Columbus and the Jews and August 2, 1492

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Pastor Dave

  “Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492.”  But, there was another departure from Spain in 1492 that was even more momentous for some than the voyage of Christopher Columbus.  It takes us all the way back to some biblical prophecies concerning the Jews and the nation of Israel.

     When God called Abram from Ur of the Chaldees (in southern Mesopotamia, 220 miles SE of Baghdad), to begin the nation of Israel through which the world was to be made acquainted with the true God, He made a covenant with him (Abram), saying: “I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you; and the one who curses you, I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:1-3).  We see this covenant affirmed by Abraham’s son, Isaac, as he blessed his son, Jacob: “May peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you…Cursed be those who curse you, and blessed be those who bless you” (Gen. 27:28,29). We see that again in Balaam’s prophecy about the Jews in Num. 24:9: “…Blessed is everyone who blesses you, and cursed is everyone who curses you.”
     Then in Deuteronomy 29 Moses details the agreement under which the people would enter the land of Palestine. This “Palestinian Covenant” was in addition to the “Mosaic Covenant” given at Sinai (Horeb).  In the previous chapter we have a warning from Moses saying: “If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the LORD your God, then the LORD will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, even severe and lasting plagues, and miserable and chronic sickness…Moreover the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other; and there you shall serve other gods…which you or your fathers have not known ” (28:58-64).
     With those prophetic passages concerning the Jews in mind, fast-forward to the end of the 15th century. We see the nation of Spain emerging as the greatest empire since antiquity. In 1469 Ferdinand, son of the king of Aragon, married his cousin Isabella, daughter of the king of Castile. In 1474 Isabella became queen of Castile, and in 1479 Ferdinand became king of Aragon. Together they ruled a united Spain and defeated the Muslim Moors, ending the presence of Islam in Europe (not quite the scene there today!). In 1479 Ferdinand and Isabella introduced the Inquisition into Spain, a tribunal to identify and remove heresy, with the Jews of Spain as a particular target.  In the early Middle Ages, Spain had been the safest Latin area for Jews to live, and thus Spain became a center of Jewish learning and finance. But by the 13th and 14th centuries, anti-Semitism was on the rise. In Seville in 1391, some 4,000 Jews were massacred. Others, while secretly adhering to Judaism, outwardly professed Christianity and were baptized to save their lives. The Spaniards derisively referred to them as marranos, from the word for “swine.” The marranos had the legal rights of Catholic citizens, yet it was well known that privately many were still practicing Jews.
     The Spanish Inquisition targeted all kinds of suspected enemies of the church, but the majority were Jews. Torture was a primary means of interrogation. During the 100-year period of the Spanish Inquisition 341,000 people were punished, more than 32,000 of whom were burned to death. Ferdinand and Isabella seized the assets of all those convicted in the Inquisition. 
     The final indignity forced on the Jews was the Edict of Expulsion signed by Ferdinand and Isabella decreeing that every Jew who would not immediately be baptized had to leave Spain within three months of the deadline of August 2, 1492.   At this time there were still 200,000 Jews living in Spain. Many decided to be baptized, including the senior rabbi and a majority of the leading families. Approximately 100,000 fled to Portugal only to be expelled four years later. Another 50,000 crossed the straits to North Africa or went by ship to Turkey, leaving the land that had been their home for nearly 1,500 years. Others went to the Netherlands, the only Christian country that would receive them.  The persecution and exile of the Jews from Spain was the most momentous event for Judaism between the middle of the second century and the holocaust. The Spanish Jews have become known as the Separdi Jews (a form of an old word for Spain). They remained dispersed until the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.
     Columbus set sail from Spain half an hour before the sunrise deadline on August 3 with his Jewish secretary Luis Torres, who had recently been baptized. Columbus always signed his name Colon, a common name among the marranos of Genoa, his home, evidence that he may have been a Hebrew Christian himself. Columbus chose to embark from the small port of Palos because the larger port of Cadiz had been designated as the embarkation place for Jews and was filled with thousands of Jews fleeing the country by ship.
     It is very intriguing to note that August 2, 1492, on the Hebrew calendar, was the ninth day of the month Ab which was the very same day as the destruction of the Jewish temple in 586 B.C., beginning the Jewish exile among the Babylonians. Also, August 2nd on the Hebrew calendar was the very same day as the destruction of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem by Titus and the Romans in A.D. 70, beginning the exile among the Gentiles. And, August 2nd was the very same day on the Jewish calendar that the Jews were expelled from England in 1290. (No wonder there was concern for the safety of the Israeli athletes who competed in this Summer’s Olympics which included August 2nd!)
     God promised to bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel. No nation has blessed Israel like the United States of America, and no nation has been as blessed as the U.S.A. God’s judgments through history have fallen heavily upon Israel’s oppressors like Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Rome, Germany, Russia. And today, the U.S. is dangerously close to being added to that list. It began when the White House forced Israel into the “Oslo Agreement” calling Israel to give up land in exchange for peace–a form of blackmail whose terms were drawn up in Washington and forced on Israel, including dividing Jerusalem and taking part of it from the Jews. As our nation faces a very crucial election, one of the key issues is how will we treat Israel in the next administration?  They, after all, in spite of their rejection of Christ as Messiah, are still the “apple (pupil) of His eye” (Dt. 32:8 cf Psa. 17:8).
 
                                                                                                                            Forever His,
                                                                                                                                   Pastor Dave
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God Has a Plan

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Pastor Dave

Dave Scovill was a farm boy who grew up in Minnesota but after high school attended Prairie Bible Institute in Three Hills, Alberta, Canada. This was the school that my wife and most of her siblings also attended. It was there that, through the school’s missions emphasis, God spoke to Dave about going to the jungles of Papua (once named Dutch New Guinea and then Irian Jaya) to reach the Dani tribe who live on the western half of the island north of Australia. It has now been more than half a century since Dave and Esther Scovill first went to this mountain tribe called the Danis to learn the language and to share the Gospel. Prior to the Scovills’ arrival, other  missionaries had gone into the jungle on foot to build an airstrip so that missionaries could fly in and out.

     For years before the arrival of any missionaries, the Dani people had been searching for the source of eternal life. Occasionally a plane flew over the area and the tribesmen would shout at it to “come down, come down and help us.” Just before one of the Dani men died he told the others that he had a vision of a stranger coming in to teach them from a big book. He said to the others, “Don’t harm him. He will come to help us find the source of life.”  Then, when the Scovills landed on the new airstrip in 1960, a twelve-year-old Dani boy was standing outside the fence surrounding the airstrip. In a vision, he had seen a big man who was carrying a big book getting out of an airplane. This man with his big book would help them find eternal life. When the plane landed and Dave Scovill got out, he was carrying his Bible, the “big book” the boy had seen in his dream. He offered to teach the Scovills his language in exchange for Dave’s teaching him from the book–and that is how the evangelization of the Dani people began! 
     So, why did these ignorant, savage tribesmen in the heart of the remote jungles of Papua even have a concept of eternal life? Why did they, in their culture, believe it was wrong to steal or to take another man’s wife? Where would that have come from?  If evolution were true, as is being taught in our public education system today, and the Dani people, like the rest of us, are mere products of time and chance. How could they possibly have had an awareness that there must be a way to have eternal life?  They couldn’t!  But there is a little verse in the unique book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament of the Bible which explains why. It says that “He (God) has set eternity in their heart” (Eccl. 3:11).  Life did not evolve from non-living matter over millions of years. We are not the product of time and chance. We are created by an all-wise, all powerful, self-existent, self-sufficient God who “set eternity in our hearts.” We were created by Him and for Him. Our life only takes on meaning and significance when we come to have a relationship with the Creator of the universe.
     As the Scovills and others who joined them learned the Dani tongue and began communicating to them about creation and sin and God sending His Son to die for their sins, the response was totally amazing. God had already prepared their hearts. They just needed to hear about Jesus and what He had done for them and how through faith in Him they could find this eternal life for which they had been searching. The tribesmen would gather on the airstrip to hear the message from “the Book.” One day about a thousand Danis showed up and threw all their fetishes and idols in a huge pile which they spit on (a way of renouncing) and then burned. As a group they trusted in the Jesus of the Bible to find eternal life. The change in their lives was truly a miracle. Without being told, they began to clean up their bodies and to wear clothes. They sanitized their villages and stopped killing one another! They began a “witness school” to which many came for three days a week to be trained from the Bible, and would then go out to surrounding villages to share with others about the source of eternal life. They took the Gospel story to those whom previously they would rather have shot with arrows! The Gospel spread throughout the area. Today they have schools, churches and seminaries. What a beautiful demonstration of the power of the Gospel to change lives. As the apostle Paul said, “If any man be in Christ, He is a new creature; the old things are passed away; behold new things have come” (I Cor. 5:17). 
     Dave Scovill was at our church yesterday to share what has happened since their first trip to Papua way back in 1960. He emphasized that the greatest thing on the heart of God is missions. He shared with us “Three Divine Dynamics of Mission Work.”   
    1)  God Had a Plan (a Divine Purpose). He created the heavens and the earth as a platform to unfold the plan of the ages, that all men everywhere would experience
         His grace. Sin in the Garden seemed to have disrupted that plan, but we have the first promise, and prophecy of God concerning the coming of His Son to provide
         a way of salvation through His sacrifice on our behalf, thus defeating Satan and sin (Gen. 3:15). Then God chose Abraham and made a covenant with Him,
        saying, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3).  When King Solomon dedicated the Temple, he prayed, “So that all the peoples of
        the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no one else” (I Kgs. 8:60). To the prophet, Malachi, God spoke these words: “For from the rising of the
        sun, even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations…” (Mal. 1:11).   Missions didn’t begin with the “Great Commission” (“Go therefore and
        make disciples of all the nations…” Mt. 28:19). It began with God’s plan of the ages that all men everywhere would know that He is God and come to experience
        His love and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. When we are saved through faith in Christ, we buy into this plan and are to be part of it.
 
     2)  God Has Placed Eternity Into Hearts.  God had in many ways prepared the Danis for the Gospel of eternal life in Christ. He even gave them a longing for that
        eternal life, which was reflected in many of their beliefs. As we saw in Eccl. 3:11, it is God who placed that sense of eternity in their hearts. There is no other
        explanation. Their language was even beautifully put together. How did that come about? God did it, to prepare them for His Word.
 
     3)  God Wants to Partner With Us.  God gives us the amazing privilege of partnering with Him in His great plan of the ages so that we can have a part in bringing
         men and women to Christ. There is no greater joy on earth than to be part of that plan. You want to feel significant in your life? Then partner with God in His
         wondrous “Plan of the Ages.” The greatest thing in the heart of God is missions, and He allows us the privilege of being part of it. In fact the moment you put your
         faith in Christ for forgiveness of sin and eternal life, you become part of that team, an “Ambassador for Christ” (II Cor. 5:20). 
 
     The Scovills go back to Papua to the Danis a couple times a year. They now have the entire Bible translated into their language and can’t keep up printing copies. They are selling by the thousands to a people hungry for God’s Word (Would that were still true in our country!) This November, they will go back to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the church’s beginning in Papua among the Dani people. What an amazing story. What an amazing God we serve!
     If you would like to read more about the Danis, go to Amazon and get a copy of “The Amazing Danis,” by Dave Scovill. There will also be a new book by Dave coming out this fall about another tribe in Papua. It will be entitled, “Out of the Dark Triangle.”  Watch for it.
 
                                Forever His,
                                     Pastor Dave
 
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Seeker Sensitive Churches

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Pastor Dave

 How do we “do church” in this changing culture of the 21st century?  What do the approximately 400,000 churches in the United States and about a half-million pastors do to succeed? Well, the pastors need training, biblical knowledge, integrity, leadership, a love for God, a high sense of calling–and maybe one more thing: an attorney!  It seems that today, pastors need lawyers to help us to be able to continue to preach and function as God intended. That’s why we can be thankful for groups today like the Alliance for Defending Freedom (ADF), the Family Research Council (FRC), the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), and others who are fighting for our freedoms of speech and religious liberties. But, they face a very challenging battle from groups like the ACLU and other Freedom from Religion groups, not to mention from our current administration. 

     As pastors today, we find ourselves in a new era with a changing world view and mindset in our nation, which was founded on Judeo-Christian principles. For the past several decades, churches have been urged to be “seeker-sensitive.” Well, who would want to be “seeker-insensitive“?  But, as we so often do, we’ve succumbed to the “perils of the pendulum.” We’ve taken that philosophy in an unintended direction, and it’s revealed a glaring weakness in our understanding of what it is to be a biblical pastor.  Pastors, by nature, are (or should be) people who love and care about others.  That’s a positive thing–unless we mistake that love for people as meaning that we are also to be loved by all people. That desire to be liked by all can reduce the boldness that needs to be part of the pulpit ministry of the pastor. As a result, we are seeing many Christian institutions and churches that have become compromised by the culture, something which happens when the desire for the respect of others outweighs the drive to please God.  Add to that the pressure to be “politically correct” and what do you have? How has our preaching worked out for us over the past, say, 40 years?  Are our congregations more righteous? Are our communities being impacted for Christ?
     Fifty years ago, people understood that killing a baby in the womb was wrong. Preach that today, and you’re being “too political.” Preach that homosexual behavior is unacceptable to God, or that marriage means one man and one woman–again you are being too political and may even be charged with “hate speech” or being a “homophobe.” Wow, what has happened to our country? What has happened to our churches? What has happened to our preaching?  How did being “biblical” suddenly become being too political or using “hate speech”?  As pastors are we such clear disseminators of truth that we pose a threat to those who would try to oppress freedom, truth, and righteousness in our culture? For so many years, many pastors have failed to provide biblical preaching in America that now, when many people hear biblical preaching they don’t recognize it as being biblical. They think it’s somehow “political.”  And, that’s largely our fault as pastors, for caring more about the affection of the culture than the truth of the Gospel. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, recently said, “Pastors are the last line of defense.” He’s right, but weren’t we to be the first line of defense? (Family Research Council’s office in D.C. was recently attacked by a gunman who didn’t like their stand on traditional marriage. The operations manager, Leo, was shot but was still able to disarm and subdue the activist).
     We are at a crisis point in our great nation where we desperately need spiritual renewal and it won’t happen unless pastors are absolutely free to preach biblically and believers are free to live out their faith and share God’s truths publicly. We need the boldness of our forefathers where our fear of the culture matters less than our reverence for the God we serve. We need to heed Paul’s challenge to young Timothy to “Preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction” (II Tim. 4:2).  We need to “not be ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Ro. 1:16) and not to “shrink from declaring the whole purpose (counsel) of God” (Acts 20:27).  Oh, we need to be sensitive to those who are truly “truth seekers,” but we must not compromise or water down God’s Word in doing so. We are to be “biblically correct,” whether or not we are accused of being too political or not “politically correct.”  We need to remember that “It is the Lord Christ whom we serve”  and we are to try much harder to be pleasing unto Him than to be pleasing unto man (Col. 3:23-24). 
 
                                                                                                          Forever His,
                                                                                                                Pastor Dave
 
(P.S.  Some of the material for today’s devotional was taken from an article by Jim Garlow in the recent letter from “Alliance Defending Freedom.”
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A Godly Legacy

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Pastor Dave

We had the privilege yesterday after church services to attend a 70th birthday party for Sherry Davis, a lady from Three Lakes Bible Church where we pastored for 37 years. Jerry and Sherry started coming to Three lakes not many years after it began so we got to know them well and their family became very involved, not only at Three Lakes, but in the community as well.  They taught Sunday school classes, served as Sunday school superintendent, helped organize and teach vacation Bible school, did a “Kids’ Corner” for us once a month for our worship service, helped start a “Jesus Kids” at Elohim Bible Camp for those too young to attend a regular week of summer camp, helped with AWANA, started a Good News Bible Club in Troy that met after school once a week, went to Canada with their family each summer to help a mission conduct vacation Bible school. Jerry has also served as an elder for many years. Needless to say, they have been a tremendous asset and blessing to Three Lakes as well as to us personally. Kathy had gall bladder surgery this past week and guess who it was that came to visit her in the hospital after surgery–Jerry and Sherry!  They have a tremendous heart for others, and a burden to reach the lost for Christ. What a joy as a pastor to have had a couple like them to count on and with whom to serve. I always knew that if I needed someone to assist with a care center service, or any other special ministry, I could call on Jerry and Sherry for help. May their tribe continue to increase!

     At the birthday celebration the three of Davis’ five children who were able to attend, got up and shared how much Sherry has meant to them. The focus of the tributes was the godly home in which they grew up and what a difference it has made in their lives and their own families.  Sherry then shared too and gave testimony to how her life was transformed at age 22. She had been headed in the wrong direction and was totally turned around through her being introduced to Christ as Savior and Lord of her life.  She committed her life to follow Jesus and has had a great impact on all who have grown up in her home or known her as church family or friends. Her dedication to Christ is very obvious by the way she lives and she has a great sense of humor which always makes it fun to be around her. 
     I couldn’t help but think about the commandment God gave to Israel before they entered the Promise Land: “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!  And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart, and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when your rise up. And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. And your shall write them on the door posts of your house and on your gates” (Dt. 6:1-9).  Jerry and Sherry Davis have done that and the results are very evident. I pray that God grants them many more years of service for Him.  They serve as a great example to each of us of how we too need to put God first in our lives, not just on Sunday in church, but every day, in our homes, in our place of work, in our community.  I trust that it is your purpose to leave a Godly legacy for your family and friends to follow. “May all who come behind us find us faithful.”
 
                                                                                                       Forever His,
                                                                                                                Pastor Dave
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Give Credit Where Credit is Due

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Pastor Dave

 I once overheard a person telling someone about a project he had accomplished all by himself. Standing nearby–within earshot– was another individual who had actually done most of that project for this person. I know he heard the conversation and I couldn’t help wondering how he took that. I’m sure he had to be very hurt to have someone else take credit for what he had done.

     When our son-in-law Ron was in college at Montana State University (go Bobcats!), he had an opportunity to take a friend over to Gardiner by Yellowstone Park for a late elk hunt. Ron and his friend went out the night before and scouted the area to see where they needed to be in the morning. They got up long before daylight to hike through the deep snow to get close to a ridge where they waited for the elk to come out of the Park. Sure enough just at daybreak, a herd of bulls begin appearing. Ron picked out a nice six-point and downed it with one shot. But…before they could make their way to the bull, some hunters on horseback were there already gutting it out, telling Ron his bull–a spike–was over there!  Ron didn’t want to get into a fight over an elk, so let the horseback hunters take the big bull and he and his friend took the spike.  Then he overheard the man say, “This six-point will make a nice rack for my son’s first elk!”  (And his son wasn’t even with him.) 
     We had the opportunity to spend a night at a cabin in Glacier Park a week ago with friends who used to attend Three Lakes Bible Church where I pastored. The next morning we hiked in to Avalanche Lake (saw three grizzlies!).  We decided to start out with a tour group led by a Park Ranger. We stayed with the group for the first three stops and then headed out on our own. I knew it would be difficult to continue listening to her evolutionary “tales.”  She very excitedly showed us a “fossil” rock which she said was 2 1/2 billion years old, formed by layers of sediment and bacteria. She went on to say how life then developed some 70 million years ago. When she finished, I asked, “So how did it get from the bacteria in the rock to you?”  She said, “We’re not really sure, but we are working on that.”  “So,” I added,”do you mean that given enough time the impossible becomes possible?”  “I guess so,” she replied.  I then said, “You know, there is another option. The Bible says ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth’ (Gen. 1:1).  To create means to make from nothing, so it had the appearance of age.”  Her reply was simply, “I’ve heard that.”  I  knew then that we had better go on ahead of the group! (I’m sure she was glad we did too!)  I couldn’t help but think of how God must “feel” when we don’t give Him credit for what He has made. When I look at the amazing world that we live in, I am just overwhelmed with the awareness of what a mighty God we serve who made this and then judged it by the flood, which explains much of what we see that evolutionists try to explain by a process of time and chance.  (I also asked the Ranger if she had ever studied what took place at Mt. St. Helens that gave appearance of having taking thousands of years yet happened in a matter of hours. She said she hadn’t looked into that!).
     It’s bad enough to claim you perfomed a task that someone else actually did, or to confiscate a bull elk that you actually didn’t shoot and consider it your own, but to try to explain away God’s creation by giving a theory that over billions of years living matter formed from non-living matter (and where did that come from?) is a very serious offense. The Apostle Paul spoke about that in his letter to the Romans, saying, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures” (Ro. 1:18-23).
     It is important to give credit where credit is due–especially when it comes to what God has made and done.
 
                    Forever His,
                            Pastor Dave
    
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Profitable Labor

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Pastor Dave

The American celebration of Labor Day was established to recognize the important part played by workers in the development of the nation during the Industrial Revolution. Many countries today hold similar celebrations in honor of work and those who contribute, but it is significant that the modern recognition of the dignity and importance of labor largely originated in Christian nations, especially Great Britain and America. In the United States, Labor Day itself seems to have started with an annual parade in New York City in the 1880’s, becoming a national American holiday in 1894.  Like most holidays, however, its original purpose now seems to have been largely forgotten.

     One of the great inequities of life is the lack of a consistent relationship between the diligence of hard work and the reward received for that labor. Some work hard all their lives yet live in poverty while there are those who inherit great wealth and see it grow abundantly simply on the interest received from investments. A perfect “profit-for-labor” equity will never be reached as long as the earth and mankind are under the dominion of God’s curse of bondage to sin and death (cf Gen. 2:17).  The wisest and wealthiest man the world will ever know wrote this about the futility of work on earth: “Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun” (Eccl. 2:11). 
     We all discover the same thing, that as long as our goals and motives in working are “under the sun,” there will be “vanity (emptiness) and striving after the wind” no matter what our current social or economic status may be. We may climb the ladder of financial success but will find it leaning against the wrong wall. While there will never be perfect “profit-for-labor” here on earth, and while even those who are rewarded well for their labors often find an emptiness in it all, our true account will not be settled here on earth in the fallible account books of man, but rather in God’s books. It is to Him that we will each give an account of our lives one day (Ro. 14:12). To this end, Paul encouraged the bondslaves (laborers) of his day with this admonition: “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father…Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve” (Col. 3:17,23,24).
     So, when all accounts are finally settled at His great judgment seat (II Cor. 5:10), the “profit” we receive will not be based on our rank and position, our earthly bank account, our quantity of services rendered, but on our faithfulness and the quality of our work, and whether or not we did it “as unto the Lord” (cf I Cor. 3:11-15). It is not “how much,” but “what sort,” and “why” that matters to God! While there is little “profit under the sun,” if we are “abounding in the work of the Lord, you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (I Cor. 15:58).
     In The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer, he wrote this about work: “It may be difficult for the average Christian to get hold of the idea that their daily labors can be performed as acts of worship, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. We must offer all our acts to God and believe that He accepts them. Then hold firmly to that position and keep insisting that every act of every hour of the day and night be included in the transaction. Let us practice the fine art of making every work a priestly manifestation. Let us believe that God is in all our simple deeds and learn to find Him there.  Let every man abide in the calling wherein he is called and his work will be as sacred as the work of the ministry. It is not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular, it is why he does it. The motive is everything. Let a man sanctify the Lord God in his heart and he can thereafter do no common act.”
     What a great, biblical perspective. It is a God-given privilege to be able to do useful work, whether that work consists of preaching God’s Word or improving God’s world and meeting the physical needs of others. Solomon, after writing of the vanity of labor when motivated by working “under the sun,” found a new, God-perspective, and wrote this: “Whatever your hand finds to do, verily, do it with all your might” (Eccl. 9:10).
     If you struggle with meaning in your labors, start doing them as an act of worship unto the Lord and your work, no matter how seemingly meaningless, will bring God glory, and you satisfaction and purpose.
 
                                    Forever His,
                                                Pastor Dave
 
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work” (Thomas Edison)
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The Heavens Declare the Glory of God

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Pastor Dave

The Psalmist declared,” “The heavens are telling of the glory of God” (Psa. 19:1).  The estimated number of stars as of 2010 was 300 sextillion. That is 300 followed by 21 zeroes!  Scientists at Kitt Peak National Observatory southwest of Tucson recently reported the discovery of a supercluster of galaxies believed to be the largest known entity in space: one billion light years across! Light travels almost six trillion miles in one year. Wow, the immensity of God’s created universe is totally beyond our human comprehension. The Psalmist was very impressed and he didn’t have nearly the knowledge of the universe that we now have.

     Our amazing planet and the variety of plant and animal life is also a reflection of our glorious Creator. David wrote: “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Thy name in all the earth, who hast displayed Thy splendor above the heavens” (Psa. 8:1).  In Isaiah’s vision, he saw seraphim near the throne in heaven calling out, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isa. 6:3).  Nature is rich with the glory of God, yet probably nothing on Earth reflects holiness quite like a phenomenon that we have witnessed on numerous occasions this summer here in the northwest and that is lightning which often accompanies summer thunderstorms.  I believe we had more thunderstorms early summer (and one again last week) than I’ve seen before here in this area. As long as you are in a safe location they are pretty awesome to watch. These blinding veins of glowing air and the accompanying booming thunder are reminders of the brilliant purity and unimaginable power of our Lord God.
     “We do not completely understand the mechanics of lightning and how God creates it or why He uses these powerful rivers of electricity to pierce the sky with the searing heat and brilliant light left in the wake as it tunnels its way through the atmosphere. A lightning bolt can reach a temperature of 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit–five times as hot as the surface of the sun!  That heat causes the air to violently explode as it expands sending out a shockwave of thunder in all directions. Compared to man-made electricity, the power of a thunderstorm is staggering. A single bolt of lightning can deliver an electrical punch of 100 million volts and 100,000 amps. The violent turbulence of a thunderhead, with its powerful updrafts and swirling downdrafts, is what creates the potential for lightning. Like a dam breaking under a surge of water, an electrically-charged thunderhead bursts open, plunging electrons down toward earth. A brilliant rush of light then travels upwards of 60,000 miles per second (greater than 200 million miles per hour), followed by a deafening flood of sound. The current of electricity that causes a lightning flash may travel many miles through the air but is only an inch in diameter–as a result, most lightning appears to be slender and thin. Jesus fashions each bolt with several distinct upward strokes. These strokes move so quickly that our eyes cannot tell them apart. What we do see is a ‘flickering’ to the lightning flash.”  (Information taken from His Nature, issue 2, by Tyndale House Publishers). 
     After Job’s long ordeal of suffering and loss, one of his counselors, Elihu, spoke and described the “unknowableness” of God in His mighty power. He uses thunder and lightning as an illustration: “Listen closely to the thunder of His voice, and the rumbling that goes out from His mouth. Under the whole heaven He lets it loose, and His lightning to the ends of the earth. After it, a voice roars; He thunders with His majestic voice; and He does not restrain the lightnings when His voice is heard. God thunders with His voice wondrously, doing great things which we cannot comprehend” (Job 37:2-5). Then God finally speaks to Job out of a whirlwind, guiding him on a panoramic sweep of nature, showing Job the vastness of the mind of God and smallness of mortal man. He mentions laying the foundations of the earth, enclosing the seas, forming the clouds, causing the earth to spin to provide day and night and season, bringing forth springs in the seas. He speaks of storehouses of the snow and hail, and wind currents. Then He also mentions how He made “a way for the thunderbolt” (Job 38, esp. v. 25). 
     Jesus even used lightning as an illustration for His return in glory to the earth. “For just as the lightning comes from the east, and flashes even to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be” (Mt. 24:27).  He goes on to explain that at the end of the Tribulation, the sun and the moon will be darkened and the powers of heaven shaken, “and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky…coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory” (vv. 29,30).  The sky will be completely dark when Christ returns in all His glorious, radiant light to reign as “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Rev. 19:16).  Several passages in the book of Revelation describe a close mingling of lightning with the holy presence of God (Rev. 4:5; 8:5; 11:19; 16:18).  Christ’s holiness can be understood as his “absolute purity”  and his “otherworldliness.” God is without sin, and is utterly different from us (Isa. 55:8). In this sense, lightning is an apt reflection of God’s holy character–lightning is composed of pure electrons and nothing else. The lightning we experience against the darkened sky is the afterglow of a stream of electricity tunneling its way through the air, creating heat and light as it goes. We don’t see the electricity itself. Similarly, no one has seen God either, but God the Son, Jesus Christ, “He has explained (declared) Him” (Jn. 1:18).  If we want to know our Creator we must look to the brilliance of Jesus Christ, who “is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature” (Heb. 1:3).  There is no other way to see our invisible God.
     The effects of electricity and lightning are stunning, to be sure, but the Son of God possesses infinitely greater beauty and power. Some people are frightened by lightning and thunder, and that’s understandable. But we are all amazed by it and hopefully, these “flickers” of God’s glory will inspire us with a deeper wonder of our Creator as we contemplate trembling with joy and awe one day as we stand before the breathtaking throne of our loving and holy Lord.
 
                                                Forever His,
                                                        Pastor Dave
    
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Sticking With It

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Pastor Dave

 We had the privilege this Sunday at Faith Bible Church in Libby of hearing from and visiting with missionaries Jim and Louise Morris. They were friends of my wife’s family long before we even met and have been supported by Faith Bible for more than fifty years!  The Morrises went to the mountains of northern Thailand with Overseas Missionary Fellowship (OMF) in 1957 to work among the Pwo Karen  (po-ka-ren’) tribe. The Pwo Karen are a small part of the larger ethnic group known as Karen. The term Karen covers a large group of people in Thailand and Burma who are divided into three main groups. Several million Pwo Karen lived in Burma (Myanmar), which was closed to missionaries, but some 50,000 lived in Thailand along the Thai-Burma border. There were no Christians among the Pwo in Thailand. They had no Bibles, no churches, and no written languages among them. Two OMF couples had worked briefly among the Pwo but had to leave for various reasons.  One other couple, Ed and Norma Lee Hudspith were working with the Pwo when Jim and Louise arrived to help them.

     The work was very challenging and discouraging as they struggled to learn some five dialects of Pwo Karen and to battle the spiritual stranglehold of Satan through the practices of animism and Buddhism. Finally one Thai lady left the domain of darkness and committed her life to Christ. In December of 1965 they held a baptismal service for five new tribal believers.  These were from five different families scattered throughout the mountains.  Yet, that seemed like not much to show for some eight years of work.  But Jim and Louise remained faithful to the task.  They were home in the states soon after and Jim told someone that after ten years and after learning five languages, they had only five Christian families scattered throughout northern Thailand. Someone responded, “But, it’s only been ten years. Usually it takes at least 18 when you have to learn the culture and the language and translate it for them!”
     The Morrises spent some 33 years working with the Karen people and when they left, there were more than 2,000 believers. As the Apostle Paul wrote in I Cor. 3:7, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.”  In Thailand, some had planted, some had watered and God began providing the increase. But, the story continues. Because of the turmoil in Burma, many refugees, through our government, have been granted legal immigrant status to the United States and located throughout the country. One group is located in Gresham, Oregon where they now have a very growing church of at least 200 people with a born-again Thai pastor. Jim showed us a video of the ministries of the church and it was very moving and challenging to see the excitement of these folks for life in the United States with its freedoms as well as their new-found freedom in Christ. They love to sing and many of them learn to play guitars. They are learning English and are doing so through reading the Bible and through Christian hymns and choruses. They are also very evangelistic, and are constantly introducing others to Christ. It seems that God has brought Pwo Karen missionaries to our country–and we need it!
     But, just think. What if Jim and Louise had become discouraged and given up? What if they hadn’t stayed when it seemed that there would be no breakthrough?  They knew the pain of years of labor without fruit. But, because they, and others,  were faithful to plant and water, God gave–and is giving–the increase!  The Apostle Paul, and he should know, wrote: “And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary” (Gal. 6:9). It must be so rewarding to the Morrises to see the fruit of their many years of labor. In fact, since they live now in Salem, Oregon, they go up to the Portland area most Sundays to worship with the Pwo Karen people. How encouraging for them to see firsthand what God is doing among these people who lived so long in spiritual darkness but now are experiencing the glorious light of their new lives in Christ. Some of the Pwo Karen who have come to the States and have become believers are going back to their people as missionaries.  Jo Dee and Tony Dee have started an FM Christian radio station in Thailand to broadcast the gospel and Christian music to the tribal people in Thailand and Burma.
     Hanging tough over the long haul still pays the richest dividends and brings the greatest joy.  Many of you may have watched the NBC special history documentary during the Olympics with Tom Brokow.  It detailed the events about Winston Churchill and Great Britain when they were under attack by Germany and it looked like they might not survive without the United States’ help. Winston Churchill made many attempts to convince President Roosevelt to help them. But the U.S. people were still recovering from WW I and really didn’t want to get involved. Churchill, who was an interesting character to say the least, was very resolute. He really lived by a speech that he made which became quite famous. He said: “Never give in! Never give in! Never! Never! Never! In anything great or small, large or petty–never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.”  (By the way, the United States did get involved in WW II. Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese!).
     I don’t know if Sir Winston Churchill was familiar with the epistles of Paul, but his statement was a fairly close parallel to another challenge Paul gave: “Therefore my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord” (I Cor. 15:58).
     Whatever work you are doing for the Lord, it is always too soon to quit. Don’t give up. Hang in there. Trust God for the results. He is the one who gives the increase, in His time.
 
                                Forever His,
                                     Pastor Dave
 
P.S. Check out Louise Morris’s book Stronger than the Strong–available from OMF International.
 
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Running to Win

Posted on August 13, 2012 by Pastor Dave

  So have you been staying up too late for the past couple weeks watching the summer Olympics from London?  I can see you nodding your head. Ours are nodding too. Probably many of us are suffering from sleep deprivation, but since the Olympics only come every four years, and because it is so fun to watch our nation’s best athletes compete against the rest of the world in such a variety of events, and because it is a time for great patriotism and pride in our country, we sacrifice a bit of sleep to watch the Olympic coverage.  Many of us I’m sure were praying that the Christians who were competing would be bold in sharing their faith when given opportunity to do so, and many did before the many millions who were watching and listening. Our prayer now is that the seeds planted by them and by Christian ministries which were there in London may bear fruit in many lives.

     As always, the athletes faced both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. It’s hard to imagine the disappointment to those who had trained so hard for so many months (most for years), only to come up short, or maybe to be disqualified by a false start, or to step out of bounds on a floor exercise in an otherwise flawless routine in gymnastics.  While some Olympians were jumping for joy, others were crumpled and in tears. 
     One of the most exciting events for us was the final men’s diving competition, the 10 meter platform. The favorite to win was, of course, a Chinese diver, Qui Bo who was the reigning world champion (The Chinese had already won 6 of the 7 gold medals in diving). The crowd favorite who was considered Bo’s chief competition was local British hero, Tom Daley.  David Boudia of the United States, who had placed 10th in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, barely made the cut, finishing 18th after the preliminary round. He managed to finish 3rd after the semifinal round.
    The finals were filled with emotion and drama and a packed house that was pulling for the local hero, Tom Daley who was considered the one to give Qui Bo the most competition for the gold medal. But after the sixth and final dive of the round, it was David Boudia who ended up with the gold, beating Qui Bo by a narrow 1.8 points, Tom Daley taking the bronze medal. It was the first gold for the U.S. in the 10 meter platform since Greg Louganis dived in 1988. Greg, who has become a mentor to our divers, had the privilege of being there to witness the amazing finish.
     After barely squeaking through the preliminary round, Boudia was interviewed for NBC, and shared that he knew God is sovereign and that the outcome is in His hands.  In another interview, David shared that as a young boy he was scared of heights–in fact petrified, and when he first got up on the 10 meter platform it took some bribing from his mom topersuade him to dive from there. But, as he began to rely more on the Lord, he found a greater peace within–which surely was demonstrated in the London Olympic competition. During his interview with Bob Costas later, he said that the most important thing in his life was his faith (in Christ).  I’m sure we will hear much more in the future both about and from David Boudia.
     The Apostle Paul apparently had an interest in sports, particularly the Isthmian Games which were held every two years near Corinth, Greece and served as the beginning of our modern Olympics. He often made reference to athletic competition as an illustration of our Christian walk. When writing to the Corinthian believers he said, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the games exercises self control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified” (I Cor. 9:24-27).  At that time the winners of the competitions received, not medals, but a wreath (or crown) of greenery which would soon wilt.
     When you think of how much effort and training and sacrifice goes into just qualifying for the Olympics with the hopes of receiving a medal which is just a temporal, material possession, how much more should we who know Christ be motivated to be disciplined and striving to give God our all, knowing that our rewards in heaven are not temporal but eternal.  That’s why Jesus told His followers during His Sermon on the Mount: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in or steal” (Mt. 6:19,20.  That’s why the writer to the Hebrew believers wrote this: “…lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith…” (Heb. 12:1,2). 
     Paul did that, and when it came to the end of his life, shortly before being executed by Nero and the Romans, he wrote this to his understudy, Timothy: “…the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing”‘
(II Tim. 4:6-8). 
     And, you don’t have to be the most talented, the most gifted, the best educated to win. You just need to be faithful and trustworthy (I Cor. 4:2).  When Paul describes the Judgment Seat (Bema) of Christ at which we as believers will all give an account of our lives, he says that God will “test the quality of each man’s work” ( I Cor. 3:13).  He doesn’t say God will test the quantity, but the quality of our work. God is looking for faithfulness to what He calls us to do, whether in our eyes, or from the view of others, it is a big or a little task.  If we are going to “run to win” we must remain faithful to Him. And, as thrilling as it is to stand on the gold medal platform and hear your national anthem sung as the flag is raised, just imagine how much more fulfilling it will be to one day hear from the One who made us and redeemed us, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Mt. 25:21)!
 
 
                            Forever His,
                                Pastor Dave
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Horray for Chick-fil-A!

Posted on August 7, 2012 by Pastor Dave

One of the hot news items of the past couple weeks, other than the Olympics in London, has been the uproar caused by a simple statement made by Dan Cathy, CEO of Chick-fil-A to the Baptist Press that his family-owned company “operates on biblical principles,” and therefore “supports the traditional family.” He spoke out and now he and Chick-fil-A are paying the price. Many voices of the media and government are lashing out–and seeking to intimidate and bully Chick-fil-A and anyone who shares their views, to keep them to themselves. For example, an Alderman in Chicago is seeking to block Chick-fil-A from opening an already-planned restaurant in the city. He has declared that Chick-fil-A’s position is “bigoted” and “homophobic” and that the company discriminates against homosexuals, which is a crazy, baseless charge. But, the mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, is backing the Alderman, and told CBS, “Chick-fil-A’s values are into Chicago values…And if you’re going to be a part of the Chicago community, you should reflect Chicago values.”

     So, are all the churches, mosques, synagogues and all who hold to biblical principles for the sanctity of marriage being between one man and one woman supposed to pack up and leave town? The mayors of Boston, Washington D.C, and San Francisco made similar declarations to that of Chicago’s mayor. Wow, we have come to the place in our blessed nation with its Judeo-Christian roots that if you dare say you believe that marriage is between a man and a woman only, you run the real risk of being called a “homophobe,” a “bigot,” and a “hatemonger.” And, if you own a business and take such a stand, you may well be targeted.
     But I say, “Good for you, Dan Cathy. May your tribe increase!!”  Do you and I have the courage in our convictions to defend marriage, the sanctity of human life, to defend free speech, to defend freedom of religion? Do our freedoms and faith matter more to us than the opinions of others? Will we allow our reputations and our profits to suffer before we will allow our freedoms to erode? Chuck Colson once said “a  free society can remain free only so long as dissent is tolerated, only so long as opinions and ideas can be debated freely in the public square.”  Amen!  We have no choice but to speak out. Not to lash out, not to be hateful and contentious, but to speak out winsomely yet firmly, to “Speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15).
     And, since when can the mayor decide for the whole city? Isn’t he to be the servant of the people of Chicago who elected him? How can a servant’s value rule the value of the whole city? Who gave him the authority of doing such? It’s time the people of Chicago told the mayor not to mess with the unauthorized ruling based on his personal view and to be the humble public servant he is supposed to be.  How about letting the people of Chicago decide if they want a Chick-fil-A or not. (If not, hey, we would love to have one built in our hometown!)
     The declarations of the mayors against Chick-fil-A caused quite an outrage from the public and last Wednesday was declared “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.”  Although there were big crowds, long drive-through lines and record sales at the chain’s stores, most news media ignored the positive response to the stand Dan Cathy took.  Interestingly, even a number of openly gay folks showed up as well to dine at Chick-fil-A in support of the owner’s freedom of speech (according to the first amendment) to express his personal values on marriage.  A group called “Grassfire Nation” collected nearly 100,000 signatures which they have presented to the mayors of Boston, Chicago, Washington and San Francisco as well as to the Chick-fil-A headquarters. 
     Interesting how liberal leaders preach “tolerance” and yet are very “intolerant” of those who speak up for biblical and Christian values.  Interesting, but not surprising. Jesus warned us that this would be the case. He said, “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you…If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (Jn. 15:18-20).  It is just sad that we see this happening in our own country, which for so long stood for biblical values. Now we see the expression of those values under attack. But, we must not withdraw and stop voicing our convictions. It is a time in which we desperately need to, as Dan Cathy, speak out for what we believe. Hooray for Chik-fil-A.  May we all have the boldness to do the same.
 
                                            Forever His,
                                                Pastor Dave
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