IllumiNations!

THE MAIN REASON I COULD NEVER VOTE FOR OBAMA!

Proverbs 24:11-12 - 11 Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die; save them as they stagger to their death. 12 Don't excuse yourself by saying, "Look, we didn't know."  For God understands all hearts, and he sees you.  He who guards your soul knows you knew.  He will repay all people as their actions deserve.  NLT

I'M DOING IT AGAIN!!!  I'm talking politics.  What has got in to me?  Friendly debates are igniting convictions and passions.  Watch out, it could get quite hot in the kitchen.

I admit it.  I am a "LITMUS TEST", "ONE ISSUE" voter.  I could never vote for Obama because he is not willing to use the power of the office of President to help bring an end to the American Holocaust!  Abortion is the wholesale murder of an innocent child in the most sacred and vulnerable place of the human body, THE WOMB!  No matter how we try to reinvent terminology, and make it about a "Woman's right to her own body", we cannot escape the simple, bloody, violent truth.  ABORTION IS THE SLAUGHTER OF A CHILD!  No human has the "right" to do that! 

Think about it.  No crime committed, no charges filed, no arrest made, no due process, no jury, no defense counsel.  Just execution for the crime of being inconvenient, and disruptive.  The slaughter of "innocent blood" as the Bible often describes it. 

If Barack Obama is truly a person who cares about the weak, disenfranchised, marginalized, and those unable to defend themselves, then he needs to use the power of the office of President if elected, to do whatever he can to end all forms of abortion in this country once and for all.

Yes, I care about poverty, the environment, education, health care, the role of our military in foreign policy, the war in Iraq, and all of the other issues out there.  But if our Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches will not endeavor to protect life at its weakest and most vulnerable point, then the people in power are not worthy of whatever office they hold.  This right to life is one of the fundamental rights protected within our Constitution, and is self evident to people of all times.  Without this right, all the others collapse.

Besides, as Joel Belz points out in this excellent article in World Magazine entitled "STOP APOLOGIZING", abortion does not stand alone as an issue.  Every other issue listed above is directly and indirectly linked to the abortion issue.  Poverty is a factor as to why women get abortions, a lack of good parenting and the breakdown of the family contribute much as well, but the simple truth is, people choose to kill another human being.  There is never a justification for the murder of an innocent victim.  Take a little time and read the article. 

WE WANT A TALL, GOOD LOOKING, SMOOTH TALKING KING!

1 Samuel 8:4-7 - 4  Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to him, "Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations." 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." And Samuel prayed to the LORD.  7 And the LORD said to Samuel, "Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.

1 Samuel 9:2 - And he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.

Election campaign season is now truly upon us in all of its glory, and I can hardly wait to be wowed by both of our party candidates!  Do you hear the obvious sarcasm and cynicism in my words?  I am already fed up with the last year, so I cannot even begin to imagine what's to come.

I am not impressed in the least with either John McCain, or Barack Obama.  Though many would say I would be throwing away a good vote, it is quite possible that this year I will actually vote for a third party candidate.  It would not be the first time I have done so, but I am not encouraged at all with either of these two front runners.

What has happened to the American people when as is typical, we choose to vote for and get excited about IMAGE over SUBSTANCE?  Barack Obama is exciting people with his rock-star persona, and his preacher like public rallies.  His calls for "change" have become cannon fodder for comedians, but his voting record seems to be largely overlooked by most.  He has the most LIBERAL voting record in all of the Senate, including Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton!  The "right" to kill babies in the womb, and the Nanny State are central to his political ideology.  I know that is blunt, but that is the truth.  Barack wants the government to take care of you.  In fact, he insists on it!  You need help with your life from someone other than God, and Uncle Sam/Barack is the man.

Unfortunately, the call for a king who makes us feel good about ourselves is as real today as ever.  Barack reminds me of the Biblical texts that I have quoted above.  It seems that Saul's main credentials for leadership included striking good looks and being taller than anyone else!  Sounds like the way Americans elect their public officials!  Barack even has one more electable quality that Saul lacked. He can give a good speech. 

The fact that Senator Obama is African American is getting many people excited too.  I don't care what color a man's skin is, or what brand of hyphenated American he is as long as his policies are acceptable.  My beef with Barack is just that.  His policies will hurt America and its people horribly.  Ethnicity is no reason in and of itself to elect anyone. 

At least if Barack gets elected, we can feel good about the way our President looks and carries himself.  Those who have hated the George Bush swagger, and his appalling use of the English language will finally get some relief!

John McCain seems to be a good guy with a distinguished military record, and many years of service on his side.  But John McCain is a politician through and through.  He will do and say what it takes to court the right, the left and the middle, and get elected.  Then, he will do what the heck he wants to.  He is that kind of guy.  Who does he really represent?  In a way, I think that could be a good quality, but, I find myself still trying to figure him out. 

Senator McCain is an insider if ever there was one.  Yes, at times he has been kind of a maverick, but not with policy decisions that have brought great change to the political process or government in general.  He seems pretty slippery to me.  I realize this is all pretty subjective and personal, but I base my thoughts upon policy and history, not just some feelings I have about his energy, looks, or his commitment to "change."

One last thing, while I'm at it.  I am fed up with parties, and labels as well.  I am not a right wing conservative evangelical freak.  I am not the so-called "Christian Right."  I am now an Independent who is going to work hard to vote my conscience, and not some affiliation.  I don't want the government in all my business, and I don't want a nanny state OR corporate welfare.  I think both John McCain and Barack Obama are too ingrained with the typical Republican and Democratic Party disease to do much to really help or change America.  Band Aids will no longer work.  We need major surgery!  SO HELP US GOD!!!

Anyway, there you have it.  The most political I have been in a post in a long time.  May God have mercy upon us and not give us the leaders we deserve, but the leaders we need!

ONE MORE TIME!

Well, I cannot believe I'm writing this, but here I go doing that blog thing AGAIN!  After more than 9 months of inactivity, I am risking it again.  What can I say?  Life ran me over, and other things took on greater significance than blogging.  However, because I love to write, and have been told on occasion that my musings encourage a few folks, I have taken up the power of the pen, uh, keyboard once again.

Recently, a pastor friend of mine sent me an email with what was a profound quote in the signature section of his email.  

"Vision is the spectacular that

 

causes us to carry out the mundane."

 

                                                   -Chris Widener

 

WOW!!!  That little quote spoke to me more than I can say!  This sums up my commitment to so many things in this quite "mundane" life.  Many years ago as I followed what seemed like the leading of God into my calling to pastoral ministry, I was captivated by a vision of the spectacular. 

Unfortunately, like so many other things in life, I expected all of the steps toward the spectacular vision to be spectacular, and not mundane.  Of course, the mundane is the pathway to the fulfillment of a spectacular vision.

The little so called "meaningless" things we do like paying our bills, loving our spouses, and showing kindness to a neighbor are the very things that lead to the fulfillment of a spectacular vision.  In a way, writing this blog is kind of like a spectacular vision I once had about blogging that settled into a kind of mundane day to day regimen of writing.

When the Biblical patriarch Jacob had to work for 7 years to receive Rachel as his wife, he learned to make the best of the mundane work of shepherding and managing Laban's affairs.  Yet the Scripture records in Genesis 29:20 that, "Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days for him because of the love he had for her."  Obviously that man had a spectacular vision (Rachel was a beauty - see Genesis 29:17), that he was willing to do mundane work for.  The Scripture goes on to tell us that Jacob still had to labor for 7 more years under Laban to fulfill his vow. Talk about devotion to a vision. 

May God give all of us a "spectacular vision" that will cause us to "carry out the mundane."

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Tags: VISION, BIBLE, JACOB, MUNDANE, SPECTACULAR

Starting Over Again!

Well, here we go again as I attempt to regain the heart and time to become a blogger par-excellence.  Many people have asked me to pick up this blessed habit because they seem to get something out of my musings.  So, here I go again.

So much has happened since I last posted in May.  One of my heroes in the faith, and a man I have written about before, Pastor Larry James Brice has graduated to heaven after a painful battle with colon cancer.  Larry passed quietly into the Presence of the living Light early on the morning of September 6.  His struggle and death have had a profound impact upon my life.  Larry was one of the best men I have ever known.  What made him that way was Christ within!  Larry's life was a picture of Christ being formed on the inside, and working His way to the outside for others to observe.

Larry was gentle, strong, joyful, deep, contemplative, funny, caring, skeptical, hopeful, and real!  Larry was a wonderful contradiction of humanity struggling with divinity within.  Larry could at times be negative, but he was never hopeless.  I loved spending time with him because he was willing to be honest about the difficult subjects of life in a way that was non-religious. 

Larry reminded me of men like David and the other Psalmist's who said how they really felt, and complained openly to God about it while maintaining a posture of trust and thanksgiving to God.  Larry was a pleasure to know, and I am privileged beyond words to have been able to call him my best friend! 

I now embark upon the journey of pastoring at Grace Harvest Church without Larry at my side.  I never really prepared for this contingency, but I am confident that God was not surprised, and that He has already gone before us to meet our need.  In some ways, I feel that I am not only starting over again at blogging, but that I am starting over again at pastoring.  In both areas, I am counting on the God who holds my future, and the future of His people to give fresh manna for each day and to enable me and others to travel down this path that we have never traveled before.  May God help us all.

I want to conclude by making the last sermon Larry preached at our church available through a link.  Last November, just before Thanksgiving, while I was in the Philippines on a mission trip, Larry preached a message titled, "BE THANKFUL!"  It is powerful and ironic in a God-kind of way.  I have also included an article from the Columbia Basin Herald that was carried the day after Larry's Memorial Service.

"BE THANKFUL" - SERMON BY PASTOR LARRY JAMES BRICE
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD ARTICLE

The Best of Times, and the Worst of Times

The opening line of Charles Dickens' famous novel The Tale of Two Cities uses the oft quoted line, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...", to capture a sense of the times and seasons in London and Paris during the French Revolution.  It was a time of great upheaval and violent change.  In many ways, it was similar to our own times.  In some ways and places, times have never been better, while in other ways and places, times have never been worse. 

    Personally, and in the life of our church these statements are also true.  Larry Brice, a great champion of the faith, our Associate Pastor and my best friend, is battling for his life against colon cancer.  Concurrently, our church family moves forward to build a new facility to glorify God and serve the people of the Columbia Basin.  God is blessing our lives in unprecedented ways, while we grapple with some of the greatest challenges our family and church have ever faced. 

    These times are designed by God to produce hardy saints of us all.  The truth is, our predecessors, that "great cloud of witnesses" spoken of by the writer of Hebrews, faced their own "Best and Worst of Times."  The history of the church is the redemption story of glory, power, healing, salvation, miracles, restoration AND martyrdom, suffering, loss, rejection, disappointment, and failure.  Always, the two seemingly contradictory tracks were running parallel to one another. Even the glorious book of Acts, that theme section of the Scriptures for Charismatics, reads like a roller coaster ride of paradoxes and life and death drama.

    Redemption is the story of God in the midst of sin, death, suffering, sickness etc...  Some day, everything will be swallowed up in the life, beauty, and presence of redemption Himself.  Until that great day arrives, this train must run on both tracks, and we must ride it!

Daddy's Little Girl is a Princess

I am one proud papa!  My daughter, whose name is Sarah, is truly a princess in both name and title.  The name Sarah, means "Princess", and, my daughter Sarah completed the Moses Lake Jr. Miss Program as 1st Runner up this past Saturday night with princess-like dignity and class.  As I watched her perform, and heard her answer questions before a live audience, I was struck by her poise, confidence, and the sense of security she exhibited before hundreds of watchful eyes.

As a protective father, a Christian, and a pastor of a local church, I was not about to let my daughter be a part of something that emphasized outward appearance, and sensuality!  Initially, I was a little suspicious of the Junior Miss Program, and what it might expose Sarah to. After investigating a little and praying, Peggy and I gave her the green light to participate.  The last 6 weeks have been rather stressful at times while Peggy and Sarah bought dresses, and wrangled over "girlie" type stuff.  Oh, it's good to be a man!

Saturday night was the Grand Finale, and while most of the other girls danced for the talent portion of their presentation, Sarah sang "Think of Me" from the film adaptation of "PHANTOM OF THE OPERA."  She hit a home run, er, uh, sang beautifully, and brought tears to the eyes of a number of people all over the auditorium! 

When the results were announced, another girl won as Moses Lake Junior Miss, but my eyes were only on Sarah.  Sarah never really cared whether or not she placed as part of royalty, but she did want to compete, and do her best.  Well, as she was announced as 1st runner up, I felt as if she had just won an Olympic Gold Medal, and set a new world record as well!  The attitude she exhibited after the announcement was one of humility and graciousness.  Can you tell I'm proud and partial?

The American Junior Miss Program has high ideals and encourages inner beauty and character along with service, goal setting, education, and good health.  I have included the 'Be Your Best Self' Promise that AJM contestants make when competing.  Thank you for letting me indulge in a little fatherly boasting.  Only parents will be able to understand my indulgence!

The 'Be Your Best Self' Promise

I want to help improve the world, and that begins with me.  I promise to do the following things:

• Eat the right foods
• Stay fit
• Get a good education
• Live by moral principals
• Serve my community
• Set goals
• Work to reach my goals

EASTER: The Spring Season in the Life of the Christian!

Spring, that magical time of year when bird songs return to greet us in the morning, when flowers bloom,  trees bud, and new life seems to be bursting out all around us.  Spring is that season that offers to us the hope of new life as we emerge from the general grayness and drabness of the winter months.  Spring is that time of year when our children emerge from the cave of our homes and play outside again.  When I think of spring, I remember the years when my children would venture outside to rediscover bugs, birds, and the warmth of sunshine.  The thing I most appreciate about spring is the picture it paints to us of the most important miracle in human history.  The miracle I speak of is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the premier event of all time.

    In all of our brief time on this planet, there is nothing that holds more significance to our everyday lives than the person of Jesus Christ and what He did for us mortals when He died a torturous, pain-filled death and then rose from the dead after three days in a sealed grave. The entire Christian faith, as well as any hope we have as human beings is wrapped up in these events.  If Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, then our “faith is in vain”(I Corinthians 15:17) and sin still has the power to pull us down and lead us to an eternity without God or hope.  In this one event we have the only true hope in our struggle to cheat death and milk all we can out of this life.    

    Each of us is continually faced with the very real prospect of death on a daily basis as we listen to the news, experience our own close calls and grapple with the death or dying of a loved one.  Death, as we all know is even more sure than taxes.  No matter how much we advance in medical technology, or exercise and eat right, we all know we are going to die.  In our culture, we dress up death to look a little nicer, or try to hide it by putting it in the hands of others who will soften the blow and make it more presentable.  Unfortunately, we do ourselves and others no favors when we engage in this form of denial.  Death is real, and, according to the Scriptures, it is our greatest enemy.  It is waiting for all of us and we cannot avoid it.   

    It is precisely this admission which makes the resurrection of Jesus Christ so powerful and liberating to those who have come to know and believe in Him.  When Adam sinned, death spread to all of us through his sin tainted blood. Each one of us understands sin's power, and how it affects our everyday life and entangles us in its chains.  As much as sin is a concept most of us hate to talk about anymore in this therapy minded culture, (which makes all of us a victim of our environment, upbringing or genes) none of us can deny the reality of it in our experience.  As the Scriptures teach, “ the wages of sin is death...” and all of us must receive that paycheck whether we like it or not.   

    This is where the resurrection of Jesus Christ becomes so powerful and relevant for all of us.  As the sinless Son of God and very God in human form, Jesus’ death on a Roman cross was more than just a martyrs sacrifice for a good cause.  Jesus was the only qualified God-man who could die in our place and receive our judgment in His own body. Though innocent of any wrong, though completely pure and without original sin or personal sin, Jesus was sentenced to die an unjust death as a sacrifice for us.  This death alone could satisfy the righteous requirement of God the Father for an atoning death.  Through this death, our sin was atoned for and cleansed once and for all.   

    This story is called the Gospel, which means, good news.  This story would be nothing more than a sad tragedy if it was not for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  When Jesus rose from a grave sealed by the Roman Government, He put the exclamation point on His whole mission and proved He was truly God in a human body.      

    Jesus’ resurrection sealed for us the hope of eternal life with God in a New Creation. This New Creation will be a world without sin, sickness, suffering, sorrow, war, famine, strife, pain, and most importantly, death.  The resurrection of Jesus makes it possible for those who exercise child-like trust in Christ to receive the power of The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables His followers to overcome sin, and live without the fear of death any longer.      

    Truly, the Spring of creation was and is the resurrection of Jesus Christ! The resurrection is the most wonderful and powerful event in human history! The resurrection is the reason believers consider this Holiday to be the ultimate time for reflection and celebration.

    This Spring as you emerge from your winter grave clothes to enjoy all of the new life bursting forth, imagine Jesus Christ coming out of the tomb and bringing new life to those who believe in Him.  Think of a God in heaven who loved His children so much that He had to become one of them, so that He might die and reverse the curse of sin and death. Behold the God whose love is so powerful that not even death could keep Him in the grave!  HAPPY RESURRECTION DAY!

Core Value #2 - Knowing God takes the "D" word!

"I Value seeking to know God intimately through prayer, the Scriptures, and other spiritual disciplines as a main goal of life."

Words and phrases like intimacy, knowing God, personal relationship etc... are really in vogue in a number of Christian circles these days, and I think that is a good thing.  The essence of theology after all is the study of God's Person as He has revealed Himself to us through creation, the Scriptures, personal experience, and most importantly, Jesus of Nazareth. Unfortunately, I have not met many people who truly know God very well, or take the time or energy needed to invest in that knowledge.

What theologians call the Doctrine of Revelation is based upon the idea from the Scriptures, that God must reveal Himself to be known by humanity. All of the human initiative in the world doesn't make Him any less elusive, and He will only be found by those He draws.  However, in this time of the gospel of Jesus Christ, God has demonstrated his goodwill toward us and summons us to come and believe in his Son.  We are called to seek Him while He may be found. 

I still remember when the veil was torn away in my life, and the revealed, self-existent God came crashing in on my world.  Oh, what a day and season that was and is!  I was shocked that God was truly personal and knowable.  I couldn't keep my mouth shut.  GOD WAS REAL, AND EVERYONE HAD TO KNOW!  As I soon discovered though, this knowledge of God was meant to be an ongoing process that required much seeking, knocking and asking.

This process of seeking God is often a hard and frustrating work just as my marriage relationship can be.  I know He is supposed to be the initiator, but I have to admit it often feels like it's all up to me in this strange and mysterious courtship of God.  God seems to love to play hide and seek, while I fumble around in the darkness of this sin fallen world listening for the faintest breath or rustling of His Presence to give His hiding place away.

This of course brings me to the big bad "D" word, DISCIPLINE.  Yes, it takes discipline and the spiritual disciplines to finely hone my senses to God.  Scripture reading, memorization, meditation, prayer, silence, solitude, service, fasting, night watches and various other methods employed throughout history by God's people have been effective tools in the seeking of God.  Unfortunately, I don't really enjoy doing some of these things because I am not a very disciplined person.  Not only that, but I am repelled by anything that feels like religious striving to earn God's favor.

Nevertheless, I have found that when I consecrate myself to God, not to earn anything, but to focus my faculties upon Him, He shows up and does some unveiling of Himself to my dull and dry soul.  This unveiling impresses God's Presence and character upon my soul, which changes me and influences the people around me as well.

To know God is the greatest treasure and value a human being can desire. Knowing Him is by far the most worthy pursuit of life.  God chased us down and caught us with His irresistible grace and love, so we must now join the chase and make the pursuit of God our life-long goal.  Who knows, if we chase Him long enough, He may just catch us!

Isaiah 55:6 - Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.

ME CHURCH!

This is a YOUTUBE clip that poignantly captures the dilemma facing many churches and pastors.  We live in an age when all of the marketing and focus of the media is about ME and what I want.  As a pastor, I too am regularly tempted to try to do all I can to make our church comfortable and pleasing to those who might attend.  While I think it is OK to be a little "SEEKER FRIENDLY", we must fight to truly make our churches more Holy Spirit friendly, and be a place that is welcoming to God and his Presence.  We must also contend to do all we can to not feed the selfish tendencies of fallen human nature.  ENJOY!

My Core Values - #1

Recently I found out that a ladies discipleship group in our church was using my Core Values as an example for the purpose of developing their own Core Values.  I was both surprised and challenged.  I was provoked to take them out once again, look them over, and make sure they are not only what I truly value, but what I am also endeavoring to practice in my daily living.

It is not my intention to be overly self-focused in my writing, but as I looked at my Core Values, I thought of how they provide a good starting point for regular posts and food for thought for those who read.   All of us have a set of Core Values that we possess and live from whether they are written or not.  Our lives are constantly telling on us and shouting to the world what our loves, hates, passions and gods actually are.  These are our Core Values.  With that said, here are the first of my Core Vaues with commentary following:

"I Value relationship with God and others as the source from which life and all true ministry will flow."

We are relational beings, this much cannot be denied.  Though I have met a number of so-called "Lone Rangers" in my time, my experience tells me that the primary reason most people become islands unto themselves is because of betrayal, disappointment, and dysfunction within their relationships.  The people that we love and value become the source of our pain.  This very reaction is nothing more than proof that we are indeed relational beings.

Every human being is conceived when two people relating in the most intimate terms, mingled their body fluids and cells to form a whole new entity.  This conception brought forth a new life that related to its host mother by a life-line known as an umbilical cord.  This life-line brought nourishment and connection until the day when this unique personality would be thrust upon its mothers breasts to suckle.  Thus begins the journey of life.  The journey of dependence, of relationship, of family and community.

This new person is just beginning to experience the human condition, the risky proposition know as relationship, with all of its love, acceptance, rejection, abuse, disappointment, competition etc...  It is precisely this experience which primes a person for the knowledge of God and a relationship with Him. 

After only a few short years on this planet, we begin to realize that things are not right down here.  We see the failure of our biggest heroes, face tragedy and personal difficulty, and learn the law of the jungle.  It is often when the props of human relationships have fallen all around us that God reveals Himself to us as Father and Friend.  We then begin a new relationship with One who relates to us on His terms alone.  These terms begin with the idea of the Fall, and the human need for salvation.  We see ourselves as we really are, and God as He really is, in the Person of Jesus Christ. This new relationship becomes the source of all true relationship, and the restorative power through which all other relationships will be made right again.

This new life, this new relationship, issues forth as the fountainhead of all ministry into the lives of others.  It is only within the context of this new relationship, that we can find what God truly intended for all human relationships.  This is why the Great Commandments begin with loving God with our whole being.  To love my neighbor as I love myself, I must experience the settled reality of God's first loving me. Only then am I able to return that love to Him.  I can try to love my neighbor, but until I have encountered being loved by God and then loving Him, my love for my neighbor will always fail and fall short.

So, this is my first Core Value.  This is an impossible proposition apart from God's love.  This love is most clearly demonstrated and embodied in the Person and life of Jesus Christ.  I have received love and relationship, so now I can give them.  This is the law of the kingdom of God.  This is what I value!