For Parents and Leaders

When I read the book of Judges I can't help thinking about who should be the reader.  Though Judges is a bit weird and has some of the strangest characters and events of the entire Bible, it is pointed in what it says about God's nature, the nature of people and the sharp warning for God's people.  In Judges we see the instrument of foreign, pagan people used to visit deserved punishment upon the Hebrew people.  We see imperfect leaders used by God to deliver His people yet you know as you read that they will again fall into the pattern of idolatry and sin that caused the need for a great leader.  Phrases repeat, the most memorable of which is the last sentence of the book ... "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit."  The Hebrews didn't have an earthly or a heavenly king.
As I think of what we should learn from Judges (I can't even come close to making a good list in a blog) I will give you my best short summary.  First, it is clear that good leaders are hard to find.  Gideon has barely the faith of a mustard seed ... Samson is a womanizer ... some of you would add Deborah because she was a woman (I think she may have been one of the Judges that showed faithfulness) ... Abimelech was a murderer ... you get the point.  But before you chastise God, look at our track record in selecting leaders.  Good leaders seem to be very hard to find as we find ourselves going to the voting booth and holding our nose.
Second, God's people then and now seem very forgetful.  They repeated behavior that brought trouble and oppression and we seem to do the same.  We think we can do life "as we see fit" and deny God's power and kingdom in our lives.  Then we get upset when things don't go well.  Somewhere in Scripture it is said that the hearts of kings are like streams of water in the hands of God.  The idea is that God has power and is more at work in the events of the world that we would like to think.  The point is, God cares how we lead our families, our governments and our affairs.  God isn't passive if we, by our idolatry and sin, bring calamity upon ourselves.  His pattern is one that calls us back. If oppression, slavery, loss of our position in the world and loss of the witness of the Church bring us to the brink so we call out to God, so be it.  Don't think God hasn't (by example after example in His Word) told us what would happen.  Finally, I believe there is a message here for parents.  We, as parents and teachers, are always teaching by our actions.  We teach our children about what we think of God as we make daily life choices.  When we give God no power in our lives, why should we expect our children to "know" Him?  My call to the people of Good News is to read the history and the lessons of Judges.  Then ... if you really believe ... let there be a King over the kingdom in which you choose to live.  Tell them and show them that Jesus has power in your life.  Pastor Randy

Completion

The Bible uses a theme that is not often used in our world.  We live in a world of sound bytes and interruptions.  One study said that the average American worker is interrupted every 11 minutes and that re-focusing after these interruptions causes a massive loss of productivity every day.  Most of us give the excuse that we are good at multi-tasking but in reality the constant shift from one project or thought to another is costly and, I believe, has a profound effect on the work being done.  As I look at my life I find I am guilty of this and often have several unfinished projects going at the same time.
Then I think of Christ.  His birth, life, death and resurrection was all toward a purpose that God had planned from the beginning of all things.  God's desire was that He would be glorified by bringing His creation to a place and time of full redemption.  God's focus through Scripture was to bring people to Himself through His work in the world.  He does this relentlessly using prophets, powers, kings, good events, not so good events, beautiful writings, ugly lamentations, Scripture, His Spirit and His only son.  The watershed event of this redemptive process happens partly on a cross between two criminals and partly through God's intervention as His son walks out of an tomb in the middle east.  Nothing is ever the same after that and we, as His Church, wait praying the prayer, "come Jesus come" knowing that His return will be both a terrible day for some and a wonderful day for those who He knows as His.
In this redemptive process God has never lost focus.  He has turned bad choices to his good purposes to the point Jesus even singles out His killers from the cross and says "Forgive them Father because they don't know what they are doing."
Sunday we will celebrate the God who said from the cross, "It is finished."  Translated, "It is completed."  It was a financial term meaning that the debt was paid and full and the obligation has been canceled.  He is talking about removing our sin which removes the barrier between us and God giving us the ability (as it says in Hebrews) to boldly go before the throne of God.  As promised He brings us to Himself.  As promised the seed of Abraham becomes a blessing to all the nations.  As promised we are given a new heart and a new hope for this life and the life to come.  Thank you Lord for never losing focus and never losing your love for messed up people like me.  Let all who have eyes and ears see and hear you and accept your offer of complete salvation.  In Jesus' name, AMEN! Pastor Randy

Remember, Give Thanks

Our subject this week is Holy Communion or the Eucharist (meaning giving thanks).  Communion (meaning union with) was instituted by Christ at the last supper at the time of the Jewish Passover, celebrating the day when the angel of death passed over the Hebrew people and caused the death of all of the firstborn of Egypt.  It was a terrible day of deliverance for the Hebrews and a time of great mourning for the people of Egypt.  So, why did Jesus choose this day and this time to institute what he called the New Covenant?
First, the Passover was a time of deliverance of the Jews from captivity and slavery.  It was the watershed moment in Hebrew history when God came in power to set them free from the Egyptians. Now Jesus comes and fulfills the law of the Torah by living it out perfectly and bringing a new law of forgiveness through His blood and His body ... this sacrament is a remembrance of Christ's life, death and (soon to be) resurrection.  While it remembers the Passover it points forward to Christ.
Second, this New Covenant is completed in Christ and expands God's work to the gentiles.  No longer are the Jewish traditions and customs the focus of faith (as if they ever should have been the focus ... they were meant to point to God).  So the New Covenant points to the sufficiency of Jesus as the focus, the path and the person of our faith.  In Ezekiel and Jeremiah God promises a New Covenant that changes everything from that point on.  Joel said God's Spirit will be poured out on all people and that all will have the capacity to know Him.  Paul continues this idea as he takes the message to the gentiles and has the audacity to suggest that the New Covenant is sufficient apart from the Jewish traditions.  Knowledge of these traditions continue to inform our understanding of many New Testament passages but Paul defends the new Christians from the Judaizers who (in clear error, in fact called a heresy in the early Church) said we must continue Jewish traditions to be true Christians.  Paul said everyone was invited to the party called Christianity.
Third, this New Covenant lives out the blessing God spoke about to Abraham when He said Abraham would be father of a nation who would bless all people and all nations.  Jesus is that blessing.
The shame of it all is this.  Where this Sacrament was to bless and unify God's people it, through the centuries, has become a point of divisiveness.  Some refuse to accept the Sacrament of the New Covenant and insist on going backwards to the Passover.  Some think we should only celebrate Communion once a year.  Some believe the bread and wine are the real body and blood of Christ, ignoring the obvious symbolic nature of Jesus' comment in that room at the Passover before His crucifixion.  In short, this time of Christian unity has become a way to divide and confuse rather than a way to celebrate our thanksgiving for the forgiveness offered in His "once for all" sacrifice on the cross of Calvary.
What should we do?  Come on the 21st and we will celebrate what Jesus did that Thursday night before He gave Himself up for us.  It is called "Maundy Thursday" and comes from the word mandatory ... Jesus said "Do this in remembrance of me."  We'll look back, look at that night and look forward with shame (He died for my sins) and thanksgiving (He purchased my forgiveness).  We will remember together, hopefully in unity.  I'll see you there!  Pastor Randy

To Do and Not to Do

That's the gist of Matthew 25, our Chapter for Sunday.  We will be talking about the end times and I know some of you want me to get into the meanings of the number 666 or the identity of the anti-Christ or the nature of the beast in Revelation.  All of these are things we would like to spend time on, and I have spent considerable effort on each of these.  What I have learned is that there is so much misinformation, confusion, argumentation, divisiveness and disunity in these subjects that I am certain God would not be honored by my adding to this confusion.
One interesting point from the online message by Bill Mounce (http://www.biblicaltraining.org/eschatology/major-stories-bible) is that he and I have come to a similar conclusion about the end times.  We both believe we are in the end times (if you want more information research Dr. Robert Mulholland, The Revelation of John) and we both believe that preparation is the key to our appropriate response to this Word from Matthew 25.  I will ask each of you to read this one chapter of the Bible.  Watch for two things ... things to do and things not to do.  I will give you the simple version of this but here goes for the things not to do.  Don't predict.  We are told that only the Father knows the day and the time so why waste precious time.  Don't procrastinate.  The bridesmaids that were not prepared had a bad last day.  Don't 'pull out of the market.' I'm not talking about of the stock market.  I'm talking about the market where you invest your time, your energy, your stuff, your talents and your life.  God desires to use all of these things for His Kingdom and He doesn't bless those that bury their talents in the ground.
Now the things to do.  Do prepare. God has a plan for us that He has given in His Word.  We are the ones He has asked to take that plan out into the culture.  By doing this we prepare ourselves and the culture for the greatest event of all time, Christ's return.  Do practice.  By this I mean, practice your faith.  Your faith is a great gift from God.  Take it into every aspect of life for that is why it was given to you.  As I said this week, it should be obvious who and what you are as you go about life.  The world should be better because you have come this way.
That's it for now!  Pastor Randy