For those who are interested to hear the background on the call upon my life in Australia, I invite you to visit this link to Calvary Chapel El Cajon's website. On Friday I shared with those in attendance how God made my call to preach in Australia clear.
What is so wonderful about our God is nothing will shift His call from our lives. Situations can be fluid, changes seem abrupt, difficulties arise: but the call of God remains. When Jonah ran from the calling upon his life to preach in Nineveh he ended up in a storm, was thrown overboard, swallowed by a great fish in whose belly he remained for three days, and then was vomited out. Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah to preach in Nineveh. No change in calling. Praise God that He is immutable, cannot be taught, and reigns over all!
09 September 2009
07 September 2009
What makes you celebrate?
I celebrated my second Labor Day in a single year with family time and a wonderful BBQ with dear friends. In Queensland AUS, Labor Day is celebrated on May 1st. The White family and I had a lovely outing to the Gold Coast and Mount Tambourine during my first visit to Australia. While driving home this evening, a license plate cover caught my eye. It simply read, "Celebrate Eggplant." The first thing that came to mind was "ridiculous," but then I caught myself. I started thinking about all the things we celebrate. People celebrate national holidays, birth of children, Little League opening day and closing ceremonies (which I will do anything to avoid and to this point have been very successful), graduations, career promotions, sports championships like the Super Bowl and World Series, a strike while bowling, a ringer while playing horseshoes, or some killer guacamole and salsa. Now eggplant has been thrown into the mix. I celebrate food and celebrate with food as much as anyone. I'm not going to say eggplant can't be celebrated, but it certainly doesn't make my list.
It caused me to think on the fact that there all kinds of things people celebrate which are completely insignificant in the light of eternity or compared to the glory of God. How tragic it would be for the worship of God to fall short of pure celebration. The most important people in our lives we tend to take for granted, and God is by far the Being most taken for granted. Even professing followers of Jesus Christ celebrate the creature rather than the Creator, the gift over the Giver. Believer, have you celebrated your Savior Jesus Christ today? Have you acknowledged His labor of love passionately, knowing that He shed His blood that you might be redeemed? As I continue to think about it, I honestly have to say that I gave the terrific steak I ate today more thought than that fact that Jesus labored that I might have rest in Him. I do not say this with any joy, but with the intention of avoiding this pitfall in the future.
As we drove on, the worship CD began to play Brenton Brown's "Everlasting God." My focus moved from eggplant to the LORD of all creation, the Maker and Sustainer of all things. "Our God, you reign forever, our Hope, our strong Deliverer. You are the Everlasting God, you do not faint you won't grow weary, you're the defender of the weak, you comfort those in need, you lift us up on wings like eagles." My heart was moved to celebrate the King of Kings and magnify Him. We can glory in our weakness for it is in our God we are strong. We can glory in our need because our God is abundantly able to provide beyond what we can ask or even think. If we fall short of celebrating our Savior, perhaps we don't know or appreciate Him as we ought.
Isaiah 40:28-31 says, "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. [29] He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. [30] Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, [31] but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." If there was ever a cause for celebration, we should celebrate God! His ways are past finding out, and His mercy endures to all generations. Let us not "celebrate eggplant" and leave the celebration of our Savior undone. We would be as the Pharisees who strained out a gnat and swallowed a camel. Let us wait upon the LORD and celebrate Him!
It caused me to think on the fact that there all kinds of things people celebrate which are completely insignificant in the light of eternity or compared to the glory of God. How tragic it would be for the worship of God to fall short of pure celebration. The most important people in our lives we tend to take for granted, and God is by far the Being most taken for granted. Even professing followers of Jesus Christ celebrate the creature rather than the Creator, the gift over the Giver. Believer, have you celebrated your Savior Jesus Christ today? Have you acknowledged His labor of love passionately, knowing that He shed His blood that you might be redeemed? As I continue to think about it, I honestly have to say that I gave the terrific steak I ate today more thought than that fact that Jesus labored that I might have rest in Him. I do not say this with any joy, but with the intention of avoiding this pitfall in the future.
As we drove on, the worship CD began to play Brenton Brown's "Everlasting God." My focus moved from eggplant to the LORD of all creation, the Maker and Sustainer of all things. "Our God, you reign forever, our Hope, our strong Deliverer. You are the Everlasting God, you do not faint you won't grow weary, you're the defender of the weak, you comfort those in need, you lift us up on wings like eagles." My heart was moved to celebrate the King of Kings and magnify Him. We can glory in our weakness for it is in our God we are strong. We can glory in our need because our God is abundantly able to provide beyond what we can ask or even think. If we fall short of celebrating our Savior, perhaps we don't know or appreciate Him as we ought.
Isaiah 40:28-31 says, "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. [29] He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. [30] Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, [31] but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." If there was ever a cause for celebration, we should celebrate God! His ways are past finding out, and His mercy endures to all generations. Let us not "celebrate eggplant" and leave the celebration of our Savior undone. We would be as the Pharisees who strained out a gnat and swallowed a camel. Let us wait upon the LORD and celebrate Him!
04 September 2009
Isn't God great?
Tonight I had the privilege of holding forth my testimony at Calvary Chapel El Cajon. It was wonderful to see all the smiling, expectant faces and receive the brotherly love that marks true believers. Young and old came alike and took in the wonder of our God, a great God who is mighty to save all through Jesus Christ who come to Him in humility and faith. My prayer is that God was glorified tonight, and that the Body of Christ was edified. There are few things more exciting then people who are excited about what God is doing and take in active role in serving Him.
So much of our lives are spent on the sidelines. We think about doing but procrastinate. We leave loving words unsaid, and withhold good from whom it is due, especially concerning God. With the NFL kicking off the season next week, millions of Americans will spend hours watching people play a game. Bets will be taken, fantasy football will be in full swing, sports bars will be full, and kids will play pick-up games imagining they are L.T. or Phillip Rivers. But the only games that matter in the record books are played by professionals. No kid will go to the Pro Football Hall of Fame for throwing touchdowns on a Wednesday night. That is reserved for the chosen few who compete on national television on Sundays and have years of continued success at the National Football League level.
There is no such thing as a professional Christian. There is no "semi-pro" league or NCAA. Every Christian has made the big time because we serve an infinite God. A child can have the impact of a seasoned veteran. Everyone's words, thoughts, actions, and attitudes add up for the glory of God or otherwise. We have a choice if we will sit on the sidelines and watch other people sweat and sacrifice to follow Jesus and cheer them on. Or we can choose to enter the arena, put on the armor of God through the Holy Spirit, take up our cross daily, and follow Jesus. The battle is not reserved for the strong, for when we are weak He is strong. Living vicariously through another Christian is a dangerous thing. That's not life: that is a cheap substitute that will not supply robes of righteousness by God's grace. Because the football team you cheer for wins does not mean you have won. No one ever entered into eternal life because they admire faith. You must have faith in Christ received from the merciful hand of our Creator.
If you could be everywhere, know all things, and do everything without effort, why not do it all yourself? Then it would be done exactly how you want it, right? God does not operate like a man. He is so great and awesome and wonderful that He commits the treasures of the Kingdom of God to wretched, lost sinners! He calls and commissions men to serve Him on earth that His power might be revealed through these weak instruments, these earthen vessels in which He has placed His glory. God could have committed the Gospel to righteous angelic beings, but instead He chose man. The ways of God are past finding out, and His thoughts are so high.
May we think as highly of God as His thoughts are above us! Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Only a good God could think good of a stubborn, stiff-necked people. Lift up praise to the King of Kings, the Redeemer and Restorer of your soul! Psalm 100 brings us to a fitting conclusion: "Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! [2] Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing. [3] Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. [4] Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. [5] For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations."
So much of our lives are spent on the sidelines. We think about doing but procrastinate. We leave loving words unsaid, and withhold good from whom it is due, especially concerning God. With the NFL kicking off the season next week, millions of Americans will spend hours watching people play a game. Bets will be taken, fantasy football will be in full swing, sports bars will be full, and kids will play pick-up games imagining they are L.T. or Phillip Rivers. But the only games that matter in the record books are played by professionals. No kid will go to the Pro Football Hall of Fame for throwing touchdowns on a Wednesday night. That is reserved for the chosen few who compete on national television on Sundays and have years of continued success at the National Football League level.
There is no such thing as a professional Christian. There is no "semi-pro" league or NCAA. Every Christian has made the big time because we serve an infinite God. A child can have the impact of a seasoned veteran. Everyone's words, thoughts, actions, and attitudes add up for the glory of God or otherwise. We have a choice if we will sit on the sidelines and watch other people sweat and sacrifice to follow Jesus and cheer them on. Or we can choose to enter the arena, put on the armor of God through the Holy Spirit, take up our cross daily, and follow Jesus. The battle is not reserved for the strong, for when we are weak He is strong. Living vicariously through another Christian is a dangerous thing. That's not life: that is a cheap substitute that will not supply robes of righteousness by God's grace. Because the football team you cheer for wins does not mean you have won. No one ever entered into eternal life because they admire faith. You must have faith in Christ received from the merciful hand of our Creator.
If you could be everywhere, know all things, and do everything without effort, why not do it all yourself? Then it would be done exactly how you want it, right? God does not operate like a man. He is so great and awesome and wonderful that He commits the treasures of the Kingdom of God to wretched, lost sinners! He calls and commissions men to serve Him on earth that His power might be revealed through these weak instruments, these earthen vessels in which He has placed His glory. God could have committed the Gospel to righteous angelic beings, but instead He chose man. The ways of God are past finding out, and His thoughts are so high.
May we think as highly of God as His thoughts are above us! Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Only a good God could think good of a stubborn, stiff-necked people. Lift up praise to the King of Kings, the Redeemer and Restorer of your soul! Psalm 100 brings us to a fitting conclusion: "Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! [2] Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing. [3] Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. [4] Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. [5] For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations."
02 September 2009
Stray dog!
I was picking up trash in front of the church building today while braving the afternoon heat. I found the usual trash: cigarette butts, empty whiskey bottles, Burger King bags, deflated balloons, napkins, even a pink copy of a "notice to appear." But something unusual happened as I walked along Main St.: a black shaggy medium-sized dog trotted down the sidewalk towards me. His tags jingled as he moved at a relatively fast clip, tongue lolling out of his mouth. No slack in pace as he passed. It looked like he knew where he was headed to, and no owner to be seen. I've seen plenty of stray dogs during trips to Mexico, but along busy Main and Johnson it was the first stray I can remember seeing for a long time.
Stray dogs are easy to spot. If only it was so easy to spot a man who has strayed from his Owner! A dog without an owner is a stray, but every man has a Maker. Once we are born again every man has an Owner. Followers of Christ look to Him to satisfy our thirst with His Living Water that brings eternal life. Many professing followers of Jesus are like that dog: they trot with purpose, but not the purpose of the Owner. Somehow they have been separated. God never leaves His children alone, just like no loving parent leaves their child intentionally at the fair. But kids are separated from their parents all the time through absentmindedness, distraction, or circumstances.
I've never had that sinking feeling of losing a child and having their name paged over the intercom. But as the city has ways of reuniting a stray dog with his owner, as stores have ways of reuniting father and son, so God has a way of being found by His children: His constant availability. James 4:8 says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded." God wants to be found. If you seek Him with your whole heart, you will not remain lost. You will find Him because He will reveal Himself to you.
A good example is our huge family Easter egg hunt at my Grandpa and Grandma Henry's house. Every year Aunt Julie, Angela, or Darla have a hand in hiding the "golden egg" in an acre of property in Ramona. Now the golden egg makes this a hunt for adults and kids alike, seeing as it usually contains $20! Every year the focus is on the golden egg. Every year it is the very last egg to be found because it is hidden very well. After about five minutes of looking, kids and adults start saying things like, "Is it still out here?" or "Which side of the yard is the golden egg on?" The one who hid the egg will say, "It's on that half of the yard." Everyone will move over to that side. The egg is so well hidden that within ten minutes the search will often be narrowed to a small area until the egg is found.
My point is this: the golden egg is found every single year! My grandpa always tells us how every year eggs are left behind in gopher holes and in piles of grass. But not one time has the golden egg remained because it was our chief focus. There are some who give up and sit down, content with their finds. But there are others who will not leave the field until the egg is found. Likewise the one who hid the egg knows the location, and will continue to tip and assist until the egg is found. It is the same way with our LORD, Jesus Christ! He has revealed Himself through His Word. There are many who will start looking for salvation but lose heart. No one has ever found the golden egg eating BBQ on the porch, and no one has found eternal life without looking! If we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. If we want eternal life through Him, we will find it because He will lead us to Himself. He is the prize that we are seeking.
The stray that trotted past me today had tags and a collar. He carries with him information that will reunite him with his owner. Every human being has been created in the image of God so His mark is upon all mankind. Unlike animals, God has breathed into man a spiritual element, a living soul. God has given man the freedom to choose to trust in God or to reject Him. There is certain hope for all who call upon the name of the LORD in repentance, humility, and faith! We have no power or knowledge in ourselves to be saved, but by the grace of God we can be redeemed from the wandering path. What a reunion occurs when a man comes to Christ! What sweetness there is in knowing your Maker as Savior and Master, and fulfilling His purposes. Nothing compares to the love of God. John 3:16-17 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. [17] For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."
Stray dogs are easy to spot. If only it was so easy to spot a man who has strayed from his Owner! A dog without an owner is a stray, but every man has a Maker. Once we are born again every man has an Owner. Followers of Christ look to Him to satisfy our thirst with His Living Water that brings eternal life. Many professing followers of Jesus are like that dog: they trot with purpose, but not the purpose of the Owner. Somehow they have been separated. God never leaves His children alone, just like no loving parent leaves their child intentionally at the fair. But kids are separated from their parents all the time through absentmindedness, distraction, or circumstances.
I've never had that sinking feeling of losing a child and having their name paged over the intercom. But as the city has ways of reuniting a stray dog with his owner, as stores have ways of reuniting father and son, so God has a way of being found by His children: His constant availability. James 4:8 says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded." God wants to be found. If you seek Him with your whole heart, you will not remain lost. You will find Him because He will reveal Himself to you.
A good example is our huge family Easter egg hunt at my Grandpa and Grandma Henry's house. Every year Aunt Julie, Angela, or Darla have a hand in hiding the "golden egg" in an acre of property in Ramona. Now the golden egg makes this a hunt for adults and kids alike, seeing as it usually contains $20! Every year the focus is on the golden egg. Every year it is the very last egg to be found because it is hidden very well. After about five minutes of looking, kids and adults start saying things like, "Is it still out here?" or "Which side of the yard is the golden egg on?" The one who hid the egg will say, "It's on that half of the yard." Everyone will move over to that side. The egg is so well hidden that within ten minutes the search will often be narrowed to a small area until the egg is found.
My point is this: the golden egg is found every single year! My grandpa always tells us how every year eggs are left behind in gopher holes and in piles of grass. But not one time has the golden egg remained because it was our chief focus. There are some who give up and sit down, content with their finds. But there are others who will not leave the field until the egg is found. Likewise the one who hid the egg knows the location, and will continue to tip and assist until the egg is found. It is the same way with our LORD, Jesus Christ! He has revealed Himself through His Word. There are many who will start looking for salvation but lose heart. No one has ever found the golden egg eating BBQ on the porch, and no one has found eternal life without looking! If we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. If we want eternal life through Him, we will find it because He will lead us to Himself. He is the prize that we are seeking.
The stray that trotted past me today had tags and a collar. He carries with him information that will reunite him with his owner. Every human being has been created in the image of God so His mark is upon all mankind. Unlike animals, God has breathed into man a spiritual element, a living soul. God has given man the freedom to choose to trust in God or to reject Him. There is certain hope for all who call upon the name of the LORD in repentance, humility, and faith! We have no power or knowledge in ourselves to be saved, but by the grace of God we can be redeemed from the wandering path. What a reunion occurs when a man comes to Christ! What sweetness there is in knowing your Maker as Savior and Master, and fulfilling His purposes. Nothing compares to the love of God. John 3:16-17 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. [17] For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."
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