What is Truth

In our world today there is lots of confusion on what is true.  Pilate asked Jesus "What is Truth?"  Now unfortunately Pilate did not wait for Jesus to answer that question.  Not sure of his motivation in asking the question but being the person Pilate was he would have been quite prideful because he most likely thought he already knew the truth.  Jesus said in John 14:6 "I am the truth...."  That is a dogmatic statement which could be considered a bit arrogant but Jesus is the Son of God, author of life and Lord of all that does exist.  First, lets discuss just for a moment that if there is truth then there must be a statement by which one can judge whether something is true or not true, accurate or inaccurate.  Much of our world believes in relative truth which basically means truth is what you believe it to be.  If that is the case then why accuse anyone of lying?  If there is no standard then how does not study history or science or any field in education.  In a few words this discussion will not settle much but if there is anything called truth then there is a standard by which to judge that truth.  That standard begins with God who set the universe into existence and set all the laws of nature.  I realize that is a faith statement but if Jesus is the truth then that statement is true.  Second, in order to truly know the truth I must seek for the truth wherever I may find the truth.  For the Christian that study begins with the Bible but it does not exclude all forms of study.  This also means if I am going to believe what is true I must be willing to change what I once believed to be true but with new information I now realize it was not true.  Romans 12:2 "do not be conformed to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will."  Unfortunately many people are not willing to let go of what they once thought because it means they were wrong but the only way to know the truth is to change and think more like God.  May we all grow in the grace and knowledge of God.

God's ways are fair

The prophet Ezekiel was prophesying during the time of exile.  In Ezekiel 18:25 "Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.'  Hear, O house of Israel: Is my way unjust?  Is it not your ways that are unjust?"  This statement could be repeated today.  Understanding the way of the Lord is essential if we are going to have the right perspective on life, all the issues of life.  God is often misquoted, misunderstood and under estimated in His dealings with us.  The reasons for this are many but I will share with you my top three.  First, the knowledge of God that a person has is almost all from a secondary source.  Whenever we do not have firsthand knowledge of something in life our perception of that thing is almost always distorted in one way or another.  The more we know God firsthand the more we are going to understand His dealings with us.  Second, many people have formulated their opinion of God based upon what others have said or upon observation of the culture of today.  Man makes laws and then they try to enforce them so things will go well.  God's ways have been eternally designed so as to up a society where all things would be just and fair.  Unfortunately when sin entered the world man started to do their own thing rather then following the directives of our Creator.  Third, there are some who think God is just like them.  When this happens their conclusions of how God would do things is much more man based rather then biblically based.
In saying all that the message of Ezekiel here is the truth is the problem is never on God's side but it is always on our side.  Just because we do not understand God and His ways does not mean they are not trustworthy.  His character is the foundation for all His ways.  The children of Israel did not understand God and His ways and we will not completely understand Him as well but that does not mean we should not try to know God and His way.  The more we pursue to know the more we will realize that God's way is just and fair.  May God touch our minds and hearts that we will trust Him more and more.

To Know God

The apostle Paul is a great example for us, especially for us who consider ourselves as mature disciples of Jesus.  The following thoughts clearly apply to all Christians but today I want to challenge believers in Jesus who have walked the Christian life many years.  Just a bit of context of the apostle Paul when He wrote the letter of Philippians: first, he was advanced in years.  Meaning the apostle Paul had already completed all his missionary journeys, he know his time on earth was drawing to a close.  Second, he was in prison at the time he wrote this epistle.  The conditions of his life clearly were hard, uncomfortable and on the surface little hope the future would get any better.  Philippians 3:10 "I want to know Him and the power of His resurrection".  The first lesson from Paul's life is the truth that there ought to be no age limit on one's desire to know God and His ways.  I pray often that God would increase my hunger and thirst for God.  Paul wanted to know God on an intimate basis where he not only felt the power of God but walked in the power of God.  Second lesson, Philippians 3:12 "Not that I have already obtained all this or have already been made perfect."  Paul was humble and aware that he had not yet arrived in knowing God fully.  Now the apostle Paul was very intelligent who had wrote many epistle by this time realized that with God he had much more to learn about God and His ways.  The moment we think we have arrive in our walk with God is the moment of one of our biggest hindrances which is self deception and pride.  Third lesson, Philippians 3:13 "I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me."  This involves a passion that is willing to do what it takes to know God more and more.  Paul used the energy that he had to know God more and more.  Fourth lesson, Philippians 3:14 "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead."  Paul was not resting upon past accomplishments and achievements but he realized that if wanted to know God more in the future that He had to work for it, plan for it and strive for it.   Often times the modern church is satisfied with a little bit of God but what we need is a lot of God and not man's effort and abilities.  God is not hiding but we must also press on to know Him in ways that we will be able to help others to know Him as well.  It is hard to introduce someone to others when you do not know that person at all.  The more we know and understand God the more equipped we will be to introduce God to others who do not know Him.

The Truth of the Bible

I grew up being taught that the Bible was the Word of God.   That the Bible contain truthful stories of how God interacted with people.  That the Bible taught that Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on the cross for my sins and rose from the grave to live forevermore.  I still believe all these things and as I have studied the Bible for over 40 years now I have come to know the Bible is inspired by God, truthful in an historical sense, relevant in today's culture and God's Word is still faithful and very encouraging as I put it into practice.  As I thought about this morning I begin to wonder why so many people who grew up in a similar manner that I was now abandon the truth of God's Word for a man's idea.  It is as if somehow the older one gets that they get smarter and God gets dumber.  The Bible affirms that God is all powerful, all knowing, all present, faithful, all loving, all just in any and all decisions He has made, has all wisdom and understanding.  The older I get I realize just how much more I need to learn verses what I may have already learned.  God also has answers to any and all questions of life.  Whenever His way is tried fully it always works.  My point here is simple; judging things by the Word of God (Bible) will help us to live a life pleasing to God but if we judge the Bible by the things we perceive happening in life now we can easily come to conclusions that will foster confusion, chaos and disorder.  As I have always believed I continue to hold to this truth that the Bible is our all sufficient guide for faith and practice.

Losting sight of the Mission of the Church

The first thing that I want to say is that there are lots of great and healthy churches.  The next thing I want to say is that many Christians today are losing sight of the biblical mission of the church.  I have been the ministry over 3 decades and have seen many shifts of methodology, programs, strategies and emphasis on doctrine and leadership.  Some of these have made a significant positive impact upon the church and some of them have brought about more confusion and chaos then the promise of growth.  Briefly I am going to share some present trends that I feel can hinder if not done in the appropriate manner.  First, the emphasis on the church being in the community.  You might say is that not what we are to be doing?  Yes but the how that is being done by many people and churches are making this their priority one of their ministry.  Community service projects are a great idea to get people involved and active so they are living out their faith and making a positive foot print in their community.  This can only happen when the church's mission to love God which by the way is the most important commandment in the Bible and the call to make disciples which is the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20.  I have witnessed some churches and people weaken their mission of loving God and making disciples for their emphasis of helping the poor or cleaning up trash.  Let me remind you that I think helping the poor and doing service project have their place but not at the expense of the highest priority of loving God and making disciples.  Second one and last is the emphasis on the pragmatic approach to growing a church.  In saying that I firmly believe that unless the doing the right things we make it much harder to build His church.  The concern that I have is the emphasis on programs and methodologies rather then on the promises of Jesus who promised to build His church and on the tangible presence of God.  I have come to the conclusion that you can build a gathering of people without God and call it a church but you cannot build His church without doing it His way with His presence.  This ought never to be an either or proposition but if we develop our strategy before we pray and then ask God to bless it that begs the question are we asking God to bless a man's program?  As stated by Henry Blackaby, God blesses what He is doing but does not have to bless what we are doing.  The key is to seek God in what He wants us to be doing and build His kingdom by His power and presence.  Any time we lose sight of the mission (the highest priority) of the church we will likely begin to lose His hand of blessing upon the church.  May God help us to love Him with singleness of heart and mind and be devoted to making disciples.

Pentecost

The celebration of Easter is the biggest day of the year for the Christian church world.  We celebrate the truth that Jesus not only died for our sins but rose from the grave to give life to all who believe.  Shortly after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, He appear to the apostle and many other disciples to show them He was truly alive and to give them some final instructions.  One of the final instructions was for them to wait in Jerusalem for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit so they would have power to do all that He was calling them to do.  Acts one describes this importance in verse 8 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."  Right after this Jesus ascended into heaven where is now sitting at the right hand of the Father.  This is a picture of power and authority.  The disciples were encouraged by an angel that Jesus would return in the same manner that He left.  For about 10 days the disciples were gathering in a large upper room praying and waiting for the promise that John the Baptist prophesied about and that Jesus promised to give once He ascended into heaven.  On the feast of First Fruits, Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon all the disciples in the upper room which was about 120.  The significant thing about this event or any genuine encounter with God is they were praying and expecting God to do what He said He would do.  They did not try to come up with anything on their own they just waited for God to send the Holy Spirit.  After the apostle Peter preached a message clarifying what had happened he gave this powerful statement that applies for us today, Acts 2:39 "The promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far off - for all whom the Lord our God will call."  The promise of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is for everyone who calls on Jesus Christ as their Savior.  If you have not received this promise I encourage you to do what the early disciples did which was simply praying and waiting for God to do what He promised to do so we would live with the power of God upon our lives in order to do all that Jesus wants us to do.  Much more could be said and I will be doing that on Sunday May 7 at Bethel A/G in Burton MI.  I need a fresh encounter with God how about you.

The art of having a good pace

When one talks about have a good pace they are usually thinking about running.  You may not be a runner like I am but the key to running a good race is all about two things.  First, you need to do the proper training in order to properly run the race that you entered.  Second, you need to find a pace that fits you not other people.  What is true in running is also true in our spiritual journey with Christ.  There are two verses that come to mind as I talk about this topic.  Hebrews 12:1 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."  II Timothy 4:7-8 "I have fought the food fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day -and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing."  The Christian life has been liken to a marathon race and not a 100 yard dash.  The two things that I talked about in running a good race apply to our Christian walk.  First, we need to do the proper training so we be rewarded at the end of our time on earth by Jesus.  On every half marathon and my one marathon the first thing I wanted to see is the person holding the medal to give to everyone who finished the race.  My time was secondary because I was not competing with other people but against myself.  Now in order to do that I did a lot of training.  The training for a Christian involves many things.  One, spending daily time with Jesus in reading His Word and prayer.  Two, serving Jesus and His church with the talents that God entrusted to my care.  Three, being a faithful servant in how I used my time, talents and resources that was useful for building others up.  Fourth, being a worshiper of God in spirit and in truth.  Fifth, loving God and loving people from the heart.  In fact this last one could be the first one but I put it here as a reminder that I must do the first four in the light of loving God and loving people.  Second, as in running a race I needed to find my pace so in the Christian life I need to find my pace in running my journey with Jesus to heaven.  This involves understanding my gifts and talents which will help me to focus on what I am good at which will help maximize the best use of my time.  This involves understanding your personality which will help you to know how to best interact with other people.  I need to focus on the will of God and not on what others may want me to do.  Saying yes to just about everything is not likely a good thing but saying no to just about everything is clearly not a good thing.  Ask God for wisdom and guidance to help you to find the pace that God wants you on in this race of life is essential.   May God strengthen you as you run the race of faith and may we be like the apostle Paul who fought a good fight and finished the race.