Make Sure You’re Fighting the Right Battle

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Tomorrow I will be teaching from 1 Samuel 28.  Here’s an except:

The Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem. And Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa. (1 Samuel 28:4)

Here’s why that’s significant:   Because the cities of Shunem and Gilboa are located in the far NORTH of Israel — so what that means is that while Saul had taken the army off for years to chase after David, the Philistines, who were based in the South-Western corner of Israel (modern-day Gaza), had penetrated deep into Israel’s territory.    

Now, think about it:   How did that happen?   How did Saul lose all that ground? 

It was because Saul spent all his time fighting the wrong enemy.

Saul forgot who the real enemy was.   And instead of fighting the real enemy (the Philistines) — he had spent all his time waging a campaign against a brother (David).

As a result — now, when there is a real battle to fight, Saul’s completely unprepared, and the enemy has made huge inroads into territory that he once possessed.

Let me tell you: that should be a major warning for all of us!

Make sure you know who the real enemy is!   Make sure you’re spending your time fighting the RIGHT battles, and not wasting your time and energy fighting the wrong ones!

There is an enemy of your soul — but let me tell you: It’s not your wife!  It’s not your husband!   Your enemy is not your Christian brother or sister  – who has a slightly different view than you do on some secondary Christian doctrine! 

If we forget who the real enemy is, if we forget what the real battle is, and get all distracted with going on crusades against people who are really on our same team, then what happens is, like Saul – one day we turn around to realize that we’ve lost a lot of ground, and the enemy has made huge inroads into our lives…

Give…expecting nothing in return

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One of the sayings of Jesus that I find most inspiring and challenging is in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 6, where Jesus says:

“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

(Luke 6:32-35 ESV)

Most of us do things for others with at least some expectation that we will receive something in return. If we are nice to others, we expect that they will be nice to us in return. If they are not, we tend to get upset about it.

Many of us give with the expectation, that at least the recipient will be appreciative of our generosity.

Many of us love, with the expectation that our love will be reciprocated – and if it is not, then we tend to “clam up”, because to love is to make oneself vulnerable, and unreciprocated love leaves us more vulnerable than reciprocated love.

But here is Jesus challenging us toward something that does not come naturally: to GIVE, expecting nothing in return.

Nothing.

Why? Because that is how God loves.  And if you do that, then you will understand the heart of the Father in a profound way, and you will be like Him. Because He gives to the ungrateful and the evil – He blesses people who don’t deserve it and don’t even appreciate it.  

If He gets nothing out of it, then why does He do it?   Because that is what divine love does: it gives, not as a means of coercion, but simply gives out of pure love.

I want to be that kind of person, to my wife, to my kids, to those around me – even to my “enemies”. This is the vision; only by the grace of God can I carry it out.

Back from Costa Mesa

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Last week I was in Costa Mesa, CA for the annual Calvary Chapel Senior Pastors Conference. It was a great time of encouragement and fellowship, catching up with friends from all over the world who I only see at events like this.

This was the first SPC since Pastor Chuck Smith died, and the focus was on not forgetting the past, but not living in the past either – rather pressing ahead, building upon the foundation we’ve been given.

The messages at the conference were great, particularly what Brian Brodersen shared from Haggai ch 2, about how “the glory of the latter house will surpass that of the former”. May it be so!

Many of the sentiments shared at the conference, such as that Calvary Chapel must not be insular, but must understand its place in the wider body of Christ, and that we must stay on mission rather than being distracted by peripheral issues, definitely resonated with me.

I’m looking forward to everything that God will do through this movement in the years to come.

Reasons Why I Love Tim Howard

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Team USA goaltender Tim Howard made a record 16 saves at the World Cup game between the US and Belgium, but couldn’t save the American team from being knocked out in the 2-1 Belgian win.

Did you know:

  • Tim Howard is HUNGARIAN!    Tim was born in New Jersey to an African-American father and a native Hungarian mother named Fekete Eszter!  He is a dual citizen of USA and Hungary, but unfortunately, aside from a few words, he doesn’t speak Hungarian.  Szeretünk téged, Tim! Hajrá magyarok!
  • Tim Howard is a CHRISTIAN.   Tim has spoken about his Christian faith, saying: “The most important thing in my life is Christ. He’s more important to me than winning or losing or whether I’m playing or not. Everything else is just a bonus.”
  • Tim Howard has Tourette Syndrome, an Autism Spectrum Disorder.
  • Tim is 35 years old and has been on the US national team since 2002.  I don’t know if this was his last world cup, but after this performance today, he seems like he is at the top of his game!

Local Busses in Longmont Free

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I took the bus today, and I liked it.

I’ve always thought about riding the bus here in Longmont; there’s a bus stop about 100 feet from my house. The thing is, that the bus doesn’t run very often, and it costs just as much as driving my car around town. I’d rather get around without my car – but there’s no real incentive to do so, until now.

Starting today, busses within Longmont are free. If you ride from Longmont to Boulder, you will be given a voucher to reduce the price for the in-town part of the ride.

Unlike my car, the bus is air-conditioned. And even though the ride to where I work on Tuesdays is 30 min by bus, as opposed to 12 min by car – I always have plenty of work I can do on my phone while I am sitting on the bus, which makes it time I can easily spend productively.

I’m not sure if this initiative is motivated by the desire to be environmentally friendly or simply because no one was riding the bus (my guess would be the latter), but I say: Good on you, Longmont! I love that this city does cool stuff like this. I will definitely be riding the bus a lot this year and using my car less.

 

Boulder County clerk to begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses

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Boulder County clerk to begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses

Same-sex marriage has made it’s way to Colorado, and unsurprisingly, the first place it will begin is right here in Boulder County.

Boulder County will begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses immediately, County Clerk and Recorder Hillary Hall announced Wednesday afternoon.

The action was in response to the 10th Circuit U.S. Appellate Court ruling earlier in the day that Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees of equal protection and due process.

There are a lot of opinions out there, even amongst Christians, as to what our stand on this should be.

Earlier this week, a Methodist pastor, who had been defrocked for going against church regulations and officiating his son’s wedding to another man, was reinstated.

Some Christians might say: Who cares? If homosexuals want to get married, why should I care?  There are plenty of things that are legal, but are not in accordance with God’s will or desires. It doesn’t affect me – I’m just trying to follow Jesus.  

My guess is that this is the majority opinion amongst most in the younger generation.

Others might say: Our laws shape our society’s understandings of what is acceptable and normative. Redefining marriage is bad for our society.

Here’s one thing I noticed: on social media there’s tons of praise for this. That doesn’t mean that everybody is in favor of it – it means that those who don’t like it are less and less willing to speak up and voice their opinion, because they know the kind of backlash that will come upon them if they do.

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20)

Pastor Tip: Preaching Outside from an iPad

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This morning I officiated a wedding, and as I usually do, I had all my notes on my iPad, which is attached to a mic stand by an iKlip2. It's a really great solution, because it leaves my hands free – which is nice for me, because I talk with my hands a lot, but also nice when officiating weddings, for things like handling the rings, etc.

But here's what happened to me today: It was an outdoor wedding that started at 11:30 – it was a bit overcast, but about 80 degrees out. And as soon as the wedding started, I noticed that my iPad was started to get hot – like really hot!

And then I started to worry… because I know what happens when the iPad gets hot – and it has happened to me before… It shuts off and won't come back on until it cools down.

At one point, I was convinced that my iPad was about to shut off – and I started praying… and thinking: what do I do if this thing shuts off? I mean, it's one thing if it happens at church – I can probably preach without it, but not at a wedding! They had written their own vows, and I hadn't memorized anything…

At one point, the bride and groom did a symbolic act together, so I took the chance to turn off the screen on my iPad, hoping that would give it the chance to cool down a little. But as soon as I turned off the screen, I started thinking: Oh no…what if, now that I've turned it off, it won't turn back on?!?!

I started praying, and asking God to have mercy on me for being so dumb as to not give myself any back up in case of an emergency like this.

God was merciful, and I was able to finish the wedding from my red-hot tablet without it shutting off.

But I learned an important lesson that I want to pass on to anyone out there who might benefit from it: If you speak outside from your iPad, especially for a special event like a wedding, ALWAYS have a set of printed notes that you can fall back on in case of emergency.

I realize now how many opportunities there might have been for something to go wrong with the iPad, from getting knocked over on the stand and breaking, to rain – not to mention the glare, which made it almost unusable anyway.

I learned my lesson today, and I'm thankful that God was gracious to me (and the bride and groom) and didn't make me learn it the really hard way.

 

White Fields on the Radio

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Starting this week, you can hear me on the radio here on Colorado’s Front Range, on 89.7 Grace FM.

White Fields is doing a series of 1-minute devotional messages called “Word from the Field”. Our thought was that instead of just airing our sermons, we could do something a little bit unique, that would also run multiple times per day at different times. This way we can stand out from the crowd and reach people who listen to the radio at different times of the day and week.

We are also uploading these recordings to SoundCloud, so that people can keep up with them online and share them through social media. You can follow us on SoundCloud here, and below you can listen to the messages we’ve recorded so far.

Having Passed the Baton

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For many years, the third week of June was one of the highlights of the year for my wife and I. That’s because this is the time when the Foundations Conference takes place in Vajta, Hungary. Foundations is a conference for Calvary Chapel missionaries and national workers from all over Eastern Europe to gather together for a week of fellowship and teaching. It was a time for us of seeing friends we often only saw at that conference, as well as a time of being recharged physically and spiritually, and seeking the Lord.

This year I’ve been keeping up with some of what’s happening at Foundations on Instagram, where I get to see familiar faces and places.

Today on Instagram I saw this photo, which filled me with so many emotions:

In that picture are friends of mine, and they are praying for a young man named Jonathan, who is serving as a missionary in Eger, Hungary at the church Rosemary and I started 9 years ago. Standing behind him is Jani, a man who I first met when he was not a Christian, but who I had the privilege of leading to The Lord, pouring into, raising up in ministry, and who is now the pastor of that church in Eger.

I remember how on the last night of one of these Foundations conferences several years ago, I was up front praying for people, and Jani came up and asked me to pray that God would bless him and his wife with a baby. Only a few months later, we got the good news that Tünde, his wife, was pregnant with their first child.

I’m a bit jealous that I can’t be there withy them right now, but it fills me with so much joy to see these guys who now carry that baton, going for it with all they’ve got. It is a good feeling when something you started takes on a life of its own.

How Does Marriage Affect Violence Against Women and Children?

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How Does Marriage Affect Violence Against Women and Children?

This article in the Washington Post this week showed that statistically, women and children in married families suffer far less domestic violence than those in other situations.

Married women are notably safer than their unmarried peers, and girls raised in a home with their married father are markedly less likely to be abused or assaulted than children living without their own father.

As Christians, one of the best things we can do for society is to uphold and promote strong biblical ethics.