Discerning God’s Will (Romans 12:1-2; Philippians 2:12-13) by Rev. Dr. Alan W. Deuel

In a scene from one of my favorite movies, Pirates of the Caribbean, pirates Ragetti and Pintel are in a longboat on the open sea.  Having just escaped from jail, they are headed for Cannibal Island in search of Jack Sparrow's ship The Black Pearl.  Ragetti is seated in the back of the boat reading a Bible which he is holding upside-down.  He pauses for a moment and says, "Well, I says it was divine providence what escaped us from jail."

Pintel responds, "And I say it was me bein' clever." There is a dog in the front of the boat, holding a set of keys in its mouth and Pintel says, "Ain't that right, poochie?"   Ragetti asks, “Well, how'dya know it weren't divine providence what inspired you to be clever?"  Pintel is clearly dumbfounded by the intelligent question, so to deflect it he says: "You know you can't read and besides it’s upside down."  Ragetti retorts, "It's the Bible, You get credit for trying."

This humorous scene helps to frame the longstanding debate:  “I say it's God's providence that rules our lives, no, I say it’s me being clever.”  God's will verses human free will.  We look at this world, with life and death, with its joy and sadness, with good and evil, with its justice and injustice, with health and illness, with loyalty and betrayal, with the thrill of success and the agony of failure and we wonder.  If we are honest, we acknowledge our own fickle selves in the light of this question.  Like the man who was having personal problems who prayed:  “Lord, I’m ready to change my life.  All I want is to do is your will.”  Later, when his situation had greatly improved, he said:  “Lord, about that prayer the other day, never mind.”

Have you ever prayed, “Lord, show me your will.”  “Lord, I want to follow your will in my life.”  I have.  I cannot stress this Biblical mandate enough – God desires for you and me to seek, to know and to follow His Will.   God wants us to open our hearts and minds to His Will in all times and in all places and in all our years.   We are never too young or too old.

What is God’s will?  This is the question we are addressing today and next week.  Will it answer all the questions you’ve ever had on this subject?  I doubt it.  But it will give you some biblical insights.  Next week, we shall address the more specific question, “How do I discern God’s will in my life?” 

The subject of God’s will isn't simple, it always involves mystery.   Scripture teaches that we live in a context of conflicting wills.  There is our will, other people's wills, Satan's will and God's will.   So we have a challenge ever before us, to discern God's will amidst this reality.  Further, scripture says that God's will is at work not only in human lives, but in the cosmos and in history, in the destiny of nations.  And so we look at the world today, at the relationships between the nation of Israel and the Arab nations, in the relationships between moderate Muslims and radical or extremist Muslims, in the relationships between America and these and other nations and we declare that God's will is at work and God's plans and purposes will prevail.

In the Lord's Prayer Jesus speaks about the Will of God. “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  God’s Will or Kingdom has existed in the past, it is a reality today, and it is coming in the future, so we should pray for God’s Kingdom or God’s will to be done.

In the letter of Romans, we read: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  We must be careful to prayerfully discern God's will vis-a-vis the world's will, or the message of our culture, and not get caught up in thinking they are one and the same.

These biblical passages are comforting.  They are hope-filled.  They affirm a truth.  God's sovereign and powerful will is at work in this world and in our lives.  God’s will is not simply a wish-fulfillment or fantasy.  God’s will occurs here and now, it’s a reality today and happens on earth as in heaven.

This biblical truth means that you and I are not merely pawns in life, helpless victims of capricious and impersonal forces over which we have no control.  Life is not fatalistic. We are not victims of fatalism, a blind amoral force which we call fate.  God's will is present and active and God has given us a free will to seek and follow His will in our lives.   Conversely, we also have the freedom to disobey God.    

Is everything that happens in life God’s will?   Predeterminism.   This is one interpretation of God's will.  Everything that happens is God's will, that is, it has been predetermined by God.  Do you believe that?  If a child dies in an accident is it God’s will?  If a person is diagnosed with cancer is it God’s will?  If you or I do something foolish, something stupid, which we later regret, it is God’s will?  As a Christian and pastor I believe the answer is no.  For we live in a context of conflicting wills.  Jesus acknowledges the existence of Satan, of human sinfulness, of a fallen creation and of accidents which occur in life.

Jesus clearly stated that things happen which are not the will of God.   In 2 Peter we read:  “It is not God’s will that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”   Jesus does not tell sick people that their illnesses are God’s will; Jesus heals them.  Jesus does not say to the crowds that hunger is God’s will; Jesus feeds them.  Jesus does not tell a man with leprosy that his disease is God’s will; Jesus cures him.  Jesus does not tell a man who is possessed by an evil spirit that its God’s will; Jesus frees the man from the spirit. 

I have found the book titled The Will of God helpful in thinking about the question of God’s Will.  The author divides the concept of the Will of God into three aspects – the Intentional will of God, the Circumstantial will of God and the Ultimate will of God. 

First, God’s Intentional Will means God’s original plan for creation, God’s purpose in creating the world and human beings.  This was before things went south after the Fall.  God created people: to love Him and obey Him with heart, soul, strength, and mind and love their neighbor as themselves, to worship God alone, rather than self or idols, for people to be whole - spiritually, relationally, physically, and emotionally rather than broken, to treat one another with fairness and respect and dignity, to make and nurture new disciples of Jesus Christ, to live together as the People of God, for people to lead holy and moral lives, to help the poor rather than neglecting or exploiting the poor, to work for justice, for people to find salvation in Jesus Christ, to care for the earth rather than exploit it, for people to gain knowledge and learn rather than live in ignorance, and for people to live a meaningful and joyful and fulfilling life in God.   

Some Biblical examples: Micah 6:8 says: “God has told you what is good, and what does the Lord require of you, to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.”   I Thessalonians says: “See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.  Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  I John says: “Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.  If we love one another God lives in us and his love is perfected in us.”  God’s Intentional Will is clear and understandable and noble. 

Second, God’s Circumstantial Will refers to the assurance that God's Spirit and power and grace is present with us, that is, in and under and through all circumstances.  Here is where we most often encounter mystery. This is the aspect of God’s will about which we have the most questions and difficulty in understanding God’s purpose in our lives.  God promises to help us by His grace and power to not let us be defeated by our circumstances, but rather to triumph over them.   The letter of Philippians says:  “I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me.”   God promises to help us not become embittered by adversity, but to remain positive and hopeful.  God promises to instill hope in the midst of seemingly hopeless times.  God promises to guide us and lead us amidst times of confusion and darkness.   God promises by his Spirit to impart courage to us when we are overcome with fear and anxiety.  God promises to provide strength for us, when we feel weak, exhausted and helpless.

The late theologian Paul Tillich wrote:  “God’s will doesn’t mean everything is predetermined, but rather that there is a creative and saving possibility, implied in every situation, which cannot be destroyed by any event.  It means destructive forces within ourselves and our world can never have an unbreakable grasp upon us and that the bond which connects us with God’s love can never be broken.”

Recall two inspiring biblical promises.  Romans 8:28: “We know that in everything God works together for good with those who love him, with those whom he has called according to His purpose.”   And another promise in I Corinthians: “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing, he will also provide the way out, so that you may be able to endure it.”

This doesn’t mean that everything will always turn out all right or that everything that happens to us is really good for us, or that everything that happens to us is God’s will.  Like the story about a police officer in a helicopter who spotted a car speeding down the freeway.  He radioed his partner on the ground and a few miles later the patrolman in the car stopped the speeder and began writing a ticket.  “How did you know I was speeding,” the man asked.   The patrolman didn’t say anything, but simply pointed skyward.  “Oh, no,” moaned the man, “You’re not against me too.”  God’s circumstantial will means that God’s grace and power and love is continually active in our lives.  It means God promises to do what is best for us in accord with His will in the various circumstances which we face in life.

I recall the story of a couple whose son was born with a congenital heart defect.  When he was four, he went to Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles for open-heart surgery.  Despite their prayers, and the skills of the doctors, sadly, the child died.  His mother said:  “God helped us through our grief in such a loving way that we continually marveled at what was happening.  The people who brought us the most comfort were those who had also lost a child.  They knew what we were experiencing and when they softly said, “We understand what you are going through; there was a bond between us, an empathy that really lightened our load.  The Bible verse that popped into my head was:  “In everything God works for good with those who love him.”  We hung onto it for dear life and watched it come true.  In the weeks and months to come, we were led to accept Philip’s death without bitterness and other people’s faith was strengthened as they watched what was happening to us.”

Finally, we come to God’s Ultimate Will.  This aspect of God’s will affirms that God’s purposes in the world will ultimately be achieved.   God's plans and purposes cannot be defeated or destroyed by any power or event.  It says God can even make evil and defeat serve His final purposes, so that nothing can destroy God’s ultimate will.

What end does God have in mind for your life or mind or for the world?    Our Christian faith declares: “I don’t know what the future holds, but I do know who holds the future.”   Ps. 33 says: “God’s plans endure forever, His purposes last eternally.” 

Yes, God’s will at times is hidden, no question about that. I have certainly found it to be so.  It appears to be temporarily defeated in the world or in our lives.   But Scripture and our faith says: in spite of evil and human sin, God’s plan for the world and for your life and mine will one day be fully realized, be consummated, be completed.  We have a beautiful picture in the book of Revelation: “See, the home of God is among mortals.  He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them, he will wipe every tear from their eyes, death will be no more, mourning and crying and pain will cease.”    And so we pray: “Lord, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Amen. 

The Command to Wait (Acts 1:1-11) by Rev. Dr. Alan W. Deuel

Several years ago, the London Transit Authority had a problem. Buses were zooming right past passengers who were waiting at bus stops to be picked up.  It didn't happen all the time, but enough that it  became a public issue as people watched helplessly as their bus sailed right past them. The London Transit Authority released a statement to explain their actions. The statement said it was impossible for them to maintain their tight schedules, if they always had to stop and pick up passengers.

The other day I  was in a bit of a hurry and called a company to ask a question.   Rule number one, don't call companies if you are in a hurry.  A robotic voice answered.  The voice then gave me some options, if you want this, press 1, if you want that, press 2, and so forth.  I said “Customer Service.”  The robotic voice said: “I can help you, please be more specific with your question.”  I repeated - “Customer Service.”  The voice again said: “O.K. You want customer service.  Please be more specific in your request for customer service, like if you need tech support, say tech support, if you need billing, say billing.”   I thought well, I don't need either one, but if it will get me in touch with a real person, I'll do it, so I said tech support.  The robotic voice immediately answered and said, “Oh I can help you with that, what is your question.”

No, in this fast paced society, with fast food, fast internet speeds, fast cash at the ATM and oil change businesses saying if it takes over 30 minutes for this service, the oil change is free,  we don't like to be kept waiting.  This attitude permeates our society.  We want instant gratification, instant solutions to our problems.  We get annoyed and irritable when we wait on the phone, on the internet, in line at the store, at the airport or on the freeway. 

Which takes us to our lesson from the book of Acts.  After Jesus' resurrection, he made appearances to the disciples for Forty days, to demonstrate by many convincing proofs, that that he was alive.   Jesus then commanded them not to leave the city, but to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father:  For you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.  Can't you hear one of the disciples.  “Jesus, sir, with all due respect,  please don't command us to wait, anything but that, I hate waiting.”  And then, the disciples witnessed Jesus being lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight.  Here is the occasion of the ascension of Jesus  to heaven.

Do you like waiting?  Waiting is an inescapable aspect of life.  We usually look at it as an annoyance, an irritant, an obstacle, a barrier, a collosal  waste of time.  But is it always so?  Does waiting have any value?  Is waiting sometimes necessary?  Is getting speedy responses or making quick decisions always good?  Waiting can be a blessing in disguise.    Waiting can play a positive role in our lives.

Like when you say to your children: “Stop, wait, look both ways, before you cross the street.”  We wait for a response to job applications or college applications and the waiting can sometimes  lead us to change our minds, to go in a different direction, or open up a great job or school that we hadn't taken seriously, because we were in a hurry for our favorites.  We wait for the birth of a baby.  We want babies to go full term if possible for obvious reasons.   We wait for healing while recovering from surgery and in this process we learn about how our bodies heal and we learn to take responsibility for our recovery.   We wait for a time to get engaged.  You don't want to jump into a marriage without really getting to know the person, not a good idea.   We wait to hear the results of medical tests.  This is important.  The correct diagnosis is critical.  Tests and opinions and taking some time is essential.   I remember a friend telling me that one doctor told him he needed back surgery.  He decided to wait and went to a specialist to get a second opinion and learned the problem was steming from brain fluid draining and that a stint in the brain turned out to be the answer to his back pain.

I'm sure that like us, the disciples didn't like hearingJesus command to wait.  They were anxious to leave Jerusalem and to get on with their lives.  They knew Jesus’ enemies were still in the city and they wanted to leave ASAP before they were arrested. 

But rather than releasing the pent up energy and fears of his highly charged followers, Jesus harnessed it by commanding them to wait.  And so with mixed emotions, with joy and dismay, with elation and frustration, the disciples obeyed Jesus and remained in the Upper Room.

Why did Jesus command them to wait?   Because the disciples needed power and energy and preparation for their forthcoming mission.   It can be disaster if you are sent out on a mission and you are unprepared and ill-equipped.   Jesus wanted the disciples to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.  The word power here in Greek is dunamis, a supernatural power greater than our own personal energy and vitality and personality.  Jesus knew the disciples needed such power to accomplish their future mission as “His witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.”  And so reluctantly, the disciples obeyed Jesus and remained there in the city with him.

Why do we sometimes have to wait?  Have you ever asked yourself that question?  I have.  It’s a universal question.  The psalmist in psalm 13 cries out: “How long O Lord, will you forget me forever?  Look on me and answer O Lord my God; give light to my eyes.”  The psalmist in psalm 130 says: “I wait for the lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.”   Perhaps you are in a waiting mode at this very moment.  

I don't believe there is only one answer to that question.  Our circumstances and situations vary.  Our state of mind varies at times.  And God’s purposes for our lives vary as well. Sometimes we don’t discover the answer of why we are waiting for a long time and sometimes we never get a satisfactory answer.  But the Bible isn’t silent on this question.  It speaks about what can happen inside of us when we wait.

Waiting can be a season in which God is seeking to reach you.  God wants you to open your heart and mind to his word.  God is trying to say something to you. God may be saying the time is not right.   God may be calling you to change, or learn, or grow, or listen or heal or forgive.  Waiting is one of God's means of grace through which He reaches out to us for His purpose for our lives. 

For instance, waiting renews our strength!  Isaiah 40:31 says: "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint."   In such times when we are mentally and emotionally and spiritually a mess we must wait for the gift of renewal from the Lord.  Do you ever feel burned out emotionally, or intellectually or physically or spiritually?  God knows that at times we need a new infusion of strength.   Stopping what your doing, waiting for awhile, seeking help and guidance, this is one way that God renews us.  God knows that we aren’t ready to continue doing what we are doing, or we aren't ready for some change in our lives, and so God commands us to wait. 

Waiting is one way God recharges our soul.   Through prayer, reading the scriptures, talking with others, exercise, and meditation we find spiritual renewal.  Waiting forces you to stop, so that God can restore your strength, so you can once again mount up with wings like eagles, run and not be weary, walk and not faint.  

We read in the letter of Romans 5: “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials; they help us learn to be patient and patience produces character in us and character produces hope.”  I remember a friend who used to say to me when I was grumbling about something: “Alan, this is another character building opportunity.”   Waiting can be an opportunity to open your eyes, to gain insight, to discover wisdom.  

God cares deeply about your and my character.  Patience produces character.  Waiting produces character.  God wants to develop our character and not just give us everything we want, when we want it.  God will not allow everything to come easy.   Why? I think of two brothers I know who have virtually no ambition or drive or goals.  The brothers inherited some money years ago, and gradually they lost their sense of pride and work ethic.   Both men are married, but only work occasionally and spend a lot of time watching TV or playing video games or golf.   Their wives work, care for the kids, and are extremely frustrated.  What we have here is a failure of character.   Why? Because we don't appreciate things which come too easily to us.  We take them for granted.

I'd like to develop my character without having to wait through trials, how about you?   But the Bible says that's not how God made us.   As the scriptures say: “You can't make steel without tempering it.  Iron sharpens iron.”  You can't develop character without going through times of waiting.  God knows that and that's why there are seasons of waiting in our lives. 

I think of the late Charles Colson, former legal counsel to President Richard Nixon, who spent 7 months incarcerated in a blistering Alabama prison cell over the Watergate scandal.  He eventually became a Christian in prison.  I wouldn't recommend it.   In 1976, Colson founded Prison Fellowship Ministries, which has become the world's largest outreach to prisoners, ex-prisoners, crime victims, and their families.  Colson has visited prisons throughout the US and the world and has built a movement working with more than 40,000 prison ministry volunteers in 100 countries.  Colson believes that reconciliation among offenders, victims, and their families, is part of the ministry of the Church.  God totally redirected Colson’s life; God completely turned it around, while he was doing time waiting in an Alabama prison cell.

Yes sometimes God’s answer to our prayers is to wait.  “I hear your prayer my child, but now is not the time.  Trust in me with all your heart.  I will make straight your paths.  But it is not the right time.”  And during that time you must remain energetic and faithful and disciplined and hopeful.  

No, I don't particularly like it, but like Jesus disciples, God sometimes commands us to wait.  Waiting in God's time is never passive.  Waiting means listen, pray, watch, talk to others, read your Bible, be discerning, be patient, don’t act impetuously or foolishly, wait and trust in Christ.  I close with these words from Psalm 37: “Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act.”    Amen!

In Memoriam (John 15:12-17) by Rev. Dr. Alan W. Deuel

Time magazine carried a story about former President George Herbert Walker Bush. It described a trip he took back to the South Pacific.  During WW II, Bush had been a bomber pilot, and was shot down by Japanese antiaircraft fire. The article detailed Bush's return to the very spot where he was rescued from his downed aircraft.  During his return visit, Bush met with a Japanese gentleman who claimed to have witnessed Bush's rescue back in 1944. The man related that as he and others were watching the rescue take place, one of the man's friends remarked, "Surely America will win the war if they care so much for the life of one pilot."

In another story Sgt. 1st class Paul Ray Smith could have retreated, but doing so would have allowed Iraqi troops to overrun an American aid station at Baghdad International Airport. Instead, Sgt. Smith grabbed a rifle and antitank weapon and continued fighting, holding off about 100 enemy soldiers. When a fellow soldier shouted at Smith to take cover, Smith refused. “He gave me the cut-throat symbol,” the soldier recalled. “He was not leaving.” Smith was severely wounded and died at his post. Yet his efforts stopped the April 4, 2003, assault.

Two years later, President Bush presented the Medal of Honor to Smith’s 11-year-old son David.  Drawing from this soldier’s example, the Army drew up a new creed as it tightened training procedures: “I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade.”  Smith’s widow commented, “Paul showed the soldiers what it means to be a soldier.

Some observers argue that the spirit of sacrifice in America is wanning, that its not as prevalent today as in past generations.   What do you think?   One could argue the point.  Today we often hear examples of: "Me first.” “My rights above others.”  “It’s all about me and what makes me happy.”    And yet, when we see our miliary today and the sacrifices men and women and their families have made, when we see Americans generously helping others in situations ranging from neighbor helping a neighbor to an outpouring of support for communities, nationally and internationally dealing with natural disasters of fires and floods, I see the spirit alive and well.

On this Memorial Day weekend, we honor those who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice; we remember those who have died in the service of America.   Today we honor the fallen heroes, America's armed service members who didn’t come back.  Memorial day events locally have been scheduled at two national cemeteries Miramar National Cemetery and Fort Rosecrans.

Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic and was first observed on May 30, 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.  The day was originally called Decoration Day.

I quote a part of that original order:  “The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, hamlet and churchyard in the land.”   After WWI, the holiday changed from honoring those who died fighting in the Civil War, to honoring Americans who died fighting in all wars.

Today we recognize the 150th anniversary of Arlington National Cemetery.  150 years ago, in 1864,  the first military burials took place in Arlington National Cemetery.  We remember the tomb of the unknown soldier, in honor of the many soldiers who have died in wars with their remains being unidentified.

Memorial Day is about sacrifice.  Sacrifice is a value, an idea.  It is also a choice.  We have the freedom of choice.  You certainly can choose to lead a self centered, self-absorbed life.  God doesn't force you to give your life away in helping other people, encouraging other people, or serving your country.    But when you choose self above everything and everyone else there is a consequence; you miss out on the greatest joy and meaning there is in this short life.   You and I were made by God to serve and give and to love others.  When you do it, it is the greatest thrill of life.  It is the secret to happiness.  Why – sin is getting off track and following another way.  Salvation is getting on God's track and following God's way.  The consequences of a self – centered life are serious, loneliness, your list of friends will shrink when they see you are only out for yourself, and that you don't really care about them, and personal unfulfillment, and emptiness, you will feel a void that nothing, certainly not material things, can fill.

Christian faith says the idea that happiness comes from living a self-centered life is a lie.  That’s what sin is all about, it’s about self-glorification and self-focus, and self-worship.  You are the center of everything.  Being created in God’s image means God has wired us to give of ourselves away, to focus outwardly rather than inwardly.  And when we come to faith in Christ, when we go deeper in our relationship with God in Christ, we discover this truth.

What is it that makes life worth living? What is it that brings meaning and joy and purpose in life?  Is it achieving celebrity status, is it wealth, is it political power?  The Bible is clear – it's to love God and to love others.  To love God with your heart, soul, strength and mind and to love your neighbor as yourself.  It's to give, to share, to make sacrifices for others of your talents, your abilities, your time, your passion, your energy, and your resources, and sometimes you are called upon, sometimes the circumstances dictate, that you are asked to make the ultimate sacrifice.

John 3:16 says: ”God so loved the world that he gave his only son.”  Love and sacrifice are intertwined, they are inextricably bound together.  Genuine love is always sacrificial and making a sacrifice is always an act of love.  You cannot love somebody, your spouse, your friend, your neighbor, your child, your grandchild, your colleague, your comrade, you cannot love God, without sacrifice.  Words are cheap.  Lip service is not love.  If you can show me how to love without making a sacrifice, I'll sign up right now!  But it can't be done.

Rom. 12:1 says: "So brothers and sisters, since God has shown us such great mercy, offer your lives as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, who is your spiritual worship.”  Offer your lives as a living sacrifice for God to use for His purposes.

John 15 says:– “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”   We have the paramount example of a sacrificial life in Jesus.  This is the life God calls us to emulate.  We're talking about a giving life-style, a sacrificial life-style.  But why would anyone in his or her right mind do that?   For Christians the answer is - because God sacrificed His Son for us in order to bring us back to God.  Christ's sacrifice forgave us our sins and opened the way to restore our relationship with God.  Why? Because Christ commands it of those who claim to be his followers.

A professor was invited to speak at a military base and was met at the airport by an unforgettable soldier named Ralph.  As they headed toward the baggage claim area, Ralph kept disappearing: once to help an older woman with her suitcase; once to lift two toddlers so they could see Santa Claus; and again to give someone directions.  Each time he came back smiling. "Where did you learn to live like that?" the professor asked. "During the war," said Ralph. Then he told the professor about Vietnam.  His job was to clear mine-fields, and he saw friends meet untimely ends, one after another, before his eyes. "I learned to live between steps," he said. "I never knew whether the next one would be my last, so I had to get between picking up my foot and putting it down again. Every step felt like a whole new world.”

In the book The Greatest Generation Tom Brokaw writes: “This generation came of age during the Great Depression and the Second World War and went on to build modern America.  This generation was united not only by a common purpose, but also by common values – duty, honor, economy, courage, service, love of family and country and above all, responsibility for oneself.  This book, I hope, will in some small way pay tribute to those men and women who have given us the lives we have today, an American family portrait album of the greatest generation.”

Now in thinking about making sacrifices, we must be honest.  Do you ever feel unappreciated for doing the right thing?   Do you ever feel resentful for giving and sharing and helping, especially when you don't receive any thanks or recognition?  You start thinking: "Why bother?”  “What's the use?”  “Why make the effort?”  “Why should I sacrifice when nobody else is?"  Do you ever wonder if your sacrifice is really making a difference?  Is it worth the effort? Is it worth the cost?  I think these questions run through all our minds from time to time.

I want you to listen to God’s word - God sees what you are doing. God knows what you are doing. God remembers your sacrifices.  Hebrew 6:10 says: "God is not unjust.  He will not overlook your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped his people and continue to help Him."    God will remember.   God rewards the disciplined and obedient and loving heart.

The question is: How are you living your life?  Do you need to make a change in your attitude or lifestyle?  Scripture says the greatest use of your life is to invest it in something that's going to outlast it, the kingdom of God, the will of God, the purposes of God.   Whom is God calling you to sacrifice for?   How can you live a sacrificial life?

First, worship God continually.  Ps. 50:23 says: "True praise is a worthy sacrifice."   When you are singing, when you are praying, when you are worshipping God, you are making a sacrifice.  True praise to God is a sacrifice.

Second, minister to others.  The Bible says Jesus gave His life for us so we should give our lives for our brothers and sisters.   1 John 3:16 says: “We ought to give our lives for each other.”

Third, give of your time, talents and resources sacrificially.  Ps. 50:14 says, "Give your offering to show thanks to God and give what you promised."

Fourth, share Christ with others.    Heb. 13:15 says:  "With Jesus' help we will continually offer our sacrifice of praise by telling others the glory of His name."   Sharing your faith with others is a sacrifice of praise to God.

“Jesus says: My command is this  - Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down one's life for one's friends.”  Amen!

On the Road (Luke 24:13-35) by Rev. Dr. Alan W. Deuel

 

Think for a moment about a time when you grieved the death of a loved one.  What was that experience like for you?  Grief, mourning is I believe the most intense and painful experience of all of life.   For some of you it is a distant memory.  For others the sting of grief is still raw and painful.   In light of our story from the Gospel of Luke, on the road is a metaphor, for coping with loss in a time of mourning.  I know many of you have walked that road.  I have as well.

It is in just such a time, that we encounter two disciples, Cleopas and an unnamed disciple, who are departing from Jerusalem and heading back to their home in the nearby village of Emmaus.   They are trying to come to grips with the death of their dear friend and teacher Jesus.  At this time they were completely unaware of Jesus’ resurrection.  For them it was still Good Friday, not Easter Sunday.   Overwhelmed with grief, they push on, alternating between moments of silence and quiet conversation.  

“We had hoped that he was the one.  The one what?  The one to redeem Israel.”  They had hoped Jesus would liberate the Jewish people from the Romans.  And besides, they loved, respected admired Jesus as their teacher and friend.  They had seen him perform miracles, and care for lepers, and heal the sick.  Jesus taught them wisdom through parables about the Kingdom of God, like no other rabbi they had ever met.  But that was all in the past, now Jesus was dead.   They had seen their master crucified on a cross. 

True, there were rumors about an empty tomb and a vision of angels announcing that Jesus was alive, but this was undoubtedly mere hearsay, wishful thinking, and nothing more.   The two men are returning home to pick up the pieces of their lives and carry on.   They trudge on, when suddenly, out of the blue, a stranger appears before them and asks them what they were discussing.  They were surprised and I'm sure annoyed by this interruption.

This stranger listens and then gently chastises them for their lack of faith in His teachings and promises.  He spends a day with them and then at the right moment, reveals His true identity as the Risen Lord.

In this Easter season, we declare that we don’t grieve a dead Jesus, but believe in and follow and worship a living Lord.  We declare to a secular world, to the atheists, the agnostics, and skeptics that God is real and that Jesus is alive.  We don’t believe that Jesus was merely a gifted teacher and prophet of the past, but the Lord of today. 

What is God saying to us in this story?  What is God’s word to you?  Here are some things I hear  God saying. 

First, the two disciples were surprised by this stranger who interrupted them.  He appeared out of nowhere.  They didn't expect him at all.  And this intrusion turned out to be a surprise of grace.  It changed their lives forever.  It renewed their hope and faith and courage.   Sometimes God surprises us in this way.   Sometimes it's the surprises of life, the unexpected turn of events, the things you didn't see coming, that later on turn out to be God's hand at work, God's blessing, a blessing in disguise, which has a profound impact upon our lives.  Can you think of a time when God's grace surprised you?

Second, Jesus met the two disciples at a time of deep personal need.  Here is an amazing truth about God.  God is compassionate, gracious, merciful, loving, who meets us in our times of brokenness and need, who reaches out to us when we are hurting and struggling and fearful.  I think of how God spoke to my heart, and touched me, when my mother, and later my father died.   Can you think of just such a time in your life? 

Third, Jesus appeared to them, but they didn't recognize him.  Why?  I think it was about perception – if you don't expect to see something, you won't recognize it, you won't see it, you will look right past it.  I remember that happening when we ran into a friend from Santa Monica in CO.  They were looking at me and I noticed them, but kept walking, until they shouted “Hey, Alan, its me.”  Our own perception prevents us from seeing what is right in front of our eyes.

Jesus stood before them, but they didn't realize who it was.  Yes, there are times when God is acting in our lives, when God is intervening in our lives, when God is reaching out to us, strengthening us, renewing us, guiding us, but we don't recognize that it is the presence and power of God. 

Fourth, through broken-hearted, these disciples were not defeated and headed home to start the next chapter of their lives.  In my experience as a pastor, people who battle on in times of grief and deep disappointment, who persevere, are more likely to find God or to be found by God, than those who just give up.  Having the courage to keep moving forward, to carry on, to keep going, can bring us through the most painful times and in such times there is the real possibility that we will encounter the living God.   I have experienced this in my own life and seen it many times in the lives of people I have ministered to. 

Fifth, I hear God saying that Jesus the Lord reveals Himself to us in the scriptures.  “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?   The Bible is the written word of God.  God has inspired people throughout history as they have turned to His word.  God continues to speak to us through the Bible today.   The psalmist says: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”  We read in the Gospel of John:  “These words were written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”  II Timothy says: The Bible was written to teach us the truth about God and salvation, to teach us the truth about moral living, to correct  unjust or unkind behavior and to change our lives, so that we might mature in faith and grow closer to becoming like Jesus Christ in mind, heart, and behavior.”

The Bible has proved to be a priceless source of inspiration and guidance and strength and wisdom for countless believers over the ages.  By the Holy Spirit's witness through the Bible: Bach composed, El Greco painted, and Pascal wrote his Pensees.  The Word of God has inspired Christian authors like Catherine Marshall, Charles Swindoll, Charles Stanley, Pastor Rick Warren,  and  Max Lucado to write  books and devotionals that have inspired millions.

Finally, I hear one more thing in this story - Jesus reveals Himself to us in the Lord’s Supper. 

The church has claimed from the time of the first Easter meal when the disciples ate with Jesus after his resurrection, that the Risen Lord is present whenever his followers gather together for communion.  The two disciples sit down with Jesus, break bread and Luke tells us:  “Their eyes were opened and they recognized him”  Throughout the ages, Christians have testified to Jesus the Risen Lord being truly present in the celebration of Communion.   The broken bread and poured wine are occasions of Christ's presence. 

We gather around the Lord’s Table because of our common spiritual hunger.  We come together for meals to satisfy our physical hunger because physical sustenance is necessary for life.  So it is with spiritual thirst and hunger.  For we humans are more than flesh and blood, more than primates, we are spiritual beings created in God’s image.  We  need spiritual nourishment as well.  

In the Lord’s Supper, by faith, the Holy Spirit feeds our souls with the bread of life and the cup of salvation.  The Holy Spirit strengthens our faith and confirms our faith.  We participate in a spiritual reality, in a spiritual communion with the living Christ.  We receive forgiveness, healing, and spiritual renewal.  We grow closer in our spiritual union with Christ and one another as we gather at His table.

Jesus invites us to come to His table regularly.  The Lord’s Supper is meant to be experienced many times in a believer’s life.  Jesus knows about the human hunger for a transcendent reality beyond ourselves.   Jesus knows that there is a hunger deep in our soul that no amount of calories can fill, that only Jesus, the bread of life can satisfy.

Shortly before his death, tennis star Arthur Ashe, who died of AIDS due to a tainted blood transfusion in 1993 wrote these words to his daughter:  “Camera, have faith in God.  Do not be tempted whether by pleasures and material possessions or by the claims of science and smart thinkers, into believing that religion is obsolete, that the worship of God is somehow beneath you.  Spiritual nourishment is as important as physical nourishment and intellectual nourishment.  And by it you will grow into a deeper understanding of life’s meaning.”   

Christians have said:  “At this Supper I experienced God’s forgiveness .”   “At communion I have experienced an inner peace and calmness.”   “At communion I experienced a healing in my soul.”  “At communion I experienced God’s affirmation and love and acceptance.”  “At communion I experienced God’s call to some vocation or to serve others or to share with others or to go and reconcile a broken relationship.”  “At communion, I experienced a renewed sense of energy and power and courage to get on with my life.”

My friends, as Jesus revealed Himself the two disciples, may we too encounter the Lord in worship and in this supper today.  Encounters with Christ are always a blessing and a surprise of grace.  Amen.

Greetings! (Matthew 28:1-11) by Rev. Dr. Alan W. Deuel

On this morning, nearly 2 billion people on this planet are worshiping the Risen Lord.  From comfy living rooms of house churches to the imposing sanctuaries of Gothic cathedrals, from Pacific Beach to Jerusalem, believers are celebrating and rejoicing in the resurrection of Jesus.

God surprised us at Easter.  Jesus, whom everyone thought was dead, said to the women that morning “Greetings.”  And Jesus the Lord is saying these very words to us this morning as well.    Easter announces that there is no grave deep enough, no stone heavy enough, no evil strong enough, to keep Christ in the tomb and to keep us from the Risen Lord.  Can I get an amen!

On Easter God’s power burst forth to reverse the irreversible, to turn an ending into a beginning, to bring victory out of defeat, to raise life out of death and hope out of despair.   God turned the anguish of the women and the disciples into alleluias and amens.

Non-believers and religious critics have spoken about Jesus' resurrection as a paradigm for higher spiritual truths or ultimate ideals within the reach of the human spirit.   It is really a metaphor for the triumph of the human spirit: overcoming defeat, courage in the face of death, the resilience of the human spirit, forgiveness, hope, redeeming a wrong.  Easter is about what is humanely possible.

Christianity says no, not so!   Easter is about the resurrection of one called Jesus of Nazareth.  The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of the Christian faith.  It’s the historical basis and support for the celebration of Easter.   We read in the letter of I Corinthians: “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.  If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”  

On Easter morning two women went to the tomb to anoint Jesus body with oil and spices as was the Jewish custom.  The women encounter an angel, who tells them that Jesus is not in the tomb but that he has been raised to life. They are to go and tell the disciples that Jesus will meet them in Galilee.  Filled with fear and yet overjoyed at hearing this astonishing news, they leave the tomb when suddenly Jesus stands before Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, saying: “Greetings, do not be afraid.”

Easter announces that the tomb was empty!  Why was the tomb empty that Sunday morning?  There are two fundamental arguments.  One is that it was due to natural causes.  Here are some of the theories critics have promulgated down through the centuries: the stolen body theory as we read about in our lesson from the Gospel of Matthew; the swoon theory, that Jesus was unconscious when he was buried, not dead, and awoke and hid when the tomb was opened; the wrong tomb theory, that the women lost in grief, went to the wrong tomb that morning which just happened to be empty; the hallucination theory, that the disciples and many others were hallucinating when they claimed that Jesus had appeared to them. 

The other argument is a supernatural cause.  That the tomb was empty because of Jesus' resurrection, which is of course the basis of the New Testament, the basis of the birth and growth of the Christian Church, and the basis of countless numbers of people who have testified about how their lives have changed after repenting and confessing their faith in Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.

Listen to the testimony about  Easter written a generation later from the Apostle Paul in I Corinthians: “I would remind you, brothers and sisters of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you, unless you have come to believe in vain.  I handed on to you what I in turn had received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve, then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died, then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me.”  

Easter further announces that Christ's resurrection changes lives and transforms people.  It forever changed the lives of Mary Magdalene and the other Mary on that amazing morning.  New life begins when we dedicate, when we commit our lives to one greater than ourselves.  

I came across this story about a young soldier who lost his legs in an explosion in Iraq.  Something inside died in him the day he learned he would never walk again.  He refused to talk with anyone who tried to help him.  One day another patient in the hospital strolled in and sat down on a chair near the bed.  He drew a harmonica from his pocket and began to play softly.  The young solider looked at him for a second and then resumed staring at the ceiling.  The next day the harmonica player came in again, and did so day after day for a week, without saying a word.  Then one day he asked the soldier, “Does my playing annoy you?  The patient said, No, I guess I like it.  So they talked a little bit.”

One day the harmonica player played a sprightly tune and began to do a tap dance.  The soldier in bed looked on but was unimpressed.  “Hey, why don't you smile once and let the world know you're alive,” the dancer said with a friendly smile.  The wounded soldier said, “I might as well be dead.”  “Okay, answered his new friend, so you're dead.  But you're not as dead as a fellow who was crucified 2,000 years ago, and He came out all right.”  “Oh sure it's easy for you to preach,” replied the patient, “but if you were in my fix, you'd sing a different tune.”  With this the dancer stood up and said, “I know a 2,000 year old resurrection is pretty far in the dim past.  Maybe an up to date example will help you believe it can be done.”  With that he pulled up his trouser legs and the young man in the bed looked and saw two artificial limbs.  The harmonica player had also lost his legs in the war, and after going through the pain of grief and rehab, had experienced the power of Christ's resurrection.  The young soldier's own resurrection began at that very moment. The power of the Resurrected Lord who changed the lives of those two women on that first Easter changes lives today.

Finally, Easter declares that after death there is life.   Now of course many people do not share this belief.  They are represented by the thinking of actor Johnny Depp:  He was interviewed and said: “I went around for years thinking, "Well, what's it all for? All this stuff that I gotta do, interviews and movies and success or not success or this or that.  But when my daughter was born it was as if a veil was lifted, and things became clearer, and I went, "Oh, I get it now! That's what life is for … " I didn't have a real handle on what life is supposed to mean or be or anything like that.  And I still don't.   And I'm not sure life is supposed to mean anything at all. But as long as you have the opportunity to breathe, breathe.   As long as you have the opportunity to make your kid smile and laugh move it forward … . I think we're here and that's kind of it. Then it's dirt and worms.”

But in stark contrast Jesus the Risen Lord says – Greetings!  Easter claims just the opposite; there is an afterlife, there is a life after death, there is an eternal life beyond this earthly life.  Eternal life awaits those who believe in him.  Jesus will welcome us into heaven.  I can imagine Jesus saying “greetings” as one enters glory.  Can you?

The prospect of death, our own death or another's death is frightening.  We don't like to talk about or think about our own mortality.   A recent article in the Wall Street Journal says, "By all observable metrics, zombies are totally hot right now. Zombies are everywhere.  They have become outrageously, staggeringly, mindblowingly popular.  With nearly 16 million viewers, The Walking Dead, the hit TV show about a world dominated by flesh-eating zombies, nearly outperformed the 2014 Winter Olympics.   So what's the big deal with this zombie craze?  Dr. John Ulrich, Professor of English at Mansfield University says, "At its most elemental level, the zombie represents our fear of death."   Do you agree?

Easter declares God's victory over death.  The resurrection shows that even the seemingly indomitable power of death is subject to the sovereign power of God.    Death is not the final verdict.  Easter promises eternal life through faith in Christ.  And this news is indeed something to celebrate.  The future is not closed.  Christ's resurrection inspires hope and says Jesus holds the future open for us. 

A movie based on the book, “Heaven is for Real,” which has sold over 1 million copies since its publication in 2010, is currently being shown in theaters.  It's about a little four year old boy's astounding story of his trip to heaven and back.  

In the book, his father, pastor Todd Burpo, writes that during the months after his son's emergency surgery in 2003, little Colton began describing events and people that seemed impossible for him to have seen or met.  Examples include a little sister who died in a miscarriage before he was born, whom no one had told him about, and his great grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born.  Colton also claimed he personally met Jesus riding a rainbow-colored horse and sat in Jesus' lap, while the angels sang songs over him.  Colton said:  “The angels sang to me because I was so scared.  They made me feel better.” “When was this, the father asked?  “At the hospital, I was with Jesus, when you were praying and Mommy was talking on the phone.”   

Of course the story is not without its critics.  Where would we be without skeptics and critics?  One critic wrote that the success of the book shows that vast numbers of Americans lack the reasoning ability of adults.

Jesus rose; so will other human beings.  Jesus lives and so will other human beings.  Jesus is the assurance that people who die in Christ will live again.  Jesus the Lord makes these wonderful resurrection promises:  “There are many rooms in my Father’s house, I am going there to prepare a place for you, I would not tell you this if it were not so, and I will come back and take you to myself, so that you will be where I am.”  Jesus says: “Because I live, you shall live also.”  Jesus says: “I am the resurrection and the life, whoever believers in me, even though they die, shall live.”  

I close with this rather unusual obituary in our Union Tribune: Juanita Davis Notice Change of Address:  I want you to know I have moved.  On February 20, 2014, I received a call from my God informing me my new home is ready:  My new address is: 2014 Jesus Way, Godtown, Heaven 22014.”   Greetings!  Happy Easter!

Life’s Critical Questions (Jeremiah 1:4-10; I Peter 1:3-9) by Rev. Dr. Alan W. Deuel

Questions, questions!  Life has so many questions?  Such as: Is there intelligent life on other planets or solar systems or galaxies?  Why did dinosaurs disappear around 65 million years ago?  How did life begin?  Is happiness life’s greatest goal?   Does the abominable snowman exist?   Are ghosts real or a hoax?   What came first the chicken or the egg? 

Of course we can also think of questions that are a little more down to earth?  “Why is it harder to lose weight as you get older?”  “Where did I put my cell phone?”  “Why is there always one sock missing in the dryer?”  “When is my baby going to start sleeping through the night?”    “Where did I put my glasses?”  “When is the pastor going to stop asking questions?”

Questions are important?   I wonder who first asked – is it possible to fly to the moon?  We don’t ever want to stifle our children’s curiosity and discourage them from asking questions.  The 5^th century B.C. classical Greek philosopher Socrates developed an entire approach to learning called the Socratic Method.  It is a form of inquiry and discussion between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas.  It is a dialectical method of discussion for examining opposing ideas in order to find the truth.

True, we won't have all our questions answered in this life,  for example, questions about suffering and the death of loved ones.    Some people give up asking questions and pursuing answers.  Some people seek answers all their lives but never find them.  And some people find answers to their questions.   

In our O.T. Lesson, Jeremiah, a 6^th century B.C prophet to the Jews in Judah, the southern Kingdom questioned God; he questioned God's call upon his life.    God says:  “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you and before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”  Jeremiah questioned God's judgment.  He replies:  “O, Lord, I do not know how to speak, I am only a boy.”                  

                                                                  

 And God responds:  “Do not say I am only a boy.  You must go to everyone I send you and say whatever  command you.  Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you.”  Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched Jeremiah's mouth saying:  “Now  I have put my words in your mouth.  See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdom to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”  

God called Jeremiah to speak to the people.  God equipped Jeremiah for his service as a prophet to Judah.  Jeremiah was to bring God's prophetic word – Repent or face God's judgment.”  Like Jeremiah, we ask questions during the course of our lives.  Here are some critical questions which people wrestle with.

Who Am I?  It's a fundamental human question, one that's as old as when human beings first developed language.   I can picture it:  “Two people are looking at each other after discovering that they can speak:  One says, “hello, who are you?  The other one answers:  I don't know, I was hoping you could tell me.”

I can answer this question in many ways.  I am a man.  I am a husband.  I am a father.  I am a grandfather.   I am a pastor.  I am an American.  How would you answer the question? 

What is the biblical/Christian answer?   As believers, we must first rephrase the question from a biblical viewpoint:  Who does God say I am?  Who does God say we are?  God says to Jeremiah, “Even before you were born I knew you.”   God is the God of all humanity.  God has seven billion humans on this planet.   When God looks at humanity, what does God see, a faceless blob?  No.  God who is the author of life sees individuals. 

God knows you and me more intimately than we know ourselves.  We are people of utmost value and  importance.  We are made in God's image.   God created us, God knows us, God loves us, God sent his son to save us and God reaches out to us in our lives. 

I like the way Pastor Rick Warren puts it:  “You must begin with God not with yourself.  You exist only because God will that you exist.  You were made by God and for God.  And until you understand that life will never make sense.  It is only in God that we discover our origin our identity our meaning, our purpose, our significance and our destiny.  Every other path leads to a dead end.”  

Scripture is unequivocal; in life and in death we belong to God.   Romans 14:  “If we live we live to the Lord, and if we die, we died to the Lord, so whether we live or whether we died, we are the Lord's.”  I am a child of God.  You are a child of God.  We are children of God.

Author Tim Storey in his book, It's Time for Your Comeback, writes about heavyweight boxer George Foreman.  He says George used to be a very disturbed, angry, mean individual.  One day after losing a fight, he was lying in the back room on a table, when he had a vision of Jesus.  Jesus said:  “I'm going to transform your life.”  And George Foreman gave his life to Christ.  The happy, smiling face you see on television is not the same man he was before he met Jesus.  Foreman says he learned to trust in Christ and that since that time his life has been blessed.  He knows who he is.  He knows to whom he belongs.  He knows what it is to have hope and meaning.  He knows he is God's child.

A second question is why Am I here?  This too is an age-old question.  People have asked it since time immemorial.  What would be your answer?  

John Gardner, the founding chairman of Common Cause, a citizen's lobby in 1970, tells of a cheerful older man who asked the same question of every new acquaintance he met:  “What have you done that you believe in and you are proud of?”   He never asked, what do you do for a living?  It was always what have you done that you believe in and your are proud of?”  It was unsettling to some people.  This gentleman had no particular answer in mind.  He was delighted with a woman who answered, “I'm a mother and I'm doing a good job raising my three children.”  And by a custom cabinet maker who said:  “I believe in good workmanship and practice it.”  and by a woman who said, “I started a bookstore and its' the best bookstore for miles around.”   The man said:  “I am not looking for any specific answer,  I just want to put the idea into their minds.  They should live their lives in such a way that they can have a good answer.  That's what's important.”  How would you answer the question?

Biblically, the answer is to glorify God, to bring glory to God.   The lyrics of a contemporary song are:  “In my life Lord, be glorified, be glorified, in my life, Lord be glorified today.”  Glorify God in whatever you do, in all of your activities, in your work, in your leisure, in all the endeavors of life.  What has God willed for you to do with your life?   What is your answer to God?  Jeremiah knew why he was here.  God had spoken to him and had given him a mission to glorify God as a prophet to Judah.    

Once again, I turn to Pastor Rick Warren, who writes:  “It's not about you.  The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness.   If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God.  You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.” 

You were made for God and life is about letting God use you for His purposes.  It's about becoming what God created you to be. 

Third, where Does My Power Come From?  Where do you find the energy and the endurance to serve, to get involved, to follow God's call, to glorify God with your life?  Eating properly helps.  Getting enough sleep is important.  Taking care of your health is fundamental.  But let's look again to Jeremiah.  

God touched his mouth and empowered this prophet for his task.   God always empowers us and supplies the ability for what he calls us to do.   God chooses us to do His work and then God equips us for the task.  Jeremiah immediately thought God had chosen the wrong man, but how did Jeremiah know he couldn't fulfill God's call upon his life?   Like the man who was asked if you could play the violin.  He answered:  “I don't know.  I've never tried.”  That's a good answer.  How do you know what you can or can't do until you've tried it.

Maurice Berquist in her book, “The Miracle and Power of Blessing, writes about the parallel principle:  “If you pull a copper wire, parallel to overhead power lines you get a transfer of power.  Even through the second wire is not physically touching the first or connected in any way to a generator, power will come into it just as soon as it gets parallel.”  The Bible declares that when our lives are parallel to God's purposes we find a power we never dreamed possible.

 The final question is what happens after I die?  Where Am I going after I die?  There are countless answers to this question in philosophy and religion about the After-Life or Life After Death.  One notion is that death means the end of everything.  It means the total annihilation, the complete extinction of the body, soul, personality, memory.  One's identity and existence is wiped away forever.  There is no continuing existence of any form.  A typical saying is: “This is the only life you will have, so enjoy it.”   This concept is not biblical.

Reincarnation is another idea.   This too is not a biblical or Christian notion.   But it is interesting to ponder.  It is the religious or philosophical concept that the  human soul or spirit, after death, begins a new life in a new body that may be human, animal or spiritual, depending on the moral quality of one's previous life.    Just like one changes clothes, our soul changes life forms.  Reincarnation asserts that all animals including humans have souls and the soul goes through different life forms until it is purified and becomes one with God.      

                 

Ultimate Immersion or absorption into the divine is another concept of the afterlife.  Think of God as an ocean and our soul as a droplet of water. The water droplet is separated from the ocean and its goal is to merge back into the ocean. We are like those rain droplets; our souls have been separated from God after our being born in this world.  Like rain droplets, the main purpose of our souls is to merge back with God.  Once a soul merges into the being of God, it achieves salvation, rids itself of all suffering and pain becomes lost and one in the eternal being of God.   This too is not biblical.

Purgatory is a Christian concept, represented in the Catholic Church.  Purgatory is a temporary realm where all souls go to be purified or cleansed before they are ready to enter glory or heaven to live forever in the presence of God.  There has been an ongoing debate between Christians since the Reformation about whether or not purgatory is biblical.

A biblical notion is that death takes believers immediately to be with Christ in heaven.  Nothing can separate us from the love of God, not even death.  Jesus describes the image of a house:  “There are many rooms in my Father's house, and I am going to prepare a place for you.  I will come back and take you to myself, so that you will be where I am.”   The last verse of the hymn How Great Thou Art says:  “When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation, And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!  Then *I shall bow in humble adoration,  And there proclaim My God, how great thou art!”

Another biblical notion is the Resurrection.   At the final coming of Christ, our bodies are resurrected, they become transformed or changed into glorious bodies.  Our new bodies are different and yet we retain our individual identity and we join together with the communion of the saints.  I Peter declares this assurance for the future:  “By God's mercy we have been given a new birth into a living hope through Christ's resurrection from the dead, that that hope is an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.  In this we rejoice, even if now for a little while we have to suffer various trials.”  

May you during this Lenten season take time to ponder, to reflect, in light of your faith, upon some of the critical questions of life and of your life.  Amen!

Listen! (Matt. 17:1-13) by Rev. Dr. Alan W. Deuel

A concerned husband went to see the family doctor: "Doctor, I think my wife is deaf. She never hears me the first time I say something.  In fact, I often have to repeat things over and over again. "Well," the doctor replies: "Go home tonight, stand about 15 feet from her, say something and listen carefully.   If she doesn't respond, move about five feet closer and say it again. Keep doing this so we can get an idea of the severity of her deafness.

Returning home, the husband followed the doctors instructions.  He stands about 15 feet from his wife, who is in the kitchen chopping some vegetables. "Honey, what's for dinner?" He gets no response, so he moves about five feet closer and asks again.  "Honey, what's for dinner?"  No reply.  He moves five feet closer and still no reply.  Frustrated, he moves right behind her and asks "Honey, what's for dinner?"  She replies, "For the fourth time dear, I said vegetable stew!"

In this light, let’s turn to our morning story which portrays a profound event in the life of Jesus’ and his disciples: the indescribable, the indefinable, the ineffable moment of Jesus’ transfiguration.  Think now, aren’t there moments in life which are inexpressible?  We have a difficult time putting them into words.  Have you ever experienced such a time?  The joy at the birth of a child is one of those moments.  The loss of a loved one is one of those moments.  A brilliant sunset or sunrise is one of those moments.  Being caught up in uplifting music is one of those moments.  When your child says “I love you” and wraps his or her arms around you is one of those moments. There are mountaintop and valley moments throughout life.  We are often not ready for them.  They arrive unannounced and change us in irreversible ways.  They demand that we be silent and listen.  Such moments touch the depth of our souls and have something to say to us. 

Our story from Matthew's Gospel is one such time.  Jesus is on a mountain with his disciples Peter, James and John.  Jesus is suddenly transfigured before them, his face shines like the sun, his clothes become dazzling white, his appearance is radiant.    Moses and Elijah appear and are talking with Jesus.  Peter is overwhelmed and says, “Lord, it is good for us to be here.”   Well I should say so.   He was in the company of two Jewish superstars.  Moses, who led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, the one who brought them God’s 10 Commandments and the prophet Elijah, who with God’s power defeated the false prophets of Baal and who ascended to heaven in a chariot of fire.  These are two giants in Israel’s history.  They were even bigger than Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts.

Peter wanted the magical moment to last forever and offers to build three booths- one for Jesus, one for Moses and one for Elijah.   Realizing they are standing on holy ground the disciples fall to their knees in awe.  Then the story says: “A voice said, this is my Son, whom I love.  With him, I am well pleased.  Listen to him.”  

The story of the transfiguration says first, God speaks!   God spoke that day and the undeniable implication is that God continues to speak to believers today.  Do you believe it?  Has God spoken to you?   A young mother said: “My 3-year-old son, Ian, enjoys the Bible story about Samuel hearing God's voice at night.  One evening after reading the story to Ian, I asked him if God had ever spoken to him.  To my surprise, he answered, "Yes."  "What did God say to you?" I asked.  Ian thought and then said in his deepest voice, "Ian! Go to bed!"  That explained why Ian settles down more quickly when I'm outside his room and tell him to go to bed.”  

Scripture tells of how God spoke to Elijah in a cave out in the middle of the wilderness, not in the wind, not in the earthquake, not in the fire, but in a still small voice.  Other translations say in a gentle whisper or in the sound of sheer silence.

If we don’t believe God speaks to us today, what does that say about our theology?   That God is mute?  That God doesn’t care to reach out to His people any longer?  That God has nothing left to say to us?  That God has decided to turn His back on us and has left us figure it out on our own?  That God is on an extended vacation to the Caribbean?  The problem is that this is bad theology.

God is either alive or God is dead.  Scripture and our Christian faith says God is alive and God love.  God loves us with a passionate and unconditional love and reaches out and intervenes in our lives.  Scripture says:  “God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”

A Christian writes:  “I knew that it was God speaking to me because I was in tune with my inner spirit and my spirit suddenly became light.  Years of heaviness were lifted from me.  I heard God’s forgiving and accepting voice.  A new yet wobbly courage started to live in me, and I became comfortable in my own skin, in my own circumstances.  I felt safe and certain and grateful. Nothing around me had changed, but everything was different.  I knew it was God’s voice speaking because I could smile once again.”

Second, the story of the transfiguration says something else – listen!    Why should you and I listen to Jesus?    Jesus is the Word of God.   Jesus is God’s word of life and truth.   Jesus is the path to Life and Eternal Life.  Jesus is the way out of darkness into the light.  Jesus is the way out of despair to peace and joy.  Jesus is the way out of fear to courage.  Jesus is the way to discovering purpose and meaning.  By faith in Christ we are welcomed into God’s kingdom and become children of God.  Jesus is lord over all other rulers and authorities in the world.  Christ is the Head of the Church and is present in both Word and Spirit.    The Risen Lord sent the Holy Spirit to instruct and empower and guide the Church according to His purposes.  Jesus carries out His ministry through you and through me, that is, through our faith and service and witness.

Why should we listen?  Because God commands it: “This is my Son, whom I love.  With him, I am well pleased.  Listen to him.”

How does God speak to us?   It’s a question about which Christians agree and disagree.  It engenders lively discussion and debate.   Both from my spiritual experience over the years, and by my reading of scripture, I believe the answer is God speaks to us in a multitude of ways.  God speaks in different ways at different times in our lives.  God speaks to one believer in one way and to another believer in another way.  Why?  I don’t know.  Perhaps because the hearts and minds of certain believers are more reachable in some ways and closed in others.  It’s a mystery.  It’s God’s prerogative.  

Clearly God speaks through the Bible.  Reading and listening to scripture, in Bible classes or in one’s daily devotions, is essential to our spiritual journey.  We are to listen not only with our ears, but with our hearts.  For instance, say you are experiencing a highly stressful and difficult time, you’re at an emotional low and you read: “Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you” or “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  or “Be not afraid.” And by that word your soul is lifted, your spirit is renewed, you experience an inner strength and peace.      God has spoken.

We hear God in worship.  In faith and trust we listen and the ordinary, humble, human words of a sermon become, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, God’s word and you feel like the sermon was meant for you.  God speaks to us through the music of worship, through the choirs, the hymns and songs, through the prayers, through someone’s personal testimony, through the videos and multimedia in worship, and through the sacraments.  We cannot limit God’s passionate desire to speak to our minds and hearts in worship.

God speaks to us in dreams or through our conscience, as we wrestle with a moral decision or through a vision, or through a surprise, or through unexplainable guidance where you feel led to do something, like get in contact with someone and your not sure why.  God speaks when we exclaim it was a “God moment or God thing.”  Faith declares that “coincidences are small miracles where God chooses to remain anonymous.”

I’ve personally had such spiritual experiences. Other believers have shared with me their spiritual experiences as well over the years.  I’ve had people say to me:  “Pastor I would like to tell you about something spiritual that happened to me, I think God was talking, but I’m a little uncomfortable about it, so please listen and don’t think I’m crazy.”     

God speaks through the voice of a trusted friend.  No, not every word that someone else says is God’s word.  We must always be discerning.  We need to test the word, to check it out.  But the Bible is clear that the Holy Spirit does speak through the counsel of others.   

We hear God‘s word in prayer, through continual, expectant, thankful and persevering prayer.  Prayer is a key means I believe in which God speaks to us.  

God's word can come through a call to action.   A call to a job, a call to involvement in the church, a call to getting involved in the community like in Military Outreach Ministry.  You feel convicted to volunteer, to help with some need.  It might have to do with homelessness or raising money for the battle against cancer or with concerns about the environment, or helping with foster care, or serving in the schools or in the military.

Sometimes you just feel a nudge, to just check something out, and later realize after you are fully involved that God spoke to you, that it was a calling from God?  When have you heard a comforting word, a corrective word, an encouraging word, a hopeful word, an insightful word, an inspiring word, a challenging word, a helpful word?  That was the word of God.   I believe the question is not - does God speak today?  The question is – are we listening?  It’s a good question to ponder anytime, especially in this time as we prepare for our journey through the season of Lent.   Amen!