Just Between You, Me, & God 4/23/2012

So who is qualified to serve the Lord? Like any other profession, there are schools and universities that offer courses and degrees in Philosophy, church organization and leadership, evangelism, and church planting. Those are all great and they supply a wealth of knowledge that is important in holding to the truths of organizing, efficiently running, and leading a church from the pulpit. But what about the rest of us, who is qualified to serve the Lord? Actually; none of us. We all fall short of the Glory of the Lord, even the most seasoned of Pastors, because we are all sinners. The great Apostle Paul even struggled in Romans 7:18-19, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do---this I keep on doing.” The truth is that all of us, as believers, are called to serve the Lord. The fact that we are not qualified only brings Glory to God when we serve. In his book “The Apostles, Becoming Unified Through Diversity”, Gene Getz takes a look at the 12 Disciples that Jesus picked to learn and carry on the Gospel message after He was gone. In the introduction he looks at Jesus’ choices from the eyes of an imaginary management consulting firm. “To: Jesus, Son of Joseph, Woodcrafter’s Carpenter Shop, Nazareth 35922, E-mail: Jesuscarpenter.com. From: Jordan Management Consultants, Jerusalem 26544, E-mail: JMC.org. Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you have picked for management positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests; and we have not only run the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant. It is the staff’s opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education, and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, James and John, sons of Zebedee, place personal interests above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We feel it our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau. James, the son of Alphaeus, and particularly Simon the Zealot have radical leanings, and they both registered a high score on the manic-depressive scale. Thaddaeus is definitely sensitive, but he wants to make everyone happy. One of the candidates, however show great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind, and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious, and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man. All of the other profiles are self-explanatory.” It’s not what you can do; it’s what God can do through you. Your application has been turned in and approved and God is just waiting for you to get started. Accept His call and get started today. Not sure what you can do? Ask your pastor, he’s been waiting for you. God bless you for all you do for the Kingdom, Pastor Dean.

Pastor Dean Hanssen is the Outreach & Ministries Pastor for LHF.

Just Between You, Me, & God 2/27/2012

Have you ever tried to be someone that you’re not? We used to do that a lot as kids, remember. We would call it pretend. Well if your memory is not that good then just sit down for a little while with some young kids and ask them if they want to play. Before you know it you’ll hear an excited voice say “Let’s pretend! I’ll be the Mommy and you can be my little child.” Now that takes a lot of imagination to be able to picture this old bald headed man with glasses as a little child but a child’s mind is not yet clouded with the negatives of this world. So a stick becomes a gun, a broom is a horse, and a beach towel clipped to the back of your shirt can make anyone a super hero. It all becomes a bit of an identity crises if you’re not careful. Jesus had a similar problem during His ministry here on Earth. His own hand- picked disciples didn’t always know who He was. You know the ones, they walked with Him, and ate with Him, and slept with Him, and one even walked on the water with Him for a few steps. And yet they weren’t always sure who He was. They had a good idea that He was the Messiah but not the one they had imagined. In their minds the Messiah would be a great warrior who would defeat their earthly enemies, but Jesus talked of love, and acted in kindness, and forgave with grace. Despite the number of miracles they witnessed and His sinless life lived right before their eyes, Philip still ask in John 14: 8, “… Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” Jesus wasn’t pretending, it wasn’t make-believe, it was just the pure truth. It should be easier for us because we have the advantage of hind sight, we know how the story ends. How about you, are you still asking for proof? Was the crucifixion and resurrection not enough for you or are you like the two disciples that Jesus joined after His resurrection as they walked toward Emmaus? They were so wrapped up in their own problems that they could not see the solution walking and talking with them until He revealed Himself to them. If you are still in doubt, if there is still a question about your faith, then start walking through the scriptures, stop and rest by the seashore as Jesus speaks, see the new believers as their eyes are opened to the truth, put your hand in His side and see the nail holes for yourself and believe the truth. Stop pretending. The Savior lived and lives, He gave and forgave, and He watches and waits for you to accept Him as the only way out of the game of life and into the reality of eternity with Him. God bless, Pastor Dean.

Pastor Dean Hanssen is the Outreach & Ministries Pastor for LHF