Radical Faith

I’ve been thinking about the 11^th chapter of the book of Hebrews. This chapter is often called the “Heroes of the Faith” chapter. More recently I’ve been thinking we could subtitle it “Examples of Radical Faith” Each of these women and men were radical in their following God’s command and the faith that they had to have to trust God for the promises that he made to them. In some cases they came to the end of their lives still not having witnessed the fulfillment of the promise that God had made. Yet each of them still believed and trusted that God had not lied to them. To me that seems pretty radical. How about you?

Hebrews 11:6 seems to say that “where there is no risk there is no faith!” It appears that faith is found not in the safe warm and gooey middle but rather on the ragged scary edge of faith is where we find God’s purpose for our lives. Obedience is pitted against comfort and convenience. Often those around you say that you are crazy for being obedient to God’s call when it is inconvenient. So we must add that often discomfort, inconvenience and questionable reputation are often the results of radically following Jesus. But heroes are people who have acted at great discomfort and inconvenience to themselves and it is only after the fact that their reputation becomes impeccable.

In this results-driven society we look at outward results such as numbers whether people, decisions, baptisms, or money. God also is results driven, but he looks at the heart. Ultimately he looks for obedience. God defines success much different than man. He defines success as being obedient.

Chip Ingram put it this way, “Just remember that were there’s no risk, there’s no faith; where there’s no faith there’s no power or joy or intimacy with God…. A lot of churches that are considered great by people are considered hollow by God. They miss the common denominator of all great Christians: radical faith.”

God considered these heroes great not because they were fearless but because they were obedient in spite of their fear choosing a risky adventure to the status quo. My apologies to my more conservative readers for my next illustration, like a poker player who sees that the pot is worth everything, after looking at his hand and calculating the odds is willing to go “all in” to take the chance to will against the odds, the person of radical faith is willing to go “all in” in the service of his King. Knowing that the odds are in his favor to win the prize he perseveres to win.

Now don’t think that I’m saying we don’t look at the odds or seek the wisdom of counsel. The difference between faith and foolishness at times can be a thin line. But being obedient to God’s will is never risky business. It’s simply the best game in town and the only sure bet there is.

The difference between faith and foolishness and faith is not the degree of risk but rather the will of God.

All of us suffer from one major concern in our lives – FEAR. Fear of failure often paralyzes people from doing what they know they should do. I believe that fear is healthy but what is unhealthy is what your fear focuses on.

• Do you fear financial ruin? Me too
• Do you fear failure? Me too
• Do you fear looking foolish? Me too
• Do you fear what others think? Me too

What is more important fear of man, or fear of God?

Probably 15 years ago, it finally dawned on me that I was preparing Sunday services with an eye on what man thought rather then caring what God thought! When I realized my failure to be concerned about God’s thoughts I had to not only repent but change my mind set and my way of doing things.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The Bible doesn’t mean a petrifying fear but a fear that recognizes the transcendence of a holy God who has chosen to come near. A fear that acknowledges His otherness and our sinfulness and yet he still desires to be “with us.” Check it out, each time an angel or God appears to humans most often the first words that we humans hear is “Fear not!” God wants to hang out with us and wants us to succeed!

Now that’s radical!

Pastor Val

The Three “R”s of Christian Living

The Three “R”s of Christian Living

Recently I was thinking about education and what is necessary for person to be properly educated. I was reminded that we have always considered three things essential for a good education. You know what I mean, the “3 R’s” (Reading, Riting and Rithmetic). When it comes to Christianity I also got to thinking that there three “R”s that are also very important to Christian living: Repentance, Reconciliation & Restitution. These three “R”s are essential for life in the body and the lack of even one of these can cause the body not only hurt but also harm.

So what are these Rs and what does it mean to us in our search to be a healthy body?

Repentance, according to the Baker Biblical Encyclopedia, means a literal change of mind, not about individual plans, intentions, or beliefs, but rather a change in the whole personality from a sinful course of action to God. It means a 180 degree turn in direction. One admits that they were wrong and changes their way. This is the beginning of the salvific process and adoption into the Family of God.

After we have become a follower of Jesus Christ we continue to practice repentance whenever we sin (fail to hit the mark) in our Christian life. (1 John 1:9) Additionally when we have harmed another we need to repent to that person as well. This is so important that Jesus teaches us that if we have sinned against another we are not even to worship until we repent. (Matt 5:23-24)

Speaking of seeking forgiveness let me just suggest that when we ask for forgiveness we need to take responsibility for our actions. We often want to blame circumstances or others for our actions. I remember that I used to chuckle when years ago one of my relatives apologized by saying “I’m sorry you made me do that!” That is not repentance. A final thought would be to make sure that in taking responsibility we accept it in the first person not the third. It is so much easier to say that “Vallen Prest (substitute your own name) was wrong” then to say “I was wrong!” Don’t think so? Try it for yourself and see if it isn’t so. Third person repentance to some degree lets us off the hook.

Restoration happens when friendly relationships and of peace replace hostility and alienation. Ordinarily it also includes the removal of the offense which caused the disruption of peace and harmony. In the New Testament reconciliation also denotes a changed relationship in which formerly estranged persons or elements experience a restored harmony. Christians should seek reconciliation between themselves and any estranged community member, especially before offering a gift at the altar (Matt. 5:24) or going to settle disputes before a magistrate (Luke 12:58).

Matthew 5:24 speaks of reconciliation as an important factor in restoring a relationship with both God and the person we have harmed. The goal is always a reestablishment of broken relationships (either between God and a human or person to person) Galatians 6:1.

One might ask “What if the person I have offended is unwilling to forgive me or reconcile?” Seeking forgiveness is important for the person who has sinned. It reestablishes our relationship with Father. Jay Adams suggested that we think of it as a game of tennis. We are commanded by God to serve the ball of repentance to the offended. Regardless of if the ball is returned or not we have been obedient in serving up forgiveness. To forgive the one who has harmed us releases us from the burden of anger and frustration. It also keeps our relationship with Father fresh and unhindered.

The final “R” is restitution. This is the return of something lost or stolen so that the original situation is restored. This central theme of the OT law is supremely fulfilled through Jesus Christ making restitution for Adam’s sin, thus restoring fellowship with God and hope of eternal life. T. C. Oden says that restitution re-establishes equality where an unjust taking has caused inequality.

There are three levels of positive effects accompany acts of restitution (or reparation):

Exterior penances are performed principally to produce three effects:

• To satisfy for past sins.
• To overcome ourselves, so that sensuality will be obedient to reason and our lower inclinations be subject to higher ones.
• To seek and find some grace or gift that we wish to obtain, as for instance … the solution of some doubt that is troubling us. (Ignatius Loyola, Spiritual Exercises, pp. 62–63)

In Luke 19 in speaking of Zacchaeus’ repentance and subsequent salvation it is Zacch’s restitution that causes Jesus to proclaim in Luke 19:9 “Today salvation has come to this house!” Restitution is incredibly important to the 3 R process of Christian living.

Have you completed the process of the 3 “R”s? Are any left undone? All three “R”s are important for the life of the church. Repentance becomes a hollow, feigned act, without restoration and restitution.

Still studying my “R”s

Pastor Val

Residual Light

Recently I was talking with a friend who used a new term that he had heard in a management seminar. The term “residual light” actually comes from astronomy and is used to describe the light that still exists from a star that has died. You see starlight created today in the Milky Way traveling at the speed of light (299 792 458 miles per second) takes years and years to reach our sight here on earth.

According to the website www.astronomyexpert.co.uk/TheDeathOfStars.html there are two primary ways for a star to stop emitting light. It can simply die a long slow death and go cold or it can go super nova and explode with a spectacular light show and creating a black hole when it dies.

This idea of starlight started me thinking about light and how it is dealt with in the Bible.

· Light is seen as a symbol for what is pleasant, good, or uplifting, and is especially related to God. “The Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory” (Is 60:19). The psalmist exulted, “The Lord is my light and my salvation,” and proceeded to ask, “whom shall I fear?” (27:1). God is said to be robed with light (Ps 104:2) and light dwells with him (Dn 2:22).

· During the plagues in Egypt the Egyptians experienced thick darkness while the Israelites had light (Ex 10:23). When the Israelites left Egypt, they were led in the wilderness by a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night (Ex 13:21). The pillar gave them light while their enemies were in darkness (Ex 14:20). In later days Israel remembered that God did not abandon his people even when they sinned; the pillar of fire was always there to show them the right way (Neh 9:19; cf. Neh 9:12; Pss 78:14; 105:39).

· A Godly leader is sometimes identified with light. Thus when the Israelites decided that King David should no longer risk his life on the battlefield they said, “You shall no more go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel” (2 Sam 21:17).

· Sometimes judgment on Israel is expressed as a withdrawal of light: “Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! Why would you have the day of the Lord?… Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?” (Amos 5:18, 20; cf. Is 13:9, 10).

· In the Old Testament the absence of light is a synonym for disaster. There are those who “grope in the dark without light” (Job 12:25). Bildad saw the light of the wicked put out in punishment and death (Job 18:5–17). The wicked will be “thrust from light into darkness, and driven out of the world” (Job 18:18). In the aftermath of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem was the lament, “He has driven and brought me into darkness without any light” (Lam 3:2).

· In the New Testament Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12; 9:5), and “I have come as light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness” (John 12:46). Jesus told his followers to believe in the light while it was with them (John 12:35 Christ not only brought a revelation from God as a revealer but He himself was and is the revelation and light himself. (John 1:1–10)

· Followers of Christ are also called light in the New Testament. When they are called the light of the world, there is clearly no saving significance in the description. They do not accomplish the world’s salvation. But they do point it out. It is their function as redeemed people to live as redeemed people. They are to show the quality of life proper to the people of God and in this way act as light to the people of the world. They are to let their light shine before the world in such a way that people will see their good deeds and so come to praise God (not, be it noted, those who do the deeds, Matt. 5:16). It is important for those in this position to make full use of the light they have. It is tragedy when the light that is in them is darkness (Matt 6:23; Luke 11:35).

You and I know many churches and even people that have been great lights in the past but today like dying stars have either become cold and lost their fire or have gone super nova and have exploded wreaking havoc not only with those closest to them but in the community around them.

The light that is Christ, who dwells within his people, is supposed to have illuminated us. If we ignore the illumination he brings us and live like those in the dark, then indeed we are in deep darkness. We are worse than others because we know what light is and what it can mean to us, and have turned away from it.

How do we fix this lack of light in our lives? Two things: First recognize it and repent (that means change your ways) and second, like the story of the wedding party waiting for the bridegroom be prepared with enough oil for your lamp so that when the time comes your lamp is lit and shining at it’s full capacity! Third, we must stay connected to the source of our Light.

Anyone got a light?

Pastor Val

Finding God’s Will

So often we think of God’s will being a specific path and that missing it will cause us to miss His perfect will. One problem with this understanding of God’s will is that it only takes one of us to mess up getting God’s will right for us to cause the entire universe to fail in their goal of following God’s will. Like a string of dominos once one falls the entire line goes down. There seems to be some truth in this when we look at the concept of original sin. After all by one man sin entered into the world and death by that one man we call Adam. And it is also true that by one man the world is redeemed. The entire world, even the entire universe is in the process of being recreated to God’s original intent.

But often the ways of God are often multifaceted (think Sovereignty of God vs. free will of man or individual vs. group responsibility). It would appear that God’s will is for a destination and he will allow us choices to arrive at the destination. For example God did not plan on Israel to have a king, and yet when they demand a king God grants them their request. Even though they clearly disobeyed God ultimately the King that they eventually got became the human ancestor of the Messiah! God uses our free will to bring about His will for our lives.

If you want to know what God’s will for your life is, I know what it is and I’m here to tell you (grin)!

For believers, God’s will is for us is to be conformed to His Son’s image (Rom 8:29). This in reality means that His desire is for us to be conformed to God’s image. What I mean by that last sentence is that not only is Jesus God, He also looks just like God. (John 14:9)

God’s plan for us is to be conformed to Christ’s image. The human author of the book of Romans in the Bible calls this transformation and it is accomplished by the renewing our mind. (Rom 12:2) The word transformation in the Greek could be translated morphed. Like a caterpillar we are called to morph into a new creature, a “spiritual butterfly.”

From the very beginning the core of Christianity is centered around change. To adapt is not an easy thing it is easier to stay the same. Too often we see our rigidity as a virtue. Character doesn’t make you hard, nor does it make you soft. Godly character makes you pliable in the Holy Spirit’s hands.

The Bible is all about change:

• Transformation = change
• Conversion = change
• Repentance = change
• Sanctification = change

Getting ready to change

Pastor Val

Repentance Gone Wrong

I was surfing some blogs tonight and ran across this blog on the Acts 29 blog site.

I was moved by this blog and wanted to share a portion of it with you. If you would like to check out the entire blog you can find it here http://ow.ly/1nSMl

REPENTANCE GONE WRONG

False repentance conflicts with the biblical pattern by displaying our pride and self-interest instead of displaying contrition. Consider the example of the nation of Israel in Psalm 78:32-35:

In spite of all this, they still sinned;

despite his wonders, they did not believe.

So he made their days vanish like a breath,

and their years in terror.

When he killed them, they sought him;

they repented and sought God earnestly.

They remembered that God was their rock,

the Most High God their redeemer.

Israel clearly experienced a severe discipline at the hands of the Lord. This judgment obviously produced a very unhappy situation for God’s people, driving them to seek God in repentance. They earnestly repented, remembered and sought the Lord. Surely this repenting would rectify their familial relationship with God. But notice how God views their repentance as the Psalm continues:

But they flattered him with their mouths;

they lied to him with their tongues.

Their heart was not steadfast toward him;

they were not faithful to his covenant. (78:36-37)

Here we see the illustration of pretender repentance: words without heart. Israel’s repentance was insincere. They told God that they were sorry with their mouths, but He knew that their hearts were still committed to slavishly following their sins.

Instead of real brokenness over their iniquities, God’s people feigned repentance to obtain rescue from the consequences of their sins, but not the sins themselves. As such, God did not recognize their repentance – because pretender repentance is not repentance at all.

Israel’s example should help us see that sometimes the greatest battle with sin is our very repentance of it. Listen to Paul’s encouragement to the church at Corinth:

As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved,

but because you were grieved into repenting. For

you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss

through us. For godly grief produces a repentance

that leads to salvation without regret, whereas

worldly grief produces death. (1 Corinthians 7:9-10)

Pretender repentance is a dead end. If we demonstrate anything but godly grief over our sin, we will experience a lifetime of losses. Therefore, if we would fight sin well, some of us may actually need to repent of how we have repented in the past so that the grace of God is exposed and not our arrogance.

This is one of those times when I wish I had written this blog. I would only add that pretender repentance makes us feel good about ourselves but it rarely fools godly people and never fools a holy God!

Lord forgive me of the times when I have played the repentance game!

Pastor Val

Should a Follower of Christ be Willing to Change?

God is unchanging theologians call this immutability. As God the Son, Jesus is also immutable. Hebrews 13: says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Since this is true why are Christians supposed to change? Why do we assume that a refusal to change is a stand against corruption? It amazes me how many use their faith as an excuse to remain ignorant. It sounds so spiritual to wrap up their ignorance by claiming that all that anyone needs to know the Bible. Is that really what the Bible says? Is this the model we find in Scripture?

I am reminded of a quartet of young men in the Old Testament book, Daniel. The nation of Judah was taken into captivity by Babylon. Their captors choose the best of the young nobles to be trained in the schooling, wisdom, and culture of the conquerors. Theses guys are know as Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They were schooled to be counselors to the King. As such they were expected to master all new information and to be of help as advisors in the court.

If we are to take our cues from these young men we need to be voracious, intentional learner. So often people of faith are seen as dogmatic, rigid and unchanging and yet we are called to learn which is to change and often to adapt.

Adaption can only happen when we first have settled on what our core values (or non-negotiable) are. Once we understand what they are we can learn to be flexible (adaptable) on other issues.

The aforementioned quartet knew what their core values were and we unwilling to compromise those but were willing to compromise on negotiables. They were willing to learn the ways, knowledge, and customs of their captors but were unwilling to eat non-kosher food.

You see these men knew the difference between adaption and adoption. The later is the compromising and capitulation of all of your beliefs and values. While the former is live out your values in the real world.

People who have not identified what their core values are will default to one of two positions. The first is to be dogmatically rigid on everything and thus incapable of addressing societal change and issues. The second is to have no convictions at all and thus incapable of taking a stand on any issue.

Don’t confuse rigidity with having convictions!

As I have often said throughout my ministry, “If you are unwilling to change you should have never become a follower of Christ, for God has called us to a life of change as each of us journey through this life being changed into the image of Christ.” (See Romans 8:23)

Changing for the better

Pastor Val

Experience and Curiosity

Why do we so often accept the premise that God is withholding something so good that we believe that He has His best interest at heart and not ours? When in reality He is trying to save us from heartache, pain and often death.

Often we believe our leaders, parents and elders of trying to keep us from experiencing something that would enhance our lives rather then trusting them to have our best interest at heart.

I have a family member who has repeatedly said that they would prefer to learn things by experience and I always want them to be willing to learn from others (especially me!). Today many of our post-modern generation only want to learn from experience. This type of learning has been elevated above any other form of learning. Know what it’s called when you think that you have to experience everything before you can know better? I call it stupidity! God calls it Death!

Find it hard to believe the death reference? Well, let’s take a look at Genesis 2.

¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. ¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; ¹⁷ but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” Genesis 2:15-17

And when they did eat of the tree they did die (spiritual death happened immediately and physical death began). Yes, often curiosity does kill. There are some things you are not supposed to experience on pain of death!

Sometimes we need to accept the wisdom offered to us from those who have learned by failure and sometimes we need to be willing to accept God’s Word when He says “No!” Often He desires to build our lives simply on the “Wisdom of God.”

When we insist to learn from experience pain is inevitably the consequence and that shows us as unteachable (which is another way of saying stupid!) When we stop learning we stop growing. The opposite of growth is – yes you guessed it death!

Let’s choose life!

Pastor Val