OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD

The tragic event of January 8 in Tucson, Arizona reminds us that we live in a dangerous world, and that horrific events can unfold before us in the blinking of an eye. Innocent people were injured or killed by an unthinkable act of evil. Hundreds of family members, friends, as well as an entire nation has been shaken again by an act of man’s inhumanity to man.

How shall we as the church of Jesus respond to such pain? My concern is that followers of Jesus everywhere will stand as a symbol of hope in the midst of uncertainty, love in the midst of hate, peace in the midst of accusations and criticisms, forgiveness in the midst of anger, balance in the midst of extremes, and a beacon of truth in the midst of half-truths, rumors, innuendo, and sound-bytes.

Once again we see that our world is, indeed, a dangerous world, a world that needs God and his grace. It is a time for those who know how to pray to come before the Father’s throne and to plead for grace and mercy. Pray for those who grieve, for those who are recovering from physical wounds, and pray for the perpetrator of the tragedy.

As Gandhi suggested, in a different time and place, it is time to be the change we want to see in the world. May God draw near and make us all more sensitive and loving toward each other in a world where anger and hostility and insensitivity so freely find a place to express themselves.

For those who follow Jesus, let us be the Church in this time of finding a way to go on as a people. As the Good Book says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). The fact is Jesus is still Lord, God is still Love, and “the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Ephesians 1:19) is still in place, and operating at full capacity.

In the midst of bad new there is Good News. Our lives and times are not forgotten or overlooked by God. The words of Mr. Wesley still ring loud and clear concerning Jesus,

He left His Father’s throne above,

so free, so infinite His grace!

Emptied Himself of all but love,

and bled for Adam’s helpless race.”

Having just come through Advent it is fresh on our minds that in Jesus God is with us. We do not face our days alone and even in the midst of horrific tragedies, God is here in grace and mercy and love. Life may not make sense to many people today, and there are questions that have come crashing in on us. Yet, we are not abandoned. God has not turned His back and walked away. Rather, He is up-close-and-personal in everyone who calls Jesus “Savior and Lord.”

Let the church be the church, Ambassadors of Christ, a fragrant aroma in a world gone wrong. Let the church be the church, engaged in the human situation, living grace filled lives, making God look good because He is good, He is present, and He does care. As Eddie Carswell’s and Babbie Mason’s song says,When you don't understand

When you don't see His plan

When you can't trace His hand

Trust His heart.

You can, you know; trust His heart.

God bless you and may the peace of Christ be with you.

ENTANGLED, AND SICK OF IT

Let's just say, for the sake of discussion, that you've got a problem. Give it a name of some kind. Anger. Lust. Pride. Greed. Self-centeredness. Gossip. Slothfulness. Pick a name. Any name. Now, let's say you really wanted to be set free from this troubling "sin which so easily entangles" (Heb. 12:1). How would you go about dealing with this matter in such a way that you could begin to "honestly" say, "I have victory over this malady."

As you ponder these things, let me suggest some scattered thoughts. For instance, in this matter simple will-power doesn't cut it, so don't even go down that road. Positive thinking doesn't make the grade so don't even bring it up. Therapy won't do it. Self-help books won't do it. Jam sessions with those of like weakness won't do it. All these may be, or at least can be, a part of the process but they are not cure-alls for the "sin which so easily entangles"

The Bible says that matters such as these must be brought to the place of death. They must be brought to Jesus Christ and crucified with Him. The Bible says, "Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death"(Rom. 6:3)?

The fact is that God did not send a therapist; He sent a lamb--"the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). He sent a sacrificial lamb who revealed to us the incomprehensible love of God by dying for us while we were yet sinners (Rom. 5:8). He sent a lamb who took our sins upon Himself and died that we might be forgiven and made whole.

The answer to unchristlikeness in us is to come to the cross of the lamb and become crucified with Him. The only thing that can deal a death blow to "the sin which so easily entangles" (Heb.12:1) is the nails that secured the lamb of God to the cross.

Is there some thing in your life that needs to die? Come to Jesus praying, "Lord, this is my sin. You died for it. I trust your death. Save me from this thing." As you pray remember, "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life" (Rom. 6:4).

Paul asked the foolish Galatians, "After beginning in the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort" (Gal. 3:3)? He knew it could not be done this way so he asked them, "Who has bewitched you" (Gal. 3:1)?

There is only one way to be free in Christ. We've got to die to that which is not of Christ and come alive to that which is of Him. So, do you really want to live? Really? Welcome to the cross of the lamb.

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live,

but Christ lives in me;

and the life which I now live in the flesh

I live by faith in the Son of God,

who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me."

-- Galatians 2:20

A lot of people these days don’t have much room in their heart for the church. They just don’t like church. Dan Kimball reminds us that they like Jesus okay, but they just can’t stand the church. There are days when I think I understand these folks. Sometimes the church shoots itself in the foot and becomes its own worst enemy. When that happens, it’s not a very good day.

My problem with this, though, is that this kind of thinking puts the individual ahead of Jesus and communicates that Jesus may be building a church somewhere, but the one in my town He certainly isn’t it. With this kind of thinking Jesus, therefore, must bow to our demands about what “the church” should be like. In our intellectual and spiritual brilliance we trump God and insist that church be done our way or we are out the door and off to greener pastures.

Granted, some local congregations may have baggage, a lot of baggage, but this does not release a Believer from loving what Jesus loves and living in light of the fact that God the Father, put all things in subjection under the feet of Jesus and gave Him as Head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all (See Eph. 1:22-23).

The revival the North American Church so desperately needs will not come while God’s people tell God what to do and how to do it. Instead of writing off fellow believers because they don’t give me what I need, Jesus tells me to plant the cross right down in the middle of my heart and right down in the middle of that congregation that is, in my opinion, missing the mark when it comes to being the church. Then, let the power flow, let Jesus be Lord, let our times be in God’s hand.

Gandhi suggested, in another context, that we should be the change we want to see. Instead of walking away from a perceived problem, maybe we ought to charge right into that problem and give Jesus His opportunity to resurrect that church by the power that raised Him from the dead.

I would go out of my way to be a part of that kind of church

A Note to my wonderful Church family at
Pasadena Bresee Church of the Nazarene

I have been thinking about why the local church matters as a force for God.

It matters, first of all, because it is right down in the stuff of life Jesus wants his church to be planted. In Jesus God left heaven and began to dwell among people. So it is the church enters into the life of the community and believers live their faith right there in the daily stuff of life.

The church matters because it is the only movement in the world teaching the truth that Jesus is the Messiah.

The church matters because there are no Lone Ranger Christians, no isolationists. Christians are in this thing called life together. We are so close to each other that we feel like brothers and sisters in Christ.

The church matters because her life revolves around the life of Jesus, and through Him it models what new life in Christ is like.

Together Christians form a community of faith that lifts up Christ as the hope of the world.

We are a small church in a big city and we are seeking to live here so as to make God look good. How are we doing? Whatever the answer to that question is let’s remember that we are on a mission to show people in our sphere of influence that “God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

We are a small church but we are serving a big God “who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us” (Eph. 3:20).

May we, together,
offer a ministry
that brings a smile
to the face of God.