Moral Authority

Do Christians have Moral Authority or Power? The answer to this question depends on who you ask.

If you ask the majority of people in the US they would probably say something like this "Not really. What have they done to earn that authority? I mean look at all of the stuff going on in the Catholic Church and in other churches" From a worldly stand point the Church has lost a great deal of its power to pronounce what is right and what is wrong. So much so that the entire concept of right and wrong has been questioned.

However, the book of Acts tells us something completely different. In Acts 1:8 we are told that when the Holy Spirit comes to us then we receive power. The Greek word used for power is Dunamis. The word Dunamis has many connotations one of which is to have moral power or authority. Simply put then the Church (under the power of the Holy Spirit) has by divine declaration, Moral Authority here on Earth.

Eternity

Have you ever considered what Heaven might be like. If you go to Heaven what will you do? Will it be fun? Will we get to play games? Will be long one continuous church service?

There is so much about Heaven we will not know this side of death. The book of Revelation does give us some glimpses into what life may be like in Heaven. One of the most consistent themes through out the Book of Revelation is the constant state of movement. These movements though are always initiated by the will of God. The angels, elders, and living creature only act when God wants them to. This a far cry from how things happen here and now. This does not mean we will not have free will or choice in Heaven, however sin will no longer be something we desire to do. Essentially, we will chose not to sin every again. We will finally get to experience life as it was designed to be in the Garden of Eden. John's Revelation is not our only source of information about Heaven.

I believe we can gleam a great deal about Heaven from what we know of God's character and His original design. Humanity was created in God's image. One of the results of this is that we are social beings. God Himself is social. Even before the creation of man, God had fellowship within the Trinity. To me this means we will have fellowship with others in Heaven. We will interact with friends, family and strangers. This means I will someday see my precious Colin and Hannah again. This means that if your departed loved ones knew Jesus then you will see them again and you will rejoice together.

I believe we will have fun in Heaven. God is not a boring a God and as such He would not create a Heaven that is boring. I am not totally sure how this will play out but I am not worried about because I know God will take care of this for me.

The details of Heaven are one of the great mysteries of Christianity. It is one of those mysteries that will not be fully solved until we are there. If you want to be there with us then there are somethings you need to do now. Revelation 20:15 makes it clear that your name must be written into the Lamb's book of life to not only avoid Hell but to be granted entrance into Heaven. To have your name in the Book of Life is actually a simple process.

First, you must acknowledge that you like all of us are a sinner who cannot be your own will cannot become perfect.

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.” We must all realize that we are sinners and that we need forgiveness. We are not worthy of God’s grace."

Second, you must realize that through Jesus, God gave us a way to be saved from our sins. God showed us His love by giving us the potential for life (Heaven is a part of this life) through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Next, you must see that if we remain sinners, we will die. However, if we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and repent of our sins, we will have eternal life.

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Next, you need only to believe that Jesus Christ id Lord and that God raised Him from the dead.

Romans 10:9-10 “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

If you believe that Jesus is Lord then by willingly praying this prayer you will be saved.

“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”

If you have prayed this prayer today let myself or your pastor know today so that we may celebrate with you in this life changing choice.

Silence in Heaven

Can you imagine what it must have been like for John (Revelation 8) to be in the presence of God, the Angels and all of the hosts of Heaven and there be absolute silence. I know for me I have always heard that there is always singing and praising to God in Heaven. This is mostly true. In fact, in Revelation 7 we see the great multitude giving praise and glory to God. Then at the opening of the Seventh Seal there was 30 minutes of silence. I am not exactly sure why there was such silence. I think though much of it had to do with the reality of the Seventh Seal. The reality of the intense suffering that was soon to occur on Earth struck all of Heaven at once. I cannot help but thing that in their hearts many of the Angels and other Heavenly Creatures felt a sense of sorrow for those still left on Earth.

In the end though I believe this silence teach us that we must take the time to be silent for God. If the hosts of Heaven were called (though in silence) to be silent then shouldn't we also be silent before Him. When we do this we must also allow the Holy Spirit to come and teach us things that we might no otherwise have been able to learn. My challenge to you and me is to take the time and be silent before God and see what He has to show us.

Faith Like a Child

What was Jesus saying when He said "whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all." (Luke 18:17)?

Many times we look at this passage and ones similar to and say that God wants us to have a faith that is simply accepting without question. It is almost as if we think God wants us to have a blind faith. This really is not what Jesus is talking about. God wants us to approach our faith like scientist approach their work.

Current research from MIT has shown that pre-schoolers look at the world in much the same way that adult scientist do. In essence, children are more likely to accept an unobserved cause for something than random chance. They want to know the cause for events yet they are ok with simply accepting the idea that they may not be able to find. This how God wants us to have faith.

Faith, as defined in Hebrews 11, is the assurance and conviction of things not seen. Coupled with this research one could say that children have faith that there is a cause for every action in this world. Jesus calls us to this same kind of faith. He desires us to seek the reasons for why things happen while all the while accepting, through faith, that we may never understand or see the reason.

This faith though should go beyond what we see happening in our own lives. We are called to come to the Scriptures and the lives of others with the understanding that there are no random events or places. There is no such thing as a isolated event. Our task(s) is to seek the connections and learn from them.

The Prodigal Son

How many times have you heard a sermon on the Prodigal Son? If you have been in church for very long you have probably heard more than you could count. How much have you ever thought the older son. I have been blessed to hear one or two sermons on how the lessons for the older son. Yet, I have never heard anyone consider the relationship between the two brothers past their father's death. How do you think they got along?

Here are somethings to consider. First, when the estate was divided each brother received their portion. Each was given control over a part of the wealth. The older brother seems to have allowed his father to retain control. Did he have to though? Could he have given it all away? Whose fatted calf was it to kill? In Luke 15:31 the father says that what is his is also his son's. Was it the father's or the son's or both?

Second, the older son would have all of the family's wealth. This would mean that the younger brother would be dependent on his older brother (barring making his own riches). what kind of relationship do you think that they had? Did it get better? When? At that first feast? At their father's death?

Let me know what you think.

The Story of Abraham

If you have never had the opportunity to read or hear about the account of the Patriarch Abraham’s (Genesis 12-25) life then I would encourage you to do so. His life story teaches to very important concepts about God and our life with God.

First, we are called to complete the task started by those who have come before us. In Genesis 11:31 we read that Abraham’s father began the process of moving his entire family from Ur to Canaan. Unfortunately for them they never made it. However, God, in Genesis 12:1-3, tells Abraham to leave his father’s house go to the land of Canaan. Abraham completed the journey his father had started. What are some journeys that you know others have started but have not completed? How can you completed those for them?

Second, ones faith will be tested. God promised Abraham that He would make "him into a great nation” (Genesis 12:2 NIV). Furthermore, God specifically told Abraham that it would be through his son Isaac that this nation would be born (See Genesis 21:12). Before this promised had come to fruition God told Abraham to take his son to Mountains of Moriah and offering him as burnt offering. In essence, God was telling Abraham to go and kill your son. Despite this contradiction Abraham did what God was told. In the end God stops Abraham from killing Isaac and provides a lamb for the burnt offering. God was testing Abraham’s faith. In the end God fulfilled His promise to Abraham.

God will always fulfill His promises His way. His way is not always our way and we may not always understand His ways but we must trust in the fact that God is the creator and ruler of this world and He knows what He is doing. So how do we know what promises (future) God has for us? First, we must be a right relationship with Him. This starts with accepting His son as our savior and Lord. To this one must recognize your sin, ask God’s forgiveness for those sins and then allow Him to be the Lord of your life. Once, this right relationship is established the Bible teaches us that when we call out to God He will answer and teach us what we need to know (Jeremiah 33:3). Are in a right relationship with God? If not, why not? If yes, then are you faithfully headed towards the future God wants for you? If not, why not?

Life's Journey

When you were a child were did you want to go? Did you want to stay at home? Did you ever leave your home?

I know for me when I was a child dreamed of traveling the world. My dad was always telling me about his adventures in Western Europe in 1960's. I always believed he and I would get a chance to do that together. Sadly, we never did. He died before we had the opportunity. Ironically, I was given the opportunity to visit Germany less than 2 months after he died. This trip though was only a small part of the grand journey God has brought me on.

He has allowed me the priviledge of visiting Europe (3 times), Australia, the Bahamas, and many States. When I look back I am amazed at how much traveling I have done. Yet, I know my travels are not finished. God has many more places for me to go. Most recently, God has moved my family from Texas to Illinois.

It has truly been a grand adventure. There have been so many ups and downs. Yet, in the end I cannot help but look back and see how truly blessed I have been. And the best part of it all is that I still feel like it is just getting started. I look forward to the days and weeks to come because I know God has some wonderful things in store for me and my family. Yes, persecution will come. God's deliverance through the persecution will also come. Praise be to Him who is on high.