Jesus is our Mighty God

I’m currently doing a series with my church called “His Name Will be Called.”  It’s based on the 4 names of Jesus in Isaiah 9:6.  This Sunday is “Mighty God.”  I wonder; how do you picture Jesus? I suppose when I ask that, the first thing that might come to mind is how he looks.  There’s no shortage of depictions of Jesus in this world.  Unfortunately many of them are overly effeminate, often with gaunt cheeks, and I swear some of them look like He’s wearing makeup. I’ve also had enough of those flowing blond locks of hair and the blue eyes.  And why do they always seem to show him holding a lamb or with little children around him?

I know those sorts of pictures were meant to honor Him, but I almost find them to be sac religious.  They don’t sit right with me, because I think they are a poor depiction of our Lord and Savior when He walked this earth.

When you think about what we know of Jesus from scripture I think there could be far more accurate depictions.  Instead of Jesus having a little lamb on His lap why not show him holding some wood working tools?  Why not show him fishing on a boat with a couple of His disciple buddies?  Speaking of His disciples, I see them for the most part as pretty manly themselves; especially His closest three, Peter, James, and John.  We know them as fishermen, and James and John as “sons of thunder.”  Those are the guys Jesus chose to hang out with and call as His disciples.  He probably looked a lot more like the blue collar rugged men they were, then most the pictures we see now-a-days.

Appearances are one thing, but I’m also wondering what you think Jesus was like?

What do you think his personality and demeanor were? If you think of Jesus as being meek and humble, you'd be right. The Bible certainly describes Jesus in this way, but we need to remember that being meek is nowhere near the same as being week. A common description for meekness is actually power under control.  And we know that Jesus was humble too, but that doesn't mean he was a wimp. That became obvious on a number of occasions. For instance, a few months before his crucifixion, as Jesus was making his way to Jerusalem knowing full well what was in store, a group of Pharisees warned him of King Herod's plot to take his life.  Jesus told them, "Go tell that fox ... I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day." With the steely determination of a warrior, Jesus told them he was going to carry out his will and purpose, namely, to die on a cross and take away the sins of the world. No one would stand in his way.  A few months later, on Monday of Holy Week, just days before his death on the cross, Jesus went into the temple. He found merchants and money changers who had set up shop there, preventing worshipers from having access to the temple. And he angrily drove them all out, overturning tables and scattering coins in the process.  That’s hardly wimpy.  Or what about one of his more famous rants against the Pharisees.  He called them hypocrites, hopeless, blind fools, frauds, white washed tombs, and brood of vipers.  He’s not exactly sugar coating it is He?  He always spoke the truth and wasn’t afraid to do so.

I suppose the really sad thing is this; not only do many people picture Jesus as having been weak and wimpy during his days on earth, they still picture him in that way, and nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus was our mighty God on earth and now He’s our mighty God in heaven. The Bible may call him the "Lamb of God," but it also calls Him the "Lion of Judah." In Zephaniah 3:17 He is referred to as a Mighty Warrior who saves.  Yes that’s right; Jesus saves.  It’s more than just a bumper sticker saying.  He saves us from our sin and He saves us from death, but He also saves us FOR some things.  He saves us for an abundant life on earth.  He saves us for the joy of our salvation.  I don’t know what your Christmas season holds this year.  I know for some it’s not always an easy season to get through.  Wherever you are at, I hope you will take the time to consider your Mighty God Jesus Christ who saves, and I pray that in turn will bring you the true joy of Christmas. 

Not Guilty; Grateful.

I’ve recently been doing a sermon series with my church called “How to be Rich.”  No, it’s not a series on how to get rich quick; it’s how to be rich.  I’m basing it on the book by Andy Stanley of the same name and the sub-title gives a little more insight into what it’s all about; “It’s not what you have, it’s what you do with what you have.”  One of the things we quickly learned is that pretty much all of us are rich.  And if you’re reading this you probably are too.  You may be looking at the pile of bills on your kitchen table and be thinking “funny, I don’t feel very rich.”  Well here’s some interesting statistics for you (according to Stanley’s book).  If you make $37,000.00 household income per year or more, you are in the top 4% of all wage earners in the world.  If you make $48,000.00 or more, you are in the top 1%.  It kind of makes you rethink that whole occupy movement doesn’t it. 

For me personally I have a wife who works, and I do too and so it’s probably not all that surprising when I say we are in the top 1%.  Not only that, we get to live and do ministry on Cape Cod.  We’ve got the beautiful ocean and beaches, pristine golf courses, and more ice cream shops than you can count.  There are places in the world where women walk hundreds of yards with big bowls of water on their heads each day just so they can have it for drinking and cooking.  We spray water all over our yard to keep it green.  There are places in the world where kids would be happy with one decent pair of shoes.  I counted the shoes in my closet the other day and came up with sixteen.  I dare you to go count your shoes when you are done reading this.  It can be quite the eye opening experience. 

I think it’s a good thing to understand that relative to the rest of the world we are very rich indeed.  But I’m not writing all of this to try and make anyone feel guilty.  I honestly don’t think you should feel guilty.  We had no control over being born American.  I’m also a big believer in the Bible teaching a strong work ethic, and that in turn can make many rich even by American standards depending on what field they work in.  And all of that is okay.  Guilt is not the emotion we should be going for.  The correct emotion or attitude that should well up in all of us when we think about such things is grateful.  We have so much to be grateful for.  And when we are grateful we should be grateful to God because He gives us so much.  The financial blessings come from Him.  He did after all create us with the gifts and abilities to allow us to earn a living.  But his blessings are so much more than just financial.  James 1:17 tells us every good and perfect gift comes from God. 

Remember those 16 shoes in my closet I referred to?  As a way to express my gratitude I decided I’m going to purchase 16 items at the grocery store for our local food pantry; one item for each pair of shoes.  It’s not anything major I know, but I’m also going to challenge the rest of my congregation to do the same thing this Sunday.  I figure if we get enough of us doing it we can stock them up pretty good for the Thanksgiving season.  1^st Timothy 6: 17-18 challenges us not put our hope in riches but to be rich in good deeds instead.  This is one small good deed, but when you add them all up they can start to make a difference.  Maybe you should go to your closet and start counting. 

On Politics, Ignorant Windbags, and Mark Driscoll

The mid-term elections are now over. How did your guys do….. or gals?  Living in The Peoples Republic of Massachusetts it was a bit of a surprise to see the some Republicans win this time around including our new governor to be Charlie Baker.  I rarely if ever talk politics from the pulpit. I prefer to keep my focus on the main thing; or better put the main person Jesus Christ. I figure I can venture into the political world at least a little in my blog though. For whatever its worth I’m not real big on identifying myself politically. I much prefer to simply identify myself as a Christian or Jesus follower.  For me personally that has led me in a more conservative direction, which in turn has led me to vote for guys with an “R” after their name more often than not. All that being said, I have a great deal of respect for many of my brothers and sisters in Christ who tend to go the other direction.  It’s okay that we may occasionally disagree about the best way for Government to be involved for the common good of the people. All of that is secondary to our common commitment to Jesus Christ and His call on our lives to love God and love others. And contrary to what those on the extreme left might say it is in fact possible to be a compassionate conservative and love others well.

There’s one thing I’m sure of, and that is my thankfulness for another election season to be over.  That means no more political commercials. Praise God!  I get so tired of obvious misrepresentations of opposing candidates. Sometimes the mudslinging can get a bit out of hand. It reminds me of a passage I read recently.

They are ignorant windbags who infect the air with germs of envy, controversy, bad-mouthing, suspicious rumors. Eventually there’s an epidemic of backstabbing, and truth is but a distant memory.

1^st Timothy 6:4-5a (The Message)

In this passage the apostle Paul is speaking about false teachers who did not agree with the biblical doctrines of Jesus Christ. As I was reading that description I got to wondering; can it sometimes describe us as Christians when we are in disagreement?  I’m afraid there are those among us who rather enjoy controversy and bad mouthing.  It’s like they are looking for a fight. My alma-matter Gordon College has been in the news a lot lately because of a stand its President recently took about the schools hiring practices as a private Christian institution. I’ve been following a discussion about it through an alumni group on Linked-In, and I think there have been some who definitely go over the line in trying to make their point.  I find that to be unfortunate. For the most part I’ve enjoyed reading the discussion because those participating all seem to be very smart and well-read individuals. And yet, when they go over the line with their disdain for those who may disagree with them, all I can think of is “conceited ignorant windbag.”

I’ve seen the same phenomenon with Mark Driscoll recently stepping down and Mars Hill church disbanding. There have been some who disagree with Driscoll’s conservative views and have gone over the line, almost celebrating his demise. I’ve never met Driscoll, but I’ve read a bit about him and listened to plenty of his sermons. As far as I can tell, he’s first and foremost a man who loves the Lord Jesus Christ, a gifted speaker, a family man, and someone who probably has some anger issues and pride. So why throw stones? He’s on this Christian journey just like the rest of us, and because of his ministry hundreds or even thousands have become followers of Jesus.

As I write about all of this one thing keeps coming to mind. I sure don’t want anyone to think of me as an ignorant windbag. It’s not a very flattering description for anyone; leave alone a Pastor.  I think I’ll play it safe and leave politics and Christian controversy’s on the periphery and keep preaching Jesus.      

Jealousy

            I’ve recently been preaching at my church on the life of Joseph. It’s been a lot of fun. There’s a reason they made the story of Joseph into a Broadway play. There is no lack of drama that’s for sure. Plenty of human emotion too…. Like jealousy.  I’m sure many of you will recall the story.  Joseph is his father Jacob’s favorite, and he makes that fact well known when he gives Joseph a special coat of many colors. Or my NIV translation says “a richly ornamented robe.”  Actually depending on how it gets translated it may have been more of a plain white robe with long sleeves that royalty would wear, but a coat of many colors sounds much more interesting.

            I can remember getting a pretty cool coat once.  It was back in the early 80s when I got a “Members Only” coat for Christmas.  I was stylin in that coat!  But what if I had been given that coat and my brother and sister received nothing? They might think mom and dad were playing favorites. They’d probably be right. That was the case for Joseph and his brothers.  So often the sin of one person can lead to the sin of another.  In this case Jacob’s sin of favoritism leads to Joseph’s brother’s sin of jealousy.

            Jealousy; all sin is ugly but jealously perhaps especially so. It can lead to things far worse. How many murders take place in a fit of jealous rage? Joseph’s brothers came pretty close to it themselves. They threw Joseph into a cistern and essentially left him there to die. Eventually Judah came up with the idea of selling him into slavery instead. What about you? Are you feeling jealous today?  Maybe it’s a co-worker who got the promotion ahead of you. Maybe it’s over a friendship and you are jealous because one of your friends chooses to hang out with someone else more than he or she does you. Maybe it’s the neighbor with the immaculate lawn and sweet looking ride in the driveway. Or would that one be envy? Envy and jealousy are kind of like close cousins. Often it may start with envy and lead to jealousy. I have to admit as a pastor there have been times when I’ve caught myself being envious of another pastor’s church building or the size of their congregation. It’s in those times that I try to remember Proverbs 14:30; A heart of peace gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot. A heart of peace has to do with being content. The apostle Paul was in chains in prison when he wrote in Philippians that he was content in all things. Paul’s surroundings did not matter because his peace was a state of his heart. That sure beats the alternative; bones rotting. Essentially that means our envy or jealousy can lead to some pretty unhealthy stuff. Life is just too short to be envious or jealous. Enjoy what you have and who God created you to be and know that all good things come from Him.

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.