a consuming fire

I remember as a young whipper-snapper that a group of us went to Green Bay to see the Packers practice. As a little boy this was a big deal, a real cheeseheads dream. You could see the big stars practice. The players would ride in on their bikes, high five the kids, stop for autographs. I got to meet actual players. I still haven’t washed my right hand!? Thousands of people would flock around the practice field just to get a glimpse of their favorite football player. We are all excited to get a glimpse into the lives of the rich and famous, get a sneak peak at the summers hot new blockbuster, and more.

I wonder what would your response be to getting a glimpse of God?

1. Fear God’s Holiness (Hebrews 12:18-21)

Modern people are not accustomed to fearing God. Fearing God is something primitive people do—along with bowing down to the sun and sacrificing virgins to volcanoes.

Even Christian people are not used to fearing God. You might say, “That sounds way too Old Testament. What about the love and grace of God? After all, John says: “Perfect love casts out fear.” Fear is for the spiritually immature, right?”

There’s a tendency for modern folk to think in terms of God offering man a contract—agreement between equals. “You’re ok, I’m ok. Every thing is ok.” NOT!! Ancients did not make that mistake. The 10 Commands were like terms of a treaty—the kind made between the conqueror and the conquered. No complaining or bargaining. Accept the terms unconditionally.

SHOULD WE FEAR THE LORD?

Let’s look at what the Bible says:

• “The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov.1:7; 5:21; 8:13; 9:10).
• “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecc.12:13)
• “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the LORD of hosts, Him you shall regard as holy. Let him be your fear, and let Him be your dread” (Isa. 8:12-13)

You say, “That’s all from the OT!” What about Phil.2:1? “work out your salvation with fear and trembling”

The meaning of fearing God comes into clearer focus if we can imagine what it would be like to actually see God. This hasn’t happened too many times, but it is awesome to have an unfiltered experience with the living God! Isaiah said, “woe is me. I am a man of unclean lips,” (6:1-5) and when John saw the awesomeness of Christ and fell at His feet as a dead man (Rev.1:9-18).

When I was a kid I randomly bumped into things. My mom finally realized after multiple bruising that I needed glasses. I where glasses to see and protect me from potential danger. Fearing the Lord protects me from destruction. Sin makes me dumb. Following God is so smart.

The Bible clearly commands us to fear the Lord. It is a mixture of terror and awe, not just reverence and respect. Fear of the Lord is an appropriate response to the practical awareness of who I am before God. John Piper says, “To fear God is to view God as so powerful and awesome that I would not dare run from Him, but to Him.”

When I was in high school I took a ski-trip with my step-dad out West. We skied a lot. I have one memory that sticks out in my mind. On our last day we went to Copper Mountain (12,300ft.) We decided to take a trip to the summit. The ski lift got us close, but we still had about a half-mile climb to get to the peak. I thought I was going to die. When we got to the summit it was an amazing experience (“This is the sanctuary of God”). You could see for miles, the air was brisk, and God’s glory was awesome. I remember crying out to God. Then it dawned on me we had to go down this mountain. The only way down was to jump about a 20-foot cliff to the powdery slope. I had the feeling of terror mixed with wonder was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. This must have been something like the Israelites’ experience with the living God–terror mixed with wonder. It was something God did not want Israel to forget.

Who is your God? Is He feared? One day you will appear before this God. Every person who has ever lived will appear before Him. You think you will tell Him how you’ve been a good boy or girl; or give Him a piece of your mind for how your live went on earth. No, you will approach Him in fear and trembling. You will be there, we will all be there. This is the God we will meet. The story doesn’t end there. Ready for some good news? There is this holy God “but…”

2. Gratitude for God’s Grace (12:22-24)

The amazing grace showered on you when you come to the God:

• to Mount Zion—we may come to a literal mountain in Jerusalem that represented the heavenly Zion
• to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem—but we come to the dwelling of God.
• to innumerable angels in festal gathering—we come backed by a 10,000 x 10,0000=100,000,000 (minimum) member choir of angels in their party clothes.
• and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven—the believers, church (ecclesia), any firstborns here today? All receive a special rank and privilege. We will be “enrolled in the Book of Life (Rev.3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15) If you are not enrolled you are not there!
• and to God, the judge of all—God is there.
• to the spirits of the righteous made perfect—we will be like Christ! All that things that bug me about you, and you about me will not be there!!
• and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant—HE IS THE CENTERPIECE OF HEAVEN. We come to see the One and Only, the Supreme, who gave us the New Covenant. We come to our Savior and Redeemer.
• and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel—we come through the Atoning blood of Christ through which we have forgiveness of sins. Christ’s sacrifice was better than Abel’s (cf. Gen.4:10). Though Abel’s sacrifice (and ours) is acceptable to God because of faith—it has no atoning power (it represented judgment and vengeance). Jesus’ is (Col.1:20).

Whoohoo! That will be the day!! Are you grateful for the work of Christ? Do you know the God of Mount Zion? (1 Jn. “These things were written that you might know you have eternal life through Jesus Christ”) Do you know that you know that you know Him. Forgiveness and repentance in Christ!

How should I respond to this holiness and grace of God?

3. Worship by Total Submission (12:25-29)

My Response (v.25): I will do what He says. When He says jump, “I will say how high?”

My Response (vs.26-29): I will worship. I give my best to God, I give my first to God, I reserve the most to God. I honor Him, respect Him, awe Him. I do not walk through life casually, placing a checkmark on my fridge that I went to church today. I totally submit to Him and worship for our God is a consuming fire.

Getting a glimpse of God means…
I fear God’s holiness: Do you fear God? Does it show up in your actions?
I have gratitude for God’s grace: Are you thankful for His mercy?
I worship by total submission: Do you worship Him as a living sacrifice?

real men cry

Real men cry: a study of lamentation

Sure men cry. I am not talking about the tear shed from watching Bambi, a favorite chick flick, seeing your team lose the Super Bowl or cutting an onion for dinner. What about the true gut wrenching weep of sorrow. Men can be painfully shy. To pouring out their hearts before God to be seen as less than masculine.

What I am talking about is sacred sorrow. The kind of sorrow you have at injustice or self-inflicted judgment and the only thing you can turn to is God. The book of Lamentations is a fitting thesis for sacred sorrow. The theme of Lamentations is the God who is Righteous and Faithful. The author of these poems is a real dude who is really crying. And you can see why:

The scene depicted in Lamentations is so bad that the author has to find some simile to relate to what is reality. He can still smell the rot and hear the wailing of horrific bloodshed. Jerusalem is desolate. Jerusalem is pictured as a lonely widow, weeping the death of her beloved. She once was a queen, full of splendor, invisible to attack, but now is a abandoned as a slave. She is like a raped virgin that has been rejected and cannot find anyone to comfort her. No one is invincible to God’s wrath, not even His own people. The question is not “why” has this affliction occurred for the people know God is punishing their sin.

God who was seemingly absent is now back with vengeance as an angry “enemy” who has “cast down the splendor of Israel” and “in his anger has set the daughter of Zion under a cloud!” (2:1) God who had once protective presence upon His people had now become a fierce storm cloud of anger. He use to fight for them, but now He is against them as their enemy as He has “thrown Israel down without pity” (2:17).

And then in the midst or ruin and rubble comes the turning point of the lament. A glimmer of hope. Exhausted towards God His enemy (3:18) the author pours out one of the richest lines of hope in God (3:22-24):

“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 author praises God despite being bruised and bloody, hungry and destitute. “It is good to wait quietly for Him…to hope in Him…to seek Him.” Can you get any more realistic than this? There is hope in a God who is his enemy, but whose “compassion never fails.” The author may be left alone in silence, may have to bury his face in the dust or give his cheek to the one who strikes, but God promises “men are not cast off by the Lord forever.” (3:28-31)

The author acknowledges that they are now orphans, weary, hungry, bearing the punishment for their fathers sins, women are ravished, princes hung by their hands, ruled by slaves, joy has ceased, and their dancing has turned to mourning. He pleads in prayer to the the LORD to “remember” them (5:1) that they might be “restored” (5:21). In the midst of their cataclysmic circumstances there is hope in the LORD who “reigns forever” and whose “throne endures to all generations” (5:19). This God, the only God, is again to begin again with the people.

What can we learn from Lamentations?

A theology of Suffering from A to Z. Lamentations reveals a complete and exhaustive expression of sorrow. The suffering of Lamentations explains the ways of God to humanity. Human suffering always brings about probing questions about God. The faith of many Jews must have been shattered by the events of Jerusalem’s destruction for they believed that Jerusalem was invisible and that God’s temple could not be destroyed because He dwelt there.

Lamentations gives us a glimpse into individual suffering (Ch.3) and national suffering (Ch.5). Lamentations that helps us gain a perspective on suffering when we see the famine, warfare and genocide in places like Cambodia, Columbine, Congo, and countless others. Suffering can make you bitter towards God or better understand God’s purposes.1 From the personalization of the author and front-row-seat depictions of the nations suffering we see suffering mixed with hope. Lamentations is a “theodicy”: despair amid suffering should always give root to hope in the presence and rule of God. Here are some principles Lamentation offers as a theology on suffering, when suffering comes:

• Confess your sins (1:5, 8, 18, 20, 22).
• Recognize who is the Judge (2:1-8, 17).
• Give special attention to God’s leaders (4:16).
• Pray for the future (5:1, 21-22).
• Hope in God (3:21-42).

A Balance between God’s Righteousness and Hesed. Throughout the painful memories of Lamentations God’s righteousness is never throw to the wayside. God’s judgment is not viewed as wrong by those who strolled through Jerusalem’s ashes, rather they see their sinful ways. God keeps His promises of punishment for disobedience. “The LORD has done what he purposed; he has carried out his word, which he commanded long ago” (2:17).

His righteousness demands that sin be dealt with fairly. He is also faithful to Israel and will be their hope for the future (3:22-23; cf Deut.30; Is.65-66; Jer.30-33; Ezek.36-37). His faithfulness (hesed) demands His promises to be kept. God’s righteousness and faithfulness are equally relevant facets to the nature of God, which are illustrated horrifically and beautifully in Lamentations.

Sacred sorrow is okay as long as one acknowledges that God is righteous and faithful. Praise God in the midst of pain (3:21-42). There must come a point in our lamenting that is it turned to joy. In the case of Lamentations, out of the destruction rose a song of praise for the faithfulness of God.

“How” not “why”. When sin is in the “camp” we must not question God’s vengeance for it is the inevitable promise for disobedience. Rather we must access the consequences of how His vengeance is displayed in our lives and how we will will respond. Jerusalem’s wounds were self-inflicted. The book of Lamentations is one long illustration of the eternal principle that “a man reaps what he sows.” (Gal.6:7b)

When all is gone, all you have is all you need. Everything is destroyed, the days seem dark and God distant He is still there. We have a hope in the God who reigns forever. God does not abandon those who turn to Him for help.

get deep

This weekend we had our ReFUEL Retreat [RR08]. Each year our teens gather together at Camp Lutherhaven for a winter break weekend.

This year our retreat was all about ‘getting deeper with God’. The image of a deeply rooted tree is something that appears often in Scripture and relates to our relationship with God. How do you know if you are growing spiritually? Here is a great article that asks 10 questions to ask to make sure you are growing spiritually.

real questions: prove it?

Ned Anzers: God if you are real…why don’t you prove it?

If you were to draw a picture of God what would He look like? No one really knows what God looks like. Billions of people down through history have tried to paint God in the shape of an animal, as fire or water, in the stars or sun, as distant gods, inner gods, peaceful gods or fearful gods. Some even say there is no God. Almost everybody has a different view of God from each other. Wouldn’t it be nice if God decided to reveal Himself once and for all? Imagine what it would be like to see God, talk to Him, touch Him, sit down and eat with Him.

Jesus says something very amazing, “Any one that has seen Me has seen the Father.” (John 14:1-14) Many thousands of people saw, touched, talked and ate with Jesus. They kept record of it so that people would know that God does exist. As we read the Bible people tell us over and over again, “God does exist. We know because we met Him.”

Couldn’t these people make this stuff up? Jesus never claimed to be God, did He? In fact, Jesus claims to be God more than once. Jesus claimed to be equal with God got people mad (John 10:30-33).

He also puts Himself on equal terms with Jesus:
John 8:56-58 (Ex.3:13-14) “I AM.”—Jesus claims God’s name as His own.
John 8:12; 9:5 “I am the Light of the world.”
John 6:35, 48 “I am the Bread of Life.”
John 15:1 “I am the True Vine.”
John 10:10-11 (Ezek.34:11,14) “I am the Good Shepherd.”
John 11:25 “I am the Resurrection and the Life.”
John 14:6 “I am the Way, the True, and the Life.”

These are stunning words from Jesus, but they are also dangerous words. It would be like going into Ross Aid Stadium and saying I am a Badger fan.

Anyone can claim to be God, can’t they? Yes. Muhammad Ali said, “I have wrestled with an alligator! I tussled with a whale! I handcuffed lightning, threw thunder in jail! Only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick. I’m so mean, I make medicine sick! I am the greatest!” Ali knew that if you are going to talk this way that you better back it up or else you will be the laughing stock of the world.

Jesus did what He said. He controlled the weather (Luke 8:24 “stopped a storm”, handcuffed lighting and threw thunder in jail)

Impressive, but that couldn’t it have been a coincidence? Sure. Yet everyone around Jesus agreed that He did amazing things. He feed 5000 people with a boys school lunch box, He walked on water, He cured sickness, paralysis, blindness, deafness, and brought the dead to life. When Jesus walked the earth, it was as if He owned the place. Well, He did create it (John 1:1-4).

Couldn’t He have tricked people into thinking He was who He was? What Jesus did were not tricks. There was no David Copperfield or CGI. Jesus enemies could not expose Him as a fraud. Jesus did not use His power for wealth, status, or fame. In fact, Jesus was prophesied about hundreds and thousands of years before He was born (where He was born, how He would die, etc.). He fulfilled every prophecy.

Jesus did what He did to prove that God exists. When Jesus walked the earth that He proved God is real.

listen and obey even on a rainy day

I love rainy days. Why not jump in a puddle when you are already wet? Didn’t your mom tell you not to jump in puddles as a kid?

The majority desires to be told what to do; yet only a minority has no desire to actually do what they are told.  It is a peculiar contradiction that leaves many floating without a purpose on a sea of self-devistation.  Many have said, “I have committed my life to Jesus my Savior, but what do I do now?”

The answer is simple.  It is simple, but not necessarily easy.  You see simple rarely equals easy.  That is why many have such a disparagement for simplicity.  So, what do I do now?  Listen and obey.  Listen and obey what? God’s Word; hear and do what God says. This answer almost always produces a volatile response.  It robs me of excuses.  It breaks down my defenses.  It leaves me completely vulnerable.

James 1:22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

Dueteronomy 13:18 if you will listen to the voice of the LORD your God, keeping all His commandments which I am commanding you today, and doing what is right in the sight of the LORD your God.

Listen and obey, that’s it? Some ask for a formula or creative checklists take the heart out of the equation.  We crave a formula.  We want our 10 steps to spiritual success, 5 easy steps to an “on fire” relationship with God, 3 “P’s” for purity, and a quirky acronym for GOSPEL. I’d buy that because I desire a nice, safe, cute Christianity that is non-offensive and void of power.  Rather just give me something measurable, something that I can get my hands around and then store on a shelf for a rainy day. Not! A rainy day theology means that I want my faith on stand by, just in case there is an emergency.

Sad to say, it doesn’t work that way. Following Jesus is not a one-size-fits-all proposition.  Listening and obeying is risky.  It leaves room for human error: Is it really God speaking to me? How do I know it is God not the spicy Indian food I ate the other day? This is the point: I can communicate with Him and ask questions, and He answers through the Bible. Hear, His voice is right at our finger tips in His written Word. Just listen and obey.  Rarely is it all that complicated.  We argue.  We contemplate.  We ask three friends if they think it was really God’s voice and the moment passes.  We don’t obey.  And we miss out on the divine.

Listening and obeying must be done.  I cannot rely on someone to listen to God for me.  It doesn’t work. In a world where everything is prepackaged, Christianity doesn’t seem to work.  It is too difficult.  Many are far too busy to do something so silly as listen. You cannot purchase God’s plan for your life at your local Christian bookstore.  They don’t have it.  He doesn’t come prepackaged. God knows the outcome of our obedience:  Obedience changes the world, and disobedience perpetuates the ho-hum (Micah 6).

real questions: 3 in 1?

Ned Anzers: The idea of the Trinity seems farfetched. How can three persons be one God?

Though the word “Trinity” is not found anywhere in the Bible, the theology behind it is seen throughout. The Trinity does not follow logic, but we must understand that theology is not always logical. In mathematics 1+1+1=3, but in the Theology Proper 1+1+1=1. John Wesley once said, “Tell me how it is that in this room there are three candles but one light, and I will explain to you the Trinity.”

I believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. (Duet.6:4). The Trinity is the doctrine that God is one essence in three co-eternal, co-equal persons (Mt. 3:13-17; Mt.28:19-20; Gen.1:1, 1:26; Jn.1:1, 20:28; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Cor.13:14).

The Bible clearly states that God is One (Ex.20:2-3; Duet.6:4; 1 Cor.8:4). I do not believe in Tri-theism (three separate Gods), but only one God. However, it is correct to say that there are three members of the Godhead. First, God the Father is God (Eph.1:3; 1 Cor.8:6). Second, God the Son is God (John 1:1-14; John 8:58; John 20:30-31; Phil.2:6-8). Third, God the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-5; 1 Cor.3:16). The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are united together as One as is seen in the Great Commission (Mt.28:19-20) and the baptism of Jesus (Mt.3:13-17).

In conclusion, God eternally exists as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and each person is fully God, and there is one God. Broken down, this amounts to three propositions: God is three persons. Each person is fully God. There is one God. In addition, it’s helpful to elaborate on the fact that when we say, “God is three persons,” we mean that he is not just one person, and that the persons of the Trinity are not to be confused. So we can also say: The Father is God. The Son is God. The Holy Spirit is God. The Father is not the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not the Father. The Holy Spirit is not the Son, and the Son is not the Holy Spirit. The Son is not the Father, and the Father is not the Son.

---

Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, 226

Justin Taylor, Trinity 101. http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/869_trinity_101/

The diagram is adapted from Answering Islam: The Crescent in Light of the Cross by Norman L. Geisler and Abdul Saleeb

taco bell theology

Earlier today I was craving a chili cheese burrito. So I decided to head over to Taco Bell for lunch. Why does TB always sound so good, but you hate yourself for days afterwards?

It got me thinking. Taco Bell is a lot like sin. Okay, weird, I know. Just trust me on this.

Sin is fun. In the moment, sin sounds like a good idea. Just like my idea of Taco Bell: I could not resist the hankering for an ooey-gooey chili cheesy burrito (by the way, is that real meat in there?). It tasted so good going down. Mmm, yummy. However, it wasnt but a few minutes later that I already started feeling yucky and questioning why I had made such an idiotic decision. So it is with sin. The after taste of sin is disgusting, unsatisfying and leaving you with an empty gut of guilt. You see, sin is worse than silly Taco Bell. The Bible says, sin separates us from God and that sin is a slap in His face to the satisfying joy He desires us to have (Rom.3:23; 6:23).

I might be thinking outside the bun on this, but God is so more satisfying than Taco Bell. There is no comparison. Psalm 34:8 says, “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man who trusts in Him.” When we do not satisfy our hungers with God it is like eating 10 bean burritos at one sitting and expecting to run a marathon immediately afterwards. It ain’t happening.

I am incredibly thankful that God forgives us of our sin, cleans us from all unrighteousness and is more satisfying to the soul than anything on this planet. I am also thankful for the guy at the bank who gave me a breath mint!?

real questions: God?

We as human beings have questions. Big questions. Significant questions. Questions about life, God, and the future. As a pastor, I often get questions from people inside and outside our church. These questions are real and expect real answers. I will begin a series of blog-entries that show some of these questions and seek to provide them with biblical answers. 

Ned Anzers: I think that the largest reason I believe in God is because I was taught to. If I were born in an Islamic, Jewish, or atheistic family I think it is safe to say I would be what I was taught. Surely this is not what God wants my faith in him to be founded. In the past I have asked myself why I believe in God and have found ‘answers’ but after deliberating on them I no longer feel they  hold any weight. My question is this: Why do you believe in God?

This is a very good question. Can I ask you a question in return?

How is your belief in God different than your relationship with God?

To answer your question, I will give you both a short and a long answer. 

Why do I believe in God? In short, I choose to believe in God. That’s my snapshot answer. If it is not satisfying I will try to give you a clearer panoramic picture of why I choose God. Actually, it is more like He chose me…

The long story:

I grew up in a home that believed and taught about God. We were Catholic (by title and church attendance). My priest baptized me as a baby, yet I don’t remember a thing because I wasn’t even old enough to eat smashed carrots. I went to Catholic mass every week because my grandparents took (and sometimes dragged) me there. I went to Catholic Sunday School (called Catechism), and had my first communion. We called ourselves Christians, but I had no understanding what that meant. I believed in God too.

As I grew older church became less satisfying. God was still real, but less desirable. There was this disconnect between God and me. God was like some cosmic grandfather that I never talked to or understood. He was like some story my family told me, but almost like He was an ancestral fairytale. Little did I know this was a very small and insignificant view of a very big God.

I was a troubled kid. I had an appetite for attention. I didn’t “feel” like I received it at home, so I was sort of a class clown around school. I was well liked by my peers. I was a friend to all kinds of people. I truly treasured the attention I received from my peers. When the attention would wear off, I would do something wild and crazy to get attention. It would draw a crowd and satisfy my tastes buds for a bit, but more often I would get into trouble.

My quest for attention led me to friends that were bad influences and not law abiding. I found myself doing things I never intended or desired to do just to be around people that I thought cared. These friends introduced and diverted my attention to girls, pornography and vandalism. Note: I was still involved in church and considered a rather good kid. Overall, inside and out, I was left feeling empty, lost, confused, full of questions, needing hope, and handicapped by my guilt. I was to the point of thinking suicidal thoughts. God seemed even more distant.

My parents took me to see a local psychologist. This ended up being a waste of money. The school enrolled me in special classes. The only thing this meant was getting picked up early for school by the short-bus. I was both embarrassed and frustrated with my life.

In junior high, my mom and step-dad moved. I lived further away from my dad, which really broke my heart. Life seemed like it couldn’t get any worse.

We started going to a different kind of church because my mom and step-dad were dissatisfied with the churches of their youth. I did what most kids do: went to church because I had to. There was something about this Wausau Bible Church that was different than St. Al’s. First, most everybody had a Bible. Second, most everybody was friendly. Third, most everybody talked about God or with God as if He was a close companion. This all seemed very strange to me. On the other hand, I was quite curious. We continued to go. We bought Bibles, even though I could not understand it. I got plugged into the youth group and learned new things about God that I never knew before.

I remember clearly some of the lessons from my junior high boys Sunday School class. Here are 3 that I challenged my thinking and ripened my heart:

Judges 3:1-15 Not only a weird story about a fat king, but a lesson on Idolatry. The people are testing God. God is ready to hear their cries and deliver, but there is a need for a deeper deliverance than they desire. They desire deliverance from their situation, when God desires they to have a spiritual Deliverer. This passage gave me a radical view of Gods purposes. I need Him. I need a Deliverer. I have idols in my life that have taken His place.

Psalm 27 [now my favorite passage] This song of David is a BIG picture view of life, not just reactive living. David is incredibly honest with God. He is living in a world of trouble [enemies, rejection, fear, etc]. Yet among all the trouble he is God centeredness [v.4, 14]. That is incredibly weird. I had to ask myself the question: when trouble comes where does my heart go? Not to God, but my attention in stuff or silliness that did not satisfy.

Col.2:1-15 This passage hit me square between the eyes and stuck my heart with the present active benefits of God here and now. It showed me how a life without God is foolishness [vs.1-5]. I am victimized by my own foolishness. It showed me the power I have over sin in Christ [v.9]. The indwelling presence of God is given to do what He has called me to do. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me…and gave Himself for me. It shows me the freedom of having a relationship with Christ [v.13-14]. I do not have to hide, live in shame, worry about exposure, because Christ forgives all my sin, weakness and guilt. No more fatalism.

I was left with God, I thought “I really didn’t know Him,” but ached in my heart to have a relationship with Him.  I did not treasure Him, but knew only He could satisfy my loneliness and desire for attention. Instead of seeking His attention, I sought to put my attention on Him. It was then I fully understood I needed a Redeemer/Deliverer/Savior. I was lost, but now He found me. Thus, in July 1992, I humbled my view of self and my view of God. No longer did I believe in Him, but I began a relationship with Him.

Well, that’s the long version of His Story with me. Like you, I wonder what if I was born into a Hindu, Muslim, or Jewish family. Would I believe the Truth? Would God in His grace rescue me from a bogus view of God? Then I wonder, why did He choose me? All I can answer is, “Alleluia!!” I thank God that He did! I pray that I would be used to help others see God is real and that He desires a relationship with them.

I would encourage you to take ownership of your belief in God [Acts 16:31]. Take your parents teaching on God and make it your own.

who or what is in control here?

Today, there is a lot of uncertainty in American (and the world): the stock market is devaluing, gas and food prices are skyrocketing, there is threat of terrorism, there is political distrust on a reckless scale, and the American pride/patriotism is becoming as distant as the American dream. There doesn’t seem to be any solution, only a worsening problem. 

I am not one to use scare-tactics causing fear in the eyes of others about the future. Neither do I want to predict hell-fire or fatalism. I simply wanted to share a few articles I came across this week (thanks to Frank my local economist): The Rise of the Rest and Peak Oil: Life After the Oil Crash

What do we do? Is there any hope? Who or what is in control here? As said on the front cover of Douglas Adams’, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, “DON’T PANIC”. Here are…

4 Essential Truth’s to Know & Do:

1. I do not need to fear [Rom.8:15; Ps.27:1; Ps.56:3-4].

2. God is in control [1 Chron.29:11; Prov.19:21; Rom.8:28-29].

3. This is not the end [Acts 16:31; John 3:16].

4. Those who trust in Him will survive [Prov.3:5-6; Jer.17:7; 1 Tim.6:17]!!

camp potawatomi

We just finished our first ever week of Potawatomi Bible Camp. We had 51 campers!! What an answer to prayer to see the vision we [Dan Nave, Scott Tiede, and me] prayed about over a year ago come to fruition.

We were able to see God do some amazing things this week. Uncle Charlie of Children’s Bible Hour was our speaker. It was a joy to watch this aged man related to the kids. We had 3 campers begin a relationship with Jesus Christ as their Savior!! It made the week so worth it.

We had to end camp a day early because of the an issue with bats inside the cabins. We were told that the bats would not be a problem when we arrived earlier in the week. Sunday afternoon we had a larger work crew help clean the cabins and chase any varmints out of the cabins with great success. Campers arrived later on Monday afternoon. Monday night we had a few cases of bats in the cabins. Tuesday we plugged holes, but that night we again had more bats. In fact, there were more that 20+ bats in one of the cabins. We had a DNR naturalist come that afternoon that shared with us bats are harmless and are not the rabies-infested-beasts we claim them to be. Out of protection for the kids we decided it would best to let the kids go home early. No more guano!!

Lesson: It doesn’t take a week to see God work nor do bats and bugs distract His Spirit from impacting lives!! Praise the LORD for a great week of Camp!