel – faulty theology (Galatians, 1 Corinthians 15, Romans 1-11)
-Behaving badly – faulty ethics (1 Corinthians, Galatians 5-6, Romans 12-16)
-False teachers – faulty discernment (2 Peter 2, Jude)

It should not surprise us that with the current crisis and chaos there will be a spike in false teachers, conspiracy pundits, and eschatology (end times) wizards raising their voices, claiming new prophetic insight, personal expertise, miracle cures, proposing unbiblical means of harnessing and unleashing the power of God, contradicting sound science, dressing forms of presumption in so-called faith teachings, twisting the scriptures while trying to sound like theological experts.Now, with our world, including the church, almost exclusively relying on electronic media false preachers and teachers have a platform as never before.

Here in the United States the purveyors of the prosperity gospel, health and wealth pundits, word of faith charlatans already dominate the airwaves. Sadly, too many believers are tuning in to them, give them a hearing, lack the discernment skills, and don’t take time to check out both their life and teaching. Satan knows that a gutted, watered down, twisted, added-onto Gospel leaves the church without a message, perverts the church’s mission, and rips the Messiah/Christ out of its center. Satan loves for Christians to behave badly, unholy, hypocritically, loud, proud, fearfully, cowardly, selfishly, soft, and spoiled, indistinguishable from the world around them.

Christians behaving badly discredit the beauty of the Christ-life and the changing power of the Gospel. Christians behaving badly may talk a big game but bring shame to Jesus’ name. Christians behaving badly are vulnerable to all kinds of theological cockamamie and extremes.Satan is not ignorant of the word of God (Luke 4:9-11), he knows how to quote it, misquote it, divorce it from its context, twist its intentions, selectively apply it, and rearrange it to make the weird and perverted seem plausible. False teachers may be using the “Good Book” (the Bible) but they use it according to the devil’s playbook. If he/they can get you to accept faulty theology, it will sooner than later affect your behavior, conversely, if he/they can get you to legitimize bad behavior it will affect your theology,  both will rob you of the ability to discern. Time for a self-check:

• How theologically sound are you? Are you making an effort to be so?

• How Christ-like is your behavior? What needs to change?

• Who do you watch, listen to, read? Should you? Why or why not?

 To God be all glory.
Love you, Pastor Hans      

Being a Christian and Church - Think about it

When a doctor gets sick of sick people, that’s a problem. When a pilot begins to loathe flying, that’s a problem. When a cook becomes disgusted by cooking, that’s a problem. When a teacher starts disliking students, that’s a problem. When a preacher/pastor hates church, that’s a problem. And, when Christians are down on the church, that's a problem.So, think with about the church for a minute:It was Jesus’ idea to form the church, “… I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it” Matthew 16:18 (NLT2). So to think of the church as something irrelevant and unimportant or worse is to call Jesus’ plan for his church a bad idea.Jesus is the head of the church, “He is also the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He might come to have first place in everything” Colossians 1:18 (HCSB). So, it makes little sense to proclaim a personal relationship with Jesus but have no connection and submission to his church.Jesus loves and died for the church, “… Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her” Ephesians 5:25 (NLT2). So, how can I claim to love Jesus and love what he loves and paid the ultimate price for?The church is the body of Christ, “Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part” 1 Corinthians 12:13-14 (NLT2). So, since the same Holy Spirit who regenerates a sinner at the moment of salvation also places every believer in the body of Christ, I have no business living a life outside of that body.The church is central to God’s plan and work in our world, “Through Christians like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels!” Ephesians 3:10 (MSG). So being apathetic and disconnected from God’s church also I am not fully participating in God’s plan.Jesus takes his church very seriously. So, he continually works on it, refines it, confronts it, encourages it, watches out for it, Revelation 2-3, Ephesians 5:26), and should not take it any less serious.Church, being part of a church, participating in the work of the church is meant to become a habit, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching” Hebrews 10:23-25 (NIV). So, I need to learn to be so involved and committed to the church that I no longer have to think about my commitment to it, my participation in it, my showing up for it.We live in an I-Me-Mine culture, the Christian life is a stark contrast to this, it is about Him-You-Us-We (which is not to say that God does not care for each one of us individually and in Christ saves each one us personally). Switching from one to the other takes some major adjusting, reordering, rescheduling, and a total commitment to personal holiness and full participation in the body of Christ, his Church.So, did you notice? This preacher is still high on Jesus' Church, and the local body he has called me to pastor, hoping you will share the same appreciation and enthusiasm.So, does your Christian life reflect an understanding of Christ’s church? Are you as committed the church, the body of Christ, as God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit would have you?To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans 

Joseph - wrapped with righteousness

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us."When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. Matthew 1:18-25 (NIV) Joseph's reaction and actions were determined by him being a "righteous man. What are you known for, identified as? A patient woman will react and act differently than a woman known for her temper. A generous man’s reactions and actions will not be same as the those of a miser or greedy man. A wise person will make different choices than a fool.Joseph had a reputation of being a “righteous man.” It is one thing to be righteous in your own eyes (Luke 18:9) and quite another to be called righteous by God, your family, and the people in your town. You can’t get a “righteous’ man/woman reputation overnight, it requires acting righteously consistently over time. But you will never have that reputation if don't start sometime, like today.When we meet Joseph in the Word of God (the Bible) he already has this reputation of being “a righteous man.” Notice, it did not protect him from bad news and hurt. His fiancé told him she was pregnant and he knew he wasn’t the father, which could only mean one thing, she betrayed him – ouch! How would you handle that? We know Joseph handled it as a “righteous man.” Which meant what?

• Right Actions – Regardless of how he felt, he didn’t act in inappropriate, vindictive, ugly, kneejerk, foolish, sinful, and regrettable ways.
• Right Heart – Her betrayal and his hurt didn’t snuff out his compassion, his dislike of public mudslinging, his love of mercy and grace.
• Right Reaction – He pushed the pause button, he “considered,” his options, what godliness looked like in this situation, and most importantly Mary, the woman who betrayed him.

Joseph’s righteous disposition, his righteous habits, his righteous heart enabled him to handle the situation in a righteous way. Because he was and acted righteously, he was;

• Able to hear God – I don’t think it too far fetched to imagine Joseph praying about what to do, bringing his hurt and confusion before God, asking him to help and direct him.
• Able to believe God – Accepting that your fiancé’s pregnancy is a result of the Holy Spirit’s action is some serious faith.
• Able to follow God – which meant he would change his plans, marry Mary instead of divorcing her, raise the child as his own, and put his own dreams and needs on hold.

It is a lot easier to be unrighteous than righteous, but it is a lot better to be righteous than unrighteous. Before Christmas we do a lot of wrapping, Joseph had been wrapping himself with righteousness, and what a difference it made.Merry Christmas. Love you, Pastor Hans 

Disciple, Disciple-Maker, Witness, Sent Servant, Ambassador

• Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20 (NASB)

Being a follower of Christ, a Christian means being a disciple-maker, which means leading others to faith in Christ, to follow Christ, and to grow in Christ. It means to go out by the authority of Jesus to reach the entire world with the Gospel of Christ and training all those who turn to Christ for salvation, forgiveness of sin, and eternal life.Disciple-makers have to, first of all, be disciples themselves, learning and observing all Jesus commanded ourselves, being genuine and committed ourselves. This doesn’t mean you have to wait to be disciple-maker until you have it all down perfectly (you never will), but it does mean we have to be ongoing learners and practitioners all the time and everywhere.

• “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." Acts 1:8 (NASB)

Every disciple of Christ is also a witness of Christ, of the fact that Jesus is alive, that he conquered sin, death, and the grave. A good witness needs two things, a testimony and integrity, truth and credibility. Jesus told his disciples that through the Holy Spirit he would empower them to be his witness. Interestingly the Holy Spirit is called Holy, true holiness includes absolute integrity, it is spotless, The Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17, 15:26, 16:13). Since he empowers us to be Jesus’ witnesses, we can assume he will continually work towards us embracing holiness and truthfulness, to have a genuine testimony and integrity.

• So Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you." John 20:21 (NASB) "For even the Son of Man (Jesus) did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." Mark 10:45 (NASB, parenthesis mine)

Every disciple of Jesus, everyone who testifies of Jesus is meant to act like Jesus, to carry out the will of God like Jesus, to be a servant to both God and people like Jesus. We are on God’s, Jesus’ mission.

• We are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:20-21 (NLT2)

Christians are Christ’s representatives, ambassadors of God’s kingdom. We are meant to be about Christ’s interests, Jesus’ politics, Jesus’ message to the whole world.

• Disciple, disciple-maker, witness, sent servant, ambassador – GO!

 To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans      

Pouring in - Pouring out

We were having the time of our lives playing in the sandbox. But it seems inevitable that playing hard will lead to some kind of accident, especially when you are surrounded by a fleet of Tonka heavy equipment and with shovels furiously digging. Sure enough, one of my grandsons lost control over the bulldozer he was operating bonked himself a good one. He cried and I yelled, “Stupid dozer!”Immediately he shifted gears, quit crying, walked over to me, looked me straight into the eyes, and with a most serious voice scolded me, “We don’t say that Opa!”“Say what?” I asked.“You know. It’s a bad word Opa!”“What word?” I wanted to know.“I’m not going to say it, but you know, OPA!”Indeed, I did know, and clearly, I was trying to corrupt my grandson. You have to be careful what you fill little hearts and minds with, because what you fill them with will be what comes out. This is not just true of little hearts and minds but yours and mine as well. Our mouths, our actions, our reactions are an indication of what fills us, “The things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, … For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” Matthew 15:18-19 (NIV).It is easier to fill an empty cup than it is to fill one that is already full, that’s why wise parents from the get-go pay careful attention to what goes into their kids’ hearts and minds. A heart and mind that has been filled with bad words, habits, attitudes, ways of thinking and behaving can’t be filled with goodness and godliness until you first pour all that out. Before the Spirit of God can fill you and me with “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control,” we have to pour out what the Holy Spirit wants to replace, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified (poured out and continue to pour out) the sinful nature with its passions and desires,” because the reality of a holy and godly life is only possible by God’s Spirit and making room for all he desires to fill us with, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” Galatians 5:22-25 (NIV).That pouring out, letting God have complete control of the filling and directing our hearts, minds, wills, plans, desires, attitudes, and habits, is difficult. In our sinfulness, we love to hang on to the sinful, selfish, spoiled, soiled, and same. And, in our perverseness others’ spilling over with what shouldn’t fill us makes us feel a little better. This, our brokenness and sinfulness, is why Christ came and is necessary, only he can help cleanse our hearts and minds and fill us with the Holy Spirit.“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” Psalm 51:10 (ESV)“God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life” Psalm 51:10 (MSG)             To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans   

Filling Up - Premium for me please

This morning I filled my coffee mug twice, my Musli bowl and stomach once, and all my morning hours even though got up way early. This past week we went camping with the family so we filled the truck bed with camping gear, the gas tank with diesel, the ice chests with food and drinks, several garbage bags (to the delight of the raccoons), our bellies with camping cuisine, our time with adventures, and our memories with joy.Face it, in living life we do a lot of filling up, we have to, we get to, and it makes a difference what we fill up with.

• It makes a difference what you put into our body, both in how well it functions and what it will crave.
• It helps to fill up your bank account every now then, you’ll have less stress and you can pay your bills. But it also makes a difference whether your deposit was earned honestly or otherwise.
• It is inevitable that your time will be filled up, but what you fill it with will determine if it is wasted or used wisely.
• It makes a huge difference what you fill your mind with because it will establish how you think, what you will dwell on, and how you process life.
• It is a vast distance between a heart filled with hate, bitterness, pessimism, grudges, and revenge, and a heart filled with love, kindness, optimism, goodwill, and forgiveness.

All of the above the Word of God/Bible addresses because it knows the realities of life, including the constant filling that we are engaged in. As followers of Christ, we are as engaged in these constant filling tasks and activities as much as anyone else, however, if we are going to be wise and godly when comes to this constant filling up in life the following are indispensable:

• Constantly being filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:17-20). Which means to continually yield control to him in all we do, wherever we are, and in all we plan.
• Constantly filling our mind and thinking with the written Word of God, the Bible (Psalm 1). Which means taking time to read it, meditate on it, and then trust it enough to apply it to real life.
• Constantly praying. Which means running everything by God, seeking his will, his wisdom, his guidance, his presence, his glory, and refusing to live without it (Matthew 6:9-16).
• Constantly living in community with other believers (Hebrews 10:24-25). Which means I recognize that only together with others can we be the body of Christ, and I need sisters and brothers in Christ pouring into me even as I pour into them (1 Corinthians 12-13, Ephesians 5:21)

Most every morning I get up and brew some coffee for Susie and me, filling my mug, usually at least twice. I didn’t always do that, but now I am pretty consistent with it. The same has been true of the four constant fill-ups I need as a follower of Jesus, a Christian. It took me a while, but now my life feels like an empty coffee cup in the morning without them.To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans  

Faith - Eternally Indispensable

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1 (NLT2)And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. Hebrews 11:6 (NLT2)I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 (NIV)Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NLT2)Would you let a doctor in whom you had no faith in and did not trust operate on you? You can go ahead but I won’t, no way.  S/he can snip away on you but I won’t let that scalpel touch me. Misplaced faith never works out well and can be flat out dangerous. Who and what you put your faith in, believe in, trust in makes a big difference in all areas of life, but, because of the eternal ramifications, none more so than in the spiritual life.Some believe the earth is flat, some believe it to be center of the universe, some believe the holocaust never happened, some believe there is no climate change, and some believe there is no God in whom and through who and for whom all things exist (Revelation 4:11, Hebrews 2:10). But just because some or you and me believe something does not make it so.Christians are believers in Jesus Christ, God incarnate (in the flesh). We trust him more than anyone else in all matters of this life and eternal life. Thus faith is indispensable for today and for eternity; it will forever be a central part of living in a relationship with God/Christ.  It is neither a misplaced nor a completely blind faith. It is not misplaced because God and Christ really do exist and it is not totally blind because all of the universe, our conscience, Jesus Christ and Spirit of God all testify of his existence, greatness, power, and necessity.It is impossible to write anything exhaustive about faith in one short pastor’s note, but I want to highlight three that are at the core of Christian faith:

1. Relationship

We believe it is possible to live in a relationship with God through faith in his Son Jesus Christ. Sinners can be forgiven and be reconciled to God through the person, power, and cross of Christ. God is not an abstract, not a mere religious construct, but real and loving, so much so Holy God made a way for unholy people like you and me to be in an eternal relationship with him.

2. Revelation

We believe we can trust the promises, principles, laws, and words of God revealed through the Spirit of God and the ultimate revelation of God - Jesus Christ. We believe in, trust in, and follow what he says and shows us.

3. Right living

We believe in pleasing God through our actions. We have faith in the goodness of God and that in his goodness he means to transform us to live and act more like Jesus, to love ever more selflessly. We believe with James (James 2:17, 26, and entire letter) that real faith shows up in real life, making a difference in how we respond to trials, how we treat people, what comes out of our mouths, how we plan and do business, how we pray, and how we live in community with each other (and much more).Not going to the doctor when you need one is a bad idea. Putting your trust in an incompetent doctor is not wise. Dismissing all doctors because some are lousy is foolish. Likewise, denying your need for God is a bad idea. Declaring all religion and spirituality equal is not wise. Dismissing God because of religious abuses is foolish (although at times understandable). The eternal God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - has never ceased to be holy, awesome, great, just, faithful, good, and loving. He is worthy of our complete faith in him, we can trust him completely, none who follow him will be led astray, and all who believe in him will be glad.Put your faith in Jesus. Love you, Pastor Hans     

Your Official Christmas Invitation

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking,“Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:1-2 (NLT)That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Luke 2:8-12 (NLT)For sure I would’ve flunked the Ancient Eastern Astrological Society’s entrance exam, because my knowledge of the night sky does not extend past the Big Dipper and North Star. I would have completely missed Jesus’ cosmic birth announcement, and would have been a no-show. There would not have been any presents for Jesus if those wise men seeking to worship the King of the Jews would have had to rely on my astronomical skills.I don’t think the shepherds living out with the sheep saw what the wise men saw either, even though they did spend a lot of time looking at the night sky. They too, just walking distance of Bethlehem, would have missed the birth of Christ.I wonder how many Magi from the East didn’t make the journey? They saw the same star as the those traveled, maybe they were even consulted, maybe they thought their colleagues had strayed too far from astronomy to astrology? It’s one thing to observe and study the stars, it is quite another to read a divine message, a heavenly invitation out of the stars.Do you, like me, wonder why God in his infinite wisdom thought it important to inform those shepherds and deliver a grand invitation to them? In fact, they were given the honor to be the first witnesses of the God incarnate, of God in the flesh.What a contrast between those shepherds and the Magi from the East. Think about it: uneducated shepherds – learned wise men, men spending their nights outside with sheep – scholars sleeping on soft beds in fine houses, simple men who most likely never travelled more than fifty miles from home – men who had both the time and money to travel far, Jews – gentiles, subsistence sheep-herders – wealthy men with gifts fit for a king, men who wouldn’t be allowed to come close enough to smell the inside of a palace – emissaries who got an audience with king Herod on the spot. Yet both were invited to come and have a look, to see, in the flesh, the very Son of God. Neither would have anticipated receiving an invitation from God himself to come, see, know, and worship Jesus the Christ.God is still inviting people, you, your family members, your friends, co-workers, neighbors, even your enemies, to come and see his Son, Jesus Christ, and follow him, believe in him, acknowledge him, worship him. It doesn’t matter if you have calloused or soft hands, smell like sheep or Hugo for Men™, if you are wealthy or dirt poor, educated or illiterate, rough or refined, important or obscure, religiously engaged or not. God, through the Holy Spirit and the Church (the body and bride of Christ) is still sending out Christmas invitation, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say (respond), ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost” Revelation 22:17 (NASB, parenthesis mine). And sometimes and invitation to follow, believe in, and worship Jesus looks a lot like a pastor’s note.Consider yourself officially invited.Merry Christmas, Pastor Hans    

When will it quit raining?

Here in Central California we’re not used to days and days of rain, bundles of sunshine – yes, buckets of rain – no. Of course, if you just get sunshine you will soon live in a desert, get too much rain and the collective power of little raindrops spells disaster. Go too far in either direction, be exposed to the extremes of both sunshine and rain and our existence becomes increasingly marginal, more and more precarious.After years of drought we needed to be inundated with rain, we needed to be doused with precipitation far above the normal. We were on the very precipice of disaster, all our wealth, ingenuity, and technology none withstanding. We had to change our ways and conserve. Things that were a luxury, like green grass and decorative shrubbery, no longer got water. We showered less, flushed less, and continually thought of how to use less. We didn’t like our shrinking margin of existence, we were frightened by this continual inching towards disaster. So, we watched with joy when the rains came, when dormant streams were resurrected back to life, when the rivers swelled, and when our lakes rose and filled.We wanted things to get back to normal, normal being that which we were used to; being able to turn on the hose without thinking, without worry, without the threat of being penalized. And now that we have had enough rain to expand our margins, to relax the conservation rules, to not having to worry for a few years, we want our sunshine back, we want the rain to accommodate our schedules again.We find it hard to adjust ourselves to new normals. We much rather have everything around us work in a way that sustains or returns our normal. This way we do not have to change our habits, our routines, our expectations, our dreams, our comfort level. This is true spiritually as well and is one of the major challenges of the Christian life, adjusting ourselves to a new normal, adjusting ourselves to God, to Christ, to a life with the Holy Spirit, to an existence ordered by faith, scripture, and community (church/the body of Christ).An unwillingness to adjust ourselves to the new realities of a life with and in Christ causes us to yearn for the old normal, which in reality never has been normal, but sinful, depraved, self-absorbed. It leads us to diminishing God, a Christ without a cross, syncretism, and religious pluralism. It sets Christ up for failure (although he cannot and will never fail) because Jesus Christ did not come to submit himself and support our normal. Without our submitting to the normal as Christ defines it, we will be sooner than later be disappointed by his lack of support, by the lack of water, by too many rainy days, and move on to someone or something that acquiesces more readily to our normal, to a life that requires little faith, fewer adjustments, and less obedience.The crucified, risen, and exalted Christ still calls, “Follow Me,” (Mark 1:17, 10:21) and if we do we cannot remain in that which was normal before we followed. It means making many changes in our hearts, minds, outlooks, desires, dreams, values, actions, and reactions. It means giving up all desire to ever return to anything that was and felt normal without Christ. “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT). “You were taught with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV).To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans  

Be Like Jesus? - Serve (or Serve, for Christ's Sake, Serve)

Getting a room ready to observe the Passover, borrowing/renting an economy car/donkey, organizing a mass feeding, taking care of the money and the books, delivering letters, taking care of the needs of widows and orphans, using their homes for ministry, hosting guests, helping the needy, cleaning up and dressing a healed lunatic, instructing others in the word of God, help start a church, rowing Jesus around in a boat, participating in church leadership, helping with the worship services, greeting visitors, encouraging others, visiting the sick and imprisoned, organizing and engaging in relief ministries, organizing, music, prayer, … That’s what we find Christians, followers of Jesus doing in the New Testament.Did you notice what I left out of that list? Yup, the spectacular, the miraculous, the extraordinary things Christians are recorded as doing as well, not that those are unimportant. My point is that all of the above is service and that service is central to the Christian life, the Christian community, the Church and its mission. In Acts 19:11 God was using the Apostle Paul in extraordinary ways (“extraordinary miracles” – I thought miracles were already extraordinary), but in Acts 18:1-4 the same Apostle Paul works for a tent making outfit to support himself for ministry on the weekend. Paul understood something that every believer needs to understand.

• God had saved him and his life was no longer his own, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” Galatians 2:20 (NIV).

• We are saved from sin to serve, But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved... through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV).

• Every believer is assigned and empowered for service by the Holy Spirit, “The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.”1 Corinthians 12:12-13 (NLT)“Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically” Romans 12:4-11 (NLT).

At some point, and hopefully sooner than later, every believer has to go from just showing up regularly (hopefully you have that down) to committing to service, going from consumer to contributor, from flapping your wings at the edge of the nest to jumping off and flying. So this week talk to your pastor and volunteer yourself to service of some kind, either for the first time or because you need to get back into it. There is no glorifying God, no being like Jesus without serving. “For even the Son of Man (Jesus) did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" Mark 10:45 (NIV, parenthesis mine).To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans 

Grow, Grow, Grow - Go, Go, Go

You know you can grow it, and the more you do the more you have to share, to give away.If you have tried your hand at growing a vegetable garden you are probably familiar with both a radish and zucchini surplus. Somehow those two just love to grow faster than you can eat them. The problem is that people who love to do the vegetable garden thing usually hang out with other such people and collectively they have planted too much and thus sharing becomes a moot point. Next thing you know you see zucchinis the size of a weightlifter’s arm appear in large boxes in the foyer of the church with a desperate handwritten sign, “Free, take all you want,” but no return address.We are meant to grow them: faith, hope, and love. “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love” 1 Corinthians 13:13 (ESV). For four reasons: 1. They are absolutely essential to being like Christ; 2. It is impossible to please God without them; 3. They make us strong; 4. They enable us, force us to set out our boxes of surplus, because they are a lot more valuable and needed than zucchini and radishes, and should never go to waste.We are also meant to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ, in the midst of a godless, struggling, dark and often hostile world, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” 2 Peter 3:18 (ESV). I am pretty sure we are meant to export that too.Can you imagine your life, your (our) church, your (our) community, your (our) country with an overabundance of faith, hope, love, grace, and life in Christ? Daily packing a box full, considering ourselves to be the sign that reads, “Free, take all you need,” and then taking our overflowing box to where it is most needed, to where or to whom you might not want to go but the Holy Spirit compels you to go.Faith, Hope, Love, Grace, Christ seek engagement, want to flow like water, want to light up the dark, bind up the brokenhearted, comfort the weeping, feed the poor, heal the sick, liberate the captives, awaken justice, ennoble politics, replace hatred, battle evil, and save the lost.So grow, grow, grow and go, go, go – in Jesus’ name.To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans   

A New Year's Prayer - Hope

Heavenly Father, God of Hope,As 2017 lays before us like a vast unexplored expanse we turn to you to lead, guide, and direct us. We seek more than to merely survive the next 365 days, than to just make it through. We want to be people of overflowing hope, people empowered by the Holy Spirit with uncommon hope, extraordinary hope.Father, Christ taught us to pray to not be led into temptation and to be delivered from evil, and we do ask for both. Deliver us from the temptation to be spiritually uninvolved where you have placed us. Deliver us from the temptation to hope little, from just hoping for a little health and little good fortune for a few dear to our hearts and ourselves. Deliver us from the kind of hoping that requires little faith, little prayer, and little engagement. Instead lead us to people and into situations where there is little or even no hope. Lead us where there is confusion, sentimentality, and lots of wishful thinking, but no real hope. Throw us into circumstances, places, and lives where we have to depend on you, where what only you can do matters, where your kingdom and the kingdoms of this world clash. Put us where overflowing hope, real hope, eternal hope is needed. Put us where our hearts brake and weep because of the brokenness, sinfulness, and hopelessness we encounter there, where we are forced to be more than consumers of hope but to be sowers of hope, agents of hope, givers of hope, where we have to seek you to refill us again and again with the hope only found in you.How we thank you God that you have called us to a life with you the God of hope, the God whose compassions do not fail, whose mercies never come to an end. 2017 will not lack evil, but none of us will have to be overcome by it, you have more than enough strength to give us to overcome evil with good, you do know how work all things together for good for those who love you and are called by you. Lord we ask that the Apostle Paul’s prayer for our Roman brothers and sisters long ago may be realized in us, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” Romans 15:13 (NIV).Hear our Prayer. In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

HOPE

HopeMay the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 (NIV)But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. Lamentations 3:21-25 (ESV)13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NLT)Am I, are you overflowing with hope? Is hope stirring and rising within us like popcorn filling a pan, lifting the lid, and spilling over? Do innocent bystanders get soaked with hope simply because they are standing too close to us? And not just any kind of hope, or some cheap kind of hope, but eternal hope.The Corinthian Christians, like us, chased after all kinds of things that made them feel spiritual, superior even. They settled in on the spectacular like miraculous healing, special revelations and intellectual insights, and especially speaking in tongues. Whoever didn’t evidence some special spiritual endowment (gift) like that just wasn’t with it, was lacking, second rate, spiritually immature, and not all that important in the big picture of God’s work. The Apostle Paul reminded them that as crucial as the gifts of the Holy Spirit are, they are neither the measuring stick of spiritual maturity nor of spiritual excellence. They serve a temporary purpose but what lasts for eternity are FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE.Susie and I just got back from spending a few days playing in the snow with a couple of our children and our one and two year old grandsons. What do I hope for them? What do I pray for them? What do I want to spill from my life into theirs? What do I want them drip all the way home and the rest of their lives? Without question among these is “hope.”Jeremiah prophesied and wrote in terrible times. His nation, ancient Judah (Israel) was disintegrating politically, economically, morally, and above all spiritually. They were in collective denial, misplaced their hope, and settled for wishful but fatal thinking. And the disaster came. It is in the midst of humiliating defeat, ruined infrastructure, unimaginable bloodshed and atrocities, and life at the end as they knew it, that Jeremiah while writing a lament pens the words, “This I call to mind, and therefore I have hope,” and then reminds himself and us that real, lasting hope always begins with and is anchored in God, the “God of hope;” who loves to fill us with his peace and joy, and evermore so when we dare to trust him. The result is “overflowing hope,” not based on our limited strength but on the power of the very Spirit of God.Let me return you one more time to the prophet Jeremiah, who on the heels of pronouncing a seventy year disaster, delivered God’s words and promises of hope to the ancient Israelites, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NIV).So this year, 2017, we the Lake Don Pedro Baptist Church Family will concentrate on HOPE. We are going to search the scriptures, asking God to teach us about HOPE. We are going to ask God to show us what stands in the way of us overflowing with HOPE, to fill us with HOPE and HOPEFULNESS like never before, and we are going to ask God to put us into situations where we hope is needed, where hopers are needed, where Holy Spirit empowered overflowing hope is needed.To God be all glory. Happy New Year, Pastor Hans  

What kinks your hose?

Have you ever kinked a water hose that someone was using without them knowing that you were there? It’s really great when they end up pointing the hose at their face to see what has caused the water from coming out, because that’s when you release the kink and “whoosh.”The Apostle John reports that Jesus on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, that included an elaborate water ceremony, stood up and shouted, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water'" John 7:37-38 (NASB), and John adds the following explanation, “This He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive” John 7:39 (NASB).The Holy Spirit is what Jesus was referring to and that the Holy Spirit is the life-giving and sustaining source in a believer’s life. Have you ever noticed that wherever there is water things grow, things are green, full of life? Now the Holy Spirit in every believer’s life unequivocally and continually works towards holiness, godliness, and Christlikeness to abound in a Christian’s life so that s/he pours out, gushes holiness, godliness, Christ-likeness like an artesian well, like a fire hose at full blast, like a mighty flowing river.What keeps us from gushing forth mighty rivers? What causes us to be more like an old leaky garden hose that produces but a dribble of holiness, and sometimes none at all? What reduces us to people who proclaim Christ but have little of the life of Jesus flow through us? Kinks for one, but these kinks are no joke.You can’t blame the kinks on the devil, although he tries very hard to prevent anything coming out of our hose. You can’t blame your dribbling hose on lousy circumstances, bad health, pain, evil people, injustice, and lack of opportunity or lucky breaks. Jesus and a host of saints have gushed living water in spite of all of these.No, in my experience my hose kinks when I drag it around corners I shouldn’t, when I respond to the things mentioned above like the old Hans, contrary to what the Spirit of God compels me to, contrary to the scriptures he inspired. When he says “judge not,” “forgive,” “watch what you say,” “be generous,” “love your enemies,” “be merciful” etc. and I don’t – kink.When I refuse to drag my hose to where the Spirit wants me to water, stay away from those he wants me to engage with, love, nurture and care for – kink.When I give myself permission to maintain attitudes, opinions, and values that are contrary to the heart of God, the will of God, and the word of God – kink.When I excuse behaviors that are ungodly, unholy, unworthy of Christ (remember every Christian is part of his body) – kink.When I decide on the timing of my obedience to the Spirit of God – kink.When I hold onto what the Spirit compels me to let go and vice versa don’t embrace what he wants me to embrace – kink.When I make the practice of important spiritual habits such as prayer, reading the Bible, fellowship/church, servanthood, giving, worship, etc. optional – kink.When my heart lacks passion for the kingdom of God, the will of God, the things of God, the Son of God, and the glory of God – kink.When at my core I am motivated by anything less than love for God and love for people – kink.The only way for the end of a hose to produce continual maximum flow you have to make sure you have it connected to the right source, fix all the leaks, deal with all the kinks, and turn the faucet on all the way. Jesus does not want us to be dribblers but gushers, so much so that we will ask for a bigger hose, and we might end up being a river.To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans