Are you Controlled by the Evil One?

So I’ve been preaching through the book of 1^st John and this Sunday is my last message.  There’s just one particular verse I thought I would blog about today.

We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in control of the evil one.  1^st John 5:19

The apostle John is speaking to those who believe in and follow Jesus as the ones who are from God, and the “whole world” refers to those who don’t follow Jesus. Now if you are someone who does not follow Jesus or consider themselves to be a Christian, and I were to say to you that the devil is controlling you, I bet you might be offended.  For starters you may not even believe in the devil.  Your line of thinking would probably go something like this; “Stupid fundamentalist Christian!  Who does he think he is telling me I’m controlled by the devil?  Only I control myself!”  I guess I wouldn’t blame you for responding in that way.  And for what it’s worth, in terms of what it actually means I’m really not all that fundamental at all.  I’ve known plenty of fundamentals over the years, and they’re really not all that fun; just mental (sorry I couldn’t resist). 

But here’s the deal.  I actually do think anyone who doesn’t put their faith in God through the person and work of Jesus Christ is actually being controlled by the devil.  They just don’t know it.  They are controlled in one of two ways.

1. The Rebel Way

This says I’ll do what I want when I want.  It’s very much a “self-discovery, blaze my own trail” kind of mentality.  This would be the younger son in the parable of the prodigal son. No one is going to tell you what is right and what is wrong, you’re going figure that stuff out for yourself.  And as long as you’re not hurting anyone else then you’re just fine.  Let me ask all of you a question having to do with someone recently in the news.  Do you think Philip Seymour Hoffman was hurting just himself and no one else with his drug addiction?  I’d say he was hurting his kids, he was hurting his family, and he was hurting those who loved him.  He was harming a lot more than just himself.  Do you think maybe he was controlled just a little by his drug addiction?  “Under the control of the evil one?”  And you know it’s not so much the addiction that the devil uses to control us; that’s just the end result.  It’s more the “I’m going to live free, and do my own thing, and no one can tell me what’s right and wrong” attitude that Satan uses to control us with.  It’s so sad to think that the very things people do in the name of being morally free, are the things that in the end lead to being a slave to addiction.

2. The Goody-Goody Way

This way is sort of the opposite of the Rebel way.  It represents the older brother in the parable of the Good Samaritan.  And guess what?  He was just as lost as the younger brother if not more.  The goody-goody way says I’m going to do what’s right.  I’m going follow the rules.  I’m going to pay my taxes, and give to charity, and I’ll try to be a family man.  All stuff that sounds good and innocent enough.  So what’s the problem?  Well the problem is in the motivation.  They’re doing it to try and earn something from God.  They’re trying to buy off God.  They figure, hey I’m better than the next guy, so I must be alright with the big guy upstairs. Satan loves this attitude, because the people with this attitude are buying in to a lie, and he’s controlling these people with a false belief system.  He’s got them thinking everything is going to be okay if they just work at following the rules. 

In the end neither of these ways work. The only true life choice is to follow Jesus.  To realize that you can’t blaze your own trail and define your own morality, and you also can’t earn your way to God by following a bunch of rules; but to know that God loves you and desires a relationship with you, and you follow Him because of his demonstrated love through Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ is the only true way, and through Him is eternal life.  Only when you choose to follow Him do you find true freedom.  Jesus is the truth that sets us free.  What does He set us free to do?  To live for Him, and to love God and love others as He has called us to.  Not because we are trying to earn anything from Him, but simply as the only logical response to the love He has shown for us.  It’ kind of funny how it works. By following and obeying someone and His call on your life, you actually find more freedom.  It’s funny, but with Jesus this principle works.  I just wish Philip Seymour Hoffman would have figured this out before he started experimenting with drugs.

Great Thanksgiving Quotes

I got these off one of my pastor websites and thought I would share them in my blog. Which one is your favorite?  I'm pretty fond of John Wooden's. I hope and pray all of you enjoy your Thanksgiving and remember to change the "g" to an "l" and have an attitude of thanksliving the rest of the year.

"The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest." ~ William Blake

"We ought to give thanks for all fortune: if it is good, because it is good; if bad, because it works in us patience, humility, contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country." ~ C. S. Lewis

"Be true to yourself, help others, make each day your masterpiece, make friendship a fine art, drink deeply from good books—especially the Bible, build a shelter against a rainy day, give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day." ~ John Wooden

“You can't be grateful for something you feel entitled to." ~ Steven Furtick

"It must be an odd feeling to be thankful to nobody in particular. Christians in public institutions often see this odd thing happening on Thanksgiving Day. Everyone in the institution seems to be thankful 'in general.' It's very strange. It's a little like being married in general." ~ Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.

"Thou who hast given so much to me, give me one more thing—a grateful heart!" ~ George Herbert

"It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness."~ Charles Spurgeon

"Gratitude is the least of the virtues, but ingratitude is the worst of vices." ~ Thomas Fuller

"If you remember the dignity of the Giver, no gift will seem small or mean, for nothing can be valueless that is given by the most high God." ~ Thomas à Kempis

"The best things are nearest: breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of God just before you." ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

"We have received too much from God to allow ourselves opportunities for unbelief. We have received too many gifts and privileges to allow a grumbling, murmuring heart to disqualify us of our destiny. In contrast, the thankful heart sees the best part of every situation. It sees problems and weaknesses as opportunities, struggles as refining tools, and sinners as saints in progress." ~ Francis Frangipane

"Gratitude ... goes beyond the 'mine' and 'thine' and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy." ~ Henri J. M. Nouwen

"God has two dwellings; one in heaven, and the other in a meek and thankful heart."  ~ Izaak Walton

"It’s not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, that is the true measure of our thanksgiving."  ~ W.T. Purkiser

"It is delightfully easy to thank God for the grace we ourselves have received, but it requires great grace to thank God always for the grace given to others."~ James Smith

Got Church? A Blog Message to my Unchurched Friends

Okay, here’s the deal.  I am a Pastor and I am also the son of a Pastor so I may have a little bias when it comes to attending church, but I hope you will hear me out on this one.  I know you’re busy.  Who isn’t these days?  And Sundays certainly aren’t what they used to be.  Stores are open and more and more businesses are opening, which means more people have to work.  And don’t even get me started on the whole sports thing.  Having two kids who are into sports myself, games on Sundays is an issue we’ve had to deal with.  Whatever your activities are on the weekends, ultimately attending church is about making it a priority.  We all have time for what we prioritize.

Then again, maybe your reason for not attending church has nothing to do with how busy you are.  There are plenty of other reasons out there.  As a matter of fact, I’d like to list a few of those reasons and address them from my perspective.

1.     “Church is full of hypocrites” – Okay, you’ve got me on that one.  Every church is always going to have some hypocrites in it; people who act one way on Sunday mornings and then live an entirely different lifestyle the rest of the week.  But if you want to learn about the Christian faith should you really let someone else’s shortcomings stop you?  And remember one other thing; there will always be hypocrites in church because everyone is a sinner.  At the very core of the Christian faith is the idea that all of mankind is far from perfect, and this has separated us from an all holy God.  But that God loves us so much that He showed us His grace by giving His son to die for our sins so that we can still have a relationship with Him.  So because God has loved us so much we can choose to live our life for Him following the example of His son Jesus Christ.  So if you are wondering about Christians, please don’t think they think they are somehow better than you, because they are not.  They’re just forgiven.  And we go to church to learn more about loving God and to learn more about loving others; nothing too hypocritical about that.

2.     “Churches are always asking for money.” – Okay you got me on that one too.  But when you come to learn what the Christian faith is all about, you’ll stop seeing it as asking for money and you’ll start seeing it as opportunities to give.  At my church we have lots of opportunities to give.  You can give to our local food pantry, you can give to help former inmates get their life on track, you can give to help programs for those struggling with addiction, you can give to people who are helping those in need around the world and sharing the truth about Jesus Christ, you can give so needy children around the world can have Christmas presents, in some cases for the very first time, you can give to help young mothers afford diapers and other baby needs, and of course you can actually give to our church which supports and promotes such causes and more.  I’ve missed a few, but you get the idea.  As one grows in their Christian faith, becoming more generous is a very natural part of that growth.

3.     “Church is boring.” If that’s your impression then you’ve obviously been to church in the past, and let me respectfully suggest you were going to the wrong church.  There’s a famous Christian leader who once said “it is a sin to preach a boring sermon.”  I don’t know if I would take it that far, but I get his point.  If you haven’t been to church in a while, you will find that many of them are not your Father’s church.  A lot of churches have full bands to lead the songs, provocative video presentations, and sermons that are actually interesting and relevant to the life you are living.  If you decide to start looking for a church to attend these are great things to look for, but let me add two more things when it comes to what the Pastor is preaching.  1. He or she should actually be preaching from the Bible.  It’s the bestselling book of all time for a reason.  It’s withstood the test of a couple thousand years and its going stronger than ever.  It’s full of amazing wisdom and practical life application.  And oh, by the way, some of us actually see it as God’s Word given to mankind.  So why in the world would you ever want to listen to some “feel good nonsense” when you can hear from God’s truth in His word.  2. He or she should actually preach about Jesus Christ.  If you try out a church for a couple weeks and the Pastor has yet to mention the name of Jesus Christ, stop going to that church.  A Christian church should be exactly that; Christian.  And you can’t be a true Christian church if you’re not talking about what it means to follow Jesus Christ.

I’m sure there are other excuses for not going to church.  Those were just the ones on my mind today.  Those of you who know me know I’m not some kind of religious nut job.  I’m actually pretty normal.  You might be surprised how many of us normal folks are going to church.  We’re your co-workers, friends, fellow sports team parents, school mates, and more.  We’ve just realized how valuable it is to commit to a church that teaches about the Christian faith.  It’s brought us peace, contentment, and joy, even in the midst of difficult life circumstances.  So give church a try.  You might be surprised by just how much you like it.  

Pete Axelson - Pastor..... Blogger..... and Habitat Renegade

I got in a little bit of trouble today.  Well maybe I wasn’t so much in trouble as I was spoken to.  You see one of the things I take great joy in doing is giving the devotion at one of my local Habitat for Humanity sights.  I thought they were going great; until today that is.  I knew something was up when one of the leaders walked by me and said “are you going to keep it short, sweet, and non-denominational today?”  Oh no!  What did he mean by non-denominational?  I always give a message from the Bible, and most all denominations use the Bible to some degree or another.  Whether he wants me using the Bible or not, evidently I’ve also been a little long winded (it’s a good thing this guy hasn’t heard any of my Sunday morning sermons).  I immediately started worrying about the text I thought I was going to teach from and changed it over to something I thought would be not so offensive.  I had planned to talk about the Cretans mentioned in Titus 1.  What if they got confused and thought I was calling them no good lazy gluttons (you’d have to read it).  So instead I read the parable of the Prodigal son and talked about God’s love for us as lost people.

Once I was done, one of the ladies approached me to talk.  Oh boy.  Turns out she is Jewish, and the guy with the helpful suggestion up front was her husband and is Jewish too, and I’ve been talking about Jesus way too much.  Wups.  We actually proceeded to have a very civil and nice conversation.  To sum up her thoughts she wanted me to be less preachy, use less of the Bible, to not talk about Jesus, and to simply give some nice thoughts appreciating the workers.  Oh yea; and to do all of that in less time. (Turns out she timed me and 7 minutes was still too long)  My initial response was “I don’t think I can do that.”  Keeping Jesus out of my messages is a completely foreign concept to me.  When you believe the words of scripture claiming Him as the Way the Truth and the Life it’s kind of hard to keep Him out of your teachings.  I didn’t want to come across as arrogant and I tried to humbly explain my convictions and we had a good discussion about whether or not I could continue to share devotions there while still keeping to my convictions.  I’m still not sure if I can, but I’m going to give it a shot.  I’m going to give it a shot because despite my new critics I also know there are many who have been captivated by what God has given me to share.  Two devotions ago I had a man come up to me afterwards to pray for something very personal going on in his family.  I know he would not have asked me that if he didn’t see me as someone with convictions about what I was sharing.  I think God is making a difference through me in these short devotions.  So I’m going to see if I can pull it off because if I give up, than that’s one less Jesus loving preacher Habitat has to give their devos.  I think next time I’ll go with the two greatest commandments; Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.  At least that can be found in the Old Testament, and I’ll keep quiet about you know who saying that’s what sums up all of the law.  Hopefully they will be okay with me talking about the one true God of the Bible, and I’ll do my best to keep it to myself that the one true God includes His Son.  Because that’s where my line is drawn.  I’ll keep opening the Bible, and I’ll keep talking about the one true God, and if that’s still not good enough for them, then that would be a darn shame, because all that would be left is false teaching.

Bigger Barns

So I recently preached on the parable of the rich fool who had to build bigger barns for all his grain and goods.  As I was preparing for it I came across some very interesting statistics.

-         Average home size in 1970 was 1400 square feet

-         Average home size in 2009 was 2700 square feet

-         Even though the average family size has gone down by 1 during that time span.

-         In 1950 1 in a 100 homes had 2.5 baths.  Today it’s 1 in 2.

-         14 million households own 4 or more TVs

-         1 in 5 new homes are larger than 3000 square feet – the size at which it starts becoming unmanageable to clean without hired help.

-         The average cost for a luxury kitchen remodel is $57,000.  That’s $10,000 more than the average Habitat for Humanity home.

-         And finally, since 2001 the number of people who have bought second homes has increased by 24%. 

So yea, I think it’s safe to say in America we should be able to identify with the concept of bigger barns.  I hate to admit it, but my own family represents that national average when it comes to the number of TVs in our house.  We have one in the basement the kids use for their Xbox, one in our den where we often have house guests stay, so we think it’s a nice thing for them to have a TV, and the wife and I have one in our bedroom if for no other reason than the simple fact that she prefers to have noise to fall asleep to.  And finally we have one in the family room. That’s the one that gets used the most.  Did it sound like I was trying to justify having 4 TVs just now?  It should have, because I was.  But really there’s no real justification, in many ways we represent the bigger barn mentality of America just like most folks.

So does this mean that we are all a bunch of covetous sinners in America simply because we happen to have large homes and plenty of possessions?  I’m thankful to say I don’t think that’s the case.  What I found interesting is that most of the commentaries I read on this passage go straight to money and wealth and all but declare that if you are rich than you are in sin.  But if that were truly the case then most everyone in our country would be in sin by virtue of being American.  Relative to the rest of the world, there are very few Americans who are not rich.  Even our poor are rich by comparison to many other countries.  One of the other interesting statistics I came across was based on socioeconomic status; those at the poverty level in our country have the highest obesity rate.  In most countries obesity and poverty are two words that simply do not go together.  So yes, we do have a great deal of resources and possessions at our disposal, but that doesn’t mean we are all knocking on the door of Hades.  The main concern of this passage is found in verse 15 where Jesus Christ warns us to be on guard against greed and/or covetousness (depending on your translation).  Is there plenty of greed and covetousness in America?  Of course there is; but then again there’s plenty of greed and covetousness everywhere.  Its part of the sin condition in this world we live in.  Really those two vices have nothing to do with how well off you are.  As I shared this sermon with my congregation, one of my biggest warnings was to the yard sale types among us.  Many people are simply addicted to getting more; even if it’s more junk.  They covet what they don’t have.  It doesn’t have to be about the Beamers and the boats; sometimes it’s about the knick-knacks and trinkets. 

Per usual Christ gives us a great remedy for the dangers of greed and covetousness.  It’s in verse 21 of Luke 12 is a call to be rich towards God.  Yes, there’s no doubt about it, Americans are rich.  What we need to be more of, is rich towards God.  In other words, do the opposite of what the rich fool did.  Always have a thankful attitude for all that you have.  The rich fool never expresses thanks for his bumper crop, even though it came from God.  Remember to be generous with what you do have.  Needless to say, the rich fool wasn’t generous either.  It never once occurred to him to share what he had.  Part of being rich towards God means having a loose grip on our possessions, or as I’ve sometimes heard it put, we shouldn’t let our possessions possess us.  I recently got back from an amazing local mission trip to Vermont with some of the youth in our church.  That trip became very affordable for all of us when one of our members out of the blue donated his Laser sail boat to our cause.  We sold it for 2 grand on Craigslist and in addition to some other fund raising that made it so all the parents had to pay was their initial 60 dollar deposit.  What an absolute blessing that was; all because someone had a loose grip on his possession.  How is God calling you to be rich towards God?  It might mean giving something away, or it might mean giving some of your time to him in some kind of ministry or service.  Just remember, whether it’s time, talent, or treasures, if you profess Jesus Christ as your Savior, all that you have is His.  And the more you give it in richness towards Him, the more blessed you will be.

One Pastor's Mixed and Muddled up View on Homosexuality

I must be crazy.  Why in the world would a pastor come out and take a position on homosexuality in today’s day and age?  It would be a lot easier for me to keep my mouth shut and avoid offending someone, because I can guarantee you regardless of which side I fall on someone will end up being offended.  The recent news of long time N.B.A. player Jason Collins coming out is the impetus to this blog entry.  I’m a sports fan and I’ve always known it was just a matter of time before some active player in a major professional sport comes out.  From my own perspective I think the overall response has been encouraging, with the exception of a couple Christian callers to sports radio this morning whose hearts were in the right place but were having a hard time communicating the message.

So what’s my message?  What does Pastor Pete have to say about all of this?  Are you ready?  Here I go…….  I just don’t know.  How’s that for taking a stand?  When I say I just don’t know I’m referring to the whole “is homosexuality a sin” argument.  I know some of you are immediately thinking this guy is a pastor and he doesn’t even know?!?  Doesn’t he read his bible?  Of course I read my bible and I do so faithfully, and I am aware of the 6 or so passages that refer to homosexuality being a sin.  And if that’s the stance you take based on those passages I have absolutely no problem with that.  Let’s face it; they do seem to be pretty clear.  I might also add that I believe the entire bible to be God’s word and I’m not in the habit of picking and choosing what I want to believe and leaving the rest behind.  But can we all just be brutally honest for a moment and acknowledge that sometimes understanding and interpreting the scriptures can be a difficult thing.  For instance, during the Civil War both sides were claiming they had God and the bible on their side.  And who doesn’t struggle sometimes with the brutality of how God had the Israelites wipe out the Canaanites and others as they moved into the Promised Land?  I could go on, but the point is it’s not always as easy as it might seem to understand and interpret God’s word and how it should be applied.

So what about those verses that refer to homosexuality as a sin?  It’s my understanding that those who approve of homosexuality make both cultural and interpretation arguments.  They would argue that these passages are primarily referring to sexual abuse of men on boys (which was indeed a cultural concern in that day) and not a monogamous relationship between two same sex adults.  I’ve been introduced to these arguments but I would like to read up a little more on them.  So far they seem to me to be a little weak.  I will say though that I am open to cultural arguments as to what constitutes sinful behavior in scripture, and before you tell me I shouldn’t be, you better make sure all the women in your church are not wearing gold, pearls, expensive clothes, or braids in their hair this Sunday if you want to be consistent (1^st Timothy 2:9).  The question is does a cultural argument work for the issue of homosexuality, and finding out is a journey I’m still on.

Here’s what I do know; assuming it is a sin, it certainly isn’t an unforgivable one.  Here is what I mean.  I’m thinking of two of my Christian friends; one would say he was gay and is now happily married to a woman, and the other who would say he is gay and believes that’s okay so long as he’s applying the Bible’s teachings on sexual immorality just like a heterosexual person would; as in only sex within the bounds of marriage (or the gay equivalent) no adultery, etc.  I’m okay with and I love both of them.  I don’t condemn the former for his past and I don’t condemn the latter for his present; and I believe Jesus doesn’t either.  I’m reminded of the well-known story of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery (John 8).  After all those who were about to stone her left having realized their own sins Jesus asks her, “Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?”  And she responds “No one sir.”  And Jesus says “Then neither do I condemn you, go now and leave your life of sin.”  When I think about my two friends, along with Jesus I don’t condemn them.  It’s also my desire that they would heed the words of Jesus and not live a life of sin.  It’s my opinion that they are both doing their best to follow those words of Jesus.  Should my second friend at some point get involved with another man and pursue the equivalent of a monogamous married relationship with him I still won’t condemn him.  It’s just not my place.  I’m thankful to say I’ve never had to deal with the confusion he did, growing up in Christian evangelical circles and having homosexual desires.  Like many in his position he has suffered a good deal of pain and rejection from the Christian community, and I just don’t see how that is Christ-like. He’s a good God fearing Christian man and I’ll let him continue to grapple with God and the Holy Spirit over his orientation. 

Here’s another thing I’m sure of.  Any homosexual man or woman is more than welcome to worship at my church and to be a part of our church community.  Whether homosexuality is a sin or not, we’re all sinners in need of God’s grace and His saving relationship through Jesus Christ, and Jesus came not to condemn the world but to save it (John 3:17).  I want my church to be a place that pursues God’s truth as best we can and to do so with lots of love and grace.  I alluded to it in the beginning, and I’m sure I’ve offended some of you by now.  These views may be too wishy-washy and muddled for some of you, but it’s where God has brought me, and I hope you can at least appreciate my open and honest expression on a very controversial topic in the church.  If you should desire to respond, please do so in love. 

On the Passing of Rick Warren's Son

It's hard to imagine the pain Rick and Kay Warren have been going through this past week.  I hope you will appreciate Mark Driscoll's blog entry on their son's death, the Godly man Rick Warren is, and the unfortunate criticism of some.  I'm happy to have such a heartfelt honoring of Rick and his family represent my blog entry for this week.

http://pastormark.tv/2013/04/10/rick-warren-critics-and-the-hope-of-god-s-son?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=pastormark&utm_campaign=Pastor%2BMark%2BFacebook