Celebration Houston

Displaced Passion

2009-04-23T14:20:00.000-07:00

We have been deluged with details and pictures of the president's recent travels. Within the first 100 days of his presidency, he has been highlighted more than any other before him. Time magazine has him on the cover again, his 13th time within a year. Some of his actions have been rather controversial, to say the least. What I am amazed at is how these actions are interpreted by different people. The same pictures and details, but 180 degrees difference in how individuals see them. For example, a handshake with Dictator Hugo Chavez is seen as an attempt to win an enemy over by some and a capitulation of US moral and political leadership by others. Certain interrogation techniques are seen by some to be overt torture and others as ridiculous soft threats that are laughable. So who is right? The immediate response would be, "I am!" As you think through this, let me suggest to you that it depends on the values and beliefs of the person thinking about it. What is truth to you and to me will determine how we think about our president's actions...and for that matter how we think about everything else. If our truth system is wrong, we may be in a place where our understandings, feelings, and our passions can be terribly wrong as well.

I found the apostle Paul to be a person of passion. He lived out his beliefs without hesitation, no matter what they cost him. However, when we were first introduced to him, he was passionately wrong, very wrong. He believed without hesitation that Christians were bad people, ruining his community and his way of life. They were to be stopped and even exterminated if necessary. Then he had an experience that changed the deepest value system within him. He met Jesus. Everything in his life turned upside down. All that he thought was truth became lies, and all that he thought were lies became truth. What a stunning event that must have been for this man of passion. Can you imagine coming to a place where you realize everything about your life is wrong, choices you have made were bad, and your very value system is trash? A lot of people would not be able to handle that. But Paul did something that was awesome. He humbled himself before the living Lord, discarded the lies in his life, embraced all that was truth, and plunged himself into this new life with even more passion. He writes in Philippians 3:14, "I press on..." Once he realized what truth was, he placed his passion on it and pursued it to the end.

God has been working with me in this area. I’m learning that as long as I come before him and lay my values at his feet, he clearly speaks to me. It's a daily process. I want to make sure I’m not passionately doing and being something that's wrong or worse...a waste of time.

Does God Really Care?

2009-04-12T02:57:00.000-07:00

Psalm 14: 1 says, ‘The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."’ We are told that there are increasing numbers of atheists in America, estimated at 15% with young people (ages 18-25) above 20%. Still, in the Western world Americans rank amongst the highest in believing in a Supreme God. In France, only 27% are inclined in that direction. I wholeheartedly agreed with this biblical description of anyone who can claim intelligence but would declare the absence of a God. The universe is too obvious and life is too full of evidence to the contrary. The sun shouts it every morning and the stars declare it at night. A walk in the park on a spring day reveals it through the majestic oak trees and the beautiful floral coverings of the wildflowers. Seeing a newborn inspires this thought and watching a funeral procession confirms it. There is a God who is supreme and mighty out there. To doubt that would be indeed a foolish thing.

For me, this has never been even a thought. There has never been a moment in my life when I ever entertained the non-existence of God. Long before I became a Christian, I knew there was a God. At the age of 13 I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Later I studied at a Bible College majoring in religion. There I immersed myself into every concept of God possible for a young mind. After that, I went to Seminary. God was for me an intellectual reality. Then for the next 29 years, I was a pastor who taught about God to many, and with a passion. The existence of God is more real to me than my own. I pitied the atheists for their foolishness and I hurt even for those who struggled with their doubts about God’s existence. In my paradigm for life, the absence of God is impossible. I have never and can never struggle with this issue. However…yes, here is what I am really writing about; I have struggled greatly with whether this Supreme God of the universe really “cares.”

I remember writing a paper for my philosophy class concerning this topic, “If there is a God and he is all powerful and all loving, why then is there pain and suffering?” My paper was filled with all kinds of arguments I had learned from so many books and I received an ‘A’ for the effort, but there was no real answer. After my seminary training Barb and I went into the ministry by faith, trusting in God for our lives and our work. Young and full of faith, we threw ourselves into the ministry of church planting with abandon, caring little for resources or security. After almost 3 decades of serving the Lord, we saw a lot of pain and sufferings that happened to very good people as well as those that weren’t so good. Recently we experienced some ourselves. Psalm 73 was an inspiration for me whenever these things would be terribly difficult. I would “jump” into the arms of my supreme God and believe he was in control. However, a thought planted by the enemy was sown into my heart. It was this; there is a supreme God who created everything. He exists, but does he really care about you? If he did, would he allow this or that to happen? Where is his protection? Where is his rescue? Where is his justice? I would fight it from my thoughts. I would refuse it near my heart. I would quote scriptures again and again to fend it off. But in the depths of my heart it lingered. And sometimes in the quietness of my sleep it lunges at my soul.

I want to declare this to you, I believe my God cares more than we could ever imagine. I will tell you why, not from my intellectual studies or from my decades of ministries. God has been answering my prayers in this need for a while and he has brought much healing to me. Just yesterday he again reaffirmed his love for me with a wonderful illustration. It was my son Ryan’s birthday. We had already sent the card and gifts to him earlier, but I wanted to call him and wish him happy birthday and to let him know I love him. After the call, the Lord asked me a very clear question. “What won’t you do for him?” I answered immediately, “nothing.” Then another answer came from my heart, “If I had to go to hell for either of my sons, I would.” Then the Lord said to me, “I love you more, and I did.” I thanked him and praised him for not only his power and might, but his love and care for me. If you are reading this, I know you are no fool as described by David in Psalm 14, but you may need to believe again that God loves you so much…enough to die for you. On this Easter weekend, go back to him and embrace him again. His arms are wide open.

The Sleep of Death

2009-04-09T16:39:00.000-07:00

The “Sleep of Death”

A strange phrase used by the Hindu gurus during the 60’s in describing the Western seekers who came to India in search of true meaning. Some of those included the famous Beatles musical group. It essentially referred to a scientific and materialistic western pattern where humanity merely existed without really living. They were really just in an empirical trance without knowing it. Of course the answers given by the religion of Hinduism and its followers may have produced very attractive “New Age” concepts, but never showed a way out of that sleep.

To describe the masses as walking in the “sleep of death” may be too drastic. Nevertheless, the often dreaded 8-12 hour work days coupled with very few meaningful and exciting moments can describe little more. The excitement in the eyes of little children awakening to a new day has slowly been replaced by the strain and stress of living as we grow in age. We are told that 25% of adults by the age of 21 are considered clinically depressed. And they have only just begun. It is as if some opium like power grips us little by little until all that is left are our abilities to produce what society needs in order to exist. If that is indeed what happens, then the phrase “sleep of death” may not be too drastic.

God created you and me for much more than this. We are the crowning jewels of his awesome creations. The sun that gives light, the mountains that tower above, and the flowers that grace the landscape are nothing compared to man, the creator’s own image. So there must be more, so much more than the mundane life so common on earth. But where can we find it, how can we grasp it, and who will show it to us? Surely, this is not common amongst human kind. A long time ago I met a man who saw some immigrant children with no real direction or future, and he believed that they can be worth something. He believed this because he discovered it himself when he met Jesus. So Pastor Lee left his safe home in Pennsylvania and came into the inner city of New York. There he shared and showed how great life can be in Jesus, so much more than the daily mundane grind of making a living. He found me and led me to Jesus. Since then, the sleep of death was never a part of my life. Through the joys and pains of living, I always knew life was much more, and I always wanted much more. And yes, I always found the "much more” in Jesus. That was almost 40 years ago. Thank you Jesus for a great life, and thank you Pastor Lee for showing that to me.

Where are you today? Are you a bit sleepy? Do you want to get out of the “sleep of death” where life is mundane and meaningless? It's useless to go to a guru in India, Jesus is right here waiting for you to embrace him. Maybe you have never done that before, you can right now. Ask him to come into your life and become your Lord and Savior. “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelations 3:20) Or perhaps you have already done that, but you have drifted back to sleep. It’s not too late, wake up and get out of that dreaded slumber. Ask Jesus to take you back to the exciting and fulfilling life he has in mind for you. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) Start it right now, this moment. Don’t waste another second in this sleep of death. You will not regret it.

The Disappearance of Hope

2009-04-01T17:22:00.000-07:00

I have gone through a few rough moments in my lifetime. I remember the cold war era where we had to practice nuclear bomb drills in school. I waited on lines for gas during the oil embargo. I watched nightly and heard the numbers of soldiers who died in Vietnam that day. And yes, I saw the towers burn and fall on 9-11. They were hard times and people were afraid. However, I can’t remember a time like the last few months where people have not only been afraid, but have also been demoralized about the future. It appears that hope is being drained out of people, here in America and even more around the world. A story was told during the Vietnam War about a new American POW who was brought into the prison camp. He was promised by the Vietnamese captors that if he followed all their instructions and was obedient, he would be released soon. Day after day he did everything he was told, sometimes even irritating other American POW’s. Believing that the promise was true, he was willing to go beyond what he otherwise might have done. The days turned into weeks, and then into months. He finally realized that he was promised a lie. He stopped doing things, even when threatened and beaten. Soon he wouldn’t eat, and finally they found him just in a fetal position on the floor of his cell. All hope was drained out of him.

There are few commodities more valuable than hope. A man may possess the world, but if he lacks hope, he has nothing. The economic situation of recent months have taken a toll far worse than the loss of jobs or homes, it has taken hope away from people. To read and hear what people are writing and saying all around the globe just breaks my heart. 25% of people in the USA are not able to sleep because of concerns over the economy. Riots are breaking out on the streets of major cities as hopelessness spreads. People are jumping off bridges, running into oncoming trains, and taking sleeping pills to put out the pains. It is so painful to be without hope. You see, too many have placed their hope for happiness, for fulfillment, and for the future on the things of this world. Now, they have been taken away or being threatened so. What if things don’t change? What if things get much worse? Is there anything or anyone that can help us? Where are we to turn for hope?

For over 2,000 years, there’s really only one direction and one person to turn to, his name is Jesus. You put him first and hand over all your cares, and you can easily sleep at night. I Timothy 6:17 says, "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." The Lord will bring that elusive hope right back to your life. You say, “That’s just too simple and way too religious. That just won’t do me any good.” I want to tell you without hesitation and with every fiber of my being, Jesus is the answer for you. He promised it in his Word and he will fulfill it. He will do more than mend your financial needs, he will mend the deepest needs of your life, needs that money can’t solve and homes can’t protect. You see, he is the only source of hope that will not disappoint. He is the hope for your finances, your relationships, your marriage, your fulfillment, and your eternity. If you are going through a tough time and may be one of those losing hope fast, let me point you to the source of solid hope that cannot ever be lost. Let me point you to Jesus, the Son of God who loves you and has a great future all planned for you. Ask him to be your Lord and Savior and then let him show you what hope really is.

Measuring the value

2009-03-25T15:47:00.000-07:00

How do we measure value? All over the news these past few weeks is a company named American International Group, or better known as AIG. All kinds of scandalous information plastered the papers all around the world concerning the affairs of AIG. Just “Google” the three letters and you will have hundreds of results. On December 1, 2000, this company was valued at close to $300 billion with each share costing $103.75. On March 9 of this year, a share was valued at 33 cents. I am not an economist nor a finance person so I have no clue how these values are derived. Suffice to say that this once valuable company is worth very little now to anyone.

A few days ago, I was parking my car in downtown Houston. As I backed up while trying to parallel park, I saw in my rear view mirror a young man jumping past me. I slammed on the brakes hard and avoided him. As he walked past our windows, I waved to apologize, but he quickly lifted up his arms and said, “Don’t worry, I am not worth much anyways.” He then went on, approached a number of parked vehicles, obviously looking for some handouts. What he said stung me hard. To hear a man state that he believed he was worthless was a shock for me. What kind of life must he have lived and experienced? I can imagine the things he had heard about himself, the abuses he had taken, and the conclusions he accepted about his value. It was obvious society has determined his value, and that was zero…and he believed it. He could not have been much past his 20’s, and already hope had been eliminated for him. We went looking for him, driving around the block trying to find him. We wanted to tell him that Jesus loves him, values him, and has something wonderful in mind for him. I took out some money to give him and to let him know some people do care, even if we are only strangers to him. But try as we might, we lost him into the night. I don’t know who this young man was or what happened in his life. I don’t even know his name. But I know he is worth something. He has value because my Jesus loves him, even if the whole world thinks otherwise. This young man, begging on the streets of Houston is far more valuable than AIG, even on December 1, 2000…because Jesus died on the cross for him. I pray he hears this from someone soon.

I hope you know how valuable you are to the Lord of the universe. It is not what you can do or have done in your life. It is not what you think the world thinks of you. It is not what you possess. It is simply because God created you, formed you, and loves you. John 3: 16 says, “For God so loved the world…” You can make that personal, “For God so loved me…” You are of great value. Go to the Lord and ask him to show you this eternal truth, and then thank him.

2009-01-26T09:09:00.000-08:00

Six hundred fifty-eight people made a choice in 2007 to strap on a vest loaded with dynamite, then walked into a building, or into a market, or into the middle of a crowd somewhere, and detonated themselves into oblivion. Since 1983, thousands of such persons managed to kill themselves and more than 21,000 others along with injuring over 50,000. Almost all of these suicide bombers are believers of Islam. Say what you will about them, one thing we can be sure of, they are very serious about their beliefs.

Throughout the last 2,000 years, another religion possessed such serious people. The Christian faith has its own countless names of followers who have given their lives for their beliefs as well. They didn't do so by killing others in the process, but they died nevertheless because of their refusal to compromise their faith in Jesus Christ. They were beheaded, burned at the stake, mauled by lions, hung, quartered, shot, starved, and tortured. They continue to suffer such fate even today. We are told that there is an average of 171,000 Christians martyred for their faith each year. For these folks, we can again be sure about one thing, they are very serious about their beliefs.

In the last 30 years of American experience, there has been little growth in the numbers of believers in our nation. Even in the midst of a huge emphasis on church growth from all the experts, seminaries, and denominations, many have seen a decline in interest in the Christian faith. Seventy-five percent of the American population still describes themselves as Christian. However, only 15 million are considered evangelical Christians. In fact, since 1990, the percentage of adult Americans considered evangelicals has fallen from 15% to less than 7%. Why the phenomenal drop in interest from the American population concerning Christianity? Is it because another religion has become so much more powerful? Is it because of a phenomenal change in our society caused by some sociological crisis? Why don't people believe in the Gospel? John Stott, British pastor and theologian writes, "I am ...convinced that one of the major reasons why people reject the gospel in the west today is not because they perceive it to be false but because they perceive it to be trivial." The Christian community in America has made the Christian faith trivial. Something to add into your life, but certainly not "life and death" in its importance. We have been creating a lollipop faith without seriousness. Week after week we play church, and the unbelieving world sees and observes and decides not to have anything to do with us. Our faith is not worth considering. Can we blame them? When is the last time we Christians have made a monumental choice that cost us so much for our faith? No doubt there have been some, but they are the exceptions. Until that changes, it is highly unlikely that our nation will care to listen to the message of hope and love.

We do not have to have our sons and daughters strap on dynamite-laden vests to prove we are serious about our faith. However, we need to be so completely sold out to the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we are willing to change our habits, rethink our choices, alter our lifestyles, give up our occupations, move our residences, and yes... give up our lives, in order to "...live a life worthy of the calling you have received." (Ephesians 4:1) When that happens, the world will take us seriously, believe in our message, and be transformed by the love of Christ.