Wisdom from the Spirit

Thursday evening, I was on my way from here to there, running late as usual. I usually alternate between a classic rock station and a Christian rock station in what I listen to while driving around. At that moment, both were in the middle of commercial breaks, so I switched to the other preset button I have programmed on my radio, which happens to be a Christian radio station that plays traditional worship music between various different sermons, teachings, and studies. A woman was in the middle of a message about heaven. My trip was pretty short, so I only heard a portion of her message. She quoted dozens of Scripture references to support how wonderful heaven is, but only one jumped out at me:

“No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him”

1 Corinthians 2:9

It is wonderful to see God’s Holy Spirit at work in so many ways. The woman gave 1 Corinthians 2:9 as a Scripture reference, and for some reason the verse stuck in my mind; especially the part about “…no mind has conceived what God has prepared…” My mind kept coming back to that verse, as I thought about all the changes in scientific thought and theory over the years. I thought a good picture to highlight that concept would be one of the Deep Field pictures from the Hubble telescope. For the Deep Field study, they aimed the Hubble telescope at a rather dark area at the edge of the universe. What they found was not a few rogue stars, but thousands upon thousands of GALAXIES… each with millions of stars of their own!

While searching for a good picture of all those galaxies, I stumbled upon another object that was studied by the Hubble astronomers, namely Hoag's Object (the picture, above). It had to be a sign! LOL!!! Hoag’s object is a non-typical galaxy of the type known as a ring galaxy. The galaxy was discovered in 1950 by astronomer Arthur Allen Hoag (I kid you not; look it up) who identified it as either a planetary nebula or a peculiar galaxy.

A nearly perfect ring of young hot blue stars circle the older yellow nucleus of this ring galaxy. It’s slightly larger than our own Milky Way Galaxy. The gap separating the two stellar populations may contain some star clusters that are almost too faint to see. As rare as this type of galaxy is, oddly another more distant ring galaxy can be seen, between the nucleus and the outer ring at the one o'clock position.

“No mind has conceived…” Scientists do not understand how such a galaxy could have formed. Thankfully, the universe does not rely on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power! Can any of us imagine what the sky looks like from different points in that galaxy? From the nucleus? From the outer ring? And that’s just one galaxy. It would seem that galaxies are as numerous as the sands on the beach!

Getting back to the Scripture verse… when I read the verse in the context of chapter 2 of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians I found Paul to be communicating not about heaven, but about us receiving wisdom from God’s Spirit.

The following is ALL of chapter 2 of 1 Corinthians (it’s only 16 verses):

1 Corinthians 2

1When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.

Wisdom From the Spirit

6We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9However, as it is written:

"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him" -

10but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment:

16"For who has known the mind of the Lord
that he may instruct him?"

But we have the mind of Christ.

Now, as we gather for our annual Congregational Meeting, I pray that we come together in the mind of Christ. Let us express ourselves, not in words of human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit. Let us open our hearts to God’s Spirit, so that we may discern and make judgments with God’s wisdom. Let us love one another, seek to serve rather than be served, and remember that Christ has promised to be where 2 or more are gathered together… in agreement.

What have our minds not conceived about our fellowship? Let’s be of one mind… with God!

Your brother in Christ,

Dave Hoag

For the Glory of God

If you are an active partner in ministry with us at Messiah, you recently received a letter about our annual congregational meeting from Pastor Bob. The agenda for the meeting is on one side, and Bob’s letter is on the other. Pastor Bob starts off with a Scripture quote from a portion of 1Corinthians 10:31:

“…whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

Bob boldly states that this verse is central to who we are at Messiah. That in everything we do, we want to make sure that it is all to the glory of God. His letter is an awesome letter inviting and encouraging everyone to attend the congregational meeting on Sunday September 28th, at 5:30 pm. Of course there’s a potluck dinner to kick it off (no self-respecting Lutheran function can happen without food). I love how Pastor Bob ends the letter:

“Together we can make a greater impact on people who do not have a relationship with God’s family or the God who created them. Together, we can dent the world. TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF PEOPLE!”

How are YOU making a dent in the world? How are YOU making a difference in people’s lives? What could WE be doing to make a bigger dent? Are there any things we should STOP doing? Think about the verse from 1 Corinthians, and then answer the question. Going back to the thought that Bob starts with, do we give God the credit for making a bigger dent, or do we instead recognize our good works, our congregation’s planning, or our charismatic leadership? How should we give all the glory to God? How do we? Do we at all?

I’ll take the posted replies to the meeting next Sunday, so they will be heard… even if you cannot attend.


--- And now for something NEW AND EXCITING! ---

New blogger tools have become available, and yours truly has already integrated them into this blog. The new features are:

Subscribe:
This is an easy way to get automatic notification when there is a new post or reply on the blog.

Followers:
This is a way to let the world (and me) know who is following this blog (even if you never post or reply).

Both of these new features are available on the right-hand side menu selections. Remember… you don’t even have to be a member at Messiah to participate in any and all of the features of this blog. I would LOVE to know who is watching this blog on a regular basis. Won’t you take a few minutes and sign up? You only have to do it once. You even get to place your own avatar or picture in your profile. There’s no need to lurk in the shadows; go ahead, declare your connection to our community.

Remember the congregational meeting on September 28th.

Your brother in Christ,

Dave Hoag

Hurricane!

I have been thinking about a Bible passage from Matthew 7:24-27 where Jesus teaches the following:

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundations on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Hurricane Ike has been the top news story for the past week. From its birthplace off the African coast, moving along at a leisurely 15-20 miles per hour, it took Ike a week to make landfall in the Galveston area. People had a whole week to evacuate, and yet… some chose not to heed the warnings. There was ample time to get out, there was ample transportation for all, and there was ample shelter in safe havens on higher ground. Some people can hear the words, but don’t want to put them into practice. In their minds, they thought they would ride out the hurricane much like any other storm. After all, Ike was only a category 2 hurricane, perhaps strengthening a bit to become a category 3 upon making landfall.

The trouble was that this particular hurricane had become as big as the whole state of Texas… filling up the entire Gulf of Mexico! Even with only 100 mile-an-hour winds the driving rains were enough to blow out windows in many of Houston’s high rise buildings, raining lethal shards of glass onto the streets below. While the city of Galveston is protected by a 17-foot high seawall, Ike was pushing a 20-25 foot storm surge toward a protective wall that would come up just a bit short. The streams were sure to rise, along with a huge wall of water coming in from the sea! The very thing that makes Galveston so popular, being right on the Gulf Coast and right at sea level, is the very thing that places the city at such risk to the forces of hurricanes.

Oh… and all the houses built right along the shore… just what do you suppose those foundations are built upon? Sand; that’s right! If I lay a tape measure up against the outside of my house (in Galveston), and EVERYBODY is predicting a storm surge of 20-25 feet, I can pretty accurately gauge just how much of my house is going to be underwater. Those that chose not to evacuate soon found themselves in need of rescue, and that was before the full force of the hurricane came ashore. Emergency crews worked to rescue foolish people; people who had not listened and suddenly found themselves being washed and blown away. The crews worked heroically until the force of the storm made further rescues impossible. Ultimately, the rain came down, the sea rose, and the winds blew and beat against the houses, and many fell with a great crash.

My heart, our hearts, should go out to all the people who suffered loss from this hurricane. We should lift them up in prayer. We should support and contribute to relief efforts, but we should also take heed!

Jesus said that we should not just listen to His words, but put them into practice! How can I emphasize that enough?!? Are the foundations of your life built upon Jesus (the rock)? Or… are your foundations built upon what you can do (sand), on what the world says is acceptable (more sand), or perhaps on nothing at all (quicksand)? Rest assured there are hurricanes coming into your life. Some of you have already endured a hurricane or two. What will yours be: death of a loved one, divorce, addiction, depression, rejection, loss of employment, betrayal, or sickness? Sometimes it can feel like you are right in the middle of the storm track, with hurricane after hurricane slamming into your life.

Want to make sure your life is built upon the Rock? Listen to Jesus, and put His words into practice! How do you accomplish that? Simple… get involved in your Christian fellowship (church). Make sure that you are studying God’s Word (Bible study), attend worship and get involved, and open your heart to God in regular prayer (Jesus taught his disciples a good prayer; see Matthew 6:9-15). Jesus told us how to lay our foundation on the rock:

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”
John 15:12

I’ll see you at worship, and we can lay some foundation… together.

Your brother in Christ,

Dave Hoag

Backyard Block Party

Wow… what an awesome day to drop by Messiah Lutheran Church here in Yorba Linda, California!

From the moment you got close to the church, you noticed that something was happening. Cars were parked all up and down the street facing the church, and vehicles were streaming in and out of the north and south parking lots all morning. People arriving for Sunday worship were greeted by a huge inflatable obstacle course, a bounce-house, and handprints on the sidewalk, balloons, and signs inviting everyone to the picnic from 11:30 am to 3 pm… right there, at church.

The picnic is an annual fall kickoff event, and used to be held in a nearby regional park. With the addition of the new Community Life Center, our campus layout now includes substantial north and south lawn areas, so it just made sense to try having the picnic in our own backyard. It turned out to be our best picnic ever… IMHO. There were foods to satisfy any taste. In tubs of ice, were dozens of drink selections (from soda and juices to water); all ice cold. Families participated in fun and exciting games on the south lawn, and the little ones had a wealth of creative and fun games and activities on the north lawn. It was such a great welcoming atmosphere that nobody really wanted to leave. There was a raffle with prizes that people actually wanted to win (rather than white elephants). There was NO charge for anything; not the raffle ticket, not the food, not the games, not even for the parking! Admittedly, we did have a fundraiser silent auction, but those items were simply fabulous, and people really wanted to bid on, and win, those items. Even our neighbors from the surrounding community came, had a great time, and even won a prize or two. If you were there, you understand why I can say that this was our best picnic ever! If you weren’t, you’d better mark your calendar for next year.

Of course, an event like this just doesn’t happen by itself… innumerable volunteers made it such a great success. I’d like to name them all, but I can’t; simply because I don’t know who they all are. There were people who set up, people who tore down, cooks, servers, organizers, helpers, musicians, face painters, and so many others. To all of the volunteers: “Thanks for making the picnic so awesome!”

Now I know that there are a whole bunch of key people that planned, organized, and totally committed themselves to making the picnic the grand event that it was, but one person really stands out (in my opinion). That person is Matt Bagne. Matt coordinates, organizes, cajoles volunteers, sets up, takes down, runs power cords, and empties trash… basically anything that needs to be done. But Matt goes way beyond that, he also commits resources from his own business for the event (and other events, too). Knowing Matt, I probably only see the ‘tip of the iceberg’ of what Matt does for our fellowship.

The picture this week is of Matt. When I took it, I did not realize just how well I had captured him. Notice how much of his face is in shadow. That’s exactly how Matt serves… mostly in the background, and what you do see is his smiling and welcoming attitude. Notice also, that the other thing that shines through is Matt’s servant’s heart! Matt really demonstrates how to “love your neighbor as yourself” through service.

Who do you know that has a servant’s heart like Matt? How can you show them how much you appreciate what they do? People like Matt inspire me to be a better servant. I hope they inspire all of us.

Your brother in Christ,

Dave Hoag