Giving and Blessing – The Blessing of Giving

I don’t mind being blessed, in fact, I like it very much, especially by God. I want his good hand of blessing to be on my life, I don’t just want a little sip of his blessing every now and then, I want him to fill my cup to the overflowing, I want to experience what God told his people through the prophet Malachi, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows” Malachi 3:10 (NASB).

Malachi gave this conditional promise to God’s people who were disobedient and delinquent in managing their possessions, their wealth, God’s way. They put God last, not first: “Honor the LORD with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest; then your barns will be completely filled, and your vats will overflow with new wine” Proverbs 3:9-10 (HCSB). They didn’t manage their material possessions, their money, according to faith; they couldn’t wrap their minds around that living on 90% (a tithe is 10%) with God’s blessing is better than living on 100% without it, that less with God’s blessing is better than more without it. They didn’t manage their material wealth according to God’s wisdom. And, most of all, they didn’t value generosity, a giving lifestyle, as God does: “God loves a cheerful giver” 2 Corinthians 9:7. They, like us, were much better at accumulating, spending, and blessing themselves than giving.

Two great blessings of my life were being taught some great money habits as a child by my parents, and receiving solid biblical teaching on managing and giving early on in my Christian life. Even before I could read, and after I was given 25 Marks (back the about 6 dollars) for my birthday, my Mama marched me down to the Kreissparkasse (the County Bank) and opened up a savings account in my name. She handed me my Savings Booklet and let me, filled with pride, carry it all the way home. “Go to the ant …; consider its ways and be wise!  It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest” Proverbs 6:6-8 (NIV). Saving came before spending, a biblical principle.

Pastor Stonebreaker constantly taught me and his entire church biblical principles regarding the management of wealth, money, and possessions. I was both young in age, 19, and young as a Christian, so, admittedly, it was a lot easier to adjust myself, follow, and obey those principles than if I had been older, in debt, and accustomed to the ways of our culture. I was also serious about following Christ, living by faith, and living by the principles of God’s Word, the Bible.

Here are the first two of godly, Christian, wealth, possession, and money management principles Rev. Stonebreaker taught us:

• God owns it all!

“The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him” Psalm 24:1 (NLT2). You have to contemplate the implications of this reality. 1. I am never the owner; 2. Whatever I “own”, God has entrusted to me; 3. I am accountable to the owner for all he has put under my care; 4. The Lord’s, the owner’s, will and pleasure regarding what he put under my control are more important than mine; 5. I am wise to manage according to his wisdom and instruction.

• God highly values and blesses generosity and giving.

“Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity” Luke 6:38 (MSG).

“Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life” 1 Timothy 6:17-19 (NLT2).

           “You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. ‘For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.’ And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others” 2 Corinthians 9:7-8 (NLT2).

Notice: 1. Jesus didn’t make giving optional for his followers; he commanded it, and he essentially attached the same blessing found in Malachi to it; 2. Generosity and giving are an eternal investment; 3. Giving starts in the heart; it is an issue of having the right heart; 4. Managing to own and managing to give are two different things; 5. Don’t let trust in money replace trust in God; 6. Giving is meant to be a joy, a high privilege. 7. A giver is someone God loves and blesses to give even more.

To God be all glory. Give, give some more, and don’t stop, Paxtor Hans

Peace and Peacemaking

Are you a stirrer-upper or a settler-downer? An escalator or calming breeze? Are you a person at peace and of peace? Are you a peacemaker?

I am always struck by how quick I am to claim the benefits a life with God, of following Jesus, offers, and how little thought I give to the responsibilities of those benefits. Peace is one of them.

When I read, “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal” Isaiah 26:3-4 (NIV), or “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” John 14:27 (NIV), or even better, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:7 (ESV), I am signing up, I want more than a little sip, I run get five-gallon buckets for God to fill.

The same goes for blessings, heck, who doesn’t want blessings?! “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons/daughters of God” Matthew 5:9 (NIV, italics mine).

  “Super-size me, please! Especially on the ‘blessed’.”

But have I ever thought about what being a peacemaker entails, what it will require of me, that without the practice of peacemaking, I am misrepresenting what it means to be a child of God?

Oh, how our world needs peace, and peacemakers! The ancient indictment still stands, “The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths; they have made their roads crooked; no one who treads on them knows peace” Isaiah 59:8 (ESV). As long as I got my Jesus and my blessings, the rest of the world can go to hell.

Hate, ugliness, violence, bullying, threatening, … have become acceptable, fashionable, are cheered, not just in the world at large, culturally, but sadly in church, among those who profess Jesus, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Never mind, “Treating others the same way you want them to treat you” Luke 6:31, that only applies to likeminded “Christians,” and fellow citizens.

Did you ever have to draw straws to decide who would be first or last, or to decide something, and to your great disappointment you drew the short one? One of the many amazing things about Jesus, the “Mighty God,” “King of Kings,” “Prince of Peace,” is that he didn’t hesitate to take the short straw, but willingly took it for our redemption, to make it possible for us to have peace with God, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ… For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die – but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life” Romans 5:1&6-10 (ESV).

What can we learn from the example of the Prince of Peace, who calls us to be peacemakers:

• He didn’t insist on his rights and privileges.
• He cared about the weak, about those who are by God’s definition ungodly.
• He had love as his chief motivation.
• He, the one without fault, without sin, took the first step. He didn’t wait for us sinners to reform before making peace with God possible.
• He died for us, the ultimate short straw.
• He didn’t let our enmity, our rebellion, depravity, and hatred stop him.

The peace of God is not just to be appropriated but to be perpetuated. The peace Christ gave to his disciples goes far beyond what the world knows and practices; it is an everlasting peace, a peace that forms a rock-solid foundation, enabling us to act and react to conflicts, injustices, hostilities, … as those who belong to a different kingdom, governed by different rules, and ruled by the Prince of Peace.

And now comes the hard part: making peace, actually being peacemakers. Jesus, please help us.

            To God be all glory. Love you, Paxtor Hans

Today’s Invitations

 You’ll get another invitation today, actually two. You’ll get them again tomorrow, and every day after.

 You’ll have to decide which one to accept and which one you will decline, because you can’t be in two places at the same time.

 Whichever invitation you accept will deeply impact your life, as well as all of the other people in your life. These are serious invitations with serious consequences.

 Ignoring the first invitation is an immediate RSVP that you have accepted the second invitation.

Invitation #1

Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out its seven pillars.
 She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table. She has sent out her maids, and she calls from the highest point of the city.
 “Let all who are simple come in here!” she says to those who lack judgment. “Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed.
 Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of understanding.” Proverbs 9:1-6 (NIV)

 This isn’t just ordinary wisdom; it is the wisdom that has marked the creation of the entire universe and has been rejoicing in the very presence of God for all of eternity past (read all of Proverbs 8). It is what biblical writer James calls “the wisdom from above,” in contrast to the second invitation, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
 But the wisdom that comes from heaven/above is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. James 3:13-18 (NIV, italics mine).

 I hope you noticed the careful preparation preceding invitation #1, its transparency – no secrets here, no fine print, full disclosure. And behind the door of this well-built palace, even the simple and those lacking judgment will be served the best.

 At the very heart of invitation #1 is the following truth: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” Proverbs 9:10 (NIV).It is “The fool who says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” Psalm 14:1a (NIV, italics mine).

Invitation #2

The woman Folly is loud; she is undisciplined and without knowledge.
 She sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city, calling out to those who pass by, who go straight on their way.
 “Let all who are simple come in here!” she says to those who lack judgment.  “Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!”
 But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of the grave. Proverbs 9:13-18 (NIV)

 This invitation has a fancy address, is from an expensive and glitzy neighborhood, not from some backwoods shack. It is addressed not only to the simple and those lacking judgment, but also to those just passing by, and even those who trying hard to walk straight. This invitation is aimed at preventing the simple from becoming wise and seducing the wise to become fools.

 It is a façade; what you see out front is not what you will find behind the door. There is anything but transparency, but plenty of shortcuts, wrong, and secrets. What is being served looks sweet and delicious, but it is laced with the arsenic of sin, emptiness, godlessness, death, and hell.

 Right now, it is 9:29 am, you might already have received today’s invitations, or FedEx of life might drop them off later, but no matter what, you will encounter Wisdom’s maiden carrying her invitations, and you will pass by the house of Folly and hear her calling out to you.

There is mercy and grace in the fact that even though you might have been walking through Folly’s doors for way too long, wisdom is sending you another invitation today. Respond to it.

            To God be all glory. Love you, Paxtor Hans

My Mama’s Wardrobe, Bling, and Makeup

 Listen, my son/daughter, … do not forsake your mother’s teaching. They will be a garland to grace your head and a gold chain to adorn your neck. Proverbs 1:8-9 (NIV, italics mine)

I am neither a high-fashion guy nor am I into bling. Most of my clothes are from Costco, and the only piece of jewelry you find on me is a titanium or stainless-steel wedding ring. I suppose that, besides rebelling against my Dad, who as trained tailor and clothing manufacturing engineer and loved to be dressed spiffy, I learned this from my Mama, who wore two simple rings and most often dressed in a hausfrau smock, her long hair in a bun with curly strands constantly escaping.

However, she was very careful and deliberate about a wardrobe and jewelry of a different kind. We, my four brothers and I, were her string of exquisite pearls, although our reputation in town was more like roadside rocks. Her sparkle didn’t come from diamonds or hands or ears but from a tenacious, deep, and long-suffering love. She carefully, and daily, dressed herself in humility, devotion, and service. Her earrings were the rare kind that make and take time to listen. Most every day, she somehow put on extravagant makeup of grace, patience, simplicity, and goodness, despite hardship and chaos. Her lipstick was the color of encouragement, kindness, and restraint, and her fingernails were painted in shades of prayer, generosity, gentleness, and joy in serving. She spent a fortune, her life on that wardrobe, bling, and look.

When she finished her course and got fitted for her heavenly gown, there wasn’t a lot of makeup to throw in the garbage, jewelry to divvy up, and clothes to take to Goodwill or dispose of, but look, that other wardrobe is hanging in the closet of my heart, her most expensive jewelry is in the safe of memory, her carefully made up appearance is still in the forefront of my mind, blessing me, inspiring me, encouraging me – passed on to me, and good for another generation and beyond.

If I take the wisdom instruction of Proverbs 1:8-9 seriously, if I am interested in living a life that ends with little to no regrets, if I am determined to live a life that blesses, is wise, and is both God-fearing and God-honoring, then I am wise to follow the teaching of Mama’s wardrobe, wear bling like hers, and groom myself just as carefully and tenaciously. I am sure she didn’t pass any of these treasures along to my brothers and me to just be reduced to a memory, to admire their value, but never be worn by us. No, she dressed to bless, not just during her lifetime, but for our entire lifetime, and for generations she’d never see, “A good man/woman leaves an inheritance for his children’s children” Proverbs 13:22 (NIV, italics mine). My Mama lived, modeled, and passed on her Mom and Dad’s teaching; she kept it going, she saw and appreciated its value and beauty, and I am in the middle (well, more like the last quarter) of mine. And, hopefully, my kids and grandkids will not forsake their Mama’s and Granny’s teaching either. It will indeed bless and guide them throughout all of life.

But what if you are not part of a longer chain like that? What if your mom or dad was a rusty, broken, unwise, absent, godless link? The good news is, with God’s help, by relying on God’s wisdom and power, and following and emulating the example of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, you get an opportunity to start a new chain, to be the first link in a golden chain of blessing.

And, what about someone whose Mom lived and taught like my Mama, but you underappreciated, ignored, rebelled, and discarded that priceless inheritance so far? The good news is that it is never too late to return to a mom like her; in fact, she’s praying and waiting for that moment. Even if she’s no longer alive, her teaching, her wisdom, her way of life still speaks, is still worth following, and will still bless you if you turn around, come back, and follow it.

Have a blessed, reflective, and maybe life-changing Mother’s Day.

            To God be all glory. Love you, Paxtor Hans

What You Applaud

What you applaud.

  You’ve done it once or twice, put your hands together and clapped in approval. Maybe, you even stood, whistled, and hollered for a long, standing ovation.

  It says a lot about us, what we applaud, cheer for, and champion. It is a stamp of approval, a statement of what we like, what we love, what is important to us, and what excites our hearts.

  No matter who you are, it is tough text to read, and it ends with a most terrible round of applause, an awful cheering on: “Although they know full well God’s just sentence—that those who practice such things deserve to die—they not only do them, but even applaud others who practice them” Romans 1:32 (HCSB).

  What exactly is being practiced and applauded here? Who and what is receiving cheers? Romans 1:18-32 gives us a long but by no means complete list:

• The rejection and denial of the truth of God.
• The replacement of God, idolatry, and godlessness.
• The worship of human wisdom.
• Sexual perversion, norms other than what God created and approves.
• Depraved thinking and reasoning.
• Unrighteousness, wickedness, sin.
• Evil, and inventing more of it.
• Greed.
• Maliciousness and hate.
• Envy.
• Murder.
• Strife.
• Deceit.
• Gossip and slander.
• Hating God.
• Arrogance and pride.
• Boasting.
• Disobeying parents.
• Ignorance.
• Being untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful.

  What an ugly list! Who would want to applaud and cheer on any of that? And yet, chances are high you will find yourself on this list. Whatever group you are part of, political party you endorse, church you belong to, lifestyle you are practicing, you will fudge on some of these and cross some of them out because it is what you are practicing, approving, applauding, and cheering.

  We are soft on what we applaud, turn a blind eye to, no matter what the truth. What we applaud also normalizes things, even, or especially evil and sinful things. Where is the uproar in the Trump-approving church over portraying himself as Jesus Christ, negating Jesus’ command to love our enemies? How do we applaud and justify being unmerciful to an immigrant or to a child in the womb? Why is there cheering for blowing boats out of the water without evidence or due process? Why is there not just silence but approving of and applauding a sexual ethic completely contrary to God’s word design?

  The Romans 1:18-32 list is, of course, part of God’s grand indictment of all of humanity, you and me being sinners, “all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory, God’s standard” Romans 3:23.

  What is especially sad about the cheering squad in verse 32 is that they are not content with just their own evil, God-opposed practice; they actively work for others to join their team. There is no confronting here, but loud and persistent approval, support, and applause for what God condemns, calls wickedness, and indicts as sin. This is the sad and damning truth about humanity in general, but it is doubly sad when Christians, the church, cheer and champion what we find in the Romans 1 applause list.

  Personally, the last two items on the list are most challenging and helpful to me when it comes to discerning the condition of my own heart, recognizing if I am reasoning and acting Christlike, and being careful about what I approve of, encourage, cheer for, and applaud.

  So, what on the list have you crossed out? What on it do you justify in your own life? Which ones are you especially cheering for, God be damned? Which ones do you need to address, change your heart and mind on, and practice of? What do you need to stop justifying and clapping for, and instead fall on your knees and ask for God’s forgiveness and mercy?

            To God be all glory. Love you, Paxtor Hans

Enter Jesus

Enter Jesus

Enter Jesus

Jericho, Jerusalem, the Temple

Your Jericho, Your Jerusalem, Your Temple

 The world over, Christians will once again celebrate Palm Sunday, the day Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time, riding on a donkey, welcomed and celebrated by a large crowd that shouted, “Hosanna, blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” and rolled out a welcome mat of coats and palm branches. However, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke place this event in the center of three events, three places Jesus entered in succession: Jericho, Jerusalem, and the Temple. (I encourage you to get out a Bible and read Luke 18:35-19:10, 28-48).

• Jericho

 The resort town in the Jordan valley, with plenty of water, a mild climate, along a major trading route, the winter Capital where the elite and well-to-do had second residences, condos, and cabins. A place to retreat, to take it easy, relax, and enjoy yourself.

 Luke highlights two events as Jesus enters Jericho: the healing of a blind beggar named Bartimaeus and the conversion of Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector. Two men on the opposite ends of the economic spectrum, both with great needs, the one unwanted, the other despised. The crowd had no room, patience, or mercy for either of them. But out of all of the people in Jericho, Jesus stops and takes time for those two condemned to the fringes.

 It’s what we do in Jericho, isn’t it? We complain about the poor, the taxes, and the corruption. We point with our merciless fingers while on the way to the golf course, or the dunes to ride our quads. Jericho is our space, our reward for working hard, managing well, and having our act together. It’s the me, relax, and play place.

 Jesus doesn’t participate in the Jericho spirit; his ears still hear the desperate plea of a blind beggar; his eyes can still spot a man with a thirsty soul. And, he is only passing through; he has no plans to settle in Jericho; he is on his way to Jerusalem, to the cross.

• Jerusalem

 The Capital City, the heart of the nation, the place where the powerful and important hang out. It is also the center of the opposition, those who hate Jesus, those who are plotting to destroy him.

 Odd. Jesus rides in on a donkey, an ass, a gesture of peace. The crowd would have preferred a stallion, a king ready to kick some ass. “Hosanna!” “Save now!” they shout. “Blessed is the King,” God’s King, nonetheless. Coats thrown in the dirt to form a red carpet, and the palm branches, symbols of Jewish nationalism. It is, above all, a political welcome, and explains why the Jesus tide turns so quickly, before the week is up, when he refuses to be claimed by any political party.

 Jerusalem wants to highjack Jesus; they want him to be the king who meets their expectations, supports their platform, speaks their lingo, approves of what they approve of, and is comfortable with ignoring what they ignore.

 Jesus disappoints on all fronts, on economic issues he refuses to gripe about taxes, on social issues he hammers easy divorce and the failure to help the poor, on the religious front he shoots down spiritual eclecticism  telling some that they are plain wrong on what they believe, he claims that he is the only way to God, and declares that a final judgment is coming that will send some to heaven and others to hell.

 Jesus stomps on, rides his peaceful donkey over, too many palm branches, and it is the religious leaders and crowd who have sipped too much the wine of earthly power, breathed too much Jerusalem air, who unify and scream, “Crucify! Crucify!” with the Hosanna signs lying in the dust.

• The Temple

 God’s house, the designated holy place, meant for worship, sacrifice, and prayer. Once Jesus gets off the donkey, he makes a beeline to the Temple, the place he called “My Father’s House” (Luke 2:49), and cleans house. It had morphed into a religious racket, where people were exploited to enrich the leaders, where greed had been theologically justified and sanctified, where the rich were coddled and the poor were milked, where holiness and blessing had been redefined, where scripture was twisted to excuse all kinds of sins. Jesus predicted that Temple’s demise (Luke 21:5-6). The world is better off without that kind of religious mockery and farce. All that has remained of it for the last 2000 years is a piece of its walls.

 The Apostle Paul reminded the Corinthian believers (3:16-17, 6:19-20), and us, that we should think of God’s temple in two ways. One is the church, the fellowship of believers, made up of living stones. Jesus has some stern and disturbing words to churches in the last book of the Bible (Revelation 2-3). I wonder what Jesus would overturn if he entered your or my church this Palm Sunday?

 The second Christian way to think of the temple is our bodies, each one of us individually, our moral and spiritual conduct. Paul reminds us that the temple belongs to God; we are not our own. “My body!” “My Life!” “My …!” isn’t what echoes through God’s eternal dwelling place. Take a listen, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created… Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing… To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever” Revelation 4:11, 5:12-13 (NASB). I wonder, if Jesus were to come by my temple, get off his donkey, and take a look around, what would he overturn, clean out, confront, and set right?

“Hosanna! Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!”

            To God be all glory on this Palm Sunday and every day.

Love you, Paxtor Hans

No Greater Joy

Grady, our second grandson, couldn’t wait for me to open the birthday card he had made for me. “You have to read it out loud,” was his clear instruction. When I finally picked up his card, he was already cackling. By the time I opened it up, he was cracking up, and when I read it out loud, he was laughing so hard he started turning red in the face. Talk about joy. That nine-year-old rascal clearly had fun coming up with the idea, making the card, anticipating giving it to me, picturing my response, and seeing his whole plan coming to life.

What brings you joy? What is your greatest joy? Most likely it is tied to what or who you love, value, and is important to you. The gray-haired Apostle John’s answer was, “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth” 3 John 1:4 (NASB). Paul, writing from jail, told the church in Philippi, “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” Philippians 2:1-4 (NIV).

“Amen! Amen! AMEN!” is my response as both a dad and a pastor. It is sheer joy to see your child take her first step. How many thousands of videos and pictures will be taken and shared of that very happy event today? And, besides the main character doing the walking, how much encouragement and cheering is heard in the background? But my dad-joy didn’t stop with the first steps, it continues in seeing them make wise decisions, take on responsibilities, live by high standards, and care about our family and others, as adults.

Tomorrow, May 31, 2025, is my last day as the pastor of the Lake Don Pedro Baptist Church (I have been calling myself Paxtor for a good while because a little kid in Susie’s kindergarten Sunday School class gave me that title. I like it a lot). If you want to bless me with oversized joy, “walk in the truth,” and keep walking and walking and walking. So, when I pump into you or hear someone talk about you, it will confirm that you are walking in the truth.

John didn’t just say, “knowing the truth,” he said, “walking in the truth,” meaning living the truth, knowing the truth, and translating it into action. We all know what that means. Have you ever come to a fork in the road of your life where you were faced with doing the right and wise thing vs. doing something very stupid or bad? The reason you knew the difference is because you knew the truth, but it wasn’t until you followed, obeyed, and acted according to the truth, that you were walking in the truth.

The truth John was talking about was first of all Jesus himself, who is the truth (John 14:6), not some truth, or a truth, but “the” truth, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” Colossians 2:3. The best and wisest thing anyone of us will ever do is to trust, believe in, follow, pursue, serve, love, and discover more of Christ.

Secondly, “walking in the truth,” is living according to God’s written word, the Bible, “The sum of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting” Psalm 119:160 (NASB). You can get a lot of amens in church quoting verses like that, but they are hollow amens if the truth, the ordinances, the commandments, found in God’s word are not lived out in faith and consistent obedience, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” James 4:17 (ESV).

Thirdly, “walking in the truth” is impossible and a farce without love, “Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions” 1 John 3:18 (NLT2).  “Grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ—the Son of the Father—will continue to be with us who live in truth and love” 2 John 1:3 (NLT2). Too often we hobble around with just one shoe on, however, both love and truth should consistently be how we walk through life. It is never one or the other, but always the beautiful, humbling, and challenging tension of both.

My Children, my Lake Don Pedro Baptist Church Family, I have no greater joy than to see you walking in the truth and love of Christ. Thank You, Thank You, for letting me be your Paxtor.

            To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans

Time to Check Your Christian Odometer

 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.                                                                                                                                I have written to you, children, because you know the Father.  I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. 1 John 2:12-14 (NASB)

 Did you know you’re in a stage, a phase, a particular time and season of life? That it won’t last? And, that in whatever stage you’re in, God gave you purpose and responsibility?

 Susie and I drive mature cars, 24 and 376,000, 18 and 288,00,  16 and 224,000, are the respective ages of our truck and daily drivers, not to speak of the 65 VW Bug, but it just sits around for the most part.

 The VW is definitely living the retired car life, mostly taking it easy and going for short fun drives. But it still has purpose as a keeper of memories (Susie learned to drive with it), emergency backup, part-time storage, and for some reason, our little grandkids love to play in it.

 The truck does the hauling, helping, and heavy lifting. Garbage, firewood, lumber, big items, moving people, towing trailers, taking us camping and on road trips, and is always there when we need it.

 Our daily drivers get us to work, and with our work, they also take us shopping, to appointments, airports, and errands. Regardless of their age, the one thing they need to be is dependable.

 With my looming retirement, my car’s life is about to change. It still will need to get me around, but it won’t have my pastoral work schedule. Hesch, it might even just sit around for a day or two.

 The aged Apostle John’s concern was for Christians and churches, including us, to live Christlike, to thrive, to be strong in a world dominated by everything but Christ. He recognizes and highlights the importance of every believer, the need for spiritual growth throughout one’s life, the roles and responsibilities every Christian has at different stages in the spiritual life, and the importance of transitioning well from one stage to the next. However, since they didn’t know anything about cars and trucks in the first century, he used the timeless illustrations of little children, young men, and fathers.

 The birth of little spiritual children happens when a person, regardless of their chronological age, comes into a relationship with God the Father. The only way that is possible is through faith in Christ,  “Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” John 14:6 (NASB);  “As many as received Him/Jesus, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” John 1:12 (NASB, italics mine).

 Little children are meant to grow into grown-up, mature, and strong women and men. Growth, especially spiritual growth, however, isn’t automatic; you have to eat. Spiritually, eating means learning the truths, ways, and commands of God through his word, “Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation” 1 Peter 2:2 (NASB). Christian maturity comes through consistently applying God’s word to all aspects of life and by taking on responsibility in the life and work of the body of Christ, Jesus’ church.

 I have been smitten and madly in love with Susie for a long time, but after 45 years of sharing life, love, hardships, and joys with her, that love is deeper, has a maturity and awareness of just how precious it is. The same is true about my, and every mature believer’s, love and relationship with God, as John put it, “I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning,” implying a deep, precious, committed, intimate, tested relationship with God with some miles on the odometer.

 For the little children in the faith, the major assignment is growing. For the young men and women in their prime, the major assignment is to fight the good fight of faith and do Christ’s kingdom work. For the fathers and mothers of the faith, the major task is to encourage and build up the generations behind them, to be living examples of what a deep relationship with God looks like.

            To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans

He has Risen! – Nonsense, My Foot.

(I encourage you to read Luke 24 before you give this pastor’s not a crack.)

“Nonsense!” is what they thought as they were listening to the story the women, who had gone to Jesus’ tomb early Sunday morning, told them. But you probably never thought or said, “Nonsense!” to a story someone told you.

Mind you, the men listening to the women’s Sunday morning experience didn’t discount or scoff at miracles; heck, some of them had performed miracles themselves, and they certainly had witnessed a fair share of Jesus’s miracles. But this, Jesus risen from the dead, come on.

Got to hand it to Peter and another disciple of Jesus, at least they went to check it out. What they found confirmed at least part of the women’s story. Jesus’ tomb was open, the guards were gone, and all that was left was what they wrapped Jesus’ corpse in. Those two went home amazed, wondering, but not convinced.

The women’s story, “We went to the tomb really early this morning to make sure Jesus was buried properly. But when we got there, the huge stone sealing the tomb was rolled away, the guards were gone, and two men in lit up clothes told us, ‘Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day’ Luke 24:5-7 (NLT2). After that, we hightailed it straight back here to tell you.” Two more of the disciples concluded, you guessed it, “Nonsense,” and decided it was time to go home and move on from the Jesus phase of their lives.

So, the women were convinced that what the men in shiny clothes told them was true: Jesus rose from the dead, just as he had been telling them. Peter and the other disciple checking out the tomb were left wondering but not persuaded. The two fellows going back to their homes in Emmaus fell into the nonsense, time-to-move-on category. I wonder where you fit in?

Years later, the Apostle Paul, who also personally encountered the risen Christ, was given an opportunity to defend himself and his faith in Christ before King Agrippa and the Roman governor Festus. He asks them, “Why does it seem incredible to any of you that God can raise the dead?” Acts 26:8 (NLT2). Paul is right. why would anyone think that the eternal, omnipotent God, who created the entire universe and gives life to every living thing, would have a hard time raising anyone from the dead? He doesn’t. Listening to Paul talking about the resurrected Christ, Festus, the Roman pragmatist, shouts, “Paul, you’re out of your mind!” I think we can put Festus in the “nonsense” category. On the other hand, Agrippa, who acknowledges the existence and omnipotence of God, is wondering but noncommittal, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian” Acts 26:28 (NKJV).  

On their way home to Emmaus, those two disciples are joined by the risen Christ (Luke 24:13-35), however, they don’t recognize him. I wonder, how many times has Jesus pulled right up to us and we didn’t recognize him? They heard, saw, and believed what they wanted to hear, see, and believe, but missed what God was doing. However, and thankfully, the risen Christ wasn’t thrown off by their doubts, their unbelief, their faulty interpretation of scripture, and by their inability to see past their present existence and natural world, nor will he be by yours. Once Jesus was gone, they said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32 (NLT2).

This Easter, may your heart burn with the truth of Jesus, may your mind not dismiss the power of God, and may you open your life to and belief in the crucified and risen/living Lord Jesus Christ. And that’s no nonsense!

            To God be all glory. Have a blessed Easter, Pastor Hans

Towards Easter – Listening to Jesus on the Cross

 “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

 “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

“Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.” Having said this, Jesus breathed His last. Luke 23:34,43,46 (NASB, italics mine)

It is an awful, ugly, violent, disgusting scene. Three men, stripped down, beaten, bloodied, struggling to breathe, hoisted on three crosses, with a gawking crowd consuming the horrific spectacle. The front row seats are occupied by soldiers and those who had a particular interest in the demise of the man on the cross in the middle, Jesus. The execution isn’t enough for them, they have to gloat, taunt, mock, and jeer, their inner ugly and evil on full display.

On the backdrop of this canvas of evil and wrong, Luke records three short, beautiful sentences spoken by Christ, three sentences the crowd as well as you and me should pay attention to.

•   “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

It is an amazing statement. Through the swollen slits of his eyes, beaten so severely he is almost unrecognizable, Jesus looks down on calloused soldiers, the front row taunters, and the crowd, and pleads with God the Father for forgiveness for them.

  What does Jesus mean by “they do not know what they are doing?” It seems those who plotted and brought about his execution knew exactly what they were doing, as did the soldiers, this wasn’t their first crucifixion detail. The people in the crowd entertaining themselves with someone else’s pain and suffering, watching someone die, don’t seem so innocent either.

  What they didn’t know is they were discarding the one person, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, whom they needed the most. They had demoted Jesus to just another dispensable unimportant life, to having no personal, long-term, certainly not eternal, significance.

  They didn’t know that God’s forgiveness runs straight through Jesus, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” Ephesians 1:7 (NIV). Forgiveness of your and my sins runs through Jesus as well.

•   “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

Startling, there in the midst of the violence, horror, and sinful stench of crucifixion hill, Golgotha, a most tender and merciful moment between Jesus and one of the thrives dying next to him. Yes, a deathbed change of heart, confession, and request.  Somehow, this hard-hearted thief who at first mocked Jesus (Matthew 27:44), has a change of heart and mind. He realizes Jesus is innocent, the King of the kingdom that lies beyond death, and that he can take a sinner to heaven, no one else can. Out of the entire crowd, there are just two, this thief and the supervising centurion (Matthew 27:54) who had the light of who Jesus is come on. What about you?

• “Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.”

Luke records these as Jesus’ last words before his death, they are a quotation from Psalm 31, “You will pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, For You are my strength. Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have ransomed me, O LORD, God of truth” Psalm 31:4-5 (NASB). Into whose hands have you entrusted your spirit, your soul? Can those hands really hold you, now, in death, for all of eternity? Because as surely as Jesus breathed his last, so will you and I someday. All three men on those three crosses died that day, all three we buried that day, only two had committed themselves into the right hands, salvation is neither universal nor automatic, it is only found in turning to and relying on God, on Christ alone. Don’t count on a deathbed opportunity, don’t melt away with the crowd, putting Jesus off to another day. You don’t know where you’ll be tomorrow, but you, like that thief, can be forgiven and saved today.

To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans