More Stuff About Earthquakes

On Sunday I shared a message about the significance of earthquakes. And when I went to the first occasion of a quake in the scripture what I discovered is that it was the very first one to occur. And God when He did it was showing a sign to the nation of Israel.

Then Moses said, "This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea: If these men die a natural death and experience only what usually happens to men, then the LORD has not sent me. But if the LORD brings about something TOTALLY NEW, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt." --Numbers 16:28-30 (NIV)

So I believe that earthquakes are a significant sign. An earthquake occurred at Jesus death and at His resurrection. I am not so sure that earthquakes are as much about the judgment of God but more about being a sign of Jesus’ return. Jesus told us in Matthew 24 that when we hear of earthquakes in various places that we should look up because it means He is returning.

Let me take the opportunity to share with you a couple of things I didn’t get to say on Sunday…We should be reminded when there are earthquakes that they are the natural disaster that we cannot give a warning or even a lot of preparation for. The Japanese found this out…they built with the idea of an earthquake occurring, but were helpless to prepare for the resulting tsunami. So earthquakes have been and for the time being with be the most feared “act of God” we face. According to the Bible it is God who literally holds our world together…For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him ALL THINGS HOLD TOGETHER. --Colossians 1:16-17 (NIV) Once again, we see more evidence of God’s direct involvement in the occurrence of earthquakes.

One last point I want to share. According to Romans 8:19-22, creation itself is seeking for the return of Jesus and its release from the curse of sin. Verse 22 speaks of the creation moaning and groaning as it waits for Jesus to appear. Turns out the ultimate environmentalist is Jesus and the planet will literally be saved when He returns! Is it possible that the earthquakes are the result of a creation that is moaning and groaning? I don’t know for sure, but I do believe it is time to look up for our redemption is near!

PS. I am writing from Cleveland while on vacation and we are having a great time, but I am looking forward to Sunday! I can’t wait to see what God is going to do!

Under the Tree

So in case you missed it we found out yesterday that when the serpent was tempting Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, Adam was right there…

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. --Genesis 3:6 (NIV)

He was only as far away from her as the reach of her hand with the fruit! So while the Devil was tempting his wife, Adam was standing right there under the tree doing…nothing! I wonder how many wives there are in our churches under the attack of the enemy while the husband is right there doing nothing. I wonder how many children are struggling in their faith and the enemy is doing his number on them while Dad stands by doing nothing. I wonder how many churches and pastors are under attack from the forces of evil while the men of the Church stand by doing nothing.

Guys, to some this may sound chauvinistic, but we are the ones appointed by God to stand up and protect our wife, our kids, and our Church when they need it. I wonder what would happen to Eastside Assembly of God if the men got really serious about their faith. Imagine a Church where young men had role models of what it means to be a real man of faith, a godly husband and father. Imagine a Church where the men were doing spiritual battle.

I also believe there is a message in this for the whole Church, not just the guys…we live in a world that is dying and going to hell. Just like Adam, the Church is right there just letting it happen. Perhaps we are afraid, perhaps we worry what others will think, perhaps we don’t think it will make any difference, and perhaps there will be a too heavy a price to pay!

When I pastored in Bellevue, everyday I looked across the parking lot and saw a school. And I kept hearing how bad things where in the district. One day as I was praying God showed me that the Church was the last line of defense for the children of our community…if we didn’t do something then no one else would. I believe that to be no different in our world…we the Church, are the last line of defense against the sin and corruption of our nation and our world. Why are we just standing under the tree?

Prayer Cloths

Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. --Acts 19:11-12

I thought I would give some background on prayer cloths. We see from this passage that there came a time in the book of Acts that the early Christians took token items from Paul and when they were received by people who were sick, they were healed and also it says that demons were cast out of people by this method.

I do think it is important that we understand that there is nothing magical about this because any clear reading of this passage makes it clear that God was the one who caused these healing to occur. The prayer cloths were and are today merely instruments by which our faith can grow. The way I use a prayer cloth is that I tell people to receive this as a way of knowing that someone has prayed for them. So when they are discouraged and feel like God or no one else cares they can know by the prayer cloth that someone has called out their name before the throne of God. All healing is through God and He is gracious enough to honor most of the methods that we need in order to receive that healing.

I Stopped Interpreting the Bible

As a pastor, I spend a lot of time studying the Bible. In the last few years I decided that I would just read the scriptures without trying to interpret the meaning. Why? Because I have come to the conclusion that when anybody, including even the most studied scholar, (by the way, aren’t these the guys who tell us the Bible isn’t really the inspired Word of God!) tries to interpret the Bible they inevitably add their own opinion. It is an inescapable occurrence and there is no way around it! And guess what? God gave us the scripture for us to see Him! So as bad as this may sound, I am simply not interested in someone’s opinion or even my own for that matter other than God’s. So when I read the Bible I take it literally.

Now I know right off the bat that there are going to be those who are going to say that just reading the Scriptures without digging in to find the deeper meaning is ignorant. And that is really what is at the heart of this subject. For too long the way one views the Bible has been used as a determining factor in assigning intelligence or ignorance. Only in my ignorance would I read the Bible without considering that circumstances surrounding its writing. After all, each book of the Bible was written for a specific audience, and I agree, especially the epistles of the New Testament. Even the four books of the Gospels; I get that and acknowledge it. We are also told that the culture was different because the Bible was written at least 2,000 years ago. So when we read what the Bible says we have to take in consideration these things. Well, I am going to show my ignorance and reveal just how shallow of a thinker I am. I don’t care about those things! There I said it, well actually I wrote it, and put it on the internet to forever follow me!

Here is why. I am going to start from the premise that God gave us the Bible in order for us to have a revelation of who He is and to tell us what we need to know about Him. He gave us the scriptures so that we could discover the way to salvation. (Psalm 119:11; 2 Timothy 3:16) If God is going to reveal Himself and the way towards salvation in the cryptic way the smart people tell us He does, then God is cruel! If He really wants us to understand Him and to know the way to salvation then He isn’t going to put the barrier of interpreting His Word and hoping that we get it right! 2 Chronicles 15:2 tells us that if we look for Him He will be found. God wants us to know Him; He wants us to be able to discover Him and His truth. So if that is the case, why would He make it so hard to get at the Truth! But then again, I am taking these verses at face value!

Is it possible that God could give us His Word in such a way that the generations of thousands of years could read and understand? Doesn’t God have the ability and the insight to give us His Word in such a way that we could all read it and understand the message He has sent to us? Couldn’t He have protected His Word even through translations into the different languages so that everyone who reads it could find Him? According to Jesus in Matthew 5:18 the law will be preserved until it all is fulfilled including every dot over the “i” and every cross of the “t”. If that is the case then God has gone to great lengths to see to it that when you and I, no matter how smart we are, pick up the Bible to read about Him, He will be revealed!

Just to be clear about this I want to list come of the things I believe due to my literal view of the Scriptures.

I believe…
· God created the world in six 24 hour days, 6,000 to 10,000 years ago…
· Noah really did build and ark and that every animal was on it...
· 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…
· In the devil…
· In a literal hell…
· Jesus will return before the tribulation and rapture the church…

I know some of these beliefs make me sound crazy…but that is the way all these things appear in the Bible…literally!