Loving God and Loving Others Well

If you are news reader or watcher, you know well that the church is the regular topic of the press, and it’s usually not good. I walked away from last Sunday’s memorial for Mark Brinkman so proud of South Whidbey Assembly and the other churches we work with on South Whidbey! The church was embracing the mission of Jesus to Love God and Love Others. I would say we were loving in technicolor! On Saturday, people from Island Church, Calvary Chapel and the community joined the set-up crew from SWAG. Sunday after the memorial, some of the same crew and others joined in to tear down and set-up the building for Island Christian Academy to jump into school again on Monday morning. We are the church! The church ministered to hurting and grieving law enforcement and first responders from Lynnwood, Edmonds, Mt Lake Terrace, Snohomish County, Island County, and WSP. The church ministered to students, family members, community members from South Whidbey as well as city employees and officials from Lynnwood. The day and the memorial were tough, but your “Love God and Love Others” ministry made the day a little less painful and stressful. I’m so proud to pastor South Whidbey Assembly and to be a part of the larger church on South Whidbey! Over the years, SWAG has often been asked to serve in difficult community situations and you have always risen to the occasion to Love God and Love Others. One of our theme verses for 34 years has been Jeremiah 29:5-7. “Build houses and settle in the land. Plant gardens and eat the food they grow. Get married and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons, and let your daughters be married so they also may have sons and daughters. Have many children… Do good things for the city where I sent you…. Pray to the LORD for the city where you are living, because if good things happen in the city, good things will happen to you also.” Jeremiah 29:5-8 (NCV) I am proud to serve and lead alongside you!

Are Things Going Sideways for You?

The winds of change have been blowing for months. Some days the winds are fierce, other days the winds are less intense. So much has changed in our world in recent years, and the speed of change seems to increase monthly. 2021 began with great hope. Hope the year would be different. Hope the political world would chill out, the conflict surrounding COVID-19, law enforcement, and racial tensions would decrease. People hoped for resolution surrounding relationships in countries like N. Korea, China, Russia, and Iran, Israel, Lebanon and the middle East region. Hope surfaced in many circles that vaccines would bring a new chapter in the battle against COVID and a reopening of the state, nation and world. It could be easy for people to wonder with all that is changing “who’s manning the store?” No one seems to be in charge. Life seems to be in the hands of the customer and not the store owner. Let me reassure you with a few scriptures. Though everything around is changing, it doesn’t mean there is no one manning the store. The store is not in the hands of the customers. “He who guards you never sleeps.” Psalms 121:3 (NCV) “Not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.” Matthew 10:29-30 (NLT) “Your Father sees everything … Your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!” Matthew 6:4, 8 (NLT) “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 (NLT) “He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.” James 1:17 (NLT) Just because we may not understand the changes in life, or don’t like the changes, it doesn’t mean that no one is in charge or that things that happen are without purpose. The moments when we don’t understand, when we don’t like things, when life is hard, are when trust is most difficult to apply and yet most needed. Are things sideways for you right now? Let me encourage you to anchor to the one who never sleeps, watches over the sparrow, counts your hair, sees everything, knows what you need before you ask, never changes but is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Jesus Understands Grief

As you might imagine, I’ve been thinking about grieving this week. Loss is always emotionally difficult to process. All the theology and logical thinking doesn’t lessen the sadness and anguish. If only a person could think their way out of grief, life would be easier. Thinking doesn’t solve life’s struggles, losses and pain. Jesus understood grief. He understood it personally, and he understood it on other’s behalf. When word reached Jesus about the execution of his cousin John the Baptist, he sought to get away from the crowds that were following him. He didn’t want to be with people. He didn’t want to entertain them, pay attention to them or pour himself into them. He wanted to be alone. “As soon as Jesus heard the news, [about John’s execution] he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone.” Matthew 14:13 (NLT) When Jesus’ good friend Lazarus died, Jesus wept. He wept because Lazarus experienced the ultimate enemy of man. Jesus wept because he could see and hear the pain of Mary and Martha, Lazarus’ sisters, as they wept over Lazarus. He wept about Lazarus and for his friends, even though he knew Lazarus would walk out of the grave. Hope doesn’t remove grief. Hope changes grief and pain. The Apostle Paul declared: “We want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13 (NLT) Grief is temporary for followers of Jesus. Followers of Jesus are merely passing through life to their final destination. Life for a Jesus’ person is a layover before their flight home. Some layovers last 25 years, others last 90 years. God is the one who determines when our flight leaves. “You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer.” Job 14:5 (NLT) Thinking about the death of loved ones, I’ve commented many times this week, “the only one who wins is the one who dies and joins Jesus. Everyone else loses, the wife loses, the kids and grandkids lose, co-workers, church family, community members and neighbors all lose.” The loss and pain are temporary. All followers of Jesus will enter into an existence where “there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” Revelation 21:4 (NLT)

Is there an Idol in the House?

I’ve been pondering idols and idolatry. The subject might not be something you’ve considered, but idols are a regular feature in the Bible. The first of the Ten Commandments is “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.” Exodus 20:4 (NLT) In obedience to the first of the Ten Commandments, the Jewish people didn’t create statutes, paintings or make engravings. When you’ve traveled to other regions of the world, you’ve probably seen statuette “idols” in people’s homes, hotels, retail shops and on street corners. Statuette idols are an image or representation of a “god” or holy item, that is worshiped. Americans don’t usually worship statuette idols, but almost all Americans worship idols. Idols are admired, loved, celebrated and served. A person’s idol might be their identity, job, house, car, money, sex, comfort, entertainment, alcohol, or another person. “An idol is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, and anything that you seek to give you what only God can give.” Tim Keller Jeffery Poor lists these four questions to check for idols in our lives. Where Do I Spend My Time? Where Do I Spend My Money? Where Do I Get My Joy? What’s Always on My Mind? The crazy thing about idols is they are never satisfied; idols constantly demand more and more. King Solomon made an observation about money that applies to every idol in people’s lives. “Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!” Ecclesiastes 5:10-11 (NLT) Solomon’s observation can be re-written for any idol. I’ll use “bowling,” as a replacement for money. (I could just as easily use identity, job, house, sex, or entertainment). “Those who love bowling will never have enough. How meaningless to think that bowling brings true happiness! … So what good is bowling—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!” Ecclesiastes 5:10-11 (NLT) Idols prevent people from living the Greatest Commandment – “Love God with ALL your heart, soul, mind and strength.” My mission in life, your mission in life, is to “Love God with ALL!” Is there an idol that you need to get rid of? Don’t wait! The longer a person worships an idol, the tighter the hold it gets on their life.

The Day the World Changed

Jesus lived the most incredible life ever. No one has impacted and revolutionized humanity like him. Years ago, English cultural commentator G. K. Chesterton said the story of Jesus is “the strangest story ever told.” The story is not only the strangest but also the most unlikely of stories. Charles Colson observed, “A borrowed manger, and a borrowed tomb framed his earthly life.” What other world revolutionary figure entered the world in such humble circumstances? Born to a woman pregnant before marriage, in a time when that was scandalous. She conceived without intimacy with a man. Unheard of! His first bed in a borrowed feeding trough. Yet, visited by Magi, from far-away lands, led to the infant by a star. He was a traveling rabbi who performed countless miracles. Many hoped he was the promised messiah, and he disappointed them. Rejected and hated by the religious establishment and executed for treason. Laid to rest in a borrowed tomb, on the third day he rose from the grave. This weekend, starting at the international dateline in Kiribati (a small island country in the Pacific) and ending 24 hours later, 3 billion people will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Even in countries where Jesus and his resurrection are not celebrated, Easter is recognized as a holiday. People worldwide, who don’t celebrate Jesus, or the resurrection recognize Easter as a holiday. No where on the planet can a person get away from the day the world changed. I hope Jesus invades your heart and life uniquely as the world celebrates the Risen Savior.

Do Everything with Love

Many of you are aware of my love of basketball and the annual March Madness. This year the “Cinderella Team” is Oral Roberts University. ORU is only the second No. 15 seed team to advance to the Sweet 16. Everything is not rosy for ORU athletics, though. Some in the media and culture recently labeled ORU homophobic and out of step with the new thinking regarding all things queer. They are calling for ORU and other schools like them to be excluded from post-season play. The school holds a traditional Biblical view of gender, marriage and sexuality that are now culturally unacceptable. ORU is not the only school feeling the pressure. Catholics, evangelicals, Mormons, Muslims and many other groups hold traditional views. Last winter I read George Orwell’s “1984.” The similarities between the description of the future and our current cultural realities continue to intrigue me. The depiction of the “Thought Police” in the superstate of Oceania and the authority to investigate and punish thinking not approved of by the state is prophetic of our current “cancel culture.” The Apostle Paul warned Timothy, the leader of the church in Ephesus, that “in the last days there will be very difficult times … people will scoff at God … they will consider nothing sacred. … They will be cruel and hate what is good.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5 NLT) The pressure to agree with the views of “cancel culture” and adopt culture’s thinking will continue to mount. Those who disagree with current thinking will experience pressure and exclusion. How to respond to this cultural thinking will require great wisdom, leading of the Holy Spirit and courage. One of the most powerful quotes from “1984,” speaks to the bravery necessary to disagree with popular thinking and values. “Your worst enemy, [Winston] reflected, was your nervous system. At any moment the tension inside you was liable to translate into some visible symptom.” Winston’s thoughts accurately describe the tension experienced by those who are unwilling to bend to culture’s transient thinking. Paul encouraged Jesus’ followers to “Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.” 1 Corinthians 16:14 (NLT)

Take Responsibility

King Solomon noted an attitude that continues to control some people’s lives today. We can find the attitude in every age group, gender, nationality, political leanings, economic status, or educational experience. The attitude flourishes in proud hearts, unbelieving hearts, combative hearts, hearts that don’t take responsibility. “People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the LORD.” Proverbs 19:3 (NLT) “People's own foolishness ruins their lives, but in their minds they blame the LORD.” Proverbs 19:3 (NCV) “People ruin their lives by their own stupidity, so why does GOD always get blamed?” Proverbs 19:3 (MSG) King Solomon’s statement makes some people angry. The truth puts squarely on them responsibility for life’s consequence. Not all pitfalls, curveballs, struggles and suffering are self-induced. We’ve all experienced undeserved pain in life. But we’ve also all experienced self-inflicted pain through poor financial decisions, relational decisions, and misplaced priorities. We’ve failed to end certain habits and start other habits. Often, those who acknowledge their self-inflicted struggles are slowest to become angry at God and others. Those who will not recognize their responsibility are quick to become angry at God and others. Those who will not take responsibility for their lives plant a seed of bondage. While those who take responsibility for their life releases emotional freedom. Healthy Action Steps: Take responsibility for your life. Don’t blame God for your struggles. Release emotional freedom!

The BIGNESS of God

I have been thinking about the BIGNESS of God this week. When a person’s view of God is accurate, it impacts every other area of a person’s life. If I view God incorrectly, I cannot help but perceive my importance and the importance of others inaccurately. 3,000 years ago, King David wrote about his view of God. “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” Psalms 8:3-4 (NIV) David was pondering the universe, galaxies, stars, and the moon, and he realized how insignificant people are. My paraphrase of the question David posed to God: “You are so big and what you’ve created is so vast, why would you ever think about us?” When I understand how big God is, it puts me in my place. He’s big, I’m little, and I’m the same size as everyone else. I’m no bigger than anyone else, I’m no better than anyone else, and I’m driven to see others appropriately. I’m driven to be “mindful” of others and “care” for them. If God is GREAT BIG and is mindful of others and cares for others, surely those made in His image should do the same. “Who among the gods is like you, LORD? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” Exodus 15:11 (NIV) Is it any wonder the Scriptures describe Moses as “a very humble man, more humble than anyone else?” Moses’ view of the grandeur of God seeded humility in his life. I want a clearer view of the awesomeness of God! God, Help me see you clearly. Amen

Wisdom

Years ago, a family in the church gave me a needlework wall-hanging with the following Abraham Lincoln quote embroidered on it: “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.” Abraham Lincoln In recent months, I have found myself overwhelmed by the sentiment that Lincoln expressed. I find myself in dire need of wisdom. My own thinking is insufficient to respond to life’s challenges. The world is shifting so fast, life is approaching, what feels like “warp speed.” Ideas, philosophies, truth, error, conflict, confusion, regulations, mandates and challenges are flying in all directions and in no particular order. Things come so fast; I feel like I’m swatting at a swarm of flies! People have regularly referred to “new” circumstances and challenges as “unprecedented.” We are living in another one of those times when almost everything about life is different. Jesus told his disciples, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So be as wise as snakes and as harmless as doves.” (Matthew 10:16 NIrV) Followers of Jesus have always needed wisdom. I desperately need wisdom to respond and not react. I need wisdom to respond or not, depending on the situation. As a follower of Jesus, I am to respond the way Jesus would. I need wisdom to know when to speak, when to listen, when to change and when to stand firm. It will take every bit of wisdom that God provides for His followers to “love God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength” and to “love your neighbors.” “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone.” James 1:5-6 (NLT) If you are like me, the request for wisdom is constant. I’m leaning on the promise of God that He will provide it.

Eternity

As I’ve studied this week, wonder and excitement has infused my heart about what lays ahead for God’s children. The Apostle Paul encouraged the new church in Corinth about eternity. He wrote to them: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NLT) People have written dozens of books over the last decade about near-death experiences and visions of heaven. I don’t doubt their experiences and visions. I think that the experiences and visions fall short of what eternity will be like. Paul said: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has imagined!” He describes his own visit to heaven this way “I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.” 2 Corinthians 12:4 (NLT) The Apostle John, in his writing Revelation, described eternity. “I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, ‘Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.’ And the one sitting on the throne said, ‘Look, I am making everything new!’” Revelation 21:3-5 (NLT) The wisdom of God and the power of God has prepared, for everyone who entrusts their past, present and future into Jesus’ care and control, ETERNITY THAT IS BEYOND YOUR WILDEST, WILDEST, MOST EXTRAVEGANT, OUTLANDISH IMAGINATION YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS WHAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR HIS CHILDREN! Can I beg you, entrust your past, present and future into Jesus’ care and control! Don’t miss out on what God has planned for those who love Him.