Theism vs. Deism

And God spoke all these words: 

    2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 

    3 “You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:1–3

What a powerful statement about God in verse 2. We read a statement about who God is: “I am the Lord.” 

If you turn back to Exodus 3 we read an account about God meeting with Moses in the desert. Moses is out tending some sheep in the desert. He sees a bush on fire but the fire doesn’t consume it. It proves to me that men of all ages love fire. Moses approaches the bush and out of the bush God speaks. He instructs Moses to free His people from captivity. He speaks about His power (Exodus 3:14). 

The words, ‘I am’ are packed with meaning. God is the creator, sustainer, provider, and director of life. God made the universe and is control of all things. This is a stark contrast to how life in Egypt was for God’s people. At that time Egypt was the world super-power. The Pharaoh was viewed as a god (think little g). He was seen as being the most powerful being. 

But then God comes along and says, “Let me show you power!” You don’t have to grow up in the church to know about the ten plagues in Egypt or the parting of the Red Sea. That is God displaying His power, the proof that He is the great I am! If you don’t have somewhere that you’re reading in your Bible right now, I invite you to read Exodus 1-15 this week. I think it will really help all of us understand the Ten Commandments more fully. 

God is not only powerful but He is personal. Listen to what he says again, “I am the Lord your God.” 

Underline that word ‘your.’ God is personal. He is for us. God loves us. He is my God. He is our God. 

Let’s have a quick theology lesson. There is a point in Theology we call: Theism. The short definition is that- God is a personal and loving God. It means that God is closer than we think. Psalm 34:18 teaches us that God is close to the broken-hearted. He is personal and loving. God knows our struggles and doesn’t leave us when times are tough. God is so personal and loving that He came to live among us (John 1:14). God is near to us today. God is in the place, anything can happen. 

On the other side. Some people think that God created the earth and walked away. They teach that God made mankind, gave us the breath of life, but has forgotten about us. It’s called Deism- God is impersonal creator God. The term was used chiefly in the intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries. This came about because people thought God created the universe but they wanted to reject that God would interact and engage with His people. People felt abandoned by God and used this as a way to justify their feelings. 

One of the core values of the church I lead is: We put God first. 

We put God first because we believe He is a personal and loving God. We believe that He intercedes on behalf of His people. We think He loves us, cares for us, and likes us. 

If God had a fridge, your picture would be on it. If you would be so willing to read the Ten Commandments, I want you to notice that the first four commandments focus on our vertical relationship with God. The next six primarily deal with our horizontal relationship with others. 

We live in a time when people want to remove the first four commandments and keep the last six. We want people to be punished for adultery and murder but want remove the author of the commands. We can’t cut the author out of the book and maintain the integrity of the message. We choose put God first because He is personal and powerful. 

Mere Christianity

Title- Mere Christianity

Author- C.S. Lewis

Publisher-Harper San Fransisco
Zondervan Publishing House

Pages- Audio Book

Quotable- “Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.”

In my life Mere Christianity is the one book I've started reading the most times and never finished. I have in fact read it two times but started it many more times. This time I decided to listen to the book and it was a great way! It's been a few weeks since I finished the book but it was one of those books I longed to listen to more.

When I think about my history with this book I'm reminded that it was one of the first books I purchased as a new believer but was so confused that I put it down. I wanted to read Lewis and other authors but I just wasn't there. Now looking back I can see/understand the topics he discusses. I can see that Lewis had a great understanding of the faith. He would speak so profoundly on a topic and then relate it to the life of a person so simply and clearly.

C.S. Lewis covers a variety of topics in this book. He talks about faith, eternity, living for Christ and many other areas. In fact the book is a compilation of a number of short radio talks Lewis did. He then took those talks and created the book. The chapter on money was very impacting to me and made me long to increase my generosity.  I really appreciate how humble Lewis is. Lewis is aware of topics he has the knowledge to discuss and topics he needs to stay away from. Turning the radio talks into the book helped him to expound just a bit more on some subjects.

Lewis talks about the need to trust in Christ. He uses such simple illustrations that it made me question why I put the book down so many times. When you're reading it you have to keep in mind that Lewis is from Europe. There are some words/phrases he uses that are tall-tell signs of his descent.

If you're looking for a book that will challenge you, encourage you and have you longing to know Christ more then grab this book!

Confessions of a Pastor: I judge

We've currently been studying the book of Romans at my church and I preached a few weeks ago on Romans 2:1-16. At the beginning of chapter 2 Paul writes this:

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Romans 2:1

As I studied for this sermon I stumbled upon a psychology term called projection. The people Paul is addressing were passing judgment on others to make themselves feel better. Paul uncovers a common human shortcoming, namely our tendency to be critical of everybody except ourselves. Think about it, we have a keen ability to point out in others the faults we see in ourselves in ourselves. We expose the shortcomings of others while concealing our own similar shortcomings. This tendency was made popular in 20th century psychology by Freud and is called “projection”, but we see that Paul described it centuries before.

It reminds me of an encounter that occurred between the king of Israel and the prophet Nathan in the Old Testament. Nathan came to King David and shared a short story about a rich man and a poor man. The rich man had a huge farm and tons of livestock, but the poor man had only one little sheep and this sheep was like a member of the family to him. The rich man had a guest in town, but he didn’t want to turn any of his cows into hamburger so he went to the poor man and forcefully took his only sheep for his guest’s dinner. David burned with anger and instantly condemned the man. Then Nathan extended a pointed finger at David’s chest and revealed to him that he, David, was the rich man in the story. You see, David committed adultery with Bathsheba and killed her husband to cover up his sin, but he was so very quick to judge the other man in the fictional story.

Bring it to our lives. I find that I am more likely to find fault with my children for things I struggle with myself than for issues I don’t tend to struggle with. Let me give you an example. One of my daughters is constantly saying, “I want.”  When she says this I get upset, but each time these words leave her mouth I get increasingly upset. As I’ve examined this I’ve realized the failure lies within me. My disgust with my daughter’s words is a direct reflection of my own selfishness. She hears me say, “I want a new iPhone,” “I want a new GoPro.” I am the hypocrite. I am condemning my daughter for my failure!

Its interesting that we are far quicker to judge others than we are to judge ourselves, and by doing so we condemn ourselves! So if I just leave it here basically it sounds like this, "We suck and there is nothing we can do."

But that's not it. The problem is a deep heart issue and we need to address it. The first part is to identify the issue so we can address it. This week will you take time to identify an area where you are critical of others but give yourself slack. Once you find that area take time to work on improving and being less judgmental.

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Matthew 7:1-2

Will the world end tomorrow?

Will the world end tomorrow?

I'm guessing probably not

Some people will disagree with me and that is fine; this is America we have that right

Before you condemn me for my thoughts let me share some of what influences my position on this hot topic.

Time Zones
People are talking about the world ending on December 21st 2012.  As we all know this theory is based on the Mayan Calendar.  I am not super familiar with the theory and I self confess that I know very little but I want to bring in the fact of Time Zones and what that plays into the date.  The time zone the Mayans occupied is located in what we would call the "Central Time Zone".  If the world will actually end on December 21st then will it end when the earth hits midnight for the time zone where the Mayans live?  I have not been able to find a specific time but I am curious at how time zones impact this.

Leap Year
The Mayans base their calendar on the Mayan calendar.  Americans base our calendar on the Gregorian Calendar.  Now I am no history buff but I'm pretty sure that there is a big difference in these calendars.  Whenever I have been asked the question about the world ending I like to bring up the fact about Leap Year and what role that will play in the end of the world.  From what I know I don't think the Mayans had leap year equated into their calendar which could drastically change the date to a much earlier date since we have been adding a day every four years.

Scripture
I know that not every one reading this will consider Scripture to be a reliable source so I decided to save it for the end.  I am basing most of what I know about the end of the world on Scripture; the other two points I previously mentioned just give me an option to talk to people about it without bringing up God first.

When Jesus spoke about the end of time He was crystal clear that:

"But about the day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."  Matthew 24:36

I don't know when the world will end but I don't think its going to be tomorrow and from what I read I think its safe that say that God is the only one who knows.  This could be devastating to some people.  From the recent events in our Nation I can see heartbreak, confusion and frustration.  If you are experiencing those emotions today is a great day to call out to God.  God wants to have a personal relationship with you before the world ends and when you read the Bible you can clearly see that.

I did it (finally)

On April 28th 2012 something monumental happened in my life!

My journey in seminary is totally different than what I expected!  In September 2004 I started working on my Masters of Divinity at Azusa Pacific University's extension program in San Diego.  After taking two course God lead me to Las Vegas to minister with students which put a halt to my studies.  After getting the ministry up and running I chose to go back and work on my degree but now I was heading to Fuller Seminary.  March 2006 I took my first course at Fuller and my time there was amazing!

Once I realized I would not be able to complete the program through Fuller I transferred to a new seminary in Northern California called Tozer Seminary.  That was the most enjoyable, difficult, time of my life.  Seminary stretched me, shaped me, frustrated me, challenged me, gave me new friends, took lots of time, and encouraged me (Did I mention that I started Seminary as a single man and graduated a marriage man with two beautiful daughters?).  After three years at Tozer I graduated on April 28th 2012 with my Masters of Divinity; this is one of the top ten happiest days of my life!

I have referred to Seminary as the modern day discipleship process in my life; I needed Seminary in my life.  There were times that I wanted to quit but it shaped my Theology.  It helped my understanding of Scripture.  It provided a route to learn the Biblical Languages.  I wish that every new Christian would take the time, make the commitment and go to Seminary so that they can grow in their knowledge and love for Christ.

Seminary taught me how to think Theologically.  It helped me understand Scripture in a new way and make it understandable to the world around us.  My heart breaks for the lack of Biblical literacy in our society and I feel that God has called me to help combat that; I think Seminary has helped prepare me for a life of that.