Heavy eyelids . . . wispy, delicate sleep.  It's in delicate sleep that dreams are best remembered, but it's after delicate sleep that a person ceases to care.  The reason?  "I'm so tired.  Give me some sleep," we say to ourselves.  Such was my experience Sunday morning, when I forced myself out of bed, into the shower, and across the parking lot to open the church.  Nevertheless, I had dreamt a significant dream - a dream about school, and I wasn't about to forget it.  

Now I understand that for many, if not for most people, a dream about a classroom experience is less than frightening.  You might react by saying, "Who cares?!!  You think that's bad?!!  You ought to hear about my dream!"   When I shared my classroom dream experience to a few people yesterday . . .  yes, it's true . . . they laughed at me (perhaps with me).  "Wow Paul!  That's not a nightmare!" they somewhat gently expressed.  Yet in some measure their reaction helps to illuminate my main point (which shall be coming)  in these two blogs . . .  uh, scratch that . . . these three blogs (My Dream Part 1, My Dream Part 2, and My Dream Part 3).  

Let me back up and begin to explain:  When a person truly comes to Jesus Christ he or she comes with all of himself.  He doesn't leave anything behind, but fully surrenders his life.  Of course, many believe that they don't need to come to Jesus this way.  They believe they can come to Christ with only a limited  part of themselves, as if all of us, if we so decide, can divide our lives.  We so easily say to the Lord,  "I'll bring the failure to you Jesus that is hurting me today, but that other failure . . . that other hurt . . . well, that's a bit too difficult!  I'm not ready for that yet."  Indeed, this thought is very understandable because emotionally and psychologically we do not think we  are ready.  However, notwithstanding our insecurities about the way God sees us - in spite of all I have said above - Jesus knows about it all, and He watches and waits until we give Him ourselves completely.  Silently, quietly . . . [long pause] . . . the Lord waits.   

Have we really come to Him?  That is a grand theological question.  That is the great personal question.  How much of you does it take for you to be saved? Does Jesus save the mind, but not the heart?  Does Jesus save your present emotional life, but not your past emotional life?  Can the two emotional lives be divided?  Thank God that He is a God of grace.  Thank God that He saves you before you are perfect.  Still, God has no intention of letting even the  smallest  part of you go its own way.  He has no plan to let any of you be held in a painful abyss.  

Here's the point I am attempting to make before I apply this discussion to my dream:  God wants to save all of you, because He loves all of you.  Hmm . . . you may want to slow down and think about that statement. God wants to save all of you . . . hmm . . . What could that possibly mean?

"Even that sin?" you ask.  No, not that sin, because that sin is not really who you are.  If you are in Jesus Christ, you are God's son or daughter, and God's sons and daughters are not characterized by sin. They are characterized by righteousness.  Does not the Apostle John tell us about the Christian's relationship to sin in his first letter?

1 John 3:6
No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.


[You may have questions about that verse, and I understand the reasons for them, but let's not worry about them now. Those questions are for another blog or in a response under "comments."]

 "Fine!  Fine!" you shout,  "But how does your dream connect?  How does this discussion of God wanting to save the whole self apply to your dream Paul?"  Answer:  the dream is about a part of me and what I struggle to bring to Him.  I'm far from perfect ( you already knew that) and I have a past hurt Jesus promises to heal.  I'll talk about that hurt and that healing in the next blog and yes, I'll try to write it in the next few days.  Patience and waiting indeed. 


Hope you're not confused,

Paul

Two nights ago I had an upsetting dream - two upsetting dreams really.  One dream was bad enough in itself because it was about a nuclear bomb being dropped on the former Trojan Power Plant across from Kalama.  I spent a large part of the night attempting to escape the radiation.  Oh well . . . I seem to be alright now.  Yet that's not the dream that bothers me.  The dream that bothers me is a dream about being in a classroom. 

THE DREAM


"A classroom?  Paul, you love school.  What's the big deal about being in a classroom?"  I'm glad you asked.  The strange thing about this classroom is that I know I have been there in my dreams before.  It's a recurring dream - a dream I'm having difficulty with many different nights.  Here's what happens:  I'm in a classroom - an all white classroom.  There are few windows on one side of the room, but mostly the room is made up of four white painted walls.  Also, in the room is a teacher about sixty years old and bald headed (I have no idea why he's bald headed).  I never feel comfortable around this man.  He makes me feel tense.  The room is also filled with students - apparently we're in high school . . . maybe college . . . not sure. The students are not seated in individual rows.  Rather we are all seated in a circle.  Everyday we come into the room and go through our exercises.  I'm not sure what they are, but I know we do them each day we have class.  Here's the problem:  there is one assignment that the entire class has finished that for some reason I have never known about.  It centers on a book - a book that everyone has read except me, because like I said, I didn't know about it.   

Then comes final exam time.  The exam is oral, and my personal oral exam requires me to spell, as I stand up in front of the entire class, a long list of words.  The teacher looks at me and recites the first word. I spell it correctly (I'm not a bad speller), but the teacher says I'm wrong. Hmm . . . that makes me feel uneasy.  "I'm sure I spelled that word right,"  I think to myself.  Then the second word - same thing happens.  In fact, the same thing happens again and again and again.  I'm spelling the words right, but I'm getting them wrong.  The class of students are becoming very disgusted, and the teacher is looking at me with loathsome eyes.  After fifteen "misspelled words" the final word is presented to me - it's a name: Abraham Lincoln.  Again, I spell it right, but I get it wrong.   Everyone in the room is shaking his or her head.  I feel rejected.  I feel unworthy to be in the class.  

Why did I get these words wrong?  Ends up that I was being tested on the spelling of words based upon how they were spelled in the book (the book I didn't know I was supposed to read).  Why were the words spelled differently?   Because the characters in the book spoke in a strange dialect, and I was being tested on their words.  

Whew!!  It's almost as if I could write a book based upon this experience -  not sure, but in my next blog I'm going to have some thoughts in response to my classroom dream.  I think we can learn something not only about me, but also about ourselves. 

Look for it tomorrow!

Paul

Every now and then I receive something from an old friend or a person in our church or in the following case, my cousin, that inspires me.  My cousin Curt sent me a link yesterday from the National Prayer Breakfast.  Just the mention of a "National Prayer Breakfast" somehow gives me an awkward feeling.  People are watching, and there are so many political interests.  

So the question you might be asking is, "What was so inspiring about the National Prayer Breakfast in 2012?"  Answer:  The boldness of Eric Metaxas.  I don't know if you are aware of Metaxas, but I was first introduced to him as I watched C-Span's Book TV about nine months ago.   I know . . . I know . . . it sounds a bit nerdy to watch "Book TV,"   but I gave up caring about people calling me a "nerd" years ago.  Furthermore, there are times when it is very enlightening to listen to an author, and Metaxas has written a biography on one of my favorite heroes:  Dietrich Bonhoeffer.   So when my cousin sent me a link to watch Metaxas speak at the Prayer Breakfast, I was intrigued, and you can watch the youtube video of his speech below. 

The above being said, there is something else that needs to be pointed out:  President Obama spoke after Metaxas at the event.  The problem of course is that if there is ever someone who struggles to communicate Christian faith, it would be our President.  Metaxas spoke boldly about transforming faith in Jesus Christ - faith that transforms the person and faith that by its nature calls us forth to protect the helpless.  It's a personal faith in the one and only Living God.  

What could Obama say?  Was it awkward??  Yes, incredibly awkward.  The faith of Metaxas is the faith that is costly.  After all, he is the one who wrote a biography on Bonhoeffer who is famous for saying, "When Christ calls a man, He calls him to come and die."   Hmm . . .  no matter what our President attempts to say about Christian faith, somehow his words fall short.  He can speak of "faith and values and morals"  (plenty of this in his speech), but those how know a deep and personal Jesus, also know that the real issue at stake in humanity centers on an individual's response to a person who visited us 2000 years ago, died for us on a cross, rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, and poured out His Holy Spirit.  

Where does this leave our President?  His effort to say he is "a Christian" and "a man of faith" only communicates something far less.  Near the end of Obama's speech he says, "I found Christ when I wasn't even looking for Him,"  but on every level the "Christ" our President refers to does not appear to have made him into a new man.  For Bonhoeffer, this is the worst type of faith.  It is the faith that knows the form of religion, but denies its power.  Or to put it another way, it is not the faith that is costly.  I hate to say it, from all appearances it is cheap grace - the kind of grace that Bonhoeffer gave his life to teach and preach against.  

So what's my point?  My point is not to bash the President (I truly hope my words are not interpreted as bashing.  I think that President Obama is in a difficult position talking about "faith" when he has not experienced transforming faith that comes from a surrendered life.)  My point is to call people to pray for him.  He has had a variety of experiences - including meeting with Billy Graham (as he describes in his speech).  What would happen if President Obama met the Living God?  What would happen if he discovered God's perspective on his life and Presidency?  What would happen if Obama surrendered to Him?  

Metaxas tells us to pray for our enemies.  Should we not pray for our President?

Paul



Mark 11:  
“Have  faith in God. 23  Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain,  ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not  doubt in his heart, but  believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 

I started my valentine's day off with a visit to the dentist.  I unfortunately had a cavity that needed filling.  I appreciate the dentist and dental hygienist that are willing each day to work in people's mouths.  People have bad breath, don't take care of their teeth, and most dental patients aren't much good for conversation.


My stop in the dental chair today started with the "numbing".  I have a love and hate relationship with the  "numbing".  Love it because I know I am not going to feel the pain but I hate the feeling like you have a fat lip and are drooling all over yourself.

It's been a while since the "numbing" process began and now I am at work at the church office.  As the "numbing" has worn off I have some mild discomfort, nothing to complain about.  I realize that the dentist is trying to help me avoid as much discomfort as possible, but I will still have some pain. Unfortunately it just gets to be later in the day, rather than when the work was actually being done.

We get "numb" in our lives.  We stop feeling, we stop experiencing, we build up immunity, we build walls that protect us from pain, and we avoid.  Sometimes that "numbing" protects us but some day at some point it will wear off and we will experience what we've been so desperately trying to avoid.  The "numbing" separates us from the things that have meaning in this world, our relationship with God and with other people.

What would happen if we stopped the "numbing" process in our lives?  Allowed ourselves to see, to experience, to touch, to feel God once again.

What would happen if when the "numbing" wears off we didn't look for another dose?  If we dealt with the things in our lives, if we sought counsel when necessary, and lived in a right relationship with God
What would happen if we started living the life God has given to us?  With all of its joys and pains, laughter and tears, highs and lows, etc. . ..

John 10:10 says "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

May you realize that you don't have to be numb anymore.  That you can experience your life to the full and that God wants you to LIVE your life!

Pastor Adam

A clear and cold Monday night . . . a night I watch my kids play tennis . . . and being the dad I am, on this night I decided to get them a treat.  "Hey Heidi - do you want a fro yo?"  That's what they call frozen yogurt at the Sweet Spot in Longview.  "Sure!"  she says.  So there we are pulling into Triangle Shopping Center.  I don't know if you've been to the Triangle lately, but as nice of a place it is, it is also a place that is commonly hit up by people asking for help.  You know . . . financial help . . . people with cardboard signs. 

It makes me wonder . . . when did all the cardboard signs start showing up?  (But that's another matter).  On that Monday night one of the sign holders hit me up.  He wanted a pizza.   Of course I had options - we always do - and the sheer number of cardboard sign holders out there seems to make it impossible to help them all.  So what to do? Ignore him?  Say no?  Say yes?  

I don't need to tell you my response, because that's not important.  What's important is that in our short lives we are constantly running into opportunities to show kindness.  A number of years ago the phrase "show random acts of kindness" became a very popular one and I know one pastor who wrote a book about it and made it the theme of his church.  He spent his time training his people to really do it - and do it they did - with blessings upon blessings following them.  

Let's think about kindness for a moment.  Quoting Proverbs 25:21-22, the Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 12:20:  “ . . . if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”    There isn't room here to talk about "burning coals," but let me suggest that most of us who attend church feel like we're challenged enough by the idea of doing "random acts of kindness to strangers."   "Really?"  we say.  "Can't we just ignore the cardboard sign?"  I'll let you wrestle with that (and I readily admit that my resources are limited as well).  But the point that the Bible makes is that random acts of kindness to strangers isn't even far enough.  The ultimate test of your relationship with God is not whether you are willing to do good to strangers (that is assumed - see Matthew 25:35).  The ultimate test of your relationship with God is whether you are willing to do radical acts of kindness to enemies.  Hmm . . . apparently, I've got a long way to go.  

The Super Bowl left people like me an enormous amount of fodder to comment on - not the least of which is Clint Eastwood's little speech for Chrysler and America. "Both teams are in their locker room discussing what they can do to win this game in the second half.  It's halftime in America too.  People are out of work and their hurting and they're all wondering what they're going to do to make a comeback."  The speech goes on, and despite some of the political fallout of the speech (halftime for Obama?), the ad has to be considered an enormous success for Chrysler.  People can relate to it. We are down, and we need a word of hope.    

However, a pessimist (and perhaps someone who likes a little humor) would agree with Jay Leno's recent comment on Clint's words.   So to quote Mr. Leno, "The bad news: China has the  ball and we're down 15 trillion."  It wouldn't be so funny if there wasn't the sting of truth to it.  Perhaps we don't need another half.  Perhaps we need an entirely new game.  

I don't bring this up for political comment (hmm . . . maybe I already made one).  You can draw your own conclusions.  Rather, I bring this up today because Leno's words struck me as the perfect illustration for many of our own personal lives as Christians.  Many of us "got in the game" years ago when we received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  We wanted to be on the winning team - and yes, Jesus wins!  However, we didn't play well in the "first half."  We didn't follow the rules of the game, or we dropped the ball, or that big defensive tackle we call "SIN" ran us over.  The problem?  We ran into the tackle ourselves - he didn't run into us.  But now that we are in sin's grip, we find ourselves unable to get out and we feel like sin has the ball and we're down 15 trillion.

There's hope friends.  We have the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) and Sin has no offense.  People forget this, but Sin only has a defense (it wants to keep us captive), and it cannot win unless we keep carrying the ball on Sin's side of the ball.   Didn't Jesus say something about the "gates of hell" rather than the "sword of hell?"  Last time I checked, gates were for defense - not offense.

Matthew 16
 17 And Jesus answered him,  “Blessed are you,  Simon Bar-jonah! For  flesh and blood has not revealed this to you,  but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you,  you are Peter, and  on this rock  I will build my church, and  the gates of  hell  shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you  the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and  whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed  in heaven.”


Paul

Superbowls are a phenomenon of American culture.  When else to companies pay $3.5 million for a thirty second advertisement?  When else do well over 100 million people watch the same event  (probably over 150 million, but who's counting)?  When else do a select few command so much attention in this world?

Enter Madonna.  Madonna is also one of those phenomenons of American culture.  She's one of those artists who is so popular and famous that she, as far as I know, has never needed a last name.  Or is that she doesn't need a first name?  A quick internet search will give an interesting answer.  Her real name is Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone.   

That name is too long for an artist - let's stick with Madonna.  Anyway, it's always been interesting to me that she and I are close in age (I know what you're thinking . . . of course she's older . . . are you kidding?!).  So let's consider this age thing mixed in with a little life purpose.   Hmm . . . Madonna performs for 150 million people at age 53.  On Sundays I preach a sermon (sometimes with a little singing), and if I'm lucky 120 people hear me at age ____ . It would take me a hundred lifetimes of preaching to speak into people's lives to equal her numbers in one night.  Our culture's conclusion:  Madonna is far more important, not only than me, but also, chances are, than you too. 

Yet here is what people in our culture (and Madonna) overlook:  one simple act of pleasing God is worth more than an infinite number of acts pleasing human beings.  Men and women are passing.  Vanity of vanities to spend our lives pleasing flesh and blood. Unfortunately for Madonna, in another 50 years, she will be listed in a history book under the title  (a very small title) "1980's Pop Culture."  High School and College students won't want to read it, and chances are, the teacher and/or the professor won't want to test on it.  So who cares?  That's in 50 years.  What about in 100 years?   

Dust to dust. Ashes to ashes.  

Psalm  90
3  You return man to dust
    and say,  “Return,  O children of man!” 
 4  For  a thousand years in your sight
    are but as  yesterday when it is past,
    or as  a watch in the night. 

5  You  sweep them away as with a flood; they are like  a dream,
    like  grass that is renewed in the morning: 
 6  in  the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
    in the evening it  fades and  withers. 

The point of the Psalm is simple:  we need God's perspective on life - not our own perspective.  Pleasing Him is all that matters.  Simple question:  Do you want to please Him?  If so, begin with this:  intend to please Him, and do not intend to please human beings.  It's amazing how far that will take you to living a life that matters.

Paul

For those of you who have been attending Kalama Nazarene, you know that I have been preaching through Paul's letter to the Galatians.  It's an ambitious letter that gives us insight into the Apostle's early ministry and it reveals some of the critical issues he was dealing with in his churches.  It is also true that preaching through a book like Galatians presents several challenges - details are abundant and the sermon is hardly capable of addressing them all. 

So here is a detail I am sure to miss on Sunday morning:  clothing.

The following Galatians reference was used in my sermon on Sunday, January 29 -  a sermon simply entitled "Three Ways:"

Galatians 3: 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under atutor.  26 For you are all  sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  27 For all of you who were  baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  

The image was clear enough to the early Christians, for it was not uncommon to come out of the baptismal waters and receive a white robe.  It's a great image - but so much more can be said.

I myself am not super passionately into clothes (perhaps you disagree).  I try my best, but every now and then you'll see me with a shirt untucked or possibly . . . just possibly . . . wearing a shirt with a small stain (may it never be!).  The stain of course goes unnoticed by me until someone tells me about it.  And then . . . then . . . I wear the shirt again (after it's clean of course) with a sweatshirt over it.  (Shh . . . don't tell Kristy).  Oh well . . .  the point is that I'm not going to win any "best dressed" awards.  Nevertheless, there is another "best dressed" award I'm into - the best dressed award in our coming paradise.  Let me explain:

The clothing image used in Galatians 3:27 is Paul's way of telling us who we really are.  Are you familiar with the story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15?  Remember what happens when the son comes home?  

Luke 15:20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and  ran and  embraced him and  kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.  I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’  22 But the father said to his servants,  ‘Bring quickly  the best robe, and put it on him, and put  a ring on his hand, and  shoes on his feet.

Clothing image - it's powerful.  Those of us who come to God (those of us who return to God) receive the clothes of honor, but we can't see them right now - why?  Because the Robe that's Coming is the Robe that's Coming.  In other words, it comes at the end - after we've endured.  God sees us now with white robes (we have clothed ourselves with Christ - Galatians 3:27), but we don't see them until we've finally arrived with the saints in the Kingdom to Come. 

Revelation 6,11 Then they were each given  a white robe and  told to rest a little longer,  until the number of their fellow servants  and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. 

And don't forget the crown:

Tomorrow, February 1, is National Signing Day (NSD) in College Football.  By the time you read this, NSD will probably have come and gone.  Furthermore, I am quite aware that unless you're Heath Pressley (my friend who is crazy about Georgia football), you probably don't care.  That's okay - college football fanaticism is not required here. 

Nevertheless, I mention NSD because it illustrates how quickly and easily people flip their commitments.  Before February 1, players give "verbal" commitments.  They commit to one school, but at any time they may commit somewhere else.  In essence, schools and coaches have little to say about it (despite scholarship offers)  The power of choice is with the players. 

In our lives many of us act like high school recruits.  We imagine God being somewhat helpless.  He is the "man in the admissions office" - or "the coach" - who hopes that sometime before signing day (the day of our death?) that we will choose His school and His team.  "I have all the time in the world," we think.  "Signing day is a long way off."  

Here's what we fail to recognize: every day is Signing Day.  Every day we as Christians make that commitment to take our cross and be on God's team - a team whose colors are dipped in red.  Here's my appeal to you:  sign on the line today.   You think it's your life.  You think you have time.  You think it's your choice.  But if you don't decide for Him today, in truth, you may be unable to decide for Him tomorrow.  Your choice is more limited than you think.

Hmm . . . do you not know He's already signed His name in red for you?

Revelation 20,11   Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence  earth and sky fled away, and  no place was found for them.  12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and  books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is  the book of life. And  the dead were judged by what was written in the books,  according to what they had done.  13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it,  Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them,  according to what they had done.  14 Then  Death and Hades  were thrown into the lake of fire. This is  the second death, the lake of fire.  15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life,  he was thrown into the lake of fire. 

Great is His love for you,

Paul

It's the opposite of love , , ,  and no, it's definitely not hate.  "Please sir . . . may I have some hate in my bowl?  Thank you!  It makes me feel something."  That may sound strange to you, but I'll take a spoonful of hate every time.  You see, hate has passion.  It has feeling.  It has direction.  "But Paul, hate has the wrong passion and the wrong direction."  That's true, but there is something about a moving object (or a moving person) that beats an immovable object every time.  

So what is the opposite of love?  We call it indifference.   Indifference says, "I'm not interested.  No, I don't want to leave my home.  I don't want to connect with people.  I don't want to hear God's Word.  Yawn . . . it's all so . . . . can I say it? . . . boring." And that's the face of the American Church  (I know . . . OUCH!!).  Our culture has robbed us of our passion - so we have become numb.  Perhaps we can't blame it on culture (that may be too easy).  Perhaps it's our personal choices that have robbed us instead . . . and so what do we look for?  We look for something to excite us.  We look for something that will get our attention.  We move (if we move at all) from one source of entertainment to another.   

Yet the invitations go out.  They go out to the numb. 


Do you know Christ's parable in Matthew 22?

“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son,  and  sent his servants  to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. . . ."

"Church?!!  Sunday morning? Are you kidding?  The preacher preaches too long.  I'm bored."

"Bible study?!!  Wednesday night?  That sounds like work.  I can't do it.  I'm too tired."

"Fellowship?!!  I don't have that kind of energy.  How draining."  

"No thanks.  I'm fine here.  I don't want to move right now.  Maybe another day."  
Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not  worthy. 

Are we worthy?

Paul