Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Back to the Basics

Our family has been blessed with being busy with many different things. One of these things is involvement in our church's preschool. We've had a lot of interaction with Mormon families recently, and it lead me to research the Truth in Love ministry.

After reading through the Basic Facts about Mormonism and Basic Witnessing Tools, I'm reflecting on how detailed and extensive is our catechism studies of biblical teachings. And yet this only scratches the service. I needed to dive into apologetics to satisfy my own nagging doubts. There is so much to learn about God that we can spend our whole lives as His student, companion, and beloved; and yet not fully grasp His love and faithfulness. I want to know Him more!

We can make this study very complicated and multifaceted - assign a whole array of technical terms...

And yet...

When it come right down to doing what Christ has called us to do - spread the gospel, we tend to forget the basics...and the basics make all the difference.

Way back in childhood, it was my first love. Forgiveness. I knew that I had screwed up bad...many times...I'd seen the hurt...but when I looked to the cross of Christ, I saw my debt paid, I saw His perfect life covering my failures, I saw His resurrection promising a new life free of screw ups. I saw new life. Undeserved love. Complete forgiveness. Another chance to be different.

Law and Gospel.

Why not focus on what I love to hear? That's what keeps me coming back Sunday after Sunday. Isn't that what they need to hear? Isn't that what we are all looking for?

I want to reach these Mormon families. Not sure how, not sure when, but I'm going to prepare. I'm going to try to know them better, and focus on the basics. It seems too simple, too easy - just speak God's word. I always want to get off track with appalling doctrinal errors - fix the immediate problem. But that's not what I was called to do. I was called to give the solution to the problem. I echo Paul's words, "I resolve to know nothing, but Christ, and him crucified."

Father, forgive me when I over-complicate your word. When I get emotionally frustrated. When I lose the love you have for my fellow human being. Grant me wisdom to use your law and gospel in proper proportion. Help me spread your saving word with each person you've placed in my life. Let my conversations be ever seasoned with the salt of your truth and love. Give me peace, that my past failures will not hinder your eternal purpose, that your good plan will work with whatever I am able to offer. Let me empty myself of sinful pride that your Holy Spirit may fill me completely for your purpose. In the Name I pray, amen.

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Challenging Week

Our family is facing some challenges this week. We all signed up for soccer camp this week. The kids are participating; my wife and I are coaching 3k and 4k, respectively. I'm working as much as I can in the mornings, then meeting the group over at the soccer fields shortly after noon. I knew this would be a challenging week, and God has led me to Psalm 121 for strength. I hear a little of the song whenever I read these verses. I also hear a sermon based on these verses that reinforces their meaning in my life.

I lift up my eyes to the hills—
    where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm—
    he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.

Two of our children were sick yesterday, so I read this out loud to them last night. We had kind of a crazy night of checking on the kids, but they are better this morning. We also faced a marriage challenge last night, but resolved it this morning. My wife is awesome, because she loves God. I am constantly amazed at what God does through her. She needed some building up this morning, and I was reminded of God's call to Gideon, "Go in the strength you have." We are already equipped to handle the challenges God has placed before us. God loves to do amazing things through His people. Press on, we've got an awesome God behind us and leading us.

Monday, June 6, 2016

Weeding the Garden

What has happened since Easter?

Weather has gotten warm. Sun is most often shining. The garden is planted and dangerously full of weeds...


Seriously, we had to perform a rescue mission last weekend to save some of our garden. These crazy weeds covered our entire garden, they block out all light. They hold in moisture so that everything below them rots. It was gross. Several of our lettuce plants had rotted off at the ground. Our peas, squash, and carrots were gasping for air. Our onions were sparse. Our corn and green beans are non-existent.

Yikes! What happened!

We didn't weed it every day. We didn't test to see what was good growth, and what was invasive and destructive.

Reminds me of the parable of the sower...

He [Jesus] told this parable: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” 

But what does it all mean? You may not like the explanation. You may have to weed the garden.

Do you really want to know? If not, stop reading. It wasn't meant for you.

Do you really want to know? If yes, you must be one of Jesus' disciples.

When he [Jesus] said this [the parable], he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

His disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,

“‘though seeing, they may not see;
    though hearing, they may not understand.’

“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

Choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures...

Are you producing a crop? How do you know? Peter says,

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Feeling ineffective and unproductive? Peter tells us we are given everything we need...knowledge of Him.

Grow in your knowledge of Him, plant His words in your soul daily, weed your garden hourly, and bask in the light of our God and His promises.

Peace be with you all.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

The Holy Week Beat Down

This week is Holy Week, the week before Easter. At Easter we celebrate Jesus' resurrection from death showing that He has the power over death, more importantly, the power over our death. Because He lives, we also will live.

During this Holy Week - well really all through the church season of Lent - but especially during Holy Week, I like to review the Passion history, what Jesus had to go through during the very last week of His humiliated human life.

This history shows the true weight of my sins that I love to commit.


This doesn't sound like fun to most people, including myself, if I only have a short-sighted view. Most people want to cover up their mistakes, they want everyone to accept them for "who they are", and whatever they want to be...even if those choices have significant negative spiritual consequences. I'm guilty of this. I craft excellent excuses for bad behavior - lashing out in anger, belittling someone else's idea, getting depressed when things don't go according to plan, and the list is really endless.

I get beat down during Holy Week. What I think are only minor scrapes and bruises by forgetting about God while I'm at work or by picking on someone instead of encouraging them - these turn out to be thorns stabbed into my face and jagged shards of metal tearing into my back. My seemingly innocent flaws put me on the outs with God, put me in the danger of hell. When I think I am secure, then I see rightly that I have faltered.

I am also reminded of wounds I carry around with me. The habitual wounds that I think I need in order to survive in this world. The gash across my face that comes from thinking I'm better than other people. I need self-confidence, right? The wide-open artery of anger that is causing me to bleed to death. I need to get stuff done, right?

I get beat down during Holy Week...or rather I see my wounds rightly.

There aren't just 7 deadly sins. Every sin is lethal. How much poison will I try to swallow without dying?

I see my ugly wounds during Holy Week...I am appalled...and I find healing.

I see my sins for what they really are: thorns stabbed into my face and jagged shards of metal tearing into my back...but not my back.

This self-inflicted-self-reflection on all I've done wrong and all I've failed to do well, then turns to everything Jesus has done right and every sin that He avoided. True acknowledgement of my guilt allows me to grab hold of the righteousness Jesus offers.

Until I realize that I am Chief of Sinners, worst of all people, I can't be fully healed. When I only give my arm for Jesus to perform surgery on, he can't fix the gash on my face. The love of Jesus leads us to trust Him with our whole body. The prayer of the publican was answered by God, because he knew his sin, he repented, he turned from his sin and relied on God for mercy. His prayer can be translated, "God have mercy on me, the sinner." There is no one else. I stand naked before a holy God. Just me, the sinner - and Him, whose world is His footstool.

Thankfully God is not only all-powerful, He is also all-merciful. He NEVER abandons those who rely on Him. There is nothing you have done that can't be forgiven - that God can't wait to forgive. Just as you step before God, expose your worst side, and plead, "God save me!" - you realize Jesus is already standing next to you. When God looks at you, he sees his perfect son. He wants to embrace you as His perfect child. All that Christ Jesus did on this earth, His experiences during Holy Week, were done for YOU!! His blood covers you and me. We are truly blood brothers and sisters, members of God's family. We rest under the grace of God. You do not need to fear the surgeon that removes the cancer of sin, he is your brother.

I love Holy Week, for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Without knowing the depth and despair of my sin, I can't fully experience the joy of the resurrection.

Happy Easter!



Wednesday, March 2, 2016

A Prayer for Marriage

I found this prayer in my Bible. I haven't been praying it as often as I intended.

Please pray with me:

God, you have a perfect plan for our families. You gave us marriage so we could share your love with one most dear. You protect our children and provide for the strength of our society, through your gift of marriage. Please restore broken marriages. Help them honor you above all else and seek your face.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

At His Door


"sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it."

God's words to Cain, first murderer and hardened sinner, before he attacked his brother.

It's a battle. When you think you're standing firm, you show your weak spot. How easy it is to change our attitude and corresponding actions based on our sinful desires...and still think we're right with God.

In church...that's right, in church, where I am supposedly the perfect Christian man leading his family in worship to God...I sin. My heart lied to me, and I caught myself believing the lie.

Right before the first hymn, I hand one of my boys the bulletin to hang onto while I hold the hymnal. A very small task to help me as I try to serve him. But he won't hang onto it. First he tries to pass it off to his sister. Next, he tries to fold it in half so it will lay on the pew between himself and his sister...I grab it back from him. I don't know if he realized my attitude toward him changed, but it did. I held the hymnal right in front of myself instead of leaning it over so it would be between us. "If he's not going to help me, then I'm not going to help him."

Then it hits me, "This isn't what I want! My whole goal is to get him to worship our God with me. I'm trying to punish him. I'm trying to make him love me by withholding my love. What is wrong with me?"

Of course I know exactly what's wrong with me. I'm a sinner who has no idea how incredibly sinful he is. I'm a sinner who complains about all the stuff going wrong in my life without realizing I'm causing the problems. I'm a sinner that judges others based on their actions and myself based on my intentions. I'm a sinner who wants everyone to serve me and my "needs".

I'm a sinner...who doesn't have to be.

"Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."

Repent means "to turn". Knowing what God has done to save me, His great love for me, allows me to turn. No one truly turns without love. Why do we keep believing we have control over other people? Even our children? You can force someone to obey, but their heart will not turn. Why do I try to turn my children without love? Foolishness.

I leaned over to my boy and pointed to each word as I was singing. My wife had no idea I was struggling with this sin in church. And if she didn't know, I'm positive no one else noticed. But it was there, in that holy place where God has put His Name. Sin, crouching at my door. But also in that holy place, I heard exactly what I needed to hear,

"God, our heavenly Father, has been merciful to us and has given his only Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Therefore, as a called servant of Christ and by his authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

And I said, "Amen!"

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Rated Teen?



I just saw this morning that my Bible app is rated "Teen". Really? I suppose...it has prostitution, rape, homosexuality, murder...But should my children wait until they are teenagers to start reading the Bible?

NO WAY!

The problem with our world's rating system is that it only looks for the mere occurrence of these sinful actions. It doesn't look at how these sinful actions are addressed or how these sinful actions run into serious consequences. The Bible shows the true result of following your sinful desires...death, or in less severe cases, some form of dying (i.e. disease, broken relationships, hardening of hearts, being apart from God).
The real problem is the stuff we let our children watch and read (also rated Teen), but tells lies, disconnecting the sinful behaviors from their natural consequences.

They read about sex with multiple people and hear about how fun it is, but never hear about the deep pit of loneliness and insecurity you sink into by still being alone outside of marriage. The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”...That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

They see homosexuality, and never hear that they "received in themselves the due penalty for their error."

They watch dramatized stealing where the master thief gets away, and then believe that there are certain situations where it is OK to steal, where we judge others unworthy of what we should have (this is so common even without encouragement). But God described how true Christians act when He gave us The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

They see all the fun they can have with "stuff", but don't see that it never really satisfies, and leaves you groping for more. You can't have it, because God says, "the world is mine, and all that is in it." Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

They hear the funny jokes about the dumb, close-minded religious people, and never hear, "For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction."

They even watch thousands of commercials, not showing the true quality of the product, but eye candy, things not even remotely connected to the products, lying to them of a better experience than reality (no wonder we doubt everything anyone says). What will they get into if they don't know to Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. And go to God so that the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The Bible might be rated "Teen", but it's also rated Adult, Child, Man, Woman, Sinner, Saint, Parent, Grandparent...well, I guess you could just say rated "E" for Everyone. (but that's not as dramatic)

Monday, January 4, 2016

Fog of Depression


I was depressed today at work. Felt like my work was worthless. Too much to do. Too dumb to find solutions. Too slow to understand. A fog of thought snippets flying by so fast that they blur into nothingness, nothing of value at least. Paralyzing, tiring, depressing...

Everyone else seams to have it together. They focus on themselves. Have their lives firmly centered on what they want. Then they set out and accomplish it. Little thought of their ways. They are smart enough to figure it all out. They've got a plan and it's working for them. Not much thought of others.

I don't know what I want. I want to help, but don't seam to be of much use. I want to be a top contributor, but don't seam to have the means. Giving out of what I haven't yet got. Like putting the cart before the horse. I should just be focused on my career. I want to provide for my family, but feel like we're backpedaling, taking on more work and more risk with less payout.

Why isn't my path clear?



I read and meditated on Psalm 37, which happened to be posted on my cubical wall from when I was wrestling with finding the line. I found healing right away on verse 4: Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.  This stirred me to write down the desires of my heart that were particularly heavy today:

  • That my children know the Lord
  • To be effective in the kingdom of God
  • To bless those around me with my work
  • To leave an inheritance for my children
  • To be full of grace
  • To be confident in my decisions
Some my may point out that the above list doesn't mention anything about my wife. And my response is that I am so completely satisfied with my wife, I couldn't think of anything I more desire from her. But I did think about how certain desires of who I want to be, would reflect in our relationship and our common goals.


I found delight in the Lord as I read through this psalm. Contrary to my natural impulse, I read it somewhat out of order, rereading certain sections that needed another pass through my mind and into my heart. I am constantly amazed at how God works among the seaming chaos. I pray He works for you too...

Do not fret because of those who are evil
    or be envious of those who do wrong;
for like the grass they will soon wither,
    like green plants they will soon die away.
Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
    your vindication like the noonday sun.
Be still before the Lord
    and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
    when they carry out their wicked schemes.
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
    do not fret—it leads only to evil.
For those who are evil will be destroyed,
    but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.
A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
    though you look for them, they will not be found.
But the meek will inherit the land
    and enjoy peace and prosperity.
The wicked plot against the righteous
    and gnash their teeth at them;
but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
    for he knows their day is coming.
The wicked draw the sword
    and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
    to slay those whose ways are upright.
But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
    and their bows will be broken.
Better the little that the righteous have
    than the wealth of many wicked;
for the power of the wicked will be broken,
    but the Lord upholds the righteous.
The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care,
    and their inheritance will endure forever.
In times of disaster they will not wither;
    in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.
But the wicked will perish:
    Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
    they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.
The wicked borrow and do not repay,
    but the righteous give generously;
those the Lord blesses will inherit the land,
    but those he curses will be destroyed.
The Lord makes firm the steps
    of the one who delights in him;
though he may stumble, he will not fall,
    for the Lord upholds him with his hand.
I was young and now I am old,
    yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
    or their children begging bread.
They are always generous and lend freely;
    their children will be a blessing.[b]
Turn from evil and do good;
    then you will dwell in the land forever.
For the Lord loves the just
    and will not forsake his faithful ones.
Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed[c];
    the offspring of the wicked will perish.
The righteous will inherit the land
    and dwell in it forever.
The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
    and their tongues speak what is just.
The law of their God is in their hearts;
    their feet do not slip.
The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
    intent on putting them to death;
but the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked
    or let them be condemned when brought to trial.
Hope in the Lord
    and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
    when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.
I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
    flourishing like a luxuriant native tree,
but he soon passed away and was no more;
    though I looked for him, he could not be found.
Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
    a future awaits those who seek peace.[d]
But all sinners will be destroyed;
    there will be no future[e] for the wicked.
The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
    he is their stronghold in 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.