God's Marketing Campaign

"God also testified to (the Good News) by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will" (Heb. 2:4).

For a few years, I worked part-time for a small advertising company while I continued to pastor my church in Walnut, CA. I learned how to place advertising in newspapers, magazines and other publications. But I also placed billboards, radio spots and even television ads. At one point, I wrote a paper for our clients on beginning to use the internet to place ads on their sites and on other search engines. We began to develop online components to just about every ad campaign. This area has continued to grow significantly in recent years.

Did you know that God has a marketing strategy for the Gospel? It is described in the text quoted above from Hebrews. God advertised the incredibly Good News about Jesus through "signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit." And I think His strategy has been phenomenally successful. The 500 or so people who would have called themselves disciples when Jesus ascended into heaven has become 2.5 billion (out of about 7.5 billion total world population) in 2020.

Instead of internet ads, TV commercials, radio spots or newspaper ads, God has used incredibly powerful tools that are all empowered by the Holy Spirit:

•  Signs: which are supernatural interventions of God that point to the reality of His presence.

•  Wonders: which is another way of looking at miracles from the human perspective. That is, when God intervenes and His presence is made known, it causes the sense of "wonder or awe" in the observer. You could say that the miracle has a stunning effect and creates an "Aha!" moment in the recipient.

•  Miracles: is just a way of saying that God's intervention breaks our understanding of how nature is supposed to act. Wayne Gruden says, "A miracle is a less common kind of God's activity in which he arouses people's awe and wonder and bears witness to himself" (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, ch. 52). 

•  Gifts of the Holy Spirit: from our perspective, the nine "manifestation gifts" of the Spirit mentioned in 1 Cor. 12:7-11. The unique thing about these charismata is that they are purely works done through the believer by the Holy Spirit, not by human cleverness or skill.

This last Sunday, I was standing in the back of the sanctuary as Pastor Alan was leading us into a time of ministry. I felt God speaking to me about a woman who was with two others, here for the first time. I went over to them and asked if I could pray for the middle women because I had a word for her. I can't describe it here because it is too close to the event. Suffice it to say that it was specific enough that she began to cry and her two friends were agreeing to the accuracy of what God had given me. What they didn't know is that, because I'm a chicken sometimes, I was holding another more specific part of my word to her. 

After the Service was over, they came to talk to me and I gave the rest of my Word of Knowledge. One of the women exclaimed, "How did you know that?!" I told her it was not me, it was God. He wanted her to know that He not only saw what she was dealing with, but that He cared and that, indeed, He loved her.

You see, God used the revelation gift as a way making His presence real. This got her attention like no billboard could. The Gospel got through.

In 1 Cor. 14, Paul says, "If an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he/she will be convinced by all that he/she is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his/her heart will be laid bare. So he/she will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, 'God is really among you!'" (1 Cor. 14:24-25).

The Church has largely lost it's zeal to see the Holy Spirit move. Instead, we have sought out the "experts" to tell us how to market our church, how to grow through advertising or better "outreach" campaigns. What would happen if we got back to the basics of letting the Holy Spirit distribute His gifts according to His will? What would happen if we started to risk moving out in faith and letting His presence be known through us? What would happen if He took over our marketing campaign through signs, wonders, miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit?

Transcendence and Immanence

 “For this is what the high and exalted One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite’” (Isa. 57:15)

 

In his commentary on Isaiah, John W. Oswalt says of this verse that “it is one of the finest one-sentence summations of biblical theology in the Bible” (NICOT: The Book of Isaiah: 40-66, Oswalt, p. 487). Just what is it about this verse that goes to the heart of what the Bible is about?

 

There are two terms that must be held together in tension whenever we try to understand God and His relationship to His creation: Transcendence and Immanence.

 

Transcendence is “the attribute of God that refers to being wholly and distinctly separate from creation…that God is ‘above’ the world and comes to creation from ‘beyond’ (Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms, Grenz, Guretzki & Fee-Nordling, p. 115).

 

Certainly, the first half of our verse describes a God who stands above all of His creation. He “lives forever,” that is, He is the “I AM” who is always there. Another way of putting it is that, whereas creation has a beginning and may have an end, God has no beginning or end. By definition, He is the only uncreated thing. I like to say that He is the only One for whom “existence” is an essential attribute. Therefore, he stands wholly above and beyond everything else that exists.

 

Immanence is the idea that God is close to and intimately involved in His creation. (Imminencemeans that His return is about to happen-temporally; whereas Immanencemeans His Presence is “at hand”—spatially.) Unlike the God of Deism, who started the creation ball rolling and has left it to run out on its own, the biblical God is always actively at hand. This must also be distinguished from Pantheism which says that God is part of creation, like the soul is to the human body. Or even Panentheism which says that God is different but present in creation to such an extent that he powerlessly waits to see what will happen.

 

Once again, our verse ends with the idea that God is present and concerned for those who are humble, contrite, lowly, perhaps even crushed and discouraged. God’s heart is moved with compassion for the plight of his creatures who have forsaken Him. He draws close to those who are weak.

 

And that is the God who is revealed to us in the person of Jesus Christ. As it says so well in Philippians 2:  

6 [Christ Jesus}, who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 

7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! 

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 

11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 

And we can add the words of the writer of Hebrews in chapter 4:

14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 

 

We worship the Almighty God, who has come to us in our weakness to redeem us in the person of Jesus Christ so that we can ascend with Him to live in His eternal Kingdom. What a wonderful God we serve!

Jesus Is the Head of the Church

 

I just heard someone present statistics, mainly from Barna Research Group, about the steep decline in church membership over the last 20 years. It was a bit depressing. 

In many ways, the last year of lockdowns has merely served to expose the flimsy foundations upon which the Western church has tried to build in the last 20 years.

 

At the end of Jesus’ greatest message, The Sermon on the Mount, He says this:

 “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 

The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 

But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 

The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash” (Matt. 7:24-27).

 

My thesis here is that the Western church has been too dependent on human cleverness and worldly techniques but has not been radically dependent on Jesus. We want to grow big churches, but we are not vitally dependent on Jesus, as Head of the Church. We have been building on sand instead of on the Rock Himself.

 

For church leaders, what has occupied the greatest amount of energy and attention for the last 20 or more years? What have we spent the most financial resources on? What are the biggest conferences we have attended?

 

The Church Growth Movement. The Seeker Movement. Church Marketing techniques. Church Systems. Etc.

 

Let me just interject that my criticism is as much pointed at myself as anyone else. I have spent hours listening to the “experts” tell me how they did it and how I can also be successful.

 

As leaders, how do we measure success? Numbers. Always numbers. Attendance, budgets, building sizes, membership.

 

When I was on staff of the Vineyard Anaheim, now more than 20 years ago, we held conferences that attracted thousands. Why? Our numbers said to other churches, “Come learn how to build better numbers in your church.” As other churches grew big, they offered conferences that attracted people who were looking to grow their numbers. Willow Creek, Saddleback, etc. 

 

Don’t get me wrong, I highly admire Bill Hybels and Rick Warren. I remember weeping as I listened to Bill Hybels talk about his heart for the lost. It was obvious that his church grew because of the move of God through him. If you heard Rick Warren’s story, you would realize that the Spirit of God moved creatively through him. They were men on fire for God.

 

But other leaders gathered to study their techniques so that they could be “successful” and thus gain the same notoriety and build a similar empire. But these leaders seldom developed the same heart for the lost or the same total dependence on God’s Spirit.

 

In Ephesians 4:11-16, we are told that the Equipping ministries of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher are meant to equip the rest of the church to do the work of the ministry. This is at the center of God’s plan to grow the church.

 

But the key is that Jesus is the Head of the church, from whom the whole body is knit together and built up. The pastor/teacher is NOT the head of the church. He/she is a servant whose job is to equip everyone else. The apostle is NOT the head of the church. The prophet is NOT the head of the church. The evangelist is NOT the head of the church. They are all servants who should be submitted to the one head, Jesus Christ.

 

JESUS IS THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH!

 

The problem is stated well in verse 14:

“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming” (Eph. 4:14).

 

The church has been tossed about on turbulent waters and wind gusts of teaching. Clever and cunning. Even deceitful. These teachings promise to give us what we want: success as measured by numbers.

 

But the numbers tell us something else: the church is shrinking, not growing.

 

So what is the biblical alternative?

“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ” (Eph. 4:15).

 

For many years, John Wimber, the founder of the Vineyard, presented a conference entitled, “Signs and Wonders, and Church Growth” at venues around the world. At one point in the conference he would deliver a keynote address entitled, “What the Holy Spirit is Saying to the Church Today.” And his point is as relevant today as it was then, “I want my church back.”

 

Jesus is supposed to be the Head of the Church. But we leaders have tended to think that we know how to run the church better than Him. If we learn anything from the last 20 years, it is that we have been doing a poor job and it’s time for us to hand the steering wheel back to Him. Jesus is the Head of the Church, and He wants His Church back.

Living Sent

 This past week, I was able to preach at our online and live weekend services centered on the command of Jesus in Matthew 28: 18-20, "The Great Commission." I focused on the command to "Go" and the implications of that in the current climate of Covid Lockdowns. Rather than write a long blog, I am embedding the Facebook link. You can skip to minute 10 to begin the worship part of the service. You can skip to minute 33 to begin the message. I hope you both enjoy and are challenged by the message.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=721584698458933

Blessings,

Mark

Trudging the Road of Happy Destiny

In the Big Book of Alcoholic's Anonymous, it says "we shall be with you in the Spirit as you trudge the road of happy destiny."

This phrase has always struck me as entirely insightful and profound. The fellowship of encouragement and support that is the 12-Step community joins with the individual addict on a journey towards a happy and blessed future free from the addictive lifestyle. And what is the nature of that journey? It is described as a "trudge."

Websters says that "to trudge" is "to walk or march steadily and usually laboriously." And "a trudge" is "a long tiring walk."

Of course Bill Wilson, the founder of AA, was a Christian who was influenced by the Oxford Group in formulating the 12-steps. The first three steps are the essential ingredients of conversion. First we have to admit we are sinful. Second, we have to admit that God exists. And third, we must surrender our lives to Him.

But the remaining nine steps are more about the continuing process that we must pursue in order to obtain and maintain freedom from sin and to walk in a deep and life-changing commitment to God. Conversion is the easy part. The difficult part is the "trudge," the long tiring walk that is our daily life.

Of course, this is true of the Christian life in general. Turning over our lives to God so that we are now "born again" is the easy part. But walking out our faith through the painful trials of daily life is the hard part.

Jesus says that those who would follow Him must "pick up their cross daily and follow him." Put another way, we must look at the example of Jesus' trudge and imitate Him.

Jesus laid aside the "self-directed life" and took up the "God-directed life" when he picked up the old rugged cross. True discipleship means picking up the symbolic cross given to us and following His example of obedient submission to the Father. He trudged the entire Via Dolorosa to Calvary. And even beyond Calvary. You could say, to hell and back again. A trudge that brought him to the place of Happy Destiny at the right hand of God.

As the writer of Hebrews says: "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart" (Heb. 12: 2-3).

Is life hard? Don't lose heart. Join with us in the Spirit as we all trudge the road of happy destiny together.

Good and Evil

 

"Woe unto those who call evil good and good evil,

who put darkness for light and light for darkness,

who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter" (Isa. 5:20).

When I was 18 years old in 1973, I got hired for a non-speaking part on a TV Show called, The Streets of San Francisco. You see, I was intent on becoming an actor, so I studied at the American Conservatory Theater's Summer Training Program. At the end of my time, I got an agent in San Francisco and she got me this part.

I only tell you this story, because I met an African American kid with whom I shared the scene. We were talking about the main actors on the series, Karl Malden and Michael Douglas. He said to me about Michael Douglas, "He's bad!" 

I thought this was rather rude. I said back to him, "I actually think he's pretty good."

The kid said back to me, "That's what I mean. 'He's bad' means 'He's good.'"

This was the first time I had heard this rhetorical phenomenon; using "bad" to mean "good." In fact, later I would hear someone say something was "fat" to mean something was good. Or another one, saying something was "dope" to mean it was good. Or even, "That's sick," to mean that it's good.

There is a trend in our culture to call good evil and evil good. And I don't think it's just a random rhetorical phenomenon. There is an underlying spiritual dynamic that feeds it. 

The crumbling of our moral foundations as a society has been following age-old patterns. 

Gangsta Rap has led the trend in making lawlessness "cool." Your street creds are often based on how many swear words you can amass in your lyrics and how many lawless acts you can glorify. 

I recently had someone get married in Las Vegas and they were shocked at the state of "undress" of the women wherever they went. Female pop singers have led the way in becoming more and more risqué. As a result, girls think they must emulate this kind of seductive, lascivious fashion. 

When I grew up, I joined the Boy Scouts. This is the Boy Scout Oath:

"On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight." 

And the Scout Law:

"A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent."

Do you react to these Scout slogans with something like, "Wow. That's really corny?" Or square or old fashioned or out-dated? Or do you think, like me, "What a sad state of affairs that we should think that this is no longer admirable?"

Unfortunately, Scouting has come under attack from people in the culture who want to cancel anyone or any institution that does not agree with their agenda. Scouts did not support the entire LGBTQ agenda, therefore they must be destroyed. Beyond that is the underlying spiritual agenda to undermine the desire for "goodness" in our culture.

The Old Testament tells us that one of the trees in the garden was "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." The Hebrew word for good is "tov" and the word for evil is "ra'". Mankind's disobedience lay in the fact that they ate from the forbidden fruit of this tree. Tov represents the goodness that mankind would experience by obedience to His command not to eat the fruit. In fact, not to eat the fruit would have been an expression of trust in God because mankind would be demonstrating that God's word was good for them. The keeping of that command meant keeping goodness in its place.

But the eating of the fruit also meant demonstrating distrust in God, and therefore experiencing the fall, and thus the brokenness apart from God. Ra' is the state of walking in separation from God and experiencing the full implications of disobedience and thus, evil.

We have an enemy who is intent on deceiving and undermining God's moral authority. Jesus tells us, "When [the devil] lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44b). In Revelation 20, we are told that Satan will be loosed at the end to go into the world to deceive.

It is time for the Church to rise up to speak the truth to a culture that has been flipped upside down. Goodness is our highest moral goal. Evil is to be resisted and utterly rejected. Search your own heart. Ask yourself, "Have I embraced a culture that calls evil good and good evil? What must I do to embrace God's greatest good for my life? How can I become a force for God's good agenda in this world?"

It is time for the Church to repent and to turn entirely back to God. He is Goodness incarnate. We are His children, embracing what is Good and utterly rejecting what is Evil.

A Whole Lot of Shaking Going On

In the book of Hebrews, the writer quotes from Haggai 2:6 to issue one of the many warnings in the book. "At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, 'Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens'" (Heb. 12:26).

The writer is comparing two mountain experiences. The first is the giving of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai in the wilderness, the act of which created Israel, the people of God. The second is the consummation of God's new redemptive order through Jesus, and the mountain is Zion.

The first mountain experience was terrifying to the Israelites. Fire, darkness, gloom and storm--and an earthquake. It was the formation of a new people who needed to respect the holiness of God and to learn to respect the Law. 

But the writer says that Haggai prophesied a time when not only would the earth shake, but the heavens as well. The formation of the new people of God is also a dreadful experience for those who want to approach God and His exalted presence. "For our 'God is a consuming fire'" (Heb. 12:29 quoting Deut. 4:24).

Why all this shaking? The writer says that it is for "the removing of what can be shaken--that is created things--so that what cannot be shaken may remain" (Heb. 12:27).

I believe God spoke this word to me recently about the state of the church. The closing of businesses to slow the spread of the coronavirus has resulted in a shaking of all the churches that I know. Online meetings and live-streaming services are not the same thing as gathering together. After all, the Greek word ekklesia means "those who are called out into the public square to assemble together." The children of Israel in the Old Testament are called the church, called out of Egypt to assemble before God.

The Church is being shaken by God right now. Both because of the pandemic and because of the civil unrest over perceived systemic racism and leftist/anarchist activities. God's purpose for shaking us must be seen in light of this passage. He is removing the things that are impermanent and not desirable so that the permanent and desirable things can remain.

Threshing is the process of beating the heads of wheat to separate the grain from the chaff. Then, on a windy day, the whole thing is tossed repeatedly in the air so that the chaff is blown away but the actual grains of wheat remain. 

As John the Baptist says about the soon-coming Messiah: "His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire" (Matt. 3:12).

And in John 15, we hear a similar metaphor. The Father is the vinedresser who prunes the branches that are not producing fruit in order to increase the harvest. 

I believe that the Church needs to wake up to God's judgment and submit to His correction through our obedience to Him. No longer will it be good enough to go to good meetings and act like going to church is the same thing as being the Church.

In the 80's, we were all wondering whether there were any Christians left in China. The Cultural Revolution of the 60's destroyed the existing churches and the church hierarchy. Yet, the first smuggled films showed us a vital and growing underground church, alive with the Gospel. The same thing is currently happening in Iran where, if reports are true, under intense persecution, the Church is growing more rapidly than anywhere else in the world.

I don't know about you, but I want to be with the desirable things that remain after the shaking is done. How about you?

Are Christians Promised Protection from Plagues?

As we contemplate the current societal anxiety over the possibility of declaring the COVID-19 (Corona virus) a pandemic, it behooves Christians to take a step back and remember who our God is. 

One of the most beloved of the Psalms is 91: 

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 

I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust’” (Ps. 91:1-2).

These opening two verses use four names for God: Elyon(Most High), Shaddai(Almighty), Yahweh(I Am—the personal/covenant name of God), and Elohim(God). This sets the tone for the rest of the Psalm. The one Almighty God and Creator of the Universe is ultimately our safe refuge whenever we are threatened in any way.

It reminds us of other wisdom passages. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart…” (Pr. 3:5-6). “Do not fret…Trust in the LORD…Delight in the LORD…” (read all of Psalm 37). “The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD; he is their stronghold in time of trouble” (Psalm 37:39). And of course, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Ps. 23:4).

The Psalmist in 91 asserts that, if we place our trust in God and take up shelter in His protective presence, then we will only observe God’s judgment as it falls on the world around us. But we will know peace.

But this begs a big question, “What about Christians who suffer during times of distress? Is God showing favorites? Do we charge people with not having enough faith if they get sick? With not trusting God good enough? What if they die? Where is God when we suffer?”

I love the testimony of the “three Hebrew children” as my Sunday school teachers used to call them. Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego—if you ever have boy triplets, consider these names, huh?—were about to be thrown into the fiery furnace by Nebuchadnezzar for not worshiping his image. This is what they said, “’If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up’” (Dan. 3:17-18).

God is like a protective parent who is reliably there for us when we call to Him, even when we have an “owie.” Since we live in a fallen world, we might be affected by what is going on around us, but He is always there to carry us through the storm. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” (Rom. 8:35). “ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38-39).

Even death will not ever, in any way, separate us from God’s love.

Very much like Romans, Psalm 91 ends with God speaking a series of direct affirmations to anyone who places their trust in Him. “’Because he loves me,’ says the LORD, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation’” (Ps. 91:14-16).

Place your trust in Jesus, let go of anxiety, and experience the shalomof God.

Experiencing Joy Now and Forever

“Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

Worship the LORD with gladness;

Come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the LORD is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his;

We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving

And his courts with praise;

Give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;

His faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100)

Psalm 100 is perhaps one of the greatest hymns of thanksgiving and joy in the Bible.

The Psalm contains seven verbs in the imperative. That is, they are commands from God:

Shout (for joy),

Worship or serve (the LORD),

Come (before him),

Know (that the LORD is God),

Enter (his gates),

Give thanks (to him),

Praise (his name).

All people are created to worship and serve the God who created us.

St. Augustine said in Confessions,“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

But do we have to wait until we pass away from this life to enter into that place of rest? 

The answer is "No." By living a life of devotion, we can experience, not only rest, but joy here in this life. We can learn to “Shout for joy to the LORD” now in this life. We can “Worship the LORD with gladness today.” We can “come before him with joyful songs” at any time.

A life of worship is a life that demonstrates the truth that “It is he who made us and not we ourselves.”

You see, that is the definition of God. He is the One who is the Creator, the One who is worthy to be placed first in my life. When we get that right, then we come into alignment with all that He intended when He created us. “He’s God and I’m not. And that’s a really, really good thing.”

But another aspect of God revealed in this Psalm is that He is the Great Shepherd of the sheep. We are the flock of God, tenderly watched over and protected by Him. “We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.”

The picture of God as Shepherd changes our conception of Him from just a great, all-powerful and impersonal force--to a tender, loving and relational Person.

This is the God that we are called to know and, entering into that relationship, we are called to experience real joy.

And this is why, at the end of our life, we can be assured that our heavenly Father will be there at the gates of heaven to usher us into His loving presence. “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise.”

Finally, the Psalm ends with the punchline. You see, God is good.

As it says in the other very famous Psalm 23, which talks about God as our shepherd, “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

He is God and I’m not, and that’s really really good.

He is the loving Shepherd who will take care of me here and will lead me into eternity.

He is really, really good, the loving and faithful one who can be trusted with my life.

What about you? Have you placed your trust in God? Turn to Him in faith and place your life in His hands today. I guarantee that He will bring you joy that can be experienced both now and into eternity.

“For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;

His faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Jesus and Hanukkah

Did you know that Jesus celebrated Hanukkah?

"Then came the Festival of Dedication (Hanukkah) at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon's Colonnade" (John 10:22-23).

Hanukkah wasn't one of the festivals required for observant Jews to travel to Jerusalem. In fact, many Jewish families would observe this festival in their homes: a sign of the shift from Temple-centered to synagogue-centered Jewish religion.

Hanukkah is not mentioned in the Torah because it arose out of an event that occurred in 165 B.C. The story is told of the great military leader, Judas Maccabaeus, in 1 & 2 Maccabees, of the recapture and cleansing of the Temple after it had been profaned by Antiochus Epiphanes. He had sacrificed a pig to Zeus on the altar and placed pagan statues in the Temple.

The great Jewish historian, Josephus, tells of the institution of the Festival of Dedication in Antiquities 12.316-25: "And from that time to the present we observe this festival which we call the festival of Lights, giving this name to it, I think, from the fact that the right to worship appeared to us at a time when we hardly dared hope for it." During the time of Jesus, the reality of God's great deliverance from pagan oppression and the reclaiming of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem would engender intense thankfulness.

So, there are two names for this festival: Dedication and Lights. I believe we Christians can benefit from understanding these aspects of Hanukkah.

Christians can not only celebrate the recapture, cleansing and rededication of the physical Temple in Jerusalem, but in many ways God would have us think about the way that "temple" is used symbolically for the Christian.

The Church is likened to a temple: "Don't you know that you yourselves (plural) are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst? " (1 Cor. 3:16). Should we think about the things that we have allowed to become idols in our midst, clear them away, and rededicate our churches to following and serving Him?

We are also each individually a temple. God wants us to be cleansed of sin and wholly dedicated to Him.

But why is Hanukkah also the "Festival of Lights?" With the Dedication of the Temple, the Jews decided to celebrate a delayed Sukkoth (Feast of Booths) which lasts eight days. A later Talmudic tradition says that a miracle occurred at this celebration where a one-day supply of oil for the Temple light lasted for the eight days of the Feast. Whatever actually occurred, the menorah, a stand of eight candles with a ninth center candle to light the others, has become one of the national symbols of the state of Israel. Each night of Hanukkah, another candle is lit until, on the last night, all eight candles are blazing.

For the Christian, Jesus, the Light of the World, has penetrated the darkness and brought God's salvation into the world in the form of the infant born in a stable in Bethlehem. "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12).

"In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:4-5).

The Manifest Presence of God

"Then Moses said to [Yahweh], 'If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?'" (Ex. 33:15-16).

One of the important aspects that distinguishes the People of God from all other peoples on the face of the earth is that we experience "The Manifest Presence of God."

It is true that the Bible teaches that God is omnipresent, that is that He is everywhere at all times. It is impossible to go anywhere that God is not also there. "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, 'Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,' even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you (Ps. 139:7-12).

Yet, there are numerous times throughout scripture where God's Presence becomes tangibly real and localized to His people. He led His people through the wilderness as a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. He met with Moses at the tent of meeting. He filled the newly dedicated Tabernacle in the wilderness and the newly dedicated Temple in Jerusalem. And in the New Testament, he came like a mighty rushing wind in the upper room and filled His people on the day of Pentecost.

This is what Jewish scholars have called the "Shekinah" glory of God. And what John Wimber used to call the "Numinous" of God.

I am a sucker for video's of returning military people surprising their family when they return home. I sob like a baby. But in today's connected world, I know that military families are in constant contact through email, Skype and even texting. It is not like the families are not communicating regularly. But there is something about the reunion of family members that brings an emotional bond that is impossible without their physical presence.

The Manifest Presence of God is the only thing that distinguishes His people, the church, from all other peoples and groups. What makes the church any different than the Rotary Club or the Elks. We are all associations that gather to benefit society and do benevolent works. But the Church is different because of the Presence of God.

Having grown up in a liberal mainline denomination, I can say that, without the Presence of God, we can go through the motions of church liturgy--sing the songs, tithe, eat donuts and drink coffee, perform baptisms and take communion--but without the Presence of God, it is empty religion.

God promised Abraham that He would bless him and through him He would bless all nations. Walter Kaiser, Jr., in his book, Toward an Old Testament Theology, says that the blessing is in three parts and is stated in part or in whole throughout the Bible. "I will walk among you, and I will be your God, and you will be my people" (Lev. 26:12). You see the blessing of Abraham is the promise of God's eternal Presence.

And what happens at the end of the Bible, when God wraps up all of redemptive history? "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Look! God's dwelling place is now among people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God'" (Rev. 21:3).

I think it is time for the church stop settling for religious activity and instead pursue the Presence of God. Let's call out to Him, "Don't send us from here if Your Presence does not go with us! What else will distinguish us from all the other societies and social groups on the face of the earth unless Your Manifest Presence comes with
us?" Amen.

Doin' the Stuff

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says" (Jas. 1:22).

I believe the North American Evangelical church has been afflicted with a particular malaise. We seem to be obsessed with knowing the Word, but deficient in doing it. 

One of the most common questions I hear from people new to a church is "Do you have a Bible Study I can join?"

Don't get me wrong. I believe in learning more and more about the Bible. It is our only infallible guide for faith and practice. It is the authority upon which the church must build. Neither tradition, nor church hierarchy nor charismatic leadership can substitute for the Word of God. I personally have a regular reading and study routine and I participate in Bible Studies. When I preach, I try to expound God's Word so that people can grasp it and conform their lives to it.

However, with that said, I recall a story of John Wimber's (founder of the Vineyard Movement). When he started attending church, he asked one of the elders, "Where do we go to do the stuff?"

"What stuff?"

"You know, the stuff in the Bible. Healing the sick, raising the dead, preaching the Gospel to the poor."

"Oh, we don't actually do that stuff. We study about it, we hear sermons about it, but we don't actually do it."

"You mean I gave up drugs for this?" (Of course this was said tongue-in-cheek.)

This led to one of John Wimber's most famous pithy Wimberisms, "Doin' the stuff." That is, God wants us to actually go out, just like Jesus and His disciples did, and demonstrate the presence of the Kingdom of God by doing the same stuff that they did.

Are you satisfied with a Christian life that merely listens to the Word but does not actually do it? I must admit that this has been a constant struggle for me. It takes a major effort for me to take what I have received within the safe confines of the church and go into the streets where I might encounter resistance, rejection and failure. But when I do, God meets me there, and I think He is smiling.

It would be nice to hear someone at church ask, "Where do we go to do the stuff?" And it would be even better for us to be able to answer, "Come with me."

Jesus Goes Viral

"Jesus went throughout Galilee teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him" (Matthew 4:23-25).

One of the phenomena of modern social networking is called "going viral," that is, when some kind of online post, video or photo becomes re-posted so quickly that it obtains the holy grail of social networking: a million-plus views. However, it does not seem to matter whether something that goes viral is positive or negative. The goal seems simply to gain the most notoriety, no matter what the issue. Whether it is a recipe using Oreo cookies, a funny cat video, or an ad campaign to rename IHOP to IHOB--you have succeeded if people begin to share your post around the globe.

In Jesus' time, technology had not advanced very far in the area of communications. Word of mouth and the occasional public announcement were the way that news could travel throughout the Roman world. However, in Matthews Gospel, he tells us about the excitement that stirred throughout Palestine, from Syria, Galilee and the Decapolis in the North; all the way to Jerusalem, Judea and even Trans-Jordan in the South. News about Jesus spread quickly. In other words, Jesus went viral.

What made people get so excited about Jesus? What was it that they wanted to share with everyone around them? The answer is: His healing ministry.

Matthew tells us that Jesus was involved in doing three things: teaching, preaching and healing. But if Jesus had only done the first two things, teaching and preaching, and not the third thing, healing, it is very unlikely that news about Him would have spread so fast. Why do I say that? Because in verse 24, it does not tell us that "the curious, the theology students, and the intellectuals" were flocking to hear Jesus. Instead it says that "the people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed..."

In general, people do not flock to great teaching and preaching, they are drawn to great power. And they are drawn, not because they are merely curious, but because they are needy. People who are hurting and have the opportunity to receive a powerful touch from God are usually the ones who will push through barriers and difficulties to get it. Remember the shame and cultural obstacles that the woman with the issue of blood needed to overcome to simply touch the hem of Jesus garment? And what was in her mind? "She said to herself, 'If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed'" (Matt. 9:21).

Even a casual reading of the Gospels reveals that Jesus did not just speak the message of the kingdom of God, but He demonstrated the reality of the presence of the kingdom as well. When the kingdom of God comes, it comes with power.

What happened when people began to bring their sick relatives and friends to see Jesus? "...and he healed them" (Matt. 4:24b).

Even Paul confirms that: "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power" (1 Cor. 2:4-5). And the writer of Hebrews tells us: "This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will" (Heb. 2:3-4).

So why does the church seem to settle for great teaching and preaching, but forget about power ministry? Because they can control the first two. Because they can learn to do the first two using human wisdom and clever marketing techniques. But power ministry is totally dependent on God. If God does not show up, we can feel pretty foolish. So we cling to what we know we can do and avoid what is out of our ability to control.

And yet, God's way of "going viral" is not through "wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power." That is how God penetrates to human hearts and brings conviction. That is how Jesus went from being an obscure Galilean carpenter to the greatest figure in human history with over 2.2 billion followers.

So, are you willing to believe in the power of God? Are you willing to look foolish in the eyes of the wise of this world in order to allow God's power to be manifest? This is God's divine marketing campaign and He has never revoked it. As John Wimber, the founder of the Vineyard, used to say: "I'm a fool for Christ: who's fool are you?"

My Testimony

I am currently helping our church (Vineyard Community Church Pomona/Claremont) to start a new Celebrate Recovery program. We have been meeting as a group of leaders for several months and had a "soft launch" in June. Our "hard launch" is scheduled for 2 weeks from today. I am very excited to see the depth of commitment to recovery in our leaders and to hear the significant transformation in so many lives. Tonight I will get to share my own testimony. So, I thought I would write it out briefly here.

For many years, I viewed my childhood through rose-colored glasses. That is, until I took a class called "Personal Growth" at the Anaheim Vineyard in about 1986. It was taught by then-intern John Mumford. (John now heads the International Consortium of Vineyard Churches).

John encouraged us to think about our relationships with authority figures. It was then I realized that I really didn't have relationships with anyone in authority. I went through University avoiding meeting professors. I would have the impulse to just go up and meet them after a lecture. But as a line of students formed,  I would have an internal script play that sounded something like this: "He's too busy for me. I don't really have anything important to say. Maybe next week."

Julianne and I would also visit churches and, after the sermon, I wanted to meet the pastor, but then I would have the same script play inside of me: "He's too busy for me. I don't really have anything important to talk about." It never occurred to me that they would want to actually just meet me--little old me.

I realized that my relationship with my own father had affected how I related to authority figures. And this even spilled over into my relationship with God. He felt distant and not really that interested in my day-to-day life. My prayer life was affected.

My dad had not gotten what he needed when he was little. You see, my grandfather had died when my father was only 4 1/2 years old. So, he felt rather distant from everything "family" compared to my mother's side. So, my own father did not really have the tools to initiate relationship with me, or to tell me he loved me, or to include me in fatherly things around the house, like working on the car. And being a kid, I didn't conclude that my father had "stuff" to work on. Instead, I concluded that there must be something wrong with me. I was not worthy of dad's time and attention.

That is a basic "shame" message. And I learned it very well.

So, I compensated for that core shame by becoming an achiever. I got good grades. I became president of clubs at school. I starred in theater productions and loved the attention and the applause. I felt good for about 5 minutes after the applause died down. Then I started to wonder if I was really good, after all.

And I found out that when I was feeling sad or anxious or bad about myself, I could use sweets to comfort myself. And they were very effective for a short period of time. And they had the unintended effect of packing on weight. I have lost thousands of pounds in my life on diets (the same pounds again and again).

Then, in 1989, as I was helping Julianne teach a group that became "Christian Adults in Recovery" (CAIR), I realized that I had all of the traits of codependency. And I realized that I needed to spend time recovering from what I now call "subtle neglect." It seems that it is much easier to realize we are broken when we can point to overt abuse in our childhood. But it is much harder to realize the painful and damaging affects of neglect.

Pain results from getting what we didn't need--or from not getting what we did need. And I experienced much more of the latter.

So, my recovery has been focused much more on getting in touch with the pain of neglect and the dysfunctional ways that I compensated for that pain. For me, it has been overeating and codependency, or what I call "approval addiction."

And when I became a pastor, my "stuff" seemed to become amplified as I began to be the recipient of other peoples' authority-figure expectations. My need for recovery became even more acute as I entered the ministry. And I knew that I had to face my issues so that I did not end up working out my stuff on the very people who were coming to me as a pastor. I have not done that perfectly and I have probably hurt people (for that I apologize).

And for all of this, God has provided the body of Christ for our healing. "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed" (Jas. 5:16).

Healing happens as we get together with other hurting people in safe and confidential groups and we share honestly about our past and what is really happening on the inside. The guidelines for small group sharing should be designed so that, in response, we receive unconditional love, acceptance and positive regard.

As my longtime friend, Linda Salladin, used to say: "Go where the love is; not where it should be."

Are you needing a safe place to work on your stuff? Check out a Celebrate Recovery program near you or get something going in your faith community. Or attend any one of thousands of support groups. Or do what I also did, pay for good therapy. It will all help build a life of wholeness, maturity and wisdom. And then begin to give it away to others who are hurting. You won't regret it.

Slow to Anger

We recently got a new German Shepherd puppy named Zena. She is as cute as a button, but a bundle of energy. She's teething, so she is constantly nipping at things around her, including my hand. Despite a pile of chew-toys to chews from (yuck, yuck), she keeps latching on with her mouth to everything else in her sphere of influence, including the edges of furniture, area rugs and my shoes.

I just spent 7 months sleeping downstairs on the sofa, attending to our last dog, Kyra, who was getting so arthritic that I needed to be her nurse-maid through the night. We had to make the decision a couple months ago to "put her to sleep." I have to admit that I was not really ready to raise a puppy again (this will be our 5th German Shepherd). But here we are doing it one more time.

Why do I bring this up? Because I have been experiencing some moments of intense anger. You see, puppies need a lot of correction. They don't understand what it is you are telling them to do. Remember what the Peanuts cartoon characters heard when adults talked to them? The sound of a muted trumpet, "Whah, whah, whah..."

So when I want some "me" time and Zena wants to pee on the rug, or chew on my pant leg, or do any number of puppyish things, I find myself more than annoyed. My anger is palpable. And the anger in my correcting "Off!" or "No!" is a little more intense than might be normal. And I yank her leash a little harder than is necessary.

Where does all that anger come from? She is just a puppy being a puppy. She doesn't deserve to be yelled at. She doesn't deserve such a strong yank on her leash.

As James says, "My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires" (Jas. 1:19-20).

Anger is perhaps one of the most commonly felt emotions. Yet, we are often not equipped to deal with it. James is not saying, "Don't be angry." That would be impossible. He is saying that we are called to be like God Himself, who is often described throughout the Old Testament as "slow to anger" as when He revealed Himself to Moses, "and he passed in front of him proclaiming, 'Yahweh, Yahweh, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness'" (Ex. 34:6).

Anger is what I call a "secondary" emotion. That is, it is usually masking an underlying vulnerable emotion. For instance, when the puppy ignores me and does her thing, I feel powerless and weak. Anger then jumps up to give me the power, through the release of adrenaline in my body, to act. It is called the "fight or flight mechanism." I like to add the word, "freeze." Adrenaline gives me the power to fight the thing that is making me feel weak, to run away, or I may actually freeze in place.

So, since I can't run away, I feel the "fight" mechanism get released. As a result, I raise my voice or yank on the leash.

Jesus felt angry too. You see, even though He is fully divine, He is also fully human. But Jesus did not hurt others when He felt angry. For instance, when the Pharisees showed the hardness of their hearts in the synagogue, "[Jesus] looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored" (Mark 3:5). Jesus' anger resulted in healing the man with the withered hand.

The goal of Christian transformation is to become more and more like Jesus, the Son of God. He is "slow to anger." That is, His anger does not lash out capriciously to hurt others. God's anger burns against the sin of mankind, which is really a rejection of His love and grace. Yet, mankind is not destroyed. God is slow to express that anger. Instead, He reserved it for the day that Jesus was nailed to the cross. Then the righteous wrath of God was poured out on Him.

God is right now offering forgiveness for sin because Jesus took the wrath upon Himself on the cross. Our part is to respond by placing our faith, our trust, in Him.

And when we feel angry with others in the body of Christ, Paul tells us to work as soon as possible to resolve it. Unresolved anger leaves a foothold for the enemy to sew discord in the body. "Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 'In your anger do not sin:' Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold" (Eph. 4:25-27).

Are you struggling with inappropriate bursts of anger? Or are you harboring anger against your brothers or sisters? Let Jesus into those vulnerable places in order to be healed. Receive His patience and His attribute of being slow to anger. Speak the truth to your neighbor and resolve the anger before it becomes an entry-point for the enemy into your relationships and into the church.

What Is The Fear of the Lord?

Quite a few years ago, I was leading worship every three weeks in my former church. Casey Corum of Vineyard Music had written a song about "The Fear of the Lord." The chorus was very simple, "Teach me the fear, the fear of the Lord..." 

My wife and I really liked the song and did it a couple of times at church. One week we were rehearsing the song with the band for Sunday. I sensed a less than enthusiastic response from the rest of the band when we worked on it. So I asked what they thought of the song and all of them said that they didn't like it. I was shocked. I thought it was deep, profound and the tune was good.

But the band members did not like the idea of singing about the "fear" of the Lord. To them, it was too much of a bummer to think of being afraid of God.

But is that what this phrase really means?

A very common expression in the Old Testament is "The Fear of the Lord." This is especially true in the Wisdom books, especially Psalms and Proverbs.

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, 
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding" (Pro. 9:10).

One of the ways we can understand the meaning of various Hebrew words is to see how they are used in poetry. You can tell you are reading poetry because the phrases are given a separate line in most of our translations, instead of being written in prose paragraphs. For instance, all of Psalms and Proverbs are poetic. And Hebrew poetry is constructed around the concept of "parallelism." That is, two lines are conveying parallel thoughts and often the words and phrases in the first line are mirrored in the second line.

The two lines can be either restating the same idea or contrasting that idea with an opposite. And sometimes the parallelism becomes more subtle and sophisticated. The purpose of this blog is not to give an exhaustive teaching on Hebrew poetry, but to show the meaning of "The Fear of the Lord."

For instance, in Proverbs 9:10 quoted above, the first line is parallel in meaning to the second line. "wisdom" and "understanding" are both in the same position and therefore are referring to the same concept. "The fear of the Lord" is in the same position as "knowledge of the Holy One." To know God is to understand that He is awesome in power and to be treated with respect. 

In other places, fear of the Lord is in parallel to the ideas of "honor, respect, reverence." 

To enter the presence of God is to enter the presence of the Highest Power in the Universe. Someone who recognizes that will be mindful of their humble and weak state relative to God's glory. One might tremble in the presence of such power. One of the little discussed names of God is related to this concept: "The Fear of Isaac" (Gen. 31:53).

If I were invited to meet the President of the United States in the Oval Office, no matter who is currently holding that office, I would prepare myself beforehand and would be mindful of my lowly position. I would be respectful, full of honor and reverence for the office. Should we not also act that way when approaching the Creator of the Universe?

“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him" (Luke 12: 4-5). God is the only one who fills this description. Yet just a few verses later, Jesus says, "Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows" (Luke 12: 6).

So therein lies the key. If you belong to God, you do not need to be afraid. You are "accepted in the beloved" (Eph. 1:6 KJV). Yet, you should exhibit reverence, honor and respect for God because of who He is and because of who you are relative to Him. "Teach me the fear, the fear of the Lord..."