Just Between You, Me, and God: 10-21-12

*We apologize that this was not published last week, when it was originally written, as we focuesed on posts about bullying.*

When I was in college all of the business courses I took would talk about how computers were going to revolutionize the work place, change the pace of things. There would be no need for mounds of paper work to do because it would all be done on the computer, no paper. In fact, they said that because of computers, in the future we would spend fewer hours at work and have more leisure time than we would know what to do with. I’ve got news for you guys, I’m in that future now and it doesn’t look like that. Microwaves were going to shorten our time in the kitchen but we get frustrated waiting two minutes or less while our food warms up (around the outside, it’s still cold in the middle). We are an unsatisfiable, complaining bunch of ungrateful consumers. Imagine just how long God has been putting up with us. He delivered Israel from Egypt by parting the Red Sea and then drowning those who would bring them back to slavery. He didn’t just send them on their way; He traveled with them day and night. He fed them, they complained, He made it where their clothes and shoes wouldn’t wear out, they complained, He brought them to the door of the promised land, showed them what He would give them, assured them of victory, and they complained. So, He let them walk around the desert for 40 years until the complainers were gone. When He sent His own Son to free them from sin, they complained and killed Him. When He rose from the grave and His followers picked up where He left off spreading the Good News of salvation, they complained and attacked and killed many of them. We are consumers of God’s mercy, grace, and loving forgiveness. And yet we are turning our backs on Him and His precepts like we were standing in the return line after Christmas saying, “That’s not what I wanted! The instructions are too hard to follow! It doesn’t fit my lifestyle, my wants, my needs!” Romans 2:5-8 warns us, “But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God “will give to each person according to what he has done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.” We would do good to start saying “America, bless God” as well as “God bless America.” Pastor Dean

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

Just Between You, Me, & God 3/6/2012

Time is constantly moving forward. As time moves on it tends to take little pieces of us with it. It slowly erodes our lives until there is eventually nothing left. For some of us the erosion occurs almost instantly as if we were caught in a flash flood while others of us are slowly dissolved in a constant sprinkle. I’ve reached the age in my life where my children are as old as I am; at least in my mind I think that I can’t be any older than that. The only certainty that we have is this moment, the present. No matter how hard we try to relive it, the past is already gone and is not coming back. We are not guaranteed the future on this Earth, not just down the road but even the next few minutes. There’s no promise that I’ll finish writing this or that you’ll even be around to read it when it’s posted. The only one that truly knows the future is God and He’s already laid out His plan to us. A popular theme of movies today is that of immortality but to achieve that you have to give yourself to a desperate evil nature. This is another one of Satan’s lies to pull us away from the truth of God. Jesus Himself reveals the truth to us in John 3:15 when He says, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.” No secret potions, no necks to bite or magical spells to remember. The work was done for us on the cross, all we have to do is to accept the work that Jesus did for us and then give our lives to Him in order that others may also know the same truth and joy that we know. For those of us who are true believers, there should be no worrying about the future because we know that God is in control and Jesus is not willing to leave us behind. John 14: 1-3 encourages us by saying, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” So I have the comfort of knowing that no matter how much older than me my children become, we will all have an eternity to spend together with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If you don’t have that same assurance, you can. Accept Jesus today, right now, as your Savior and 1,000 years from now we will sit and remember this moment together. May God richly bless you, Pastor Dean

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