Visiting Day

This devotional first appeared in the LaPlata Home Press, August 7, 2002

He was looking forward to this moment all day long, after six days of labor, it finally arrived-Visiting Day!! The man with the keys arrived to swing open the large, heavy doors. The cold, grey hall springs to life in the warm glow of light. He could hardly control his emotions.

The families began to arrive. He peers from the corner of the room longing for the first glimpse of his loved ones. He lives for the weekends. He lives for the visits.

As the cars arrive, he watches intently. Then finally she arrives, his bride, for whogs used to be. At one point, they break into singing, with interruptions of laughter and applause.

But all too soon it is over. A tear comes to his eye as his bride departs. Then the man with the keys closes the doors. He hears the key turn in the lock marking the end of a special day. There he stands, alone again. He knows that most of his visitors will not contact him again til next week. As the last car pulls away from the parking lot, Jesus retreats into loneliness as He waits until next Sunday-Visiting Day. [Borrowed from the Knob Noster Christian Church Newsletter, The Door Knob, David Jordan, Minister].

I share this story with you to ask you these questions. How much time do you spend with Jesus? Has Sunday just become visiting day for you? Is it the only day that you spend with Jesus? And is it only for an hour or two? Does visiting day come around less frequently than it used (maybe once a month or even less)? Or do you spend time daily with God as you should?

My wish is that you take of Jesus’ promise that He is always with us (Matthew 28:20). The truth is that our lives have become so compartmentalized that we have our life at work, our life at home, our life at school, our life at church, etc…and we conform to the image of the situation rather than conforming to the image of God’s Son (Romans 8:29). The result, the weakening of faith and convictions. The power of the Holy Spirit is in the life of the Christian and yet not utilized and Satan wins another battle in our lives.

My challenge to you is to let the presence of Christ permeate every aspect of your life. Let Christ dwell in your hearts and fill you with his power so that daily you are becoming more and more like Christ. Let’s live every day for him. Let’s strive to be like him. Don’t miss the opportunity to be near him all the time, to hear his voice, to love his people, to remember our first love (Revelation 24-5).

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At What Level?

I am convinced that the measure of a person’s faith and the effectiveness of a church does not amount to how big things are. How big an impact is made. How big a program or an event is. How powerful something is that makes you feel spiritual, blessed, or simply just makes you feel good.

We live in the Mega-age. Everything is huge. Mega-stores, mega-malls, mega-events, mega-churches and on it goes, mega-trends. Something is troubling about the mega-trends to me, especially in Christianity.

I wish to address this in generalities for the moment. The Bible, our only rule and final guide of faith, in the New Testament overall, presents faith and Christianity as small group interaction and evangelism after the day of Pentecost, mostly as one-on-one, individual. Think coffee-house sized groups and sharing your faith with someone in their living-room.

A friend of mine is a campus minister, once for over 20 years at a small university of about 6000 and now at a major university in the Midwest of about 40,000. The way he leads these campus ministries is mostly through small groups and one-on-one encounters. There are small groups of all sort, men’s, women’s, fraternity, and various Bible study groups and his evangelism and mentoring is even smaller, individually. In terms of methods, it is most effective.

Yet in this culture of mega-everything, the count is about the largest number of people, and/or programs, and/or small type of big thing. Yet, Philip preached to an Ethiopian official (Acts 8), Jesus mentored a small group of 12 (read the Gospels). Paul spoke to large groups of people but mentored people and evangelized individuals in small groups and individually.

Grab a cup of coffee, sit down with me as we consider what level spirituality and faith grows in.

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What I’m Thinking

I’ve been thinking quite a bit but haven’t been able to articulate what is running around in my head. I have been concerned with celebrity worship, especially in our churches. I am concerned with everything Christian having to be so big and everyone participate in nationwide programs. I am concerned with Christianity that is placid and inactive.

Coming soon!

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The Bungee Truck

This devotion first appeared on September 18, 2002 in the LaPlata Home Press.

A commercial a few years ago by the GMC truck division showed a truck sitting on a ramp mounted on the side of a bridge over a very deep gorge. All at once, someone pulls a lever and the ramp tilts and the truck rolls off the ramp. The truck is attached to a bungee cord and as it falls, the first thought one might have is, “Will the bungee cord snap?” Of course the truck stretches the cord to its limit and bounces back into the air (see commercial below).

This seemed like a bunch of foolishness to me. I saw the commercial many times and still wondered what the purpose of the commercial was, until, one day as I watched, I also paid attention to the commentator. Before, the only purpose I could imagine the commercial to be about was to show that the bungee cord was capable of holding the weight of the truck and the physical properties of gravity as the truck reached the limits of the cord. As I listened to the commentator, I realized that they were illustrating the strength of the truck’s frame and towing capacities as the forces of gravity worked against the truck.

When we study the Bible, especially prophecy, and in particular the book of Revelation, we see pictures described and wonder, “What is the book really about?” and, “What do these symbols and pictures mean?” Though the pictures are real, the message is given by the author, who is Jesus. That message is one of encouragement, hope, and victory for the Christian. Therefore, instead of focusing all of our attention on the pictures in Revelation, we need to focus on the message presented to avoid the confusion of misunderstanding and misapplying the pictures. It is like seeing the commercial and not understanding the meaning at all.

The key to understanding the book is presented in the first three chapters of Revelation. The one who overcomes by faith and faithfulness, no matter what, will inherit eternal life with God the Father and Christ the Savior. What a picture! What a promise! What a God!!

All scripture quotations are from the New American Standard.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_dXgp4dpAE

Memory

This first appeared in the LaPlata Home Press September 11, 2002 in a weekly devotional called Flowing From the Mouth of the Jordan.

When I was 3 1/2 years old, my parents, my Grandma Dillman, and I took a trip out east.  We went to Gettysburg, Niagra Falls, and other special places of interest. The next year we went to the Rockie Mountains, the Grand Canyon, and Knotts Berry Farm as well as other places of interest of interest to us.  I remember blotches of these moments. For instance, the only thing I remember at Knotts Berry Farm was riding the train. I sat in a seat by myself (remember I am 4 1/2 years old) and two guys dressed as western bandits sit behind me and tell me to “stick-em-up.” My parents told me I told them “NO!”

Most of what I’ve told you I barely remember. In fact, the details of what I could tell you about each situation have been filled in by my parents, especially by the pictures they took of these two trips.

Every Sunday, when God’s church gathers in each church building, the church shares together in the Lord’s Supper (i.e., Communion). The Lord’s Supper is a sharing in remembering what God has done in Christ on the cross. We were not there when he nailed and died and taken down and laid in a tomb (John 19:17-20:10). We were not there when he bore our sins on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:21). But, when we came in faith to Christ in baptism, we participated in Jesus’ death for our sins (Romans 6:3-8) and the Lord’s Supper reminds us of the depth of love God has for us, and the forgiveness we’ve received in Christ through our faith and obedience.

Just like the pictures of my family’s trips fill in the blanks of my memory, reminding me of what happened in Gettysburg, and Colorado, etc., the Lord’s Supper reminds us of the work of the cross in our lives. The cross brings forgiveness of sins to those who have faith. For the Christian, participating in the Lord’s supper is as if we are participating in the cross, because Jesus experienced our sin in his suffering.

All Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Version.

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The Flush Toilet

What innovation had the most impact on life n the twentieth century? A popular survey asked this question when (sic) we approached the year 2000. Many conveniences were suggested; washing machines; hair dryers; canned food; improved communications; radio; TV and more. However, the number one response was indoor plumbing, specifically, the flush toilet. People are most grateful that not only do they not have to carry in water from an outdoor well but they do not have to visit the outhouse. Of all the great technological marvels of the twentieth century, indoor plumbing captured the hearts of most Americans.

What will be the number one innovation in the twenty-first century? Voice activated computers; cars that drive themselves or air travel like on the cartoon The Jetsons; cures for disease or something else? Who really cares? Stuff happens and things change. Who would have believed that the Wright Brothers first flight in 1903 would have led to air travel being such a major source of transportation, or that the first computer (which was as big as a house and had millions of parts) would lead to computers being so important.

Innovation and invention are the result of God-given abilities (thinking, creativity, and ability to produce ideas). The Bible says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” Hebrews 13:8.* Things and times change, Jesus doesn’t. The Hebrew writer continues with a warning to not be carried away by many and strange doctrines (verse 9). Beliefs change and deceive many people. There are many gods, materialism, sexual addictions, drugs, alcohol, and more. Innovations come and go. Religious beliefs come and go and many are rehashed. However, Jesus never changes. Christianity under Jesus’ rule is never altered. Whatever comes, whatever goes, there is one we can trust who does not come and go, who never changes, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

* Scripture reference is from the New International Version of the Bible

This first appeared in the July 31, 2002 LaPlata Home Press

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Disturbing Dream Because of Disturbing Religious Trends

I had a vivid dream the other night. I don’t often remember dreams and when I do, I rarely remember details. Until now, there are only two dreams I have had that I remember and one a recurring dream.

In my dream I was walking with a man I knew from the town I ministered at a few years ago, Theo Goodding. Theo was one of the patriarchs of the town at the time. He attended a different church than I ministered too, but I respected him and am pleased to have counted him as one of my friends.

In the dream, Theo and were walking down a country dirt road and talking about the land. He would point out this piece of land and that one and who they had belonged too. A lot of the land had belonged to him. Walking and talking with him I began to emphasis with his distress and pain. He was troubled because he and the others sold the land we were viewing because the generations following them were not interested in the land that they wished to pass on to their heirs.

Two disclaimers here. First, I am not trying imply that Theo Goodding’s heirs rejected to accept what he had to pass on them. I know several of his family and they are believers and I believe faithful followers of Jesus Christ. Second, I don’t put a lot of stock in the idea that every dream has a meaning. That would be inconsistent with the randomness of thought and honestly, we wouldn’t be able to keep up with all our dreams and their meanings. Yet, I do believe some dreams have meaning and I do believe that God uses dreams to help us understand some things and/or gets our attention by means of some dreams.

Here is what I have come to understand. I have read two books, the analysis of 20 years of polling and surveying about religious belief and the washout of a standard of belief and faith in God, Christ, the Bible and the Church, and an editorial about how today’s teens have no moral intuition to  base anything value on.

Book 1: The Vertical Self by Mark Sayers, http://www.amazon.com/Vertical-Self-Biblical-Discover-Obsession/dp/0849920000.  Sayers explains that modern culture directs people to want to be famous (thus, American Idol, that I sarcastically and maliciously call American Idiot, and similar shows, like American’s Top Model and so forth. I really don’t like these type of shows, they disturb my Biblical sense of morality and fairness) and how that is a problem from a Biblical and Christian perspective.

Book 2: Uncompromised Faith by S. Michael Craven, http://www.navpress.com/store/product.aspx?id=9781600063626. This book really disturbed me. Craven documents the how our society and culture has had its moral, religious and values foundation has disappeared and the future of America because of this.

The polls and Surveys were Barna Groups’ research for the past 20 years called the State of the Church Series (6 in all), http://www.barna.org/faith-spirituality/504-barna-examines-trends-in-14-religious-factors-over-20-years-1991-to-2011, in which Barna examines the trends of 14 religious factors for the years 1991-2011. The two biggest elements that hit me is that among the whole American population Church involvement and Bible reading and Bible study is significantly down in almost every category and that each generation is moving away from the beliefs and values that Theo’s generation possessed.

And finally, I read an editorial in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch this morning (9/14/11) that is not religious or spiritual in nature but highlighted how today’s teens have no ability to determine what is moral and what is not. It has disintegrated, http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/.

The editorial prompted this post. It is apparent that the values, beliefs, and hopes that people like Theo Goodding, my parents, myself, and so many others is not being received by the next generations. And that will have a negative effect in the church, for faith overall, and will affect the whole world and already is

That dream was emphasizing to me the problem and the need to search for a solution to our culture failing to accept what God wants each person to have and as it is passed on from one generation to the next. In fact, this factor was an issue in Israel’s history. When a generation of Israel had been faithful to God, after a revival of sorts, such as documented a number of times in the book of Judges, that same faith and trust in God eroded more and more with each succeeding generation until there was virtually no one who trusted in God anymore.

That very factor has been growing in our society and it is now evident. I don’t have the practical solution to this issue except to say, I will continue to pray, and to preach Jesus, and be genuine in my faith and witness to Jesus in my life.

I must really leave the other answers up to people with more wisdom and ability and will watch and listen to learn from them in this matter.

May God and his ways return to our culture before it is too late for America and the rest of the world.

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Christianese

Great debate. Been hearing it for a couple of decades. Enjoy the Relevant Magazine article.

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/church/features/26409-is-christianese-always-bad

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Does America Hate Christians?

     Every week I encounter people who are believers, Christians from varying church backgrounds, Jews, Mormons, atheists, agnostics, Wiccans, pagans (as a religion), people who are nothing, and on occasion someone who is Muslim. I teach the Bible with most of them, talk about faith and life with them, sing songs of faith with them, have discussions about faith with them, and just visit them.

A coupe of months ago Jerry (his name has been changed) made a comment after a teaching and singing time with a group of about 45. He remarked to someone, “How can you believe that stuff. It doesn’t make sense.” He is a skeptic.

Ever since then, when I see the group, he goes out of his way to say hello to me and he enjoys the sessions and is singing with us too. He isn’t against us, but up to now he has not believed and wonders why people would. It seems he is becoming interested in things of faith. Maybe he will become a follower of Jesus Christ too. I hope so, I am praying that he will.

Bradley R.E. Wright in the latest Christianity Today presents the idea that Americans are alright with Evangelicals in Americans Like Evangelicals After All. He takes his comments further along than I will with by discussing why we worry about it.

Follow this link to read the article. It is worth our consideration: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/august/americans-do-like-evangelicals.html

There is an obvious bias against evangelical Christians. But like some circumstances, it is a small number who are crying the loudest and in some cases responsible for stopping some aspects of faith from taking place or pushing agendas that vary from the beliefs and values that Christians hold, such as; getting prayer removed from schools; making it inappropriate to have a Bible or some expression of faith at your work. As well as pushing for abortion and same-sex values and there is more. It is troubling and we must deal with it appropriately, the way Jesus would have, the way the Bible teaches us.

If America doesn’t dislike us as much as we had believed, what does that mean to us? I can think of a couple of things.

1. It should alleviate many of our fears about sharing our faith with others. If they don’t dislike us, many people won’t be offended by our expressions of faith and belief.
2. It should change our attitude about how we encounter our culture. Some Christians are hot under the collar with our culture, some are militant in fighting the culture through litigation and or cultural commentary and condemnation. It seems we should offer grace not grouse. Please understand that I am not condoning immorality and anti-scriptural teaching, but our attitude in dealing with our culture should be a whole lot more gracious in my view. We are to love others.

      I have found in some cases, there are people who though they do not have a favorable view of Christians, when they encounter some of us, are not as resistant to our beliefs and values.

     For instance, Ronnie (not his real name), was very resistant to Christianity. Ronnie claimed to be a pagan, but was more atheist in value. He resisted faith and Christianity and had decent relationships with a handful of Christians. One time Ronnie was dissing pastors when he remembered suddenly that I am a pastor. He stopped, looked at me with a sly smile and said, Jeff, you’re alright for a minister” (I didn’t change my name, LOL).

Ronnie had a brother-sister relationship with one of the young ladies in the group. One time, she shared some things about her faith and encouraged the group of 15-20 that they need Jesus. He took offense at her comments because he felt that she had targeted him specifically. I am sure that she thought of him when she prepared to share that day, but she was considering the whole group, not any particular individual.

A couple of days later, Ronnie and I visited about what she shared and how it upset him. Fortunatel, he was convinced that she hadn’t targeted him and admitted that she had a right to share her beliefs and values with others just like he did.

I haven’t seen or heard from Ronnie for a couple of years, and I know that he checked into a drug and alcohol rehab at one point, so I don’t know if he has changed his view of Christianity, but with the right individual, he will at least talk with a Christian.

What I am saying is that though there are some who really have a poor view of Christians and Christian faith, most are not really hostile toward us and that’s a good thing. I must be honest, I haven’t personally experienced the hostility toward Christians that we read about. The closest to anti-Christian hostility I have personally seen was when the local school in the town where I ministered 18 years ago followed the advice of their lawyers and dropped the baccalaureate service for the high school graduates. The superintendent, being a man of faith, as were most of the school’s board and teachers and other employees, came to me and asked if the churches of our little town would provide the baccalaureate service for the graduates. Of course we gladly and willingly accepted and in a lot of ways it made things better. We were able to make the baccalaureate more personal and more religious in than before.

Is there bias against Christians? Yes. It seems that anti-Christian hostility is not what we thought. Praise the Lord!

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Events That Changed Everything

My church will begin a new adventure in September. It is called Events That Changed Everything. It is the story in the Bible; God and humanity, sin and salvation, loss and hope, joy and eternity.

We live in a society of sound bytes. And Christians have a tendency to study the Bible in a similar manner. Taking a verse, or a passage and missing the big picture. The Bible has context. It presents a story and history and each Bible study sound byte fits in and knowing how it fits helps with understanding and meaning and depth of meaning.

Here’s the goals we have for Events:

Events That Changed Everything will help the Bible unfold before you through the progression of Bible events and characters arranged chronologically.

Beginning with creation, everyone who participates will discover a new and deeper understanding and appreciation of the Bible with each sermon, each Bible lesson, and your own Bible reading.

You will:

•  Understand the basic story line in the Bible
•  Realize how you can be a part of God’s ongoing story
•  Understand how God’s story has the power to change lives
•  Increase Biblical understanding and knowledge and build an appetite for the Bible
•  De-mystify Bible study
•  And introduce Bible study resources and ongoing Bible study opportunities

Sunday, September 4^th we will begin our journey in the Bible’s story with the Creation.

Share in our adventure as we experience the Bible as a whole and share these things with you here.

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