Giving Directions

Several groups of us were going to drive from Placentia to Pasadena to meet up at an old-time soda fountain. My group was given directions that placed us miles away from our final destination. Even though we really wanted to get to our destination, incomplete directions kept us lost. They finally came looking for us, and we followed them to the celebration.

As a Christian, do you ever wonder… like I do… am I equipped to give directions? Do you have a love for God, thankfulness for the sacrifice Christ made for us, and a burning desire to share that Good News with others? Well, read on for some really great news.

As part of what I used to do in product assurance, I needed to be skeptical in the proofs and analysis that people provided to me. I had been arguing a point with some people via e-mail, and a lot of other people were being copied at the same time. Finally, they provided me with actual proof of their assertion, and I responded with the following apology:

“I’m sorry to have been such a doubting Thomas… I’m just trying to make sure we do a thorough job.”

One of the people, a native of Iran, and NOT a Christian came to me to ask about the doubting Thomas reference. I then had a great opportunity to witness to someone who had never heard the Good News of our redemption through Jesus Christ.

I started by opening my Bible to John 20: 19-31… the story of doubting Thomas. A part of the salvation story that we are so familiar with, turned out to be unknown to someone raised in an Islamic country. So was the concept of Jesus as Savior, as he had been taught that Jesus was only a prophet. For 20 minutes, I was able to share how knowing Christ as my savior has radically changed my life, how salvation is an unearned gift of grace, how the kingdom of God is not attainable through pillars of good works… and how he could have a real relationship with our risen Lord. We finished up with me inviting him to our Bible Study group so he could learn more about the Good News.

So… how good were my directions? How would you have done it differently? I’m no Billy Graham, so he didn’t drop to his knees and ask Christ into his life right at that moment. Did I give him directions that helped? Did I do any good at all? Or did I just succeed in keeping him lost?

Here’s the great news I promised… we don’t need to know the exact directions! The Holy Spirit knows EXACTLY how to guide people who are seeking the Truth. God just wants us to be available. When we are available, He can use our love, our excitement, and out passion to reach the world around us. Of course, we make ourselves a little more available when we are part of regular praise and worship. We make ourselves even more available when we open our OWN hearts in prayer, and when we open our OWN minds in study of God’s Word.

We are in the midst of a renovation and building program right now… I would challenge each one of us… how is each one of our OWN spiritual building programs progressing? I hope to see you at the construction site… at worship. Call me if you need directions.

Your brother in Christ,

Dave Hoag

God's Will?

If you ever needed an explanation of why, we as Christians need to study and work toward greater discipleship… this may be a good example.

A friend of mine was vacillating between Christian and Hindu beliefs, believing that both had good philosophies. She was sending me emails that seemed to be spiraling down into depression. This dear lady had discovered that her three year old niece had been molested by a family member. Knowing me to profess to being Christian, she sent me the following email:

At first I repressed my feelings about what happened to my three-year-old niece, but now it's hard to keep from crying. People say that everything that happens is "God's will," but how can He will things like this? Even harder to take, at this moment, is the Hindu point of view that everything is "God's play." So He even thinks such things are funny? Any words of wisdom, scriptural quotes, etc. will be appreciated.

I thought about how the mental and spiritual anguish over this horrible event was causing her physical and emotional pain. How hollow to respond with something like: “I’ll keep you in my prayers.” I could see how the whole thing had dragged her off to a dark and frightening depression, and I was immediately reminded of the people of Israel, taken captive and exiled into slavery. The following is my response to her questions:

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My friend,

I’m not sure how much wisdom I have to offer, but all of us should cry when a child is hurt!

I noticed that you correctly identified the fact that “people say that everything that happens is 'God's will'.” People say a lot of things to justify their actions, or to try to put the blame somewhere else… anywhere but their responsibility. God’s will for us is for us to live by His Laws, to walk in His ways, and by doing that… to prosper. When God created us, He did not create programmable automatons, but creatures with free will. From the beginning, people have been choosing to do things outside of God’s will (sin). Eve decided she knew better than God… and ate the apple. Cain decided to kill his brother. It was not God’s will for these things to happen, but God will always use whatever evil that people do to work as a catalyst for good. We are better than our circumstances when we walk with God.

“I can do all things in Christ, who strengthens me.”

Philippians 4:13

The main thing is that people sometimes choose to do bad things! God does NOT command them to do bad things. God hates sin. Sin is the thing that distances us from God.

I can’t really comment on the Hindu perspective, except to say that Christian and Hindu beliefs in who, and what God is, are very different… and no matter what you may think… they are mutually exclusive. Trying to believe in everything is not only confusing, but according to my Christian beliefs… wrong. All belief systems are NOT valid, otherwise, we would have to accept a child molester’s or a murderer’s belief system as valid, too.  My God is not a capricious god. He is a God of love, mercy, grace, and plans for us to prosper. Consider:

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

If you want to take the time to understand how you, your niece, and your sister are in a similar situation as the people of Israel who were dragged off to Babylon in exile, read how the prophet Jeremiah speaks powerfully about exiles in Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7:

"This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."

My friend, I hope these words help you. I pray that God bless you with His Spirit… to comfort you, to guide you, to heal you, and to bring you the joy of walking every day in His presence.

Your brother in Christ,

Dave Hoag

Renovation

If you haven’t already seen what’s going on in the Sanctuary this week, get ready to be surprised! The whole place is being renovated. I got a bit of a tour, and some idea of the many changes that will be taking place.

This should not be too much of a surprise to anybody, as the renovation has long been a part of our building and growth plan. What is a surprise to me is how fast the renovation work is progressing. Another surprise was how much of the work was being financed by gifts and donations given solely for the purpose of renovation. There is a feeling of anticipation and excitement that is truly infectious. Come and experience it for yourself.

Most of us, if we are having friends over, like to spruce up our home. Yet we tend to ignore the wear and tear in our own churches. Often, repairs or renovation only occur when small problems raise themselves up to dire, or catastrophic, levels. We hardly ever see peeling paint, moldy wallpaper, threadbare carpet, or worn-out pews. Visitors, however, see all of that… and more.

Churches speak of their sanctuaries as being “God’s house,” but all too often we let God’s house fall into disrepair. In the Bible, God called people to rebuild his temple, and they did so with the finest materials available. It seems that God still calls a few people to that particular task, even to this day. To renovate is to make like new. I celebrate the fact that soon our sanctuary will be “like new” again, not for us, but to honor God. A new sanctuary will also provide a more welcoming, comfortable, and pleasant environment where visitors, family, and even long-time members can draw closer to God.

More than anybody else, I recognize that you can’t put God in a box. I also remember the words of Jesus when he spoke about the scattered seed. We want to provide as much fertile soil as possible. There should be no place in our church for “hard” or “thorny” ground.

Indeed, there is much fertile ground at Messiah! Over the years I have watched in awe as we have gone from being a “church” to becoming a “campus.” More importantly, we have grown from considering ourselves to be a “congregation” to actually being a “fellowship”… centered in Christ and led by the Holy Spirit. Fertile ground is any place God’s Holy Spirit is actively leading His people.

My prayer is that God continue to stir up His Presence in us, that we stay open to being led by His Spirit, and that we never tire of sharing His Good News with a lost and lonely world.

Your brother in Christ,

Dave

Faith Explosion

According to scientists, statisticians, and others who tally the past to peek into the future, we are in the midst of an information explosion of mind boggling proportions. Information (i.e.: knowledge) is doubling every few years, and the pace is accelerating. It is expected that we will see more changes in the next 10 years than all the changes that took place over the last 100 years. 

That prospect is either exciting or frightening. It’s really exciting if you are embracing change, if you are plugged into the tools that enable you to benefit from this explosion of new thoughts and ideas, and if you have opened yourself to the possibilities of change. On the other hand, it’s tremendously frightening if you abhor change, if you reject the tools that facilitate the rapid exchange of new thoughts and ideas, and if you have decided to close yourself off from all the possibilities of change. 

Think of this explosion of information in another way: imagine trying to surf a gigantic 40-60 foot high wave. This type of wave is a moving mountain of water that was virtually impossible to ride. Using conventional surfing techniques, you just could not get up enough speed to have any hope of getting into position to ride this avalanche of water. However, by applying new knowledge and technology, surfers now utilize jet skis to tow them, at high speed, into a position where they can actually surf the huge wave… instead of just being crushed by tons of falling water. I imagine that we will have to utilize new tools and techniques ourselves, if we want to ride the crest of the coming information and technology wave… if we don’t, we will fall hopelessly behind, and surely be crushed by massive (and fast moving) change. 

In my opinion, our churches (for the most part) are likewise unable to keep up with the rising wave of believers. God’s Spirit is moving as never before among his people, and yet, mainline churches continue to see declining membership rolls. Those churches that have actively embraced change, have utilized new technologies, and were able to let go of old traditions, are growing at such a pace that we call them mega-churches. Yet for all their vast size, these mega-churches are connecting people to God… and community… and programs… with an incredible success rate. There’s an old adage that says: “A church should not be a museum for Saints, but rather a hospital for sinners.” The successful churches have reworked themselves into campuses that focus on reaching, teaching, and equipping disciples. 

Are you ready for God’s faith explosion? Ask Christ into your life, and God’s Holy Spirit will give you what you need… and more. Kind of like the match, we are unable to set ourselves on fire spiritually. There is a reason that the Holy Spirit is depicted as tongues of flame; the Holy Spirit sets us aflame spiritually. Look at the picture of the matches, and imagine what can happen to all the people around you… if YOU let the Spirit fire you up. 

How HAS God fired you up? What smolders inside of you waiting for faith, commitment, and surrender to God’s will to ignite it into a flaming passion? Flame on! 

Your brother in Christ, 

Dave