Dive! Dive! Dive!

If you've ever watched an old World War II movie involving the epic battles that raged on the high seas of the Pacific, surely you've heard the distinctive phrase, “Dive! Dive! Dive!” It is the unambiguous command of a submarine captain whose determinate aim is to plunge his men and machine into the great menacing depths of the sea. Whether he is desperately trying to evade an unrelenting adversary, secretly slipping under the waves to stalk his prey or merely shaking down a new ship and training his green recruits, this maneuver is fraught with danger, uncertainty, anxiety and breathtaking excitement.

In every case, however, without exception, it is an absolutely essential procedure that must be practiced and perfected, because it defines the very existence of the ship itself. A submarine, as its name implies, was created for the purpose of operating in the hostile environment deep under the water, not in the relative safety on the surface. When the crew, captain and craft are moving in harmony with this objective, it becomes a modern engineering marvel that is truly spectacular to behold.

However, most of us would never consider a 560-foot-long steel tube packed with 150 close neighbors, 500 feet under water with no windows and no possible way of escape, a desirable or even safe place to live. Yet, in a combat scenario, when things get dicey on the surface with missiles, bombs and bullets flying everywhere

and where you are vulnerable to attack, below the surface, hidden deep within the essence of your purpose, is precisely where you want to be.

It has been said that “There has never been a storm on the Atlantic, whose roots went deeper than the surface. Even if the waves were so great that they combed over the bridge of a battleship, a submarine always finds the water 50 feet down as calm as a pond on a clear June day. When all is chaos on the surface, deep down there is peace” (author unknown).

And so as we begin this new year of 2011, it is this unambiguous command from the captain of my salvation who compels me to write “Dive deeper!” Deeper into my relationship with him, deeper into his will and purposes for my life, deeper into his word and the life-changing convictions of his spirit, deeper into the lives of the precious people that he has blessed me to know, love and care for: my wife, my children, my brothers and sisters in Christ, and so on.

And deeper still into the grace, mercy, love and forgiveness that he desires to disseminate in and through my life. This is a safe place to be, even though it is inherently dangerous from the perspective of many in the world today. It is a desirable place to be, and one that defies human explanation. Life on the surface, with all of its glitz and glamour, material wealth and pleasure, and never-ending promises of peace, prosperity and permanent satisfaction, is woefully unable to deliver. In reality, what it does manage to deliver is anything but peaceful. Chaos, confusion and disharmony rages on the surface, but I find peace when I dive deeper into my relationship with Jesus Christ. I encourage you to do the same this year.

"Great Distress & Reproach"

Last year I was asked to speak at a church who found themselves smackdab in the middle of the painful process of recovering from a devastating scandal involving their former pastor.  I wanted to bring the church a message of hope and comfort, so I exhorted them not to look at the wind and the waves, but to put their eyes squarely on Jesus; His love, mercy, and forgiveness. I encouraged them to cry out to Him in prayer, to praise Him for His greatness, and reminded them that the destruction that lies in the wake of this scandal, was not the work of Jesus, who came to give us abundant life, but the work of Satan himself; the enemy of our souls, who comes as a thief to, “…steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10). Why? Because this is the example set for us by Nehemiah when Israel faced the destruction of their nation, after the Babylonian captivity.

Prior to the captivity, they had fallen deeply in sin and committed abominable atrocities. God warned them and then judged their unrepentant sin by allowing them to be destroyed by their enemies. Many years after their captivity, they returned to find their cities lying in ruin, and as a result, the people were living, “…in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem [was] broken down, and its gates [were] burned with fire.” (Nehemiah 1:3) Nehemiah’s initial reaction was not to frantically rebuild the wall however, he first cried out to God, praised Him for his omnipotence, confessed the sins of the people, and then said, “Use me, Lord!” God heard his cry and made it possible for the walls to be rebuilt, through the guidance of Nehemiah’s leadership.

Nehemiah encouraged the people by saying, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren…” And so the story of Nehemiah paints a tremendous picture of the spiritual warfare that rages all around us, and of the evil forces that desire only to steal our joy, kill our very lives, and destroy our mortal souls. Within that epic battle, our lives can be used as instruments of righteousness by God or as weapons of destruction by Satan. We are still responsible for our actions though, and it is not a matter of saying, “The Devil made me do it”, as much as, “I gave into temptation because I wanted to, and Satan used it to bring destruction.”

Look, Satan hates us, and we have allowed him to break down the walls and burn the gates of our communities, churches, and our homes; our nation lies in ruin because of our sin. As a result, we live in great distress and reproach. But God loves us and promises to turn what our enemy meant for evil into good. Rest assured; the most triumphant days of this church lay yet ahead of them. They have a new pastor now and God will rebuild, restore, and make them far more effective for His kingdom than they ever were before, if they diligently abide in Him.

Regardless of the outcome, I pray that scandals in the church like this one will be a wake-up call for, “Imitators of Christ” everywhere, and that we will repent, and return to consecrated lives of holiness. “The time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17)

"We can make a difference"

With the election season in full bloom, it seems that banners and campaign slogans are sprouting up on every lawn of every major street in Humboldt County. Of course, they vary from year to year but they all carry the same basic message. “Vote for me, I'll bring needed change, I'll make a difference, I'll make a lasting impact, I'll get the job done, etc.”

These of course, are honorable goals and worthy of admiration, but we only accept these ambitious statements as part of a political framework and don't necessarily believe that they will be fulfilled as promised. Indeed, it does seem impossible to produce a measurable impact in the political climate in which we live, and since the vast majority of us will never run for office, on any level, it seems even less likely that our lives could be used to make a difference in the world in which we live.

We all hope to some degree that in the future, our lives will have meant something to someone, but as time inevitably slips by and we begin to evaluate what we've been able to accomplish, often a bleak and somewhat empty picture is unveiled and we ask ourselves, “Have I made a difference with the time given to me? Has the world benefitted from my contribution?” Sure, wasting time as a teenager is almost an adventure, a dedicated pastime or hobby pursued well into adulthood, but when the bells begin to toll, time wasting becomes a tragedy.

Spinning around in circles, going nowhere

in life, and then coming to the realization of just how painfully short life is can be a staggering revelation. One writer puts it this way: “Wheels within wheels in a spiral array, a pattern so grand and complex. Time after time, we lose sight of the way, our causes can't see their effects” (from the song “Natural Science” by the group Rush).

The Bible says that we are but a vapor that appears for a short time and then vanishes, a flower which blooms and then withers away. What are we doing with the time God has given us? The apostle Paul wrote, “Each one's work will become clear; for the day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is” (1 Corinthians 13:13). Paul was referring to the good works that we do, which only build upon the foundation that Jesus Christ has already laid.

Obviously, there is no work that we can do to gain righteous standing before God, but once we are placed upon that foundation, our lives are to become a living sacrifice. This is reasonable and logical, based on what he has already done for us. But oh, the time we waste, trying to crawl off that altar to pursue our selfish agendas.

There is no doubt that God can use our lives to make a difference, a lasting impact and to bring change, but only if we yield ourselves to him, in the pursuit of his good and perfect will. Everything that is done in accordance with his will and for his glory has eternal weight. It is made of gold and silver, not wood, hay and stubble.

"Ministry of the Moment”

“There is a church in the mall now!” This has become an often repeated and a strangely versatile sentence of late. It comes in the form of a disbelieving question, a joyful statement, or frequently, as a derogatory exclamation. As average citizens stroll through the Bay Shore Mall in Eureka, Ca, they often stop dead in their tracks and look in amazement at the fact of a church now meeting in the very heart of a commercial centre, devoted to the god of capitalism. “Why have a church in the mall?” they ask. Well why not? It is certainly out of the box and even a bit strange to be sure, but what an opportunity to reach the community with the truth of Jesus Christ.

For much of Church history, the concept of, “Going to church”, has been understood as attending a worship service in a building somewhere and then going somewhere else when it’s over. As the Pastor of this, “Church in the Mall”, I am beginning to discover a whole new dynamic developing within my heart and mind, along with many in our congregation, about what it really means to “go to church”. I have begun calling it, “The Ministry of the Moment”.

We all like to study other people when we go to the mall and if there is one thing that I have observed, it is this; people are shopping for a great many things at the mall. They are shopping for more stuff to cram into the empty void of their lives, in the hope that it will satisfy them. They are shopping for clothes, cosmetics, and accessories to make them more attractive in the hope that someone will love them. Lastly, they are hungry for food that will sustain them and thirsty for a drink that will quench their deepest thirst. Jesus said in John 6:35 "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”

We are not selling anything at the mall and that begs the question as to why we are there, but people are definitely shopping for the truth. They are in the market for God’s Grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness, whether they realize it or not.

Rather than looking through stained glass windows at the world outside, the clear glass storefront that encloses the space at the mall, has led many to remark that we are in a fishbowl and the whole world is looking in on us. We have found that whenever the metal gate to the space is open, people naturally wander in and, “The Ministry of the Moment” just happens. I watch people walk by; they peer in, realize what is going on, and then walk through that portal and say, “Please pray for me, my wife is leaving me.” Or, “Please pray for me, I’m dying of cancer.” Or, “I just have some questions about life, love, God, relationships, etc…” so we keep the doors open as much as possible.

But this begs another very powerful question. “What is separating the church from the world?” Stained glass? Clear glass? A metal gate? An imaginary portal? What prevents the church from “Ministering in the Moment”, everyday and everywhere? The answer… NOTHING!!!