Does Jesus Hate Bedside Manner?
I highly recommend reading this article by Daniel Fusco.
It is found here: http://danielfusco.wordpress.com/2009/04/28/does-jesus-hate-bedside-manner/#more-144
Apr
29
Apr
21
When We Insist On Knowing
King Solomon wrote…
Ecclesiastes 1:16-18 I communed with my heart, saying, “Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind. 18 For in much wisdom is much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
Pastor Brian Bell (Calvary Chapel Murietta, CA) writes…
Wisdom & experience will not solve every problem.
If you go through life looking for explanations on everything you’ll have 2 frustrations:
1. Explanations do not exist for everything.
2. And even if God did show you “why” you probably still wouldn’t understand.
God has ordained people to live by promise, not explanations, by faith & not by sight.
John 20:9 “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Not only did this wisest of men (Solomon) not find all the answers he was seeking…they only added to his difficulties (grief & sorrow). Knowledge can increase sorrow IF you leave out the God of Wisdom & the Wisdom of God!
Apr
16
Editor’s Note
My new blog is being finicky about who it allows to post. Some of your collective posts have been hung up in moderation, and I am just now discovering them. So…I’ll make adjustments. Just wanted to let you know that I am not trying to lock people out. Thanks for all the recent comments. Blessings…
Apr
16
Ahead Of The Curve
Among evangelical leaders, there is much talk these days about being aware of the culture we live in and being able to effectively communicate the Gospel message. 
In fact, a friend of mine, Daniel Fusco, is writing a book on what he calls “Post Postmodernity”, and that we are currently past the Postmodern era. His premise is something like this: “The postmodern movement has come and gone on the coasts, and the church is just now realizing that it existed, and is trying to respond. In essence, the church is often too late and behind the curve.”
In general, I would agree with that assessment. Perhaps the greater question is, “What do we do about it”?
Apr
12
You’re Not A Hypocrite If…
As a pastor, I have many times heard Christians tell me that they feel like a hypocrite. 
That sentiment often results in them not wanting to come to church until they “quit being a hypocrite”. They don’t feel like they can share the Gospel because they are “such a hypocrite”. They could never serve God until they have victory over a certain sinful behavior, and “quit being such a hypocrite”.
And then there is the classic statement of many Unbelievers: “The Church is FULL of hypocrites”! I say that it’s not! The greater percentage of hypocrites are outside of the Church.
Regarding hypocrisy, there is a great misunderstanding among many Christians, many of whom are the sweetest and most tenderhearted people in the Church.
The misunderstanding goes like this:
1. I am a Christian.
2. I know how a Christian should live.
3. I don’t always live that way.
4. Therefore, I am a hypocrite.
That line of thinking is a huge error that exists among many of God’s true children.
Apr
9
Saved For Death
Hebrews 5:7, 8 (Jesus)…who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, 8though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.
Jesus hated the thought of the cross. His humanity recoiled from the suffering and death that He knew He was called to physically endure. He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane that there might be another way whereby humanity might be saved. There would be no other way.
Moreover, the thought of being made a sin offering compounded the horror of the physical suffering with the addition of broken fellowship with the Father. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Yet, it has been suggested that Jesus faced something worse than death, and that was the challenge of disobedience. The cross would be the greatest challenge of Jesus obeying His Father. The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus was heard by the One who could save Him from death, yet He was still called to the cross.
What then, was the Father’s answer to the Son? In what way did the Father answer the Son?
The Father sent an angel to strengthen Jesus in the Garden. The victory of the cross was won in the Garden, as the Father strengthened the Son, Who resolved to NOT disobey the Father regarding the cross. The Father’s answer to the Son’s prayer was that he helped the Son to obey. The Son struggled to obey the Father’s will, but in the end, He did.
Jesus wasn’t saved from death, He was saved for death.
John Piper has the following thoughts…
“And when verse 7b says that he was praying and crying “to the One able to save Him from death,” does that mean that he was mainly praying for deliverance from physical death? Was that the main aim of his praying in the days of his flesh? I don’t think so, because verse 7 says “he was heard.” I think that means God gave him what he asked for, and verse 8 describes the effect of that answered prayer: he learned obedience. Jesus was praying for obedience—for persevering purity.
In other words, Jesus knew that there was a death worse than death. Much worse. Physical death is bad enough and he desired that there be another way to do the Father’s will than to die on the cross. But far more horrible than dying on the cross was the impurity of unbelief and disobedience. That was the great and horrible threat. So he prayed all his life against that, and he was heard by his Father and, instead of caving in to sin, he learned obedience from what he suffered.”
Jesus, Our Great Savior…
Apr
7
Like Father, Like Son
My first skateboard was home made. It was made from an ancient contraption called a “shoe skate”. 
The old shoe skate attached to your shoe, and then you had a key to tighten it up so it squeezed on to your shoe. It slid forward and backwards to adjust for the length of your foot. That adjustment had to be tightened too.
I don’t know where my friends and I got the idea from, but we discovered that you could make a skateboard. I disassembled an old steel shoe skate, hammered the attachment “squeeze” parts flat, and then nailed the separated pieces on to a 2×4 piece of wood. I gave it a custom spray paint job, and I was off flying down hills with very little control, not to mention no flex in the board. The smallest pebble would send you flying.
Then came the clay wheels with trucks and ball bearings. We could steer now! What a concept. I spent many hours cutting out skateboard shapes from pieces of plywood, experimenting with different shapes to gain any advantage to help me have better control and do tricks. The experimenting with “mini flake” spray paint continued. The most tricks we ever did were slalom courses, wheelies, and 360 spins or 180′s. We were the dinosaurs of skateboarding.
Fast forward from the 1965 to 2009. Dad can still pull a 360, but son Jonathan can fly. The sport has come a long way, and I thoroughly enjoy watching Jon and his friends do their thing. I have even gotten over the fear of them not wearing helmets. I’ll jump on a new skateboard once a year, but I can’t imagine getting air and doing the kinds of tricks that Jon can do.
Still…it makes a dad proud.
Apr
7
Diplomats Or Prophets?
My friend Randal Slack, aka “Okie Preacher”, has written a great article that I would like to refer you to. Randall is a godly man that I respect a lot, and he has written some very good insights regarding how we ought to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Take some time and read Randall’s article, and be sure to tell him “hello”.
Here is the link: http://okiepreacher.blogspot.com/2009/04/diplomats-or-prophets.html
Apr
4
Random Thoughts, Joyful Heart
It has been a busy season as of late.
We were in Mexico from March 21-29. We drove from Napa to Vizcaino. 1,060 miles each way, plus additional driving in Vizcaino. 2,400 miles overall. We did construction, we visited a migrant worker camp, met with Mexican pastors to plan our October conference, and had blessed fellowship with the saints at CC Vizcaino.
I got home on Sunday the 29th, and then attended a planning meeting in Monterrey on Monday the 30th. I am blessed to be a part of the planning committee for the Mt Hermon Northern & Central California Leadership Conference in September. I am also going to be sharing on church planting with some of other pastors. We will speak at a workshop at the conference.
On Wednesday, April 1, I flew to So Cal to teach and help Petey lead worship at CC Montebello. Pastor Pancho Juarez was in Israel, and I was blessed to be asked to share with the church. I flew home the next day, and then taught at Cornerstone Thursday night.
Friday and Saturday have come and gone, and I am excited to be back at Cornerstone teaching tomorrow. I have missed two Sundays due to Mexico. I am really looking forward to teaching and being with the church family.
Debbie is teaching at a Ladies retreat in Tahoe this weekend. That is always bittersweet for me. I am so proud of her, but I sure miss her.
The “normal” stuff continues as well. Counseling, encouraging and challenging some folks about their marriages. Trying to help other ministries with their needs. It’s a full plate, and I am not complaining or trying to pretend that I am Superman or Jesus.
In the midst of doing a lot, and still not getting it all done, I have joy in the Lord. The Bible says that “the joy of the Lord is our strength”, and I am wonderfully aware of that right now. It is good to be tired but still be at peace. It isn’t always that way, but it is now, and I am thankful.
I received an email the other day from someone in full time ministry. The email included a quote that was wonderful, and I want to share it with you all. It was originally written with pastors in mind, but it includes a good word for all of us.
I rise before the dawning of the morning, and cry for help; I hope in Your word. My eyes are awake through the night watches, that I may meditate on Your word. -Psalm 119:147-148
Briefly, the way to escape religion as a front is to make it a fount. See to it that we pray more than we preach and we will never preach ourselves out. Stay with God in the secret place longer than we are
with men in the public place and the fountain of our wisdom will never dry up. Keep our hearts open to the inflowing Spirit and we will not become exhausted by the outflow. Cultivate the acquaintance
of God more than the friendship of men and we will always have abundance of bread to give to the hungry.
Our first responsibility is not to the public but to God and our own souls.
A.W. Tozer, God Tells the Man Who Cares, p115-116.
Love and blessings as we approach this most wonderful holyday called Easter.