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> 11-12-2008
“…May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore "God is Great!"”
Psalm 70:4
You may have seen the Cable TV show. A couple of skilled, yet now reformed, thieves make quick work of the basic security measures taken by a homeowner to protect their property. On It Takes a Thief they do everything your normal, garden-variety burglar would do - smashing windows, rummaging through personal belongings, even stealing a family's purebred dog! The only difference between this TV robbery and brutal reality is that the whole thing is designed to teach a lesson. The homeowners watch in horror as their sense of security quickly fades into oblivion - yet they have a second chance. The family reviews the damage while the producers of the show restore all of their property. An extra measure of confidence is given through the installation of a state of the art security system, and we all breathe a collective sigh of relief.
Funny, that's how some view the second coming of Jesus. "Bring it on, God! We're READY! Come Lord Jesus!" If only the Day of the Lord worked like a TV show! Instead, it is like Amos prophesied, a day of "darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it." It is, like Jesus explained in the parable of Matthew 25 and like the show tries to capture, a surprise, "for you know neither the day nor the hour." There really is no way of being assured that you are prepared for that day until it comes. There's no way you can be sure when it's all about having the right systems in place, that you are "right with God" and prepared for His judgment. Much has been made about that Day. Books upon books talk about the "rapture" of the Church – that day Paul wrote about in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 when Jesus comes to sweep away his bride, leaving others left behind to suffer trial and tribulation. The theories built around this one verse of Scripture include some sort of bizarre second chance at redemption, as those left behind can now get it together before the "real" Day of the Lord. It's as if Jesus coming was just a warning or a wake up call and there was still time to reform your life to the will of God.
Sorry folks, that day already happened. It was about 2000 years ago, and it happened on a hill outside of Jerusalem. Before Jesus breathed His last, He uttered the words "it is finished." These words marked the end of days. He died, taking sin into the grave. He was buried and descended into hell - simply to proclaim freedom for the captives. He rose again, to show that is God and God alone who can restore all things and make them right again. Before He ascended into heaven He promised the Holy Spirit, to walk with us through the time of treacherous tribulation that we live in - to give us the hope in His Word that He will come again to deliver all those who believe in and trust in a God who has always kept His Word. Friends, now is the time for change - a change that has been given to you in the Gospel. Now is the time to fill your lamps with the precious oil of God's loving Word as we wait expectantly for His return. Now is the time to light those lamps, to guide your friends, family and community to the only hope in a world bent on stealing it away. Now is the time to share the love of Christ with all who desperately need Him - starting with YOU!
Martin Luther once said, "If I new the Lord was to return tomorrow, I'd plant an apple tree today." His words speak of both expectant hope and confidence that the vocation God has given you is never complete until the Day of the Lord. The Cross of Christ has made us ready, but we cannot rest in that readiness. We must instead ask ourselves, are we willing to live life all systems go? Are we willing to take all that God has abundantly given and pour it out to others in confidence of a never ending supply? Are we willing to commit to Jesus the life He has committed to us? We are! In the hope that since He has shared in a death like ours, we will share in a resurrection like His! God has made a tremendous investment in YOU - Go and share this crazy love with others!
Peace-
PastorD
> 11-05-2008
“…Praise God from whom all blessings flow!”
Dear Friends in Christ,
Take a moment with me to celebrate the glorious day of Prayer and Remembrance held last Sunday at Trinity!
Our entire congregation and community will continue to benefit from all of the prayers lifted up to our God through Jesus Christ.
Those who were gathered in the Spirit for Sunday's services certainly received countless blessings as well.
The power of such a service is in remembering the great joy we have in turning all things over to God in prayer and relying on His grace always. Having the personal experience of Confession and Absolution, Private Prayer, Anointing and the Lord's Supper always helps to amplify our regular worship time together each week.
Some who attended have asked me for help in starting a regular prayer habit in their daily lives. What a challenging task!
I recognize that each of us have different ways of setting aside time with God, to be touched by His Word and to pray. Add to that the constant interruptions and constraints of our daily lives and I don't have to say how difficult this can be! The first advice I usually give is to challenge yourself to the commitment of devotion and prayer. Through the cross of Jesus, you are made to be people who call upon God in every trouble. You are made to be people who pray, people who praise, people who give thanks. What's important is to find a time each day when you can stop and carve a few minutes that are so important to you that it cannot be changed. Put it on your planner - set your Blackberry alarm - do whatever you have to do to make and keep this appointment with God. Make it a special time, a quiet time. Try setting the mood by lighting a candle and gathering your thoughts with the Lord's Prayer. Then begin with 10 minutes of Bible reading followed by 10 minutes of devotional reading. The Portals of Prayer, available here at the church, is an excellent resource for both! Then spend another 10 minutes lifting up your prayers to God. Try the ACTS method of prayer ~ ACKNOWLEDGE, CONFESS, THANK and SAY-
ACKNOWLEDGE who God is, concentrating on His majesty and greatness. Then CONFESS to Him your struggles and sins. Give THANKS for the forgiveness He has given you in Jesus and the guidance He gives you by the Holy Spirit. Finally, simply SAY what's on your heart, asking God for all blessings that are within His good and gracious will! You'll find that after about 20 days, you'll wonder how you ever lived without your daily time with God! Know that as your pastor I'll continue to pray for all of you, lifting you up to God for Spiritual renewal, growth and the peace that passes all understanding!
In Jesus Name
Peace-
PastorD
> 10-29-2008
“…But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it - the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.”
Romans 3:21-28
This is the second week in a row where an article or news item crystallizes the subject of the Midweek Boost devotion! Last week, it was about the role of church leaders as a voice in our society. This week, it's all about YOU!
The Science Magazine article I read is a review of the psychological study "The Origin and Evolution of Religious Prosociality" by Ara Norenzayan and Azim F. Shariff. As if the title weren't challenging enough, here's a snippet of the paper:
"Although sociological surveys reveal an association between self-reports of religiosity and prosociality, experiments measuring religiosity and actual prosocial behavior suggest that this association emerges primarily in contexts where reputational concerns are heightened."
Basically, the authors say that there is no real measurable effect of religion on acts of kindness. Acts of kindness, in fact, are motivated only by the possibility of recognition. This means that religion does not result in selfless acts. Instead , we're all just looking for a pat on the back!
Here it goes. Believe it or not, I agree with the argument of the authors!
The basis of my agreement is grounded in what we define religion to be. Mind you, there are almost as many definitions for religion as there are people groups to create them. This one from Oxford"s Dictionary is as good as any:
Religion: Human recognition of superhuman controlling power and especially of a personal God entitled to obedience.
So, according to definition religion is the recognition of a power which controls and demands obedience. In other words, religion is our attempt to serve a demanding God. Therefore, if we do a good deed to serve this God - so that He will "bless us" - that "good" deed is actually self-serving!
When you read Romans 3 above, think of this definition of religion and it's relationship to good deeds as the righteousness of Law.
But our life in Christ poses a bit of a problem to the author's theory. According to God's own Word, our righteousness does not come from the Law. Instead righteousness comes through faith in Jesus. It's faith in the power of His cross to free us from sin and the obligation of the Law. Our service in faith is not to please God, but simply to respond and meet the needs of our neighbors. The problem with the "The Origin and Evolution of Religious Prosociality" is that the study is based on RELIGION and not on FAITH!
Friends, faith is a different animal altogether. Faith cannot be measured by scientific methods and psychological studies. Faith is measured by God and God alone. He knows the motivation of our hearts. He knows when we are moved to faith filled service, not by what we might receive but by what we have already been given. We have been given life and truth for free in Christ Jesus and sharing that life and truth is our greatest honor. Only faith has the power to change the definition of religion from that which we do to please God to that which we do because of what God has done for us!
This is the core of the Reformation, summarized in the words of Ephesians 2:8-10, the only study of the relationship between faith and good works we'll ever need:
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
May God's peace endure in your heart as you walk with Him in FAITH!
Peace-
PastorD
> 10-22-2008
“…Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, 'Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax." And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said, "Caesar's." Then he said to them, "Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away. ”
Matthew 22:15-22
I recently read an article about the relationship between religion and politics - specifically, about the rights and/or responsibility of religious leaders to speak on political issues. The online article, entitled "Should Catholic Bishops Stay Out of Politics?" was written by Father Jonathan Morris (you can read it for yourself here http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/10/20/frj_1020/)
Father Jonathan writes about the fine line drawn between pastoral and social responsibility, between religious leadership and the moral voice. In other words, in taking his vows does the religious leader "give up" his voice as a member of a civil society? According to US tax laws, a pastor cannot deliver from the pulpit a message which supports a specific political candidate or agenda. If he does, the church risks losing its tax exempt status. Back on September 28th, 35 pastors decided to deliberately break this ban in order to prompt action by the IRS that will certainly end up as a free speech issue in the Supreme Court. I don't think we need to wait that long to determine what we can and cannot say in regard to political matters.
Just read the words above. Jesus was asked a question that was deliberately set as a trap.
"Go ahead, Jesus," thought the Pharisees, "say that it is lawful to pay the tribute tax to Rome. Prove yourself blasphemous. Go ahead and defy God's Law, that you should have no other God’s before me."
"Go ahead, Jesus," thought the servants of Herod - Rome's puppet king, "say that it is unlawful to pay the tribute tax to glorious Rome. Prove yourself traitorous. Go ahead and defy the law of the land, that Caesar shall be honored as your ruler."
Sort of an impossible situation, right? Impossible, that is, until we see that Jesus' brilliant response gives us hope and direction on how to live in two very different kingdoms. In the kingdom of men, we are to "render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's". That is to say that government has a right to that which belongs to the government. However, what truly belongs to a government "of the people, by the people and for the people"? We must ask ourselves, would a Caesar - or in our case a President, Senator, Congressman, Governor or Mayor have the right to anything that was not given by election? Would they have trust if they were not trustworthy? Respect if they were not respectful? Rendering unto Caesar includes rendering the truth, which means that our vocal disagreement is warranted where the government has overstepped its ownership bounds, reaching in to wrest control of that which does not belong to them. When the government reaches into the Kingdom of God, rest assured that your pastor will speak!
Jesus goes on to say that in the Kingdom of God, we must "render unto God the things that are God's." We render unto God our trust, which belongs to Him in that He bought it with the blood of His Son. We trust that God and God alone, never powers or principalities, has and will continue to give us life here and hereafter in Christ Jesus. With our trust we render unto God our respect, which belongs only to Him who has given us grace. We respect God by following His Law, over and above the laws of men and His Gospel, which is foolishness in the ears of the kings of this world.
Friends, as you prepare to cast a vote this November, remember that your vote is your way of speaking from the Kingdom of God to the kingdom of men - of speaking of TRUE hope, TRUE life, TRUE liberty and the pursuit of TRUE happiness that only comes from God in Christ Jesus!
In His Most Precious Name- WE WILL SPEAK!
Peace-
PastorD
> 10-15-2008
“…I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
Philippians 4:10-13
It's now been three years and four months since we arrived in Temecula. It's not that I feel a need to keep track, but I guess that God has made me to be a naturally reflective person. What I mean is that I tend to think about things...I think about things A LOT! I think about where we"ve been, where we are and where we're headed as a community bound together by the cross.
Reflection is a risky business. It's risky in the way it always brings a mix of pain and joy from our past barreling into our present toward coloring our future. There are those things we've tried together that didn't work out so well, and there are those that God has blessed beyond measure. It's the natural inclination of a reflective personality to dwell longer in the pains and give a passing nod to the joys. Some of you recognize this challenge for me as your pastor and I rejoice, like Paul, that you show your concern for my welfare. Unfortunately others find it as an opportunity to pounce on my weaknesses in a time of emotional vulnerability. Thankfully the former far outweighs the latter - but I'd be remiss if I didn't speak the truth in love.
So how do you know? How do you know if your one of those who supports or one of those who detracts from the calling of your pastor to help you further the mission of God's Church? Well...by reflection of cours! Take some time to think about where we've been together. Some of us have been together since the beginnings of New Community, others from the beginnings of Peace. Most have been together for almost two years, as the merged and re-formed Trinity. Some have come from other churches and others from outside the church altogether. As the pains and joys come to mind, think of Paul, who has called us not to be anxious about anything. Pray and give thanks, thinking on what is true, what is honorable, what is commendable, what is excellent, what is worthy of praise and the God of peace will be with you.
As you pray and give thanks, not only for me your spiritual leader, also remember to pray for one another as those who are doing their level best to live out their faith in the mission of Trinity. Remember, in whatever the situation, we can learn to be joyfully content together in the mission God has given us. Each one of us can connect with this simple truth, life is full of ups and downs, highs and lows, plenty and hunger, abundance and need. In life only one thing is certain, that you and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens us!
What this means, friends, is that being in a community of faith means so much more that just being content with what we have. It means being joyful for what is happening among us! It means yearning for what is possible through us. It means living in the reflective present, in a truly strong and supportive ministry, which takes Christ centered time - yours and mine - given sacrificially for the good of the Gospel. It takes Christ centered talents - from cleaning to preaching, from visiting to feeding - given sacrificially for the good of the Gospel. And it takes Christ centered treasure - our financial gifts given not just to keep the lights on but to take them into the community - sacrificially for the good of the Gospel.
This is your opportunity. Our opportunity, to reflect and to act sacrificially and for the good of the Gospel!
Peace-
PastorD
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