Hope for Life Blog

Well, it’s actually May 19, but we will have been married thirty seven (37!) years.  We have two grown children who are married and we love being together with them and our grandchildren.  Evidently this is an amazing accomplishment in our society.   I hear neighbors, friends, and people we work with express their congratulations at what to most of them is a rare feat.  Many of them have never known anyone who has been married that long.  Some wonder what the secret is to a long marriage – especially one that is still full of love and joy.  So I am going to share the secret of a long and happy marriage.

It is not what you think.  This is the point where you expect me to give a glowing tribute to my wife Marsha.  I am blessed by her and I did choose well when I asked her to marry me.  But she is not the reason why our marriage is so good.  And I know that I am not the reason.  It is not because we have not had struggles, disappointments, crisis, and trouble.  In fact, there have been many times where we could have given up and quit on our marriage.  In our society, we would have been just like so many other marriages that did not make it.

Jesus.  He is the secret.  He is how we survived tough times.  He is why we have extended forgiveness to each other when one of us said or did hurtful things.  He is why quitting was never an option.  He is why our life together is full of joy, peace, hope, and purpose.  I am not the most important person in my wife’s life.  Jesus is.  And she holds second place in my heart.  We both chose Jesus long before we chose each other.

He is why we are so happy together and with our kids and grandkids. He is the reason both sets of our parents have been married for over sixty years each.  He makes the difference in life, in marriage, in parenting, in work, and in every part of our lives.

He can make the difference for you too.  He can give you joy, peace, hope, and purpose in your marriage, with your children, and in every aspect of your life.  So if you do not know how to let Jesus into your marriage, and into your life, then leave a comment.  Or look around the site. 

Steve

It was something that happened on a regular basis, at least from the image of the Hebrew language, the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.

But this time it was different:

• Both the man and woman had disobeyed God

• They had hidden themselves from God

• God was walking alone

• God must have known why it was different because He is God

Then the question that could be heard throughout the garden, by all of God’s creatures “Where Are You?”

This is how Genesis 3:8-9 reads: “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him ‘where are you’.”

I am struck by the fact that immediately after they disobeyed Him, God still wants to know where they are. And while there are consequences to their action, it is God who makes them clothes (v 21) and even after they left the garden, the man and the woman acknowledge God as the one from who life comes. Gen. 4:1

God is always asking “where are you?”, even after you have sinned against Him.

How many times after the Jews leave Egypt did they say they would do what God has commanded, and didn’t?

How many times in the book of Judges does it say “and the Jews did what was right in their own eyes” and had to have God rescue them by sending judge after judge?

Saul, David and the prophets personally and representationally claimed to follow God and then disobeyed.

And still God called, wanting to know where they were.

It is in Luke 15:4-9, that Jesus tells about the Shepherd who searches until he finds the last sheep and rejoices. It was the Shepherd who did the looking.

It is God who sent His Son to allow us to live with Him (John 3:16) and then read verse 17. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that through Him might be saved.”

It is the final book of the Bible, Revelation, where this idea becomes complete, 3:20 “Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to Him and dine with him and he with me.”

God, Jesus, take the initiative, they are at the door.

The action of God at the beginning of the world-calling to know where you are; knowing that you have disobeyed Him is the same at the end of the world as He stands at the door waiting for you to open it.

So when God asked you “where are you?” why haven’t you answered?

Do you feel unworthy to open the door?

If you have answered and opened the door, tell me what that felt like.

We hear a lot about identity theft and the various ways you can make your identity more secure. For years, some women have been struggling with feelings of lost identity when they become mothers.
Our culture/society often sends mixed messages both to the working moms and to those who choose to stay home. Because of the way some may perceive the stay-at-home mom, she can feel devalued by not pursuing a career in the corporate world or unappreciated by the largely invisible work of nurturing that isn’t rewarded by a paycheck. On the other hand, those who choose to pursue a career, or must work because of finances, must deal with guilt feelings because they are not available for their children at all times. Satan takes every opportunity to steal our confidence, and in the process robs us of our identity.
The entire identity of a woman is not all about being a mother, but more about being daughters of our Father in Heaven. When we realize that motherhood and nurturing is a great calling of women, and understand who we are in relation to Christ we will have a new kind of identity and a greater self-esteem. Jacqueline Kennedy once made the statement, “If you bungle raising your children, I don’t think whatever else you do well matters very much.”
Those who have children know very well that we are often referred to as “so-n-so’s” mom, which lends to making us feel that we have lost our identity. However, those who are children of the King have a secure “identity.” The most important identity is not how the world views mothers, but how God views them. The Word of God says that because of Jesus Christ our identity is secure. We must rely on God for our true worth, value and identity.

“Thou hast conquered, O pale Galilean; the world has grown grey from thy breath.” Maybe you recognize this line from “Hymn to Proserpine” by Algernon Charles Swinburne; I remember reading the poem in a high school English course.

Swinburne, living in Victorian England, felt that Christian piety had sucked the joy out of life, forbidding the very things that bring pleasure to life. He longed for the days of unbridled paganism.

Sadly, Swinburne wasn’t the first person to feel that way about Christianity, nor was he the last. Many look at Christians and see a somber lot, living a life filled with prohibitions. As the old line says, “Everything enjoyable is either illegal, immoral or fattening.”

When you look at Jesus Christ himself, you see something very different. People looked at him and complained that he didn’t follow enough rules. He went to parties with the wrong kind of people. Where other religious men lived ascetic lives, Jesus lived in a way that people accused him of being a glutton and a drunkard. The first recorded miracle that he performed involved providing wine for a marriage feast! Does that sound like a “pale Galilean”?

No! It’s we Christians who have misunderstood what we’re supposed to be. It’s easy to think that saying no to everything is the best way to be holy. Even back in Bible times, this was a problem. The apostle Paul wrote to one church: “Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”?” (Colossians 2:20-21) Even then, some thought that Christians were following a pale Galilean.

In his book A Severe Mercy, Sheldon Vanuaken wrote:

“The best argument for Christianity is Christians: their joy, their certainty, their completeness. But the strongest argument against Christianity is also Christians—when they are somber and joyless, when they are self-righteous and smug in complacent consecration, when they are narrow and repressive, then Christianity dies a thousand deaths.”

If you think that Christianity is about living like a pale Galilean, you haven’t been exposed to real Christianity. The Christian life is a life of joy, not sadness. It is a life of victory, not defeat. It is a life full of passion, not boredom.

Like Swinburne, I have no interest in following a pale Galilean. Unlike Swinburne, I know that Jesus Christ offers abundant life, colorful life, zestful life. Isn’t that what we’d all like to have?

We have a great coffee maker at work.  You make one cup of your personal favorite drink at a time.  You can have any number of different kinds of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate.  Even better, you can brew your cup at whatever strength you desire:  weak, medium, or strong.  You can make it caffeinated, or decaf.  And it only takes about one minute to make. 

 If Christians could ever present Christianity like that, we could interest a lot more people.  Christianity in small doses… however you want it at any particular time.  If you are feeling particularly religious, you can get a strong dose of Jesus one day.  If not, go a little weaker.  Jesus to suit your taste – just like you want him to be. 

 Some churches probably do present a “consumer” Jesus.  There seems to be a great deal of emphasis on not offending anyone, on meeting everyone’s perceived or expressed needs.  Messages are tailored to present a Jesus that is not too demanding, comes in small doses, and can fit all your perceptions. 

 Except that is not how Jesus presented himself.  He is offended by religion that had forgotten God.  He calls sinners to repentance.  He calls followers to die with him.  He promises persecution and suffering in this life.  He asks you for a total commitment.  He demands complete obedience. 

 He does this because he has earned that right.  He came to this earth to find you because His Father wants you to live forever in heaven.  He died so unholy people could live forever with a holy God.  He did it because He loves us more than anyone has ever loved us.  He did it so we can live forever.

 I can’t help you find a “coffee maker” Jesus.  But if you want to know more about the real Savior who asks you to die so you can live forever… then write me at steve@hopeforlife.org.  Or join our blog discussion.

steve

There was an old country doctor who would take his dog along with him when visiting patients. The dog would remain outside while the doctor went in for the house call.

On one occasion, the physician went to the home of a man with a terminal disease who didn’t seem to have much time to live. The man confessed to the doctor his fears about death and said, “What’s it like when you die?”

The doctor thought for a moment, then got up and opened the front door. His loyal canine friend, who had been waiting patiently on the porch, gleefully bounded in to join his master.

The doctor turned to the dying man and said, “Do you see this dog? He didn’t have any idea what was on this side of that door. All he knew was that his master was there, and he wanted to be with him.”

“That’s how I feel about death,” the physician continued. “I don’t really know all the whats and hows about dying. I’m not totally sure what’s on the other side of that door. But I know who is there, and that’s enough for me. I’m looking forward to being with my Master.”

Death can be a frightening thing. There is so much uncertainty. There are a lot of things I just don’t know.

Some claim to be able to explain everything that will happen when we die. I’m not one of those people. I don’t know a lot of things about death.

Some debate what life after death will be like. I don’t join those discussions. I don’t know all the details about what will happen when I die.

I do know who is waiting for me. I do know that I will leave this world to be with Jesus. That’s enough knowledge for me.

The apostle John wrote: “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2) We don’t know what we will be, but we will be like him. And we will be with him.

You don’t have to be afraid of what’s on the other side of the door. You can focus on who is on the other side of the door. Isn’t that a better way to approach the end of our life here on earth?

I enjoy visiting museums and I like church buildings.  I never realized I could get them confused until a visit to Spain.  I saw amazing church buildings with incredible architecture.  They were old, and their history was incredible.  There were monuments and artifacts from centuries past.  It was overwhelming.  They were featured stops on the city tours.  So I begin asking the guides about attendance today.  Some of them no longer had worship services.  Some of them had small rooms partitioned off for current members.  In most of them, there were more tourists during an average day than worshipers on a given Sunday.

There are a number of lessons to learn about why churches become museums.  Who was it that forgot their purpose?  Who lost sight of the mission?  Who lost sight of Jesus?  Did each new generation fail to make their faith genuine and personal?  Were they more concerned with church buildings than building a church?  Did they church building become the church?  These are valuable questions and worth asking.

But I want to say a word to any of you who may be thinking about Jesus and church.  Do not confuse the building with the church.  Church is people.  It is community.  It is family.  A church may meet in a building large or small.  It may meet in homes.  Or in a coffee shop.  Or a school.  You may visit a church building… but you are invited to become part of a church.

So if you want to visit a church building, I can tell where there are amazing museums.  But if you are interested in being part of a living community as the family of God, then I can help you find that also.  Write me at steve@hopeforlife.org.  Or leave a comment.

Blessings,

Steve

Peace.

In a general sense, peace is the absence of conflict.

On a personal level, it can mean many things…

• Peace can be paying off this month’s credit card bill.
• Peace can be finishing that report for work.
• Peace can be arriving home after fighting rush hour traffic.
• Peace can be not fighting with your spouse for at least one night.
• Peace can be not hearing gunfire when you turn off the lights.

When Jewish people greet one another, they say “shalom.” Peace. In Arabic, the greeting is “salam,” with the same meaning. In the New Testament, the apostle Paul frequently used the phrase “grace and peace” when beginning his letters. Peace is something that we desire for ourselves and should desire for others.

What about peace with God? For some, that’s a distant concept. Maybe we’ve never really tried to establish a relationship with God. Or we’ve tried, but have never felt like we were quite good enough.

Some of us used to feel good about our standing with God, but now we’re filled with doubt. We don’t have the feeling we used to have. Maybe sin has gotten in the way, the big kind of sin that leaves us feeling guilty for years. Or maybe it’s just a general disenchantment with God, being disappointed by Him time and again. Or it could just be that we’ve grown a bit cold, not turning our backs on God, but just drifting away from Him.

All of those things can steal our peace. To overcome those kinds of feelings, we need to take the focus off of ourselves. We need to recognize that we aren’t trying to earn our salvation. We’re not trying to be “good enough” for God. We need to focus on Jesus Christ and what He has done to make us “good enough.”

Paul wrote to the Roman Christians: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Peace with God comes through trusting in Jesus, trusting in His love and His care for us. When our faith led us to submit to Jesus in baptism, we entered into a relationship with Him that will provide us with the peace that only God can give. It’s not about us… it’s about Jesus and what He did for us.

If you don’t feel at peace with God, you are probably still focused on yourself. You may even be trying to make yourself good enough for God. It’s time to trust in Jesus and His power to save. Only He can put you at peace with God.

It would be impossible to calculate the thousands of miles they trudged, how often their feet and muscles ached from the journey or if they suffered from “Ship-lag” crossing seas. Yet, secular history tells of the “doubter” who went to India and maybe as far as China, the fisherman who brought his brother to the Messiah who traveled the Volga to what is now the Ukraine or the zealot who took the message to Egypt and then to Persia, modern day Iraq.

They, Paul, whose missionary journeys are detailed in the book of Acts, and many more fulfilled their mission. This mission given by Jesus to his disciples, and those who were called Apostles: and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the Earth. Acts 1:8

The importance of being a witness is reaffirmed throughout Acts 1:22, 2:32, 3:15, 5:32, 10:39-41.

Witness is to publicly attest that what was said or done actually happened because one has seen it.

History notes that Christians traveled the width and breadth of their world, turning it upside down, witnessing of the works and words of the Messiah.

We, the present day followers of Jesus, are the progeny of those men and women of the first century. The mission is now ours! With 2/3 of the 6.7 billion of the world’s population who don’t know Jesus, we have much to do.

We must fulfill the mission given them centuries ago and has been given us as well.

Are you a witness? Tell us how, where and when? Most importantly tell us WHY? If you are not then what keeps you from doing so?

“Don’t come to church!”  That is not something you will usually hear a minister say, but sometimes it is true.  I recently heard someone talking about the troubles currently in their life and they mentioned that maybe going to church would help.  I am not sure it would.  They are looking for a “magic bullet” to make life better.  That is not the purpose of church.  Attending worship services and being involved in a church are outcomes of a decision to follow Jesus.    

Jesus is the answer to the struggles of life.  He is the one that heals, restores, forgives, and gives meaning to life.  He is where hope is found.  He is the way to God.  He is the truth.  He is life.  When you turn your life and heart to Jesus, then church makes sense.  Church is one of the outcomes of following Jesus.  It is a gathering of family members united by faith in the Son of God.  It is where the community of believers gathers to praise the God who loves them.

To hope going to church will help you is getting the cart before the horse.  Jesus is the first decision you must make.  Maybe that is why so many people misunderstand church.  Church is not the answer.  It cannot save you.  It is a fellowship, a community, a gathering, a family… of those who have been saved by Jesus.

So if you are expecting church to be the answer to your problems, don’t come.  You will be disappointed.  But if you are looking for some good news in your life… let me tell you about Jesus.  He is the answer.  Then, and only then, will church make sense.  So write me at steve@hopeforlife.org.  Or look around our website, www.hopeforlife.org.