Rats, Crickets, and Sinners

 

I ran across an interesting article from NPR entitled Invasion of the Mind-Controlling Zombie Parasites.  Now I'm not into sci-fi stuff but I decided to check this out and see what all the fuss was about.  It turns out there is such a thing as zombie parasites.  In fact, they claim that mind-controlling parasites are all around us; and that the number of creatures that can be affected is "huge". 

While they claim that we don't know the half about the world of parasites, one example that's becoming a little more understood is Toxoplasma gondii.  Toxoplasma basically makes rodents somewhat fearless around cats; with even evidence that they're attracted to the smell of cats.  Now the last time I checked, rats that like cats most often get eaten.

What makes rats behave so recklessly?  Mind-controlling parasites - that's what!

Then there are organisms called hairworms in crickets, who when they begin to reach maturity inside the cricket, make it begin to act erratically.  Crickets that would normally avoid, say a pond, take the suicidal plunge into the water - to the delight of the bluegills!

What would leave crickets so confused?  You guessed it - mind-controlling parasites.

This news shouldn't surprise us. In fact, these parasites are a result of an invasion - the invasion of the principle of sin into the world.

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man... (Rom 5:12, ESV)

And because of this invasion, we have answers to other questions.  Questions like:  Why does the husband/wife run off and leave their family for someone else?  How is the lobbyist able to have the congressman in his hip-pocket?  Why does the college student live a double life?  

Consider Paul's comments in Ephesians 2:1-3

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

We live in a world where people blame an assortment of things for their behavior: the environment; genetic determinism; ADHD; even mind-controlling zombie parasites (Yes it's true!  There is evidence that they attack humans as well.)

As convenient as it may seem to blame our behavior on something outside of us, the truth is , the blame lies with us – within us – our sinful heart.

But there is good news.  Jesus Christ died for sinners:

…but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8)

Christ died, not for reckless rats or confused crickets, but for ungodly sinners – like me! – and yes, you too.

Pastor Van

 

 

Our Catalyst For Change

Are there areas in your life where you know you need change?  Aren't we all interested in finding the catalyst for change?

In an article entitled "Why Emotion, Not Knowledge, is the Catalyst for Change", Dan Health and Chip Heath state: "It takes emotion to bring knowledge to a boil."  They illustrated their point with the following:

Urologist Leon Bender became frustrated when he took a South Seas cruise and observed that the crew was more diligent about hand-washing than the staff at his own hospital.  Frequent hand-washing by doctors and nurses is one of the best ways to prevent patient infections, and studies estimate that thousands of patients dies every year from preventable bacterial infections.

Bender and his colleagues tried a variety of techniques to encourage hand-washing, but the staff's compliance with regulations was stuck around 80%.  Medical standards required a minimum of 90% and Cedars-Sinai was due for an inspection from the accrediting board.  They had to do better.

One day, a committee of 20 doctors and administrators were taken by surprise when, after lunch, the hospital's epidemiologist asked them to press their hands into an agar plate, a sterile petri dish containing a growth medium.  The agar plates were sent to the lab to be cultured and photographed.

The photos revealed that wasn't visible to the naked eye: The doctor's hands were covered with gobs of bacteria.  Imagine being one of those doctors and realizing that your own hands – the same hands that would examine a patient later in the day, not to mention the same hands that you just used to eat a turkey wrap – were harboring an army of microorganisms.  It was revolting.  One of the filthiest images in the portfolio was made into a screen saver for the hospital's network of computers ensuring that everyone on staff could share in the horror.

Suddenly, hand-hygiene compliance grew to nearly 100% and stayed there.

Someone might ask: Wouldn't it be great if there were something that could take a picture of what's going on inside our soul?

Well my friend – there is.  It's the Bible – God's Word.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Heb 4:12-13)

Pastor/author Paul Tripp commented:

"The Bible is God's great scalpel.  It is able to cut through all the layers of who I am and what I'm doing to expose my heart…The Bible by its very nature is heart-revealing.  For that reason, Scripture must be our central tool in personal growth and ministry."

So thank God, there is something that can accurately reveal the gobs of sin hiding in the recesses of our heart.  Not only does God's Word expose the invisible grime of our soul, God's Word also washes us:

"…as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word…" (Eph 5:25-26)

Someone might say: "Then why don't we see more change?"  The answer is most likely a potential problem that we are warned of by the author of the book of Hebrews just a few verses before he writes about the exposing power of God's Word:

"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." (Heb 4:7)

To harden the heart is to make up one's mind what you're going to do, and be unwilling to show any flexibility in your thinking when confronted by God. 

Change is hard, it's needed, and it's possible – and our catalyst for change is God's Word.  But if we are to ever be changed we must not harden our heart when God speaks.

Pastor Van

 

 

 

Fear Not - Someone is Praying for You

This is what we know: Jared Loughner, 22, a community college dropout, has been charged with five federal felonies, including the attempted murder of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in a mass shooting that left six people dead and 14 wounded.  Court documents allege that Loughner had actually targeted the congresswoman.

This horrible tragedy has left many lawmakers on edge.  While many take pride in meeting their constituents without any armed protection, the events in Arizona have left some having second thoughts.  Some are ratcheting up their security while others who have conceal-and-carry permits are planning on carrying their guns with them more frequently.

How does a person deal with the awareness that a ruthless, determined, unseen enemy is bent on doing them harm?

There was an occasion in which Jesus warned his disciple, Peter, about such an enemy that had targeted him.

"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." (Luke 22:31-32)

Jesus speaks Peter's name twice, stressing the seriousness of the matter.  Satan, the enemy of Peter and all those who will trust in the Savior, demands a shot at Peter (look at Job 1).  Satan wants to "sift" Peter; he wants to pick Peter to pieces; take him apart; resulting in Peter's faith being drained away to nothing.

Satan wants to bring Peter to ruin.  This is Satan's desire for every Christian - total ruin.  This is a serious matter and we live with this reality every day.  This disguised "angel of light" lurks and roams about "like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (this is how Peter would later describe his stalking enemy).

How can we face the day with any degree of confidence when we know there's a lion on the loose; one that's stalking us?

"...but I [Jesus] have prayed for you that your faith may not fail."

Notice that Jesus doesn't say, "I've prayed for you and Satan will never mess with you."  No, Satan is allowed to deal a blow.  Peter will ultimately deny Jesus.  But Peter's failure is a failure of nerve, not a heart denial of Jesus.  This is because Jesus has prayed (interceded) for Peter that his faith would not be drained away to nothing.  Peter will turn again to a better faithfulness.  Satan fails to destroy Peter because Jesus had interceded for him.

I think is completely reasonable for believers today to expect such intercession:

Consequently, he[Jesus] is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. (Heb 7:25)

Knowing Peter's upcoming failure, still, Jesus interceded for Peter.  And praise be to God, because Jesus lives to make intercession for us, we can face tomorrow – in spite of a roaring lion who stalks us.

Pastor Van

 

 

 

2011 Project - Paint The Pump

There is an old Chinese proverb that says: Insanity is doing the same thing in the same way, and expecting a different outcome. If that's true, then I think it's safe to say that former U.S. President Harry Truman was not insane.

While reading David McCullough's biography of Truman, I came across a humorous incident that occurred in Truman's younger years. It seems that young Harry was afraid of the dark. McCullough writes:

"Coming home alone in the dark, he [Harry] could get 'scared to an icicle'...He was afraid of getting knocked on the head by the hoboes who hung about at the point where he changed trains at Kansas City, fearful of both ghosts and hoboes as he made his way home on foot from the Grandview depot on nights when there was no moon."

I especially enjoyed this part of the story, as McCullough continues:

"Once approaching the house in the pitch dark, groping his way to the kitchen door, he [Harry] walked headlong into the pump. The next day, he painted the pump white."

For Harry, running into the pump once was enough. This nonsense was going to stop - and it was going to stop now!

As we close out another year and look ahead to another, can you think of any pumps in your life that need to be painted?

As I recall, it was during the summer of 1982, on a Wednesday evening. Kathryn, Kandi and I were headed to church and I had the radio tuned to the local Christian when a minister began to expound upon a familiar verse in Hebrews:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us... (Heb 12:1)

On that evening, the Holy Spirit used the minister's words to help me to identify my pump.

You see, I loved to read, but I was spending most of my time reading about the music and entertainment world (People, Rolling Stone, etc.), and wasn't spending anytime reading the Bible. I had been a Christian for over a year at that time, but I wasn't growing. I kept running into the same besetting sin.

So that evening, by the grace of God, I painted the pump. Don't misunderstand - I've had to do some touch-up work along the way, and there have been other pumps to paint, (and I'm sure there'll be even more!). But by the grace of God I haven't run into that same one again.

As we close out 2010, perhaps we should pray in this manner:

All-seeing, All-knowing Father: help me to identify the sins that I keep running into again and again, the things which are preventing me from making progress in the Christian race. Grant me the grace, the spiritual strength and determination, to deal with these besetting sins, to repent, and yield myself to You that You may continue the work You began in me - conforming me into the image of Your dear Son. Amen.

You Can't Outrun the Fallout - Find Shelter Immediately!

I had always assumed that a nuclear attack was not survivable. It appears I was wrong.

It's hard to imagine a more horrible scenario than that of a nuclear detonation. According to the White House's Planning Guidance for Response to a Nuclear Detonation, by-standers miles away would witness a 100-mph fireball shooting five miles into the sky. Sun-surface heat, hyper-explosive pressures and 900-mph winds would level buildings for half a mile. Between 50,000 and 100,000 people would vanish in smoke and flame. Fallout would rain down for hundreds of miles.

How does anyone survive such devastation? Somehow, Tsutomu Yamaguchi did – twice! On August 6, 1945, Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima, Japan on a business trip. At 8:15 in the morning, a U.S. bomber dropped an atomic bomb on the city, which killed 140,000 people. Yamaguchi, face and arms burned, hearing damaged, and suffering temporary blindness, somehow lived. The next day Yamaguchi traveled to his home town, 190 miles away. His home city was Nagasaki. If you know your history you're aware that on August 9^th, another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing some 70,000 people. Once again, however, Yamaguchi was not one of them.

Yamaguchi wasn't the only one to survive. Although 210,000 died in the bombing, some 260,000 people actually survived the blasts. But how?

On July 8, 2010, leaders of a dozen state, local and federal agencies took part in a simulated L.A County security exercise code-named Operation Golden Phoenix. One of the things they learned from the exercise was that a big-city nuke attack is a survivable event. It all comes down to shelter.

Without any shelter for 24 hours, 285,000 caught in an L.A. blast would develop radiation sickness or die. Just getting into a wood-frame house could save 160,000 people. Shelter in place - that's the single biggest message. Radioactive fallout, which is the greatest danger, passes in six to 24 hour's. And since you can't outrun radioactive fallout, find shelter and remain there.

When you think about it, there are many other types of fallout in life. There's a marriage that has imploded, and there is the fallout of angry words and distrust. There's a loss that has broadsided you followed by the fallout of grief and regret. There's a friendship that has blown apart and the fallout of confusion is falling all around you. Your son or daughter has made decisions that have shattered your heart and the fallout of perceived failure on your part is showering down upon you. What's a person to do? Take shelter.

Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! (Ps 61:4)

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Ps. 46:1)

It's comforting to know that the God of the universe has revealed Himself as a shelter.

It's impossible to eliminate fallout while living in a broken creation, however, there is a well-proven shelter we can run to – our Triune God. Remember – you can't outrun the fallout, so find shelter and remain there.

Pastor Van

This Advent -Celebrating the Coming of Our Advocate

I'm ashamed to admit it, but in my pre-teen years I had a very foul mouth. A boy named Gary, the neighborhood bully and three years older than me, lived next door to me and my family and he always threatened to tell my dad about my well-hidden sin.  Many Sunday mornings he would stand in his driveway as we loaded up for church, smiling his devilish smile, and say, "Good morning Mr. Morris."   I was petrified.  I'll never know why, but Gary never did tell on me.

In the Old Testament book of Zechariah 3:1-10, Joshua the high priest stands before God's tribunal in heaven.  Defiled, like me, his filthy garments exposed his guilty heart.  Like Gary, who threatened to accuse me before my father, Satan, the ultimate accuser, was standing ready to accuse Joshua.  Yet the Lord rebukes Satan and commands that Joshua's stained clothing be replaced by spotless festal robes - a preview of a deep cleansing to come, when God's servant the Branch arrives.

During this Advent season, leading up to Christmas when the Church celebrates the incarnation, I'm sure you'll join me in celebrating the fact that our Advocate; the Lord Jesus Christ has come.  The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 8:33-34

Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34  Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised— who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Who will bring any charge against God's elect?  No one praise God!  Not even Gary.

Pastor Van

 

 

 

C.C.C. and Eat, Pray and Love

Did you know that Calvary Christian Center and the new movie Eat, Pray and Love have something in common?  The movie (which I don't plan to see), opens August, Friday 13^th, starring Julia Roberts.  There's been a lot of hoopla surrounding its release, so I thought I'd read up a bit.

One reviewer called the movie, which is based on the book by the same title, a, "A thin story, on paper as well as on screen." It's story about a privileged, 30-something woman who ends her marriage for vague reasons and decides to get in touch with her true self. She begins her journey, supported by a $200k book advance, in Italy first, for the cuisine; then it's on to India to meditate and then on to Bali in Indonesia to find love.

It's the Bali connection that C.C.C. shares with the movie.  Back in 2009, C.C.C. partnered with Faith Comes by Hearing to provide the New Testament on a Proclaimer, a digital player dedicated to playing God's Word, in this case, in the Balinese language.  We raised $6,000 to provide Proclaimers  for reading groups in small villages throughout Bali.  

It's our continued prayer that the Balinese people find love in Bali as well – the love of God in Jesus Christ!

Pastor Van