Finish what you started

Hey Friends, It's been a while since I've had the opportunity to blog. I had some minor health challenges that has kept me on the sidelines for a minute. However, God is still good, no I take that back he's more than good he's great! And with that said, I plan to continue to blog. In fact I have a whole lot to say so look out! Big ups to all of you who have kept this thing going.

ARE YOU THE ONE, OR SHOULD WE LOOK FOR SOMEONE ELSE?

Dear Friends, Luke 7 :20 NASB says When the men came to Him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to You, to ask, 'Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?'"When the men came to Him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to You, to ask, 'Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?'"

How many times have we ourselves asked this question, when faced with some challenge, some struggle, some tragedy, or some adversity? But, more importantly I believe that many people are waiting with baited breath, and reserved judgment until after January 20, 2009. "Let's see how he governs." Is he the black messiah that we have long awaited for to deliver us from the hand of white America." Is he the one to right the wrongs of 400 years of slavery, racism, and oppression?

So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report what you have seen and heard: The housing market has stabilized, Unemployment is down to it's lowest mark ever, 401k's and 457's have started rising again. GM, Ford, and Chrysler have rebounded, and have all posted fourth quarter profits. Troops have been withdrawn from Iraq, and sent back to the U.S. World leaders have showed up to the G-8 conferences in record numbers. There are more black mayors, black govenors, black senators, then there has ever been in the history of this nation. Pray is back in schools, "One nation under God" is still in the Pledge of Allegiance, morality has been restored to it's pre-1950's era. Change has truly come to the world. And on, and on, and on...

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL

Friends, on yesterday like I have done for the past three years now, I worked at the polling place for this presedential election. Although, I can't really describe it, I would say that there was a feeling of nervous excitement among myself, and my fellow poll workers, which happens to be all african americans. We didn't really talk about "IT", but all of us new that this was going to wind up being an historic day. I would liken the feeling that everyone had to the feeling that the slaves must have had who knew that Harriet Tubman was coming by to pick them up on the "Underground Railroad."

You don't really act any different so as not to tip "Massa's" hand. But, you just go about your day like everything is normal. That's how our day went yesterday. For all intents and purposes it was a normal day, with the exception of the enormous crowds of people. Our polling place is at a college, and we had giant crowds of students waiting, some for over TWO HOURS to vote. We had all prayed that God would do something extraordinary yesterday, and from the swell of the crowds our prayers were being answered.

At 8:15pm, fifteen minutes after the polls closed, and we still had 12 people waiting to vote; one of my poll workers received a call from her daughter-in-law who informed her that Obama was ahead in the election by 297 electoral votes. Although, no one said anything, we kinda of looked at one another with that "eye", and knew inside that some special was getting ready to happen. At 8:40pm, my fellow pollworker's daughter-in-law called again to say that Obama had 338 electoral votes, and that John McCain had just called and conceded the election to Barack Obama.

After this call, we were all kinda of giddy with excitement, as we bounced around the polling place. Our last voter left the poll at 9:15pm, and we could hardly wait to close the doors. After they left, we had our own private celebration, thanking and praising God for what he had just down. And then as if on cue, we all began to cry tears of joy. It was flood of emotion that came over us , and a burden lifted, for after 400 years of slavery, and oppression, God put a black man into the white house.

When I got home around 11:30pm, my wife was still up watching the election results. We congratulated each other on our "historic moment." We then toasted each other with a small glass of wine, and went to bed. "Mission Accomplished." When we woke up this morning, we both looked at each other, shook our heads, and said "wow". No further words were needed.

I'll leave you guys with this saying from my wonderful mother who passed in 2003, long before this historic moment. She would quite often say when God would do things like he did last night, "Baby, the Lord operates in mysterious ways." Be Blessed family!

THE DANGER OF BEING IN THE WRONG PLACE TOO LONG

Hello fellow bloggers. I have finally recovered from the devastating loss my Cowboys suffered at the hands of an awesome NY defense on yesterday. Turning to a more serious matter, my friends we here in California are on the threshold of a decision that could have far reaching impact, beyond the borders of California. Tomorrow we vote whether to accept, or reject same sex marriage as being legal. For those of us who are Christians, our minds should already be made up, but surprisingly they're not. Many Christians, believe it or not, are wrestling with the decision of whether to vote yes, or to vote no on Prop. 8. This waffling on this decision appears to have come from a desensitization to homosexuality. We've been around it so much, and in our quest to be "politically correct", we've come to "tolerate it".

I use this title today because this reminds me of the situation with Lot, and his being in Sodom. The bible points out in Genesis 13:12-13, "Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. 13 "Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord." It goes on to say in chapter 19:1(a) "The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. " Picture that, here is this righteous man of God, sitting at the gate of one of the most wicked and perverse cities known to man, to greet visitors, and friends as they entered and exited the city.

But not only that, it's evidenced by the scriptures that Lot knew what wickedness was going on in the city, and tolerated it without saying nothing to the people. Look at chapter 19:5-7, " They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them." 6 Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him 7 and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing." He calls these perverted men his friend! Why? Because there is a danger of staying in the wrong place too long. And that what we have been doing here in California. We have allowed gays to water down our convictions, and our beliefs by winning little subtle victories, and by parading around in our cities and streets with their lifestyle on full display. And because we as the church, and as believers in Jesus Christ have allowed this to go on without being the voice of morality, we now face a proposition 8 on Tuesday, November 4th.

Am I speaking as an outrage homophobic? No I am not. I'm simply speaking as a man of God who is concerned about the immorality thats being passed off as normal. This is what Romans 1:18-32 speaks of when it says in verse 28, that because of their perverse acts, and thinking, God gave them over to a depraved or a reprobate mind. Therefore, I urge you this Tuesday to please vote with integrity, and spirituality. Be Blessed friends! Go! (you know who)

"LIFE IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES..."

Remember that famous statement by Forest Gump? "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get inside." Taken in it's context, one would think that this statement has a lot of merit to it. It suggests that each day that one wakes up, we don't know what that day holds for us. Let alone what life itself has to offer us. You just have to play the hand that is dealt you. I disagree with this statement because the bible says that "The steps of a good man (or woman) are ordered by the Lord. " Now let's analyze this verse for a moment, and replace the word steps with a word lets say like decisions. Now let's read this verse again. The decisions of a good man (or woman) are ordered by the Lord. Now from the "B" clause of this statement lets replace the word ordered with lets say a word like planned. The verse would now read, "The decisions of a good man (or woman) are planned by the Lord. " Now think back to all the right decisions you made regarding the direction of your life. Didn't it feel like somone was whispering in your ear helping you make the right decision? Now what about those bad decisions, when you stepped out on a limb, and out of the will of God, and did what YOU felt like doing. There was always a consequence to that bad decision.

This taken in it's totality, I merely took the long way around just to go up the street, to say that in regards to Forest Gump's statement that "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get inside," is not entirely true. Because the bible says if we will ask, God will show us the way. He will influence the decisions of our lives, and give us that, that we desire out of life.

HALLOWEEN OR HALLOWED BE THY NAME?

Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain. The festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture, and is sometimes regarded as the "Celtic New Year." Traditionally, the festival was a time used by the ancient Celtic pagans to take stock of supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, now known as Halloween, the boundary between the alive and the deceased dissolved, and the dead become dangerous for the living by causing problems such as sickness or damaged crops. The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, into which bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown. Costumes and masks were also worn at the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them.

The term Halloween is shortened from All Hallows' Even as it is the eve of "All Hallows' Day," which is now also known as All Saints' Day. It was a day of religious festivities in various northern European Pagan traditions, until Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV moved the old Christian feast of All Saints' Day from May 13 to November 1. Although All Saints' Day is now considered to occur one day after Halloween, the two holidays were, at that time, celebrated on the same day. Liturgically, the Church traditionally celebrated that day as the Vigil of All Saints, and, until 1970, a day of fasting as well.

Most Christians hold the view that celebrating Halloween is completely incompatible with the Christian faith due to its origin as a Pagan "festival of the dead."

"Hallowed be thy name" is one of those phrases that's most interesting. And to ask that God's name be hallowed, that God's name be looked upon as holy, is to ask that in the world people will understand the presence of God among them with awe and reverence, and will not use the name or the idea of God as a kind of weapon to put other people down, or as a sort of magic charm to make themselves feel safe. But rather approach the idea of God, the name of God, the word of God, with the reverence and humility that's demanded.

In Judaism the name of God is of extreme importance, and honouring the name central to piety. Names were seen not simply as labels, but as true reflections of the nature and identity of what they referred to. So, the prayer that God's name be hallowed was seen as equivalent to hallowing God himself. "Hallowed be" is in the passive voice and so does not indicate who is to do the hallowing. One interpretation is that it is a call for all believers to honour God's name. Those who see the prayer as primarily eschatological understand the prayer to be an expression of desire for the end times, when God's name, in the view of those saying the prayer, will be universally honoured. In praying that the name of God may be hallowed, the meaning is that the sanctity and glory of the divine name may be increased. So "Hallowed be thy name" means: understand what you're talking about when you're talking about God!

References

Campbell, John Gregorson (1900, 1902, 2005) The Gaelic Otherworld. Edited by Ronald Black. Edinburgh, Birlinn Ltd. ISBN 1-84158-207-7 pp.559-62

Danaher, Kevin (1972) The Year in Ireland: Irish Calendar Customs Dublin, Mercier. ISBN 1-85635-093-2 pp.190–232

Rogers,Nicholas "Samhain and the Celtic Origins of Halloween," Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 11-21.

SHAKE IT OFF!

Hello Friends, a few months ago I preached a sermon at a friend's church entitled "Shake it Off." The scripture for this message was taken from Acts 28: 1-9, where Paul was putting wood on the fire and a venomous snake fastened on his hand. The bible said that the people stood around waiting for Paul to die, but he just "Shook it off" into the fire. I mention this sermon because people have been going through so much turmoil the past few months with the economy, and even satanic attacks by the enemy.

And isn't it interesting that like the natives on the island in this text, many people instead of lending you a helping hand, will often stand around waiting for your demise. One of the points from this sermon was "The closer you get towards your God ordained destiny, the more intense the attack will be from the enemy. Friends, Paul when he was Saul no doubt was a Captain in Satan's army. The chief persecutor of the Jews. However, after his conversion he became Public enemy number one of Satan. Why? Because he no longer was working for Satan. And Paul had a two-fold destiny from God. Number one was to take the gospel to the Gentiles. Number two was to take the gospel to Rome. Satan didn't care too much about number one, but number two was a no, no.

Why? Because Rome was Satan's biggest stronghold. And friends, no matter how much the enemy tries to attack you, or intensify the attacks that he has already been leveling at you. You must with every fiber in your being "Shake it off." Even if it gets to the point where it seems overwhelming. You must understand that number one, "He will never put more on you than you can bear", and number two "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of all of them." So like the song says by Dwayne Woods, "Let Go, and Let God."

Finally, let me close with this, in the text it says that Paul shook the snake off into the fire. Why? So he could not attack anyone else. Be blessed y'all!!!

SAVED BUT HAVEN'T SURRENDERED

Yesterday, I was doing some medical tests at Kaiser Hospital. My wife who accompanied me was in the waiting room reading a book by Chuck Swindoll. I happened to glance over at the book and read a part of a paragraph that said "The problem with churches today, is that people are saved, but they have not surrendered." I was totally blown away when I read this, and thought to myself how true this statement is. Many of the problems that churches are having is because people haven't totally surrendered themselves to Christ.

You can't be a trouble maker, or a gossiper, or a busybody, if you have totally surrendered yourself to Jesus Christ. Because, if you are totally surrendered to him then you would display his attributes. You would not still be smoking cigarettes, as soon as church lets out. You would not still be "shackin" with a man or a woman if you have surrendered. You would not be unsubmissive to your mate if you have surrendered. The Apostle Paul on several occassions in the book of Acts describes how his life is "sold out" to Jesus Christ. If you're gonna be a follower of him, and reap the rewards that he has for you, then you must lay everything on the table.

You can't be like Achan, or Saul, who disobeyed God and failed to surrender everything that he told them to. And because they didn't, it cost them their anointing, and ultimately their lives. Being saved is not enough, you have to surrender all!

THE BEST IS YET TO COME

Hello Friends. Last evening my wife and I were on our way home, traveling from L.A. back to the Inland Empire. As we usually do, we were listening to some jazz on the CD player, and making small talk. One of the songs that came on as we were riding was a song by the late, great Grover Washington, Jr. entitled The Best is Yet To Come, featuring Patti Labelle on vocals. In one verse of the song she sings "As long as we believe, the best is yet to come." Now friends, over the years, I've probably heard this song a hundred times. However, for some reason that line in that verse peeked my interest, and it made me think how true it was.

The bible says in Hebrews 11:1 "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Now think about what Patti said in that song, and tie it in with this verse from Hebrews 11. Both statements have to do with believing for something. And, to bring it home for us, we've been hearing quite a bit these past few months, and weeks, how bad things are and how worse they're going to get. But instead of feeding into the negativity, and the gloom and doom, how about if we took Patti Labelle's statement in the song and applied it to our present situation. " As long as we believe, the best is yet to come." If we took that statement to heart, our future would look a whole lot brighter.

I guess it's true, there IS a message in the music. Be Blessed y'all!

The Therapy of Preaching

My friends, Often when we think of therapy, we think of it in the context as it relates to a psychological event. We equate therapy in the sense of psychotherapy, whereby one is seeking to get help in overcoming some tragic event that has crept into one's life. But have you ever thought of therapy as it relates to preaching? Would it be wrong for us to say that preaching is therapeutic? I think not because in the context of the therapy of preaching, the inference is that this type of therapy is to inspire the mature believer and others to keep the faith in spite of the loss of relationship, health, and wealth. The heart and mind must remain in tension so that the will of the Christian to keep the faith in the midst of crises is never relinquished. In conclusion, my theory is that there is therapy in preaching.

WHEN DEATH LEAVES A VOID

Hello Friends, I'm currently working on a sermon that I hope to deliver on Sunday at a pastor friend of mine's church. The reference passage of scripture for this sermon is taken from Luke 24:13-36, dealing with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. For informational purposes the sermon is entitled "Renewed Faith." It had been a while since I read this passage so to familiarize myself once again with the text, I re-read it.

What immediately stood out to me was the hurt, the despair, the confusion, the hopelessness, and the void that these two disciples expressed as the travelled the seven miles to Emmaus, talking with a "stranger."This struck a nerve with me, having just buried a childhood friend, whom I had known for some 38 years. This also made me reflect upon the many deaths that I have experienced these past eight years. I've lost a brother, an uncle (my dad's only sibling), my mother, my father, a nephew (who was raised with me like a little brother), and a grandmother ( who by the way lived to be 110 years old).

All of these deaths have left an unfillable void within me. Although God has given me the strength, and the perseverance to go on, something is missing in my life. And I've come to discover that it's not so much the person that you miss. Although, I miss my loved ones terribly, and there is a constant ache inside of me. But, when a person dies what you really miss is the relationship. The bond of friendship, and companionship that you shared with the person.

And, I believe that this is what Cleophas, and the other disciple were missing about Jesus. His death left a void not only in these two men, but in all the disciples. And, I think it was this over-bearing grief that blocked out the words that Christ had spoken to them during the course of his life, and his ministry. And just like it was with these men, I believe that the same thing often happens with us believers. Human hope is a fragile thing, and when it withers it’s often difficult to revive. Death packs a wallop, and when it hits us, it often knocks the wind out us. To the point that we often don't have the strength, or the mental toughness to press on.

These two men no doubt were hurting, and disappointed which is evidenced by the fact that they were returning to Emmaus. Interestingly, enough that word Emmaus in greek means obscure which means difficult to understand. And very often death is not easy for us to understand, and oftentimes the lose of a person leaves us with this void. And if I can be honest with you, this void as you come to discover, cannot be filled by anything, or anyone else but Jesus. For, it was Jesus that made the difference, and filled the void in these two disciples lives. And the question that I leave on the floor for all to ponder is, "Won't you let Jesus fill the void in your life today?"

THE INSEPARABLES OF PREACHING

In his book entitled Doctrine that Dances, Robert Smith, Jr. discusses the Inseparables of preaching. These he says are Didache which is a new testament word used for teaching or instruction, and Kerygma which is a new testament word used for preaching. He says the two must always be integrated in preaching and teaching. I mention this because he states that the goal of proclamation is to instruct and invite hearers to salvation, while the purpose of teaching is to instruct believers toward experiencing maturity in discipleship.

This is a profound statement to me, because I think that it reinforces the reason that God called us to preach his gospel. While I understand that many proclaimers of the gospel are often motivated to preach the gospel for various reasons, such as money, notoriety, and status; this statement usurps those reasons, and points to the true fact of why we preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. It also lays down the foundation of why we teach, and how preaching and teaching are intertwined with each other.

It always surprises me when I meet a pastor, and his business card says "Pastor/Teacher." To me this is unnecessary because the preacher as a proclaimer of the gospel is a teacher-Didache, as well as a preacher-Kerygma. There is no distinction between the two. While it is true that Ephesians 4:11 says "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers." The truth of the matter is preaching and teaching are the Inseparables of preaching.

Why call my blog Severe's Sanctuary?

A Sanctuary is described as a place of refuge or asylum. A Refuge is a place or state of safety. It is my endeavor that this blog will serve as a place to safely share my thoughts, my feelings, and to safely engage in constructive dialogue with the rest of the world. I have come to discover that a person's birth date, or death date, is not as important as the dash separating the two. Because the dash signifies what impact that we had on the world, and how many lives that we were able to touch on our journey.

This blog is my small way of contributing something positive to society that will live on long after I'm physically gone from this planet.