God With Us

Watch for this—a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son; They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for "God is with us"). – Matthew 1:23 (The Message)

When I have an opportunity to hang out with someone, my excitement level is dependant on the person. On Monday, I spent the whole day with my wife, two sons and daughter-in-law. That was the best. I was spending time with my family.

If I could spend time with a famous person, I may be exited. At the other extreme, I would not care to spend time with someone I do not know.

What is so special about Matthew quote of Isaiah, saying ‘God is with us’? Is God someone that you hardly know, so you do not really care if He is with you? It really depends on who God is.

• God is the one who spoke and the universe came into existence. At each stage of creation, God proclaimed the verdict that creation is good.


• God is the most powerful, He knows all things and He is everywhere.


• God pursued the Israelites for over 1000 years, seeking relationship with them as they rejected Him.


• He sent His Son Jesus to pay our penalty and make a way for us to be reconciled with God.


• God is in control of all events, great and small.

This is just part of the story. Is it a big deal that God wants to be with us? In my life it is a great deal. How about yours?

The Mountains in Life

Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him – Mark 11:23 (NASB)

This was the verse for this morning. I have read this verse many times, but this morning I wondered why I have not shown belief in this statement by action.

When I complete three papers of over the next few weeks, I will be done with my work for my Masters of Divinity degree. Why did I spend four years working half time, attending class half time and studying half time? It was because I believe the most important thing a person can do is get right with God. This is a personal decision. No one can make it for you. However, we need the instruction and support of others before and after we make this decision.

The reason for the fancy degree is that I will spend the rest of my life working on building groups of people that will be a church. These churches will not just a place to spend an hour a week, but a place to spend life with others. A church will be a place where people can learn to hear from God and work with others to further His kingdom.

Right now, this church is Briarcliff Chapel. We meet on Sunday mornings in a coffee shop. Starting this church is not like looking at a mountain to hike, it feels more like a mountain range to cross. I really need God’s promise to move mountains, if I will only have faith.

Will I really step out in faith and expect God to move the mountain range in front of me? Or will I continue on in a vain attempt to move these mountains on my own?

What is the mountain in your way? Do you know that God has promised to handle your mountain if you will trust him? Will you trust Him?

How Big is Your God?

O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.
For your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has come down upon me.
Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; my bones have no soundness because of my sin. – Psalm 38:1-3 (NIV)

The Psalms can be a great source of comfort. But sometimes the Psalms confuse us with their in-your-face nature. Raw human emotion and overt displays of feelings of the writers can make the American mind uncomfortable. The writer has problems in his life. He characterized his life by rebuking, disciplining piercing and loss of health. Where does he lay the blame for his condition? He blames God for his condition. He understands God to be in control of all things, even the bad things he receives.

Many people believe God to be good. He brings good things into our lives. To protect the good God, they believe that bad things come from some other source. This kind of thought comes from an attempt to make God ‘nice’ or to excuse God for bad things that happen. How can a good god allow bad things to happen?

With this thinking, we run into problems when we read something like Psalm 38. The writer clearly blames his bad condition on God. This is the natural conclusion if God is all-powerful. All things come from God, not just good things. You can play semantics and say that God simply allows bad in the world, but the fact remains that an all-powerful God allowing bad to happen is the same as bad coming from God himself.

I would rather deal with the problem of bad things coming from an all-powerful God, than with a good God that cannot act in any way that He wants in any circumstance. I find comfort in the fact that God is in control and nothing in my life is outside of His ability to control.

Special Days

If you live seventy years, you will have lived over 25,000 days. Many of those days are routine, boring or normal. Very few days are memorable for the specific date. An example is September 11, 2001. The rest of the days just fade together. But there are a few days that are memorable, even if we cannot remember the date.

We remember days because of special activities or the people we were with on the day. I remember very few days at work, but I do remember taking trips with the kids to Chicago, Colorado, San Francisco and even Omaha. Some of these trips are memorable because of the good times, others because of the struggles. On our trip to Colorado it was a surprise for the boys, they did not know it until we were halfway across Kansas. Other special days come from what appear to be normal days.

We have a wood burning fireplace in our house and we will burn over five truckloads of wood each winter. A common activity is to go to the farm to cut wood. Last year, about this time, I went to the farm with my Dad. These trips were typical for our family, a time of being outside and working hard. Times like this with Dad had been different since he had cancer surgery six years ago. He did not have the lung capacity to work as he had, so it was more common for me to run the saw and for Dad to go along for the trip. This was becoming the new normal. Usually Dad would work harder than anyone. Regardless of his ability, he enjoyed being at the farm.

This day was different. We selected a spot and Dad ran the saw the whole day. I loaded the wood in the truck. It was just like years past. When we were done that day, Dad said ‘I had fun’. Some would not call hard, physical work fun. This is not the case in our family.

At the time, I knew it was different, but I took it as a sign of Dad being better. A few weeks later, we would get the news that Dad had a new cancer. Six months later, Dad died at home. Some days the National Football League teams wear uniforms from the past in a throwback game. That day I had a throwback day with Dad at the farm. It is a day I will always remember.

He Cares for You

It is very comforting when you find out that someone cares for you. Most of us have had a number of people who care for us. Mothers, fathers, spouses, brothers, sisters and friends are many of the people who could care for you. Some of these we expect to care for us, such as our mother and father. It is tough when a parent fails to care for us, which has happened to many times.

It really matters who the person is that cares for us. If a stranger cares for you, it is not the same as a parent or sibling. The status of a person affects the value you place on their care in your life.

Peter tells us to “cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you” (I Peter 5:7). Here we learn that God cares for us. For someone who does not know God, this is not a big deal.

God is the one who created the universe with His spoken word. He is the God who consistently cared for the Israelites when they consistently rebelled against Him. God sent His son Jesus, who is fully God, to live among us. God takes care of those who love Him and those who could care less.

When you think about who God is, the fact that He cares for you is the most important news that you could hear.

Grace

Grace is unmerited favor. It is receiving something that you did not earn. You cannot work to receive something and receive it by grace at the same time. My paycheck comes because I work. The biweekly payroll deposit does not happen because of grace.

Grace is particularly good when we receive something that we need. Most of us have received things we did not earn, but things we did not want. When Lori and I were newly married, we received three hand-me-down mowers. These were not new, but mowers that supposedly had some life in them. I remember one time while trying to mow the yard, I did not finish. It was not because of laziness, but because two of the three mowers had broken down and I just was not up to trying the third. We received these mowers through good intentions, but they were not what we needed.

The ultimate need for all people is to become right with God. The problem with this common need is that we cannot earn our way back to a right relationship with God. The only way is for us to receive grace. Jesus met the requirements of God and He freely shares His work with us, if we will receive it. Being right with God only comes through unmerited favor. Have you accepted this gift?

Yesterday we were talking with a man who has problem with receiving grace. He expects that we must do something to be right with God. He does not want to accept the fact that nothing we can do can fix our problem. We must have help. Why is this? Some people want to be able to say they did it. We see this in a child who will not accept help; they say ‘I do it myself!’ Some people think they are not worthy to accept this gift. They must clean up their life to be acceptable. The problem is there is no amount of cleaning you can do to make yourself acceptable. As some church signs say ‘Come as you are’.

Some have accepted this gift. Do you live by this gift? Maybe God would like you to change something in your life. You do not because you just do not want to, or you do not have the power, or you just do not try hard enough. God does not disown His child, just because they are disobedient or will not try. Grace extends to us when we are far from God and it continues with us through our life with Him. We start our relationship with God through grace and we must live our life with Him through grace.

What a great and awesome God who loves such a weak and ineffective man as myself!

Are You Lost?

Daniel Boone once said, “I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks.”

There have been very few times when I have been lost. It could be that I do not place a high value on always knowing where I am. I may just know where I am, so am not usually lost. There are two times when I was lost that stick out in my memory.

We were on a family vacation in Chicago. Our time in Chicago was over and the objective was Milwaukee. Most of the time, I have a good sense of direction. I usually just know which way is north. This day, I was turned around trying to find the entrance to the freeway. When I made what I thought was the correct turn, we started to head south. Just in case you do not know your geography, Milwaukee is north of Chicago. I was lost and deep down I knew was lost. I understood my problem when I noticed the highway sign saying we were heading south.

Another time I traveled to Boston and stayed in a city northwest of the city. After I had checked into the hotel, I drove around looking for a place to eat. Of course, the restaurant next to the hotel is never good enough, so I set out. I drove for around an hour, not seeing much but dark countryside. I did not know where I was going, so I did not consider myself lost. I found out that I was lost when I saw the sign welcoming me to Massachusetts. I had been in another state and did not know it!

The fact may be that you are lost, but do you know that you are lost? The problem with not knowing you are lost, you do not know about your problem. If you do not know about your problem, you will not work on finding a solution. If you do not know you are lost, when someone recognizes that you are lost and offers help, you will reject their help. After all, you are not lost.

I turn from geography to theology. If you are doing life on your own, apart from God, the bible says you are lost. You are without God. You are doing things on your own with no help. Since God created all things, including you, He knows how you should live. If you ignore the guidance of God in life, you are certain to lose your way.

There is a solution. This solution does not come from man, but it comes from God. When we live life as we want to, apart from God, we have placed ourselves in the place of God in our life. The bible calls this sin. This sin separates us from God and we are lost. Our sin not only separates us from God, but it causes God’s justice to condemn us. We have a penalty to pay to God for our sin and there is no way for us to make adequate payment.

We find the solution only in the person of Jesus. Jesus lived a perfect life. He paid the penalty for our sin. Jesus offers us the gift of the payment of our penalty, allowing us to be set right with God. The only thing we can do is to accept this gift. Have you done this? If not, why not right now?

And God Said

Have you ever seen a bumper sticker that goes like “God said it, I believe it, that settles it”? This statement seems to be from a non-thinking follower of God that blindly does what they think God says. This type of person worries me because they could follow anyone they think is speaking for God.

It could be the person driving the car has a profound faith and trust in God. They have lived a long life relying on God’s provision and they have never been disappointed with the way God handles things.

A few weeks ago I read Genesis 1 again. One the surface, this seems like an account of the beginning of the world. The problem with this conclusion is Genesis 1 says nothing about the scientific or historical details of creation. It does say a ton about the nature of God.

Eight times there is the statement “God said…and there was”. I have made a number of things in my life, but never has something come into existence because I said so. It was always been with much work and effort. These simple statements about God in Genesis 1 are enough reason for the follower of God to worship Him and Him alone for the rest of their life.

The People of God

We have been in Colorado for five weeks. In that time we have lived in four homes. Two of the home we occupied when the owners were on travel. Our current accommodations are in a second house that has been dedicated for people who come to Loveland doing missions work.

In every case, the people we have met, either prior to moving in or after they returned from their trip, have shown a love and deep concern for others. Not just people they know, but friends they have not met yet. A place has been carved out for us to stay, meals have been prepared for us and food is available for our use. Their home is open for our use with no concern for the security of their belongings.

What is the common element found in these people? They have become children of God and they are serious about following Him. If you asked them, I am sure they would not claim to be doing anything special. They are just doing what they can. If you ask me, I will say I have seen the actions of Jesus in these normal people.

I want to be just like the people I have met in the last five weeks.

The Call of God

I am currently serving as a summer missionary on a church planting (church starting) internship. One of the purposes of the internship is to determine if Colorado should be our home after school. The major part of this decision is the determination of the call of God in our lives.

The topic of the call of God in a person’s life is a major issue. This is particularly true for seminary students. When I was nearing the end of engineering school, I was looking for a career. Actually, it was just a job, but the placement folks at the school called it a career to make it sound fancier. When graduation comes near for a seminary student, they do not look for a job; they try to determine God’s call for their life.

The call of God for a church planter is a bigger deal, if that is possible. Many will say a person starting a church will not stick with it if they do not have a clear call of God in their life to the specific place and people. This sounds good in the church planting book or in the seminar on starting churches. There is a problem for a person like myself who believes that God rarely speaks in unusual ways. This is not to say that God leaves us to fend for ourselves. God is with us every minute of our lives. We have the Bible and other believers to help us through our lives. It is it not enough to read God speaking to us through scripture to “Go and make disciples”? This is a call of God in my life. It is lacking in specifics, but it is very clear.

Paul tells us in Romans the “gifts and call of God are irrevocable”. This statement tells us of the unchanging nature of God. When He says something, there will be no changing of His mind, no oops after a misstatement. So there is a call and it will not change. But what about the specifics? Is it Colorado, Haiti, Boise or Gladstone? Is it to rich, young, educated, working class or recent immigrants? Do I need to have a specific answer from God before going? Is enough to know that God is big enough to handle any situation that I find myself? Maybe the key is just being obedient to the general call and pick a spot and know that nothing is outside of God’s control.

Update from Colorado

We have finished two weeks in Colorado, working as church planting interns. We have had much variety in these two weeks. We spent two days in orientation meetings, one afternoon taking a church planter assessment and a day celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. Lori found a job as the weekend pool sitter in Cherry Ridge Village, actually the job found Lori. We have spent time observing the people in Loveland and Fort Collins, talked with a few people and wondered about the best way to talk with them about God.

Chris has worked his engineering job in coffee shops, churches and homes. Anywhere there is an internet connection.

There have been preparations for the missions team that will come the week of June 23rd. We have written and printed flyers. Plans are taking form for service projects, painting of two homes in the park and planting of six trees. We have purchased reusable shopping bags and flower seeds for the week of the nature clubs. There is more work to come, but we have completed the bulk of the preparations.

We have stayed in two homes, getting to know two great families. We will be moving to a third home tomorrow.

This time is a middle ground between the academic work of Seminary and the day-to-day work of the church. It will be good when school is behind us and we are permanently settled, but it is never a good idea to wish away time.

Review

Three years ago I had finished my first class toward a Masters of Divinity degree. I now have three classes remaining; only one of those classes will be in a classroom. The purpose of going to Seminary was to prepare for work in the area of starting churches. On the eve of starting an internship in Colorado, I thought I would write a brief summary of events of the last few years.

The general geographic direction of future work in planting churches has always been toward the west. After my first year, Lori and I took a trip to Boise and Flagstaff. The trip was our first long trip on the motorcycle and we visited with Southern Baptist associational leaders in both cities. The purpose was to explore potential relocation to one of these areas. The results of the trip was a definite no to Flagstaff and significant tension in Lori about Boise being so far away from potential grandchildren (and our kids of course!).

Last summer we changed the geographic focus to Colorado. During a week in August we visited with a church planter, two associational leaders and a state leader about potential work in church planting. After the trip Lori and I decided to apply for an internship in the Longs Peak Association, which is north of Denver along the Front Range.

The major event in my life the last six months was the news that Dad had three months to live in December. Dad had a new cancer in his left lung. He had a significant portion of his right lung removed six years ago. Dad when to numerous doctors and decided on radiation and chemotherapy, which started on March 3rd. This treatment continued for three weeks, then Dad’s condition deteriorated. This led to three weeks in the hospital in April. Dad was brought home on May 3rd and he died on May 7th.

There are many things to write about Dad’s death, but these will have to wait until another time.

This was followed by preparations to be in the Loveland, Colorado area for ten weeks of church planting internship. Right now, Lori and I are in western Kansas, planning on arriving in Loveland tomorrow. What will the summer bring? Only God knows. There will definitely be more written on this topic in the coming days.

George Wesley Lancaster

George Wesley Lancaster, age 84, died at his home on May 7, 2008, losing a battle against lung cancer.

He was born on December 4, 1923, on the family farm north of Seney, Iowa to the late M. J. and Rosabelle Lancaster. He served in the Navy in World War II, leaving the service in June of 1946 at a rank of Yeoman Second Class. Mr. Lancaster earned a BS in Animal Science from Iowa State in 1950. At Iowa State he was a member of Farmhouse Fraternity and he participated in livestock judging teams. On April 9, 1950, he was married to Lucille May Pageler near Merrill, Iowa.

Mr. Lancaster worked as a farm hand at Edg-Clif Farms, as a tenant farmer near Blockton, Iowa, and he worked the Lancaster family farm near Seney until 1959. He started a career with Consumer Cooperative Association, later named Farmland Industries. He retired in 1988 as a management consultant working in the Kansas City, Missouri headquarters. A member of Gashland Presbyterian Church, faithfully teaching a Sunday school class for 10 years. Mr. Lancaster served in the Service Core of Retired Professional Executives (SCORE). His favorite activities included fishing, gardening, attending Elderhostels around the country and spending time with his grandchildren.

He is survived by his wife, Lucille, daughter Betsy Reese of Independence, Missouri; sons David and wife Mary Lou of Hillsboro, Kansas; Mark and wife Mary; Tom; and Chris and wife Lori, all of Kansas City; nine grandchildren, brothers William and wife Leona of Aurora, Missouri; Robert and wife Lois of LeMars, Iowa; sister Bonnie and husband Dean Shaw of Clarkfield, Minnesota; brother-in-law Ralph Anderson of Aurora, Illinois. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by brothers Edwin and Edgar; sister Evelyn Anderson and son-in-law Michael Reese.

Busyness

It has been a while since I last wrote. Why? I could say that school work and a few preaching engagements have taken up my time. Other activities like paperwork for the internship this summer have taken some time. Most of these things will fade in memory, but the one that will not is the decline in the health of my Dad. When I wrote last, in March, Dad had finished one week of radiation and chemotherapy for the cancer in his left lung. The last week in March a pneumonia developed in Dad’s lungs and his ability to breath was severely impacted. This led to less physical activity, a loss of appetite and dehydration that came from nothing tasting good.

On April 10th, Dad had an appointment with the lung doctor. Dad was only able to walk a few steps, breathing was a major challenge. The doctor admitted Dad to the hospital that day and Dad still is in the hospital. There have been days when Dad was not able to communicate with anyone and other days when he seemed almost like the Dad I know. It has been a rough time, not knowing what the next day would bring.

When one of your loved ones is far away from death, it is easy to think things will go on like they are forever. We do not want to think about the inevitable. Recently, I have been faced with the inevitable, because it is apparent that death is near. Is death a few days away? Or will it stay away for a few weeks or months? Only God knows.

One encouraging fact is that Dad has been reconciled with God. He turned away from his sin and embraced the grace that is found only in Jesus. When Dad dies, I will be sad. I will miss my Father. I will become the old man. But I know that he will be in the presence of Jesus and he will never have to struggle again for breath!

How does God Work?

Some will sit in the comfort of their home, or in the pew at church and wish they could see God at work. They think about the great miracles described in the Old Testament and the mastery that Jesus showed over all areas of creation with His miracles. They think it would be great to see those things. But what do they do to put themselves in the place to see God at work?

I am a football fan, particularly a Chiefs fan. If I want to watch my team play, I must do things to make it happen. Usually it is making sure I am at a place where I can see the game on TV. Occasionally, I will try to see a game in person. The point is that I cannot watch the Chiefs without some planning and maybe cost on my part.

It is the same way with God. If you think by sitting in your living room you will see a miracle of God, you are fooling yourself. You must put yourself in position to see God at work. God may show Himself or not, but if you put yourself in the place you have a chance. Where are these places?

I have seen God working most in the last year when I went out to tell the gospel to whoever I would meet. I have prayed for the healing of a man’s intense headaches, to hear of a healing a few weeks later. I have heard the prayer of a homeless man, who had a greater need and greater understanding of the necessity of God to work in his situation that I can imagine. I have understood new things, from unexpected sources as I prepare a sermon.

In C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, the main character is Aslan. Aslan is a lion who is clearly a picture of Christ. One of the lines in the book says that Aslan is not a tame lion, but he is good. I cannot predict God’s actions, but I can rely on His goodness.

How does God work? I do not have the slightest understanding. But God is active and I plan on doing what I can to see His action.

Wonder

I have been working through the first two chapters of the Gospel of Mark the last few weeks. Jesus teaches with authority. He heals people and casts out demons with immediate results. Jesus calls people and they drop whatever they are doing and follow Him. I have heard and read these stories many times. It can become routine, even ordinary.

When I think about the reality of Jesus, the fact these things happened. The fact that unexplained things happen today, I should be overwhelmed and amazed. What is wrong with me?

Last summer, we would go to a park in the inner city on Sundays. Usually there would be a group of men in the park. Most of the men were immigrants from Africa. A majority of the men were Muslim. One man in particular seemed to want to hear what we had to say about Jesus. One time, he asked me to pray for him, because he had terrible headaches. I prayed. I asked God to heal him. I pleaded with God to show His power. I wanted to see a change. As usual, no clouds parted, nothing remarkable happened that day. On another day in the park, the man came and said his head was healed. The pain was gone. He demonstrated it by doing a flip on the sidewalk. I was witness to a miracle.

Did I show wonder that day? More than I have when reading the Gospels lately, but not near enough. This is something that I need to work on. I must let myself experience the wonder of God, or there will always be a wall between myself and God that will keep God at a safe distance. This is not acceptable. Bring on the wonder!

Practice

One of the reasons that I like sports is the need to do something the right way at the decisive moment. When the golfer stands at the tee there is one chance to hit the ball and send it down the fairway. The pro hits the ball long and straight down the fairway while the other player sends it to the rough. What is the difference between the pro golfer and the weekend golfer? Could it have something to do with the hours, or minutes, spent in practice? So how will you do when the moment comes to perform?

There are many moments in life when you have a choice to make and no time to make the choice. At these moments, you will do what you have been practicing. If you look at the story of Job you will see an example. In the first chapter of Job the story is told of the testing of Job. Job was wealthy and he was living a good life. He feared and worshiped God. Satan believed that Job worshiped God because God blessed Job. God allowed Satan to strike everything but Job’s body. Then Job received four messengers in a row. All of his possessions were gone and all of children were dead. At this moment what did Job do? What came natural to Job? He worshiped God.

Job worshiped God when his world fell apart because this is what he practiced when times were good. So what are you practicing now that will show when the time of stress arrives?