To Heaven in 2011?

What if Jesus returns in 2011? What if my life ends in 2011?
With these possibilities in mind, I want to enter this New Year with the following resolutions:

1. I will give thanks to God, regardless of my circumstances
I Thessalonians 5:18: "Give thanks in all circumstances; or this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

2. I will pray, and then pray again, and then pray some more
I Thessalonians 5:17 - "Pray without ceasing"

3. I will pursue joy, rejoicing every day for who God is and what He has done
Philippians 4:4 - "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice."

4. I will not be ashamed of the one thing that can change a person's eternity
Romans 1:16 - "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."

5. I will make my last days all about God and His glory
Acts 20:24 - "But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."

6. I will discipline my children, in love, and train them in God's ways
Ephesians 6:4 - "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."

7. I will not boast about myself, but I will boast about God
Jeremiah 9:23,24 - "Thus says the LORD: Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD."

8. I will keep singing new songs about God and point people to Him
Psalm 40:3 - "He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD."

9. I will forget the past and press ahead to what God has called me to do, for His glory, in the future
Philippians 3:12-14 - "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, i press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

10. I will fear God and strive to obey Him, in everything
Ecclesiastes 12:13 -"The end of the mater; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man."

Celebrating a birthday at Christmas time

Yesterday, we celebrated our youngest twin's birthday. I asked them if they liked having their birthday so close to Christmas. And although all the other children agreed that it is perferrable to have their birthday closer to the middle of the year, the two who were celebrating their birthday thought different. They both said that they really enjoyed celebrating their birthday so close to Jesus' birthday (that is: the celebration of it anyway)!

That made me wonder what Jesus is thinking right now. The celebration of His birthday is traditionally on Christmas Day; and yet it really take 2nd or 3rd or last place to all the other celebrations going on at the same time (and I'm not talking about my twin's birthday). Everywhere you look, even before Thanksgiving time, peopel began celebrating this time of year. And outside of some of the music played on a Christian radio station, the celebration of Jesus' birth is somewhat confined inside church walls.

I have noticed that the most popular and even most enjoyable TV movies at this time of year, are all about the power of belief. But, it is not the power of believing in Jesus' birth and what He did for us. It is, of course, the power and importance of believing in Santa Claus, though noone over 8 is actually trying to say that he even exists. How does Jesus feel about this? The celebration of His birth, which changed the world, is overshadowed by a fat, fictional gifter of greed. His gifts are all about filling some temporary desire in us, which will not make us happy for long. Jesus gave the gift of Himself, which can bring eternal life.

Then, I think of Christian homes, including mine. It is pretty easy to conform to the thinking of our world's system, and practically forget about what we are to be celebrating. I find it challenging to keep our family's focus on the right things, and the right person, this time of year. I would be interested in hearing what you do to make sure we are celebrating the birthday of the Savior of the world, most of all. Here are a few things we are doing:

• Attending a church each week that is celebrating Jesus' birth
• Attending a Christmas Eve service that keeps the right focus
• Constantly reminding our children that this is not the time for selfishness or greed; but to give, and to serve others
• Participating in a service project, where we purchased gifts for a needy family and then delivered them personally
• Reading a story, during Advent, each night. This particular story is called Tabitha's Travels, which is the 3rd book in a series we have used the past few years. They are very interesting stories, that tie in fiction with the truth of what happened 2,000 years ago with Jesus' birth. It serves as our family devotional during this time of year
• On Christmas morning, having a time of worship before we open all the gifts

What do you do, to remember the "reason for the season"?

Surprised by the Song of Solomon - part 4

Even though I finished preaching through the Song of Solomon last month, and have blogged about it 3 times now, I still have something that surprises me about the book. No matter how hard people have tried to make the book something other than what it truly is, it still remains a God breathed book, describing the intimate (including sexual) relationship between a husband and his wife.

Many have tried to allegorize the book, making it all about the church and Christ, even though there is nothing within the book to make us think that; or anywhere in Scripture, referring to the content of the Song of Solomon as an allegory of this. I read that some have tried to say that the sachet of myrhh lying between the woman's breasts was a reference to the shikineh glory of God, with 2 cherubim, angels, resting over the ark of the covenant! Others have said the reference to breasts is a reference to the Old and New Testaments, the pure milk of the Word. And others have said that the breasts stand for faith and love.

When I preached about this, I told the people that I was going to take a really wild, extreme stance on this. I was suggesting that when the Song of Solomon used the term "breasts", that it was actually talking about...breasts! Isn't that crazy? Scripture uses a ton of figurative language, and so does the Song of Solomon, but we still believe in the literal approach to Scripture, and do our best to interpret the words as the original authors intended. Let's face it: this book does include a lot of talk about sex.

And so, the final thing I will mention about what surprised me about this book is just that: the incredibly intimate talk and references to sexual activity. But, that is a good thing...no...a great thing! God created sex and sex is good, and right and proper...as long as we utilize it within the boundaries God as set. And He makes it clear that those boundaries are defined as: the marriage relationship. "Don't awaken love" the Song of Solomon says, until the time is right; and that time is a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman. Solomon eventually blew it, as he added 700 wives and they turned his heart away from God. But, we don't have to do the same thing.

If we will allow it, the Word of God, and especially the Song of Solomon, can get us talking to our spouses and children about sex, improve our sex lives; and pursue the glory of God...and that should not surprise us. In fact, God promised that every book, every word of the Scripture is here, not just for knowledge sake; but so that we can grow spiritually and be more complete:

II Timothy 3:16,17 - "All Scripture is God breathed; and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."

Surprised by the Song of Solomon - part 3

I have already shared how my surprise at how challenging it was to preach the Song of Solomon - most challenge message series I have ever had! And I have shared how surprising it was that I had to convince people that this was an inspired book of the Bible that needed to be preached, and practiced! In fact, it was so challenging that some admitted to me later that they attended another church during this series because they just couldn't handle it. Now, before you think I was up there describing every sexual nuance, listen to the messages first! I empathize with those who struggled because I did as well. But, I'm not sure it would have worked out very well if I skipped church during that series with them!

Another thing that surprised at, somewhat in contrast to the previous entry, was the positive feedback I received. I don't know if it was because people knew how much I was struggling through the series and they wanted to encourage me, or if this series really just had that great of impact on people,even though many others were struggling incredibly through it. Once again, I cannot remember a message series where the responses were so divided.

I will give you a sampling of the positive responses I received:

• "your preaching from the Song of Solomon has helped [us] alot. I would be lying if I said things have been easy for us this year, but we have continued to work at it, and your messages each week, while I know have been very difficult for you, have gotten us back where we used to be."
• We [mostly my wife] has had several talks with [our daughter] over the past year, leading up to this series. So, she is fully aware of this topice and it is perfect for her to hear it from you and the church with how God is pleased with this type of relationship. We want to encourage a positive approach to sex and marriage. It has been great for [my wife] and I to over the cores of a good marriage relationship. All that to say THANK YOU for doing this series... I'm sure it has been "hard" or "wierd" but it is much needed to come from the church; and I wish my church, as a kid, would have had such a good approach and public proclamation of this truth..."
• "I can't tell you what a wonderful renaissance [my wife] and I are experiencing in our relationship. After [many] years of marriage, it is like we are falling in love all over again. I attribute this to several things...Most recently, your message series on the Song of Solomon has been a blessing as well. We have experienced a new found love life that is better than I could have ever imagined. I know that it was not a coincidence that you were led to preach this series at this time of our marriage..."

I received other notes, e-mails, texts, and kind words, that have encouraged me throughout this series. My favorite text, after a particularly challenging, direct message on the great gift of sex, was this: "thanks for the great afternoon!" It surprised me, made me laugh, and smile, and caused me to say "thank you" God for not letting me get out of preaching this very important, practical book!

Surprised by the Song of Solomon- part 2

In my last post, I wrote about how challenging it was to preach through the Song of Solomon. It was the most difficult book I have preached through, up until now; and the fact that there is so much disagreement among biblical scholars is one of the main reasons. Another surprise for me in this study was the challenge to get people to believe how important this study is. It seems that many people assumed that this book was not for them. The misunderstanding is, I think, that the Song of Solomon is a sex book; and unless you are married and having sexual difficulties, that it is not for you. I can understand the hesitation.

But, what surprised me was that I had to emphasize theme verses that were not even in the Song of Solomon:
II Timothy 3:16,17 - "All Scripture is inspired by God; and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. That the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work." Our church is known for its stance on the inspiration of the Scriptures; and I would put our people up against almost anyone in a contest of Bible knowledge. However, we all seem to struggle with accepting this book as God-breathed; at least on the same level as all the other books of the Bible.

Could it be, that this collection of Hebrew love songs from over 3,000 years ago, applies to my life right now? Can it really teach me what God wants me to know? Can it really correct me from a wrong path? Can it really train me to live God's ways, today? Can it really lead toward spiritual maturity? The answer is: YES! But, it was a continual battle for me and the rest of our church family, to come to Song of Solomon, take it all in, and expect that there would be something specific for ALL of us to apply.

This is nothing against our church family. We are one of very few churches, I am finding out, that would even consider preaching this particular God-breathed book in morning services. But, throughout the series, working so hard at convincing the audience that this is worth our time, was a surprising development I didn't expect. Now, that it is over, I can say: It was worth it. Just don't ask me to do it again!

Suprised by the Song of Solomon

I have studied the Bible all of my life. I have been a student of it in Bible College and Seminary, going into great depth. I have taught from it in many different places, using much of the Bible to do so. And I have preached for a couple of decades, many times preaching through entire books of the Bible. I don't say this because I have better knowledge than others or am a better preacher than others. I rank pretty low on both accounts. I say it because it means I have had all kinds of experiences hearing and communicating the Word of God over my lifespan. I could give you a brief summary of every book of the Bible; and I love the Scriptures with all my heart: because they reveal the God who loves me, and with whom I am growing in relationship.

With all of that said, there is only one book of the Bible that I can say has truly surprised me. I admit that I have not preached through the entire book of Revelation, and I realize that it is full of figurative language and holds many challenges. There are many books of the Bible which are very challenging to study, let alone communicate. But, it is this one book, which I just finished preaching through, that has surprised me, while at the same time challenging every aspect of the preaching process for me.

Studying the book was especially difficult, with almost every resource available disagreeing as to what the book means, in almost every verse! Then, trying to communicate it in a way that is biblically accurate and makes sense to people, a particular group of people (my church family), seemed like an insurmountable challenge every week. I think the series lasted 7 weeks, and yet it seemed like 7 months. I mean no disrespect to God's Holy, Inspired Word; since, in fact, I spent most of the series boldly proclaiming its inspiration and relevance. But I was completely surprised by how difficult it was to study and preach this particular section of it. More later.