Time Flies... So Live! Happy New Year!

By adulthood virtually everyone recognizes the phenomenon of time seeming to speed up and pass more rapidly. Of course, we all know time does not speed up. But it really does feel like it.

As young adults we find ourselves saying things like this, “Wow that month flew by fast!” Or, “where did the summer go?”

But as we get older we talk about the swift passage of even larger measures of time. “Man, 2015 is over already? I still didn’t get that sock drawer straightened up like I resolved to do in January.”

I don’t mean to frighten the younger people who are reading this post, but I’m at a point in life at which I can actually look back at entire decades… yes, you read that right DECADES… and speak of them passing quickly.

“My 40s flew by in a blur.”

(I realize I’m inviting wisecracks about my advanced age from some of you young punks!  …And by the way, get off of my lawn!)

So what should we do?

Answer: Don’t let the years fly by and be haunted with regret. Try things. Go places. Take a chance. Meet new people. Go out on a limb. Say “yes” to adventure. Say “yes” to new experiences. Say “yes” to God’s open doors.

In other words, LIVE!

Happy New Year! I hope 2016 is joyful, prosperous, meaningful, adventurous, productive and…yes, fun!

God bless you all!

Keep Giving It A Shot...Life Is Worth It

If it was possible for me to remember and write down all of the times I have failed at things that mattered to me in life, it would probably take up most of the internet and leave very little space for anything else online.

Reading about my numerous failures would either make you fall on the floor laughing or start crying like a baby…or, perhaps, both.

(Okay, I will grudgingly admit some of my failures have been mildly amusing)

You might say, “Then why don’t you just stop trying, Dan? That would be easier, wouldn’t it?”

Yes, in some ways it would be easier to stop trying. And that option has occurred to me. Life can be incredibly frustrating, sometimes.

But I keep believing dreams are possible.

I keep believing life involves trying and ultimately life it is worth it.

And I keep believing God wants us to engage, God wants us to try and God wants us to live.

Furthermore, I believe God has some surprises for me that make me want to keep trusting in Him, giving it a shot and seeing what happens.

The Importance And Value Of A Humble Spirit

When Jesus took on human form He became vulnerable, weak and defenseless. This was an extraordinary form of humiliation.

I have an inclination to greatly resist humility. Jesus reminds me of the importance and value of a humble spirit.

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” James 3:13

The Creator Enters Into His Own Creation

It is strange to think about the Creator entering into His own creation.

Why do this?

Why not just let us duke it out here on this spinning ball and live with the consequences of our own decisions and actions?

Christmas helps us understand He really does care about us. We matter enough that He set aside His divine privileges and entered into the fray.

“‘And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’

All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

‘Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
 She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,

which means ‘God is with us.’”

Matthew 1:21-23

Merry Christmas!

P.S. If you are in the Chicago area please join us at our Christmas Eve service.

First Church of God

4600 W. 111th Street

Oak Lawn, IL

Christmas Eve service, 9pm

E-Flash From Dan, 12/23/15

Dear E-Flash Friends;

Christmas Eve is always one of my favorite services of the year. Beautiful candlelight, lovely Christmas carols and a celebration of the birth of the Lord Jesus.

“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.’” Luke 2:13&14

We will be joining in with the great angelic rejoicing which first occurred on that night long ago!

I hope you can be with us. At the worship team rehearsal we all walked away feeling like the service is going to be special. The service time is 9pm.

Love, blessings and Merry Christmas!

Dan

First Church of God

4600 W. 111^th Street

Oak Lawn, IL

The Importance of Authentic Christianity

Sometimes when Christian ministers—like myself—speak it doesn’t connect with people and what we say does not resonate as truth because they can tell we have not been tested and the reality of God in us is not deep, significant and undeniable.

People are savvy and they can tell if we’re just spewing a lot of hot air.

Prayer: Lord, help me to actually know you in such a way that the truth people see in me is You in a way which is authentic, attractive and clearly evident. 

A Solution To Our Most Fundamental Problem

A key reason why Christmas brings joy is because Jesus came and provided a solution to one of the most fundamental problems human beings face. Because of His mercy and grace, He makes it possible for people who are separated from God to connect with God.

We will be talking about this important and encouraging truth today at our Christmas services. If you are in the Chicago area I invite you to please come and join us!

Merry Christmas!

First Church of God

4600 W. 111^th Street

Oak Lawn, IL

Service times: 9am and 11am

Before "Outside-The-Box Thinking" Was Around

There are all kinds of things which were once thought to be impossible but now they exist. For example, almost everyone reading this post has a device in their pocket that can perform functions which would have been considered outside the realm of possibility even 75 years ago.

Think about telling a person in 1940, “Seventy five years from now I will have a small device in my pocket—which will be unconnected to any wires—and I will be able to speak the name of a destination into that device. The device will then give me precise verbal directions to the destination.”

The person would have been likely to tell you, “I doubt it.” Ironically, a smarter and better educated person would have been more capable of providing legitimate reasons why such a thing would not be possible.

But here we are in 2015 and we practically take such a miracle for granted. In fact we are irritated if our phone’s GPS service is a little slower than it ought to be.

Think about this: Much of what exists in terms of technological achievement, if we go back in history far enough, would have been considered impossible.

Long ago—way before cell phones—God was challenging us to think in terms of possibilities. With His help; His guidance; His insight; His encouragement; His power and an understanding that He is not limited in the ways we are; utilizing the intellect and the skills He has given us; God wants us to consider impossibilities to be mountains which are capable of being moved.

God was encouraging outside-the-box thinking, based on faith in Him, long before the phrase “outside-the-box” had been coined.

“I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” Jesus, Matthew 17:20

E-Flash From Dan, December 17, 2015

Dear E-Flash Friends;

I was on the C.S. Lewis Institute website yesterday and was reminded that Lewis referred to the Incarnation [the coming of Jesus] as the “Grand Miracle.” Lewis calls the Incarnation the Grand Miracle because all of the other miracles of Jesus’ life—including the resurrection—were only possible because of the Incarnation.

“…[A]ll the well-established Christian miracles are part of it [the Incarnation]… they all either prepare for, or exhibit, or result from the Incarnation.” C.S. Lewis

The fact that the Lord Jesus would set aside His divine privileges and enter into His creation as a humble, defenseless, human baby is so staggering that it is impossible for us to even grasp the full implications of this extraordinary event. According to the Bible, He did this because of His great love for us. That makes it even better!

We will be celebrating this wonderful event—the birth of Jesus—at the services this Sunday, December 20^th, 9am or 11am.

The worship team is planning a terrific program for us and I am working diligently on a message which will express the Joy of this Good News! I am praying the joy spoken of by the angel to the shepherds on that momentous night long ago will be communicated in such a way that it will come alive in you and me.

You won’t want to miss our time together this Sunday! It will truly be a blessing.

Hey, I’ve got a great idea. Why not take a risk and invite someone? People who may not typically go to church are likely to go to church at Christmas time if they are invited. Let’s invite and see what God does.

I’m looking forward to seeing you!

Love and blessings,

Dan

Restoration and Healing of a Broken Relationship Requires Both Parties

If a relationship is broken, one of the parties can honestly offer forgiveness from his/her heart even if the other party is unwilling to participate in the process. However, restoration of the relationship cannot occur if only one party is willing to participate in the process.

We can put it this way: It is possible for forgiveness to be offered with only one party participating, however, restoration and healing will require both parties to be involved.

People Can Be A Challenge

Sometimes I just don’t want to give people a break because I’m irritated, angry, frustrated and hurt by what I perceive to be their nonsense and even their antagonistic behavior. People can be a challenge, can't they?

But what I’ve learned from God is people who have been shown mercy and grace ought to be willing to extend mercy and grace to others. It is the right thing for mercy and grace recipients to do.

So then the question becomes: “Hey Dan, have you been shown mercy and grace?”

And of course the answer is: God has been more merciful and gracious to me than I could ever possibly be to another person. Therefore, with His help I extend mercy and grace and even as I do so I realize it is the right thing to do.

This does not mean I reject the truth. God will never ask us to abandon the truth. Ever. It means that even as I recognize the truth I lovingly offer mercy and grace, too.

Yia Yia Palooza and My Bruce Lee Present

At Yia Yia Palooza, this evening, I enjoyed the singing, the joke-telling, the dancing, the outstanding story-telling and the “all in” commitment of the worship team’s version of 12 Days of Christmas. (This version of the 12 Days of Christmas was fun, hilarious and just a tiny bit puzzling all at the same time. It was surely the most entertaining version of the song I’ve seen.)

But one of my favorite moments of the night came after the program was over and Faith walked up to me holding out a gift bag.

I said, “What is this?”

She said, “It’s for you.”

“For me?” I asked.

“Yes, it’s a Christmas present.”

I reached into the bag with curiosity and pulled out a Bruce Lee figurine collector’s item.

“This is AWESOME!!!” I cried out in joy. That’s right, joy! Just like we’ve been talking about at church for the past few weeks.

Ahhh… the magic of Christmas.

The Staggering Mind of God

There are decisions we could have made in life but instead we chose to do something else. Instead of choosing A, B or C we chose D.

What if we would have chosen A, B or C instead of D? What would have happened? What chain of consequences would have been set into effect? What different choices would other people have made as a result of our changed course of action and what would be the effect of those choices?

It is beyond our ability to know such things.

The scenario I have presented only involves one person’s decisions and four possible choices. In reality, we could multiply the future possibilities described above to involve every person on earth and rather than four choices, the choices would be much wider.

Now, who could possibly know the virtually limitless possible future scenarios?

No one. Right? It is ridiculous to even suggest that anyone could have such knowledge.

Except God. Think of how extraordinary a mind would have to be to actually know how all of the future contingencies resulting from billions of humans exercising free will would actually play out. In the truest sense of this term, it is “mindboggling.”

What is described above doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface, however, it is a tiny little glimpse into the awesome breadth and brilliance of the mind of God.

“Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.” Psalm 145:3

Not Ashamed of Christ

In my studies I am sometimes reminded that there are people who have paid a serious price for their commitment to Christ.

When this reminder comes my way it is not unusual for me to recall that there have been times in my life when I was reluctant or even embarrassed to stand up for Christ because I did not want to be thought of as one of those “religious fanatics” who is a little too far out there with this Jesus-stuff.

Believe me, I am not proud of this. It is an embarrassing admission of weakness. You see, I did not want to risk being teased or mocked. I did not want to be thought of as un-cool [which is ironic because I’ve never really been cool in the first place, but I didn’t realize it].

This is not very good, huh? People have been willing to stand up to torture and execution—they’ve literally been killed—for the cause of Christ and I’ve been unwilling to face a little bit of teasing.

Please understand I’m not trying to force my beliefs on others. I realize it is not possible for me to make people embrace something they do not want to believe. And I realize a number of people who read this do not see things the way I do. But I post a good bit about my faith in Christ because of the extraordinary influence He has had on my life and the lives of many others whom I know and love. Also, because I have come to a place in my life in which I feel no shame regarding the truth of Jesus and who He is and what He has done. I am not embarrassed by Him, I am proud and honored to know Him.

Oh, and there is this factor, too: I have a greater understanding of the inevitability of truth.

“For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes…”  Romans 1:16 [NLT]

Acts Of Kindness Done In Private

Because of the work I do as a pastor I am sometimes aware of charitable help, acts of love and grace, and other forms service people do for others which are, basically, done in secret.

It is certainly true that there is trouble in our world and the turmoil and problems typically make headlines. Bad news is more compelling and sensational than good news.

But be assured there is good news, too. Every day people perform wonderful acts kindness, goodness and assistance to others. Often those who are doing good do not want to call attention to themselves. They are not engaging in these actions in order to receive praise from others. The reason for their virtuous behavior goes deeper than a simple desire for accolades.

It’s not that I am unwilling to face reality. I know that the world is fallen. But I am also aware that there is light.

These quiet givers of mercy and grace are often mindful of something Jesus said…

“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” Matthew 6:1-4

We Are God's Masterpiece!

It is exciting and encouraging to think we were created by God very intentionally and purposefully. We are not random accidents or mistakes. In fact, of everything throughout the universe God has created we are considered His crowning achievement. We, alone, are made in His image. We are His “masterpiece.”

(I know, there are some days I do not feel like such a masterpiece, either. After all, I have a mirror. But who am I to argue with God?)

Here’s a passage from the Bible which addresses the matter: “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10

We're On Our Way

As we were boarding our very full flight Nadia noticed a seat at the very front of the plane was open.

She said, "You should grab that seat!"

It's helpful for me to have some leg room because I have a slightly higher chance than the average person of having blood clots.

I said, "That seat has to be taken already."

Nadia said, "Ask if it's taken."

So I looked at the woman sitting next to the open seat and I asked, "Is that seat taken?"

She seemed incredibly disappointed to hear me ask, but with reluctance and great sadness in her eyes she slowly nodded her head indicating the seat was open.

Wow! Jackpot! A seat in the very front of the plane even though it was already mostly full! I sat down and immediately took off my shoes and socks.

(Not really. I wrote that last sentence for those who are familiar with "Planes Trains & Automobiles.")

So we are on our way to a very distant destination for a very short time

An Interesting Conversation With My Doctor At His Office

I had an appointment with a doctor yesterday and after we dealt with medical issues my doctor—who knows I am a pastor—began talking with me about matters of faith. This physician is a sincerely devoted Christian who is not only a highly skilled and respected medical practitioner but he can also speak very knowledgeably about Christian doctrine.

At one point, I was sitting on the examination table talking with the doctor about the implications for salvation which are revealed to us in the story of Jesus’ conversation with the thief on the cross and I inwardly chuckled as I thought about what was happening. I was talking with a certain measure of expertise—biblically speaking—about the condition of a man’s heart with a physician whose medical specialty involves the heart. (Of course, I was speaking of the heart in a spiritual sense and his expertise has to do with the physical organ in our chest.)

I thought, “Well, this is probably not the typical cardiologist/patient examination room conversation.”

As the visit drew to a close he said, “You’re doing very well.”

I stood, we shook hands and I said, “So are you, doc.”

We laughed.

Then I went to the cashier’s station at the office and saw the bill and I wasn’t laughing quite as much. In fact, I felt some slight discomfort in my chest.

(Just kidding.)

I did not intentionally select this doctor and seek him out based on a trusted recommendation. I am connected with him as a result of an emergency room visit to a local hospital. It all seems very random but I wonder: Is it possible God arranged for me to have a doctor who would navigate my medical needs with great competence and who would minister to my soul, as well?

I think it is.

P.S. I was told I had lost 3 pounds since my last visit to this office, in early June. I honestly do not know how this is possible. (It may involve the low-cal offerings on the Taco Bell menu.) I was fairly certain I had gained at least a couple of pounds since my last visit. Apparently God has rigged the scale at this office so I won’t get yelled at again.

P.P.S I’m not very certain about the theological implications of my “God-rigged-the-scale” theory. But that’s what I’m going with, for now.

Let's Stop Being So Thin-Skinned

Sometimes I hear or read things with which I disagree, or, I encounter something which casts groups with whom I am affiliated in a negative light and I find myself thinking, “Hey, what’s going on here? This is not fair. The person(s) responsible for that communication need to apologize. That bothers me!”

But then—when I’m thinking right—this type of realization occurs to me, “Hey, relax. People are allowed to express opinions even if you don’t agree with them. Lighten up. Everyone doesn’t think the same way you do. Everyone doesn’t see the world the same way you do. Don’t be a baby.”

My dear friends, I honestly believe it will be in our own best interests for all of us to stop being so overly sensitive. (Including me.) Also it will help us to stop treating everyone like wimps who cannot handle any type of disagreement with their views and opinions, or any criticism of groups with whom they may be associated.

Please understand, I am not endorsing disrespectful, dishonest, hateful language. I believe it is important for us to be loving, gracious and respectful toward each other. I really do.

Also, I am not writing this post in anger. I would honestly like to be helpful. I am concerned. I write this in an effort to offer some thoughts about the general direction of our culture. It seems we are becoming overly sensitive, unable to confront any type of communication which might challenge our thinking or point-of-view. This inability to hear any challenge to our position on matters will not serve us well.

Of course, this cultural over-sensitivity is only likely to change if people will stop claiming to be victimized by any minor remark with which they disagree. As I admitted earlier, I know the feeling. I don’t like hearing ideas that challenge my positions. It is easy to feel defensive and cry, “You can’t say that! I’m very delicate!” But come on, we can handle some differing opinions once in a while, can’t we?

In the book of Acts there is a story about Paul debating Epicurean and Stoic philosophers while he was in Athens. It also mentions that Paul went out to speak in the public square “daily.” In other words, he was sharing the gospel message with people who had not heard it before. He was using reason, logic and sharing evidence from his own eyewitness testimony. Everyone did not believe him. Everyone did not agree with him. In one passage we are told the philosophers said this about Paul: “What’s this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he’s picked up?” (Acts 17:18)

Paul did not respond to these comments by crying and trying to create a safe zone in which no one could respond in ways that challenged what he was saying. He did not say, “They called me a babbler. That’s it, I’m going to get a lawyer.”

He kept on going back and talking, listening, reasoning, debating. He realized everyone would not agree with him. Reasonable, mature adults understand this reality.

I acknowledge that some language can be incredibly mean, hurtful, inappropriate, rude, irresponsible, offensive and even destructive. Again, I am not condoning such behavior. But I’m concerned we are becoming too small, too weak, too insular and too willing to be sheltered from differing ideas and opinions.

We need to be bigger than this. I say this with love: Our culture needs to grow up.