Spring Is Here!

Spring is here so what about your faith? Is it springing into action?  Are its buds swelling and opening with new blossoms of blessing?  Are those flowers leading to a fruitful year?

I ask myself these questions each spring around Easter. With the promise of the resurrection fresh in our minds, what is God going to accomplish in our lives?  He offers new life and challenges to us daily.  Why not look to Him for the answers.

God’s pleasure is for us to share our faith with others. Jesus' parting words to us in Matthew were to go and make disciples.  I’m convinced this is the missing component for Christians today. We complain about our secular culture, but are we doing anything to transform it?

A few months ago in our town, a group of well-meaning but misguided believers visited the public school superintendent’s office making a demand with a letter from a Christian attorney. That is not the best way to make friends. In fact it created a hostile atmosphere.  Two months ago, myself and two other pastors visited with the High School principals and apologized for the previous encounter. This put them at ease; and we then discussed the idea of moving the traditional high school graduations held on Sunday to later in the day.  The graduations cut into one of the pastor’s worship services as her worship leader is a music teacher with the schools.   One high school principal mentioned that he would prefer graduation be on Friday.  That is something I have desired as well.  Then we mentioned that for the past seven years we have enjoyed a Sharefest project to assist the schools.  During Sharefest the Christians of our community go out and do service projects in the community for anyone who asks.  That led to one of the principals telling us how badly the High School baseball fence needed painting.  So on Saturday, May 3^rd, we will be painting that fence.  That meeting began to repair damaged fences and warm an icy relationship between the faith community and the schools. And it will continue to show the love of Jesus in practical ways and thus provide future opportunities for us to share our values as people of faith.    

Rethinking Homosexuality

Homosexuality has become such a divisive issue as of late that I think it is time to rethink it briefly.  Some think it is the worse sin imaginable truly an abomination before the Lord.  Others assert because of our progressive society that we should overwhelmingly accept their chosen lifestyle as legitimate and healthy. And there are others, the vast majority, who fall in between. 

This is not an easy issue to address since the Bible condemns it.  But the Bible also condemns adultery, cohabitation and even pornography.   In fact the Bible prohibits any form of sexual expression outside of the marriage relationship between a man and a woman.  Now that may sound narrow and old fashioned but it is what the Bible says.

So I asked myself, “How would Jesus respond to homosexuals?”  I believe he would respond the same way as he did with the tax collectors and prostitutes, “the sinners,” of his day.  He would love and spend time with them caring for their needs.  I remember the story of the woman caught in adultery and Jesus told her to go and sin no more.  He did not condemn her.  Neither did he condemn the Samaritan woman at the well when he told her she had been married five times and the one she was currently with was not her husband.  She went home and told her family she had met the Messiah the one who gave her living water through which she would never be thirsty gain. 

So what can we do?  We need to remember the homosexual as well as the heterosexual are both image bearers of God and both are fallen creatures.  All image bearers have inestimable dignity, therefore, that we need to acknowledge and affirm.  Let’s tone down the defamatory rhetoric and opt for truth couched in love.  Jesus told his Jewish listeners, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”   Since Jesus was that truth, some accepted it but many rejected it.  For those who rejected it, unfortunately, they remained in their prison of falsehood.  I believe we as Christians need to show homosexuals we love them.  We need to back it up with marriages that are healthy and strong.  And we need to present the truth in such a way that will set them free from the falsehood they have bought in to from society. 

So what about those who come out of the homosexual lifestyle and continue to struggle with feelings and longing for the same sex?  Let’s affirm and accept them the same we do with people who were once addicted to drugs and continue to struggle.  Let’s open our lives and churches sharing the truth of Jesus with them in love and acceptance and grace.  As I look at this issue, I’m convinced that’s what Jesus would do and have me do.  

The Gun Control Debate

Now that our President has issued 23 different gun-control initiatives, I thought it was time to chime in. We can all agree that the Newtown, Conn. and the Aurora theater shootings and all the others are horrific events that we ought to put our minds together to prevent. And that is what I am proposing in this post. No one segment of the issue is going to resolve the problem. If we believe, for example that gun control is the answer, then we are being hopelessly myopic. While gun control is an issue, it is not the central issue. It is peripheral as are violent entertainment, mental disorders, and poor parenting. I believe representatives of each need to come together to focus on the central issue. That issue is sin. As a Christian I believe if we focus on sin bearing in mind the salient concerns of each of the peripheral issues, we can come together to prevent tragedies like these in the future. So here is my proposal. President Obama, Sen. Harry Reid, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi need to sit at the same table as Speaker John Boehner and other leaders from the Republican party. The NRA needs to be present as well as leaders from the entertainment industry. Also they need representatives from the mental health and medical professions and both conservative and liberal theologians from Christianity, Judaism and Islam to tackle the present darkness of evil that is plaguing our land. Only then will initiatives based on broad input from our society be effective in preventing future tragedies.

Perseverance

Perseverance! When you hear that word what comes to mind? Hang in there. Keep going. Don’t quit. My question is, however, why don’t we see it much in our society today? Could it be that we have the wrong idea of what perseverance is and the way to achieve it? For the ancient Greeks perseverance was an admirable virtue. For the Hebrews in the Old Testament, they exercised perseverance as they waited for God to deliver them from distress. Likewise Christians in the New Testament persevered as they waited for the Second Coming of Jesus. Yet for all these people, perseverance was never passive but active. And it was always persevering in the right thing not the wrong value or way to accomplish it. 2 Peter gives us some assistance in understanding perseverance. In chapter 1 verse 6 it says to add to self-control perseverance. Perseverance and self-control are seven virtues listed in this passage that we are to add to faith. Peter encouraged the believers he was addressing to have an active, outward faith; not an inward, hidden belief system. For us when people see real perseverance through active faith in our society, they will take notice. You might be wondering how to persevere? You can’t do it by effort alone. You need faith. I love to climb mountains and something strange happens about 13,000 feet for me. With my heart pounding, my lungs gasping for air and my legs burning as I wipe the sweat from my forehead, I usually get a second wind that carries me to the top. Faith is your second wind. As you persevere, God will make sure you have what you need to accomplish the purpose he has for you. But you have to persevere by faith. In fact faith is the key to the Christian life. Without faith it is impossible to please God, the writer of Hebrews tells us. Our desire then is to act on what we know to show real faith and perseverance. What do you need to persevere in today? Take it to the Lord in prayer and then just do it but by faith!

Risky Business

I believe God want us to take risks in sharing our faith. If we can do something on our own, then, why call on God at all. The past few years I have been praying for endeavors only God can do. For example on October 6 our church is planning a Rocky Mountain Rendezvous from 1:00-6:00 pm. It will be an afternoon of fun and games surrounding mountain man and Native American themes. We will have log tossing, a two-man cross cut saw competition, hatchet throwing, knife throwing and their activities for children like gunny sack races. This was the dream of one of our deacons Ken Kiehlbauch. We have invited Native American Pastor James Skeets to open the afternoon and then close it with an evangelistic appeal. Music will be playing and food, including Indian fry bread, will be available throughout the event. We are currently inviting all of Montrose to attend the event. This event is so much larger than our church. It will take everyone in our church and then some to pull it off. I think that’s the way God wants it. 2 Peter 1:5 says, “Make every effort to add to your faith goodness.” I’m convinced our efforts at goodness will reveal our faith in fresh ways to our community. 2 Peter 1:3 tells us we already have everything we need. So why add goodness to faith? We have the privilege of revealing God’s goodness through expressions of faith. His goodness in us become our expressions of goodness to others. So let be like Gideon in the Bible who had his army pared down from thousands to 300 so God would get the credit in the defeat of the formidable Midianites. Where does God what you to practice risky faith?

Uniqueness

Douglas (DJ) Alden Stuart II was a unique individual. He was truly one of a kind. He died last Tuesday, May 29, 2012, at the age of 27-years-old. He was one of my son’s, Nathan’s, best friends. As Nate put on is Facebook page, “Today I lost a lifetime friend.” So did I. The pencil drawing is by one of DJ’s best friends Thomas Rockwell. That’s the DJ I knew! DJ was born in 1984 after the tragic death of his father, Doug, in a mountain climbing accident. DJ had multiple health issues all of his life but he did not let it stop him. Emblazed on his hands were the tattooed words “hold fast.”

I think of lyrics of the chorus in the Mercy Me’s song, Hold Fast. They are as follows: Hold fast Help is on the way Hold fast He's come to save the day What I've learned in my life One thing greater than my strife Is His grasp So hold fast. DJ held fast all of his life. In recent years he started a non-profit called New Empire Apparel (www.newempireapparel.com) They sell t-shirts to raise funds for needy children and youth who are experiencing severe and life-threatening health issues. Faithfully DJ held fast to the comfort God gave him by offering that same comfort to so many. He had a wonderful sense of humor. When I graduated from seminary in 1991, DJ and his mother Mary came out to Colorado to help us celebrate. As we were driving through southern Colorado, DJ (7-years-old at the time) asked Nate (8-years-old), “Hey Nate. What about those Baywatch babes.” DJ always loved girls and had many who were his friends that stayed by his bedside the week before he passed away into his real home in heaven. We met DJ as a baby when my wife, Mary, started to take care of DJ for his mother, Mary, so she could work. Every morning he would persistently ask, “Where’s Nate?” He knew where he was and would promptly go into Nate’s room and wake him up. DJ honored my son by traveling to Colorado in June of 2008 to serve as Nate’s best man as Nate married the love of his life, Megan. The day before the wedding DJ was in our ICU struggling to breath. He told everyone I’m the best man and I’m in the wedding tomorrow and that he was. I thank DJ and his mother Mary for being at every significant event of our lives through the years and across the miles. This eulogy is appropriate for my Creations Musings blog for DJ was a unique individual who gave his life and experiences, painful and pleasurable, wholly to the Lord. I’m going to miss him and I intend to remain unique as God created me. What about you?

Radical or Respectable?

Those two terms seems to be mutually exclusive. Radical means someone who favors making economic, political or social changes of an extreme or sweeping nature (Encarta def.). Respectable, on the other hand, means in accordance with accepted standards of correctness or decency (Encarta def.). So it poses a conundrum at first blush that is hard to resolve.

One of my favorite Old Testament prophets was Elijah. He was radical especially when he challenged the 450 prophets of Baal. Thus he challenged the religious consensus of the community and defeated them as God came through in a huge way by fully consuming his sacrifice. Just prior to this the prophets of Baal failed to do the same when they called on their god. Then I think of John the Baptist who was radical as well as he served as the forerunner to Jesus proclaiming that all people needed to repent as he wore clothing made of camel’s hair and ate locusts and wild honey; hardly a socially acceptable man. Then there was Jesus who chose to dine with prostitutes, tax collectors and other sinners. He had no place to call his home and often slept outside. That does not sound respectable to me either. Yet there was the apostle Paul who engaged the philosophers of Athens in debate about their “unknown god.” He then proclaimed who this God was using some of their own poetry to attract them. Most rejected what Paul had to say but some accepted the message while others needed to think about it and return to the discussion later. Paul, it appears, was more respectable than radical. All these men, however, had a radical message. That message was the same: Repent of your sins and receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior who paid the penalty for your sin on the cross. When you do that you will receive a relationship with God who loves you and has been waiting for you to return to him on his terms, not yours. So I believe God wants us to be both radical and respectable. Peter told his readers to give the reason for the hope they have with gentleness and respect. It is interesting that we find that in a context of persecution. How much more, then, are we challenged to be respectable when we give the radical good news about Jesus to people who need him? I challenge you to be both today.