grace Posts

“I Have a Dream.”

15 Jan , 2012 No Comments

On the 15th of this month, 83 years ago, Michael Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia. His name was later changed to Martin, the son and grandson of Baptist pastors. He himself served as co-pastor with his father at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta while he became the central figure in the civil rights movement in the United States.

On August 28th, 1963 Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a speech that would shake a nation and the world (and as a pastor/preacher- one who traffics constantly in words- I believe this is one of the finest speeches/sermons ever preached). Dr. King was so articulated, so clear, so picturesque in his words, but what drove his message home was his passion- and even more, I believe, a divine anointing upon his life. Consider the fact that he was only 34 years old.

Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream and it was a dream aligned with God’s dream for a better world. Let his words resonate in your heart again:

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal….’I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.”

“…One day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”

In April of 1968, Dr. King went to Memphis, TN in support of mistreated black sanitation workers. On April 4th he stood with a friend outside his hotel room on the second floor balcony. A shot rang out and an assassin’s bullet hit Dr. King and the civil rights leader was dead at the age of 39. To get deeper into the heart of this man we need only listen to his final words preached the night before he died. Listen, in light of what would happen the next day: “Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. (Amen.) But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

Martin Luther King had a life mission. His one life made a difference. Let me ask you, do you think that only certain people have a mission in life? That maybe there are only a few people who really have a God-given dream? Or could it be that every single one of us has been given a dream- by God- to serve His eternal Kingdom purposes while we’re here on this earth?

Throughout this month let’s allow the life and the words of Martin Luther King Jr.(and even more so, the words of our Lord Jesus) to inspire us to dream as well. Each of us has a God-given dream that He’s calling us to live. And our God-given dream has the potential to change our world. Your dream may or may not find its way on the national or international stage (it may!) but your God-given dream is unique to you and given to you to fulfill your life’s purpose.

So, let me ask you: What do you dream about?

Questions to Ponder this Month:

* What is your dream for life?
* What is the vision/calling (or God-given picture) of your life?
* If you had unlimited resources (of time, money, energy, people) what would you want to accomplish with the rest of your life?
* What do you love to do more than anything else? What makes you feel fully alive? Why?
* What do hate the most? What makes you angry? Why?
* What do you do best? What are your best gifts? (You’ve heard others tell you this).
* What is God’s unique mission for your life?

How will you fulfill this mission- starting today?

Do All Roads Lead to God?

06 Jan , 2012 No Comments

On New Year’s Eve, you may have heard Cee Lo Green’s rendition of John Lennon’s, “Imagine” (which apparently has become a tradition just prior to the ball being dropped at Times Square). But this year, instead of listening Lennon’s version of the song, they had Cee Lo sing it. He created a big stir by changing the words- instead of singing, “imagine no religion too”, he sang, “and all religions true”. People debate and ask the question- is there really only one way to God? The classic presentation of this argument ends up with the idea that “all roads lead to heaven”, “all paths lead to the same God”.
But is this true? I’ve changed the way I approach this question. The truth is (and read carefully) there are many roads to God- all roads lead to God but there is ONLY ONE WAY to eternal life with Him- there’s only ONE Way to LIFE and it is through Jesus Christ.

It is true that everyone will end up before God.

“Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” Hebrews 9:27

Though we may get through different paths, everyone will stand before God some day. But the idea that all religions are true is not even logical, simply because not all religions teach the same thing- by a long shot. In fact, in many ways, Christianity cannot even be compared to other religions. It is the anti-religion- it’s not a religion (that is, a way to achieve some standing before God through good works, following a certain set of moralistic standards, or follow set of rules). That’s not Christianity. Jesus taught us that we could never achieve God’s approval apart from His grace. If this were not true there would be no reason for the cross- which stands at the center of our faith.

No, all religions DO NOT teach the same thing and not all roads lead to a right relationship with God. And you don’t even have to go to the Bible to see this. Simple Aristotelian logic would say that two contradictory truths cannot be equally valid. It’s “The Law of Non-Contradiction”. This is a basic, fundamental Law of Logic. It states that two contradictory statements cannot both be true at the same time; one is true and one is false. Formulaically, it’s presented as, “A equals B and A does not equal B are mutually exclusive statements”. Now, every child knows this, but in America we have become so open-minded our brains have fallen out.
Some people say, “Well, Christianity is so exclusive. How can someone be so prideful as to think that ONE religion has all truth? I’ve talked to people who say, “My approach is to choose the best from all religions. That’s a better way to come to truth.” Really? Let me ask you then, “How do you determine what to chose from each religion that you’re going to then put together as your chosen collective religion?” YOU are going to choose? You’ve just made yourself your own God! You have just formed the religion of YOU; and you are, in the end, worshipping yourself. You have the final word on all things. And think about this: Isn’t it more logical to believe that ONE religion would have the truth within itself? A collective, united, comprehensive and cohesive body of truth- within one religion makes a lot more sense (again, if we want to bring logic into the equation). But alas, logic doesn’t seem to be in the mix when it comes to spiritual conversations these days. Let’s bring it back into the conversation.

All roads lead to God and then judgment based on what we have done with Jesus.

Creation to the Cross- sand art video

20 Dec , 2011 2 Comments

Merry Christmas.

Thank you to my friend Emily Davidson (in our youth ministry) for using her amazing gift of voice to worship her Savior!

A Christmas Masterpiece- an artful journey to the manger

11 Dec , 2011 No Comments

Christmas is the most wonderful, colorful, and artful time of the year. Like no other time of the year, the arts burst forth in all forms to celebrate the season. From concert halls and theaters to popular music and television, Christmas themes prevail in all art forms. While red and green tend to dominate the pallet of Christmas, we see lights of all colors, gold ribbons, and silver bells. While some are dreaming of a white Christmas others struggle through a blue Christmas.

The way a culture views life will be reflected in its art. Just pause for a moment and consider what that means when we take a hard look at our culture. What do we see in the arts today? Consider the visual arts, video, cinema, the performing arts, theater, popular music- mostly vanity, sex, violence, chaos, relativism, even fatalism. There’s a spiritual principle at work here. Who we are is what we create. What’s in the heart of a culture will be expressed through the arts. Jesus said,

“Out of an overflow of the heart the mouth will speak.” Matthew 12:34

Out of the heart comes all of life. As an art student on the university campus, I found myself in a Philosophy of Art class and in the middle of a debate over a phrase you’ve probably heard before: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” This of course, plays into the subjective reality of the arts- music, painting, sculpture, theater- but is it true? Or is their some objective standard by which we measure beauty? I remember when grades were handed out for certain projects. How would you grade an artist who had randomly flung paint across a canvas up against one who had worked tirelessly on a magnificent, intricate landscape? Is it all subjective? Is it all relative? Or is there an objective reality by which one can judge art, or anything in life, for that matter? I remember having passionate discussions with other students that spilled over into contrasting of worldviews. One would argue for objective truth and others would argue that there is no such thing as truth. As one modern philosopher said, “The truth is there is no truth.” Of course, if that statement is true then it’s not.

Christmas is, at its core, the declaration- an expression of ultimate reality, ultimate beauty and of Truth. At its core- Christmas is God’s proclamation that He exists and there is Truth- and we now know exactly Who He is and what He’s like. All of this came into full clarity when God- the Master Artist expressed Himself to humanity. And He did so from His divine pallet with two primary colors: grace and truth.

“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1:17 And, of course, it was Jesus who said,

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through me.” John 14:6

Dorothy Sayers, in her book, the “Mind of the Maker” presents God as a Creative Artist. If you imagine God as an engineer or a clockmaker or immovable force you’ll go astray. God’s image shines through to us clearly in His act of creation. And interestingly, His Revelation of Himself to us is comprised of three stages which I think gives us a powerful analogy of the Trinity. Christmas means God has revealed Himself to us as the Trinity. Theologians have explained this as “God in three Persons”- Even the word “persona” was invented or transferred over by theologians to explain the Trinity- the persona referred to the mask of the actor. The same actor would wear different masks- same person, different forms.

The Artistic Process
• The Idea All art begins in the creative mind of the artist as an idea.
• The Expression Then the artist must choose the best medium for the expression of that idea. Some expressed themselves through writing- through prose or epic poetry like Dante or Milton. John Wesley wrote sermons, his brother Charles wrote hymns. Michelangelo chose sculpture, others have chosen opera, painting, movie, theater, cinema to express the idea with which he or she desires to convey. The expression comes in many forms and many mediums in art. Then..
• The Response Finally someone reacts- responds to the art- once an idea, now expressed, meets the “beholder”. The response completes the creative cycle. Art is not art until someone has responded to it.
Think about how you have responded to God’s expression of Himself to you. The Bible calls His artwork to us- “Revelation”. He is the Revealer, the Revelator and we are the responders. God is always the Initiator- we are not. I want you to notice how John follows this pattern of God’s revelation to us. Although God is one, within that unity we can distinguish the work of three distinct persons. God the Father is the “Idea” or Essence, of all reality. “I AM that I AM”. Everything that exists- everything- flows from His existence. Consider how God has revealed Himself to us:

The Idea: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” John 1:1 “Logos”- the Divine Idea. We learn something about God from all of creation- quasars to kangaroos, aardvarks and anteaters, and especially from human beings- but ONE human Being, the Divine Incarnate Son of God, represents the perfect Expression of His Essence. He is the exact representation of His being” and “the image of the invisible God.”

The Expression: “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 Let’s talk about responding to God’s Masterpiece- Jesus. If you’re like me, you can understand the Trinity when you think about how you came to Jesus Christ. God expressed Himself to me and I responded. First, I came to know God the Father. I learned early on that He was awesome, loving, holy- deserving of our worship. Then I became acquainted with Jesus, a Man I wanted to follow the rest of my life. And then- almost like a second conversion- I became aware of the Power of the Spirit, of the Living God inside of me. That’s how I captured the progression of God’s revelation to me. I think His revelation is perceived by all of us time-bound humans.
The final step in God’s creative revelation came to fruition at Pentecost, when God took up residence inside human beings. Something of God’s Essence, the same Spirit who hovered over the waters at Creation, now lives inside flawed human beings, giving us the Recognition of a new identity. The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children and God’s act of creation reached its pinnacle.

The Response: “He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:11-12
Though everyone is created by God, not everyone is a child of God,-only those who have received Him. John said he, “beheld His glory”. As the beholder of God’s expression, how do you respond to this Christmas Masterpiece? Your personal response is required. God has revealed Himself to you and responding to God always requires change.- not on His part, but yours. The Truth of who Jesus is does not change (Hebrews 13:8). We are the ones who must do the changing. Once we have beheld Jesus, it demands a response. God loves you. His Idea was to save you; His expression was His Son; the response is up to you. As you consider the colors of Christmas this season, consider the words from the prophet Isaiah, 700 years before Christ was born.

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” Isaiah 1:18

ENOUGH

02 Dec , 2011 No Comments

This fall at PCBC we walked through a series of messages asking the question, “How much is enough?” “When is enough, enough?” “How much is enough to give?” “How much is enough to keep?”

Read 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Liberating Truths That Lead to a Life of Generosity

1. God owns everything.
“The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.” Psalm 24:1-2
“‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty.” Haggai 2:8 God owns any and all kinds of currency and wealth.
“You have been bought with a price, therefore glorify God with your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:20 God owns all of us.

2. We are stewards. We are managers of all that is His.

“This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.” I Corinthians 4: 1-2

3. What we sow determines what we reap. (vs. 6) Whatever you put in the ground is what’s coming up later. This natural law is spiritual law as well.

4. God wants us to be generous and cheerful givers. (vs. 7) The amount of the blessing of your harvest is determined by how much you sow. The question is not, “How much should I sow?” The question is, “How much do I want to be blessed?”

5. We are blessed to be a blessing. (vs. 8-11) We’re “enriched in every way SO THAT you can be generous on every occasion.” The moment we hang on to the blessings of God, His blessing stops.

6. God prospers us, not to raise our standard of living, but to raise our standard of giving. (vs. 10-11) The way we excel in giving is when we determine to cap our lifestyle.

7. How we spend our money reveals our hearts and exposes our priorities. (vs. 11)

8. God multiplies our giving into transformed lives. (vs.12-14) Only God can do that.

9. Our giving is an act of worship. (vs. 15) Oswald Chambers defined worship as “Giving back to God the very best He has given me.”

The Generosity Challenge: “Test me in this” Malachi 3:10
• Start giving
• Become a percentage giver
• Give the tithe
• Give beyond the tithe

God issues the challenge to us all. He dares us to believe in Him, to trust that He will be faithful. At the start of this Christmas season, determine to be a giver. This will be the greatest Christmas you’ve ever known if you will simply practice the simple truth of Jesus: It is more blessed to give than to receive.