Unleashing Your Capacity to Love – Part 2

Have you ever gotten lost? Totally turned around? I’m not talking geographically but lost in life. The Corinthian Christians had gotten themselves very lost, sounds like an oxymoron since becoming Christian involves being found and saved. They weren’t lost regarding the salvation of their souls, but they for sure had lost their way when it came to living the Christian life.

What they had lost sight of the most was the supreme importance of loving one another as Christ loved them. They were Christians but behaved like the non-Christian world, and in some instances worse than unbelievers. They got lost in factiousness, immorality, greed, chasing the miraculous, pride, and more. They got so lost in living the Christian life that Jesus’ new command, “Love one another, even as I have loved you, you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” John 13:34-35), was good for the fancy sign over their church doors but found no application in everyday life.

When God commands us to do something, it implies that we can count on His support and that we are capable of carrying out that command. If James had stopped by, he would have said, “Remember, if you keep the royal law prescribed in the Scripture, Love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well,” and, “It is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it” (James 2:8 & 4:17 (NLT2, italics mine). Paul on the other hand told them what they specifically needed to focus on if they were going to keep God’s commands of loving their neighbor and each other like Christ loved them, “Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not conceited, does not act improperly, is not selfish, is not provoked, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (HCSB).

Did you notice that for the Corinthians, and you and me, to unleash our God-given capacity to love requires us to consistently practice some things, like being patient with and kind to others, and we need to reign in other things, like envy, conceit, and keeping score? Unleashing the love of God requires obedience, you can be kind even when you don’t feel like it, but it also requires obedience of restraint, of not doing certain things even if you feel like or think you are justified doing them.

How much of your God-given ability to love others is being realized? How much of it is being squelched because you are lost in Christless attitudes, thinking, desires, and practices?

Take your Bible and go find a mirror to stand in front of. Then look up 1 Corinthians 13. Once you have found it, slowly read it to that person looking at you and pray that he or she will have ears to hear. Then ask yourself who you are not patient with, not kind to, not …, that will get you started on where more and what of your love capacity needs to be unleashed. Then check on things you are not reigning in, like envy, conceit, selfishness, …, that will get you started on dealing with specific attitudes and behaviors that continually sabotage, constrict, and hinder your capacity to love.

If there is one thing we want to get right as followers of Jesus, Christians, and as a church, loving like Jesus commanded us is it. Can I hear an “AMEN!” Now give that “AMEN!” some real-life, real-love meaning, because you can, because God delights in it, and because others will be blessed by it.

To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans

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Bagels and Church – Ending Church Ignorance

Susie and I were newly married and had just moved into our first apartment on Park Avenue in Pomona, California when she bought a coupon book for local businesses. Supposedly, it was going to save us a lot of money. One of the coupons was for four dozen fresh bagels. We went to the shop and sure enough, came home with our forty-eight fresh free bagels of our choosing. Never having tasted a bagel, we each took one out of the bag, excited to have a taste. With our mouths full we looked at each other with a “what the hesch!” look, and I said, “That’s the worst doughnut I’ve ever tasted.”

Not being wasters, Susie said, “What are we going to do with the rest of these?” Well, we gave them away. Later we discovered that when you toast them up bagels are actually delicious. Ignorance.

I run into similar ignorance and confusion when it comes to church, even among people who claim to read their Bibles. The people of the First Church of Corinth certainly were ignorant when it came to church, which in turn led to bad Christian habits and lousy thinking/theology. Some thought you had to have some supernatural giftedness to really belong, others thought it was optional, and some thought they were not needed.

God, through the Apostle Paul, reminded all of them that every believer is placed in the body of Christ (a synonym for both the church universal and each local church) by the Holy Spirit, “The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit” 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 (NLT2). This also dispenses with what I have often been told when the subject of church came up, “Pastor, organized church just isn’t for me, I have my church out on the lake (mountaintop, living room, …). After all, I can worship God anywhere.” Yes, we can and should worship God anywhere, but we can only be the church in connection with, in community with, and in serving one another as the Holy Spirit has gifted and assigned us. It also is never about “my church,” but about Jesus’ church, and His church is always a together thing.

The Apostle also reminded the Corinthians Christians and us that some are not more important to the body of Christ than others, or even worse, that some are not needed. The church, Christ’s body, needs helpers as much as teachers, those with the gift of service as much as prophets, organizers as much as miracle workers. In fact, the church needs more helpers than leaders, more members gifted in serving than singing. “In the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?  Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?” 1 Corinthians 12:28-30 (NIV). For the body, the church, to function well and to its fullest potential, all the parts have to be present, engaged, employing all that God has gifted them with, and being faithful and all out in their Holy Spirit-given assignment, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen” 1 Peter 4:10-11 (NLT2).

So, as you think of church this week:

• Show up. Be there. Nothing much happens until we show up.
• Sign up. Contribute to the work, the functioning of the church the Holy Spirit called you to be part of.
• Support and encourage all the other members with your presence, your giftedness, your prayers, your care, and your growth in the grace and knowledge of Christ.
• Spread both the Gospel and love of Christ hand in hand with your brothers and sisters the Holy Spirit has given you in your local church.
• Stop making unbiblical excuses for dismissing Jesus’ church, giving yourself permission to do your own church thing, not officially joining a church, and depriving your brothers and sisters in Christ of your presence and giftedness.

To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans

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With Liberty and Justice for All – 4th of July Thoughts

With Liberty and Justice for All

No one knows more about liberty and justice than God, than Jesus Christ, our Creator. Therefore, He and His written revelation (the Bible) are both the proper and best starting point for any contemplation of both liberty and justice.

God, unlike us, has the power, resources, immortality, and authority to do anything He wants. We, and the writers of the US Constitution, are leery of that kind of absolute and unchecked power in human hands, and rightly so. Only God is able to yield power and freedom with complete fidelity to holiness, goodness, righteousness, justice, and love. Thankfully, God has forever restricted Himself to His impeccable character, thus, for instance, it is impossible for God to lie or tempt anyone to evil (Hebrews 6:18, James 1:13-14). Two things we can learn from this is that handling freedom requires both righteous character and discipline.

God eternally exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They have never violated one another but have lived in perfect harmony, respect, submission, and love toward each other. Love, liberty, and justice become important when there is more than one, where there is community, relationship. The second most important commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18, Romans 13:9), flows from this, as does Paul’s exhortation to the Philippians, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” Philippians 2:3-4 (NASB). Two things we can learn from this is that freedom is more than mere self-expression and self-fulfillment but requires considering and pursuing others’ interests and welfare as much as our own.

There is no freedom where God does not exist, nor do we have any freedoms that are not God-given. We are free to choose any religion or outrightly reject any notion 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).  However, our God-given freedom to choose or reject God cannot cancel God. The first sin and foolishness of exercising freedom is to reject the very God who gave us life and liberty. The self-deceptions that accompany this choice are the notions that, somehow, we can free ourselves from being accountable to God’s laws and order, and that we can do better on our own. But there is no such thing as freedom from being accountable to God for all our choices and actions, “So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God” Romans 14:12 (NIV); “And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him” Hebrews 9:27-28 (NLT2). And, history clearly proves that we are incapable of doing better on our own.

A free society, people, requires laws. Everything is arbitrary in a lawless society, everyone’s standards are as good as anyone else’s, and human depravity is unleashed. So, who gets to decide what is right and what is wrong, good and evil? Who gets to say what is moral and immoral? Who knows what is infinitely wise and what is eternally foolish? Who has the right to define sin? Who has the liberty, the authority, the wisdom, and the power to both know what is righteous and hold everyone accountable to it? We love to usurp this authority because we think it will give us greater freedom and will allow us to absolve ourselves from and justify our sins, but in an ironic twist, it renders us less free, pushes us deeper into the slavery of our sin, “They (those teaching their own thing) promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you” 2 Peter 2:19 (NLT2, parenthesis mine).

My hope and prayer are that you and I will worship and give thanks to God this 4^th of July for all the freedoms He has granted us, freedoms people around the world yearn for. I am also hoping and praying you and I will take time to reflect and meditate deeply, theologically, and biblically so we will not bow our knees at the altar of Christian nationalism or join the drums of godless activism. Rather, that we will be committed to and radically flesh out:

“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34 NIV).

“For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love” (Galatians 5:13 NLT2).

“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).

            To God be all glory this 4^th of July. Love you, Pastor Hans

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Meet Jesus -The God-Man – The Incarnation of Christ

Which do you like better, a mystery or a miracle? I suppose it depends on how badly you need a miracle. No question, the Bible (God’s written revelation/word) has some serious miracles in it, a dry highway through the Red Sea, the river Jordan backing up without a dam, a shadow going backward, a jar of oil and a pot of flower not running out, water turning into wine, thousands of people fed with five loaves and two fish, a paralytic jumping up, and a dead man walking out of his tomb, just to name a few.

In some way every miracle is also a mystery because it is beyond a rational and scientific explanation, it defies human logic, natural laws, and what we think is possible. How did God by simply speaking bring the entire universe, its mass, energy, order, and life into existence? How can you instantly calm a storm by telling it, “Be still?” How can a virgin have a baby? How is it possible for the dead to be raised, even after thousands of years?

There are also “Why?” mysteries. Why did God create mosquitoes, rodents, and locusts? Why does He grant a miracle to some and not others? Why did Jesus Christ come when he did? Why has God entrusted the mission of spreading the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus, to the church, a collection of sinners who mess up a lot?

Before you make up your mind on what you think is the greatest mystery and miracle, consider the incarnation of Jesus, God taking on human flesh, confining Himself to a body, being exposed to temptation and evil, physically living among us. “In the beginning was the Word/Jesus, and the Word/Jesus was with God, and the Word/Jesus was God … And the Word/Jesus became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” John 1:1, 14 (ESV, italics mine).

“Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He, God, was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory” 1 Timothy 3:16 (ESV, italics mine).

Both the how and the why of Jesus’, the Son of God, incarnation are mindboggling. The Apostle Paul in encouraging the Philippian Christians to live in unity and harmony reminds them to, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” Philippians 2:5-11 (ESV). This gives us some insight into both the mystery and miracle of the incarnation of God, of Jesus becoming the God-man, being both fully God and fully man.

• It took total submission to God the Father’s will, an emptying of self, a journey from equal to servant, down to an unjust death on a cross.
• It took incomprehensible humility. Jesus went from the throne room of heaven, surrounded by myriads of angelic servants, to a newborn infant born to parents without any status, completely dependent, having to cry when hungry, making a mess in swaddling clothes, and drooling when He cut his teeth.
• It took unfathomable restraint and patience. If anyone ever had the power to speed up time, skip a few grades, and create more favorable circumstances, it was Jesus.

As to the why of the mystery and miracle of the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ, Jesus said, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” John 3:16-17 (ESV). Paul reminded Timothy and us, “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners …” 1 Timothy 1:15 (NASB).

Jesus, the Son of God, became a man, a human being to carry out the greatest rescue mission in all of history, to make a way for dying sinners like you and me to be forgiven, saved from the wrath of God, reconciled to God, and be recipients of eternal life. There is no greater mystery – Why God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) loves us so? There is no greater miracle – How God made possible the impossible!

            To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans

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United – A Veterans’Day Reflection

It is a humbling and solemn experience to walk through the war memorials at the Washington Mall, the silent Korean war patrol, weeping men with one hand on one of the thousands of names of the Vietnam memorial. It is a strange reality, isn’t it, that we constantly have to fight for peace, for what is right, for liberties, and for justice.

Our list of wars is too long, really, made up of major wars, forgotten wars, covert wars, and cold war. All of them were fought by a staggering number of real men and women. Many did not survive, others did but with broken broken bodies, wounded minds, tormented dreams, and haunted consciences. The cost of war, even in times of peace, is always high in both human and economic terms.

This Veterans Day, my hope and prayer are that it would give rise for us to collectively pause and reflect. The Veterans of both the past and those with us in the present remind me that they didn’t fight each other but against a common enemy. We are suffering from a lack of unity, cohesion, discipline, and a sense of civic duty, all of which we could learn a thing or two from our veterans. I am reminded of the wisdom of Jesus, “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and no city or house divided against itself will stand”
Matthew 12:25 (HCSB).

USA begins with the word united, and if you take the first two letters it spells “US,” that might be a good place for us to start regrouping and to ask ourselves what united us in the first place? A desire to be free from tyranny and totalitarianism (you will find it on both the political right and left). A spiritual and moral compass rooted in the word of God, the Bible (being careful to avoid interpreting it politically, and instead submitting our politics to it). Rule of law equally applied, a just society. Shared liberties, together worth fighting for. Making sacrifices for the common goal and good.

When I was young all the veterans I knew were old, since then I have seen boys and girls grow up (a number of them I coached in High School, baptized, camped with, …) join the military and go off to war. I especially think of them this Veterans Day, and I want to thank them, along with those who served before them, for both their service and their contribution to what unites us.

May God be merciful to, and bless us as a people united. Pastor Hans

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Church Unity – Make Every Effort

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:3 (NIV)

Every Christian, from the moment s/he is saved, born again by regeneration of the Holy Spirit (John 3:5-8), also becomes a member of the body of Christ, his church, “We have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit” 1 Corinthians 12:13 (NLT2). Every member of the body of Christ is meant to participate in that body life, church life where s/he lives. It is impossible to claim being a serious follower of Christ and not be involved in, be committed to Jesus’ Church where you live. Some of you reading this pastor’s note need to repent of your bad habit of not being part of, belonging to, and faithfully attending a church where you live (Hebrews 10:24-24).

Every Christian belonging to a church has responsibilities, is meant to contribute to the life that local body of Christ, and needs to part of making his/her church family better. This means every member needs to be committed to grow in Christlikeness, be committed to a holy life, and needs to “make effort to keep the unity of the Spirit.” Disunity never serves Jesus’ church, never helps people to grow spiritually, never enhances the testimony we are called to bear of Jesus. Disunity and divisiveness are never of the Holy Spirit, function out of the self-centeredness, worldly wisdom, ignoring scripture, and inevitably hurts people. At the bottom line a spirit of disunity and divisiveness is sin.

To keep the unity of the Spirit every church member, we, need to:

• Be fully committed to our brothers and sisters in Christ. The church is not a club, Jesus commanded us to love one another as He loves us (John 15:12). “I don’t like him.” “If she goes to church here, I am leaving.” We do well to consider that Jesus just might add some difficult people to our church to help us and them to grow in the love of Christ. Running from them will not lead you and me to love them.
• Watch our mouth. A church member never has the green light to lie, twist the truth, repeat gossip, spread rumors, talk negatively, or criticize a person without first talking to him or her. Doing so not only injures that person, but it also hurts the listener and Jesus body as a whole. Even if what you say about that person is true you have no business talking about him/her behind their back and without talking to them first.
• Watch our ears. It is never okay to listen to a gossip, a slanderer, someone talking about someone else negatively or in criticism or worse.  The only way to do that is to cut off the speaker, to not lend your ears, to disassociate from gossips, dividers, rebels, etc. (Proverbs 20:19, 24:1, Titus 3:10). “Have you talked face to face with who you are talking about?” “Well, no.” “Sorry, this conversation is over. And I am sure you won’t mind me telling him/her that you are talking about them?” There are times we need to hold each other accountable, encourage each other to do the right thing, even rebuke one another.
• Contribute to the life and ministry our church. Every church member has an active role, responsibility, and purpose in the life of the church. We quickly turn into critics sitting on the sidelines. Shared responsibility and work strengthen unity. The church has mission to fulfill and needs all hands deck working together.
• Following the leaders of the church (Hebrews 13:7, 17-18). Not blindly but expecting them to be godly and teaching the scriptures accurately. It is scripturally out of bounds to level unsubstantiated charges against anyone, and especially leaders in the church (1 Timothy 5:19, Matthew 18:15-18).
• Grow in the faith, including theological understanding, handling of the of scriptures, developing godly habits, forsaking worldly patterns, radically applying the scriptures to our conduct.

It takes all of us working together and handling things according to scriptures to be a healthy, growing church. The love, harmony, and unity of the church are under constant attack. Satan and the powers of evil love nothing more then church members behaving badly, not watching out for and contributing to the unity of their church, being divisive. Are you contributing to the unity of your church? Of not, what do you need to change, repent of, and who do you need to apologize to? “Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had” Philippians 2:1-5 (NLT2).

To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans

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