Firm Foundation, or No Foundation

I Corinthians 3:11

For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

We are currently going through I Corinthians on Sundays at CCBL so this verse is somewhat fresh to us. However, in light of some things that have been cropping up over the last few days, the Lord has blessed me with this verse as comfort.

Lately I have been discussing the state of the Church. Not just our church specifically, although that always comes up in the mix amongst fellow servants in the ministry, but the state of the church in America as a whole. A recent study shows that fewer and fewer Americans view themselves as religious, and of those who are, fewer and fewer are calling themselves Christian. When the Mel Gibson movie, The Passion of Christ was released, 86% of Americans claimed to be Christian. Today, that number is reduced to 75%. Part of that is due to some dropping from the faith, another part due to growing population in general, and in large part because this nation is seeing a massive influx of Muslin immigrants and converts.

As a pastor, of course, I want to see the church grow both our individual body and the church at large. But at the same time, I know it is more important that the people in your body, those you have been called to shepherd are growing. The personal growth of those that the Lord has sent you to feed and protect is far more important than the number of people in the seats any given Sunday or Wednesday. That is what keeps me going. But even growth itself is relative, and here is where today’s verse comes into play.

People can grow in knowledge and understanding, but if that knowledge and understanding has no foundation in truth, and if that knowledge and understanding is set in the foundation of man and his traditions, rather than in scripture as God gave it to us, and/or based on the example that we have in Christ’s life and His gospel, we have nothing.

Today’s Christian church is suffering from malnutrition. Their minds are full of all sorts of great ideas on how one must be rich in order to show the blessings of God, or that there are more than one way to get to heaven, of that the gospel is outdated for our society, or that self esteem must be mentored in order to grow spiritually, and all sorts of other garbage that has no root in scripture. They are being fed, but what they are being fed are the very things that Jesus Himself warned us about: the traditions of men. Jesus Himself blasted the Pharisees for being such people calling them ‘vipers’ and ‘wicked’. But if a true Bible believing and teaching pastor stands up and says something akin to ‘that church doctrine is a false doctrine’, or ‘that teacher is a false teacher’ he is immediately and without restraint lambasted as a hater, bigot and fool for dividing the church. Jesus did it. Are those people willing to sat the same about Him?

Another smaller Calvary Chapel that I know of had a church in their area advertise on big billboard signs all over town to get people to attend their church. On the surface this seems like a fine idea. Except that the advertisement said that you should attend church “X” because (and I quote) “Church Shouldn’t Suck”. I understand cultural relativity, but folks, we are to be representing Jesus here, not our selfish desires supported by shock value advertising. Call me old fashioned, but that’s not building a church on the foundation of Jesus in my opinion.

People want their ears tickled. They do not want to hear the truth, because they do not want to be convicted of their lifestyle of sin. Churches that teach truth are suffering because preaching God’s word does not involved coddling a lifestyle inconsistent with Christianity. Preachers, teachers and pastors that teach word by word through scripture, a practice that used to be far more common than it is today, are growing in insignificance because an Oscar winning media show, rock-band worship team, and pocket-beeper-having free baby-sitting system are not ear “tickling” enough for those who call themselves Christians, but yet want to remain on the fringe of ‘faith’ seeing how close they can get to sin without getting fully enveloped, rather than seeing how far they can get from it.

A man can consternate over this until his head explodes, but the bottom line is this: if it is not founded on Jesus, it WILL fail. I have no problem with that whatsoever. Let those who pretend fail, let those who teach falsely fail, let those who put themselves, their ‘style’ or anything before Jesus fail. But the problem with that is this: there are those under those teachers, and those churches that really do love the Lord, really are seeking to know Jesus, and are getting lost and hurt in the process. In my short time as a Sr. Pastor I have seen and dealt with more wounded Christians than solid ones. Let us all simply pray for the church and the hastening of our Savior’s return.

Christmas in March?

Isaiah 9:6-7

6 For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.

Oh, trust me, I know it is not Christmas. Although it is snowing right now as I write this.

Today, on my drive to work I was alerted to the news that President Obama has signed an executive order today repealing the Bush administrations policy to prevent federal funds to be used in embryonic stem cell research. Not only will he fund it with your tax dollars, he says he will “vigorously support” this murder in the name of science, mocking Christian moral values, intimating it as ‘anti-science’, as if saving the life of an unborn child is now irresponsible. While I will continue to do my duty as a disciple of Jesus to pray for our President and other governmental leaders as we have been (Romans 13). In essence, he signed the death warrant for millions more as yet to be unborn children.

I was reminded of so many verses as I was in angst and prayer over this new news. I think the writing is on the wall, regardless of whether you support or revile the actions of our current President, that he is on the path to be the most liberal President this fine nation has ever seen. If there is one thing that we can say that is a positive factor in the character of this man (and yes, I do find it difficult to find more), it is that he is a man of his word.

President Obama’s campaign promises are coming true at an alarming rate. He is not only on record for having promised, but now has acted in support of gay marriage, equal civil liberty rights based on sexual orientation, abortion, stem-cell research and more, all in opposition to God’s Word and will in our lives as His creation.

President Obama’s words will tell you that he is a Christian. But his religious associations and his actions tell you otherwise. We are exhorted not to judge people with regards to their salvation, and in this manner I will not. But we are told to judge people on their actions that scripture calls “fruit”. Inspecting the fruit of our President shows us little but more actions akin to what he has done today: A firm stand against a biblical worldview and Judeo-Christian ethical and moral standards. There is much fruit in the bowl, but so far it all seems to be rotten.

Knowing that it is not Christmas in spite of the falling snow, I look upon the verses above and read them with a refreshed desire to see them come true today! Let us pray to hasten His return to set up that Kingdom to which their will be no end, all the while working to win all we can to that same Kingdom.

PS: Someone please tell Al Gore that Global Warming has not arrived in the Great Northwest yet.

Disturbing, but True

I heard a couple of statistics yesterday that really soured my stomach. I have to share them for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that I actually have a fear for the continuation of our nation as a free Republic. What our founding fathers fought and died for is being erased and made null and void.

Statistic #1.
A poll was done in 2 days by an independent research company that questioned over 15K homes of registered voters as to whether or not they supported the idea of the federal "stimulus" bill. The results that they came up with showed that nearly 80% of Americans polled REJECT the idea of this stimulus package and DO NOT want it to pass. Personally, I do not know a single person that supports this legislation that is no more a stimulus bill than any other pork-filled piece of legislation.

In my estimation, if this bill passes, we are no longer a democratic republic, but rather live under an Anarchist Leadership where 550 some people get to decide the fate of all Americans regardless of what we think or vote. If this bill passes, with a CLEAR majority of Americans against it, every single representative legislator that votes for it, should be arrested and tried for treason, and if found guilty, hung for their crime against the people. These legislators were elected to represent their constituency, not to vote their own conscience.

Statistic #2.
If this stimulus bill passes under our currently democratically controlled House, Senate and Executive, this administration, in their first 30 days or so in office, will have authorized more deficit spending than, get this, our whole nation has authorized from 1776, to 1980!! That's right, this one administration in 30 days will have authorized the spending or more borrowed money (which this bill does not even address how that will get repaid, and no one seems to be asking...), than every single administration before them from George Washington through to Ronald Reagan! Unbelievable.

Statistic #3.
If this stimulus bill passes, the United States Government will them own or control over 30% of our nations Gross National Product. International economic statistics say that when a government owns or controls one third or more of the GNP of a nation, that it is no longer considered a democratic governmental system, but a Socialist one. In other words, if this bill passes, in the eyes of international money men, America will be looked upon as a socialist nation, not a democracy.

Please pray for our nation and it's leadership. It is a biblical directive after all. Then, call your legislators today and urge them to vote against this stimulus bill, or our nation will change for the worse, not the better, and may not be reversible.

No Fear in Love: But Wisdom None the Less

1 John 4:18

18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.

This being the week of Valentine’s Day, and by God’s divine timing the same week I started going through I Corinthians chapter 13 with our church body [also known as the ‘love’ chapter], I am going to dedicate this week to the study of Love. Not “love”, but “Love” as with a capital “L”. Hey, let’s just call this “Love Week” shall we?

A study on love, something that I’m doing right now, is an exhaustive search, and an exhausting task. This is so simply because the bible is God’s Word to man. It emanates from God, is inspired by Him, and God IS love. Therefore, God’s revealed story to us is all about love. I shared this past Sunday that all God has ever done, is doing, or will ever do, all originates and radiates from Love.

John talks a great deal about Love. John is a good authority on the subject as scripture defines John as the disciple Jesus loved. At least that is John’s description anyway. John is the one to whom Jesus trusted his mother from the cross.

And here, John connect Love and fear. Interesting. Scripture tells us more tan 300 times that we should not fear. And, when you add in all the other possible combinations of different ways that same thought can be worded, some have estimated the count to go up to over 1,000 times that we are told not to be afraid. But notice that this lack of fear, is based on our abundance of Love.

This Love of which we speak, as 1 Corinthians 13:1 tells us, is a supernatural gift of the spirit. It is divine, and it comes only from God. This is the reason that I have been capitalizing the word Love all along. Once we have, and understand this divine Love, it can be used for so many things. We can share it with others. We can use this Love to bring calm into our lives. Having this Love certainly allows us the freedom to enjoy people’s company or conversation in odd or strange situations, that should we lack that Love would make things difficult or at the very least uncomfortable. But most of all, having this Love at work in our lives, gives us the ability to trust God with all things. Including our safety.

Now I know that some of you who know me closely will find this a little bit strange, A man that works for a firearms company and is the strongest and most argent defender of the Second Amendment, using Love to protect himself rather than the always effective ~drilled into my US Army Infantry psyche ~ superior firepower option? Well, yes. Because we take realistic options to protect ourselves does not mean that we do not Love God enough to fully trust Him. I do own firearms, typically carry them and advocate their legal use for protection. Does this mean I do not Love God? No, but neither does the fact that I have a spare tire on my car, or a fire extinguisher in my house, or a bug-zapper in the back yard, or life, home or auto insurance, or a 401K. But I trust God to use these things, all of them, in His way, under His guidance, and under His sovereignty because I know He loves me. But what we must never do is allow fear to control us. Fear should never be a problem for us, it should always be HIS problem, and if our Love for Him is true, it WILL be His problem. Fear that controls us or limits our ability to work for His Kingdom or in anyway to serve God is a sin, just like anything else that might take control of us, and it must be avoided.

You see I love God, and trust Him to care for my provisions in my retirement years. I trust Him to protect us from severe health issues and house fires. But at the same time, we can make common sense choices to help protect ourselves as well. But having the Love of God in our lives frees us from the fear that may come should we lack that love. I pray for perfect love that allows all my hopes and desires to fall into the hands of God. He is my Rock, my Salvation, and my fortress. I certainly love Him enough to see to my protection, whatever that may be.

Why Doesn't Jimmy Just Be Quiet?

Since when does having once been elected President of the United States , make you Ambassador to the world on my behalf? And since when does one minor victory in bringing peace between two nations (that ended in the assassination of one of the two national leaders for his efforts) make you the foremost world-expert on diplomacy?


Hey, don't get me wrong, I like Jimmy Carter. As a person; in spite of the fact that he supports same sex unions, and that Stephen Hess said that "He's a person who has stuck his thumb in the eye of every president who has followed him." To serve this country's best interest, he would do well to go to his Presidential Library every day, and leave international politics to those who are duly appointed. That's why we have a President, and a Cabinet. He had a cabinet too, and no one messed in his foreign policy issues. It's time he show the same respect to our sitting President, regardless of who that may be.


Here's the trouble though; Jimmy Carter and President Obama have a lot in common in their foreign policy views. Matter of fact, had it not been for the "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" deal he owed to Hilary Clinton for her rousing endorsement of him after she fell short of collecting enough Electoral College votes, I think we'd see Jimmy Carter as Secretary of State today. You think Jimmy Carter was bad for this country when he was President? Just think of what he could do to this country as the 'yes man' to a leftist, socialist sitting President.

Why doesn't Jimmy Carter just be quiet? Short answer: PRIDE.

Once you are famous, or at least relevant to world politics, or even just just pop-culture, it's hard to step out of the spotlight. If former President Carter doesn't get this pride thing under control, he'll soon end up looking like Joan Rivers (who now looks more like Steven Tyler of Aerosmith than herself), and have as much public appeal as Rossan Barr. The bummer part is that because of his post-Presidential antics, Jimmy Carter will not only be remembered as perhaps the worst President of modern times, but his legacy will be more often compared to Rosy O'Donnell rather than Henry Kissinger. That's not a legacy that most people want to have. At least the sane ones.

International politics are a touchy issue. If our foreign relations policy is not set up to protect this nation, and our ability to defend and maintain our Judeo-Christian ethics infused politics, than we just need to lie down like a dog, and let the world come pick our fleas. Because if the likes of our President and his new unofficial side-kick former President Carter have their way, the United States we will be just about as useful as that worn down flea-bitten hereto aforementioned dog to the rest of the world, and to God as a nation.

A friend of mine from Texas (had to throw that in there as a caveat), has a business friend and partner from England/Britain/UK whatever we call them today. Sometimes in business things go awry. Whenever that happens and this partner from England gets his collective crumpets in a bunge, my Texas friend is always quick to remind him, "Hey, we kicked yer [rear-end] once, and we bailed you out twice. Show me a little respect!" And while those words may not be the best used lines of diplomacy ever, they are none the less, true.

Call it arrogance, call it (oops) pride, but the world owes the US a few favors. We are not the kind of nation that will walk about with our Nukes in the suitcase asking to call in those favors, but it would be nice if the thanks that so many nations were quick to give us after WWII, were still there today. If they were, perhaps we could get Jimmy Carter to mind his own business, and let those in charge, like it or not, go about theirs.

Lovingkindness

Psalm 63:3

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You.


It is love that separates us from the world, and identifies us with Christ
I’m recovering from the post “I spent more than 5 hours in an airplane” cold. You know, the one you get after breathing 250 other people’s recycled air. But in any case, as I get back into the swing of my weekly routine, I felt the need for some spiritual encouragement this morning, and went immediately to the Psalms.

There, while reading, I came across this verse, and I immediately began to sing. You see, this verse in Psalm 63 is a line from a worship son called Kindness by Chris Tomlin. I recognized this right away, and just broke into song (probably good that you all weren’t here with me!).

Then I began to ponder the reality of that verse and just openly meditate on it out-loud:
Lord, I love my life. My life allows me to know things, and grow, and serve and to love my wife and family, to be someone that can think, act, make decisions. My life, if lived as you have lead me, can influence other people and bring them alongside you as well. My life is important to me for many reasons. I freely admit that some of them are self serving, but I try desperately to live my life in such a way that the things that I love do not become more important than the things that YOU love. My life is what makes me a child of God. My life is mine to…..

…And then it hit me…

My life isn’t mine at all. It’s Christ’s who not only created it, but bought it and redeemed it with a price. It is THAT that makes His lovingkindness so important, better than life actually.

His love really is what sustains us. No matter what we do, where we are in life or in our walk, His love is the sustaining factor of our lives. Without it, we falter and fail. Love is the key to Christianity. Love drove Jesus to voluntarily give up His life for the likes of you an me. Love drives us today, compelled by the Spirit, to do what is right, rather than what is wrong. It is love that separates us from the world, and identifies us with Christ. Who IS love, and the total picture of God Himself. Love IS better than life, because love gives life. And the love we have from Jesus allows us to gives that life to others as well.

Lord of Glory

James 2:1 (Part-I)

1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.

Jesus has many names. Savior, The Christ, Messiah, Son of God, Prince of Peace, and we can go on and on. But have you ever considered, the Lord of Glory?

In this context the word glory is defined as, “of the state of blessedness into which believers are to enter hereafter through being brought into the likeness of Christ.[1]” The Lord of Glory is the one that rules over access to this hereafter of eternity. In this case it is literally the One. This is not the only place where this message can be found. Rom 8:18, 21; Phl 3:21 (RV, "the body of His glory"); 1Pe 5:1, 10; Rev 21:11; all have things to say on this subject. The musical group Third Day does a song called “King of Glory”, and this is almost certainly the reason.

All glory is His. He dispenses it as He sees fit. But one thing that we must not forget is that He has promised us that if we choose to accept Him as our Savior, that this glory is guaranteed to us! A promise is a promise.

Especially after the Christmas season, we see Jesus so much as the man. Being born to a sinful woman, laid in a manger, worshipped and yet despised. We think of His childhood, and the time He spent teaching in the Temple when he was only 12 years old. We also think of Him as the deity that dies on the cross for us. Making the perfect atoning sacrifice for you and I. We then see Him in our minds eye as the risen lamb, showing His scars and body of flesh to the disciples. But do we look upon this great friend, this man who loves us greater than any living human ever could, as the Judge? As the man who controls ‘glory’?

The Lord of Glory deserves our love, this is for sure. But perhaps our love is best shown to Him by revering Him for the Glory that He owns and controls. Honor and respect are perhaps the greatest flattery one can bestow upon another. Honoring and respecting Jesus includes making Him first in our life, our decision making, obeying His commands and following His example. The Lord of Glory is also the Lord of the Promise. He not only deserves our respect, He has earned it.