Christ and Common Sense

Thoughts from a Central Valley Pastor

Category: Christ (Page 6 of 9)

Youth Sports: Five Questions Christian Parents Need to Ask

April 8, 2022 /

In the last two months, youth sports have surged back to life. Parents have started their yearly tradition of driving kids to and from practices, games, and meetings. They are constantly asking questions, “When is the next practice?” “Why isn’t my son getting more playing time?” “What field is my daughter’s game at?” These questions come fast and hard at parents and many have not taken the time to slow down and consider another group of questions that all Christian parents should ask before signing their children up for sports. 

Question #1) How will youth sports affect your family? It has become common for families to have multiple children in different sports, which means they are constantly on the go. If you find yourself driving frantically from practice to practice, eating junk food in the car, microwaving pop-tarts to save time, as Brian Reagan says, “You might need to loosen up your schedule.” Our family loves youth sports. We have put our kids in indoor soccer, baseball, basketball, gymnastics, football, and softball, but we have learned that our family can only handle one sport at a time for the entire family if we want to maintain a healthy balance for quality time with each child, regular devotions, and family meal-times. 

Ephesians 6:4 says, “Fathers do not provoke your children to anger.” It is very likely that your children will become tired, irritable, and be tempted to be disobedient if they are not getting time to sleep well, do their homework, and have one-on-one time with their parents. Parents can make the mistake of thinking their kids will be angry if they don’t do constant sports, but the reality is they are kids! They are happy to be with mom and dad playing ball in the back yard! 

Question #2) Will this sport have any games or practices on Sundays? My wife and I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that the spiritual growth of our children is always more important than their athletic development. The Bible makes it clear that the purpose of parenting is to raise their children in the “discipline and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4 ESV) This means Sunday mornings are reserved for spiritual training with our church family. 

Over the years, we have had coaches ask us if our son could go to a special training on Sunday morning or afternoon. We have made it very simple. Sundays are reserved for family, both our church family and our extended family and so we do not sign up for any sports that would conflict with our priorities. There have been times when a stand-alone sports event could have worked around our schedule, but we have never regretted saying “No” to youth sports on Sundays. If you want to get inspired by this commitment go watch “Chariots of Fire” and be amazed at Eric Lidell’s resolve to give up running in the Olympics because his event had been scheduled on a Sunday morning. 

Question #3) Will this sport become an idol for me, my wife, or my children? The apostle John’s closing words in his first letter are surprisingly simple, “My little children, keep yourself from idols.” An idol is anything that takes the place of worshipping God. Jesus told us the greatest commandment is to “Love the lord your God with all your heart, with all your might, and with all your strength and a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:38-39) This means that everything in life needs to be considered through the grid of whether it is adding to our love for God or distracting from it. This grid is incredibly helpful with youth sports. Is your child overly concerned with how he or she is playing on the field? That might mean it is a good time to remind him or her to view the sport from God’s perspective. Is your child consistently struggling to enjoy the game? Then take a break. You are the one who signed your child up, you can talk to the coach and do what is best for your child. 

Question #4) What is motivating you as a parent to place your child in sports? Is it because all his friends are in sports? Is it because you want him to get a college scholarship? Is it because you want bragging rights with your friends? God’s word tells us, “Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) This is a good time to do some soul searching. Take a step back and realize that the rat race of the business world has taken over youth sports as well. There is money to be made in the world of sports and you would have to be naive to not realize that people pushing youth sports have less than pure motives. The Christian parent’s motivation for youth sports should be to glorify God and train their child. There are many good lessons that can be learned from playing sports, but there are many more bad lessons that can seep in and twist the motives of the athlete. Work hard to talk to your budding athlete and make sure they are thinking these things through for themselves. 

Question #5) Where does the incessant push for youth sports come from? It reminds me of the reasons Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden fruit. Genesis 3 says, “She saw that it was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise.” It is very easy to justify things that seem innocent and positive on the outside. The Christian parent looks deeper. He asks good questions. 

David King and Margot Starbuck have written a book titled Overplayed: A Parent’s Guide to Sanity in World of Youth Sports. They bring a Christian perspective to this topic by addressing seven common myths about youth sports. Myth number seven is this, “The Money We Are Investing into Youth Sports Will Pay Off.” It is true that college tuition is growing more expensive, but should you really invest in more than a decade of youth sports in the hope that your daughter will win a scholarship? Maybe she won’t want to go to college. Maybe she will go to a community college first? These questions need to be asked soon or else you will find yourself “red-shirting” your kindergarten child because of financial dreams that may never materialize. 

Each family has to decide how to use the precious time given by God to raise their children. There is freedom to invest in different ways in youth sports, but each parent is responsible to ask Godly questions in order to raise their children in the “discipline and instruction of the Lord.” 

The Paradox of Life in Christ

March 25, 2022 /

“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.” Believe it or not, that was basically what the church of the city of Corinth told the Apostle Paul in the spring of A.D. 56. This was tragic because this was a church that Paul himself had founded just six years earlier. What got them to that point? Basically, Paul called some of the members out on sexual sin that was going unchecked in the church, and in multiple ways, they did not respond well. He visited them, they rejected him, and they sent him on his way. He wrote them a letter confronting this sin once again in love. And this time, he had to wait to find out what happened. His co-worker, Titus, had been sent to ascertain how the church was doing and was supposed to meet Paul in the city of Troas. But when Paul arrived in Troas, Titus wasn’t there (Acts 20; 2 Corinthians 2). 

So, 2 Corinthians 2:12–13 indicates that Paul was upset and anxious when he could not find out the result of his confrontational letter. Now, to avoid any suspense, I’ll just tell you up front that in chapter 7, Paul indicates that he did catch up with Titus who gave him a great report that all was well between Paul and the Corinthian church. But the big question is: What did Paul do in the meantime? While he was anxious and awaiting word from Titus? He gave thanks, and for a very surprising reason. Paul describes this giving of thanks: “But thanks by to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere” (2 Corinthians 2:14). 

“Oh, I get it,” you might say to yourself, “Paul was having victory in the Lord even while he was in this anxious state. And he was acting as the ‘fragrance of Christ,’ a victorious Christian life of confidence and triumph.” And this would be a reasonable assumption given the phrase “triumphal procession.” But his posture or attitude is not one of victory but of surrender. Let me get to that shortly . . . 

Paul was referring to the ancient Roman practice of a victory parade called a triumph. It was a celebration in the city of Rome for a conquering general to parade himself, his army, and the spoils of war before the people of Rome. For weeks before the triumph—which could last as long as three days—scaffolding was erected on the streets of Rome to made “grandstands” of a sort and rolling stages were constructed. On these rolling stages, actors would reenact key battles in the war as the stages were rolled through the streets. Artists worked tirelessly to paint pictures of cities that were conquered to be paraded as well. But the climactic portion of the triumph was the leading of captives from the conquered land. 

In that context, some might say that Paul is asserting his “triumph,” that in Christ, Paul is a winner so to speak. He is like the conquering general or part of the winning army of Christ. But the phrase, “leads us in triumphal procession” is one long word in the Greek text of the New Testament and in this particular form it always refers to the captive, not the conquering army. Paul is not representing himself as a conquering victorious general or soldier in the “army” of Christ. Rather, he pictures himself as a conquered prisoner of Christ. Romans 5:10 says that the Christian was formerly the enemy of God. Ephesians 4:8 says that Christ has led a “host of captives.” But what was the weapon of Christ to take these captives? Second Corinthians 5:14 says the Christian was captured by the love of God. And this love was expressed most fully in the sacrificial death of Christ to make payment for sin.

So, Paul is motivated and eager—even in the midst of pain and suffering—to be the “fragrance of Christ”—to live a life filled with obedience to God and the Bible precisely because he is a captive of Christ Himself. The paradox of the Christian life is that you are dead to yourself and alive to Christ (Galatians 2:20). And your new life in Christ is your greatest motivation to holiness and obedience to the Lord. He is your Master and you have been conquered by His love.

By Dr. Steve Swartz, Senior Teaching Pastor of Grace Bible Church of Bakersfield and featured speaker on Steadfast in the Faith (www.steadfastinthefaith.org).

Fighting Through the Fog: Reclaiming Biblical Missiology for the Modern Church

March 9, 2022 /

That was the theme of the Missions conference Bud Haskell and I attended yesterday in Santa Clarita, CA. The symposium was hosted by The Master’s Academy International (TMAI) at Grace Baptist Church and included missionaries, pastors, and elders from all over the world. We were joined by a group of CVF pastors from Grace Bible in Visalia, including Will Costello, Dale Payne, and Josiah Busenitz. 

The TMAI missions conference is unique because it is focused on challenging seasoned pastors and active missionaries to think correctly about the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). This is quite different from other conferences that are geared towards recruiting college students to do mission work.

This year’s TMAI conference started with a message by Mark Tatlock, the acting director of TMAI. He gave a call for discernment in the spiritual battle of missions. This discernment is needed by missionaries overseas and by the leaders of churches that are supporting them. It was thought provoking to hear him talk about missions as a war that can be clouded by imprecise thinking regarding theology, soteriology, and ecclesiology. He warned against the popular trend on the mission field of replacing precise theology with pragmatic methodology. He gave a compelling comparison between the dangers of integrationist psychology and integrationist missiology. 

Having spent five years doing church planting work in a Muslim-majority country I can agree with his cause for concern. I met missionaries who wanted to change the wording of Scripture so it would be easier for Muslims to accept. I saw confusion on leadership teams and churches in how to boldly proclaim the word of God. Thankfully, there were some local pastors who were preaching the truth, but by and large the missionary community was much more open to adopting an integrationist and pragmatic methodology than they should have been. 

The next messages we heard were from E. D. Burns, Scott Callahan, and Brooks Buser. E. D. Burns is a missionary who directs the MA in Global Leadership at Western Seminary. He has written several books including The Missionary-Theologian, which he told us has caused him to lose many friends. This is a sad result of standing by the belief that missionaries need to stand on theological convictions. Unfortunately, many missionaries today are encouraged to replace biblical conviction with cutting-edge theories like Church Planting Movements (CPM). 

Scott Callahan’s talk was surprising because he spent the entire hour preaching about baptism. The title of his talk was “Jesus Commands You to Immerse” and he gave a strong case for all missionaries to teach the need for disciple’s baptism. I thought this was a helpful distinction from “believer’s baptism” because “disciple’s baptism” implies the need for converts to be tested before being baptized. 

My experience on the mission field proved that missionaries are often tempted to weaken the Bible’s command for baptism by immersion. Many missionaries working with Muslims are tempted to postpone baptism or adapt it to a hidden event out of fear for the life of the Muslim convert. Instead of being afraid missionaries need to be confident of the need for believers to publicly declare their allegiance to Christ. One of the most profound experiences I had was when I witnessed several Kosovar Christians get baptized in a pool outside of Prishtina, Kosovo. They were not cowering in fear of what might happen to them. They were courageous in their allegiance to Christ and everyone who witnessed the baptism was encouraged by their rejection of the fear of man. 

Brooks Buser’s talk was informative because of his teaching on “Biblical Missiology and the Primacy of the Local Church.” It was exciting to hear him describe working with a unreached tribe in Papau New Guinea. They made it clear that they were not watering down the message to make it easier for the people to digest. They started teaching in Genesis and taught through the entire Old Testament before introducing people to Jesus. Thousands of people heard the messages, but only 40 or so people responded and came to Christ. That was enough for Brooks and his team. They started a church and told the people they would not be staying indefinitely. They would be training up the men to be pastors and elders because that is the Biblical model. 

Brooks returned to the states after thirteen years working there and now he is the director of a mission agency called Radius that trains pastors who are going to unreached linguistic groups. All of their training centers are outside of the U.S. and they are seeing an increase in churches that want to send their missionaries to be trained there. If you have time you can check out their website at https://www.radiusinternational.org. 

The War on Guilt

February 18, 2022 /

There is a war going on in our society against the Biblical understanding of guilt. Many of the most prominent voices in our culture teach that guilt is an emotion that needs to be managed with careful analysis and psychological remedies. This mindset rebels against the idea of guilt as a healthy warning mechanism that lets people know when they are not living the way God intended.

Dr. John Street, a Professor of Biblical counseling at The Master’s University, in Santa Clarita, CA recently told a disturbing story about this unbiblical mindset in a podcast titled “The War on Guilt.” Dr. Street’s relative was working as a nurse at a hospital where she was required to accompany a young woman to a counseling session. The young woman had become pregnant out of wedlock and had decided to keep the baby. Her doctor required her to attend counseling sessions to deal with her guilt and Dr. Street’s relative was assigned to accompany the woman to the counseling sessions. 

During the second session, the psychologist told the young woman that her problem was guilt. His advice was for her to go out and have as many illicit relationships as needed until she didn’t feel guilty about it anymore. 

The idea behind that advice comes from a behaviorist approach to psychology. The idea is that emotions come from behavior and one way to change the emotion is by modifying the behavior. If someone is experiencing excessive guilt then one way to address it is for the person to believe they don’t need to feel guilty about the action. There is a risk involved in giving that advice.The risk is that the person will damage their conscience to the extent that they don’t feel guilt even though they are taking part in self-destructive behavior. 

The Bible addresses guilt very differently. The Bible speaks of guilt as a burden that only God can alleviate. Psalm 32:2 gives a description of the feelings that can come when someone sins against their conscience, “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night, your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.” The guilt that David described was not something to be ignored. It was a natural warning telling David he needed to confess his sin and seek forgiveness from God. 

Once David confessed his sin to God, his guilt was removed by God. Psalm 103:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” 

This remarkable cure for guilt can only be found in God because he is the one who defines right and wrong and he is the one who will judge humanity. By the grace of God, he has provided a means by which every human being can have their sin forgiven and their guilt removed. This was made possible by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. When Jesus died on the cross he paid for the sin of all those who confess their sin, believe in the saving work of Christ, and commit their lives to live for God and his glory. 

The saving work of God is the best solution to alleviating guilt because it is dependent on the work of God and not the behavior modification of a human being. Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” The emphasis is not on the work of man. It is on the saving work of God. Those who discover this truth are able to be set free from the depression of guilt. They are able to recognize that their hope is not found in themselves, but in God. 

Look to the Mountains

February 6, 2022 /

One of the greatest things about going up to the mountains is that it brings perspective to the troubles we face in the valley. When you are looking down at Yosemite valley or looking up at the giant redwoods in Kings canyon you immediately get a sense of perspective. You begin to wonder, “‘Why was I so worried about the price of gas this week?’ ‘Do I really need to be anxious about the problems of the day?’” Just last weekend I was looking over the beautiful vista of Shaver Lake and I had a deep sense of peace,  “Why worry? I know God is in control.” 

It certainly helps to go up to the mountains to get perspective on life, but I have found the more I study the Bible the less I need to go somewhere to find peace and renewal for my soul. Psalm 121 says, “I lift my eyes up to the hills, from where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved. He who keeps you will not slumber… The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever more.” (English Standard Version) 

What a powerful principle! If you know how to study God’s word you can save some gas money and renew your mind from the comfort of your own home. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” The difficult part of discerning the will of God is comparing your thoughts and feelings to what God’s word says. You may be tempted to worry about what will happen tomorrow. But the Bible repeatedly tells us, “Don’t worry. Trust God.” 

Jesus said, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Mt. 6:34) It is that simple. Christians do not need to be consumed with worry about anything that is happening tomorrow because God has everything under control. 

Even when bad things happen the Christian can be at ease. Romans 8:28 reminds us that the Christian’s sense of peace is undergirded by the sovereignty of God, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Those who deny God can never experience this kind of peace until they submit their lives to God. If you are the “god” of your own life then you will never find lasting peace because you can never guarantee that bad things will turn out good for you. The God of the Bible is able to guarantee a positive outcome. He is able to turn even the worst situation (the death of Christ) into the best situation (the glory of God and the salvation of sinners). 

The perspective of the Bible goes even further than turning a negative situation to a neutral situation. The Bible actually makes it possible for the Christian to have joy in the midst of difficulties. That is why James 1:3 says, “Consider it all joy my brothers when you encounter trials of various kinds, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance and endurance when it has it’s full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” God is able to use the most difficult problems in life help believers to grow in Godliness. 

Where else can you go to have your perspective genuinely changed from negative to positive? I have found that it can only be done with the supernatural help of God’s word. That is the only place we can learn that our sins are paid for. It is the only place we can have “the peace that surpasses understanding that will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7) The deeper we dig into the goldmine of God’s word, the more richly we will strengthen ourselves with the supernatural perspective of our creator God. 

Things to Look for in a Biblical Counselor

January 15, 2022 /

There is a growing desire here in the valley for Christians to find biblical counselors to help them navigate the difficulties of life. As people look for advice on different issues they will need to know the right questions to ask as they look for a counselor. Here is a list of distinctive to consider in a biblical counselor. This list has been adapted from pastor Paul Tautges’ article “Ten Distinctives of Biblical Counseling.” 

  1. The Sufficiency of Scripture. This is the foundation of good biblical counsel. You will need a counselor who firmly believes, “All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correcting, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16-17)
  2. The Depravity of Man. It is important to understand the counselor’s philosophy of human nature. If he or she thinks you can “live your best life now” without addressing the reality of sin and the need for salvation and sanctification then you are wasting your time. 
  3. The Need to be like Christ. Biblical counselors need to set their sights on being like Christ. This is true of the counselor and of the person being counseled. “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” (Colossians 1:28) 
  4. The Work of the Holy Spirit. Trying to work spiritual change without the work of the Holy Spirit is a fool’s errand. He is the one who does the work of conviction and helps bring lasting change through the power of God’s word (John 16:8).
  5. The Need for Heart Work. God is ultimately responsible for a Christian’s salvation and sanctification, but each person needs to be obedient to God’s word and that means you want a counselor who will expect you to work hard to make changes where needed (Philippians 1:6, 2:12-13)
  6. Motivated by God’s love. Finding a counselor who is connected with a loving local church will help you understand the context that they are working in. You will be able to see that their desire to counsel comes from God’s everlasting love that was manifested perfectly in Jesus Christ (John 3:16). 
  7. The Body and Soul. It is important to find a counselor who understands the connection between the body and soul. There are physical realities that affect us spiritually and vice versa. The counselor must listen carefully to each situation and seek to apply God’s word carefully and appropriately (Hebrews 4:12.
  8. The Local Church. You will want to make sure that the counselor is a member of a local church. This provides accountability to the counselor and it lets you know he or she is counseling in a biblical context (Hebrews 10:24-25, Ephesians 4:11-13).  

There are several excellent resources available online that can help you in the search for biblical counselors. The Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC) has a counselor finder on their website (biblicalcounseling.com). The Institute for Biblical Counseling and Discipleship has some excellent resources for helping to bring biblical counseling to your church (ibdc.org). The Biblical Counseling Coalition is another helpful organization to check out (biblicalcounselingcoalition.org). 

Investing in the Future

January 3, 2022 /

The New Year marks the perfect time to think about investing in the future. As the calendar flips back to January 1st, we can reflect on the past and consider our steps for the year to come. 

As Christians we need to be interested in both short-term and long-term investments. Jesus often taught about the importance of using money wisely. In Luke 14:28 he taught his disciples, “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” This is common sense wisdom that is applied to financial investment. The fool builds before considering the cost. The wise man carefully considers what he has and builds accordingly. 

Most of Jesus’ financial teaching was focused on investing in the future. He said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Mt. 6:19-21) The last line is the most important. We each show where our interests lie by where we spend our money. 

This is a great principle to consider as we look to the new year. Where are you going to spend the money God has given you stewardship over? How are you going to use the skills you have been given to bring back a plentiful return on your investment? Are you going to use the time he grants you this year for gain that is focused on this lifetime, or are you going to invest it in eternity? 

The Parable of the Sower is sobering because only one of the four types of soil yields a fruitful harvest. The first three types of soil are either too hard, too shallow, or too harsh to support the seed taking root and producing a healthy return. It is only the last soil, the good soil that bears fruit and yields a harvest “in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” (Mt. 13:23) 

The meaning of the parable is that the first three soils are those who hear God’s word and do not obey it. The last soil is the good soil that “hears the word and understands it.” In John 14:15 Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” 

The Holy Spirit indwells every believer and makes it possible for him to yield a bountiful harvest. The Holy Spirit guides the believer through God’s word. This is the secret to investing in the short term and the long term. By obeying God’s word you will be able to live focused on others. You will be able to consider how God wants you to invest your time and money, and it will bring fruitful return today, tomorrow, and for eternity. Jesus said, “ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” 

Merry Christmas and Maranatha!

January 3, 2022 /

What a joy to celebrate Christmas with friends and family! There are so many fun traditions that are wrapped up with the holiday. Advent calendars, Christmas trees, holiday lights, and nativity scenes. The list goes on and on. Every year my wife and I try to make a concerted effort to choose activities that help focus our family on the birth of Jesus Christ. He is the reason for the season! 

This year we are reading Ace Collins’ book Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas. The history behind each of the traditions is fascinating. Did you know Martin Luther, the German pastor, is said to be the first person to put lights on a Christmas tree? He thought of the idea after seeing how beautiful the stars looked as he walked through a forest of evergreen trees. He attached candle holders to the branches of a Christmas tree and filled his home with light. Later when electricity was invented the tradition become even more popular and much safer! 

The merit of certain Christmas traditions can be seen by whether they emphasize the biblical story of the birth of Christ. The advent calendar is one of my favorites because it builds anticipation for the incarnation, when God came to earth and lived on the earth as one of us. 

Even if a Christmas tradition focuses our thoughts on Christ, I still try to teach our family that Christmas is not the end of the story. I have to remind them that Christmas points us towards Easter and Resurrection Sunday! If Jesus did not live a perfect life and die on the cross and rise from the dead, then there would be no reason to celebrate Christmas at all! We don’t usually talk about the Resurrection of Christ during Christmas, but I would recommend you to emphasize it because then you can keep the first advent of Christ in context. 

Biblically speaking, the first advent should also remind us of the second advent of our Savior. In Matthew 24 Jesus predicted that his second coming would be glorious, “They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Jesus taught that no one knows when he will return, but all of us need anticipate his return and seek to be ready for him to come (24:44). 

The early church had a way of reminding themselves of Christ’s return. They would say, “Maranatha,” which means “Our Lord, come!” The apostle Paul used this phrase at the end of his letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 16:22), and the apostle John also used the same phrase at the end of Revelation (Revelation 22:20). It is an important phrase because it immediately reminds the believer that we are waiting for Christ’s return. 

I think this is especially important to remember during the Christmas season because it is so easy to get wrapped up in the first advent of Christ. We need to remind ourselves that this isn’t the end of the story. The birth of Christ is just the beginning! Merry Christmas leads to Maranatha! I have found it helpful to combine these two phrases together, “Merry Christmas, Maranatha!” It is a great greeting to give to each other as believers. One person can say Merry Christmas and the other responds with, “Maranatha!” Together they help us celebrate the first advent and anticipate the second coming of Christ! “Merry Christmas and Maranatha!” 

The Truth Will Set You Free

December 23, 2021 /

One of my favorite quotes from the life of Christ is when he said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32) This message resonates deeply with humanity because we all have a desire to be free. No one wants to live in captivity. No one wants to live in bondage. No one wants to be imprisoned to humans who we think are worse than ourselves. 

When Jesus spoke about being set free, he was referring to a bondage that all humans experience. He was talking about the spiritual bondage to sin. In John 8:34 he wrote, “Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin… If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” The bondage of sin is a spiritual reality that all humans are not able to live up to God’s standards by their own power. Humans were created to live in relationship with a holy God, but sin has separated people from God. Without a Savior, there is no hope of restoring this relationship with Him because of people’s bondage to sin.

The sense of being in bondage to sin is a universal reality because regardless of wealth or education or power, no human is able to break free from their human frailty and limitations. Bill Gates knows he can not buy perfection. Mother Theresa knew she could never attain it because God’s standards go beyond outward action to inward thoughts and motives. 

Today we see a novel strategy to dealing with the problem of sin. Instead of acknowledging the problem of sin, many people in positions of power are trying to change the definition of morality so that it lines up with their own definition of right and wrong. They want abortion to be thought from one perspective so that there is no moral dilemma. They want questions of social justice, human sexuality, and environmental equity to be framed in such a way that ignores God’s standards. The irony is that the desire to set people free from God’s morality is actually moving them deeper into the bondage to sin. 

The only hope humanity has of being set free from the human condition is to look for a supernatural solution that only God provides. The only perfect solution for sin comes from the Savior. God the Father sent the Son, Jesus Christ, who by the power of the Holy Spirit was able to live a perfect, sinless life on the earth and then die on the cross for our sins. His resurrection from the dead proved what he taught was true. When he said, “the truth will set you free” he backed it up by breaking free from the power of death! Death is the ultimate sign of human sin because it proves that humans are imperfect and finite. Jesus Christ conquered death and thus made it possible for us to be truly set free. 

Take Heart in the Justice of the Lord!

December 10, 2021 /

(Published as “A Solution for Injustice in the World” in the Hanford Sentinel)

Earlier this week my wife read a Psalm that struck a chord with me. As I listened I thought, “Where has this little gem been hiding away?” As I listened I became convinced that Psalm 37 was written as medicine for souls that have become sickened by injustice in the world. The author promises an ultimate end to injustice that depends solely on God, not on man-made solutions of power or politics. 

Psalm 37 says, “Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.” When David wrote this, he had already experienced his fair share of injustice in life. His nemesis, King Saul, was out to get him. David literally had to go into hiding to stay alive. How did David do it? How did he survive such great persecution and turmoil? God’s word gives us a simple answer. David made his perspective line up with God’s.

Psalm 37 continues, “Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” A remarkable reality takes shape when we line our thoughts up with God’s thoughts. Our desires become his desires. This is how David could promise that the Lord would give his people the desires of their heart. It was not a promise for revenge or riches. It was a promise for a certain type of desires to be met, the kind that line up with what God desires. 

Isn’t it interesting that David’s command to “dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness” comes in the context of him writing about the evil and and imperfections of this world? He didn’t give that command when everything was great and things were running smoothly. He commanded the people of God to stand firm in godliness because that is what God’s perspective requires. He was looking past the turmoil of the times to the days of peace that God will ultimately establish on the earth. 

Late in Psalm 37 David wrote, “Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!” 

We know God can set all injustice right whenever he wants. We also know his timing is not our timing so he does not have to expedite justice on the earth. 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

If God were quick to bring about justice, there would be no hope for any of us. God is patient, and so he gives time for justice to ultimately be accomplished at the end of time. We know from the book of Revelation that there will be a great white throne of judgment where everything will be set straight. No crime will go unpunished. Every wrong will be made right. That will be a frightful and formidable day for those who have not had their sin paid for. But for those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their Savior, it is not a day to fear because every sin they have committed has been paid for by Christ’s death on the cross. 

Having God’s perspective is how the author of Psalm 37 was able to end his poem with so much confidence. He wrote, “The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble. The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.” 

Those who take refuge in God will be able to thrive through the seasons of life. As Psalm 1 says, “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.” The key question we must ask is this, “Do I have God’s perspective on this situation or not?” One perspective will lead to root rot that will dry out the soul and end in despair, the other will lead to a soul that is content, healthy, and fully dependent on God.

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