Christ Crucified - What Is Your Response?

Christ crucified – a stumbling block to the Jews, nonsense to the Gentiles.

So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. 1 Corinthians 1:23 (NLT2)

Right out of the gate, Jesus was offensive to the Jewish rulers of his day. He exposed their hypocrisy, shined the light on their greed, confronted their abuse of power, pulled their pants down on their empty religiosity. They responded with the usual tactics of those in power, trick questions, false information, name-calling, intimidation, and eventually elimination. Never mind truth, integrity, and justice.

Right out of the gate, the Jewish people loved Jesus. He lived what He preached, spoke with real spiritual authority, refreshingly confronted their hypocritical leaders, healed people, fed folks, and demonstrated genuine divine power. They loved Him so much they wanted to make him king, although they changed their minds, rather quickly. Jesus ended up not being political enough, too slow, addressing their sins first, rather than personal, political, and national needs and dreams. They settled for a violent political rebel.

Jesus became a stumbling block to the Jews because He didn’t give them the priority they thought they deserved as God’s chosen people. He didn’t deliver on the changes they wanted, liberation from Rome, restoration of Davidic/Solomonic glory, a seat at the table with powers of the day. He didn’t fit their religious interpretations, their personal dreams, or their national aspirations. Just one of these is enough to make someone stub their toes on Jesus.

The Greeks dismissed Jesus as nonsense. The Apostle Paul was dismissed as a “babbler” when spoke to their intellectual elite about the crucified and risen from the dead Jesus, at the Areopagus. Anything that challenged tolerance of religious plurality was deemed nonsense; and it is not a far journey from nonsense to dangerous. Pilate, the Roman governor who signed off on Jesus' crucifixion order, escaped dealing with the truth of Jesus by declaring truth to be ambiguous. He felt the political heat and made truth secondary to politics, and it is not a far journey from there to the cross of Christ.

Jesus Christ was crucified because, “God loves this, our world, so no one who believes in Him will have to perish in the judgment of God, but instead will have eternal life” (John 3:16).

He died according to the plan and will of God. He died because you and I are sinners. He died because He did not fit the politics of Israel or Rome. He was put on a cross because He did neither fit the nationalistic and bloated theology of the Jews, nor the Greek’s intellectualism, spiritual eclecticism, and political pragmatism. He was crucified because He let no one highjack Him for their own personal and political ends. He died to save you and me, mankind, on the only terms it can be saved, God’s terms, Christ’s terms.

Startling, isn’t it, here we are 2000 years later, and the reality of our politics is that we still think our own wisdom is better than God’s, still try to highjack Jesus for what serves us and our agenda and politics, still have not come to grips with human depravity and our personal sin, still settle for human substitutes rather than to repent at the foot of the cross of Christ.

To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans

Love Your Neighbor - Vote!

VOTE!

If you love your neighbor - you will vote because you care about what is best for our country, our state, our community, and your neighbor, regardless of where s/he stands politically.

If you love your neighbor - you will not shirk your responsibilities that affect your neighbor and neighborhood. You will value your responsibilities, opportunities, and involvement because they stretch you to know and serve your neighbor, and love won’t thrive where we do not know and serve each other.

If you love your neighbor - you will not just cast a ballot when an election comes around, but you will vote daily with your words and actions. You will vote against hate, injustice, greed, irresponsibility, self-centeredness, and wrong of every kind; you will vote for civility, integrity, kindness, mercy, responsibility, generosity, selflessness, and goodness.

If you love your neighbor - you care about them the way Jesus Christ/God cares about them, which means you won’t like or approve of everything your neighbor says or does, nor will you save them from all the consequences of their choices. But you will be hopeful and merciful for them as long as they have breath.

If you love your neighbor - the way Jesus/God commands you to love your neighbor - you will soon discover that you need God’s help because it is a difficult thing to do, and you will come to know your need for God’s forgiveness because not loving your neighbor is sinful.

If you love your neighbor - you will not just care about the voting records of those in office, but also your own, not just on November 3rd, but every single day.

So, vote, vote for your neighbor’s sake!

To God be all glory, Pastor Hans

It Is Written - A Christian's Debate Check

Today is Tuesday, September 29, 2020. The media is in an all-out frenzy about tonight’s first debate of the 2020 presidential election; it is politics and political spin in full gear. Of course, our entire country is embroiled in a fierce debate regarding a plethora of issues: justice, policing, abortion, immigration, gun control, racism, global warming, energy, COVID response, socialism vs. capitalism, conspiracy theories, marriage, gender, foreign policy, voting rights and procedures, healthcare, abortion, religion, judicial philosophies, church and state, taxes, free speech, education, visions of the future, love Trump/hate Trump, … - you name it.

“For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will set aside the understanding of the experts. Where is the philosopher? Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn’t God made the world’s wisdom foolish?” 1 Corinthians 1:19-20 (HCSB), Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians, ancient Greeks, who were enamored with human wisdom and loved to debate just about everything, and in the process managed to make a mess. We will make a mess of things and will reason, sound, and look like anything but Christlike if we follow in the Corinthians’ footsteps. Their debating fueled their pride, entrenched their positions, validated their sense of superiority, polluted their ethics, excused their immorality, denigrated and dismissed their neighbor, created room for being unkind and unloving, and made their human wisdom the ultimate standard.

“It is written!” Paul interjected when they ceased from shouting at each other for a brief moment. Three words Christians should never forget; they are synonymous with, “God says!” They are an affirmation that the Bible, God’s written word supersedes all human debate and should be the checkpoint of all Christian persuasions, politics, policies, platforms, public engagement, proper conduct, personal matters, and relationships.The sad reality, however, is that in the current public debates Christians are as divided as their non-Christian counterparts, functioning out of political affiliation, eclectic theology, personal preference, common fears, religious emotionalism, and selective reading of what “is written;” conforming the Word of God to fit their viewpoint, their side of the debate, rather than the other way around.

Fully adhering to that which “is written” by God, will not make any one of us popular, but it will make us Christlike. It will put us at odds with both the Republican and Democratic platforms, our denominations, our favorite news source, our culture at large, and even the people we go to church and hang out with. Among other things, it reminds us that loving God and loving our neighbor are the two most foundational laws regarding everything. It compels us to be peacemakers. It will not allow us to deny the unborn full human status. It will not permit us to be unwelcoming and mistreat foreigners and aliens (both legal and illegal). It requires us to be the very best stewards of the environment. It defines sexual morality. It leaves no doubt that God conceived marriage as being between a man and a woman. It champions justice on every level. It tells us of our responsibility towards the poor and oppressed. It stresses personal responsibility and industry.  It teaches fiscal responsibility. It denounces violence. It warns us that allegiance to God is more important than allegiance to country. It reminds us that because of human depravity laws need to check the greed of free markets, govern people and their interactions, enshrine justice, and preserve freedoms. It makes it clear that a godless society will never be better than a society that exalts God and what He has “written,” without coercion. It defines what is wicked and sinful. It unequivocally informs us that everyone needs Jesus Christ, to be saved from sin and its penalty, to be changed for the better, and to be a much better doer of all that “is written,” than to be a slick debater.

To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans.       

The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave - A Word for 4th of July

My Father-in-law used to ask me, “Do they have 4th of July in Germany?” The answer is yes and no. Yes, Germans do have July 4th on their calendar. No, there is no celebration of the birth of a new nation, of stripping off the shackles of the British crown. It was a gutsy move, declaring independence from the superpower known as the British Empire. It has always taken great courage to demand and declare freedom, especially from tyranny.

Remember Moses' words echoing in Pharaoh’s hall, “Let my people go!” Or the famous words “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness” that the signers of the Declaration of Independence announced to King George III, who like Pharaoh, had no intention to yield to their cry for freedom.

Gaining freedom, securing independence is the first struggle, but it is not the last. What you do with the newfound liberty will determine both who will benefit from it and how long it will last. Bold, idealistic, and good words, “all men are created equal.” But even while the ink was drying on their signatures their present reality did not include Blacks, Native Americans, women, and others in this equal.

To this day it has been a very slow and arduous struggle extend the full measure of “inalienable rights” to all. We must ask ourselves why humanity has struggled with liberty throughout history? The answer is twofold, the first being pragmatic the second spiritual. It is very inconvenient for those in power to grant rights and liberties to all. Power loves power far more than freedom. Freedom of speech, of assembly, of the press, of religion, of bearing arms, of economics doesn’t lend itself to governmental control. Granting personal rights like privacy, due process, owning property, trial by peers, voting, etc. is just too messy and allows for too much opposition, just ask Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-Un, Nicolas Maduro, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Mohammad Bin Salman, Ali Khamenei…

The root of humankind’s struggle with liberty, however, is spiritual, the reality of human depravity/sinfulness, and the existence of evil and the Evil One/Satan. Neither one of these realities is popular today, in fact, more often than not they are scoffed at and dismissed as being out of touch. But doing so puts one at odds with our country’s Founding Fathers, who were thoroughly steeped in Protestant theology and did not think that Biblical anthropology was anything to be sneered at. It was these spiritual realities that fueled their distrust of power and influenced them to design a governmental system of divided powers and rights codified in law, striving to protect them from the whims of leaders and the power of the majority.

They didn’t like what Jesus told them, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." They basically replied with, “We are free! We are part of the free and the brave! We don’t need anyone to liberate us - to set us free!” Jesus didn’t back down, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” John 8:31-36 (NIV).
They didn’t care for that truth at all, because human depravity despises God, looks to free itself from God, “The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the LORD and against his anointed one (Jesus Christ). ‘Let us break their chains,’ they cry, ‘and free ourselves from slavery to God’” Psalm 2:2-3 (NLT2, parenthesis mine).

As we find ourselves in very tumultuous times this 4th of July, as we celebrate our incredible gift of liberty, we will do well to remember that to both navigate through these times, and to preserve precious liberties we are wise to draw to God collectively and address our own depravity personally through Jesus Christ, because no one is really free unless “The Son sets you free.” May we thank and glorify God this 4th of July.

Love you, Pastor Hans           

Time to Clear the Log Jam

It is always easier to point at the speck in another person’s eye than dealing with the log in your own, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's/sister’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's/sister’s eye” Matthew 7:1-5 (NIV, italics mine).

While fighting for “liberty and justice for all” (a noble and right cause) we don’t get to address one wrong only to justify another. We don’t get to stand up against vilifying one group of people only to turn around and to vilify another group. We don’t get to preach love for one another and turn around and okay hating police officers. Specks give us fuzzy vision, but logs render us blind. Jesus tells us to remember that we don’t get to fight injustice and be unjust ourselves, we don’t get to fight abuse of power by abusing power, we don’t get require of others what we do not require of ourselves, we don’t get to fight for equality under the law while being lawless ourselves, we don’t get hold others responsible while being irresponsible ourselves, we don’t get to blame others and not deal with our own logs.

The log-eyed have it right now, on the political right and left, on the liberal and conservative end. You can’t say that black lives matter, or that we need to treat immigrants like Jesus would, without an immediate backlash, being denounced, dismissed as liberal, and even being hated. You can’t stand up for policemen/women and law enforcement officers, the vast majority doing a very difficult job with integrity, without an immediate backlash, being accused of just not getting it, dismissed as being uniformed, and even being hated. You can’t stand up for Colin Kaepernick and his right to kneel without being accused of being unpatriotic, and you can’t stand up for Biblical/traditional marriage without being denounced as homophobic or a hater. The sad reality of this is that the very thing both sides passionately clamor for, liberty and justice, is being lost.

I believe Jesus is weeping as He is looking down like He did over the Jerusalem of his day (Luke 19:41). They were coming to John the Baptist in droves, hungry for national change, hoping God was going to something big (Luke 3:1-14). John tore into them, their hypocrisy of wanting change without changing themselves, for trying to act pious while abusing power. He told them God would cut down the logs (them) and hold them responsible.

“What do we need to do?” they wanted to know.

“Take personal responsibility and use your extra not to hoard but to help, be part of creating equity! To improve people’s lives," he told them. “Don’t abuse your public office and the power it gives you to twist the rules and exploit it for personal gain,” he fired back at the tax collectors. “Don’t abuse your badge, don’t abuse the power that comes with your uniform, don’t pervert justice,” he spelled it out for the soldiers (the police in their day).

He was confronting them all because just like today, log-eyedness was ruling the day, creating the narratives, fostering endless finger-pointing, justifying lawlessness, flaunting hypocritical piety (both religious and political), excusing personal responsibility, and twisting or ignoring what is right before God. So, what about them logs, that blind our eyes, darken our minds, justify our wrongs, shape our actions?

A great place to start dealing with them is Jesus’ longest recorded sermon, called the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5-7 (Its shorter parallel is found in Luke 6:20-49). I think it tells us a lot about what God dreams of regarding our personal lives, culture, and society. In the end, Jesus makes it plain that merely hearing/reading and trying to understand, though necessary, are is not enough. We must catch the vision of it, the hope of it, the necessity of it, the rightness of it, and then radically live it.

To God be all glory.

Love you, Pastor Hans

Christians at the Ballot Box – Voting with Your Ballot, Voting with Your Life

Christians at the Ballot Box – Voting with Your Ballot, Voting with Your LifeChristians throughout history have gotten into hot water because being a Christian means being a citizen of heaven, of the kingdom of God, with Christ as king, “… our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ …” Philippians 3:20 (ESV). We value this citizenship above all others and our allegiance to Christ and his kingdom supersedes all other allegiances we might have. This is why Christians have been accused of treason and being disloyal to their country and earthly citizenship(s). This is why Christians have disobeyed laws that violated the laws and values of the kingdom of God and Christ the King. This is why the followers of Jesus have refused to blindly hitch their wagon to particular political movements, and never feel fully comfortable and at home until the return of our king. This is why true followers of Jesus seek his approval and the implementation of his will in all and above all else and are willing to pay the price this allegiance exacts in its interactions with the kingdoms and authorities of this world.I am privileged to hold two earthly citizenships (United States and German); both of them are coveted by people around the world. It says something when people want to come to our land and neighborhoods. It means we are privileged and blessed to have abundance, opportunity, liberty, and a measure of peace, otherwise they would not want to come. According to the values of our heavenly citizenship that gives both the opportunity do good and the responsibility to share (1 Timothy 6:17-19).The Apostle Paul also held two earthly citizenships (Jewish and Roman). The one that was coveted in his day was Roman Citizenship. The Bible records a conversation between Paul and a Roman Commander who was about to treat and punish him like Non-Roman, “The commander went to Paul and asked, ‘Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?’ ‘Yes, I am,’ he answered. Then the commander said, ‘I had to pay a big price for my citizenship.’ ‘But I was born a citizen,’ Paul replied (Acts 22:27-28 (NIV). Obviously, his Roman citizenship was advantageous to Paul and he did not hesitate to make use of what it afforded him, it was a privilege that he was born into, he was blessed with, and one which he did not abuse but instead used for the purposes of God. Neither his Jewish heritage and citizenship nor his Roman citizenship were his highest allegiance, his heavenly citizenship was. In fact, he didn’t think that they even came close to comparing (Read all of Philippians 3). In the end, it was his allegiance to Christ and his heavenly citizenship that brought him into conflict and cost him his life. He rightly thought it was worth it.Hopefully, you will take your earthly/US citizenship seriously enough fulfill the responsibility of your right to vote come November 6^th, but when you fill out your ballot, do so as a citizen of the kingdom of heaven, reflecting the will and honor of Christ and his kingdom.To God be all glory. Vote! Pastor Hans  

Abram - Church - and Spiritual Maturity

Abram – the Church- and Spiritual MaturityWhat you live for and what you’d you die for says a lot about you. Maybe even more importantly who you live for and who you would die for. It tells of what is important to you, who is most important to you, what you’re passionate about, whom and what you value, what is most precious to you, what you hold most dear, what means the most to you.Abram (most of us know him as Abraham) needed to sort something out with Lot his nephew. Both men were very wealthy but they needed to separate their ranching businesses. Abram, the older, told Lot to pick, “If you go right I’ll go left. If you go east I’ll go west.” The first thing Abram did in his new location was set up an altar to worship God. Lot picked what was easier and also better for the bottom line and settled close to Sodom. Sodom promptly got invaded, lost the war, and Lot and family ended up as captives, plundered of their wealth. As soon as Abram heard of it he organized a force to go and rescue Lot and the other captured people. After the battle Abram encountered Melchizedek the priest of God and made and offering, he gave a tenth (tithe) of all the spoils to him. The king of Sodom asked Abram to just give him his people back and told him to keep all their retrieved possessions. But Abram refused - he wanted no part of the stuff of the people of Sodom; he knew it came with strings attached (if you want the details, read Genesis 13-14). Now what does this tell us about Abram, who and what he was living for and who and what he was willing to die for?

• He didn’t live for stuff; he wasn’t greedy. He was willing to settle for less, was generous, and didn’t want other folks’ things.
• He cared about peace and was willing to humble himself for it, sacrifice the easy for it, take the shorter end of the stick for it.
• Seeking and worshipping God came first, even in a new place.
• He loved family; he was willing to die in the effort to rescue Lot.
• Honoring God with his wealth was important to him; the blessing of God was important to him.
• He valued his freedom; He didn’t want to beholden to anyone but God.

So what does Abram have to do with the church? He illustrates that true men and women of God live for and are willing die for certain things, they chose to live by different values - by things important to God. Few things are as important to Jesus as his church; he died for it, “… Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her” Ephesians 5:25 (NLT). Jesus considers the church his bride - family, no wonder he was willing to lay down his life for her. Growing in our relationship with God, maturing in our faith in Christ means that, like Abram/Abraham, we increasingly love what Jesus loves, we more and more live for what is important to God, and we order our lives around what God values.Join a sound church today. Love you, Pastor Hans  

Veterans' Day Thanks

On Monday I was driving past Merced Junior College on Yosemite Avenue. On the front lawn there was a display of rows and rows of American flags in preparation for Veterans Day. It caused me to slow down and remember how much I have benefited from the service of American soldiers. Before I was born, it was American servicemen and women who turned the tide against Hitler’s plans of evil and world tyranny; it was American soldiers who safeguarded a completely unarmed and vulnerable West Germany from the spread and domination of Soviet communism. It was American military might that was the deterrent throughout the Cold War and afforded me to grow up with all the liberties that Americans hold dear. All these many veterans have impacted my life; have afforded me choices I might not otherwise have had.Driving by the Veterans Day flag memorial I also thought of the American Army Soldiers my Dad invited into our home to spend Christmas with us. It was a program sponsored by the nearby army base. My Dad always requested a black soldier because for one they were harder to place and because he wanted us grow up with less prejudice than he did. He wanted us to see beyond skin color, something that became important to him through his involvement with the YMCA in the early post WWII years. Remember there was still a draft in those years. Those young men might have served for all kinds of reasons, and certainly they little or nothing to do with the larger political machinations that impacted and determined their lives, but neither did I. What I do know is I have immeasurably benefited from their lives and service.Now I am old enough to run into veterans whom I taught in school, coached in basketball or soccer, took to camps, and/or pastured as they grew up in Don Pedro. I have brother-in-laws who have retired from military service. I have talked with, counseled, and pray with Veterans with deep scars and burdens. I lead a little church and Sunday after Sunday there are Veterans who come to worship to pray, to learn to live like Jesus. I have a sense of indebtedness, of deep gratitude because of the impact they have had on my life, my family, my opportunities, and my safety.It is easy to forget how deeply we are tied to history, to who and what came before us, to forget how intertwined our lives are with the lives of others right now; to forget that much of the good and best in our lives is connected to the service of others; to forget how much we benefit from battles others have fought; to forget God has assigned us all to be contributors to history and will hold us accountable as such; to forget to be grateful and contribute ourselves to a better world, to freedom, to safety, to justice, to civic courage, and to honor. So I give thanks to God for each Veteran who has and is contributing like that; may God bless you.To God be all glory, Pastor Hans  

Of Wind, Fear, Ignorance, and Hard-hearted Christians

Of Wind, Fear, Ignorance, and Hard-hearted ChristiansAnd when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land.  And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them,  but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out,  for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”  And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. Mark 6:47-52 (ESV)Jesus’ followers, his disciples, Christians are supposed to have growing, tender, compassionate, merciful, and visionary hearts and minds, but the disciples’ hearts “were hardened,” their understanding was lacking. Why?

1. The winds were contrary – Giving in

It is frustrating when you are rowing for hours and aren’t getting anywhere, when you get blown backwards the second you relax. We live in times of   contrary winds, in constant gusts of fear, terror, senselessness, corruption, and violence. It is easy to have your heart grow hard there, to simply give   yourself over to the direction of the winds of our times, to be swept up by nationalism, racism, extremism, or escapism and apathy.

2. They saw a “ghost” - Returning to old scripts and ways

They went right back to thinking and reacting like they would have before they met Jesus, to who they were and believed before they responded to   Jesus’ call to follow him. They returned to their version of syncretism, their preferred spiritual drink made up of the religion they were raised in, their       cultural superstitions, and their personal fears. Just like us, they chucked all they knew about Jesus, all he had taught them, all the experiences they had with him, the moment something looked and felt frightening. I am amazed at how many of my brothers and sisters and Christ are falling headlong to         the frightening things of our day, to the rhetoric of fear, to the thinking we have to old onto all that is dear to us before we lose it all and in the process have no vision and hunger for Christ’s kingdom, which is marked by love, justice, life, and all things of eternal value. Jesus first words to his tired,             frustrated, and frightened disciples was, “It’s me! Don’t be afraid.”

3. They did not understand – they had not learned from the past

They failed to connect what Jesus had just demonstrated to them earlier in the day to their present situation, to their fears, and to override their old    ways of seeing and responding to things. They really did not understand, but Jesus thought they should have. Christians should know by now that    the results are disastrous, bloody, cruel, and outright evil when nationalism, racism, atheism, and extremism is let out of the box, even, or especially, if it is mixed with a little Bible. They should have known that     Jesus could and would take care of them that they had nothing to fear, that he who sent them to go across the lake would also get them there regardless of the winds, regardless of their fears, and regardless of how difficult things were.So how are the winds of our time affecting you my brothers and sisters in Christ? How filled with fear, trepidation, and negativity are you? Which voices are you listening to, who has your ear? Are you applying the lessons Jesus has taught you in both life and the scriptures to the present, to your fears, to the current issues, to your politics, to your engagement with our world as a servant of Jesus? Or are you adjusting scripture to accommodate your easier sailing, to give your fears free reign, to excuse your negativity, to settle for something less than Christ’s kingdom, to justify the unjust, to mix the drink you like and have always liked? Is your understanding of Christ and his kingdom (rule) growing, is your heart growing softer?Regardless of the frightening winds of our time Jesus still says to us, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans  

God Bless America

God Bless AmericaMay God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selahthat your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. SelahLet the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us.God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him! Psalm 67:1-7 (ESV)It is a good thing to seek God’s blessing. We are much better off when God’s “good hand” is on us individually and collectively, and conversely, we are never in greater trouble than when God stretches out his hand against us. Which means God’s blessing is not automatic and he gets to decide the whom, what, when, and how of his blessings.There is no problem with God’s blessing; the problems are in how we handle God’s blessings. We are not superior to the ancient Israelites who excelled at squandering God’s blessings, who didn’t use their liberty to liberate others, who didn’t use their prosperity to bless others, who when they received justice were not compelled to seek justice for others. God’s blessing did not inspire them to be more generous, more compassionate, more selfless, more forward looking, and more devoted to each other and to God. God’s blessing did not compel them to check their greed, their pride, their lusts, and their bend towards idolatry. In the end they fooled themselves into thinking that God was going to bless them because they were more special, “chosen,” “children of Abraham,” or in our case citizens of “the land of the free and the brave.”Have you ever thought about how much more blessed we could be if we would only orient ourselves more on God, who as you read above, “judges the peoples with equity.” How much blessing have we squandered because we have not paid attention to just this one characteristic of God? There was no blessing in the treatment and genocide of Native Americans, prosperity, yes, but blessing no (remember the wicked do know how to prosper, Psalm 73:3, Job 21:7). Slavery held no blessing, but much profit. Segregation was not a snapshot of heaven. The wholesale legalization of abortion was not a victory but devalued and an entire segment of humanity among us and stripped it them of the most basic right, the right to life. There is no blessing in our staggering accumulation of debt, but it does expose our corruption, our greed, our inability to live within our means, and trusting our own wisdom more than God’s.  The need for affordable health care is not a problem for the rich, but it is for the poor, working families, and millions elderly, there is no blessing in not fixing this inequity. We squander blessing for both ourselves and the generations that follow us when we do not act towards the orphan, the widow, the poor, the alien (the foreigners among us), the weak, the oppressed, and the mistreated the way God does. We cannot with sincerity ask for God’s blessing and not desire that blessing for our “neighbor” (Luke 10:25-36).  We cannot with sincerity ask for God’s blessing and exclude him from public life, mock him in our culture, and reduce him to one among many gods. We are not immune to both burning through the inheritance left to us and adding to the list of things that are devoid of God’s blessing.We should seek God’s blessing, it is unequivocally the right thing to do for us, for others, for the future, and before God. You and I should with all of hearts seek God’s blessing for America, so we will bless him, so He will receive the praise and honor he deserves, so we will “leave an inheritance” of blessing to our children’s children (Proverbs 13:22), an inheritance that is about more than prosperity, more than self, but instead perpetuates, “equal,” “the pursuit of happiness,” and “liberty and justice for all” (all truly meaning all, including all people and peoples).” Only then can we legitimately be called good and godly, only then can we sing, “God bless America,” and it be more than a patriotic sentiment but a sincere request of Almighty God. O that “all the ends of the earth would fear him,” know him, praise him, and worship him.May God bless the United States of America. Love you Pastor Hans