Finding Treasure

When was the last time you made a discovery that left you pleasantly surprised? As for me and my wife, it was about a year ago. For years we thought the Schwan's home delivery truck that passed through our neighborhood was filled with expensive frozen foods that were much too pricey for us. That was until Brian, our salesman, knocked on our door. He gave me a catalog of their many products, and explained what made Schwan's unique. My wife and I were pleasantly surprised to find that not only was their food very affordable, it was also delicious.

That's not the first time that my wife and I made a find that was pleasantly surprising. You see, we used to think that Christianity was rigid, restrictive - like a straightjacket! But we eventually came to see things much differently.

I agree with Timothy Keller who wrote, "In may areas of life, freedom is not so much the absence of restrictions as finding the right ones, the liberating restrictions." Liberating restrictions are those that produce greater power and scope for our abilities and a deeper joy.

Jesus talked about such a discovery: "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." (Matthew 13:44) The "kingdom of heaven" (living under the Lordship of Christ) is something that will totally re-make you. It is not more religion. It's not adding another self-help book to your library. It is giving yourself utterly to Jesus Christ. It is a "treasure".

When the man finds the treasure he sells all he has to purchase it. He is basically saying, "What good is all this stuff if I don't have this." How could he do this? How could he seemingly give up so much? Because he had already made the emotional transfer - "in his joy". He saw the value of the real treasure.

Someone put it well when they said: Anyone who will not give themselves utterly to Jesus has not realized that He gave Himself utterly for you.

Pastor Van Morris

Worthy Leaders

A short time back, I read something from the Old Testament book of Isaiah that deeply disturbed me - it made me do some thinking about the 2008 presidential election.

As I write this article, no one knows who the nominees for each party will be. We're all waiting for the smoke to clear so we can see who our guy is going to be. Of course, we all have strong opinions about who that person should be. So as we wait, some say, "We'll have to see who God is going to give us." But what if God might be taking away? Let's consider the following words from Isaiah:

"For behold, the Lord GOD of hosts is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah Both supply and support, the whole supply of bread, And the whole supply of water; The mighty man and the warrior, The judge and the prophet, The diviner and the elder, The captain of fifty and the honorable man, The counselor and the expert artisan, And the skillful enchanter. And I will make mere lads their princes And capricious children will rule over them, And the people will be oppressed, Each one by another, and each one by his neighbor; (Isaiah 3:1-5)

Now of course our country does not have the same theocratic-national form as did Israel. However, is there a principle here? I am intrigued by Ray Ortland Jr.'s commentary on these verses:

"He [God] is taking away their [Israel} leaders and replacing them with irresponsible "boys", so that social cohesion dissolves into chaos. In their desperation, the people will look around for someone, for anyone, to provide guidance and courage. But no one will be willing. The warning for every generation is this: One way God judges his people is by depriving them of worthy leaders."

So in this election year I'm praying, asking God to have mercy upon this nation ( though we certainly don't deserve it), and I'm asking him to give us a worthy leader. I hope you'll join me.

Pastor Van Morris

 

Excellence In 2008 ?

As we begin a new year,  all followers of Christ should take time to reassess their calling:

"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence..." ( 2 Peter 1:3 ESV). God has called us to Himself, a God of glory and excellence.

Since we have been given the ability to believe - what one writer has called the God-awakened capacity to respond fully to Jesus - and we now share in God's divine nature, this results in a newness of life. We now must add to our faith:

"For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue..." (2 Peter 1:5 ESV).

We should note that the word excellence in verse 3, and the word virtue in verse 5 come from the same Greek word, meaning moral excellence. When a tool worked correctly it was said to be excellent.

The point is this, when we express an appetite for good, for what pleases God, we are demonstrating that we do indeed share in His divine nature. We are working correctly.  When He takes us in His hand as a tool for His glory, may we hear He say, "You're excellent."

Pastor Van Morris

Does Jesus Christ Have Your Attention?

Many will remember the conversion account of the church-hating, Christ-persecuting man named Saul that's recorded in the N.T. book of Acts, chapter 9.

Saul was on his way to persecute Christians residing in Damascus. As he traveled, a light from heaven flashed around him and he fell to the ground. Saul heard a voice, that of Jesus, that said, among other things, "it's hard for you to kick against the pricks." Now what could this possibly mean?

This was an agricultural term. During this time, farmers would take a long, slender piece of timber and place a sharp prick on the end. This was called a goad. It was then used to urge a stubborn ox in a particular direction. Now if the ox didn't want to go in that direction, he would kick against the prick. Man, that had to be painful.

Jesus was saying, "Saul, I've been goading you for sometime now because you're going in the wrong direction. Aren't you finding it painful to stubbornly resist me?"

You see, Jesus (the Way) lovingly and graciously seeks to get our attention in order to get us headed in the right direction for life. So he gets our attention.

Author Max Lucado, in his book Traveling Light ponders, I wonder if loneliness is God's way of getting our attention."

He writes: "Suppose you borrow a friend's car. His radio doesn't work, but his CD player does. You rummage through his collection, looking for your style of music - let's say, country-western. But you find nothing. He has nothing but his style of music - let's say - classical."

"It's a long trip, and you can talk to yourself for only so long. So eventually you reach for a CD. You'd prefer some steel guitar, but you're stuck with soaring tenors. Initially it's intolerable. But eventually it's enjoyable. Your heart picks up the pattern of the kettledrums, your head rolls with the cellos."

"Now let me ask you - would you have made this discovery on your own? No! What led you to it? What caused you to hear the music you'd never heard before? Simple. You had no other choice, no other option. You had nowhere else to go. Finally, when the silence was too loud, you took a chance on a song you'd never heard."

O how God wants you to hear his music. He has a ryhtymn that will race your heart and lyrics that will stir you to tears....his music can sooth your soul. But first he has to get rid of that country-western stuff (Forgive me Nashville. Only an example.)"

What might Christ be doing in your life right now to get your attention in order to pour out His aggressive grace on you?

Pastor Van Morris

Won By The Creator

I was recently interviewed for a documentary on the subject of creation/evolution. A crew flew from California, came to our home, and interviewed my wife and I for nearly 3-hours, allowing us to freely share our faith.

In preparation for the interview something dawned on me. Though this was indeed an important issue, there was something far more important. Let me explain.

The majority of Americans hold to a belief in creation. According to a recent USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, two-thirds said creationism, the idea that God created humans in their present form within the past 10,000 years, is definitely or probably true.

Now I certainly can't account for how these individuals came to embrace creationism, but I can tell you how I did. First, but not the most important reason, I came to understand that the principles of evolution are built upon a theodicy - an attempt to reconcile the goodness and justice of God with the existence of evil in the world.

For Charles Darwin, the question was: How could divine creation be reconciled with evil that is in nature? In other words, Darwin was not motivated toward evolution by direct scientific evidence, but by his perceived problems with divine creation - God wouldn't do it this way, so here's what I think happened. (An excellent resource for further research is Darwin's God by Cornelius Hunter.

Still, my most important reason for embracing creationism is because the Creator won my heart. You see, when I was convicted of my sin my initial question was not Gee, I wonder whose got it right, creationists or evolutionists. Goodness no! That would be like fighting for a window seat aboard the Hindenburg. Instead, my concern was In my sinful, condemned state, is there any hope for me? And the gospel of Jesus Christ said "Yes"- and He won my heart. Once I was won by such a Savior it wasn't difficult for me to believe that by Him, through Him, all things were created in heaven and in earth.

This brings me back to the important issue - Isn't it possible for a person to say they believe in creationism, but still not know the Creator in a saving way? You see, merely believing creationism as opposed to evolution does not save. According to the Scriptures, a person is saved by believing in Jesus Christ.

Where a person stands on this issue will not impress God, especially if one has failed to receive God's Son, who died in our place for our salvation. Besides, once a person experiences the amazing, costly love of God in Christ, your heart will be won. Then you'll have a new set of eyes in which to see God's creation.

Pastor Van Morris

Why?

Twenty-three year-old Cho Seung-Hui perpetrated the largest campus killing spree in U.S. history, leaving 33 people dead, including himself. Not only has the killer cut a gaping hole in the heart of the victims families, his actions provoke an avalanche of questions that begin with why: Why would anyone do such a thing? Why do terrible things happen? Why would a loving God allow such a thing? It's the latter question that I've been hearing most often.

It's interesting that God has been brought into the equation. The same God who gets thanked at country music award shows suddenly gets called on the carpet when horrible events happen. This is the same God of whom 96% of Americans profess to believe in, yet they carry on as usual, with His existence impinging very little, if any, on their own. And there are consequences for this.

When we as created beings, fail to give glory to our Creator and we pursue other, lesser gods - which is the essence of sin - resulting in a vacuum of hopelessness, emptiness and despair within us. Since a relationship with our Creator is the only thing that is calculated to satisfy us, we are left dissatisfied, unbridled, and at war within ourselves.

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. (James 4:1-2 ;ESV)

After reading that verse I find it interesting that Cho left writings behind "raging against the rich kids" - hence, "you desire and do not have, so you murder."

I have concluded that it is difficult to live in a fallen world as a fallen man. My confidence is this, however, that though I am a sinner, and therefore part of the problem, Jesus Christ died to redeem sinners like me. And though the wages of our sin is death, the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus. Everything would be supremely hopeless without this assurance.

Pastor Van Morris

Looking For Something More and Missing Much More

One of my favorite country songs is recorded by Sarah Evans, a song entitled I Keep Looking. I like it because it so accurately describes human discontentment. The chorus goes as follows:

I keep looking, I keep looking forI keep looking for something more.
I always wonder what's on the other sideOf the number two door.
I keep looking, looking for something more.

Why do so many live reckless lives in the danger zone? Why are so many lives wasted due to alcohol, drugs, and foolishness? Isn't it the insane pursuit for something more - more thrills, more happiness, more peace? Now we're certainly all for thrills, happiness and peace, but what if there is something more than even this!

The Bible says that there is much more:

For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ. (Rom 5:17)

We look for something more because we're incomplete. What a tragedy to spend our whole life searching for something more and overlook the much more of Jesus Christ.

Pastor Van Morris