All posts by Pastor Jess

Ecclesia Real

Carly Simon Was Right!

Carly Simon was right about mankind, our culture and, unfortunately, the church when she wrote “You’re So Vain”.  We do think the song is about us, don’t we?

God is wonderful and humans are depraved.  Any other worldview, to whatever degree it departs from this, moves away from fundamental reality.  The Church is supposed to be God’s means of sharing truth with the world.  It is tragically unfortunate that we think His song is about us.

Carly’s song always puzzled me because it was obvious it had enough specifics to be about someone or even more than one.  Wouldn’t they recognize themselves?  Would that be vanity?  I got to thinking about God’s love as manifested in what we call the Gospel.  He loved us (though we have no merit or value except what He assigns to us) and sent his Son to die for us.  When we acknowledge the truth of our need for a savior (we have no merit) and accept His sacrifice as a substitution to pay for our sin, we receive His salvation.  It is entirely a gift (free) of His great love and grace.  We do nothing but receive.  There is nothing we can do; we are powerless to deal with who we are.  All we can do is recognize Him and receive what He has done.

Since God has done it all, you’d think we would understand that the Gospel and in fact all of life is about Him.  It is for His glory.  It doesn’t take us long, however, to usurp the central place for ourselves.  We think that since God said it was about us, that it is about us (insert song here).  Wrong we are.  God’s love and grace extended to us is an indication of how great, loving and gracious He is.  Our unworthiness (further illustrated by our usurpation of the central place) is proof of His greatness.

Like spoiled children, we expect His good gifts and even demand them.  The greater tragedy is that many churches have made this vanity a part of their teaching.  The truth is God is not there for us, we are here for Him.  We are unworthy, and any blessing or gift is a token of His great grace.  We have attempted to lure people to God by telling them lies about themselves.  The realization of who He is, who we are and what He has done is the only thing that can set us free from the vanity of life.  Once free, we humbly give all glory to the Lord, expecting nothing in return.

When it is about us, it is not about Him!  Carly was right, but truth can set us free.

Reflections on Liberty

Abraham Lincoln was right!

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“They are the two principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time, and will ever continue to struggle. The one is the common right of humanity, and the other the ‘divine right of kings’. It is the same principle in whatever shape it develops itself. It is the same spirit that says, ‘You work and toil and earn bread, and I’ll eat it.’ No matter in what shape it comes, whether from the mouth of a king, who seeks to bestride the people of his own nation and live by the fruit of their labor, or from one race of men as an apology for enslaving another race, it is the same tyrannical principle…”

Abraham Lincoln; October 15, 1858

The old principles cannot be denied or escaped.  Whatever the guise it is shrouded in, it is enslavement to take from one what he would not give.  To say the other needs it more is no argument except for arbitrariness.  If he needs it, let him ask of him who has.  Let him who has give, and encourage charity in his heart.

When he who has produced is stripped of the fruit of his labor, he will have no incentive to produce more than he needs.  His slavery will be complete because it has taken his heart, his will.  Now, the source of production being destroyed, we are all deprived and without remedy will sink into despair.

Let us resist the tyranny of bad ideas, overthrow them in our own minds, and assail them wherever we can.  The force of truth and right will prevail if applied with diligence and consistency.

Reflections on Liberty

Now Smackwater Jack, he bought a shotgun!

“Now Smackwater Jack, he bought a shotgun.”

Have you heard about the United States Department of Education preparing to buy 27 Remington 870 12-gauge shotguns with 14-inch barrels?  I have to be one of the last people to deny anyone gun ownership or the right to protect themselves, especially law enforcement officers.  Heck, I’d like one of those neat blasters with the ghost ring rear sights myself.  But hey, I don’t want to talk about guns.  I want to talk about Big Government.

Maybe you are like me and wonder where in the Constitution we found an education department in the first place.  Education was one of those things the States were to take care of.  Now we have a huge beauracracy in Washington dolling out funds for educational programs it likes and shutting off the spigot on the ones that don’t meet its arbitrary standards.  Even the uneducated know that whoever holds the purse strings has the control.  Where does the DOE get the money they send back to us peasants?  You’re right, they get it from us.  Why not just leave it here in the first place and let us set our own standards, build our own buildings, pay for our own lunches and hire our own teachers.

Back to shotguns.  The fact that the DOE has an enforcement section, the Office of Inspector General that needs SWAT shotguns, should be a wakeup call that the Federal government has gotten too big and paranoid. They’re’ afraid someone is going to steal all that money they are keeping for us. Maybe it’s time we started pulling the plug on this unwieldy and unresponsive monster; it will only be bigger later and it already has a shotgun!

“You can’t talk to a man with a shotgun in his hand.”

Ecclesia Real

Red Green and The Big Thing

“If the women can’t find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.”  That is a quote from the famous philosopher Red Green of Possum Lodge fame.  One of the shows I remember was called, “The Big Thing”.   All the activity of that misguided and testosterone-driven cabal was centered on the oversize load they heard was going to be passing near the town.  No one wanted to miss the big thing even though they didn’t know what it was or exactly when it would come.  They had a tailgate party along the highway in anticipation of seeing something larger than normal.  They were usually disappointed and frankly, I can’t remember how it ends.  Doesn’t matter to me or especially to them … they were in it for the hunt.

Here in the midst of winter drudgery, it is easy to fall into discouragement and depression, especially if we are waiting on a big thing.  Have you noticed that normal things don’t make the news?  You never see a tabloid with the headline, “Man Goes to Work” or “Mother Finally Gets Kids to Bed”.  In fact, you can do a million things well and no one notices; forget to yield the right of way and you’ll get your name in the paper.  Win the lottery and you’ll make the headlines; lose the ticket and you’ll make even larger news.

One of the writers I take like medicine is Oswald Chambers.  His daily devotional, My Utmost for His Highest, is good for the soul.  Here is what Chambers has to say, “The great hindrance in spiritual life is that we look for big things to do.  ‘Jesus took a towel…and began to wash the disciples’ feet.’ ”  Jesus did the ordinary slave thing.  It was done that day thousands of times by thousands of ordinary slaves.  He was sent here to serve, he was a servant, and he was only doing the natural thing.  Chambers also says this, “If I do my duty, not for duty’s sake, but because I believe God is engineering my circumstances, then at the very point of my obedience the whole superb grace of God is mine through the Atonement.”

Most of us will never see a big thing; but in the Lord Jesus Christ, there is purpose and meaningful endeavor all around us.  His life has made this so, and we thank Him.

Keep your stick on the ice!

Ecclesia Real, Reflections on Liberty

ACOG and Bach

The Trijicon people, makers of the ACOG sights our troops use, have found themselves in trouble because they added Bible references to the serial numbers of their scopes.  The references are the same size as the serial numbers; and unless you’re familiar with Bible reference abbreviations, you probably wouldn’t even notice the cryptic notation, hardly an in-your-face testimony and too obscure to be of any value for proselytizing.

Why the fuss?  Good question.  Some folks are irritated at anything Christian, so the reference becomes a target of their illogical and anti-freedom wrath.  I’ll talk about anti-freedom more in a minute.

Some have said that when the mostly Moslem enemies we are engaging learn of this (which they have no-doubt done from the press it’s gotten), they will have proof we are engaged in a holy-war against them.  These geniuses have forgotten that it is our enemies that shout “Allah Akbar” when they attack.  It is these extremists whose motive is to destroy Christianity and Judaism.  We fight them because they have attacked us.

From a spiritual perspective, a committed disciple of Jesus should give honor to God for his success and thanks for all blessings.  The developers of the unique light-gathering ACOG added verses to their product that honored Jesus as the Light.  They were doing no more than glorifying God for their ability to harness light for the aiming system in their product, a product they developed and manufactured that was useable by our military.  I understand that a customer can make demands on the seller for what he needs before he buys the product.  The interesting thing here is that the verses have been there for years.  Someone must have gotten their feelings hurt and whined about it to someone who believes that people only whine when they are right.

In recent times these folks would have been highly regarded for glorifying Christ in their business.  In today’s anti-Christian American culture, they will bow to pressure and remove the verses from sights sold to the military.  Those sights are expensive; but now I’ve got to get one, one with an appropriate verse about Jesus being the Light of the world.  I won’t mind at all having a Jesus rifle.

BTW, I hope none of our warfighters have access to any of Bach’s music.  A committed believer, he inscribed most of his music with SDG, short for Soli Deo Gloria, which means “To God alone be Glory”.  Good thing he didn’t make optics.

Ecclesia Real

Pat Robertson, Haiti and Considering Cause and Effect

If a drunken man drives his car into a tree, we do not fail to tend to him in kindness though we may attribute his negative condition to his actions.

If an angry and rebellious man shakes his fist in defiance at God and while doing so is struck by lightning, we would likewise tend to him and make note that railing at the Almighty is perhaps not the wisest thing to do.

It is not unkind to make such judgments.  In fact, it would be unwise and foolish not to observe, draw conclusions and learn from the ill-conceived actions and thoughts of others.  Let us not be unwise without being unkind.  At the same time, let not others naysay our kindness because we recognize their foolishness.

Ecclesia Real

What does Immanuel, God with us, really mean?

A day or so ago, I read a Facebook post from a church staff member encouraging everyone to invite Christ to be present in their family gatherings this Christmas.  He then tied that word of wisdom to a reminder about his church’s next service.  The direct connection was that Jesus was at the service and you encountered Him by bringing your family there to where He is.

The thinking Christian knows Jesus doesn’t live in a church, nor does he show up at predetermined times.  Jesus isn’t in a building unless we bring Him in with us.  He no longer sleeps in a cow feeder, or stays with Mary, Martha and Lazarus.  Today, if we ask Him, He dwells within us.  The greater part of the incarnation (God with us) is not that He was born in a stable, but that He, resurrected and glorified, comes to dwell in us.

Please do invite Him into your family gatherings, there where you are all gathered.  Then by faith acknowledge His presence for He will surely be there.

May you and those you love experience the real miracle of  the incarnation.

Ecclesia Real

Thanksgiving, oh really?

It’s Thanksgiving eve and many folks are planning their Black Friday excursions and getting ready for meals and family on Thursday.  We live in a blessed land that has been filled with opportunities and freedom.

I’ve heard a lot of the normal-for-the-season thank speak.   Folks are grateful for their families, homes, health and all the good things this great free country has allowed them to experience.  That is all well and good.  However, I never hear anyone say to whom they are thankful.  Folks say how glad they are to have some good thing; but there is nothing more than an awareness of possessions, certainly not an acknowledgement of a personal God from whom comes every good and perfect gift.  There is no humility; and, of course, there is no responsibility.

Real thankfulness carries responsibility to the Giver.  I think that is one of the reasons we want a generic Thanksgiving that allows us to celebrate just how pious we are in recognizing we have nice circumstances.  Sorry, that doesn’t cut it.  We have been blessed, and God is the Giver of the blessings.  It is to Him we owe (that’s right … owe) our thanks, and it is to Him we will be accountable as stewards of all that we have received.

1 Timothy 1:17  Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Ecclesia Real

Special Thanks

Marlene and I would like to thank you all for the special gift during Pastor Appreciation Month.

We are grateful the Lord has allowed us to labor alongside such generous and faithful people who love Him and want to serve Him. Thanks for being there for 10 years and for your willingness to question unprofitable conventions. It has been a joy to serve Him with you.

May the Lord bless you and those you love,

Pastor Jess

Ecclesia Real

The problem with religious organizations. Yes, that means the church.

It is the little things that get us into the biggest trouble.  We live in a broken world, and we are broken ourselves.  The little things grow into big problems because this world and all that is in it is not improving; rather, it is degenerating.  This is happening because it is all broken.  Adam and Eve broke it, and it will remain broken until God is finally done and all is brought back under His authority

Many years ago, I read this in a book, “Nearly a century ago, a French sociologist wrote that every institution’s first goal is to survive and grow, not to undertake the mission it has nominally staked out for itself.”  When I read that, it helped me to understand what I saw going on around me in the Christian organization I was involved with.  Regardless of the lofty and altruistic goals of any organization, without constant restraint and discipline from people, the people will end up serving the organization rather than the organization serving the people.  It happens so often we no longer take note, but it is wrong and it happens because everything is broken.

The book of Judges tells the story of the Israelites living in their land, serving God in their families and tribes and trusting Him for their leadership.  This individual reliance upon God when shared by all produced a culture of reliance upon God that covered the land.  But they too were broken.  Their individual trust turned to individual sin and reliance upon things other than God.  Soon God allowed them to be oppressed by neighbors.  Then they repented, then God would raise up a deliverer and they would live in peace and security, then the whole cycle would start again.

In Samuel, the people cry to God for a king.  It seems they wanted to be like other nations.  God warns them about the weaknesses of kings and kingdoms, but they persist.  When God tells Samuel to anoint their king, he comforts the broken-hearted prophet by telling him that it was not he they have rejected, but God himself.

The small thing is our independent reliance upon God and no one else, every man, woman and child trusting in and being accountable to God.  This idea is so slippery; and because we are broken and lazy, we give our loyalty, our authority, to others who promise in their brokenness to help us with our responsibilities.  Every organization, be it government, labor union, service club or church, must be ruled by the independent, God-reliant people who created it, lest it rule them and destroy them.

We can do it; it’s just a little thing.