Tag: Christian Faith

BUILDING BRIDGES IN JESUS’ NAME

In the Beatitudes of Jesus Christ in Matthew 5:1-12, our Lord Jesus very plainly states that his believers and followers will be persecuted because of our faith in him.

“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.”

Matthew 5:11

And after Jesus states this, he goes on in Matthew 5 to specify the particular aspects of following him that will get us into trouble within our world. He specifies things like being salt and light, which means being active witnesses to his gospel within our world. And he highlights that his followers will be observant of the Ten Commandments, listing the following: that his followers will value human life within a world that devalues it, that we will honor and uphold the covenant of marriage within an adulterous world, that we will be keepers of our word within a deceitful world, and he adds that we will be merciful within an unforgiving world, that we will love all people as children of our Heavenly Father, and that we will prayerfully seek to build bridges even with our enemies.

Many despised Jesus for his ethics of inclusivity and bridge-building. He was absolutely despised for his insistence that all people are to be treated as children of God and they must be regarded equally as such: Hebrew and Pagan, Jew and Roman, male and female, countryman and foreigner, so on and so forth. However, when building bridges between very different people according to his grace and truth, Jesus essentially warns us in Matthew 5:11 that IF YOU BUILD BRIDGES THEN YOU WILL OFTEN BE MISUNDERSTOOD FROM BOTH SIDES.

When we follow Jesus by building bridges between different people, especially people of different points of view, the simple truth is that we should expect to be persecuted, reviled, and have all kinds of evil uttered against us. And this is especially true when we follow Jesus by building bridges of understanding, coexistence and cooperation in all areas of human life (ethnicity, religion, politics, sexuality, culture, etc.). So, we ought to be prepared for this rejection and condemnation.

In particular, within today’s religiously diverse society, how are we as Christians to be reconcilers and bridge builders? How are we to be true to our own spiritual inheritance while we seek greater understanding with other religious groups? How are we to understand our own religious faith and spirituality in relation to non-Christian groups? Is there a positive and constructive perspective on this issue that glorifies God and benefits everyone?

For me, “non-Christian” does not mean “un-Christian” or “anti-Christian.” And for me, God is like a great body of water connecting all the various ports and harbors that occupy God’s shoreline. These various harbors are the various religions, and the various piers (on which we dock our individual boats) are the various traditions within each religion. Consequently, there’s a Judeo-Christian harbor that Jews and Christians share (although we have different piers in this shared harbor). There’s also a Muslim harbor, a Hindu harbor, a Buddhist harbor, a Sikh harbor, and so on. So, in this metaphor we are all connected by the Great Water (God), but we each occupy a unique and special place on it.

Therefore, we can explore God’s diverse Oneness from our own safe harbor (“Judeo-Christian Harbor”) and from our own particular dock in this harbor (“Christianity Pier”). So, as with all the various peoples of faith, we can sail out on the great water of God to explore, discover and grow in understanding and wisdom. We can visit other harbors, and we can fish the Great Water (as fishers of people for Christ), but we come home to our own safe harbor when we are tired from our journeys and are in need of our spiritual home port.

Our Christianity Pier and Judeo-Christian Harbor are our secure jumping-off point into the Great Ocean of God. The doctrines of our Christian Faith are wonderfully and gloriously true — especially the tri-unity of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as well as the Incarnation, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus the Son of God. So yes, God is truly revealed in these wonderful doctrines of Christianity, but God is also much more than is revealed in these doctrines.

Therefore, we travel out to sea for religious exploration and discovery, and for fishing for people out at sea, but NOT for religious conquest of other ports. For me, I enjoy going out into the beautiful Ocean of God and exploring, and I seek to fish for people in Jesus’ name, but I don’t raid the other harbors and ports like some kind of spiritual pirate. Simply put, we witness to Christ Jesus best in this bridge-building way, and it will bring upon us misunderstanding, condemnation, and even persecution, but Jesus gives to his persecuted believers the following promise:

“Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Matthew 5:12

Together in Christ, Pastor Tim

CONTEND FOR THE FAITH

In the New Testament of the Holy Bible, we are instructed to “contend for the faith.” Specifically, in the Epistle of Jude it says the following:

“Beloved, while eagerly preparing to write to you about the salvation we share, I find it necessary to write and appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.”

Jude 1:3

But what exactly does it mean to “contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints”? Well, the answer is two-fold: 1) We are called to vie for and campaign for the true gospel of Jesus Christ against any kind of false gospel that is competing for our hearts and souls, and 2) We are encouraged to actively engage in practices that strengthen our Christian Faith.

Just as it was at the time of Jude and the Apostles, we have to contend for our Christian Faith (received from our Lord Jesus Christ and his Apostles) amid the false claims of various pseudo-gospels. While Jude specifically addresses those who have turned the gospel of Christ into a “licentious” philosophy (an anything-goes philosophy), we today also contend with this same thing in addition to contending with other things.

In our world today, we “contend for the faith” against things like the Prosperity Gospel, which teaches that we can be blessed with material wealth if we have enough faith or the right kind of faith. We also contend with Radical Secularism, which seeks to strictly relegate faith to a mere freedom of private worship rather than a true freedom of religious expression within both our private and public lives. Furthermore, we contend against Radical Relativism, a doctrine stating that truth, knowledge, ethics and morality are completely relative to culture and are not absolute.

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, we are called to resist going astray into these various theological and philosophical distortions of the grace and truth of God. However, we cannot fulfill this calling without the power of God in our lives to strengthen us. So, this is where we are encouraged to actively engage in practices that empower our faith and spirituality. And these practices include worship, Holy Communion, fellowship, charitable service, prayer, and devotional reading, but primary among these practices is BIBLE READING.

Privately reading the Holy Scriptures as an individual and collectively reading them within a Bible study group are essential practices for maintaining a strong Christian belief and hope. There is power in the Word (see Hebrews 4:11-16). Of course, regular Bible study does not make us perfect people, but it does strengthen us with a hope, peace and joy that transcend all human understanding.

So, what are we feeding our souls throughout the week? Are we reading the Scriptures to build us up in Christ and to help us “contend for the faith” amid all the competing claims of the various pseudo-gospels of the world?

“But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God; look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.”

Jude 1:20-21

Almighty God, strengthen us with the power of your Word through the Holy Spirit so that Christ may live in our hearts through faith. Amen.

Thanks be to God!   Pastor Tim

MISSIONARIES FOR CHRIST

In select theaters on March 17-18, 2020, Fathom Events is bringing to the big screen a new inspirational movie about the life and ministry of Saint Patrick, entitled “I Am Patrick.” It is a feature-length docudrama that peels back centuries of legend and myth to tell the story of the historical St. Patrick. Through re-enactments, expert interviews, and Patrick’s own writings, we can experience his remarkable journey of faith and transformation. It also stars John Rhys-Davies (best known for his role as Gimli in The Lord of the Rings saga) who plays St. Patrick in his elder years.  For us in our area, this movie will show on these two days at 6:30pm at AMC Burbank 16.

During the Season of Lent, the Christian Church has an annual observance on March 17th in commemoration of this great Fifth Century missionary bishop to Ireland. He was born at the end of the Fourth Century to a Roman family on the Isle of Great Britain. Patrick was raised in the Christian Faith, but at the age of sixteen he was abducted by Pagan Irish pirates who were raiding communities in and around Great Britain. Patrick was then enslaved by them, and during his captivity, he prayed often and his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ grew stronger. Patrick also learned the Irish Celtic language and customs. In addition, he learned about Druidism, which was the Pagan religion of the Celtic peoples of Western Europe. In fact, his slave master was a Druid high priest. After six years of captivity, he received guidance from an angel of God to flee his cruel master, and he escaped back to Britain.

As a result of this experience, Patrick’s heart was set toward serving God, so he went to France for his seminary education. After seminary, he served in pastoral ministry for approximately seventeen years until he was commissioned as a missionary bishop to Ireland. Patrick arrived in Ireland around 433 AD, and he shared the good news of Jesus Christ with the native people of Ireland for decades to follow. Because of his evangelistic ministry, Patrick is largely responsible for the establishment of Christianity in Ireland. Besides his famous use of the three-leafed shamrock to symbolize the Holy Trinity of God, he is also credited with driving the Druid priesthood (a.k.a. the “serpents”) from Ireland.

It is appropriate during Lent that we commemorate Saint Patrick, because he is a model of faithful and dedicated evangelism within a cultural context that’s largely unfriendly to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest?’ I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see how the fields are already ripe for harvest.”

John 4: 34-35

Yes, according to Jesus, the fields of evangelism are already ripe for the harvest. However, these fields of evangelism in our society today often do not feel very ripe for harvesting. This is because we live in a time where many people who were raised in the Christian Faith are not living according to their baptismal covenant with God: “to live among God’s faithful people, to regularly hear the Word of God and share in the Lord’s Supper, to proclaim the good news of God in Christ Jesus through word and deed, to serve all people, following the example of Jesus, and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth.” And many of these are neglecting to nurture their children into the faith, hope and love of the Lord Jesus. Furthermore, as it was at the time of Saint Patrick in Ireland, our work of Christian evangelism is increasingly to those who at first find the gospel to be completely foreign to them.

Thanks be to God for the example of Saint Patrick, whose devotion and dedication to God gives us inspiration to do the work of evangelism within our daily lives. May we continue to share the good news of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with others, even though it might not initially be received too well, or even if our evangelical outreach in the name of Christ is completely rejected.

Let us remember Jesus’ words of promise, saying, “See how the fields are already ripe for harvest.” And, when sharing the good news and joy of our Lord with others, let us continually pray for direction with the words of the great missionary bishop, Saint Patrick, who wrote: “May the strength of God pilot me, the power of God uphold me, the wisdom of God guide me.”

Good Lent & Blessed Saint Patrick’s Day! Pastor Tim

ALL WE NEED IS LOVE

Saint Valentine is a Christian saint of the Third Century AD who is widely celebrated on February 14th and commonly associated with romantic love. Although not much of St. Valentine’s life is reliably known, it is highly agreed that St. Valentine was martyred and then buried on the Via Flaminia to the north of Rome around 273 AD.

The story goes that St. Valentine (a former Bishop) was arrested late in his life for continuing to convert Pagans to the Christian Faith. He was sent to Rome and was martyred during the reign of the Roman Emperor Claudius Gothicus (Claudius II). In addition to converting people to Christ, St. Valentine was imprisoned for marrying Christian couples and aiding Christians being persecuted by Emperor Claudius II. All three of these acts were considered serious crimes.

While in prison, a relationship between St. Valentine and the Emperor began to grow, until Valentine attempted to convert him. Then Emperor Claudius became enraged and sentenced Valentine to death, commanding him to publically renounce his Christian Faith and reject his Lord Jesus or be beaten with clubs and beheaded. St. Valentine refused to do this and was executed outside the Flaminian Gate on February 14th (c. 273 AD). Furthermore, legend says that on the day of his execution he left a note behind to his flock signed “Your Valentine.”

The romantic nature of St. Valentine’s Day may have derived from the fact that he illegally officiated at the marriages of Christians while under Roman Pagan persecution. However, this romantic connection also may have derived from later Christian Church attempts to Christianize the Pagan holiday called Lupercalia on February 15th, which was a holiday celebrating Lupercus (a Roman god sometimes identified with the Roman god Faunus, who is the Roman equivalent of the Greek god Pan). Lupercus was a Roman god of shepherds and flocks, and of nature and the wilderness, and the Pagan holiday of Lupercalia was widely recognized as a day for romantic love and devotion.

Today, archaeologists have unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to St. Valentine, and he is widely accepted as the Christian Saint associated with romantic courtship, engaged couples and happy marriages. He is represented in Christian art with birds, bees and roses.

St. Valentine’s Day also gives us an opportunity to contemplate the New Testament concept of love. In the Greek language (the language of the New Testament) there are six words for love: Agape, Eros, Ludus, Philia, Philautia, and Pragma. While eros (romantic love) is mostly associated with St. Valentine, and while pragma (longstanding love) and philia (deep friendship love) are very important, the New Testament of Christ emphasizes the Divine love of agape for us.

Agape is the compassionate, charitable and sacrificial love of God that extends to everyone. It is a love that transcends all of our differences of worldview and philosophy. While we might disagree as to what loving in this way might specifically look like within various situations, we are all nevertheless called to abide in an agape-love and servant-heart for the sake of the world. It is even a love that Christian law enforcement personnel and Christian military personnel participate in as they honorably serve and work to uphold good order in our world. Theirs is a kind of tough love, and it is a necessary kind of sacrificial love for the sake of an orderly and peaceable society.

Agape-love is used throughout the New Testament, but here are some very good examples of this from First John:

We know love (agape) by this, that he laid down his life for us — and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.

First John 3:16

Beloved, let us love (agape) one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.

First John 4:7-11

So as we look to celebrate eros-love on St. Valentine’s Day again this year, let us remember how St. Valentine lived the agape-love of Christ, and let us contemplate this agape-love for our own faith and life as Christians. Beloved, as we are “Valentines” of Christ whom God has agape-loved so much, we also ought to agape-love one another and all people in Jesus’ name.

Your Fellow Valentine in Christ, Pastor Tim

SO MUST THE SON OF MAN BE LIFTED UP

We should not feel bad about feeling bad.  Within our society that idealizes feeling “happy, happy, happy” all the time, we can sometimes be shamed into feeling bad about feeling bad.  However, this is not right, because it is an unrealistic societal pressure placed upon us that only makes us feel worse.

Of course, there are those who suffer from chronic neuro-chemical imbalances that cause prolonged mental illnesses (bipolar disorder, etc.), and our culture is slowly coming to a better place where mental illness is not stigmatized as much as it once was.  But aside from this, everyone can understand feeling mentally and emotionally down from time to time, especially if they have experienced a great loss of some kind.  So we are all in need of healing and wholeness in life, and I would especially say this regarding spiritual concerns.

At the time of the Prophet Mosheh (Moses), the ancient Israelites were being attacked and killed by poisonous serpents, so Moses prayed for them and God gave them something as a means through which they would receive grace for their healing:

“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a poisonousserpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.’  So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.”

NUMBERS 21: 8-9

And later, at the time our Lord Yeshua (Jesus) walked on earth, he declared the following before his crucifixion and resurrection:

“Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.  For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

JOHN 3: 14-16

Therefore, when we are being vexed by the poisonous spiritual bites of sin, death and the devil, we can look to the One who was “lifted up” for our spiritual healing.  The good news is that Jesus (the Son of Man and Son of God) was lifted up on a cross for our atonement, was lifted up from death for our redemption, and was lifted up into the higher dimensions of reality (what we call “heaven”) for our everlasting salvation.  Even in the midst of the poisonous serpents of loss, grief, failure, guilt and regret, we can look to the Savior who was lifted up, and we can find in him forgiveness, renewal and wholeness.

For many people Easter is over, with all the Easter eggs and bunnies now in the rearview mirror.  However, for us Christians, Eastertime is a season of seven Sundays during which we celebrate the Lifted Up One, our risen Lord and Savior.  For he alone has fully shown, affirmed, confirmed and proved to us the love and grace of God through his life, teachings, sufferings, death, resurrection and ascension.  Through Jesus Christ, we have seen and now know that God indeed loves us and the entire world so very much, because he laid down his life for us and is now raised forever.

Christ Is Risen!!!

Grace & Peace,  Pastor Tim