Have you ever heard of a Bushtit? It is a tiny brown and gray bird with a cute little face. They weave a sock-like nest out of spider webs, moss, flower pedals, pollen pods, and who knows what else. A pair of them decided to build a nest right near our front door by a wind chime and the Jasmine that’s growing there. I guess they wanted to have a dinner bell they could ring. If you don’t look closely you will miss the nest altogether, it blends in that well.Living among an amazing variety of birds is one of the joys of living in Don Pedro. The other morning I was sitting on our back deck with a hot cup of tea and in the short time I sat there I counted over twenty different kinds of birds, ranging from a Red-shouldered hawk and Turkey vultures to an Anna’s hummingbird showing of its colors in the morning sun.As cute as Bushtits are, they are also annoying. They seem to have a fetish for pecking at our windows, especially in the wee hours of morning. It was sort of amazing and cute the first couple of times, but now it just plain annoying, so much so I want to tie their little beaks into knots.Isn’t it astounding how cute can turn into annoying so quickly? Think of babies. At first food throwing, saying “No!”,and even doing a poo-poo is worthy of being recorded on video, but before you know it is just plain annoying, frustrating, a bad habit. Think of lovers. How often do cute little quirks turn out to be nothing but annoying bad habits? Think of beauty accompanied by snobbishness, intelligence and arrogance, talent/giftedness and laziness, words and unkindness or lies, love and self-centeredness, wealth/riches and stinginess, power and injustice/abuse, abundance and waste, having a heart and not caring, able but not helping. I am sure you could add to the list, and maybe there are a few beaks you would like to tie into a knot.Some find God, Jesus Christ annoying. Many think Christians are annoying. Few ever consider what annoys God. Generally God/Jesus Christ annoys when there is a clash of values, when the reality of God and Christ is inconvenient to how we want to live, when we dislike the truth and ways of God. Christ clashed (and still clashes) so much so He was ridiculed, despised, rejected, and crucified.Christians seem to invent ever new ways of being annoying. Too often not because of who Jesus is or the veracity of the Scriptures (the Bible) but rather by not being what the Spirit of God enables us to be (Galatians 5:22-23).But what annoys God? There are things He hates (Proverbs 6:16-19, 8:13). Can you imagine bringing mankind into existence and being able to say it is all very good only to watch it pervert itself? How would you feel if you created a people with the capacity to worship only to watch them worship anything but the true and living God? Can you imagine creating men and women in you very image, to be and do good, to love, to be godly, to be holy and then watch them write the kind history we have written? This why we read in God’s Word, “For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, …” Romans 1:18 (HCSB).My hope and prayer is that you and I will be as beautiful a people as God has means for us to be, that we will not be living contradictions but rather living examples of what it means to belong to and follow Jesus Christ.To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
If God Knows My Needs Why Pray?
"…; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” Matthew 6:8 (NASB)"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.” Luke 11:9-10 (NASB) At the bottom of the bucket was an old rusty chain hoist, and boy did it stink like a cat pee. I needed a hoist so I a paid a few bucks and hauled the wreaking mess home in the back of my truck. My first step was to soak the mess in diesel for a week before I cleaned it up.My daughter wrecked her car. Davidmark gave me a wrecked car with a good motor and transmission. I started looking and praying for a car that would fit that motor and transmission and would fit the budget of the insurance money. Weeks went by, and nothing. One morning in the church parking lot I saw a car with the passenger side mirror dangling by the wires. It belonged to one of our widows. I stopped her and asked if should get a replacement from Pick and Pull and fix it for her. “No need,” Helen said, “I’m getting a new car this weekend.”“What are you going to do with this one, because I have been looking for one like it?’” I asked“I’m going to donate it, it needs a new transmission.”“Would you consider selling it to me?”“No, but you can have it.”And so, a few days later I limped Helen's old car home and stuck in my garage. Turns out it is not only the exact year but also the exact model I had been looking for.I was almost finished cleaning up the last of the mess the tree made when it dropped a good sized limb on the side of Ed’s house. “Why don’t you take that home,” Ed said as he pointed up at another big branch.“Ed, I already have one of those.”“If you can reach it take it down. I used to use it to hold up my old donkey, who had a bad leg, whenever I got his feet trimmed. Buried him over there, so I don’t have any more use for that hoist. So take it.”Once I got started on changing the transmission on the car from Helen, more than once I looked up from my creeper and said, “God, I am in way over my amateur mechanic’s head, but not Yours. Please help me figure this out.” And you probably guessed it. Yup, I ended up using two chain hoists. My Heavenly Father knows what I need long before I need it.So why ask? If God knows and cares why does he still encourage me to ask, to seek, to knock? I can think of at least three reasons:
- One of the reasons to bring my needs before God is to gain His perspective on them. To sort out what are real needs and what are merely wants. Since God already knows I have no need to inform him, but I always have a need for insight, for faith, and for peace regarding my needs.
- Asking, seeking, knocking is about engaging with God in a real relationship. A relationship that takes place in everyday life, in real time, in real circumstances, with real needs. A relationship that goes beyond my needs to asking for the will of God, seeking the kingdom of God, and opening up our world to the Christ of God, the love of God, and the gospel of God.
- Asking, seeking, knocking also declares my dependence on God. He has resources I do not have. He has wisdom, knowledge, insight, and foresight I lack. He has power to open the shut, to do the impossible. By encouraging me to ask, to seek, to knock, God invites me to know and experience Him as the Almighty, Holy, Glorious, Awesome, And Compassionate God He is.
To God be all glory, love you, Pastor HansP.S. In case you were wondering, the car is up and running - glory
The unsurpassable value of a righteous, praying Momma
“… The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man (Mother, Mom, Momma, Mama) avails much.” James 5:16 (NKJV, parenthesis mine)Forrest Gump’s momma always said, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." I am not sure how true that is having bought my share of See’s Chocolates over the years. However, I do know when it comes to kids you really don’t know what you’re going to get. Sure, you can determine the sex long before the birth, as well as various health issues, and even who the biological father is. But still you don’t know if that child is going to be mild one or a wild one, short or tall, athletic or clumsy, a climber or a biter, an artist or an engineer, healthy or his or her doctor’s best friend, obedient or rebellious, kind or abrasive, quiet or an avalanche of words, driven or relaxed, trouble or joy, musical or tone deaf, adventurous or shy, scary smart or having to work hard for everything, spiritual or godless, fashion conscious or oblivious, out-going or shy. You don’t know what their interests, their sense of humor, their aptitudes, and their likes and dislikes will be. Talk about not knowing what you get, not to speak of what you’re getting into. That’s why having and raising children is exciting, challenging, rewarding, worrisome, exhausting, mind-numbing, exhilarating, full of surprises, and prayer inducing.Hands down two of the best things that could ever happen to a child is having a Momma who knows how to pray and who is righteous (the same can be said for Dads as well). There is no way to get being a parent right - you will mess up, guaranteed. You will also be misunderstood, blamed, disrespected, under-appreciated, and considered incompetent among other things. You will discover your limitations and be frustrated not only with your children but also yourself, but oh the value of a righteous Mom who knows how to pray.Being righteous means a person cares about God, His son Jesus Christ, His written Word (the Bible), His will, His values, and His ways so much you live your life accordingly. It shapes who you are and what you want your children to be. It means your children get to watch godliness being lived out. God unequivocally says He blesses those and their children who love Him like that.Fervent prayer is more than crisis praying, emergency calls to God when things are going haywire. It is a habit, a commitment to seek God, to lay hold of God and not let go. It is more than praying for protection for your kids. It seeks for God’s will to be unfolded in their lives, for an unquenchable thirst for the things of God to lay hold of their hearts, for righteous habits to form, for wise decisions to be made, for faith to grow and be experienced.Even though I am not a Mom, I have witnessed and experienced the unsurpassable value of a righteous praying Mother in my Grandmother, my Mama, and Susie the mother of our children.Happy Mother’s day, love you, Pastor Hans
True Prayer
“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” James 5:16 (NKJV).All over the world, in every culture, on every continent, and throughout history you find people who pray. They pray to literally millions of god, to ancestors, spirits, some force, angels, saints, rocks, trees, fetishes, demons, and even Satan. They pray according formulas, rituals, traditions, in special places, facing certain directions, use incantations, liturgies, repetitions, and much more. True prayer, however, hinges on who one prays to, actually praying, and on faith.There is only one true and living God, the Almighty, the Creator of all, who has revealed Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There are no other real gods beside Him. True prayer is directed to Him only, “Our Father who are in heaven, hallowed be Your Name … Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen” (Mathew 6:9&13). Sincerity, religious fervor, cultural norms, and personal preferences are no substitutes for who we’re praying to. Real prayer begins with, and is centered on, coming into the presence Holy God alone and there to speak with Him and listen to Him. Maybe you are tempted to raise the objections of narrowness and disrespect? But truth, spiritual and otherwise, is never disrespectful in itself and it is often narrow. For instance, in order to live you have to breathe; there is only one choice available. When it comes to time you can only acknowledge it and live within it but you can’t change it or chose an alternative. God is not defined by our preferences, our upbringing, and our choices. God defines himself; we can only know Him as He reveals Himself. We can pray to anything I want, but only if we come before the one and living God are we truly praying.Secondly, true prayer is actually engaging in a conversation with God. Jesus told his disciples/followers who wanted to know about praying, “When you pray …” (Luke 11:2). Prayer is not wishful thinking, it is not mindless ritual, it is not employing certain formulas, it is engaging in a real conversation that is born out of a real relationship with God, with the Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. For that to happen we have to actually pray.Finally, true prayer engages with the living God on the basis of faith, believing that He exists (Hebrews 11:6), that He hears, that He has spoken (through the Bible, God’s written word/revelation), that He still speaks, that He responds to and answers our prayers. In prayer we believe that God is all-knowing (omniscient), that He knows us, our situation, and our needs inside and out. We believe God is all-powerful (omnipotent) so we can be confident that He is able to help, guide, provide, and supply. We believe that God is loving and good so we are sure that He cares and is not arbitrary or capricious. We believe that God is all-wise and so we know we can rest in His answers and timing even when they are difficult for us to understand. We believe that God is just and thus is against all evil and for all that is good and righteous and so we know what He blesses and what He opposes, and we can rest judgment in His hands. We know that God is merciful and gracious, giving us hope to find true forgiveness and transformation to be merciful and forgiving ourselves.“Pray without ceasing” 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NASB).To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
Growing disciples
“…, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” Matthew 28:18-20 (NLT). “What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, and each has the role the Lord has given. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” 1 Corinthians 3:5-6 (HCSB). Without Susie we would have fewer plants around our place. She brings home trees and shrubs, her friends give her trees and shrubs, and even our kids think giving Mom plants is a great thing to do. Once a new plant or tree arrives it becomes my job to find a place for it, and since I have been trying for years to get off the hose-dragging system and to a buried pipe (my dogs would shred things above ground) automatic watering system you can imagine that makes putting in a new tree much, much more work, especially in the hard and rocky soil of Don Pedro.A few minutes ago I ate a delicious homegrown orange, harvested off a tree I actually bought myself a few years ago. In fact we have eight citrus trees and four of them are mature enough to bear (much to our delight) a significant amount of outstanding fruit. It really doesn’t matter who got the tree, who planted it, who watches over it because the joy is in seeing the tree grow and harvesting its fruit.When it comes to the vegetable garden all I do is prepare the boxes. I add the manure, the compost, whatever else to improve the soil and then rotortill and level it all. That’s when Susie takes over, she’ll plant it and water it. But just as with the trees the joy is in seeing that little garden thrive. Is there anything like a fresh homegrown tomato right off the vine with a little salt on it?As a church our calling is to make disciples, it doesn’t matter who does what. One invites, the other welcomes, someone makes the coffee and cookies, another teaches, some preach, others pray, and … What counts is that unsaved people come to know the Lord Jesus Christ, believe, and follow him. The joy is seeing people grow in Christ and bear fruit to the delight and glory of God. It doesn’t matter who plants, or who waters, the important thing is that disciples are made.It is my hope and prayer that we as church, every group, every ministry, and each one of us personally participates in and commits to making disciples. That the making of disciples is our core passion, what we get excited about, what we delight in, and what dominates our conversations, our dreams, and our service. So bring in some new plants, let’s make the waterers sweat, and watch God grow people.To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
Springtime - reflections
Springtime in Don Pedro is incredible, it seems as though nature is putting on a concert, and art exhibit, and a commercial for a deluxe vacation all at the same time. The beauty surrounding us is stunning, the temperature is perfect, and everything seems to be overflowing with life. Early mornings on my back deck are spectacular, just birds singing, the smell of fresh cut grass, the blossoms of poppies, wildflowers, and fruit trees slowly waking up and getting out of bed, warm sunshine peaking over the horizon. It doesn’t matter if you love going on walks and hikes, ride your bicycle, hop on your Harley, drive with the top down, go fishing, do some gardening, hit the golf balls, barbeque, ride horses, or play horse shoes, this seems to be the perfect time for it all.There are other things about spring that we are wise to notice:
- Spring is about planting, reproducing, thinking ahead. “A man reaps what he sows” Galatians 6:7 (NIV).
- Spring invites us to live to the glory of God. “My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be My disciples” John 15:8 (HCSB). “Our Lord and God, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because You have created all things, and because of Your will they exist and were created” Revelation 4:11 (HCSB).
- Spring is about growing. “…, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen” 2 Peter 3:18 (NLT).
- Spring is about praising God and His Son Jesus Christ. The birds do, the flowers do, as does all the rest of nature. They don’t get dressed up for us, they don’t sing for us, they don’t live for us. We simply benefit from what God has created them to be. The old hymn is right, “This is my Father’s world, the birds their carols raise; the morning light, the lily white declare their Maker’s praise” (This Is My Father’s World, by Maltbie D. Babcock).
- Spring testifies about God, that He is the author of life, that the beauty surrounding us is a reflection of His beauty, that all of it has sprung from His mind and His heart, “The Mighty One, God, the LORD, has spoken, And summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shone forth” Psalm 50:1-2 (NASB). “Sing to the LORD a new song; Sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. For great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him, Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength” Psalm 96:1-7 (NASB)
Can I encourage you to take a half an hour and take the beauty of this spring as an invitation from God and the Lord Jesus Christ to think about Him, and life, and how He would have you live it.To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
the look
The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, "Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times." Luke 22:61 (NASB) We’d all be in jail, if looks really could kill.If you want to be a good parent you have to be able to both recognize looks:“Don’t you give me that look young man!”“You had better not roll your eyes behind my back young lady!”“That’s about the daffiest face I have ever seen.”“I can tell you’re lying just by the look on your face!”“Those puppy eyes worked when you were three, what do you want.”“What’s with the sad face, what’s going on?”You also have to perfect your own “looks” as a parent. Your repertoire needs to include glares, stares, beams, as well as the looks of:“You’re in so much trouble, you don’t even know it!”“One more word and you’re grounded for life!”“I told you so.”“How could you?”“I’m so proud I think I’ll pop.”“That’s MY boy/girl!”Jesus had a lot of looks, looks of compassion, concern, grief, anger, peace. John 8 even records a non-look; it says something too, doesn’t it. One of Jesus’ looks has always fascinated and puzzled me. Peter, who had promised Jesus that he would die with Him if need be has just sworn up and down that he never knew Jesus. He has completely disavowed any association with Christ. What’s more is that Jesus had told him that he would do so before the roster would crow. Before the words of his last denial leave his lips a roster does crow, and at the very moment Jesus in His hand cuffs turns and looks across the courtyard. He looks Peter right in the eyes (Luke 22:54-62), He doesn’t speak a word, a look is all that’s needed. What look did Jesus give him? Wouldn’t you love to know? I sure would. This much I know, Jesus’ look didn’t keep Peter from repenting and returning. It also broke him. I think he remembered that one look for the rest of his life. He must have told Luke about it.I can’t prove it, but I think that look Jesus gave Peter, when Peter was at a minimum both scared and confused, reflected the depth of relationship Jesus seeks to have with you and me as well. Most people do not know God – Jesus like that, but gloriously He invites us to know Him like that. Do you?To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
... the power of the resurrection ...
“… the power of Jesus Christ’s resurrection …” (Philippians 3:10)Sooner than later everyone runs into it.The elderly gentleman whose path I crossed last week did. You could tell that he used to do most everything by himself. He used to repair his own vehicles. He built the barn behind his house. If the tree that had fallen on the side of house five years ago he would have cut it up himself. But now he could just watch and cheer me on. I thought, “Someday that could very well be me.”The young woman lying in the hospital bed did. Young and sick just don’t seem to go together, at least they shouldn’t. There she was hooked up to monitors and IV lines, at the mercy of the disease and the doctors and nurses trying to fight it. When I left I thought, “That could very well be me.”The parents who asked me to come over did. Their daughter is making bad decisions. She is on a straight path of ruining her life, hurting herself and others in the process. Mom and Dad are at their wits’ end. When I started my car I thought, “I have kids. That could very well be Susie and me.”The faces on the TV screen did. In a way they are almost interchangeable. This was a documentary about refugee camp that has become a place with no way out, but it could just as well have been a documentary of people caught in a deadly drought, or of a crime and drug infested neighborhood, or of victims of a natural disaster. I thought, “I am glad that’s not me,” but it very well could be.The family gathered around the bed did. The no longer conscious, shrunken shell of their Mom, Grandma, and sister was still breathing, barely. But it was just a matter of time. No one was going to stop the inevitable. We all wished it would come sooner than later. I couldn’t help but think, “One day this will be me.”The man in the casket suspended over his grave did. The Honor Guard had conducted their ceremony, fired the gun salute, and carefully folded the flag and presented it. I spoke the benediction. Mourners laid flowers on the casket. Then we stepped back and watched it disappear into the ground. As we were walking away the grave diggers started to cover the grave. I thought, “Whatever was left death took it. Took it from everyone laid to rest here, every last bit. It doesn’t matter whose marker I read, or how fancy the grave stone is, all here have been rendered powerless.”The feeling and the reality of powerlessness is as inescapable as it is dreaded. It diminishes us. It is both humbling and humiliating. Human dignity is lost. Fear and helplessness are its companions. It challenges the slightest glimmer of hope. And it doesn’t matter, in the end each one of us will lose the fight. Whatever power was ours it will not be buried with us under that last shovel of dirt.There is, however, a grave that has been gloriously empty for the past 2000 years. Not because someone has dug it up, or because tomb raiders invaded it. It is empty because who was laid there walked out. Evil, the brokenness of this world, Satan, sin and death all tried their best to render Jesus Christ powerless. All of them failed. He rose from the dead. He alone can help us escape the condemnation of sin and the curse and power of death. You and I can live and be buried in real hope if we trust in and live with Jesus Christ. Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:25-26 (NASB) This Easter, if you have never done so, make a beginning with Jesus Christ – believe and follow.This Easter, remember that power of Jesus’ resurrection calls us more than comfortable holy huddles behind church walls, but to go where evil, sin, injustice, lostness, suffering, disease, fear, worry, darkness, hopelessness, powerlessness, and death prevails.Jesus is risen! Love you, Pastor Hans
03-25-12 You're invited
You’re invited“Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.” Matthew 22:9 (NLT)It’s one of the dilemmas of wedding preparation, and one of the reasons some just elope – who do you invite? The couple getting married makes a list, and starting with the closest relatives and their very best friends it spirals outward from there. What was originally a small intimate wedding can mushroom into the hundreds, and that’s before the mothers of the bride and groom get to check the list.“What you’re not going to invite the Nonnenmachers who were our neighbors when we lived in Coulterville?”“But Mom, we moved from there when I was four.”“But they still send us a Christmas card every year.”So the list grows, only to run into budgetary constraints. That’s when the folks who were going to be invited are being uninvited and they don’t even know it. And of course great attention has to be paid as to who will get their feelings hurt, and who has invited you in the past. Any misstep here can cause hard feelings that have the potential to linger for decades (I am not making this up).Long before the happy couple has to craft a guest list for their wedding they will have gained experience in this sort of thing going way back to kindergarten. Oh the headaches and politics of birthday party invitations. Since your Mom was in all likelihood very smart she probably said something like, “You can invite five friends to your birthday party.” See what I mean, because right there you were faced with a cut line. Sure, you knew you could squeeze a few more out of your Mom, seven, eight, and if you were really good even ten. Yup, I remember it well the social jockeying of those formative years. The girls, however, they had levels of drama and manipulation us boys could only dream of.I am glad I will never know how many times I have been scratched off an invitation list, aren’t you. And I know that unless something really crazy happens my name will not appear on Hollywood’s A-list, nor is it likely my name will appear on an invitation to the White House. I did get an invitation to appear in traffic court once.Somehow though my name, and yours, appears on the most important invitation list of all – God’s. Unbelievable you and I are invited to be part of the Jesus’ wedding feast in the kingdom of heaven. And in fact God is still sending out more invitations, we get to invite all of our friends, there is no cut line, no budgetary constraints, no politics to be played, no drama to avoid. All are invited, so let them know.What great words, “You are invited,” especially when they come from God. I am going, are you?To God be the glory, love you, Pastor Hans
Lost and Found
For the Son of Man (Jesus Christ) has come to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10 (HCSB, parenthesis mine)Hansel and Gretel would not have gotten lost in the woods if they would have had one (By the way that’s really a sad and gruesome story. No wonder those of us who grew up on that kind of literary fare are somewhat twisted).We, Mabel Tubbs, Joanna Allen, Mary Fleming, and I, could have used one as well. We were lost in San Jose, going to a funeral no less. And since this episode took place before cell phones were common, and since I had obviously read our map incorrectly, and being the secure male that I am, I finally caved to the collective pressure and asked for redirections at a gas station. I told the ladies, “The good thing is that they won’t start without the preacher.”Recently Susie and I were lost. We were trying to go to Saint Francis Hospital in San Francisco, but one wrong turn had rendered our Google Maps directions worthless. We tried to get back within the loop of the instructions, but to no avail. Finally, and desperately, we pulled over by an intersection and called our daughter Emily to help us. When we told her where we were she blurted, “What the heck, you’re almost in South San Francisco!” (I was tempted to tell her that it was her parents who had blessed her with that fancy GPS (Global Positioning System) device. But among other things, getting lost has a way of making you very humble). That wonderful child of ours, with the aid of her GPS, did get us to the Hospital in no time flat. And this past Christmas my children blessed me with my very own TomTom GPS – hello no more getting lost.In the 15th chapter of his Gospel (would you get a Bible and read it) Luke records three parables Jesus told in response to those who criticized him for spending time with sinners (spiritually lost people) and tax-collectors (I guess they have never been popular). Jesus tells of a lost sheep, which in likelihood, just wondered off. He tells of a lost coin that got misplaced by the woman who owned it. And He tells of two sons, one who got lost in his rebellion and foolish choices, the other who got lost in the wrong values and his self-righteousness.It could be that Jesus is describing you. When you are lost it doesn’t matter much how you got lost. What counts is that you are found. The reality is that if you are a sinner (and we all are, Romans 3:23) you are lost. You can be stubborn and tell yourself that you’re not, but that won’t change the facts. The only one that can save a lost sinner is Jesus Christ. Why? Because He came from God and knows the way back. He is the guide, the rescuer, and the restorer - Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to (God) the Father except through Me” John 14:6. One more thing, there is joy and celebration when what has been lost is found, when a sinner comes to God through Christ (Just for the heck of it, read Luke 19:1-10).To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
Rain, weather, and changing people
Warning! In this pastor’s note you will be asked to help and to respond. So if you you’re saying to yourself, “I’d rather not,” then right now get up, walk away to do something else, but don’t read on. If you read this far and if you’re thinking, “I’ll read what that preacher has to say and then decide if I will respond and help,” consider yourself caught. From this point if you read on it is like when you have clicked the “next” button after you have checked off the license agreement on a computer. Well, I see you read even further, you obviously have no intention of walking away until you’ve read it all. I take that as a sign of good faith on your part, that I can count on you to interact and help.As you might know this rain season we have had not near enough precipitation here in Central California. It certainly has not been the first time or the last. I suppose this is the reason various cultures have invented a rain dance. Now trying to change the weather with my dancing skills would surely result in the opposite, an extreme drought. But yesterday I was reminded that some of my activities, in complete defiance of statistical probability, seem to be followed by rain. You ask, “What were you doing?” I sprayed weeds for several hours, and bam, by this morning it rained. The same seems to be true for planning a camping trip. Someone else told me that for them it is washing the cars. Would you email me (theGermanShepherd@juno.com) what seems to be your version of the rain dance. And I apologize for having been so slack in spraying weeds and planning camping trips. All kidding aside, we have prayed for rain, and God who holds sway over all things has been gracious (Matthew 5:45).Thinking about the weather made me think about “things I cannot change.” It is astounding how many there are. The weather, gravity and other laws of nature, the time, my age, your age, the past, stupidity (stupid is always stupid), people’s hearts, … What would you add to that list? Yup, you guessed it, email me that too.God is in the people changing business, turning spiritually lost people into saved men and women, spiritually dead people into regenerated people, sinners into saints, enemies of His into beloved children of God, the broken into the restored, the hopeless into champions of faith, the violent into peace makers, the greedy into givers, the evil into Christlikeness (yes, email me what you would add to that list as well). And here you and I thought changing the weather was difficult. That’s why I am asking for your help. God has called us, you and me, Christians, the Lake Don Pedro Baptist Church into the people changing business, “follow me and I will you make fishers of men (Mark 1:17-18).” I am asking you that between now and Easter to join me in doing two things: 1. Pray for specific people to come to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. 2. Each week invite at least five people to join you in your Bible study group and in a church service. I am sure that as smart as you are you will email or give a list of the people you are praying for and a list of those that you want to invite.May God let it pour! Love you, Pastor Hans
Strong love - lessons from a "bad"dog
As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness. Proverbs 26:11 (NLT)Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins. Proverbs 10:12 (NKJV) Now the end of all things is near; therefore, be serious and disciplined for prayer. Above all, maintain an intense love for each other, since love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:7-8 (HCSB) I tell you what; she knows how to irritate the living snot out of me. And she was so cute when we brought her home. Now she has grown up to be the biggest dog we have ever owned, but her brain has not kept pace with her body. Just this morning I walked into my garage and confetti made from a roll of shop towels covered the floor. A roll of shop towels I had purposely set up on my work bench because I thought, “If I leave this toll sitting by this jack Sweet Tea will make confetti out of.” So what does she do, besides reading my mind, she gets them off the work bench. Yup, and she also does the vomit thing you read in the proverb above, she is both dumb and dumber and disgusting. When she is confronted she does this “I am really very sorry” thing, looking all contrite, and then thinks she can weasel herself into good graces with her wet nose nuzzling my hand. Well, all I can say is that Sweet Tea can be very rancid, and that she is walking on thin ice.Things like that with a dog are one thing, but what about when it comes to people, people we love and care about. It isn’t easy to know what love looks and acts like beyond the emotion of our hearts, but in the face of repeated foolishness, of anger, of hatred, of strive, of what is and feels like constant manipulation, of wrongs, and of sins. What if things are way beyond thin ice, but so broken, and so painful that going there feels like returning to vomit, embracing senselessness, inviting frustration, a total waste?I swear (I know good preachers are not supposed to do that) that dog is trying to guilt trip me, like somehow I am responsible for all her misbehavior and destruction. She ‘s got the whole package going, the poor me face, the “I’m such an abused dog” slinky walk and saggy butt, the silent treatment, and the “I am just going to stay in this corner and not give you any affection until you feel so guilty you will apologize” gig. If she could talk she would undoubtedly use words to ratchet up the guilt trip even more. Maybe you are familiar with that spiel when it comes to people as well?When trying to figure out what love means in difficult context, what love should look like in terms of a particular person, what decisions to make without being riddled by guilt, there are some things to keep in mind:
- Love is the way to go, don’t give up on love (1 Corinthians 13:8);
- Love is honest, both with others and with self (1 Corinthians 13:6);
- Love is kind, it refuses to let pain and evil to rob itself of kindness (Luke 6:35);
- Love does say no, it doesn’t play games or let’s itself be manipulated (1 Corinthians 13:5-6)
- Love hopes, but does not enable. (1 Corinthians 13:7, Mark 10:17-22)
To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
02-26-12 Tough Love
Tough Love –“… the Lord disciplines the one He loves and punishes every son (daughter) He receives. Endure ⌊suffering⌋ as discipline: God is dealing with you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline—which all receive—then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had natural fathers discipline us, and we respected them. Shouldn’t we submit even more to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time based on what seemed good to them, but He does it for our benefit, so that we can share His holiness. No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the fruit of peace and righteousness to those who have been trained by it” Hebrews 12:6-11 (HCSB, parenthesis mine).I have a confession to make. Sometimes, as our children were growing up, I would stand outside of their bedroom doors while they were throwing a fit, or were having a pity party on the other side. And yes, sometimes I would just be cracking up at what was coming out of their little mouths, “No one loves me around here, …”“I don’t why they always tell me no, why they like all the others better than me?”“This is the worst day of my entire life!”“That’s so unfair, why am I always the one who ….?”“They all hate me! I am just invisible to them!”Of course none of it was true, Susie and I love them, we have never hated them, and we don’t have favorites (most of the time). I did tell them that “life isn’t fair,” but Susie and I have tried to treat them as fairly as we could and as was warranted. But since we did not want to raise brats we did believe in discipline, we did not and still do not belief in just giving them anything they wanted, we believe that real love knows how to say “No!”, regardless of whether or not that sets off tantrums, comparisons, guilt trips, silent treatments, or any other kind of manipulative behaviors.Real love is tough. It knows when to say no, when to reprove, when to let go, when to oppose, when stand up, when to wait, and when not to intervene. Real love, Christlike love supports holiness not evil, it doesn’t join manipulation games, it is forthright and honest. Christlike love is tender and tough, hoping but not desperate, serving but not enabling, pleading but not insecure. It is decisive and knows how to respond to the decisions of others. It doesn’t try to erase all consequences of bad choices. It does not support someone shredding their life, but it is ready to help pick up the pieces. It is unafraid of being accused, of being misunderstood, because it surely will be and because it is anchored not in the approval of others but in God.I don’t know how often, after having my fun, I walked away from the above mentioned door and with the tantrum still going strong on the other side talked with my heavenly Father about teaching me and helping me to love like Him.To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
02-19-12 A Knocked Out Hummingbird
The little thing hit the window hard. So hard it knocked itself out. Luckily my daughter Andee was close by and picked up the unconscious little Hummingbird before our dogs noticed.Hummingbirds, in spite of their size, are amazing creatures, flying acrobats. No other bird can do the areal maneuvers they are capable of, able to hover, fly backwards, sideways, or straight up and down. They slow their heart rates when resting, and if you and I were to burn calories like them we would need to eat 30,000 a day.I have often watched them at the feeders in front of our large living room window, sometimes, when the light hits them just right incredible colors light up, especially on their heads and throats. And those little guys fight, they have fierce air battles and high speed chases. But for all my Hummingbird watching have never seen one as up close as the little knocked out one in my daughter’s hand. What a beautiful creature it was, delicate, feather light, and covered in bright, almost neon green feathers that had sparkles of silver; a true work of art, a testimony to the creativity, imagination, and sense of beauty of God, its maker.Equally amazing is the fact that this bird’s crash not only was noticed by Andee. Almighty God saw it all even before she did, and who knows maybe that’s why she found herself in that spot at that time so she could scoop up the little flyer and care for it until it recovered and flew off. “Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s consent” Matthew 10:29 (HCSB). “Look at the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?” Matthew 6:26 (HCSB). It is astounding to me how much God cares for every single creature He designed and gave life to.Birds, however, are not the only ones who crash, who knock themselves out, we do as well. Although no one might notice, God does. Though our world of resembles the dogs on my front porch, who have neither mercy or compassion for an unfortunate ( maybe even foolish bird), God wants us to remember that no one is more aware of us than Him, no one cares more about us than Him. Oh, all the things God has to tell us, remind us of, even through a Hummingbird’s crash.The moment the little guy (or was it a girl?) flew off we lost track of him (her), but God didn’t. Even right now he knows the exact location and condition of that, and every other, Hummingbird – and ours as well. Jesus obviously thought it important to remind us of this truth, to help us with regular life, when we crash, when worry, and when we are afraid.This week, “Look at the birds of the sky …” To God be all glory, love you Pastor Hans
02-05-12, Choose – Choosing God = choosing to learn how to love like Christ
Choose – Choosing God = choosing to learn how to love like Christ"If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15 (NASB) You really don’t know what you’re getting into when you get married, and the same can be said for having kids. You can tell yourself that you do, but you’re only kidding yourself, there are way too many variables and unknowns. What is for sure is that you have to learn how to love to be any good at either one. After having taken a go at both marriage and parenting I do know this much: They are two of the best choices I have made, and I am still learning about love.You really don’t know what you’re getting into when make a decision to live with God, when you respond to Jesus’ invitation to follow Him. If a wife and children can blow your mind, think of what living with God will can do to you. There is no one who will challenge you more, stretch you more, and shape you more than God, than Christ. What is for sure is that you will have to learn how to love. You cannot really live with God without it.Jesus made no bones about it; all followers of His must learn how to love. Choosing Him meant choosing a life of love: “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” The teacher of religious law replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other. And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.” Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God” Mark 12:29-34 (NLT).“I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” John 13:34-35 (HCSB).“If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (MSG). “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love…. We love, because He first loved us” 1 John 4:7-8, 19 (NASB). “… I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect” Matthew 5:44-48 (NLT).When Joshua challenged the people in his day to choose God they responded with a, “Yup, we’re in. We choose God.” Joshua told them, “You are not able to serve the LORD, for he is a holy and jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins” Joshua 24:19 (NLT). Why did he tell them that? Because they needed to learn how to love and what to love, because he knew that we struggle with love and that God gives us a pass when it comes to love, because he knew that at the root of all human failure and sin you find a lack of love.I am challenged by God’s call for me to love, and I pray you are as well. If we are serious about following Christ we will make learning to love like Him our greatest pursuit.To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
01-29-12, "with liberty and justice for all" - sanctitiy of human life
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."Every day people across this nation proudly recite these words, including our leaders. The phrase “under God” has received a lot of attention in the recent past, but it doesn’t matter all that much since as a nation we don’t believe the words anyway – especially “with liberty and justice for all.”Unless we decide to mean what we say today, tomorrow, this year, next year, and the years after that we will continue to teach the words to kindergarteners but we will also train them not to mean them, to accept the hypocrisy, if not defend it. Actually they are the lucky ones, they were allowed to live long enough to learn the pledge. They were not stripped of their liberty, they were not denied their humanity, they were included when it comes to “liberty and justice for all.” Before they were born their mothers chose to let them live, to recognize them for what they are, humans, people, persons, even though our laws say otherwise. Laws which Pledge-reciting officials wrote and enacted and Pledge-reciting judges upheld, against all truth and scientific evidence to the contrary.If there really is “justice for all,” how do we justify taking the lives of growing babies, simply because they are still in their mothers’ wombs? How do we justify denying the most basic human right, the right to live, to an entire group of human beings? How do we justify deeming some stages of human existence as not deserving liberty and justice? How do we justify that a mother’s right of making choices about her life includes being able to take the life of another human being because it is unplanned, unwanted, inconvenient, the wrong gender, less than perfect, or will face less than ideal circumstances?There was a time when African American men, women, and children weren’t deserving of liberty and justice simply because they were called slaves. There was a time when Native American men, women, and children weren’t deserving of liberty and justice simply because they were called savages, and because they were inconvenient politically, economically, and personally. All the reasoning and rhetoric employed then was as flawed and dishonest as the reasoning and rhetoric employed against granting the pre-born the fundamental right to personhood, life, liberty, and justice.As “One nation under God” we should care what God thinks on matters as important and fundamental as these, He (God) created them male and female, and he blessed them and called them “human.” Genesis 5:2 (NLT, parenthesis mine). We should choose to do no less for all people.To God be all glory, love you, Pastor HansP.S. There are God and Life-honoring alternatives to abortion. The first step is to choose not to have one and instead be someone who believes in liberty and justice for that new person. If you can’t find help feel free to contact me, thegermanshepherd@juno.com, 209 852-2029.
01-22-12 Churchmembership - belonging to the people of God
Church membership – knowing what it means to belong to the people of God"If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15 (NASB) It was an excellent gift; two egg laying chickens, proudly presented to Susie and me on the front steps of the home our daughter Betsie had been living in as a Peace Corps worker in Benin. I was glad I knew something about how to handle live chickens and gratefully grabbed the birds dangling upside down from the outstretched arms of the beaming giver. Since an egg layer is too valuable to fry up I wasn’t sure what do with the hens, so after the crowd who had witnessed the event dispersed I handed them over to the man of Betsie’s compound.My question was how he would get those chickens to stay in their new home? I had not seen a single chicken pen anywhere in the village, just chickens running loose everywhere. So I watched the man tie a string around one leg of each hen and fasten it to the coop the chickens belonging to the compound returned to every evening. He explained that after a few days they became assimilated into his compound’s flock, they would think that this where they now belonged, then he would take the string off.I have thought about employing this method when it comes to teaching people to belong to and be a faithful member of a church, of Jesus’ flock. There are way too many people who profess to be followers of Christ who do not yet understand that they are meant to belong. They are in a sense running around like loose chickens. They have not understood that choosing God also means that God has chosen us to belong to, to be assimilated into, to be counted among His people, His assembly, His congregation, His church. So much so that we do not have to be tethered or even be reminded of it, but that naturally, eagerly, and habitually we would build our lives around a local Christian community, a church.When Joshua confronted the entire assembly of the Israelites about the choice they had to make in regard to God, they also had to decide who they would identify themselves with, who they would belong to, and what it means to be a people of God.So what about you? Is your life as Christian fully integrated into a local church? If not, why not? Do you understand what it means to belong to the people of God? Are you running loose, or are you fully integrated into a flock? If he could, would your pastor tether you for a while, or can he enjoy seeing you run free because you know what it means to belong to the body of Christ?To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
01-15-12; Choose - Living a life of making good and godly decisions
Choose - Living a life of making good and godly decisions"If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15 (NASB) We all make decisions. We all avail ourselves of our God-given ability to make choices. In fact we can’t live without making choices, conscious living requires it. We usually do not make decisions out of thin air, we all have some decision making grid, some internal mechanism that influences the choices we make. Our personality, culture, values, circumstances, experiences, beliefs, ideals, fears, and other factors all contribute to our decision making, to what we do with the choices we have.Most of us have a mixed record in regard to the choices we have made. The spectrum ranges from great, occasionally brilliant, to outright stupidity, even evil. It is not difficult to figure out in which direction God wants us to go when we make choices. Now there certainly are people who are not Christians who have a record of making good choices and vice versa the history of Christianity is filled with people who have made dumb and too often outright evil decisions.The most fundamental decision every one of us will ever make is the choice we make about God, not about the religion we were raised in, not our personal opinion concerning spiritual things, but the One true and living God. The Creator God through whom we live and breathe, who gives us the freedom to make choices, and who will hold us accountable for each and every decision we make (all decisions have consequences). This is what Joshua confronted the ancient Hebrews with, and this is what every generation is confronted with by God himself.Serving God always begins with a choice. That initial choice must then be followed by life of decision making that is marked by a desire to serve, to please, to honor, to glorify God. For that to become a reality we have to acquire a decision making grid, a choosing mechanism, a heart and mind that consistently makes good and goodly decisions. And since we are ever capable of being stupid and egocentric, as well as sinful and evil, we should not expect godly decision making to be automatic but rather an acquired skill and habit.I have found the following to be essential in my pursuit of wanting to be someone who consistently and habitually makes good and goodly decisions:
- Acknowledging God before and in everything – Joshua 5:13-15; Proverbs 1:7, 9:10
- Affirming decisions through true prayer – Joshua 7:7-10; Matthew 6:9-10; Philippians 4:6-7; James 1:5-8
- Adhering to God’s Word (the Bible) – Joshua 1:7-8; Psalm 119-105
- Acquiring wisdom (habitual wisdom) – Deuteronomy 34:9; Proverbs 4:7; 2:1-22
- Awareness/being aware of God’s activity – Joshua 2:8-11; 1 Chronicles 12:32, John 5:17, 19
- Accessing wise and godly counsel – 1Kings 12:8; Proverbs 1:5, 15:22
- Applying faith (what I know to be true; trust) – Joshua 1:8-9; 6:1-5; 2 Timothy 4:8
- Adding to faith - three lists: 2 Peter 1:5-11; Galatians 5:19-25; James 3:13-18
- Avoiding - pride, anger/bitterness, self/I, impatience, impulsiveness, foolishness/stupidity, greed, sin, temper, cultural/group pressures, worldliness, prayerlessness, temptation, indecision, … Joshua 7:19-26,
- Affection change (what I love, cherish, and value) – Joshua 7:21, 1 John 2:15-17, Mark 12:28-34; Matthew 5:1-16, 6:19-21
- Admitting and repenting (quickly) – Joshua 7:1-12,19-26; Isaiah 1:18-20
- Acting in obedience – Joshua 1:7-9, Matthew 7:24-27; Romans 16:19
George Mueller’s outline of how he discerned God’s will and made decisions also has been very helpful to me, for many years I have carried a copy with me:1. I seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a given matter. Nine-tenths of the trouble with people generally is just here. Nine-tenths of the difficulties are overcome when our hearts are ready to do the knowledge of what His will is.2. Having done this, I do not leave the result to feeling or simple impression. If I do so I make myself liable to great elusions.3. I seek the will of the Spirit of God through, or in connection with, the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined. If I look to the Spirit alone without the Word, I lay myself open to great delusions also. If the Holy Ghost guides me at all, He will do it according to the Scriptures and never contrary to them.4. Next I take into account providential circumstances. These often plainly indicate God’s Will in connection with His Word and Spirit.5. I ask God in prayer to reveal His Will to me aright.6. Thus, (1) through prayer to God, (2) the study of His Word, and (3) reflection, I come to a deliberate judgment according to the best of my ability and knowledge, and if my mind is thus at peace, and continues so after two or three more petitions, I proceed accordingly. [1]To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
[1] As quoted in “Experiencing God,” by Henry Blackaby & Claude King; workbook p.34, LifeWay Press 1990
(01-08-12) Choose - What difference two dollars a week can make!
Choose – What $2.00 more a week will do!"If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15 (NASB)My daughter was asking her Grandpa, my Father-in-law, about his life. One of the things he shared struck me; it illustrates the far-reaching impact of even one decision. When Bill was 19 he had a choice to go to work for either Pac Bell or PG&E. He chose the telephone company because they were paying $2.00 (yup, two dollars) more a week back in 1955. “Ten years later,” he said, “Guys at PG&E were making nearly twice as much as I was making.”But it was through his work with Pac Bell that Bill and his family ended up living in Greely Hill (He transferred there from Vallejo) California. It was there he found Christ and attended church with his family, and in 1976 it was Greeley Hill where I ended up as a foreign exchange student. If it had not been for those two dollars a week our paths might never have crossed, I might never have married the best girl ever, Emily might never existed, and that late evening conversation might never have taken place.Bill chose, and it impacted the course of his life, his children's lives, and in time my life, my children’s lives, and who knows how many others' lives. I do not know how many people in Bill’s family were God-fearing, praying kind of folks, but I do know that way before I was born, even before Bill was born there have been praying men and women in my family. I have no doubt that their prayers influenced the choices of others, they certainly did mine.Maybe you're saying, “Come on Hans, that’s just how life works. Anyone can look back and speculate. You don’t need to get all spiritual to explain it all. In fact you don’t even need God for it.”I suppose it depends how big you think God is. "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments” Exodus 20:4-6 (NIV). I believe God is big enough to hear the prayers of someone living on one continent and make one job pay two dollars more on another continent to shape lives that are yet to be born and accomplish His purposes. I also believe that the choices we make today have far reaching consequences tomorrow and beyond. That’s why I want God to be involved in the choices I make, only He knows what tomorrow and beyond holds, and I surely desire his lovingkindness and blessing to be unleashed there. I pray that is your heart’s desire as well.To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans
choose
Choose"If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15 (NASB) Our capacity to choose, to make choices is one of the things that distinguishes us human beings, as men and women created in the image of God. Of course capacity and opportunity are two different things. Our hunger for freedom and economic abundance in a large measure flows out of our awareness that freedom and prosperity affords us greater choice. Power also grants greater freedom and opportunity to chose, to make decisions, to do as you please. Of course the freedom of the powerful to choose usually comes at the expense of the powerless, of those over whom they exercise power. Nevertheless, in some measure, however great or restricted, we have freedom, opportunity, and power to choose (except when for some reason our minds no longer function).What we do with our freedom, opportunity, and power to choose is of utmost importance, not only for us personally but also for others. The choices we make always have an impact beyond ourselves. Ultimately, “.., each of us will give a personal account to God” Romans 14:12 (NLT). This is why it is necessary to weigh our decisions as to whether or not they bear the mark of good or evil, right or wrong, righteous or wicked, just or unjust, honest or corrupt, wise or foolish, beneficial or detrimental, loving or narcissistic, of peace or war, holy or defiled, pleasing or offensive to God.The decisions we make reflect who we are, really are. They show what and whom we value, reveal our wisdom or foolishness, testify to our character or lack thereof, uncover our true motives, evidence self control or impulsiveness (related to foolishness), display the condition of our hearts, confirm real intelligence or stupidity, and bear witness to our trust in or rejection of God.2012 is a presidential election year, candidates and parties will do their best to present their case for, “Choose me - choose us.” But the campaign for our choices actually began the moment we were born, and it will not be over until we stand before God to account for the sum total of our choices. The choices we make, the votes we cast, the decisions we render do make a difference. Joshua, speaking in the verse you read above, knew that. He knew that for the people who marched out Egypt forty years earlier, for this next generation standing before him, a whole new world was about to open up. They were about to be handed a freedom they had not known, opportunities they could only dream of, and power they never had. This was the time to make decisions, good decisions, new decisions. He also knew that one decisions often spawns a whole chain of decisions and events, and that the first decisions in such a chain, and in front of every decision is the one we make about God. That’s why he said, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Once you have made that most important decision then it is wise to examine every following choice in light of: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” Matthew 6:9-10 (NIV).We have no idea as to all 2012 will entail, but it is certain that it will require us to make choices. I pray you and I will in and through our choosing grow into a deeper knowledge of God and more radical doing of His will.To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans