A Literal Christian

Literal: true to fact; not exaggerated; actual or factual: a literal description of conditions. Being actually such, without exaggeration or inaccuracy.

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about my mission this next year at Eastside Assembly of God. And I am convinced that what God wants from me it to teach Christian doctrine to the church. I know, I know, it sounds really boring. But I am realizing that too many people who attend church, not only Eastside, do not know what it really means to be a Christian. And the reason is because we avoid the doctrine, or the beliefs of the church. I am surprised in my conversations with people who are regular attendees of church at their beliefs concerning God, the Bible, The Church, life, death, the world, heaven, hell, tithing, the Holy Spirit, etc. So this next year I am going to put a real emphasis on teaching the doctrines of the Church. I will try to make it exciting too!

So with that said, here is why I am really writing this…I want to be a literal Christian. Not just the kind of Christian who was born into a family that goes to church. But I want to really live the Christian life. So I believe every word of the Bible to be the Word of God. I take the Bible literally. Now I know there are some symbolic things in there, but most of the Scriptures are to be taken literally. And when they are symbolic it is clear that they are not literal.

UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE.
The reason God gave us the Scripture was so that we could have intimate knowledge of Him. It doesn’t make any sense for the Bible to be hard to understand. I do not believe that God made the Scriptures hard to get. It doesn’t serve His purpose! And the easiest way to understand the Bible is the read it literally. Read it for what it actually says.

On December 5th I wrote on here some crazy things I believe. They aren’t really crazy but the world thinks they are… I believe these things based on reading the Bible and taking it literally. In other words, I believe whatever the Bible says!

So for 2011, my mission is to convince the church to be literally Christian! It will be interesting and it will be fun! Literally!

Christmas, Family, and Church

This last Sunday reminded me of why I am so blessed to be a part of Eastside Assembly of God. Sunday morning to see how much talent God has blessed our church with was a real reminder of how fortunate I am. I have to give a big shout out to Bill Moore and the Adult chorale for an excellent presentation. I enjoyed the whole service.

I also got to do something that the Church as a whole doesn’t know…so you get to be an “insider” on this. I had a family in the church that made a generous donation for the purpose of getting Christmas present for children in our church. We were able to bless five children with a Christmas miracle this year. I am so thankful to be part of a congregation of generous people!

Then on Sunday Evening I was so blessed to get to pray over the families of our church. Every time I pray I am reminded of all the great friendships God has given to my family and me. How funny was it to see Aaron get all those hugs? I know that Pastors are always saying that they love their church; but I want to tell you that I really, really do love Eastside Assembly of God, and I thank God everyday that I get to Pastor such a wonderful church!

I also am blessed with a wonderful family. I am so glad that Gloria and Aaron make up my immediate family. They are my best friends in the world. And both of them always do whatever I need them to do to help me Pastor the Church, They never say no. And I also have to say that this last year has reminded how important my extended family is to me. Growing up I always complained about having three sisters (I still think with good reason), however as we are now adults, notice I didn’t say grown up or mature, I know that I really love them and am glad to have them in my life. I know that I could call Jennifer, Allison, and Valeri and Nathan, and they would do anything I needed them to do!

So I know that this has been pretty sappy but I needed to tell everyone how blessed I feel this Christmas!

I believe some crazy things!

In 2006 I was writing for a local "ecumenical" magazine and realized very quickly that the things I believed...the things I thought were part of Biblical Christianity...were not what many Christians believed. So in 2007 when I came to Eastside one of the first Bible studies I taught was based on this list. I wanted to start off with everyone knowing where I was coming from in terms of my personal beliefs. I know that there are many other "crazy" things I believe but these seem to be the most notable. I posted this list in 2008 but I feel like I want to share it again!

I believe...

...God created the world in six 24 hour days

...Noah really did build an ark and that every animal was on it

...Jesus is the Son of God

...That Jesus’ mother, Mary was a virgin at his birth

...Jesus died on the cross for my sins

...Jesus was resurrected from the dead after three days in the grave

...The Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost and filled the church

...The gifts of the Spirit are for today–including speaking in other tongues

...In divine healing

...There is a difference between right and wrong

...In the devil

...In a literal hell

...Jesus will return before the tribulation and rapture the church

...God loves even me

...The Bible!

Only on Sunday

Yesterday in my message I mentioned that coming to church only on Sunday wasn’t enough to successfully live the Christian life. I want to further explore this area.

Because of the thanksgiving weekend we didn’t have services last Wednesday and last night (Sunday). Around 6:00 pm I was watching TV and realized that if this had been a normal Sunday Evening we would just be starting Church. As I though about that I realized that I actually missed being at church. Not because I had a great lesson to teach but because I missed seeing and being with the people of our church. And I was reminded of what I had said earlier in the day about coming to church only on Sunday morning. By the way, I didn’t say that to challenge people into coming to more of the weekly services, but because I have been thinking about all the tools we are provided with to be strong in our Christian walk, but don’t take advantage of them. One of those is being with other believers.

…not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. --Hebrews 10:25

Notice that the Bible says that we should spend more time together as we see the return of the Lord getting closer. Now here is the point I want to get across to you…I really am praying for our people to have curiosity about the things of God. Because this will motivation for you to seek out all the God stuff. Here is a list in case you don’t know them. Praying, reading the Bible and other Christian books, spending time with believers.

As good as we make the Sunday morning service; it will never be enough to teach you everything you need to know about God and how to live successfully as a follower of Jesus. Let me make this offer to you. I will do everything I can to make sure that every time we come together as a church it will be worth the effort it takes to get there. But beyond that God has already promised that if we seek Him, He will be found. Here are a few suggestions for growing in the faith.

• Spend some time in prayer each day – don’t worry about how much time; just pray everyday.
• Read the Bible – start will something easy like the book of Luke.
• Find a time to regularly be with other believers – Adult Sunday School, Sunday night, Wednesday night, Men’s breakfast, Women’s Petal group, Tuesday morning prayer group, Thursday’s Holy Spirit teaching, or the Saturday Bible study. Call us and we can give you information on all of these groups and classes.

BE CURIOUS!

Five Chances to Avoid Sin

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. --James 1:14-5

There are several passages from the Scripture that every believer should know. One of these is from James. This passage shows us how we can avoid sinning. The key is that we need to always be aware of where we are in the events of each day and where they are leading us. In James the scripture shows us the five steps towards committing sin. If we know these and become aware that they are working on our life we them have a really good chance at avoiding sinful behavior.

1. Tempted – the opportunity presents itself.
2. Drawn by desire – it becomes attractive.
3. Enticed – it develops a continual place in your thoughts.
4. Desire conceived – a plan to achieve it is developed.
5. Birth of sin – you follow through and commit the action.

Every sin can be avoided by stopping on any of the first four steps towards the birth of sin. And you can know that the Holy Spirit is doing all He can to warn you at each one!

Touched By Salvation

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. --1 Corinthians 15:53

So I have been thinking lately about this passage. I used to think that when we are raptured or resurrected that everything would be put back as it was when God first created the world. That we would be given bodies like Adam had before he sinned. But when I read this passage from 1 Corinthians 15, (which is becoming one of my favorite passages!) I am becoming convinced that what God has in mind for us is way better than what Adam had before the curse.

We will have incorruptible bodies after the resurrection. (v.52) That means we will have a body that is impervious to sin. We will have bodies that will no longer be subjected to temptation. WE WON’T EVEN BE TEMPTED TO SIN! We will have bodies that cannot be corrupted! That is way better than the body Adam had because his body was able to be corrupted by sin. (obviously!)

So why the difference? Why is it that after the resurrection we will be given bodies better than Adam’s? The answer can be summed up in one word, salvation. Church, once we have been touched by the salvation of Jesus we are set on a path that will one day lead us to complete freedom from sin or even the ability to commit sin! That is why we will be able to live in the very presence of God for all eternity! Adam and Eve only got to meet with God in the cool of the day – one moment each day. But we will live with Him eternally! Why because salvation is just that powerful!

Our Rescue!

So last night I went to bed early, but I woke up around midnight and turned on the TV. The second of the Chilean miners was being brought up out of the mine. Those men had been over 2,000 feet below the surface of the earth since early August. I couldn’t help but see the comparison between those miners and our own situation as Christians waiting for the day when we hear the blast of the trumpet and are rescued from our present life.

On that day many people who have been in the ground for a very long time will be brought to the surface and then immediately rocketed into the sky to come face to face with the rescuer. (This by the way is exactly what savior means!) Reunited with family and friends just as that miner. Also think of the change that is coming, their lives will never be the same. And the same goes for us! There will also be a change in living conditions. Just as those miners were forced to live in darkness only receiving occasional messages and help from above to encourage them to hold out until the day would come. We too are looking forward to living in a world that far surpasses where we are now!

But more than that, for almost 70 days these men have been living in captivity to their underground world. And while they were down there they spent those days preparing for their freedom from the ground. Believe it or not they worked 12 hour shifts to help clear debris away from the area where the hole would be drilled for their rescue. Church, every thing we are doing during our 70 or so years ought to be in preparation for the coming of our rescuer! The culmination of our earthly existence is for our ascension to our heavenly home.

Lastly, we no more belong on this earth than those miners belonged in that half mile deep hole in the ground! Someday soon a light will pierce through the clouds, the sky will open the blast of the trumpet will sound and we will be set free!

The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away. --Psalms 90:10

The Power of Salvation

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18 NKJV)

We are starting a new series of messages, “The Kingdom of Heaven”. As I am thinking about heaven it occurs to me that while Heaven certainly is a literal place, it also is the representation of man’s restoration to God. When we get to Heaven we will be in the very presence of God without the barrier of evil that hinders us in the world today. So when we get there we will be able to relate to God in ways that are unimaginable to us now!

Heaven will put things back to way they were before sin interrupted our relationship with God. But there will be one difference between the way things were before man sinned and the Heaven that awaits us – SALVATION! The power of salvation is so great that after it is all said and done, things will actually be better! When we get to Heaven we will go to Paradise, not the Garden of Eden, we will always be in the very presence of God, not just in the “cool of the day” (Genesis 3). When we get to Heaven there will be the tree of life (Revelation 22), but not the tree of “Knowledge of Good and Evil”. God will be there, Jesus will be there, the Holy Spirit will be there, but Satan will not. Why? Because Jesus’ salvation is so powerful that the eternity originally planned for Adam and Eve in the garden is surpassed. The freedom we get from salvation also means eternal freedom. Freedom from the wickedness of sin that tempts us. The Garden Eden was not perfect, it contained temptation and a tempter, but heaven will be perfect! There will be nothing to entice us away from God!

The Devil meant to destroy us, to ruin God’s plan for eternal fellowship with Him, but salvation gave us an even better future and left Satan with nothing! You and I will go beyond the Garden of Eden to Heaven by the power of salvation!

Between Here & There

For just a moment I want to take you on a journey, a journey much like the one Dad embarked on Saturday August 14, 2010.

What if when you closed your eyes instead of darkness there was a great light? What if when you closed your eyes instead of the fogginess of a dream there was clarity and focus? What if when you closed your eyes instead of shadows there was revelation?

Imagine if you will, being inside a vessel that is slowly but surely shutting itself down. Parts of this vessel no longer operate; they don’t function as they had before. You just have snippets of awareness as you start to leave this vessel in which you have traveled for 81 years. There are your loved ones around you as you awake and then sleep and then awake again. Light, darkness, light again for a brief time.

You ask yourself if you’re dreaming. It may be hard to know what is real and what is not. This happens to you for some time, it is an experience that you have never had before, yet somehow seems familiar. You awaken and hear someone praying and then a brief flash of awareness as you hear someone say the name of Jesus. As you open your eyes you see the people you love and then back to the dream. And then there is something that draws your attention far off in the distance. At first you’re not sure, but then you recognize that someone is calling your name. A voice that you can’t place at first, but then you know that you have often heard it before. You have heard it in the middle of the night, when you couldn’t sleep, you heard it speaking to you when you prayed, and you’ve heard it give you comfort, guidance, and even understanding. You still can’t see who it is that is calling you; they are just too far away.

But then there He is, is it really? Am I dreaming again? But now the voices and prayers of your loved ones have slowly faded, and now all you hear is the voice of the Master calling your name.

I also wonder if somewhere in heaven an angel taps my mother on the shoulder – come follow me I want you to see something…Imagine Dad walking into the gates of heaven with multitudes waiting for his arrival.

You know we can never know for certain what Dad experienced on that day but I do know this. For him that was the greatest moment ever for him as he crossed from this life to his eternal reward.

Failure is always obvious, while success is often obscure

So here is something I have been thinking about lately…it seems that whenever there is something negative that happens it gets a lot more attention than the good. I have also noticed that we tend to listen to negative people more than those who are positive. We even criticize positive people by saying things like “they have their head in the clouds”, while praising the negative people by saying that they are being realistic. Really? Is that really true? That the positive person is the one having trouble with the truth, while the negative person is more honest in their assessment. Well you can call me naive if you want but I think I am going to start believing the positive reports and ideas. What if honesty and truth can co-exist with a positive attitude?

If something is broken and needs to be fixed it takes a positive person to believe and see a way to repair what is broken. The negative person will just believe nothing can be done and quit. By the way, it is easier and takes much less work to be negative, because negative people never contribute to the work, they just stand back and tell us that it can’t be done. At the end of the day the negative person walks away with their complaints and the positive walks away with accomplishment!

Failure is always obvious, while success is often obscure. I have never had to convince anyone of failure within the church, but I spend a great deal time having to defend, and prove success!

I believe God is doing amazing things in the Church or do I have my head in the clouds? The weather is fine up here!

Scary Stuff

So how do you tell someone that if they don’t get saved now before the rapture that the only way to get to heaven afterwards is to be beheaded and not sound scary?

I have to tell you I like the Sunday messages where I get to tell you guys about all the wonderful things about God. But every once in a while we need to be reminded that we have a choice: We will either face Jesus as a loving and caring savior or a righteous and just judge. And I believe that one of my jobs as pastor is to see to it that you get to heaven and so from time to time we need to have a talk about the consequences of allowing the world to crowd out what the Spirit is trying to do through us. You see the truth is there are a lot of people who are trying to find salvation through a different means than the one God created for us.

I don’t want to die and go to hell! I don’t want Jesus to return and be left behind! I have had this fear ever since I was a child. So I decided a long time ago to learn and study everything I could about Bible prophecy. I will be honest some of it is scary, but the scary stuff won’t happen to believers. If we are saved we will miss all of that. The more I learn and the more I study about the last days, the more I am comforted in the knowledge that I am going to go to heaven. And that is what I want for you, I want you to be secure in the knowledge that God has provided you with everything you need so that should you die or should Jesus come today, you will go to heaven.

For us who are be lievers, the study of the last days will be a source of comfort! For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. THEREFORE COMFORT ONE ANOTHER WITH THESE WORDS. --1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

You see, that isn’t so scary!

Christian Liberty

So last night in teaching the part of scripture where Paul is talking about the subject of eating meat offered to idols, I was surprised to learn how unfamiliar we are with the concept of liberty as believers. I even asked the question, “has anyone taught this to you before?” and the answer was no. (Actually the answer should have been yes because I taught Romans chapters 7 and 8 just last year. Maybe it wasn’t all that memorable!) So I want to use this page to address the issue. We need to know that as Christians we have been given the gift of liberty!

Here is the problem – we who have been saved a long time too easily forget that Christianity is not about following the rules it is all about establishing a relationship with God. After all that is why God created Adam and Eve, He wanted to establish a relationship or even better, a friendship with us, but we chose to reject that friendship. Salvation is all about putting us back into friendship with God! The reason for the rules was to give us the chance to either choose or reject God as our friend. God doesn’t want us to be coerced into being His friend. But far too often the church has reduced the Christian life as following the regulations God has given us. But here is something I want you to think about: as I begin to truly love God there is less need for the laws. The more I love God following His rules just becomes a part of who I am.

Just like being raised by my parents, they taught me how to be a good, safe, and courteous man by giving me rules when I was a child. But at some point they realized that I no longer needed their direction because I had become the kind of person they had raised me to be. (Just a disclaimer, my Dad might not really want to take credit for the kind of person I have become, nevertheless, I’m giving it to him, whether he likes it or not, because I am an adult and I am no longer afraid that he will ground me.) In other words, they no longer punish me for not obeying their rules, because I just instinctively live within them. So really at some point if I am growing as a Christian, God gets to start treating me as an adult. And then I get to live in the liberty that God has given me from the law.

Here is the key – I don’t live according to the laws, but according to the Spirit. What is the difference? Living according to the Spirit means I am living in relationship with God. The law is inanimate, while the Spirit is the person of God. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1 NKJV)

The reason this is so important is that we Christians need to do a better job at sharing our faith, because if we keep thinking that Christianity is about following the rules two things will happen, no one will want to be a Christian, why would anyone choose bondage? And secondly, new believers will become frustrated and walk away from the faith. Christianity is about relating and interacting with the Spirit and the Church is about relating and interacting with God’s people. God is a relational God and He wants us in community with Him and each other. Through this we have true liberty!

I will be adding more thoughts about this in coming days!

A Big Thank You

I just wanted to say a great big thank you to Merry Weber and all of her helpers for a great VBS. I may have had just as much fun as the kids did! I don't know if people are getting tired of it but once again Eastside proved to be a great church. I also want to thank everyone who came last night to put our church back in order!

I will be away on vacation this week; someone told me not to think about the church this week, but I really love thinking and praying about our church because I know that God has some really great things in store for us!

Thank you for loving me and my family, we will see you when we get back!

Prayer Meetings

Ok, I want to share something with you that may not be something a believer, much less a pastor should admit. I don’t like prayer meetings. Every time I go to a prayer meeting my one thought is, “how can I get out of here!" I know, I know, this isn’t good, but for some reason I just don’t like spending large amounts of time praying and prayer meetings obligate to something I am incapable of doing. I have to be honest, when I have shared my secret with other believers I never got the help I was looking for, instead I was told all the reasons why we should pray. So my guilt over this has been an obstacle in my faith. What I didn’t do was take it to God. And when I did I found this quote: “I don’t often spend more than half an hour in prayer at one time, but I never go more than half an hour without praying”. --Smith Wigglesworth. Imagine my surprise to find out that the greatest Pentecostal evangelist of the 19th and 20th centuries didn’t spend long periods of time praying. What he did was exactly what the Bible tells us to do. “Pray without ceasing…” 1 Thessalonians 5:17. This is something I can do and frankly have been doing all along.


I know that there is benefit to devoting a segment of time to praying, and believe me when the circumstance presents itself I can pray and pray intensely. But here is what I want the people of Eastside to know. God has designed prayer in such a way that we can all do it no matter what our personality dictates. God likes all prayers and He wants us to pray! No excuses! Just pray.


Just so you know, I believe that by God’s help I will be able to develop the discipline to pray better and who knows maybe even longer. But I will pray and from now one I will actually enjoy doing it. And how great was last night’s prayer meeting, I walk away from the church knowing I had been in the very presence of God!

Episcopalians, People leaving early, and 1 John 1:9

Some Sundays really stand out and yesterday was no exception. We have been working on the sound for our worship team because we have been very fortunate to add new instruments in the last few months. So there have been problems with getting everything balanced, but in spite of that there have been some tremendous worship services. Someone told me lately it feels really good to come to Eastside and feel like it is church, meaning it feels good to know that God is here! Now in every church there are different tastes for how the worship service should be. Some like a more vibrant, active, and energetic worship time, while others want a worship experience that is reflective, quiet, and tranquil. (yes, I used a big word and I actually know what it means!). So to try and accommodate everyone’s wishes is almost impossible. And it seems to be a hopeless task for there to be much compromise. Now for those who may not know this Eastside is a Pentecostal church and Pentecostals tend towards a more active worship service than say, Episcopalians who like things more sedate. Eastside has both! But we are working hard on it and will find that middle ground before too long. My vision is that Eastside provides an effective worship experience, for both the Pentecostal and the Episcopalian!

Hey, what is with people leaving early? Well I need to be honest because that isn’t what I’m really after so let me ask the real question I am thinking about – When it comes to Sunday plans, why are the Christians always the ones to compromise their time? Not wanting to get too heavy here, just asking? If we don’t respect our churches enough to stay until the end; how will our unsaved family and friends ever hope to share that same respect? When we believers allow such disruption to our attendance how do we make the case that being part of the church is an essential part of the Christian’s walk? Like I said, just asking.

Do you still remember the verse we memorized yesterday! I hope that you will take me up on my challenge to remember it, because I think you will be surprised at how often you will be able to use it when sharing your faith with unbelievers!

I expect that we can all agree that Eastside is a great church, and that it is ok to enjoy the times we come together! I am glad to be part of a church that tolerates and hopefully appreciates a Pastor who likes to laugh, and cry, but mostly laugh, with the people he loves!

Becoming the Person God Wants Me to Be

For a long time now I have felt the challenge of the Lord to become the kind of person God wants me to be. Which after being a believer since I was eight years old, you would think I had figured out how to do that. But guess what? Not that I haven’t been trying, it is just that no matter how much I try I still find it hard to elude the wickedness of my heart. But in searching the scripture I have found that there is a very simple method that God wants me to practice that will help me become the person He wants me to be. It is so simple that I am surprised that I have missed it. (Well, on second thought, I’m not sure I really missed it as much as I resisted it) The Bible gives several directives to examination of who we are and the things we do. As a matter of fact, self-examination is included in the celebration of the communion, which we are told to carry out on a regular basis. In other words, God wants us to take the time to examine life regularly.

So over the next few weeks I am going to be bringing a series of messages during the Sunday services which will challenge us in the areas of life we should examine. These messages may be hard to receive because one or more of these areas will probably hit close to home. I know that because they all do that to me. So for the rest of this month lets just consider the things God will speak to us as taking a journey together. Sometimes we will cry together, and sometimes we will laugh together. The reason I bring that up is because self examination has to be real and will probably reveal things we would rather deny, but as we share together it will be easier to see the truth of who we are and the areas we must surrender to God. So I wrote this as a way of asking permission to meddle into your life as we talk about becoming the person God wants you to be. Can you handle it? I hope so because in the end it will be worth it!

Thoughts about Miracles

For a long time I was under the impression that if we were in need of a miracle that we had to find a way to get God’s attention. I thought that when we prayed, what we were really doing was trying to get God to notice us and to notice our need. But I am finding that in many ways I have been wrong about this.

Yesterday, as Lori was sharing about the miracles that God was doing in the healing of Landon, I started to come to terms with the idea that God knows we need a miracle because He allows us to be put in that place. But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. --Genesis 50:20. Joseph made this insightful statement to his brothers who had sold him into slavery to Egypt – their intention was to destroy him because of their jealousy. But God had another plan, a plan to use the evil that was done in order to do something amazing for Joseph and also for the people of Egypt. So when things happen to me God can take those negative things and use them to do something remarkable through me, to me, and to those in my life. Don’t get me wrong I don’t want bad things to happen to me or to those I love, but I do want miraculous things to happen. As I surrender my life to God and let Him lead me I get to live an interesting, if not extraordinary life!

One more thing, I am always humbled that I get to pray for people and their needs, thank you so much for trusting me to pray for your needs. But most of all thank you for letting me pray for you, because it allows me to fulfill what God has called me to do!

When Jesus Seeks Faith

In my message yesterday we looked at a question Jesus was asked, “will there be few saved?” And Jesus gives this answer, He says, “Strive to enter though the narrow door.” And then He goes on to talk about people who think they are saved but must not be after all. So on the way home I always ask Gloria how I did and she said what she almost always says, “it was good.” (OK, I need to put this answer in some kind of context because reading it doesn’t give you the true flavor of her answer, she didn’t say, “It was GOOD.” It was more like, it was good, like it was just above being boring.) But Aaron said, “Dad, I like it when you talk to us about the rapture.” Wow, my 12 year old likes hear about the rapture. So I want to share just a couple things that I didn’t get a chance to say.

There is a verse in the Bible that says this -"I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8) So here we have Jesus Himself, the One who will return essentially asking when He comes back will He find anyone to rapture. Of course He will because what He is telling us in the passage is to be vigilant about the things of God…especially prayer. Is the church really praying for Him to return? Imagine wanting to go somewhere to do something totally amazing – like take people to heaven to live eternally, but finding, that as much as Jesus wants to return, the church isn’t all that sure. I will say this, the older I get the more ready I am to go. I’d like to stay here for a long time, but if Jesus takes me I am fine with that because I have been able to live a pretty good life. But the older I get the more ready I am to let go. But truthfully, I can’t remember the last time I prayed for Jesus to return.

One more thing, you don’t have to wait to until death to find the assurance of salvation. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) The good news is that Jesus not only wants to return, but he really does want to find people waiting for Him and He has set everything up for us to succeed if we really want to. I want to leave you with one more scripture. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9). He is giving us enough time to get right with Him before He returns. Oh, He is definitely going to find faith, the question is will it be YOU?

Forgive Us As We Forgive Others

So what should we do when God requires us to do something beyond or ability to do? Yesterday we talked about forgiveness and we discovered a couple of things about being a Christian and forgiveness.

First, for the Christian forgiveness is mandatory. Second, for the Christian forgiveness is restoration. According to the example that God gave us, restoration is the completion of the process of forgiveness. God created forgiveness before the world was created. We know this because the Bible says that our righteousness was planned before the foundation of the world. And the whole point of God’s forgiveness is to restore the broken relationship that existed between God and ourselves. As Christians, the forgiveness we receive from God is connected to our forgiving others. And through God’s act of forgiveness we are restored to fellowship with Him. So what God wants from us is to forgive and then to restore broken relationships.

Now as I was putting last week’s message together I realized that I do not want to be restored to some of the people who have offended or hurt me in my past. I think this happens with a lot of us. Because we in the church have tried to redefine forgiveness as something that we can do to feel better about being hurt or offended. We even say things like if we forgive, then the person who benefits is ourselves. (I cannot find that backed up anywhere in scripture) So we forgive but don’t do anything to restore or repair the broken relationship, because even though we forgive them, we still don’t want to deal with them. Why? Because what we don’t want to accept, and what we don’t want to experience is the part of forgiveness that no one and I mean no one ever talks about – pain.

Yes, the forgiveness that God extends to you and to me caused Him pain. There is no way around it. If God were to forgive the way we do, He would feel better but not offer us restoration. God doesn’t forgive so that He feels better or to benefit Himself, but to restore us to Him and that caused Him great pain.

So here is where I struggle – restoration is going to mean pain, embarrassment, humiliation, and vulnerability. Exactly the things Jesus endured when He forgave me!

I’m looking forward to hearing your stories of forgiveness over the next few weeks!

Don’t Be Drunk: Be Filled

Yesterday, we concluded a series of messages on the Holy Spirit. The last message was all about living in the Spirit. There are three areas that I want to address from that message.

First, the gifts of the Spirit are essential for believers in today’s world. 2,000 years ago the gift of tongues was controversial and misunderstood and it still is today! I am asked quite often if speaking in tongues is necessary for salvation and the answer is no, but with this caveat. When I answer that question I feel like I am really telling that person that tongues is not necessary at all. And that is not the case. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is necessary! Let me write that again – The baptism of the Holy Spirit is necessary! And the evidence of the baptism is speaking in other tongues (I’ll tackle this subject in another message). Being a Christian in today’s world is hard and you and I need all the help we can get to be successful. God has provided us with the help we need; it is through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Secondly, the gifts of the Spirit are specific abilities for specific circumstances, while the fruit of the Spirit are God’s expectation for us. One of the things I find very interesting is that one of the most famous chapters in the Bible is 1 Corinthians 13 (The “Love Chapter”). But notice its location. 1 Corinthians 12 is where we find the gifts of the Spirit; chapter 14 is the instruction manual for using the gifts, and right in between is a chapter totally devoted to the definition of love. Think of it a chapter of love right in the middle of the most Pentecostal section of the Bible! Pentecost and love are connected.

Lastly, I bet a lot of you were surprised when the conclusion of my message about living in the Spirit addressed the issue of alcohol! Be here is why I did it. In order to live in the Spirit we must be yielded to Him. We say the things the Spirit enables us to say, we think according to the Spirit, (the mind of Christ), and we act according to the conviction of the Spirit. The scripture draws the comparison between being drunk and being filled, why because both involved yielding and influence. When you are drunk you are under the influence of alcohol, when you are filled you are under the influence of the Spirit. What or who’s influence are you under? To what or who are you yielded?

Life Pivots

Last night I spoke about how God will bring changes to our lives and I gave the example of my own journey coming from my previous church to Eastside. I shared about my personal struggle in the transformation of my ministry, because the two churches I have served has pastor are completely different. So why does God bring these changes in our lives? Speaking for myself, it was to allow me to stretch my ministry skills. The way I minister now is on a much more spiritual level than before. Now I am more in tune with the Holy Spirit than at any time in life. I am more aware and more sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit in my personal life and in my ministry. I feel more Pentecostal in my ministry!

One thing I didn’t say last night was the difference in the level of stress. Do I still get stressed? Absolutely, but now I don’t stay there very long, because I am surrounded by people who pick me up, dust me off, and get me on my way again. So if God is bringing change to your life, just go wherever He leads and expect great things, at the end of the day you will become better at what you are called to do.

One More Thing About the Gifts

When it comes to the gifts of the Spirit, I think most people want to be used but they are afraid. What they are afraid of is that the Holy Spirit may cause them to do something weird. Let’s be real here – sometimes the way we do things in the Pentecostal Church seems strange to people who haven’t been exposed to the Pentecostal ways of doing Church. Hey, I was raised in a Pentecostal Church and some of what I have seen has been pretty strange. But think about it – isn’t it a strange experience to have God visit us?

Let me show you what I mean. I am not around famous people very often. I don’t even know any famous people. So on the few occasions when I have been around or met someone famous the whole event was surreal. (I think this might be a fancy word for strange…I just looked it up and yes I can use it that way.) So how normal should things be if the very presence of God is with us? How normal should things be when we go into the “house of the Lord”? This last summer I went to Graceland, the home of Elvis. We were in the basement and there is a room where Elvis spent a lot of time with his friends and this lady standing next to me has her arm extended taking in the “spirit” of the room. See what I mean, even going to a famous person’s house you will see people doing strange things! By the way, I did it too cause Elvis is cool and I was hoping some of him would rub off on me – Gloria assured me it didn’t work.

So yes sometimes being Pentecostal will seem strange. But the thing about God is that we still get to decide how strange we will be. When we are used by the Spirit we are still in control. (1 Corinthians 14:32) As a matter of fact, I find that most of the time the gift that I am given to use often reflects my personality or a skill I have naturally. This isn’t always the case because sometimes the gift given is the gift needed for the circumstance. But quite often God who, by the way, knows me very well will use me in a gift that closely fits who I am.

Here is the bottom line, don’t let fear hold you back from being used by God. He doesn’t want to embarrass you, He wants to use you, and He wants you to be used successfully.

The Truth About Being Pentecostal

Ok, I admit it, we Pentecostals are sometimes emotional in our worship, our praying, and sometimes even in our preaching (my favorite is the guy who preaches so fast he can’t breathe and ends every sentence with “hut”.) but I can tell you that there is a really good reason for this --- Being Pentecostal is all about being in relationship with God. The thing that separates Pentecostals from mainstream believers is that we understand the reason Jesus sent the Holy Spirit was so that we could have a meaningful relationship with God – and that is why we have the power to witness and be used in the gifts of the Spirit. Let me say this again, the power comes from the relationship!

Funny isn’t it that we Pentecostals tend to be more legalistic when we have done everything possible to break away from the liturgy of the church service. We like our church services to have the anointing which we think is the opposite of having an outline for our services. As a matter of fact, we believe it is a real move of God when our service order is interrupted! Think of it, I work all week to plan a service that I hope God will interrupt! All that to point out that when it comes to Christianity, we tend to think of true Christianity as following rules…when what God really wants is relationship! And I have to ask myself; shouldn’t we Pentecostals have a better understanding of the relationship aspect of God since we put a high premium on the presence of God?

It is important to note that relationships have an effect on how we live and they even shape our view of life and the world. For instance, being married has changed my view of women. Becoming a parent has changed my opinions about parenting. (I was more of an expert until I actually became a parent). Every relationship causes me to change how I live and think. My opinions are shaped by my relationships. So it should come as no surprise that my life after coming into a saving knowledge of Jesus is different, not because of the rules, but because of the relationship I enjoy with God! As a Pentecostal, who is filled with the Spirit, with Christ dwelling within me I have an intimate relationship with God. That’s why I am Pentecostal. Part of me believes that I would struggle with being a Christian without being Pentecostal! Because I need a constant sense of the presence of God, through the Holy Spirit!

Now I have a service to plan and hopefully, God will interrupt it!

The Idiot’s Guide to Criticism (Sorry about the “Idiot” part)

In Sunday’s message I addressed the subject of criticism, so not being smart enough to leave it alone, I have some things I would like to add.

There is nothing wrong with criticizing – it is an American tradition! And yes even the church and the pastor need to be criticized from time to time. If there is something that needs to be changed then criticism may be the only tool to fix it. So since we are going to allow criticism can we at least have some rules? Ok, I admit I looked through the Bible and I didn’t find anything that condones being critical (maybe even the opposite) so there is no way I found any scriptural basis for these rules. I also prayed and as of now I still haven’t heard back from anyone, Father, Son, nor the Holy Spirit.

Rule #1 - Whatever is criticized needs to be about something really important. Here is a standard we could use: Will Jesus be glad this was criticized? I know that raises the bar pretty high but since the Bible doesn’t really condone being critical maybe it would be best to minimize its use – so save it for the important stuff.

Rule #2 – Address your criticism to someone who actually can affect change. I have to tell you and I think this is true for any leader; I really don’t like hearing criticism second hand. And truthfully, the subject of the criticism then becomes secondary to the issue of who is being critical. Because when a criticism comes second hand it is really hard to judge its validity. So your criticism may be important, yet it gets lost because you didn’t take it to the right person. Also when you make a critical statement to someone, who is not a leader and not used to hearing these kinds of things, you put at risk the salvation of that person. I know this sounds like an overstatement, but from my experience I can tell you it is not. Here’s what happens, there is someone perfectly satisfied with the leadership they are under in the church and they hear a critical statement and they will begin down a path that make them question the validity of that leader – not based on something that really affects them but based on something said and it changes their perception. Also if you are being critical of a leader to someone other than that leader then all you are doing is venting. Venting is the cousin of the lost temper. (My apologies to any of my cousins who may read this) NO VENTING!

Rule #3 – If you are going to criticize than at the very least offer your help in making the change if it is needed. It will also go a long way towards getting your criticism addressed. Maybe your leader doesn’t know how to make the change or have the skill or tools to make it happen. Offer your assistance it takes the pressure off of the leader and it shows you are committed to the success of that ministry!

Rule #4 – Let the leader decide how to act on the criticism. That includes making a change, making a change now, making a change later, or maybe even making no change at all. Once you have expressed your opinion, and then let that be the end. Please let your leaders have a free hand to lead. For all you know there is someone else against the change you are advocating and they might have view that you can’t see.