Christmas a Season of Time and Light

Time is such an important part of our human experience. We are bound by time and controlled by time. Yet God is not controlled by time since He exists outside of time. Rather time is controlled and planned by God the Father. The Bible says that “when the right time came, God sent his Son {into the world}. A woman gave birth to him, and he came under the control of God's laws. God sent him to pay for the freedom of those who were controlled by these laws so that we would be adopted as his children.” Galatians 4:4-5 (GW)

So when the time was right the light of God (or perhaps I should say God the Light) entered the world and his light became the light of men.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. … The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1-5; 9-14 (NIV)

I am reminded of this ancient medieval Christmas prayer at Communion: "...through the mystery of the Incarnate Word the light of God's brightness has shone anew on the eyes of our mind so that, while we see God visibly through Jesus Christ, we may be seized by love for the invisible things of God."

(For those of you wondering where this prayer is found it was translated from the Latin in the Gregorian sacramentary as found in Jean Deshusses, Le sacramentaire grégorian, ses principales formes d’après les plus ancient manuscripts, Spicilegium Friburgense 16 (Fribourg, 1979), pp. 98-106. It's from the preface for the main mass for the morning of Christmas at St. Peter's. Thanks Lester for the reference!)

To each of you may the Light and Life of Christmas make Himself real to you in a deeper more meaningful way this Christmas Season!

Pastor Val

Welcome to the Murk!

As a young believer I always felt that walking in God’s will would be easier if I could just get rid of self (fat chance!). I also believed that the more mature in Christ I became the clearer God’s will and path for my life would be.

What I have experienced is quite the opposite. Now I know that there are those of you who question my spiritual maturity and I have to admit some days I question it, too. I feel like Paul when he describes his life to the believers in Rome as it is recorded in the letter he wrote entitled Romans.

In Romans chapter seven Paul tells of the struggle he has in knowing what he should to do and yet struggling to do it. He also relates how difficult it is sometimes not to do what he shouldn’t do.

If this sounds like the struggle you go through from time to time you are not alone!

Maybe you thought that if only you could attain some lofty position spiritually you would be able to see God’s will more clearly, as though you are standing on a mountain top overlooking the rest of your life. But what we often see is fog, mist, haze and uncertainty.

A friend of mine following God’s clear leading launched a church in Colorado a year or so ago. In a recent conversation he told me that he felt like he had launched a boat out into a lake that had a murky bottom. He had hoped that by launching out into the deep that the water would gain some clarity. Instead he found that the water seemed to be even murkier!

I think that as a young believer God grants each of us more clarity as to His will and plans for our lives. But as we mature our way seems to grow hazier. We struggle to see clearly the path that has been laid out for us. I think God does this because He wants to teach us trust and dependence on Him.

Psalm 119:95 says “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Unlike the halogen beams of today, the ancient lamps that the writer of this psalm is referring to produced a rather smoky light that didn’t cast a very large amount of light. Usually it was just enough to guide your next step. God promises to direct our paths but not provide us all of the directions ahead of time, like mapquest.

Does it cause us worry and consternation to see so little of the future? Yes, yes it does! We all wish we had a better grasp on our future. But God is trying to teach us to continue to trust in Him. His plan is perfect (even if we don’t think so from time to time).

Remember God is more interested in building character then He is in providing you comfort (this side of eternity)!

So welcome to the murk!

Pastor Val

Thanksgiving

This is the day that we as a nation have set aside to purposefully be thankful. We remember that our situation is the result of things or a being beyond our control. Often we grumble when things don’t go our way, complaining that God could have done things better. Without fully realizing that God has a much better perspective on our situation (our story), we think that we know better then the “grown up” in the situation. After all why would Father be interested in what’s best for His children. Remember James in is letter to the church reminds us that every good and perfect gift come s down from the Father of lights.

Paul reminds us that we are to give thanks for everything. Not just the things we want or appreciate, but everything. A hard command until we understand that Father really has our best interest at heart. He provides only what will ultimately be in our best interest. You see it really is an issue of trust. Are we willing to trust God with our present, with our future? Or are we convinced that we know better then God what we need?

After all finite creatures are so much more knowledgeable then an infinite being. For those of us who have spent any time around small children we know that very often they think they know what is best but often don’t see the bigger picture. They know that their ball has rolled out into the street and they are singly focused on getting the ball. But adults often see a bigger picture. They see the car driving down the street and a child not aware of the danger. When the adult stops the child from running into the street the child is upset that they didn’t get their way not appreciating the larger situation.

Like the small child we also complain when we don’t get what we want, when we don’t get our way. We never realize that we have often been saved a world of hurt, even if we are inconvenienced, suffer setbacks or occasionally endure minor hurts.

So today, let’s give thanks for everything that we have and are going through.

Counting it all joy!

Pastor Val

The Prize of Peace

This past week there has been a lot of talk about peace and prizes for peace. It got me wondering about peace and the chances we have for real peace.

Is it possible for there to be peace in this age? How about the age to come? What will it look like and who will bring us true and lasting peace?

For those of us who are Christ followers we know that true and final peace will not come during this age. (See 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3) As the age comes to a close we know that there will be more and more war and strife. Peace will not be found. (Matthew 24:6).

Jesus himself taught that peace making is a blessed occupation. (Matthew 5:9) But notice that he said peace makers not those who give peace away in a Chamberlin-like fashion. Peace at any cost is no peace at all. There are times when peace making requires non-peaceful methods.

And what about peace? What is peace? Too often we equate peace with the absence of open conflict. But in the Hebrew God calls peace shalom. Shalom is so much more then the absence of conflict. It is the creation of a Kingdom where God reign and rule comes to affect every portion of our life and being. Jesus came to offer a Kingdom of Shalom. But we wanted a peace that was ruled by force. There will come a time when Jesus will rule by force but now He offers us His shalom. Shalom is used as a greeting and a farewell (a wish for God’s blessing to be upon the other person), it is used to express our wish that His will, including His shalom is done here on earth as it is in heaven.

His peace should permeate the lives of all citizens of the God’s Kingdom. Our duty as citizens and representatives of His Kingdom is to seek to further His shalom both in our lives and in the world around us. While it is true that full peace will never be accomplished until after this age when the” age to come” comes, we are still commanded during the time of “now and not yet” to practice His peace to all that we meet.

It is always interesting to watch non-followers of Christ try to create something and long for something that is impossible to attain without the most necessary ingredient – the Prince of Shalom – Jesus Christ our Prince of Peace

Peace to you

Pastor Val

You're Fired!

Recently I responded to a note posted on one of the ministry bulletin boards that I subscribe to. The situation that I addressed was the potential illegal termination of a staff member at a church. Below is my response. I thought it might be of value to those of you who follow my blog.

I, too have had a couple of "bad" experiences in my 25 plus years in the ministry. The majority of my time in ministry I've been in either the second or perhaps the second to last chair on staff. I feel compelled to address a couple of concerns that have been raised here. There have been times when I felt I got a raw deal, too. But in every situation God was in control. He didn't go out for a cup of coffee only to come back and wring his hands saying "What have they done now?" Father is in and has always been in control!

We are called to be servant-leaders, as such shouldn't we expect to be treated as servants?

Yes churches have by-laws and there are laws in our country that are designed to protect us, but is that what we are supposed to do?? Rely on laws or rely on God?

Remember Joseph? If anyone had a raw deal it was him. From favored son to slavery, to jail, to "second chair" in Egypt. yet in Genesis 50: 20 Joseph says that what men did for evil God ultimately used for not only the good of Joseph, but also his family and entire nations.

Corinthians 61-8 also is pretty specific about not taking a brother (and I believe that could be expanded to include an entire church) to court. I would recommend that in church by-laws, constitutions, etc. add a clause to go to binding arbitration with respected Christians leaders either in your denomination or in your local community.

James 1:2-4 also tells us that the situation we go through (called trials in the Bible) are designed to mature us. Do you and I enjoy these times? No! But in James 1:12, James indicates that we are to stay under the problem. Pray for grace to endure the situation and persevere. Why, God wants us to Grow Up!

I haven't always appreciated what God has allowed me to go through but Father was trying to to conform me to the image of Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 also tells us that the situation that we go through are designed to prepare us for our next ministry. perhaps my worst situation in the ministry prepared me for some of my deepest ministry. I hated what I went through and wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, but now I wouldn't trade my tribulation for anything because it deepened my relationship with my God and it has given me a deeper ability to minister to others who have been through similar situations.

My belief is that this is true in this situation.

Praying for all of us in the midst of our "situations"

Pastor Val

The Shack

I love to read!

I have a wide and varied interest in many different genres and themes that I enjoy. From mysteries, to SciFi, to adventure, to espionage, to drama I like lots and lots of different types of books. I even have read and enjoyed the occasional gothic novel – usually because my wife tells me how good a particular story was. I also enjoy reading books on leadership, business and of course theology!

In general I don’t care for Christian authors of novels. I’ve tried to read a number of different authors form this unique group of genres and most often I find the writing pedantic, cumbersome and boring. I have grown up being disappointed in novels that are published by Christian publishers due to their lack of skills and often simplistic plot lines.

All of that being said occasionally I am surprised by some novelist like Frank Peretti from a number of years ago. I was fascinated by the way he was able to weave so much theology into his writing and the how even the smallest reference to angelic being was deeply explored in his series on angelic world and how it intersected our understanding of reality. His plots were suspenseful and exciting and theologically he held my interest and admiration on tackling difficult issues and showing us that there are more dimensions then the three or four that we are used to relating to.

Yes, I know that many of us enjoyed the Left Behind series. I too enjoyed the books and was amazed at how the authors were able to weave a pretrib, premil understanding into their books and many of them were good reads. Toward the end, in my opinion, they suffered from writer’s fatigue and I from readers fatigue in their almost Christian SciFi series of eschatology (end times).

Until this past week I wondered when I find another Christian author who would write a novel that would again challenge or at least embrace my understanding of God and the theology of His plan to redeem the world and usher in the Kingdom of Now and Not Yet!

I finished a novel that was written a couple of years ago and became a New York Times best seller. I can’t tell form the face page how many printings this book has done through or whether or not it was originally available in hardback.

What I can tell you is that I had a hard time putting the book down. Perhaps I’m getting more emotional in my advanced age or perhaps God is making me more tender-hearted but there were times that I wept and times when I soared when reading this book.

Oh you want to know the name of the book?

The Shack by Wm Paul Young

Yes it is a novel and as such there will be certain latitudes that the author will take that some will not agree with, but the broad brush of this novel addresses many of the issues that the World is asking and that we as Christ followers are hard pressed to adequately answer.

Questions like:
Why is there evil in the world?
Is God a wrathful God and Jesus a loving God?
What is the nature of the Godhead – i.e. the Trinity?
What is forgiveness and who is it for?
What does God demand of His followers?

These and many more questions are addressed in this novel by Paul Young.

I have to admit that I am still processing this read through my theological knowledge of God, salvation, forgiveness and living in community with fellow believers and more importantly with God.

I can tell you that much of this writing I resonate with and my soul explodes in praise to my creator as I hear and read the issues he tackles. I can only wish that I had had the ability to articulate as well as the author does his understanding of Who God is and What He wants from each of us.

A brief synopsis of the story is that a man, Mack, who has suffered a life battering experience of the abduction and death of a young daughter, is invited ostensibly by God to meet with Him at the place where Mack’s daughter died. Not knowing what or who he will find at this back-woods shed that has been the sight of the greatest tragedies of Mack’s life, he goes that spends a weekend.

While there in an almost Dickens-like tale Mack encounters a number of personalities during his time at the shack. At the end of the weekend Mack’s life is changed.

If you are questioning God or have ever wondered who God is this book will challenge many of your preconceived notations and ideas about God and whether or not He truly is a loving God.

I hope you will read the book and join me in a discussion!

Serving a loving God and Father

Pastor Val

Let The Party Begin!

God is throwing a party by invitation only. I can’t speak for you but I can speak for myself. I want to be invited! Psalm 15 is a list of the qualities that God is looking for in the people He plans to invite.

I think I come out OK on most of the qualifications but one was really tripping me up, the idea of not taking up a reproach against another. Usually this verse (Ps 15:3) is translated that you will do no harm against another. But there is another just as valid way of interpreting this verse. We are not to shoulder the wrongs done to a friend of ours either. You see they have cause for action but we don’t and when they are given redress or cancel the debts for the wrongs done to them we can still be royally angry and there is nothing we can do about it but let it go. The wrong was not done against neither are we owed an apology for what our friend suffered.

“So how does that apply?” you might ask.

Have you ever had people who are no longer a part of your life because they disappointed you or failed to live up to a Biblical principle? I recently was thinking about a person who at one time was a friend of mine and who miserably failed to do the right thing, the honorable thing the Biblical thing for a mutual friend of ours.

It has been years since the incident happened. And I had kinda let the friendship drop because when push came to shove my friend chose the safe way and not the right way. He ran away from the issue instead of meeting it head on. I have always felt bad about the outcome. Our mutual friend was hurt and a leader in authority continued to sexually assault women for years because witnesses valued their jobs over the truth. Sometimes it easier to turn your head and pretend it never happened then to stand for truth, justice and the Biblical way.

So what made me re-approach my friend from years ago? A couple of things: One, I needed to forgive him for being weak. After all I haven’t always been as strong as I should have (Something about casting the first stone or something like that). And two, Psalm 15 tells us that we are not to take up an offense for another. (Yes, Gertrude, the Hebrew can be read that way. The ancient rabbis encouraged us to look at each Biblical concept taught in Scripture as a multifaceted jewel with many different connection points.) So, for me to continue to carry a grudge, for a wrong not done to me but to my friend, has no Biblical basis.

Someone who wants to be invited into God’s house we must be willing to live up to the expectations laid down in Psalm 15. That’s how you and I get invited to God’s party.

So let the party begin!

Pastor Val