While reading in the book of Haggai this morning, I came across an interesting phenomenon. The situation in Haggai was that God’s people had been allowed by Cyrus back into Jerusalem after their Babylonian exile in order to rebuild the Temple that had been destroyed. They came back with fervor that turned out to be quite short-lived. It wasn’t long before the Temple got put on the “back burner” and instead God’s people had turned their attention to their own homes, and not His.

And this was because God’s people didn’t think that it was time to rebuild the Temple (1:2). But then God did something peculiar: He changed their desires.

Huh? What about free will? What about you and I living a life where we are free to either embrace God and His will or reject God and His will? What are we, puppets on His strings?

There’s no way to give a fitting explanation to the relationship between God’s graciousness that allows our choice and God’s soveriegnty that has everything in the palm of His hand. It’s just too other-worldly. But still something must be said about how God is operating here in Haggai.

God desired His Temple to be rebuilt. In fact, He said clearly through Haggai that the rebuilt Temple would outshine the first Temple. This had nothing to do with God being some cosmic task-master, or some ego-maniacal bully. Why was God so determined to get His people back on the Temple-building track?

Plain and simple: God desperately longs to be near His people. His promise of blessing on the rain, on the crops, on the supplies, on the gold, on the silver, on all the necessities, and on the people screams His desire to be near His beloved and chosen people. God says in 2:19, “From this day on I will bless you.”

The name “Haggai” has as its root “hag” which is the word for “festival”. In today’s vernacular, we’d say “party”. God had instituted regularly scheduled “parties” for His people to enjoy with Him. Why? I’d dare say it was in preparation for eternity. It seems to me that everything that God does, allows, and effects is in preparation for our eternity with Him. Our problems arise when we lose sight of God’s view on things: eternal. Stressed? It’s temporary. Worried? It’s about temporary things. Burned out? Temporarily. We experience these emotions when we stop considering eternity as more prominent than temporary.

With eternity as the backdrop of every conflict, every problem, every uncertain situation, every unanswered question–we find things managable when we remember that God resides in eternity and none of the things of this world will last, but all of the things of this world are preparing us to reside with God in eternity.

And so our desires become what God desires; all in preparation for a never-ending reality with Him. This is why God was calling His people, through Haggai, to take their focus off of temporary homes and instead return to a focus on His dwelling, and dwelling with Him.

I lead a new small group on Sunday nights. Last night was our 2nd meeting and we were studying the “almost” murder of Joseph in Genesis 37. We decided to record the re-enactment we did. Enjoy!

Our church is studying the life of Joseph. All ages, from toddlers to seniors, we’re all putting our noses in the book of Genesis for a new, fresh, bold look at the life of this otherwise ordinary young man. And while I was listening to the message last Sunday (ably delivered by Dave Wright), something caught my eye that never had before. It was in Genesis 37:24. Take a look:

“And they took him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it.”

Joseph’s brothers seethed with hatred toward him. Joseph was the favored son by their father, Israel. Evidenced by an ornate coat given to him by Israel, Joseph enjoyed a special relationship with dad that the others didn’t. And they hated him for it. Not to mention Joseph had shared some hair-brained dreams he had about them all; essentially saying that they’d all bow down to him. Joseph wasn’t winning any popularity contests, that was for sure.

So 10 of his 11 brothers came up with a plan to kill him. But the 11th brother, Reuben suggested that they throw him in a cistern instead of killing him.

My small group and I re-created these events in a video I posted on this blog. Check it out.

What caught my eye as I read this familiar story again was the deliberate pointing out that the cistern Joseph’s brothers put him in was empty. Dry. Nothing in it.

Now, we can consider this reality in a couple of different ways. The first thought I had was,
“Wait a minute–there was grass enough for the sheep to graze, which probably meant there was enough moisture in the ground to sustain plant life. And yet, the cistern was dry. Weird.”

So, I came to the conclusion that the dry cistern was essentially a miraculous occurance. Why would the grass be lush enough for sheep, and yet the cistern be dry?

But I had to stop short of that conclusion. Why? Because saying definitively that God kept the grass thick and the well dry would be a stretch. After all, there are too many variables. Like what about desert grass? It doesn’t need as much water to survive. You see, I don’t want to say or think anything that God’s Word isn’t saying. Doing so would necessitate me taking “creative license” with Scripture. I’d rather stick to saying what the Bible says.

But in the book of Jeremiah, the prophet talks to the people and likens them to cracked cisterns which were common in that day; no longer useful since they weren’t effective in holding the rain they collect. So, back to Joseph; we can say that while the grass was sufficient to sustain sheep grazing, the cistern was dry for a reason.

I serve a sovereign God. And that truth eradicates coincidence. While some might say that the cistern was coincidentally dry, I say that the cistern was dry because God wanted it dry. So, why the cistern was dry becomes a secondary issue. The primary issue (evidenced by its inclusion in the story) is that there was a dry cistern nearby. Clearly, the dry cistern was an indelible part of God’s ultimate plan for Joseph.

Certainly you’ve heard about Roman Polanski, the oscar-winning director who has recently been arrested for a 30+ year old sexual crime he committed against a 13-year-old girl. After drugging the young girl, Polanski raped her and shortly after fled to Europe where he has been side-stepping the law for lo these 30+ years.

What has mortified me in the wake of Polanski’s arrest is the draw of support and defense some in Hollywood are giving him–apparently in light of his strength in artistry as a movie director. In essence, the horriblly unspeakable act he committed against that 13-year-old girl those years ago is simply not as big a deal to them as the accodates he had received from movies he has directed. To some, the latter simply outweighs the former.

Can you imagine the lack of class, compassion, and intellect it would take to come to the conclusion that a child rapist should have his case dismissed in light of his accomplishments in his career field? It completely underscores the words I have heard countless times when I hear people respond to the question about how entry into heaven is achieved; its usually something like, “Well, I’ve been a good person, and hopefully the good I’ve done outweighs the bad and God will let me into heaven.” Friends, honestly and truly, if that were God’s criteria we’d all be screwed.

I’m not a big Jay Leno fan, but I was watching his show last night and he was talking about this Polanski story and he too was shocked that some would come to Polanski’s defense. In jest he said, “Not even Johnny Cochran said about O.J.’s trial, ‘But did you see him in that game against New England?!?‘” You see? Not only does one not outweigh the other–one has nothing to do with the other!

But sadly there are some that would, given the chance, speak in favor of Polanski’s freedom. To them, Roman Polanski, the child rapist, should be excused from the justice system because of his accomplishments as a director. That is mind-numbingly insane.

Sex is everywhere. Anyone with functioning eyes can see that.
We’re drowning in sexual messages, sexual addictions, sexually inappropriate media, sexual images, and even sexual cell phones. Let’s face it: We’re oversexed.

I’m convinced that sex is Satan’s #1 area of victory and ground gained in our world today. And what’s worse, so few in the Church want to get anywhere near the real issues.

Strangely enough, sex is also directly connected to one of the very first things God said to the first humans, Adam and Eve.

“God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth…'” (Genesis 1:28)
You want a modern translation?
“Do it.”
“Enjoy each other fully.”
“Go all the way.”
“Have sex and make babies.”

Did you blush reading those? Is it hard to imagine God celebrating sex? That’s because our world has taught us that sex is something everyone should be doing and is also inherently dirty. Satan has taken the beauty of God’s creation of sex meant for a man and his wife and distorted it, twisted it, mangled it, and utterly destroyed it until we have the reality where we can’t even think about it, read about it, or talk about it without feeling a sense of discomfort. Unless you’re joking about it. Then, have at it of course. When you’re telling sexually charged jokes you can say anything you’d like.

We’ve gotten sex so far out of God’s context that we can’t even seem to know the answer to questions teenagers ask like “Is oral sex, sex?” and “How far is too far?” We celebrate songs and movies that portray sex as taudry, casual, and free of guilt and consequence. We pat Hollywood on the back and plunk down our dollars for tickets to movies with overtly sexual tones, none in the context of marriage.

Let’s not get confused: God LOVES sex. He created it for recreation and procreation. He created it in the loving boundaries of a marriage relationship. Take any sexual activity outside those boundaries and you will suffer consequences He never intended, designed, or enjoys seeing.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you might be wondering where all this sex stuff is coming from. Well, 2 places actually.

When I got home today, my wife was flipping through a magazine that really isn’t her style. It’s a magazine my oldest daughter checked out of her school library. If I told you the name of the magazine you’d immediately recognize it. I won’t do that because I’m incensed at a) the magazine editors for publishing it and much more than that b) the school library for carrying it.

The other reason is that I was just invited to speak via Skype to a church youth ministry in CA about the issue of sex. Needless to say I’m honored and excited about that. I trust that God will see fit to use me somehow to be an encouragement, a challenge, and a blessing to those listening.

So, what can I say? It’s what’s on my mind, so it’s what I’ve decided to blog about.

I recently got an email from my cousin. He’s in ministry and was looking for some advice, guidance, insight, etc. I shared with him several things I have found in the past 15-16 years of student ministry. I thought I’d share them with you. You know, just for fun. Here’s part of what I shared with him…

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I’ve been at this student ministry thing for quite a while, and I’ll just throw out 9 great nuggets I’ve learned along the way. This list is neither exhaustive nor in any particular order:

1. Nothing of eternal significance happens apart from prayer. Don’t do one thing without first consulting God’s Spirit and God’s Word. I’ve seen scores of youth pastors with scores of good ideas that turned out to NOT be God’s ideas.

2. Know what your purpose as a ministry is. This one is huge. Everyone and their mother will have an opinion on this. The purposes of our student ministry is 4-fold: Reach students, connect students with God and other students, grow them into Christ-like disciples, and teach them to serve God and others for life. (Reach, Connect, Grow, and Serve are our 4 buzz words) If an event/program/idea/etc. doesn’t serve one of those purposes, we don’t do it. Some people are going to want you to make a “safe place” for the Christian kids to come. Some people are going to want you to make a place that is inviting to the unsaved teens. (These two camps often spend a lot of time throwing rocks at each other.) What is the heart of the ministry to students? I believe that it must be both those things.

3. Clone yourself. My conviction is that before I leave earth, I need to make as many other me’s as possible. And that’s not about me, it’s about Jesus. I want to follow Paul’s words when he said, “Follow (imitate) me as I follow Christ.” This is the heart of discipleship. The Church’s non-negotiable Biblical mandate in Matt. 28:19 is to “make disciples”. No matter how flashy, hip, relevant, or slick your youth ministry is—if it’s not making disciples then you’re just cool and nothing more. And you’ll find that kids and parents get over “cool” pretty quick.

4. Realize that you’re not everyone’s cup of tea. And neither is Jesus. You can’t possibly reach every person. Care well for those who come to your ministry, those you come in contact with, and do what you can to welcome all in. But when the day is done, don’t lose sleep over those who aren’t coming. That’s their choice. Remember that Jesus said that you’ll be rejected because He was rejected first. So, don’t expect everyone to be crazy about you and the ministry. Learn what you can from critics, but don’t let them sway you from your purpose and mission.

5. Do the important before the urgent. Jesus praised Mary and corrected Martha. Martha was focused on the urgent. Mary was doing the important. Beware though: they often look the same and well-meaning people will try and convince you that the urgent IS the important. It’s usually not.

6. Feed your own soul. Be a part of corporate worship when you can. For me, that opportunity is rare. As a pastor, I don’t get to sit in a worship service with my wife and just enjoy worshipping the Lord with her. So, I’ve got to stay close to the Lord and get edification in other ways from others. There is personal Bible study as well as online tools, webinars, podcasts, etc. that can afford those in ministry the opportunity to get encouragement. Even with a small budget, a worthy event each year is something like Group’s Youth Worker Convention. Youth Specialties does one, too. There youth pastors can get fresh insights, encouragement, and spiritual rest. It’s usually well worth the cost.

7. No ministry is perfect. Avoid trying to duplicate what other churches are doing. God hasn’t called you to other churches. There are transferable principles all over the place, but don’t think “I’ll do what they’re doing” and expect the same results. It doesn’t usually work that way.

8. Seek excellence, not perfection. “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do as unto the Lord.” And yet realize that being in ministry is very much like working on an assembly line. You MUST have the discipline to step away from the line and rest. Believe me, when you step back to the line, it’ll all still be there. You MUST rest. And not once a year, but once a week. Pastors and ministry leaders aren’t exempt from the commandment regarding the Sabbath; they should be leaders in showing people how to rest.

9. Know that you’re called. There will be days in ministry when you’d rather eat glass then go another inch. Knowing you’re called to ministry is the safety net that will catch you from crashing and burning.

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I’m fascinated by any dialogue regarding the existence of God. And I don’t say that as a “spiritual” person, as strange as that might sound. I say that as a human being with a functioning (debatable) brain. Honestly and truly, I’m so intrigued by the thoughts of others (and even myself) in relation to God, or gods, or goddesses, or a supreme cosmic whoever-you-are. Intellectually, sociologically, emotionally, and in many other ways–I’m just drawn to conversations like the proverbial moth to a flame.

Pretty consistently however, I have made an observation when I read the writings of atheists. They usually seem kind of angry. And I use the term angry in a loose fashion. Anger is a broad term and I understand that it might sound unfair. But indulge me because I’m about to put myself in the same boat. Far be it from me to look down my nose at anyone. I know myself too well to pull a stunt like that.

I was reading just yesterday a lengthy blog by a rock-solid atheist, along with the host of replies the blog post received; each one seeming to agree with the author’s position and thereby offering replies of support and cohesion with his stance. Fair enough. But as I re-read his post and even re-reading many statements several times, I couldn’t help but imagine in my mind a man who is so calloused and yet so seemingly clothed in the guise of a liberated mind. It was a post that was actually painful to read.

And I can say with a fair amount of confidence that if the author of that post happened to stumble upon this one as I write about him, he’d be very quick to tell me not to categorize him, pity him, or even speak about him. After all, he’s far too learned and therefore undefinable.

The sense that I got from his writings is that he has come in contact with a long line of people who perpetrate the argument that a God does indeed exist. And let’s not be pigeon-holed into speaking of one god. As we know, there are far too many gods in far too many religions for anyone to be able to say with a straight face that there is only one God. The Hindu religion alone has over 330 million gods. But what those he has interacted with or heard from afar would proport is that there is really only ONE God. So, with faith that flies in the face of science, intellect, and plain ‘ol common sense, this man has come out the other end with his conclusions:
-I am an intellegent adult human being.
-Science explains everything I need to know.
-Logic has no room for the notion of God.
-Those who would suggest otherwise are simply ignorant and weak.
-I’m sick and tired of “Christians” peddling their mumbo-jumbo in the name of their fairytale God.
-I have taken my anger toward them and will dispute loud and long the inadequacies of their “faith”.
-As for me, I choose a godless life.

And I confess that while all that makes sense on a very cerebral/logical and even secularistic scientific level, I must, albeit naively ask: “Do you have any need for hope?” I would guess that his answer would be a resounding “No.” It seems that hope is for those who can’t handle the current reality the way it is. Hope is for those who aren’t strong enough for today’s affairs and therefore must pin their dreams elsewhere. Put simply: Hope is for wusses.

And how might an atheist argue for human rights? I’m not saying that all atheists are on the same plain as cannibals, of course. But follow the “logic”. If there is no God, then no matter which way you slice it, we are a product of ourselves or more likely, some far off collision that accidentally happened and over billions of years we have become so evolved that we can create vehicles whereby we can send each other into space and back, we have created devices that allow us to have instant conversations with each other while on two opposite sides of the planet. We have evolved to where we have created a machine that can take a frozen burrito (which we invented), put it in a box for 2 minutes, and have a piping hot meal. So, if we are the result of such an accident then there is no power/being/force overseeing us. We’re it. And if there is no being overseeing us, there is no arbitrator or judge to which we will be help accountable. So, why in the name of us would I do anything civilized? Why would I treat another person with respect? Simply because that person is a fellow human being? Sorry, but that argument doesn’t stand to reason. Logically, without a creator, the creation should do exactly whatever the creation wants to do. After all, without a designer, there is no design. Without design, we’re simply random beings co-existing the same planet until our hearts stop pumping and our brains stop firing. At which point we simply decompose. So, to an atheist I am nothing more than a pre-decomposed being without any grasp of purpose, direction, or guide. I dare you to explain something to me that convinces me otherwise.

Yep, I’d be angry too. And honestly, I’m not trying to be belligerent or inflamatory. I have long ago become aware of the futility of argument between such opposing viewpoints. And yet what I read yesterday (and some might argue this blog is exactly the same thing) was dripping with such angst, such passion, and such disdain for anyone of “faith”. And I don’t know the intended point of the blog I read yesterday. I’m not entirely sure it had one. I freely acknowledge that the same could be said of this one. I’m just so intrigued by humans who seem so intent on eradicating their world of the nonsensical idea of a divine, loving God.

But to what end? It’s a preposterous idea to think that someday the entire earth will be covered with people who share a common view of a non-existent God. In fact, I believe the opposite will be true. I believe that the God who is the Creator will show Himself in no uncertain terms to His creation, and the earth will be covered with people who share the common view that there is indeed a God. A loving, caring, just, eternal, holy God.

And I don’t say that as a “spiritual” person. I say it as a human being with a functioning brain.