LOST TREASURES FOUND

Over the last few months I have been frantically searching my home for a box of books that I could not find.  The object of my search were three books by J.F. Stombeck.  Now classics and out of print, these books are valuable to me and are some of the best handling of the subject of salvation ever penned (with the exception of the Apostle Paul of course). 

Last night in the dead of sleep it came to me to look in the small attic above the stairs.  I had made a cursory investigation there previously.  As my wife will tell you, I often don't look as well as I should.  You know the story, "Honey, could you look in the pantry and see if there is a can of tomato paste?'  Like most men, if I don't see it on first observation, then of course, it must not be there.  And, you guessed it, a moment later, with a frustrated look on her face, my wife opens the pantry and pulls out the tiny can of tomato paste hiding behind the larger can of crushed pineapple.  Perhaps the same scene plays out at your home as well.

What woke me from a dead sleep last night, was the answer always given by my wife to my myopic searches.  She always says to me, "Why don't you look like a woman?"  Which in Deb-ese means, move things around and see what's behind them. 

For some unknown reason, I realized that I should do just that in searching for my lost box of books.  This morning, I set out to investigate the small attic.  (It is amazing how many boxes of useless things can pile up in an attic).  And yes, there behind empty shoe boxes and boxes of useless software, underneath old tax records were not one but three boxes of books that I knew I had not given away.  To me this was like the best Christmas morning. 

I bustled the boxes, which were clearly marked "books", downstairs and opened them up, not unlike a toddler tearing the wrapping off a Christmas present.  In the second box, there were the books I had been longing to re-read.  The titles, "So Great Salvation"; "Grace and Truth"; "Disciplined by Grace" peered back at me and I sat down and thanked God that they were not lost.  (Understand, I am fairly confident, with no exaggeration, that over the years several hundred volumes of my library have been LOANED and never returned). 

Like most men, curiosity overcame the moment, and I wondered what might be in the third box.  It was in box number three that I discovered a true forgotten treasure.  There between a 1947 edition of A.W. Tozer's "The Pursuit of God" and a paperback edition of C.S. Lewis' "The World's Last Night" was a small pleather bible cover zipped closed.  Inside the zippered cover was a small Bible.  I had completely forgotten about that little Bible.  It had belonged to my father who had given it to me when I was a young boy. 

It's a small Scofield Reference Edition of the King James Bible - too small for me to read without my cheaters today.  On it's crisp India paper pages are notes and references from both my father and my younger self.  [This is not the Bible he has been preaching and teaching from for the last 60 years.  But it is a smaller version of the same.  For those of you who know my father, you already know that many pages of this Bible are for all practical purposes, unreadable.  He writes very small and seems to be able to fill the margins of even the smallest pages with notes, references, comments and illustrations]  To me the treasures were just beginning to unfold.

On the blank pages inside the leather cover, both front and back, were notes and comments that to me, were priceless.  There was the note I wrote to myself five minutes after my mom led me to Jesus ... "I was saved, February 4, 1975,  9:30 PM".  Next to it the date February 2, 1983, the date I dedicated my life to Jesus to "whatever capacity He chooses and wherever He leads". 

Filling the blank pages were other comments and quotes.  Such as:

"A minority plus God makes a majority"  - Glenn Armstrong
"Periodic Christianity is perpetual hypocrisy" - C.H. Spurgeon
"The most important part of prayer, the first 15 minutes after you say amen"
- author unknown
"There is no greater hindrance to true spirituality, than a superficial acquaintance with the language of Christianity from childhood" - Glenn Armstrong
"To believe that this world came into existence by blind chance, is the same as believing that Webster's unabridged dictionary came into being by an explosion in a printing factory" - author unknown
"Unless there is in us what is above us, we will soon succomb to what is around us" - author unknown

Finding that little Bible made my day, perhaps my week too.  But, the purpose of sharing this simple story is to remind you of an even greater treasure that is available to those who seek it.  Jesus gave a similar illustration in Matthew 13:44.  Describing the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus said:

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." (ESV)

Have you found the Kingdom of Heaven?  Do you know the forgiveness and life Jesus freely offers to everyone who comes to Him?  As my wife Debbie reminds me, so I admonish you, "look like a woman".  Be willing to move around anything in your life that hinders you from finding the Kingdom of Heaven, the greatest treasure of all!

Impact: The power of the gospel to change lives

Missional: The second of three blogs which provide a deeper look at the mission of the church as described in Matthew 28.  Here at KBC, we believe the words Intersect, Impact and Imitate best describe the great commission given us by Jesus Christ.

Impact - noun 
1.  influence; effect
2.  the force exerted by a new idea, concept, technology, or ideology
Impact - verb

1.  to collide with; strike forcefully

2.  to have an impact or effect on; influence; alter

Like God's chosen nation Israel in the old testament, God has chosen His church to be the means by which He reaches hearts and lives in this age.  As individual believers are transformed by truth applied by the Holy Spirit, they can corporately become local expressions of Christ to their world.  It is the cumulative impact of Christ-followers who have exchanged their lives for His and who live out the love of Christ (both within and outside the doors of the church) that draws men to the Lord.

At the core of the Great Commission is disciple-making.  But what does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus Christ?  I think we can better grasp the idea by substituting a more modern word, "apprentice".  In Matthew 28:19, Jesus is calling us to become His apprentices.

Apprenticeship involves "on the job training", learning a set of skills or a practice from a previous generation.  This was the process that would be set in motion once He gave the Great Commission to the apostles - His first apprentices.

They had left their families and homes, abandoned the security of their careers, set aside their ambitions and dreams to follow Christ.  They traveled with Him, lived with Him, listened to His teachings, questioned Him, saw His miracles and served under His direction.  For most of those three and half years they thought they were training to serve in a new kingdom that Jesus would set up in Jerusalem after he defeated the Romans. And then - they watched Him die.

But now he had come back to them victorious over death. Now they knew without any doubt that He was the Son of God.  They knew the highest and best use of their lives would be to invest the remainder of their lives in the service of an eternal kingdom.  Here He was giving them their orders, "Make Disciples".  But something was missing.  Jesus had been with them through it all and now He said He was leaving.  "Hey John. What was that about another Comforter?"

The Holy Spirit

The apostle John records one of the most intimate conversations Jesus ever had with his "Disciples" in chapters 13 through 17 of his gospel.  You remember the passage, it's Jesus in the upper room with his disciples the night before his arrest in the Garden.  Here He teaches them (and us) the very core of discipleship in the things He says and does that night.

In chapter 13, He begins by washing their feet, teaching them about The Servants Heart.  He gives them The New Commandment to love one another as He loved them.  (In the next day they would really learn just how much he loved them).

In chapter 14, He once tells them that He would be leaving them but He reassures them of his love for them and His desire to be with them.  Here He also introduces them to the Holy Spirit who would be with them forever, residing in them and causing them to reside in Him.  It would be the Holy Spirit who would bring them to understand His teaching.  As they left that upper room crossing the Kidron Valley to the Mount of Olives, Jesus continues teaching them about discipleship.

In chapter 15, He illustrates this process using grape vines and branches.  He teaches them about "abiding" in Him, about the Father's care for their productivity and the grooming that He would do to insure they grow as healthy branches and bear much fruit.  Here again Jesus confirms that He would be with them through the Holy Spirit who would help them to bear witness about Him.

In chapter 16, Jesus again teaches them about the coming Holy Spirit, telling them it is to their advantage that He departs from them so that the Helper could come.  He impresses on them that it is the Holy Spirit who would convict the world.  The Holy Spirit would proceed from Jesus who was sent by the Father.  They Holy Spirit would take care of them, turning their sorrow to joy.

In chapter 17, Jesus prays to the Father for his disciples.  It is one of the most amazing passages in Scripture.  Here Jesus prays that His disciples would understand the Father's plan to send the Son.  He prays that the Father would guard and keep them.  He prays they would be unified and that they would know real joy.  He prays they would be sanctified (set apart to holiness) in the truth. 

What is truly amazing is that Jesus prayed that night for you and I.  He prays specifically for those who would be future disciples as a result of these disciples lives and teaching.  He prays that we would be in the Father and the Son, that we would know Their love for us and that we would love Them.

I think it is very clear that Jesus wanted us to understand that the key to discipleship is abiding in Him, in His truth, in His life by means of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  If we allow the Holy Spirit to produce Christ's life in us, it will be a life "disciplined" by the Holy Spirit to resemble Christ's life.  This is the heart of discipleship.


More Than Evangelism

This is also the heart of the Great Commission ... that we make disciples.  To make disciples requires more than just evangelism.  It means that we help people grow into Christ-likeness.  It encompasses the disciplines necessary to renew our thinking and become Christ from the inside out.  Paul in Ephesians suggests this is the very purpose of the church, namely, that we grow into maturity in our understanding of Christ and that maturity produces in us, the stature of the fulness of Christ. 

Making disciples is our task.  We are to carry on the work of Christ assigned that night to the Apostles and entrusted to the Church until Christ returns.  Next time you go to church, remember it's more than a gathering of nice people.  It's more than your religious club.  It's a place to grow into Christ.  It's a place to be transformed by Truth and the Holy Spirit.  Won't you take up the challenge to be come a Disciple of Christ?

Next:  IMITATE  Living THE LIFE - Walking THE PATH

Imitate - Living Like Christ

Relational: The third of three blogs which provide a deeper look at the mission of the church as described in Matthew 28.  Here at KBC, we believe the words Intersect, Impact and Imitate best describe the great commission given us by Jesus Christ.

Imitate - verb

1.  to follow or endeavor to follow as a model or example

2.  to mimic or impersonate

3.  to make a copy or reproduce closely

4.  to have or assume the appearance of; simulate; resemble

origin:  1525-35 < Latin imiatus past participle of imitari to copy; presumably akin to the base of imago image

The Lord Jesus left his disciples with a very specific commission.  They were instructed to "make disciples" from all people groups as they went about their daily lives.  Still today, the words "disciple and discipleship" are most often used in religious settings.

It is important for us to not fall into the trap of relegating the word "disciple" only to the 12 men who followed Jesus during His earthly ministry.  Certainly these were Jesus' disciples.  But there were many others.  More accurately we refer to them as His "apostles" when we think of their specific authority and responsibility regarding the beginnings of the Christian church.  However, it is clear from Jesus' commission that they were responsible to "reproduce themselves" which is at the core of the words "make disciples".

It is perhaps important for contemporary Christians to re-examine just what Jesus meant when He said, "disciple all nations".  What is a disciple?  What does it mean to "make disciples"?  We had better know what He meant, since this is the very purpose we exist as a Christian church in the first place.

Imitate

By definition, a disciple is one who is a follower or a pupil.  A modern equivalent would be "an apprentice", one who is learning (a trade, for example) from another experienced person.  Jesus instructed the apostles to make "committed followers or apprentices" of Himself.  That is the focus of the word "Imitate" which we have chosen in our three "I's".  The origin of "imitate" comes from the idea of reflecting the "image" or likeness of something.

When we use the word "imitate" today, it is likely that you think of the word in a negative light.  You may think of "imitation" as opposed to "authentic".  Like a "knock-off" Gucci hand bag verses the real thing.  (I guess that's not a bad thing depending on your personal finances.)  We American's like the real thing.  Since we were kids we were told look for the authentic.  You know like, Coca Cola "It's the Real Thing".

However, there is a use of the word "imitate" which is much closer to the idea Jesus had in mind when He gave the Great Commission.  As in the first definition above, the idea of following or modeling one's behavior after another strikes closer to the truth. 

Disciple

Dallas Willard, former Southern Baptist Pastor and professor at the School of Philosophy at the University of Southern California, is the author of many engaging and enlightening books on this subject.  In an article titled, "How Does The Disciple Live", Dr. Willard writes, "As Jesus' disciple, I am His apprentice in kingdom living.  I am learning from Him how to lead my life in the Kingdom of the Heavens as He would lead my life if He were I."  He continues, "Being His apprentice is, therefore, not a matter of special 'religious' activities, but an orientation and quality of my entire existence." 

Dr. Willard describes a threefold learning process for the disciple/apprentice of Jesus.  First, learning to do the things Jesus specifically said to do.  Second, learning to conduct the usual activities of life, in the character and power of Christ.  Third, learning to exercise the power of the Kingdom of Christ in His Word and Spirit.

The article concludes with this statement:  "Disciples are those who, seriously intending to become like Jesus from the inside out, systematically and progressively rearrange their affairs to that end, under the guidance of the Word and the Spirit."  With this in mind, "discipleship" may refer to the process of restructuring or reordering my world to become more like Christ.  In fact, "Christlikeness" is at the core of the title "Christian".  Early believers were called Christians, specifically because they lived "like Christ".  The word literally means, "Christ like ones".

Jim Putman, in his book, "Real Life Discipleship: Building Churches That Make Disciples" uses a very simple definition of Discipleship based on Jesus' invitation to Simon Peter and his brother Andrew.  Seeing them casting their nets into the Sea of Galilee, Jesus calls to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." (Matthew 4:19 ESV).  Pastor Putman, defines discipleship as, "one who knows and follows Christ, who is being changed by Christ, and who is committed to the mission of Christ"1.  You see the outline in His invitation to the brothers.  First, "follow me".  Second, "and I will make you".  Third, "fishers of men".  Disciples are followers of Christ who are transformed by Him and who accomplish the mission of reaching people with the message of life in Christ.

A Finite Process

Many believers connect the concepts of discipleship with spiritual perfection.  In so doing they arrive at a place that Scripture does not take us.  They come to believe that discipleship is a process that continues throughout their lifetime ending with their becoming like Christ in the life after death.  This kind of thinking, keeps them from seeing that the process of apprenticeship to Jesus is something that can be accomplished in a period of time, for those who are committed to His instruction.

In the real "Lord's Prayer" recorded for us in John 17, we see a very interesting statement made by Jesus to the Father in verse 4.  Jesus says, "I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do."  (John 17:4 ESV)  I find it interesting that He makes this statement prior to His crucifixion and resurrection.  If all that Jesus came to earth to do was to become our propitiation, the satisfaction for sin and our atonement, then what is He referring to in this verse?

I believe Jesus is referring to His work in training the disciples.  By this point they had left their ambitions behind and followed Him for three and a half years, learning from Him in real life situations.  They had come to really know Him (1 John 1:1-4), they began to understand His manner of life, His passion for the eternal souls of men.  No they did not fully understand.  They were still hoping for a seat at His right or left hand in an earthly kingdom established after deliverance from Roman occupation.  But soon they would understand.  They would learn that He would be leaving them.  That another "Helper" would be coming who would be in them, teaching and guiding them.  But Jesus' work in making them His disciples was complete.

In this I find a very important lesson.  We can learn to follow Jesus to the point at which we can truly be called His "Disciple" in this lifetime.  The apostle Peter reminds us of this in 2 Peter 1:1-15.  The apostle Paul told the Ephesian elders that he had taught them "the whole counsel of God" while He was with them for 3 years (see Acts 20:17-38).  Paul would later write to the same Ephesian believers that the very purpose of the church was to bring every believer to maturity in Christ, to Christ-like-ness (see Ephesians 4:11-16).

While it is true that we will not find sinless perfection until our sin nature is fully eradicated in glorification, we can become Jesus' disciples, His apprentices and do our part to accomplish His commission of "making disciples" of all people groups.

Why is this distinction important?  Because far too often, we believe that only certain people can make disciples.  We come to believe that only those with Bible college or Seminar degrees, only those employed on the church staff, only those with church office titles (pastor, elder, deacon) are charged with this responsibility.  It's not for me, it's not my job, it's for the professional at church, don't try this at home.  I believe this misunderstanding of apprenticeship and sinless perfection literally keeps us from becoming the followers of Christ we are all called to be.

Becoming Christ's disciple is a finite process.   We can all learn how to follow Him.  We can all learn how to share His life with those who are lost and dying without Him.  We can and must do so now!

Transformation by Apprenticeship

The New Testament understood a disciple to be more than just a person who relies on correct beliefs alone.  The true disciples was one who responded to Christ's call to walk closely with Him, one who would forsake everything for the sake of that call.  Too often today, we think of the disciple in terms of evangelism - one who shares the gospel.  While it proclaiming the availability of life in the kingdom made possible through Jesus is certainly a chief responsibility of a disciple, the disciple is first one who has become an 'apprentice' of Jesus.  An apprenticed walked with, observed, learned from and imitated his master.  The apprentice was on a journey of becoming like his master by being with Him.

Much of our evangelistic efforts would be better served if we would first commit to time in the yoke with Jesus. The NT apostles (the first disciples / apprentices) spent 3+ years learning from Jesus.  They  sacrificed their personal property and interests, learning to live simply (simplicity) as they left it all behind.  They served the crowds who followed Jesus, and at times separated themselves from the demands and needs of the people learning the importance of solitude.  Jesus taught them to pray, meditate and fast. They learned to submit (submission) to Jesus and to the Holy Spirit as they observed Jesus himself doing the same.  In fact, they were completely transformed as they spent time "with" Jesus.  As they were transformed into men who really lived like Jesus, they became true imitators of the one who they knew for certain held the words of life.

Our challenge today is to learn to walk with Jesus in the same manner as the disciples.  It is his purpose to transform us into people whose most immediate attitude, action and reaction in any given situation would be one very similar to what Jesus would think, feel or act if in that situation.  As we become more like Him on the inside, others will note the fact that we live like him on the outside.  And that is real imitation.

1 - William James Putman, Real-Life Discipleship, NavPress 2010, p.27-33

Intersection: Where the church meets the world

Missional:  For the next three blogs we will be taking a deeper look at the mission of the church as described in Matthew 28.  Here at KBC, we believe the words Intersect, Impact and Imitate best describe the great commission given us by Jesus Christ.

Intersect - verb

1.  to divide, cut or mark off by passing through or across

2.  (esp. of roads) to cross (each other)

3.  (often followed by with) to have one or more points in common

During His last conversation with His disciples, Jesus outlines the purpose of His body - the church.  To His closest friends, friends who had forsaken Him at His arrest and trial, He now entrusts a critical assignment.  I like how it is worded in GOD'S WORD version.   Matthew 28:18-20

 "When Jesus came near, he spoke to them.  He said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  So wherever you go, make disciples of all nations: Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Teach them to do everything I have commanded you.  And remember that I am always with you until the end of time." 

Jesus commissions the eleven to MAKE DISCIPLES wherever they GO and to TEACH THEM TO DO everything He had commanded them.  While the emphasis of the text is on the making of disciples, it is the process of going that correlates to our first word INTERSECT.  

Intersect implies a point of contact with people.  We intersect in people's lives everyday, everywhere we go, in everything we do.  When I go to the post office, I intersect with the people at the counter.  When I go to the grocery store, I buy groceries from a company, but intersect with people.  At the bank, I intersect with the teller, but she is a person with real needs, wants, and desires.  I intersect with people I know well and strangers too.  The point is, we intersect all the time.

That's what Jesus meant when He said, "As you go ...".  In other words, as you go about your daily life, raise your antenna.  Be alert to people.  See them with a heart of compassion.  Realize that without Me, they are on a road to eternity without God.  As you go about the activities that encompass your life ... INTERSECT.  

I know this is the perfect time to bring up how little we really interact with people these days.  I know the tragedy of technology.  The empty promise of increased connectivity by digital means that leaves people more in touch with their smart phone or computer than with the people on the other end of the line or the person out in cyberspace.  I realize we live in an increasingly isolated world.  Trust me, I know.  I live on an island that is the most remote place on earth.  The Hawaiian islands are 2500 miles from the closest land in any direction.  Yet even here, I intersect everyday.

The members and friends at KBC and I are learning together what it means to intersect intentionally.  My fellow members of the body of Christ at Kihei are continually reminded of the responsibility we have to look for ways to touch people's lives with the Good News.  From the pulpit, the classroom and by example we are instructed, encouraged and shown this primary activity which Jesus commanded.  Now every time we leave the worship center we see the banner above reminding us to intersect.


Jesus intersected with the world of men in the greatest collision in human history.  The creator took upon Himself the form of His creation.  The Eternal stepped into time and space and God became a man for a singular purpose.  Phillipians 2:6-8 tells us that Christ Jesus:

"Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross!"

By His death and resurrection Jesus made possible the abundant life God originally created man to enjoy in fellowship with Himself.   Having accomplished everything necessary to restore us to a loving relationship with the Father and with Himself, He ascended into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.  But not before commissioning His disciples with the great and awesome responsibility to intersect with a lost and dying world.  

Jesus had spent three and half years demonstrating how to fulfill this command.  Throughout His earthly life, Jesus intersected with people.  As a child in the temple, He intersect with the community.  From His baptism on, He was led by the Holy Spirit, from divine appointment to divine appointment, intersecting in the lives of people.  Teaching, showing compassion, feeding, healing and loving people, Jesus revealed the abundant life to people as He went from place to place.


It is easy for us to reason "of course, this is Jesus we're talking about".  We think, "He was slain before the foundations of the world so He had this cosmic purpose about everything He did."  In so doing, we miss some of the most important points of His teaching.  We too are indwelt by the very same Holy Spirit.  Review Luke four again.  Jesus was filled by the Spirit, led by the Spirit and empowered by the Spirit.  Now stop and ask yourself, why?  Why did Jesus (God) need the Holy Spirit?  The answer is He didn't  He was submitting to the will of the Father and cooperating with the Holy Spirit, He became our example for life in the Spirit.

Wasn't it He who would later say, "If you love me, keep my commands"? (John 14:15).  He would go on to say "And I will ask the father and He will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you forever - the Spirit of Truth" (John 14:16).  Now think about Ephesians 2:10 for a moment.  "We are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do"  From these verses we understand that we too have a divine purpose and the divine empowerment to fulfill that purpose.  Remembering these facts, we can boldly embrace each new day eagerly looking for the divine appointments to intersect in the lives of the people around us.

In the next two blogs we will look at the other two elements of this great commission, IMPACT and IMITATE.  But for now, let me encourage you to make the choice to be obedient to His first instruction to INTERSECT.  As you go about life today, see the people around you.  Think about their destination without Christ.  Realize that the Holy Spirit who is in you will give you the words to say and bring to your remembrance the truth you need to impact them with the gospel.  It's as easy as starting with "Hi, my name is ..."

Slow Down! This Ain't The Mainland.

In 2001 my wife Debbie and I moved from the suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota to the sunny southern shore of Maui Hawaii.  We had purchased a small franchise and were excited to bring this new idea to the island where we were married years before.  (The story is a bit more complicated than that - we originally thought we'd be moving to the Kona coast of the Big Island of Hawaii, but that's another story.)

We sold our home, closed our business on the mainland, said goodbye to dear family and friends, sold or gave away nearly everything we owned, packed the remainder and a Mazda Miata in a moving container and left for new beginnings in Hawaii.  We arrived, selected a retail space, knocked on every door (residential or business) in the central valley introducing our new venture and launched our new fitness business.  That was September 1, 2001, ten days before 9/11.   

We came to Hawaii with a serious intent to slow down.  We had just met physician, futurist, author and renowned speaker, Dr. Richard Swenson, the author of "Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives".  In our time with Dr. Swenson we learned about the importance of Margin - the space between your load and your limits and we realized we didn't have very much margin in any space in our lives.  Not in the things that mattered, time, relationships, energy, etc.  So we decided a new location would be just the ticket and like so many others before us, we came to Hawaii seeking a new life.  


In the years since, I've learned an important and painful lesson, the Margin that we fought to put in our lives is so easily replaced with new stuff, new pressures, new time commitments, and new obligations.  One moment it's there and you're enjoying another beautiful Maui sunset and the next, you haven't seen the beach in weeks.  And now, like the song says, "you're gone and I'm so lost without you".


God knew we needed margin in our lives.  He knew we needed to set aside time to just relax.  He knew that working 50, 60, 70 hours a week wasn't good for us.  That's why, from the very beginning He told us to set aside a "day of rest".  To the Hebrew nation, He gave very clear and specific instructions about "keeping the Sabbath", in part I believe, so that they would have the space in their lives to really enjoy Him.  

God created the universe in six days and then He rested.  It wasn't that He was exhausted from His efforts.  In fact, His energy wasn't diminished one ounce during creation.  But He set in place a critical principle of rest that He wanted us to follow.  During His time on earth, the Word that spoke the worlds into existence - Jesus, deliberately planned margin into His life.  He kept the Sabbath as God intended.  True, He and His disciples were criticized by the Pharisees, for "doing work" on the Sabbath, but Jesus rebuked them for misinterpreting God's word and burdening the people of Israel with unnecessary laws.


Jesus also specifically set aside time to get away from the crowds, away from the demands of His ministry, to rest, be refreshed, pray and enjoy solitude with God.  Now if it was important enough for Him, how much more so for us?  My point here is not to say, we should institute some legalistic form of spirituality, but simply that if we don't live as God intended us to live, we ourselves will suffer the consequences.  We all know what those consequences look like:  such common challenges as burnout, depression, overload, stress, physical symptoms, emotional imbalance, and spiritual defeat.


Never before has it been so hard for us to "be still" and "know that He is God".  Since we have such difficulty being still, how can we really know God in our lives?  We seem to readily identify the symptoms.  We agree with the diagnosis.  But why do we find it so hard to accept the prescription from The Master Physician?  If we don't slow down, we will crash and burn.

Here in Hawaii, you will often see the bumper sticker that reads, "Slow down, this ain't the mainland".  This local exclamation reflects the relaxed nature of Hawaiian culture.  It's also a good reminder if you happen to be driving on a Maui road where the speed limit is usually 20 mph.  One way to identify a newly arrived transplant from the mainland is to watch them drive.  Zipping in and out at speeds far in excess of our unusually low posted speeds, they seem to fly past you.  Funny though, you will always pull up next to them at the stop light a few moments later.  There really is no place on the island where you will benefit from pushing the limit.  

I guess I've been here long enough now for that bumper sticker to become meaningful to me.  In so very many ways it is good advice.  "Slow Down".  I don't know where I heard it first, but it is profound, "if you're too busy for God in your life, you're simply too busy".  Maybe like me, you need to hear Jesus' call once again, "...come unto me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."

It's another beautiful Saturday morning here on Maui.  I just enjoyed a great cup of Kona coffee, and now I'm off to enjoy beautiful PoliPoli State Park with "The Gallery", my friends in their 20s & 30s at Kihei Baptist.  Instead of worrying about the 30 more things I need to do today ... I'm doing the one thing I really need to do ... enjoying God in His creation with my wife and dear friends and deliberately enjoying some margin.  I highly recommend it.  You should try it some time.

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Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives by Richard A. Swenson, MD.  Navpress Publishing Group.  March 1995

A Legacy of Faith

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1

As I get older, I notice I have become more thankful for things that previously I had not noticed were valuable to me.  Like so many Americans, I have been guilty of taking for granted values and principles for which previous generations chose to suffer and die.  Such is the case with a four volume commentary on the book of Hebrews originally published from 1668 to 1684 in London by Dr. John Owen, the esteemed dean of Christ's College Oxford and beloved country preacher.  

My copy, originally published in 1811, was given to me by my father many years ago and has been in my library since.  They have unfortunately been rarely opened and until recently not studied nor appreciated.  

It's amazing what treasures are in our possession and we don't even know it.  Like the person who brings the picture that's been hanging in the garage to the Antique Road Show and finds out its a valuable original, I have been sitting unawares on treasures that are equally astounding.

A good friend and former mentor told me, "you will become in the next five years two things:  what you read and who you associate with".  Believing that to be true, I started many years ago to develop a voracious reading habit.  Still to this day, I read four to five books a month and sometimes more.  At times I read to learn, other times to relax.  Some volumes are on topics of interest and others are selected because of a need in my life.  It was need that drove me to finally open this great work by Dr. Owen.  

A few weeks ago, I felt a real and urgent need to get alone with God.  I've been studying the spiritual disciplines and realized that I really haven't been able to experience solitude for the purpose of communion with God and meditation in a long while.  Fortunately, I live in a very isolated place, in the middle of the Pacific ocean, on an island where less that 2% of the land is developed.  I live next to a mountain that has miles of wilderness.  With solitude as my goal, I drove to a very remote part of the mountain, high above the valley floor.  The bi-coastal view was spectacular.  Wispy clouds rolled in and out obstructing my view at times.   Not another soul was in sight.  There was not a sound to be heard except the wind through the trees.  I was indeed alone with God.


I felt God wanted to say something to me and I had been too busy and preoccupied trying to serve Him to listen.  What it was or how he would speak to me I had no idea.  In fact, I brought my Bible but I had absolutely no idea where to start.  I was even uncertain what to pray.  Not knowing what else to do, I simply prayed that He would make His intentions known to me if I would just start reading.  That just left one problem; "Where to begin reading?"  

Now maybe you've been in a similar boat, knowing you needed to hear from God; knowing the answers to your questions were to be found in His Word, but having no clue where to start.  If so, then you can empathize with my situation.  

I figured I'd narrow it down to the New Testament, but still felt no real direction, so I simply started in Matthew 1:1 and read the entire book in one sitting.  What followed turned out to be one of the greatest days in my Christian experience.  


Lots of things came to my attention.  Each of the stories of Jesus' life and ministry revealed His divinity, His nature, His compassion, His power, His love for all mankind, His hatred of hypocritical religion, His purpose and so much more.  But what literally leaped off the pages and grabbed my attention was Jesus' emphasis on the importance of faith.


Over and over again He either approved someone for evidencing faith or rebuked others for their lack of faith.  Whether it was faith in His ability to heal a sick family member, feed a multitude, calm a storm, walk on water or rise victorious over death; Jesus life and teachings continuously challenged and stretched His disciples faith. It was to teach me a lesson about faith that He had brought me up to the mountain.  


Now back to Dr. Owen.  


Wanting to study more on the subject of faith, I dug into Hebrews 11.  That's when I remembered the massive 4 volume, 2163 page commentary on Hebrews.  I turned to the fourth volume and opened to the section on chapter 11.  That's when I noticed the section pictured above.  


Here Dr. Owen, observes that Faith, at it's core, being the 'evidence of things not seen', is the "great means of preserving believers in constant, patient profession of the gospel, against all opposition, and under the fiercest persecutions".  He continues to teach that it is faith that:

1. "...discovers that the worst of what we can undergo in this world for the profession of the gospel, bears no proportion to the excellency and glory of those invisible things..."
2.  "...relieves and refresheth the soul under all its sufferings..."  And "makes (us) joyful in them and victorious over them".
3.  "...gives an assurance ... of the greatness and glory of the eternal reward, which is the greatest encouragement to constancy in believing."


His closing observations on Hebrews 11:1 spoke volumes to me.  He writes.


"It is faith alone, that takes believers out of this world whilst they are in it, that exalts them above it whilst they are under its rage; that enables them to live upon things future and invisible, giving such a real subsistence to their power, and victorious evidence of their reality and truth, in themselves, as secures them from fainting under all oppositions, temptations, and persecutions whatever."

Perhaps, like me, you need to be reminded that your faith is not in vain.  Your faith in God will be rewarded whether you see the end result here on earth or in heaven.  For the next 38 verses the author of Hebrews catalogs the faith of the ancients.  In 11:39 he reminds us that they were  

"commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.  God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect."

I'm thankful for a legacy of faith and faithfulness passed down from my father,  and for all 2163 pages of wisdom now appreciated in my library.  I'm thankful that God chooses to speak to me through His word if I'll just take the time to listen.  I'm thankful I can place my faith in one who is Himself trustworthy and find confidence to face the trials and tribulations of life.  

Claiming To Be Wise They Became Fools ...

 

Hawaii is an incredible place.  Rising from the depths of the Pacific ocean are eight volcanic islands that make up this wonderful island state.  Actually these are just the visible parts of a chain of undersea mountains that stretch for 1500 miles across the mid-Pacific.  

When measured from their true foundations below the ocean, these are the tallest mountains in the world.  At the bottom of the island chain is the island of Hawaii and the shield volcanos Mauna Loa (13,677) and Moana Kea (13,796).  When measured from it's base, Mauna Loa reaches 3/4 a mile above Mt. Everest and covers nearly 10,000 cubic miles of mass.  No wonder they call it the "Big Island".  

The island of Maui, Hawaii's northern neighbor boasts two mountains, the massive Haleakala "House of the Sun" (11,500) and the west Maui mountains known to Hawaiians as Komohana, also called Mauna Kahalawai.  These two are connected by a broad valley thus earning Maui the name "The Valley Isle".  Each of the other islands have similar mountains though not as high or large as those on Maui or Hawaii.  (Sorry Kauai, you do have the dramatic Waimea Canyon aka "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific")

The islands of Hawaii are the most isolated land mass on earth, situated approximately 2500 miles from land in any direction.  Free from atmospheric pollution (well, there is the VOG from Kilauea), and with little to no ambient light, the mountains of Hawaii are considered some of the best places to observe the stars anywhere on earth. The night air is clear and dry.  As a result, both on the island of Hawaii and here on Maui you find leading observatories built above one third of the earth's atmosphere.  

At the summit of Haleakala is Maui's "Science City", home to the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy.  Partnering with NASA, the National Science Foundation, the Pan-STARRS consortium, the Space Telescope Science Institute, Tohoku University (Japan), the US Air Force and other agencies, the Institute for Astronomy shares some of the worlds most powerful telescopes.  These and other scientific organizations are researching such subjects as astrobiology, the sun and solar systems, the stars and galaxies and cosmology.

Ever wonder what they do with all those millions of research grants?  Take a moment to review those research subjects.  Astrobiology.  Cosmology.  Astrobiology from astron "constellation, star" and bios "life" is defined as the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe.  Cosmology from kosmos "universe" and logia "study" is the study of the universe in it's totality and by extension humanity in it's place.  Historically cosmology included science, philosophy, esotericism and religion.  The very names of the research subjects gives you a clue.  

The Institute for Astronomy's own website has this to say about Cosmology ...

"There is now nearly universal agreement that the universe began in a hot Big Bang more than 13 billion years ago and has expanded from a nearly uniform early state of very hot gas and radiation. One of the most compelling problems of modern astrophysics is to understand the evolution from this early uniform state to our current structured universe of stars and galaxies. When and how did galaxies form? When and where did the first stars form? Will galaxy formation go on forever, or are we at a special time in the history of the universe?"

The actual course description for Astrobiology 281 in part reads ...

"One theme of the course is the quest for an understanding of the origin and cosmic distribution of life. This topic embraces the search for life on Mars, efforts to find planets around other stars, an evaluation of the UFO phenomenon, and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence."

Academics and scientists across the globe continue on their endless search for the answers to man's origin.  Occupying the combined minds and efforts of some of the world's most intelligent people is the attempt to find purpose and meaning apart from God.  

In the opening chapter of the book of Romans, the apostle Paul tells us that God's anger comes to those who suppress the truth by their wickedness.  Paul writes, 

"¹⁹since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."  

He continues to tell us that men could know God, but they chose not to acknowledge and glorify Him as God.  As a result,  

"their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²²Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools ²³and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles."

It's just as true today, intelligent people continue to exchange the truth of God for a lie.  In cathedrals of education and science across the globe people would rather worship and serve the things God has  created than the Creator Himself.  The scientific community continues to rage against what is easily recognizable to those less educated.  Clearly the amazing design of the universe requires a designer.  Job says of God,

 Job 9

 ⁸ He alone stretches out the heavens

       and treads on the waves of the sea.

 ⁹ He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion,
       the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.

 ¹⁰ He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
       miracles that cannot be counted.

When you look at the stars at night are you humbled by the immensity of the world God has created, or are you still searching for meaning without Him? 

Psalm 8

 ³ When I consider your heavens,

       the work of your fingers,

       the moon and the stars,

       which you have set in place,

 ⁴ what is man that you are mindful of him,
       the son of man that you care for him?

 ⁵ You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
       and crowned him with glory and honor.

In the mid-1400s Thomas À Kempis wrote, 

"Every man naturally desires knowledge; but what good is knowledge without fear of God? Indeed a humble rustic who serves God is better than a proud intellectual who neglects his soul to study the course of the stars."

And it's still true today!