Sermons Online are Here!

My sermons are now online! Click here!

Once on the web page click on the podcast link and it will open your iTunes and begin the download. New sermons will be downloaded when they are posted and you open your iTunes program.

You can also listen to the latest sermon on the web page. Just to let you know I began preaching through Romans in June and will post them two a week beginning with chapter 1.

Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!

Thanks!

Dave

20 Reasons to give thanks

As our country was first being formed our forefathers saw fit to make a day of thanksgiving to express to God their gratitude for His providential goodness to them. God had delievered them and shown Himself faithfulness in the midst of difficulty. Thanksgiving is a type of praise that focuses on the goodness of God and expresses our appreciation for that goodness.

But how about us today? Why should we give thanks? Sometimes we find ourselves discouraged by our circumstances or think that there is nothing that is going right. What should motivate us to give thanks to God in the midst of difficulties? Why should we give thanks to God both now and all our days? Let me briefly share with you twenty biblical reasons why we as Christians should give thanks always.

1. We give thanks to make God known.

“Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples.” (1 Chronicles 16:8; cf. Psalm 9:1; Psalm 105:1)

2. We give thanks to Praise God.

“Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the nations, And I will sing praises to Your name.” (2 Chronicles 22:50)

3. We give thanks because God is good.

“O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Then say, "Save us, O God of our salvation, And gather us and deliver us from the nations, To give thanks to Your holy name, And glory in Your praise." (1 Chronicles 16:34-35; cf. Psalm 106:1)

4. We thank God because it is too late to do it on earth when you are dead.

"For there is no mention of You in death; In Sheol who will give You thanks?” (Psalm 6:5)

5. We thank God because it is practice for eternity.

“That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.” (Psalm 30:12)

6. We thank God corporately because it shows our solidarity and strength.

“I will give You thanks in the great congregation; I will praise You among a mighty throng.” (Psalm 35:38)

7. We express our gratitude because it glorifies God.

“I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And will glorify Your name forever.” (Psalm 86:12)

8. We thank God because it is a good thing to do.

“It is good to give thanks to the LORD And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;” (Psalm 92:1)

9. We offer thanksgiving because God gives us the ability to express our praise.

“With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the LORD; And in the midst of many I will praise Him.” (Psalm 109:30)

10. We thank God because His is God 24/7/365.

“At midnight I shall rise to give thanks to You Because of Your righteous ordinances.” (Psalm 119:62, cf. Psalm 121:4)

11. We thank God because He created us.

“I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.” (Psalm 139:14)

12. When we thank God it reveals we are righteous.

“Surely the righteous will give thanks to Your name; The upright will dwell in Your presence.” (Psalm 140:13)

13. We thank God because His anger is turned away from us.

“Then you will say on that day, "I will give thanks to You, O LORD; For although You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, And You comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the LORD GOD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation." (Isaiah 12:1-2)

14. We thank God because Jesus did.

“and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.” (Matthew 15:36; cf. Luke 22:17-19)

15. We thank God because it is a sign that we are true believers.

“For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” (Romans 1:21)

16. We thank God because He has given us victory in Christ.

“…but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57 cf. 2 Corinthians 2:14)

17. We thank God for the blessings of our inheritance.

“…giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.” (Colossians 1:12)

18. We thank God in the midst of suffering for Christ as a sacrifice of praise.

“Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” (Hebrews 13:15)

19. When we thank God we reveal the pattern demonstrated in heaven.

“And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever,” (Revelation 4:9)

20. We thank God because as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords He will establish His kingdom.

“We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.” (Revelation 11:17)

So this Thanksgiving and every day offer your praise and thanksgiving to God because He is great and greatly to be praised.

God's sovereignty and the Problem of Evil

Dear friends,

I want to share a portion of a letter I wrote to a friend who has recently lost his daughter. He was struggling know that God is sovereign and that his daughter's death was within God's planning and purpose yet struggling to reconcile that with this fallen, messed up world we live in. Perhaps these words that were directed at him might help in the situations you are facing as well:

Dear Jeff,

I have been thinking about what you asked and I have some further thoughts concerning this. Let me begin by sharing some thoughts on a well known verse, Romans 8:28: "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

Keep in mind that this is not the only verse that addresses the issue of God's sovereignty and human freedom so I don't want to make it seem like it says everything that needs to be said but we can glean some important truths.

First, notice the confidence that Paul has when he says, "we know." There is a confidence that transcends the momentary and our circumstances. The reality of God and the goodness of God intrude in on our misery and pain and every circumstance that we face. We must not lose this confidence regardless of the situations that we may face on a daily basis.

Secondly, Paul notes that God is at work causing all things to work together for good. God is behind the circumstances that we are in. He is sovereign. Now here, it does not say that God is the direct cause of all things that happen. Some things occur as a result of living in a fallen world, other things happen because of the sinful choices of man. And at times God directly and immediately intervenes directly causing an event to happen. However, when God acts directly it is never for evil. Even when He brings justice by pouring out His wrath it is for a good cause, namely, establishing justice and punishing evil.

Having said that, in an ultimate sense God is in control of every situation. Even our free choices are under the permissive will of God. If we wanted to do something and God did not want it to happen it wouldn't happen. God could choose to intervene and stop an evil from occurring. When He doesn't it is because it is in His permissive will and in some way within His sovereign and mysterious will. (Deuteronomy 29:29)

This is why after being mistreated, left for dead and traded to the Midianites by his brothers (not to mention falsely accused of rape and thrown in prison for a few years!) Joseph could say, "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive." (Genesis 50:20) You see, Joseph didn't diminish the fact that what they did was in fact evil. Yet he also understood that God was in an ultimate sense behind it and worked through all that happened. God's sovereignty over an event doesn't take away human responsibility.

Thirdly, God is able to cause all things to work together for good. We need to understand the good in question here in a kingdom sense and not necessarily in a personal and individual sense. If I lose my job or get cancer it is hard to argue that this is good. Granted God may do amazing things in my life and use me to minister to others. But I believe the good that is in view goes beyond just the individual. God is using the good to impact the world for Christ and ultimately bring glory to Himself. That is why being tortured for your faith can be seen in an ultimate sense as good. Those tortured or martyred for their faith suffered and died yet it is the blood of the saints that has become the seeds for the church to grow as was said centuries ago.

Also, the good that God is going to bring out of a tragic situation is not always immediately present. I would never be so brash to suggest to someone that they see the good in a tragedy (or worse yet, to call it good immediately). Some things are not readily evident and at other times the good that God is going to bring out happens months or years later. Our confidence is that God will bring good out of every situation but we should not necessarily expect to see it immediately. Some things we may not see or understand on this side of eternity. That is why we have to walk by faith and not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7, cf. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

Fourth, notice that the good that God promises to always work out is in regards to the genuine believer in Christ. God has particular and special love for His children. He is gracious in many ways to all even those who reject Him (Matthew 5:45) but He places His special favor on those whom He calls His own (John 16:32-33; Matthew 11: 27-30; Hebrews 12:5-10 even God's discipline reveals we have a special place before Him.)

This brings great comfort and hope. We know that God sees everything, knows everything, is at work in everything and for the believer everything has an ultimate purpose that is good. Even when we only see the evil of the moment we can rest assured that good will come of it.

Finally, related to my fourth point is the final phrase, "to those who are called according to His purpose." This relates to what we have already seen concerning those who love God but it looks at us from a different perspective. We were reminded that this promise relates to the true believer, the true lover of God. Now we see our standing from God's perspective. We have been called by God in a special, personal way. We have become His children not because we first loved Him but because He first loved us (1 John 4:10, 19)

Also, God has a purpose for our lives. All of the details of our lives are working towards that purpose. We know that our lives are to glorify God and every detail of our lives is in some mysterious and incredible way working towards that end. That we will glorify God fully and completely with out lives.

Having said this let me answer your question directly. It is appropriate and right to say that your daughter's death was a result of living in a sinful, fallen world. However, it is also correct to say that God, in His inscrutable mercy, chose to take your daughter home. Not that we may understand the reason why.

If you read my blogs from June-November 2005 you will see that we thought we were going to lose our daughter at 19 weeks. In fact, the doctor came in while my wife was in the hospital and told us that we almost definitely would. We cried and prayed throughout the night fully expecting to have lost our daughter by morning. As it turned out her complete heart block was not the onset of a miscarriage but rather due to a rare antibody my wife carries for a disease she has never had. They delivered our daughter 5 weeks early and six weeks later she had heart surgery and a pacemaker put in. What should have been routine turned into another week's ordeal as she had an infection and was in the neonatal intensive care unit for a full week and could have died.

God has used that experience to teach us so much and to use us in the lives of others.

There is much more that I could say but I have probably said enough for now. There are some deeper issues that I have not explored namely the relationship between Divine sovereignty and human freedom, the reasons why God would freely choose to create this particular world with human beings (and angelic beings) that would rebel against Him, and in what sense are we truly "free." What does the term "free will" really mean? How can we be "free" if Jesus said we were slaves to sin?

Let me know what you are thinking and feeling. I am concerned because I don't want all of this discussion to interfere with the process that you are going through in dealing with the loss of your daughter and the healing that needs to continue to take place. These are important issues to wrestle with but not to the exclusion of those other necessary things.

Love,

David Monreal

What are the Keys to Youth Happiness?

Below is an article I read today about an extensive study by AP and MTV regarding what makes people between the ages of 13 and 24 happy.

What is so surprising about the article isn't what they found, what is so surprising is that they are surprised by the results. As a Christian it is self-evident that faith and family are the cornerstone to true happiness.

I included the entire article below for you to read or you can click on the title above to read the original.

Another "startling" find is that students between the ages of 13 and 18 who have sex say that it makes them less happy. I would observe that our permissive society that promotes casual sex has tended to deny the emotional scars that this lifestyle leaves in its wake.

Poll: Family Ties Key to Youth Happiness

Monday August 20, 2007 3:16 AM

By JOCELYN NOVECK and TREVOR TOMPSON
Associated Press Writers

NEW YORK (AP) - So you’re between the ages of 13 and 24. What makes you happy? A worried, weary parent might imagine the answer to sound something like this: Sex, drugs, a little rock ‘n’ roll. Maybe some cash, or at least the car keys.

Turns out the real answer is quite different. Spending time with family was the top answer to that open-ended question, according to an extensive survey - more than 100 questions asked of 1,280 people ages 13-24 - conducted by The Associated Press and MTV on the nature of happiness among America’s young people.

Next was spending time with friends, followed by time with a significant other. And even better for parents: Nearly three-quarters of young people say their relationship with their parents makes them happy.

“They’re my foundation,” says Kristiana St. John, 17, a high-school student from Queens in New York. “My mom tells me that even if I do something stupid, she’s still going to love me no matter what. Just knowing that makes me feel very happy and blessed.”

Other results are more disconcerting. While most young people are happy overall with the way their lives are going, there are racial differences: the poll shows whites to be happier, across economic categories, than blacks and Hispanics. A lot of young people feel stress, particularly those from the middle class, and females more than males.

You might think money would be clearly tied to a general sense of happiness. But almost no one said “money” when asked what makes them happy, though people with the highest family incomes are generally happier with life. However, having highly educated parents is a stronger predictor of happiness than income.

And sex? Yes, we were getting to that. Being sexually active actually leads to less happiness among 13-17 year olds, according to the survey. If you’re 18 to 24, sex might lead to more happiness in the moment, but not in general.

From the body to the soul: Close to half say religion and spirituality are very important. And more than half say they believe there is a higher power that has an influence over things that make them happy. Beyond religion, simply belonging to an organized religious group makes people happier.

And parents, here’s some more for you: Most young people in school say it makes them happy. Overwhelmingly, young people think marriage would make them happy and want to be married some day. Most also want to have kids.

Finally, when asked to name their heroes, nearly half of respondents mentioned one or both of their parents. The winner, by a nose: Mom.

Titanic Claims! Jesus' supposed burial box!?!

Click on the title above for links to this story

The ossuary show above is claimed to be the burial box that contained the bones of Jesus. Below is the box they assert Mary Magdalene, his supposed wife, was buried along with their "son" Judah in a third box.


James Cameron, director of movies such as Aliens, Terminator and Titanic, has announced his project to reveal the burial box of Jesus, his wife Mary Magdalene and their son. As a Christian and a pastor, what is my reaction to this?

Honestly, my first reaction is to just shrug and say, here we go again with just one more attack on the person of Jesus Christ. It doesn’t surprise me or shock me and quite honestly it doesn’t shake my faith whatsoever. People are quick to embrace any unusual idea concerning the person of Jesus. However, show that Jesus did in fact rise from the dead and ascend to heaven as Scripture says and receive either ridicule or indifference.

Why here, why now? I think in part it is because the movement among liberal “scholars” has been to move towards Gnostic thinking regarding Jesus, Christianity and early church history. In the second and third centuries there was a group of people that had pantheistic leanings and strong feminist tendencies (among other beliefs, many which contradict each other) that challenged the accepted and orthodox teachings about Jesus. Although these loosely connected groups did not win the day and eventually faded from history we have much of what they have written. In fact, The Da Vinci Code book and movie (along with other books these are based on) are based on several of the ideas gleaned from Gnostic writings.

Among other things the Gnostics wanted to both humanize and spiritualize Jesus. They tried to turn him into an enlightened, spiritual man who was very “modern” in his thinking and permissive in his morality. “True” Christianity was not about morality but instead was about spirituality. Unlike the “Victorian” orthodox Christians, the Gnostics were enlightened about sex and spirituality. They play very well to the modern mindset.

So what about these burial boxes (ossuaries) that supposedly contain the bones of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and their son? It is amazing to me that people will readily accept ideas that fly in the face of all the established facts of history because they fit into their presuppositions. Find anything that confirms the Bible’s accounts of historic events and it is dismissed out of hand but reveal any “evidence” that disproves the Bible and it is accepted prima fascia.

I am not prone to believe in conspiracy theories. I do not think that James Cameron is part of any larger plot to undermine Christianity. I think that he released this 25 year old evidence because he really believes it is true (and he wants to be back in the limelight, what was his last hit movie?).

However, I do see another affect at play here. I think that all of these ridiculous claims from the Da Vinci Code to these ossuaries will have a cumulative effect of confirming people’s doubts and suspicions about the claims of Christianity. We live in a post-modern age where any Truth is questioned. It is all about perspective and opinion. Any idea purported will eventually have its counter-claim thereby nullifying it. This goes for science, history and religion. Sow enough seeds of doubt and at least one will sprout and grow.

Some, I believe, do hope that Christianity will “die the death of a thousand paper cuts.” What I mean is, most people don’t think they are going to bring down the whole structure of Christianity, however, they can continually whittle away at it until there is just an overwhelming amount of miniscule doubts that undermine belief and faith in Christ. Do I think this will actually happen? Of course not. But I do think that is the hope and intent of some. In some ways I think that is the motive behind the attempt to remove all symbols of Christianity from the public sphere. The old, “out of sight out of mind” strategy.

Here are just a few of the problems with the assertion that Jesus didn’t die on the cross and rise again.

1. There is the matter of all the biblical and extra-biblical testimony that Jesus was in fact tried, executed and buried.

2. There are the claims by Jesus’ followers of the empty tomb. The clear universal testimony of the followers of Christ was that the tomb was empty because He rose from the dead.

3. Jesus’ disciples truly believed that Jesus died, was buried and rose again. If He wasn’t and was still living in Jerusalem then why did they form Christianity and why did most of them die a martyr’s death? It is hard to follow a risen savior when he is your next door neighbor raising a kid.

4. If Jesus never really died, why didn’t the Roman authorities or the Jewish leaders just drag Jesus out and reveal the hoax foisted upon a foolishly believing people? If he was crucified and didn't rise bringing out the corpse would have quieted the rumors. If he was living down the street they could have just paraded him around the city a few times until people got their stories straight.

5. If Jesus truly didn’t die but instead married Mary Magdalene and had a child, why didn’t this supposed truth come out during his lifetime or shortly after? Why did it take hundreds of years to reveal it by people far removed from the events? Eyewitnesses believed Jesus was the sinless Son of God but people hundreds of years later have proof he was just another guy.

6. Archeologists are far from lining up behind James Cameron to assert that these boxes are the final resting places of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and their son Judah.

7. Christianity hinges on the death and resurrection of Jesus. The early disciples knew this and staked their life on it. Beyond that, one has to explain all of the other attendant issues surround Jesus’ trial, death, burial and resurrection. Was Jesus ever really tried? Did he actually even hang on the cross? Was his whole life an elaborate lie and hoax? Did his disciples know that it was a farce from the beginning? Was there ever really a tomb? How much of Jesus’ sayings are actually true? How did this simple carpenter ever even have such fanciful stories told about him in the first place? If none of the Bible claims actually happened how did all the myths and stories get built up in the first place?

It isn’t enough to just make these counter claims to the biblical account of Christianity, if someone is going to make these claims there is a burden of responsibility to answer all of the other issues as well. Lets assume these ossuaries are not forgeries (no one would ever make fake copies of something like this!), that doesn’t prove that these boxes actually were that of the same Jesus as the Bible. That name, along with Mary, were very common names.

My guess is that this story will have about a one month shelf life. After the program airs we will hear people going back and forth about it until after Easter and then it will be mostly forgotten (other than the lingering questions people have who heard about the story). Have you even noticed that these stories tend to come out about a month before Easter? Last year it was “The Gospel According to Judas” and this year it is the burial box of Jesus. Interesting timing. Always interesting timing. Hmm.

Well, these are my initial thoughts on the story. The show airs in early march so don’t be surprised if this isn’t the last you hear of it.

A Bit of Irony-The Pope and Islam

I have been watching the latest controversy unfold between the larger Islamic community and Western Civilization particularly the growing hostility that has been caused by the pope in his comments last week and the call for his apology.

Here is the opening paragraph from the Reuters article dated September 18, 2006:

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Al Qaeda militants in Iraq vowed war on "worshippers of the cross" and protesters burned a papal effigy on Monday over Pope Benedict's comments on Islam, while Western churchmen and statesmen tried to calm passions.

Let me sum up the situation for those who haven't been following. The pope was in Germany last week giving a speech to a group of academics among which he formerly belonged. He was talking about the relationship between faith and reason and discussing the deficiencies of western culture. During the speech he used an illustration from a dialog between a 14th-century Byzantine emperor and a Persian scholar.

His quote from Emperor Manuel II Paleologus - "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached"

What is ironic here is the fact that his comments concerning the muslim faith about it being inherently violent generates a violent response by muslims! If I tell you that you have a problem with your temper and you slap me across the face and curse me out might not that actually prove my point? To date churches have been firebombed, a nun in Somalia has been killed, the pope burned in effigy and there have been violent demonstrations around the world.

One other question that has been raised is how a quote from a stayed academic speech was dissected and disseminated to the muslim world almost overnight? It would seem that the news services would not intentionally put out this quote (out of context of the speech I might add) knowing it would inflame tensions between muslims and Christians, would they? It strikes me that however this was leaked to the muslim world and media sources that it must have been known the violent and vitriolic responses would result.

Obviously I do believe there are great and irreconcilable differences between Islam and Christianity. They teach differing ideas about God, Jesus, man, sin, salvation, the future and judgment. Beside being both monotheistic there are great divergences in thoughts and beliefs. As I have read this weekend on this issue many have argued that these two groups should begin a dialog to minimize their differences and focus on their shared beliefs.

Although I do not think that violence is the way to resolve these deep differences neither do I think minimizing them is the right approach either. Further, I do think that studying the history of religion can shed some light on belief systems. Interestingly neither the Catholic church nor Islam are innocent when it comes to the use of violence to promote their faith. However, there is a fundamental difference between the two. When the Catholic church attempted to convert people through the use of force it was going against the teachings of their leader Jesus, whom they claimed to follow. When Islam has attempted to convert people by force they are staying in line with the teachings of Muhammad and the Koran.

What is sad in today's cultural situation is you cannot state your observations without the fear of violent reprisal which only buttresses the initial argument but often at great personal consequence. Please don't misunderstand my reason for writing these observations. I am not saying that I support all that the pope stands for and believes. I am not Catholic and I am not writing to defend the belief system of the Catholic church. Even as I write this there are some within the Catholic church that want the pope to recant of what he has said and embrace a more egalitarian view of Islam and Christianity. That may momentarily calm the storm but it will be at the expense of faith and reason, the very topic the pope was trying to address.

(For a decent article on the controversy click on the title above. Also, the quote from Emperor Manuel II Paleologus is taken from this article.)

The Da Vinci Code Debate, Why Bother?

This coming month a new movie is coming out and Hollywood is pulling out all the stops in its promotion machine. So what else is new? It isn’t surprising that Hollywood would do a movie that isn’t favorable to Christianity. It seems that every so often there is a movie that comes out that takes a swipe at our cherished beliefs. Why should we bother even saying anything or doing anything about it? Isn’t this just a tempest in a teapot? Isn’t this just much ado about nothing?

Honestly, I would like to say yes but unfortunately I can’t. It was well over two years ago that a friend gave me a copy of the book, The Da Vinci Code, and asked me to read and comment about it. At the time the book was just gaining popularity and become an international bestseller. My reaction was mixed. Mass market fiction books come out by the hundreds each week, what would make this one any different? But I was wrong about my assessment. This book has become a runaway bestseller and an international hit. Additionally Hollywood is making a big-budget movie based on the book with A-list actors such as Tom Hanks.

Here’s my honest take on the book: the history, church history, art history, theology and philosophy are so amazingly inaccurate that it is laughable. His facts are unbelievably wrong whether he is citing church history or secular history. His claims about famous people and places are spectacularly off. It comes across to anyone who knows these topics as a poorly researched fiction novel. Anyway, it IS just a fiction novel so let's not get bent out of shape!

However, there are two issues that lead me to speak up. First, in the preface to the book the author Dan Brown states, “All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate.” (Da Vinci Code page 1) Brown argues in this book and on his website that what he is saying is absolute fact! The second issue is related to this. We could just ignore all of this if the people reading this book were biblically and historically literate but many people are not! Many will read this book and wonder or perhaps believe that what he is saying is in fact true.

Brown recklessly redefines Christianity based on his inaccurate view of history and his reading of second and third century heretical documents. He goes so far as to assert that these documents actually predate the New Testament and are a more reliable presentation of “true” Christianity! Why must we as Christians respond to this? Let me give you three reasons:

1. God’s glory is at stake. If we are to be faithful to God and give Him the honor He deserves then we must not shrink away from addressing the pressing questions of the day. We are only faithful if we are willing to fight where the battle is raging. If we leave the questions of the day unanswered we allow the confusion to remain in people’s minds and the knowledge of the glory of God becomes obscured.

2. We have a mandate to reach the lost. 1 Peter 3:15 states, “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.” We can turn people’s questions around and use those questions to lead people to the cross. But we can only do this if we are prepared.

3. We have a responsibility to protect the Church. God has given the church pastors and teachers to build us up in our faith and answer the questions we may have. God wants there to be a stability and confidence in our faith. “As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming.” (Ephesians 4:14) Many believers may be confused by the assertions of this book or the questions it raises. As a church we have a responsibility to address these issues so other believers do not stumble.

In the final analysis I am not concerned about this book or the coming movie. Although it may put doubts in some people’s minds it will also raise questions that we can answer with the truth. One encouraging note is that this book gets it so wrong that none of his assertions are able to stand under close scrutiny. It will enable the church to point people to the Jesus of history and the cross of grace.

The Best Question Ever?

I finally bought it. What am I talking about? I finally bought the book that I saw several months back. Oh, you probably don’t remember me even mentioning it but I have made a few references to it. The book is written by Andy Stanley and it is titled, “The Best Question Ever.” (Andy Stanley. The Best Question Ever. Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 2004) Being a book-lover (bibliophile) I was intrigued by what could possibly be the best question ever.

He argues that asking yourself this question will help you in making decisions, avoiding financial ruin, saving your marriage, sparing yourself from painful emotional scars, help you to never get caught up in addictive sin, and guide you toward the fulfillment of your dreams. Pretty impressive claims! But could the book deliver? I finally broke down and bought the book to find out.

It took until the third chapter for Stanley to actually get to the question and it took three more chapters to develop the question to its final form. So, to save you from spending $16.99 (plus tax) I will share with you what the best question ever is. Are you ready for it? (No, that wasn’t it!) Here it is, the best question ever is, “What is the wise thing for me to do?” (32)

Huh? That’s it?!? You probably expect me to tell you that I return the book after reading that. Actually, it intrigued me and I kept reading. Not because it is so profound but because it is so obvious yet most of the time we miss it. We never ask ourselves this question when it matters most. The author looks at this question from three angles.

First, “In light of your past experience, what is the wise thing to do?” (43) He then explores our past to see what unique struggles and temptations we have. A quick point here, we are not talking about obvious moral issues. Clearly you should NEVER leave your wife and marry your mistress. But even there the question is appropriate because that would not be wise. Here we apply the question to our unique background. If we have struggled with internet pornography should we not have internet access at home? If we struggle with debt in the past should we get rid of our credit cards? Is it wrong to have a credit card? No. Is it wrong to have internet access? No, but if these things are in your past then it potentially is not wise for you.

The second angle is this, “In light of my current circumstances, what is the wise thing to do?” (47) We know that there is an ebb and flow to life. Sometimes we are up and other times we are down. It is important that we take into account our current emotional situation and state of mind when we make a decision. (47-48) Otherwise we can make rash emotional decisions that will cause ourselves and others pain. I think of some emails that I am glad I took 24 hours before sending (I can also think of the ones I didn’t wait to send and have regretted doing that).

The final angle is this, “In light of my future hopes and dreams, what is the wise thing to do.” (52) The decisions we make now rob ourselves of our desired future. We may want to have children who love and adore us when they are older. However, we don’t give them the time of day right now. We want to have a happy, healthy marriage but we are unwilling to call off the friendships with others of the opposite sex. If we made our present decisions in light of our desired future many decisions would be made differently. If we want to have money in the bank and money for retirement that means we can’t always buy the newest car, the nicest house, the biggest TV nor have the most extravagant vacations. These nice things may not be wrong in themselves but if you have limited income you can’t afford filet minion on a ground beef salary.

Okay, all of this is obvious. I know, this is pretty simple stuff. But I have one question for you, why do so many people not do this? Most of us know enough about the Bible and life to know what we ought to do. But so often we do otherwise. I wish this wasn’t the case but I know that it often is. You can debate if this truly is the best question ever. However, I think it is a pretty good question to ask yourself. If you consistently apply this to your life you will avoid many pitfalls and personal pain.

Is Loving People the Ultimate Good?

I was talking to a friend earlier this week and we started talking about what is the essence of Christianity. He grew up attending a mainline denomination and had been told that the message of Christianity is to love other people. If he were to sum up the core message it would be to love others. Of course this is a great principle and is definitely something a person ought to do. However, I don’t think this is the first thing.

As we sat in my living room I suggested that the highest goal for a person is to first love God. In fact, if you do not know and love God then your perspective of loving others will be based on emotion and sentimentality. Let me share a story and comment from Jesus to make my point.

The religious leaders of the day were challenging Jesus trying to trap him in His teaching or to contradict the Old Testament at some point. In the heat of discussion one of the leaders asks Him what is the greatest commandment. Jesus answered, “The foremost is, 'HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.'” (Mark 12:29-30)

He then adds this without pause, "The second is this, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:31)

This is not an idea that originates with Jesus here in the New Testament. If you turn to the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament (Exodus 20 or Deuteronomy 5) you will see that the first four commandments relate to our relationship with God and the last six deal with our relationships with one another. I believe that the priority of loving God first is important. Loving God gives you the proper basis for loving others. Think of the alternative.

If loving others is the greatest good then I must ask myself what is the greatest good of another? This may seem axiomatic on the surface but it is not. How do I decide what is the greatest good of another person? Without a fixed reference point I am left to my own feelings or thoughts or else the feelings and thoughts of others. Perhaps the greatest good is to make the other person happy. Well, what if that person’s happiness involves injuring himself or others? Perhaps the greatest good is contentment but what if that person is only content with heroin running through her veins? Maybe I am using hyperbole here but there is an underlying issue, how does one determine what is right or wrong, good or bad for others? Does loving others mean always giving in or giving him what he wants? Do I then decide what it means to love others based on what the majority thinks?

If Christianity were only about loving others we would be blindly stabbing around in the dark. It is only by knowing and loving God that we both have an understanding of what it means to love others and the true ability to do that to the full. When I entered into a love relationship with God by accepting His love and forgiveness through the death of Jesus I begin a daily love relationship. Furthermore, as I continue in that relationship I understand more fully who God is and the moral order of the universe. Since He is the Creator He has the right to establish what is right and wrong. He has the prerogative to determine how things out to be and how we ought to live out our lives. Since He created us He knows what is best for our lives. The greatest good then is living in line with God’s standards.

The more I love God and know Him the greater understanding I will have for how things ought to be. I then have the ability to love others based on what is truly best rather than what is best in my own eyes. If someone is making a choice that is self destructive or harmful to others I am showing love, not by going along with it, but by challenging him with the error of his choice.

This is why Christians are sometimes viewed as narrow and bigoted. Our culture says that love means allowing people to think, feel or experience anything regardless of the moral consequences (some will add “as longs as it doesn’t hurt others"). For the Christian, the truly loving thing to do is to help a person make choices that are in line with what is pleasing to God. From the Christian’s perspective true love at times needs to speak up. If I truly love someone how can I say nothing while he makes choices that are going to hurt him now or sometime in the future? How can I say nothing if she is going to make a choice which hurts someone else? Our choices have unintended consequences that we don’t always see immediately.

It is possible to “love the sinner and hate the sin.” Granted some Christians don’t do this well or at all but that is not my point here. I can love a person with the deepest of love and have the deepest dislike for the choices he or she is making. Loving people does not mean I have to compromise my beliefs or set aside my morals. In fact, the greatest example of this was Jesus who was the holiest man who walked this earth yet was regarded as the “friend of sinners.” Never did He compromise but no greater love was ever shown.

What are the practical implications of this? First, I think that for the Christian he must first love God in order to love others rightly. If your only focus is on the horizontal you will end up feeling you have to accept their behavior in order to truly “love” them. Second, love for people divorced from love for God will degenerate to sentimentalism and some form of situation ethics. Having said this you need to ask yourself, how well do you know God? Do you really love Him with your whole heart, mind, soul and strength? When you do this you are able to love others truly like Christ did.

I asked this friend, “Have you ever felt that I have judged you?” “No,” he responded. “Well, do you know that I love you and that you are one of my best friends?” “Yeah, of course,” he said. “But you know that I don’t agree with a lot of things that you are doing?” Again he said yes. I looked him in the eye and said, “This is what I believe the Bible means about loving God and loving others.”

Sacrificial Love

“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

Jesus is talking here in the upper room the evening before his death. He is expressing his love for His disciples telling them the full extent of His love. This was no mere abstraction or theory; He was about to lay down His life for them to pay for their sins so that they and we could be forgiven.

In this passage Jesus also tells us something significant about relationships. That is the greatest and best relationships are not about you but about the other person. Also that genuine love is self-sacrificing.

We live in a “me first” society. If you want something you better get it for yourself because no one is going to give it to you. Life is about “me, myself, and I.” Sometimes we grow up thinking that if we don’t take care of ourselves no one else is going to. We bring this attitude into our relationships and decide that it’s all about me. For many people friendships, dating and even marriage are about what the other person can do for me. How does he or she make me happy? What benefits do I get hanging around with him? What can she do for me? What can he give me? What do I get out of this?

Relationships like this degenerate into two people trying to get the most for themselves from the other person. Ultimately this is a recipe for disaster. I was talking to a friend recently about this and I told him, “What would happen in a relationship if both people said, ‘this relationship is not about me, it is about the other person.’ Further, both people said, ‘I am going to give 100% to meet the needs of the other person and not my own needs.’” Suddenly, each person is trying their hardest to meet the other person’s needs and not his own. The result is that each person receives the satisfaction of caring for another person and as a result his own needs end up being met by the other person.

Let me share an illustration, when I was 19 I decided I needed to go to college full time to pursue my degree in theology. I was broke and saw no way I’d ever be able to get to school. A friend suggested a school in Indiana. When I visited the campus the financial aid administrator was downright rude. He told me that I was just out of luck and that there was nothing they could do. There was no way I’d ever get through school. In one meeting my dreams were shattered and I was devastated. I left alone and dejected.

To make matters worse, there was a concert on campus that night and all the students, including my friends who I was staying with, were going. They forgot to buy a ticket for me. They suggested I go anyway and buy a ticket at the door. We stood in line for an hour before hearing that the concert was sold out. The friends suggested I go back to the dorm and they would meet me later. It was too much to bear. I started to walk away even more depressed than before.

Just then a guy in front of us turn around. “I couldn’t help hearing that you didn’t have a ticket to the concert. I would like to give you my ticket. I’ve seen this artist in concert before, I would like you to have it.” I didn’t know what to say. I was dumbfounded. Here was a guy that I had never met, I don’t even know his name, and he wants to give me his ticket to the concert. Why? What would motivate someone to do something like that? There was nothing I could give him in return. Sure, I would give him money for the ticket if he would accept it but why would he miss the concert for me? Reluctantly I accepted. That stranger in a moment spoke more to me than 100 sermons. I understood more about love and sacrifice in that instant than years of Sunday School lessons.

Imagine a world where people thought about others and not themselves. Imagine a friendship or marriage where this occurred regularly. Jesus’ death was full payment for our sins as our substitute. He was also the greatest example of love, an example we must learn to follow. From now on, think about your spouse, or your friends and decide to not be in it for what you can get but for what you can give. This is the essence of sacrificial love.

What if?

I woke up this morning and like every morning I scanned the headlines on my internet homepage. The headline read that bombs ripped through downtown London this morning. Generally I wouldn't think too much about events that happened half way around the world. This time I sat up and took notice.

Jennifer and I were supposed to be in London today. We had planned a two week trip to London and Paris and this morning we would have been returning to London. Of course my mind began racing. Could it have been possible that we would have been there? I immediately grabbed my file on our cancelled itinerary. I looked through each day's events. I was relieved to see that even if we had been there we were not scheduled to be back to London until the afternoon. This morning (London time) we would have been visiting Stonehenge and traveling back down the countryside in a rented car. At least that was the plan.

But of course my mind was playing the "what if" game. What if we had decided not to go up to Stonehenge? What if we had stayed in London on Wednesday night? What if we had driven straight back to London because we had to return the car? Could we have been in the area of one of the bombs? Honestly it is unlikely but I can't say with 100% certainty.

This reminds me of an event that happened on Sunday. Jennifer and I were traveling to L.A. to visit Jenn's family. We stopped at San Juan Capistrano to get a cup of coffee like we always do. We have stopped there at least a dozen times over the last two years. For whatever reason I asked Jenn to go into a shop across the street, a shop that I had seen and ignored 11 other times. We stayed in there about ten minutes then got back on the road. As we were nearing her parents' house we came upon a horrific accident. One car was upside down, six other cars were strewn across the freeway and there were not yet police or medics on the scene. It had just happened within the last ten minutes! Immediately I realized that if we hadn't stopped in that little store we would be one of these cars!

A few weeks ago a friend was spared from a car accident that could have been fatal. He was a passenger in a car that skidded off the road, weaved in between trees and telephone poles and stopped with minor damage to the people inside. Six inches over and he would have died.

We live in a fallen world. Because of sin there are accidents, disease and death. God has not promised to spare us from all the consequences of living in this world. However, when we stop to look, we realize how many times God intervenes in our lives. God watches over and protects us from harm again and again. I truly believe that God has spared my life on several occasions and countless others I am not aware of. I think our hearts would overflow with praise if we recognized even a small portion of God's daily grace and mercy in our lives.

Some days I sit back and wonder, "what if?"

Three non-negotiable in friendship

Over the years I have had friends both good and bad. In some ways friendships are the most unnecessary of relationships yet we find ourselves drawn to others and including them in every aspect of our lives. People we work with, study with, or meet along the way become a part of our lives. If the situation is right they move from acquaintances to fair-weather friends and on to close friends and finally become intimate friends. It would be good if these categories were static but they are not. Someone might seem to be the best of friends but things aren't what they seem.

I recall learning that there are three essentials to every relationship. This includes friendships and marriage. The first is time spent. Without spending time together a relationship or friendship will never develop. This may seem obvious but how many friendships fall by the wayside and how many marriages dissolve because they don't spend enough time together? What seems intuitively obvious in theory is often not lived out in practice. Of course this means also that there is a limit to the number of truly intimate friends you can have. There are only 24 hours in a day. No one can add to that. Because of that, to truly have close friends you need to limit the amount of people you spend time with if the friendships you have are going to go deeper.

The second essential to every relationship is communication. In order to know another person there needs to be communication. Think about the frustration of meeting someone and there is awkward silence or you stumble through a conversation. As intriguing as the person may look or as interested you may be in getting to know each other you will not develop a deep friendship unless both sides open up. Which brings me to the point that communication must be mutual and progressive. Both sides need to open up and it must come slowly over time. Have you ever had someone emotionally vomit over you? You know what I mean, you just meet someone and they tell you intimate details about their lives. Far from getting close to that person, you are repulsed because there is too much information. But that aside, for a friendship to grow there must be communication.

One caveat, communication should be both verbal and nonverbal. In our cyberspace age there are many different forms of communication. Some are better than others. Email, text message and web postings are fine but they are distant when it comes to communicating deeply. Better is a handwritten letter where the words and letters are formed by your own hand. Even better is a phone conversation where you can hear each others voice tones and inflections in addition to the words that are said. Best is face to face communication. Then you can watch body language and facial expressions. You can not only hear the person but you can see the person as well.

The final essential element in a friendship is trust. Again this seems obvious and intuitive but how often in reality is it not? Without trust a friendship cannot exist and even a basic relationship won't grow. Think about the ultimate relationship of marriage. Once one person does not trust his or her spouse then everything becomes suspect. Where were you? Why were you late? Why didn't you call? What were you doing? Who was that? The list of questions and accusations goes on and on. But this is the case with every friendship not just marriage relationships. As you build a friendship with another person you begin to trust him. You open your life to that person and share details about yourself. In time the details become more personal and intimate. You talk about life, love and happiness. But you also begin to share your fears and insecurities. In time there is a deepening of the relationship to ever increasing depths. Soon you are fully known and you know the other person fully. This is the deepest of all friendships.

And isn't that what we all want? We want to be fully known and still loved. It is one thing to be loved because people don't really know who I am. They don't know my struggles, sins and insecurities so they love me in spite of who I really am. The real me stays hidden and buried. However, it is something entirely different when we are known, warts and all, and someone still loves us. There is a freedom when this happens. We can be ourselves around the other person and know that, come what may, the person is still going to love us.

But what happens when trust is broken? I have had this happen to me several times over my life. One friend of mine would lie about the girls he was dating. Why is beyond me. However, he could not be honest with himself about what was going on in his life. He would make up stories or just blatantly lie to my face. Soon the depth of friendship ceased. Emotional walls began to be built. Trust faded. Not only did the friendship stop growing but it began to decline and die. In time emotions cooled and the conversation flirted on the surface of issues. Finally, because the lies were so pervasive, the friendship ended.

Trust can be broken several ways. The first and most obvious is through straight out lying. Once the lie or lies are found out the friendship instantly changes. This is unavoidable. No matter what you do things are not the same. Repentance and forgiveness can repair the damage but only time will heal the breach of trust. Less obvious forms of broken trust happen when a person presents himself a certain way and that is not who he really is. In a sense, this is still a form of lying but it is more passive and less malicious. For whatever reason a person begins to wear a mask. They pretend to be a certain way. However, once the mask falls off and the real person is exposed the other one is shocked by that reality. He begins to wonder if the person he was friends with was the real person. In fact, did that person really exist at all? Was he nothing more than a character in a human drama?

In both of these instances trust has to be regain but in the second one it will only come if the mask stays off. If the person replaces one mask with another the friendship will stagnate or become dysfunctional. The relationship will continue but it will be an unreality. There is no true friendship because both people are not being true. Sadly, many people live and breath in this reality.

How can we build and maintain true friendships? First, commit to spend time building up those relationships that you have or seek out people who seem interesting to you. Second, take the time to communicate clearly and deeply over time. Finally, be someone who is trustworthy and honest. If you actively put these into practice you will find your life filled with friends who love and are loved deeply.