Jesus said, “Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted.”
Many times we try to spiritualize this beatitude and make it mean something spiritual in nature but I believe Jesus was dealing with a very important part of the human psyche that is often damaged by not knowing how to properly deal with loss. Grief is a normal part of life on earth. We’re in a temporary situation. People die. Things get lost. Favorite clothes wear out. Friends move away. Loss will always be a part of our lives as long as we live. None of us live forever in this life, so all of us will die and when someone dies, it is not only normal, but helpful, to grieve.
When Jesus told us to mourn, it was so we could experience comfort. He wanted us to know loss is important and should be dealt with constructively. For example, we can know a deceased loved one is with the Lord and doing well in eternal bliss, but we still miss them terribly and we need to grieve our loss in order to receive God’s comfort.
Jesus included mourning in his list of beatitudes so we could understand that grief is God’s gift to deal with the temporary nature of all things earthly. Since loss is a normal part of the human condition and it can sometimes be devastating, we need to learn how to deal with it.
Sometimes the loss will be minimal and fleeting—such as the loss of a beautiful flower that fades. You are sorry the beauty is gone and it must be discarded, but the mourning is minimal because it was expected and can be replaced by another flower or a work of art that pictures the flower.
But sometimes the losses are huge as we mentioned earlier, such as the death of a family member or friend. Or, the loss of a job we depended on for income and life purpose. In such tragic or difficult situations the pain can be excruciating and extended. If we ignore the pain or try to stuff it down somewhere into the inner parts of our psyche, the pain will not go away, it will just fester and boil until it finally breaks out in some physical or emotionally unhealthy way.
So, as Jesus said, we need to grieve our loses. The grief should be appropriate—we should not grieve to the point of being inconsolable for an insignificant loss, nor should we try to move on too quickly when the loss is considerable. But whatever the situation, be sure to grieve your losses so you can experience God’s comfort.
Notice Jesus didn’t just say “Blessed are they that mourn”. He continued with the encouraging words “for they shall be comforted.” Notice particularly that he said “be” comforted. This implies someone else is involved in the comfort and I think we can assume he meant God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When we grieve our losses, we experience God’s comfort. When we help someone to grieve appropriately, we work together with God in his comforting work.
At the loss of a loved one, grief is God’s way of helping you through this difficult time to victory in the days ahead, so just let him love you and share your grief. Take the time you need to find healing. Grief is God’s process to bring you complete healing, but it takes time. Time is part of the healing, so don’t rush anything so significant.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Earth, The Cradle of Life
John tells us in his first letter to the church that "...God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." (I John 5:11-12)
In other words, life does not exist without Jesus Christ.
Physical life is dependent upon Jesus because He is both Creator and Sustainer of all life. Every living creature, all minerals and plant life exist through the life of Jesus. Apparently, if He would cease to live, all other life would instantly cease as well.
Does this mean the cycles of life—spring, summer, fall and winter might lose their consistency? Atoms, which make up everything physical, would dissolve? Planets and other heavenly bodies might fly out of orbit and explode into nothingness? I’m not sure, but I know without Jesus, creation would return to the void from which it came.
Jesus, of course, who is himself God, will always live as Creator and Source of all of life (both physical and eternal) because as God He cannot die. He created physical life as a cradle for eternal life. The cradle is temporary, as all cradles are, but it is God’s plan that during physical life, in Christ we discover a oneness with our Creator and begin to live in the fullness and abundance of His Life, which is not temporary at all, but everlasting, or eternal.
Paul wrote about it in Acts 17:24-28(NIV).
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.'…”
In this life we all live in the Presence of God through Jesus Christ and enjoy the benefits of his Life even though many don't know him, or, if they know him, they reject him for some trivial thing they think is more valuable. However, as long as we live this earthly life, whether or not we recognize it, we experience God through Jesus Christ because He is the Lord of all creation.
Tragically some people leave the cradle of life without ever discovering its purpose—eternal life in heaven, the maturity of human life. Or, having discovered it, they reject it and go into eternity totally unprepared—living and dying without ever knowing the eternal life for which they were created, wastefully discarding the enormous efforts of God in our behalf.
On the other hand, those who find the true meaning of life discover in this cradle experience a freshness and vitality that flows freely from the Life of Jesus. And when we leave this infancy of the temporal it is not really death (although we call it that) but a casting away of the shackles of our dependence on temporary physical life and a joyful acceptance of our promotion into the fullness of the abundant, eternal life for which we were created.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
(This article was first published as a column in "Insights" in the Herald-Palladium newspaper, St Joseph, Michigan)
In other words, life does not exist without Jesus Christ.
Physical life is dependent upon Jesus because He is both Creator and Sustainer of all life. Every living creature, all minerals and plant life exist through the life of Jesus. Apparently, if He would cease to live, all other life would instantly cease as well.
Does this mean the cycles of life—spring, summer, fall and winter might lose their consistency? Atoms, which make up everything physical, would dissolve? Planets and other heavenly bodies might fly out of orbit and explode into nothingness? I’m not sure, but I know without Jesus, creation would return to the void from which it came.
Jesus, of course, who is himself God, will always live as Creator and Source of all of life (both physical and eternal) because as God He cannot die. He created physical life as a cradle for eternal life. The cradle is temporary, as all cradles are, but it is God’s plan that during physical life, in Christ we discover a oneness with our Creator and begin to live in the fullness and abundance of His Life, which is not temporary at all, but everlasting, or eternal.
Paul wrote about it in Acts 17:24-28(NIV).
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.'…”
In this life we all live in the Presence of God through Jesus Christ and enjoy the benefits of his Life even though many don't know him, or, if they know him, they reject him for some trivial thing they think is more valuable. However, as long as we live this earthly life, whether or not we recognize it, we experience God through Jesus Christ because He is the Lord of all creation.
Tragically some people leave the cradle of life without ever discovering its purpose—eternal life in heaven, the maturity of human life. Or, having discovered it, they reject it and go into eternity totally unprepared—living and dying without ever knowing the eternal life for which they were created, wastefully discarding the enormous efforts of God in our behalf.
On the other hand, those who find the true meaning of life discover in this cradle experience a freshness and vitality that flows freely from the Life of Jesus. And when we leave this infancy of the temporal it is not really death (although we call it that) but a casting away of the shackles of our dependence on temporary physical life and a joyful acceptance of our promotion into the fullness of the abundant, eternal life for which we were created.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
(This article was first published as a column in "Insights" in the Herald-Palladium newspaper, St Joseph, Michigan)
Monday, May 31, 2010
Church of God "Identity"
My Comment on Church of God “Identity”
written by Lloyd Moritz for CHOG Blog
Brother Lloyd,
I enjoyed your “Identity” commentary on the “identity problem” in the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana). I think you’re getting really close to the issue. The real problem, as I see it, is that we aren’t supposed to have an identity except to be the people of God. Our identity as the church of God is to be the people of God along with every other believer in the world, regardless of what name they have over the door of their church, and to work together with all other believers to make every person on earth a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we try to have an identity other than that, we cease to be the true church of God.
D. S. Warner’s view of the church may not have been perfect, but he “saw the church” as the body of Christ, whose main purpose is to be the body of Christ by being his witnesses and making disciples in every culture, in every era—disciples that will continue to do the same as long as the world stands. We sometimes do other things, but everything we do, publishing, education, etc., should tie in with that central purpose.
Our identity is tied to the Lord Jesus Christ and his purpose. If we have an identity other than that we have lost our true identity.
Monday, May 31, 2010 7:42:00 PM
Additionally, here are some thoughts I have written in the past about the Church of God. . .
“Tell Me about the Church of God
By Rick Blumenberg
The Biblical word for church is Eklesia (Ek-lay-see’-uh). What it really means is a gathering of God’s people. So any time you find a gathering of people who love God and are doing their best to serve them you find the church of God. It doesn’t matter what name they use, or even if they have a name. All that matters is in whose name they gather.
So when we call ourselves the Church of God we don’t mean God belongs to us, we mean it is our earnest desire that we belong to God. We do not see ourselves as being God’s exclusive people, but as a people who want to belong exclusively to God. We don’t see other churches as being our competitors, but as brothers and sisters in the family of God who just happen to worship God in another place, and, maybe with a different name.
We are a church that believes God’s Word, the Bible, is the foundation of truth for all we do, teach and live. It is the first source of wisdom and the final authority in all of life. It is a book we love because it teaches us to know, love and serve God— Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with all our hearts.
We believe God wants everyone to come to know him as Savior and Lord of their lives and our reason for existence is threefold— to lead people to a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, his Son and our Savior; to help them grow into fully devoted and Spirit-filled disciples of Christ; and to worship God with all of our being.
We believe a person is born into the church when they repent of sin and accept Christ as Savior by faith. We also believe every Christian should find a local church home in which they can grow in their understanding of God and serve him faithfully, in the church, in their homes and in the community.
We consider every believer to be a minister of the Gospel with spiritual gifts given by God to help us be fruitful in ministry and joyfully productive in God’s service.”
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
written by Lloyd Moritz for CHOG Blog
Brother Lloyd,
I enjoyed your “Identity” commentary on the “identity problem” in the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana). I think you’re getting really close to the issue. The real problem, as I see it, is that we aren’t supposed to have an identity except to be the people of God. Our identity as the church of God is to be the people of God along with every other believer in the world, regardless of what name they have over the door of their church, and to work together with all other believers to make every person on earth a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we try to have an identity other than that, we cease to be the true church of God.
D. S. Warner’s view of the church may not have been perfect, but he “saw the church” as the body of Christ, whose main purpose is to be the body of Christ by being his witnesses and making disciples in every culture, in every era—disciples that will continue to do the same as long as the world stands. We sometimes do other things, but everything we do, publishing, education, etc., should tie in with that central purpose.
Our identity is tied to the Lord Jesus Christ and his purpose. If we have an identity other than that we have lost our true identity.
Monday, May 31, 2010 7:42:00 PM
Additionally, here are some thoughts I have written in the past about the Church of God. . .
“Tell Me about the Church of God
By Rick Blumenberg
The Biblical word for church is Eklesia (Ek-lay-see’-uh). What it really means is a gathering of God’s people. So any time you find a gathering of people who love God and are doing their best to serve them you find the church of God. It doesn’t matter what name they use, or even if they have a name. All that matters is in whose name they gather.
So when we call ourselves the Church of God we don’t mean God belongs to us, we mean it is our earnest desire that we belong to God. We do not see ourselves as being God’s exclusive people, but as a people who want to belong exclusively to God. We don’t see other churches as being our competitors, but as brothers and sisters in the family of God who just happen to worship God in another place, and, maybe with a different name.
We are a church that believes God’s Word, the Bible, is the foundation of truth for all we do, teach and live. It is the first source of wisdom and the final authority in all of life. It is a book we love because it teaches us to know, love and serve God— Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with all our hearts.
We believe God wants everyone to come to know him as Savior and Lord of their lives and our reason for existence is threefold— to lead people to a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, his Son and our Savior; to help them grow into fully devoted and Spirit-filled disciples of Christ; and to worship God with all of our being.
We believe a person is born into the church when they repent of sin and accept Christ as Savior by faith. We also believe every Christian should find a local church home in which they can grow in their understanding of God and serve him faithfully, in the church, in their homes and in the community.
We consider every believer to be a minister of the Gospel with spiritual gifts given by God to help us be fruitful in ministry and joyfully productive in God’s service.”
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Intimacy With God
When Jesus met with his disciples for his final Passover feast he fully understood what was soon to transpire. The disciples, however, did not. They had no idea Jesus’ time as a human being would soon be over and he was preparing them to take over in his absence. His plan was to leave the work of the kingdom in their very incapable hands. He was also preparing them for a new intimacy with God that would make them fully capable.
They had no idea Pentecost was coming and what a tremendous difference it would make in the life of every believer and the world. Jesus knew, but they didn’t have a clue. Jesus told them later (John 16:7) “It is better for you that I go away....” No longer would the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—need to be the God “out there”. He would be Emmanuel—God with us! God within us! A new intimacy with God that the world had never before experienced, except in the life of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He, Jesus, knew what it was like and he wanted us all to experience it.
No longer would Jesus, the son of the only true and living God, be limited to one time and one place. Instead of walking with these few disciples on the dusty roads of Galilee, he would soon be able to live in them through the indwelling presence of his Holy Spirit, and not only these first century disciples, but every other disciple on earth who would accept him as Savior and welcome his Spirit into their hearts and lives. Instead of one Christ living in one place, at one time on earth, we would have a race of “Christs”— living, loving, working, and serving everywhere his people would be. Paul later described this new “body of Christ” that was no longer limited to one human body, when, in Romans 12:5 he wrote “…in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” So wherever we go, Christ goes. Instead of being limited to one body, Christ knew he would eventually be present in millions of physical bodies in every culture, in every geographical area and in every era of world history!
We live in the best of times! The time of the indwelling Presence of the most High God, when everyone who accepts him becomes part of his spiritual body—one with every other believer in heaven and on earth! Every believer is in the family—a family made up of brothers and sisters of every race and culture.
The sad thing is that God’s plan is not yet accomplished. He desires all his children (every human being) to have the intimate relationship of his indwelling Spirit. Jesus asked all believers to pray for that to happen. He taught us to pray to our heavenly Father “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10(NIV) Jesus further clarifies God’s will in his teaching to Nicodemus recorded in John 3:16-17(NIV): “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
Later Paul wrote that God “desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” (I Timothy 2:4(ESV)) and in II Peter 3:9 it is written the Lord is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
God created us to be eternal and wants everyone on earth to have this intimate relationship with him and begin the experience of everlasting life.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
They had no idea Pentecost was coming and what a tremendous difference it would make in the life of every believer and the world. Jesus knew, but they didn’t have a clue. Jesus told them later (John 16:7) “It is better for you that I go away....” No longer would the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—need to be the God “out there”. He would be Emmanuel—God with us! God within us! A new intimacy with God that the world had never before experienced, except in the life of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He, Jesus, knew what it was like and he wanted us all to experience it.
No longer would Jesus, the son of the only true and living God, be limited to one time and one place. Instead of walking with these few disciples on the dusty roads of Galilee, he would soon be able to live in them through the indwelling presence of his Holy Spirit, and not only these first century disciples, but every other disciple on earth who would accept him as Savior and welcome his Spirit into their hearts and lives. Instead of one Christ living in one place, at one time on earth, we would have a race of “Christs”— living, loving, working, and serving everywhere his people would be. Paul later described this new “body of Christ” that was no longer limited to one human body, when, in Romans 12:5 he wrote “…in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” So wherever we go, Christ goes. Instead of being limited to one body, Christ knew he would eventually be present in millions of physical bodies in every culture, in every geographical area and in every era of world history!
We live in the best of times! The time of the indwelling Presence of the most High God, when everyone who accepts him becomes part of his spiritual body—one with every other believer in heaven and on earth! Every believer is in the family—a family made up of brothers and sisters of every race and culture.
The sad thing is that God’s plan is not yet accomplished. He desires all his children (every human being) to have the intimate relationship of his indwelling Spirit. Jesus asked all believers to pray for that to happen. He taught us to pray to our heavenly Father “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10(NIV) Jesus further clarifies God’s will in his teaching to Nicodemus recorded in John 3:16-17(NIV): “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
Later Paul wrote that God “desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” (I Timothy 2:4(ESV)) and in II Peter 3:9 it is written the Lord is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
God created us to be eternal and wants everyone on earth to have this intimate relationship with him and begin the experience of everlasting life.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Monday, May 03, 2010
The Second Step
"...We implore you on Christ's behalf: be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." —II Corinthians 5:20b, 21(NIV)
The Righteousness of God means God's type of righteousness (based on love not legalism); a God-provided righteousness (rather than human self-righteousness); a self-chosen righteousness (God doesn't force it); and a self-imposed righteousness (no one can impose it on anyone else). And, when God's righteousness is in human flesh, except with Jesus, it is always a righteousness in process.
The work Christ did on the cross was an act of God we benefit from when we accept it by faith. However, the work Christ continually does through His Spirit brings us in line with the character of God so that "in him we might become the righteousness of God."
The Holy Spirit helps us attain the Christ-like life in a two-step process some of us call sanctification. We say "I must sanctify myself" (alluding to consecration). Or, we say "I must be sanctified" (alluding to purification). Both are correct uses of the word and statements of what happens in sanctification.
To sanctify is to "consecrate" or set aside for a holy purpose (as in Leviticus 11:44a). In consecration we surrender completely to God for His Holy purposes—living all of life under the Lordship of Christ and under the leadership of His Holy Spirit. To sanctify also means to "purify" or make pure or holy, as in John 17:17 when Jesus prayed for his disciples, saying, "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth."
In this purifying part of Sanctification we depend totally on God to work in our lives and restore us to His image because it is a work we cannot do ourselves. We merely surrender ourselves to him and ask him to do it in us and for us. So the first part of sanctification—consecration, is a work, or surrender, we must do before God's Spirit can fill us, because the power of God's Spirit cannot be released into a life not surrendered to God. The second part of sanctification—purification, is a work God does through his Spirit when he is allowed to fully enter our lives.
This purifying work is also both an action and a process. The action takes place when we crucify our selfish unholy spirit (a work only we can do) and ask God to fill us with His Holy Spirit and give us a new nature (a work only He can do). Most failures in Christian living come when we try to do the Spirit's work—we surrender to God then proceed to reclaim the life we gave Him and try to make it good by our own methods, causing severe discouragement in Christian living. However much we try, we always fail because we can never become good enough by our own efforts. Salvation and the infilling of the Holy Spirit begins the process so God’s Spirit has freedom to do what will require a lifetime to fully accomplish.
The Holy Spirit's work of leading us "into all truth" is part of the sanctifying process. Jesus also said, "Your word is truth" so we can see by this that the Holy Spirit uses Scripture in the sanctifying process, not only teaching us what we should do but helping us do it. You can rest assured God's Spirit never does anything in us or to us without our willing permission, however, those who learn to trust God, know the best way to live is to give Him absolute freedom in all of life.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
The Righteousness of God means God's type of righteousness (based on love not legalism); a God-provided righteousness (rather than human self-righteousness); a self-chosen righteousness (God doesn't force it); and a self-imposed righteousness (no one can impose it on anyone else). And, when God's righteousness is in human flesh, except with Jesus, it is always a righteousness in process.
The work Christ did on the cross was an act of God we benefit from when we accept it by faith. However, the work Christ continually does through His Spirit brings us in line with the character of God so that "in him we might become the righteousness of God."
The Holy Spirit helps us attain the Christ-like life in a two-step process some of us call sanctification. We say "I must sanctify myself" (alluding to consecration). Or, we say "I must be sanctified" (alluding to purification). Both are correct uses of the word and statements of what happens in sanctification.
To sanctify is to "consecrate" or set aside for a holy purpose (as in Leviticus 11:44a). In consecration we surrender completely to God for His Holy purposes—living all of life under the Lordship of Christ and under the leadership of His Holy Spirit. To sanctify also means to "purify" or make pure or holy, as in John 17:17 when Jesus prayed for his disciples, saying, "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth."
In this purifying part of Sanctification we depend totally on God to work in our lives and restore us to His image because it is a work we cannot do ourselves. We merely surrender ourselves to him and ask him to do it in us and for us. So the first part of sanctification—consecration, is a work, or surrender, we must do before God's Spirit can fill us, because the power of God's Spirit cannot be released into a life not surrendered to God. The second part of sanctification—purification, is a work God does through his Spirit when he is allowed to fully enter our lives.
This purifying work is also both an action and a process. The action takes place when we crucify our selfish unholy spirit (a work only we can do) and ask God to fill us with His Holy Spirit and give us a new nature (a work only He can do). Most failures in Christian living come when we try to do the Spirit's work—we surrender to God then proceed to reclaim the life we gave Him and try to make it good by our own methods, causing severe discouragement in Christian living. However much we try, we always fail because we can never become good enough by our own efforts. Salvation and the infilling of the Holy Spirit begins the process so God’s Spirit has freedom to do what will require a lifetime to fully accomplish.
The Holy Spirit's work of leading us "into all truth" is part of the sanctifying process. Jesus also said, "Your word is truth" so we can see by this that the Holy Spirit uses Scripture in the sanctifying process, not only teaching us what we should do but helping us do it. You can rest assured God's Spirit never does anything in us or to us without our willing permission, however, those who learn to trust God, know the best way to live is to give Him absolute freedom in all of life.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
The "Jesus Way" to Salvation
Jesus outlined the way to salvation when he explained to Nicodemus why his faith was not satisfactory. It was obvious Nicodemus had never experienced a spiritual birth, and Jesus seemed to find that astonishing, that a Jew who was a significant spiritual leader had never been born of the Spirit. You may be like Nicodemus or you may know someone like him, who is an earnest seeker after salvation and genuinely wants to know God in a personal way, but they are seeking it through their natural birth rather than a spiritual one. Let me explain what I see as the “Jesus way” to salvation.
Two Births are Required—
When Jesus told Nicodemus he needed to be re-born Nicodemus assumed he meant a second physical birth, and he found that to be beyond comprehension, so Jesus had to explain. “Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.’” (John 3:5) I emphasize the “and” because I believe that is how Jesus spoke this sentence. I am convinced “born of water” was Jesus’ way of defining physical birth. I don’t believe Jesus meant baptism, although some Christians interpret it this way and they could be right. I think Jesus was saying, that being human is not enough. You are a child of God by “creation” a relationship that begins at conception, if not before. But he wanted Nicodemus (and us) to understand we must also be born “spiritually” or of the Spirit. He makes this even more clear when he went on to say, in verse six, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”
You must be born again….of the Spirit”
The Holy Spirit leads us to Jesus. Everyone who believes in Jesus (Verse 15) will have eternal life. This is not a general or half-hearted faith, but a confidence that Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection are all a part of God’s plan for our salvation through Christ. “The Son of Man must be lifted up.” (Verse 14) shows us the essential nature of Christ’s death for our salvation. Without it we could not have the personal relationship with God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) that God makes possible through Christ. To be born of the Spirit is to allow the Holy Spirit of God to lead us into a personal relationship with the most high God. Verses 16-18 make it clear that until we experience that personal relationship with God, we exist in a state of condemnation through unbelief. Verse 21 shows us “whoever lives by the truth comes into the light” of salvation through Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, our problem is that we sometimes let the “method” get in the way. Practically every different branch of the Christian church tends to have a different method to lead people into the light of Christ. Our methods also change with the times. Some use Christian Education, or catechism, some beginning almost from birth. Others use an altar of prayer or “mourner’s bench” and there are a multitude of other ways Christians use to profess our faith in Christ. The important thing, however, is the genuineness of faith and the relationship we have with God through faith.
The methods may vary and some may be better than others and each of us may prefer our method over others, but it is not the method, but the person that is most important. We must not place our faith in the method, but in the person—Jesus Christ. That’s why I call it the “Jesus Way” to salvation. And why I believe it is the only way there is.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Two Births are Required—
When Jesus told Nicodemus he needed to be re-born Nicodemus assumed he meant a second physical birth, and he found that to be beyond comprehension, so Jesus had to explain. “Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.’” (John 3:5) I emphasize the “and” because I believe that is how Jesus spoke this sentence. I am convinced “born of water” was Jesus’ way of defining physical birth. I don’t believe Jesus meant baptism, although some Christians interpret it this way and they could be right. I think Jesus was saying, that being human is not enough. You are a child of God by “creation” a relationship that begins at conception, if not before. But he wanted Nicodemus (and us) to understand we must also be born “spiritually” or of the Spirit. He makes this even more clear when he went on to say, in verse six, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”
You must be born again….of the Spirit”
The Holy Spirit leads us to Jesus. Everyone who believes in Jesus (Verse 15) will have eternal life. This is not a general or half-hearted faith, but a confidence that Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection are all a part of God’s plan for our salvation through Christ. “The Son of Man must be lifted up.” (Verse 14) shows us the essential nature of Christ’s death for our salvation. Without it we could not have the personal relationship with God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) that God makes possible through Christ. To be born of the Spirit is to allow the Holy Spirit of God to lead us into a personal relationship with the most high God. Verses 16-18 make it clear that until we experience that personal relationship with God, we exist in a state of condemnation through unbelief. Verse 21 shows us “whoever lives by the truth comes into the light” of salvation through Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, our problem is that we sometimes let the “method” get in the way. Practically every different branch of the Christian church tends to have a different method to lead people into the light of Christ. Our methods also change with the times. Some use Christian Education, or catechism, some beginning almost from birth. Others use an altar of prayer or “mourner’s bench” and there are a multitude of other ways Christians use to profess our faith in Christ. The important thing, however, is the genuineness of faith and the relationship we have with God through faith.
The methods may vary and some may be better than others and each of us may prefer our method over others, but it is not the method, but the person that is most important. We must not place our faith in the method, but in the person—Jesus Christ. That’s why I call it the “Jesus Way” to salvation. And why I believe it is the only way there is.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
New Beginnings—First Church at Benton Heights!
You can’t say that without an exclamation point! These two weeks have been days of excitement and glory as God powerfully touched lives. Many so touched are totally new to our congregation, First Church of God, St Joseph/Benton Harbor, Michigan. God is blessing big time and as Pastor Mary said for all of us, “I am so blessed and privileged to be part of what God is doing here.”
Hundreds have given uncountable hours cleaning, repairing, re-building and beautifying this wonderful old temple under the leadership of Pastor Greg Gordon and his marvelous voluntary crew. Dozens more joined Outreach Ministry Director Jenny Fry in creative and joyful ways to tell the community God loves them and so do we.
It all started when Benton Heights lay leader Brother Jim Benson called me, an associate pastor at First Church to ask if I could help Benton Heights by preaching for them until they got a pastor. As we talked I agreed to meet with them and see what we could do to help. I knew State Pastor and Overseer for the Church of God in Michigan, Reverend Bill Jones had been working with them and knew they were struggling to survive.
I also knew that for the past two years or so, First Church had been praying, dreaming and planning to begin a satellite ministry to Benton Harbor and all Berrien County. The question was where to begin. As soon as Lead Pastor David Colp heard about the Benton Heights request, a light came on in his eyes and he said excitedly, “Maybe this will be our first satellite site!” With Pastor Colp’s encouragement and blessing I met with Brother and Sister Jim (Lisette) Benson. They were very positive about the possibility of becoming a satellite ministry of First Church and assured me the congregation would whole-heartedly accept it. A subsequent meeting with the congregation’s leaders, Pastor Colp and other First Church staff, as well as Advisory Council Chair Jim Schueneman, affirmed that assumption and the process began in earnest.
Pastor Colp shared first with the Advisory Council, then with their enthusiastic blessing, with the entire congregation, and our new phase of outreach ministry began to take shape. The decision was made that regardless of what Benton Heights decided, this was the direction God was leading First Church. The First Church congregation enthusiastically supported the concept with their words of encouragement, prayers, financial support, time and talents. It was a small beginning that quickly became a total church effort.
The first day I talked with Brother Jim Benson was a Wednesday and that night I shared with my Wednesday night prayer group and asked them to pray for Benton Heights Church of God and for God to lead in what He wanted to happen there. That prayer mandate was enthusiastically accepted and it soon spread to the congregation as Pastor Colp began to share the vision, asking the church to pray for God’s direction.
For the first few weeks in November, 2009, I preached at Benton Heights and Lead Pastor David Colp arranged meetings between the leadership at First Church and Benton Heights. The fellowship was good and it seemed good to all to seriously consider joining our ministries to more effectively reach our communities. Instead of doing all the praching, I arranged for Pastors Bob Confer, Mary Shawl-Ranke, Bill Shepard, and Ryan Carrell to preach at Benton Heights, share the vision for their ministries, and tell how each of them and all our pastoral staff would cooperate to help the Benton Heights congregation move ahead. State Pastor and Overseer Bill Jones joined some of those meetings and encouraged Benton Heights to join forces with St Joseph First Church. He also explained how to handle the merger so we didn’t break any laws (or hearts) and so God would be glorified. His leadership, encouragement and expertise were invaluable.
On Sunday, February 7th, we held the last service as Benton Heights Church of God. It was a strange mixture of sadness and excitement. We knew something beautiful was ending, but something wonderful was also being born. Southwest Michigan State Pastor James Sparks came from Battle Creek, Micihgan to preach and encourage the congregation—thanking them for their sixty years of ministry, but also for their willingness to make drastic changes so they could continue to serve God effectively. Then for three weeks the congregation at Benton Heights joined First Church in St Joseph to, as Pastor Colp expressed it, “Experience the DNA of First Church at St Joseph”. That’s when Pastor Gordon’s voluntary crew of hundreds descended on Benton Heights to get it ready for the new normal. It was an amazing transformation and joyful prayer-filled labors as the two congregations worked together to renew the building for a new era of ministry.
Then Sunday, March 7, 2010, Rev. Mary Shawl-Ranke preached her first sermon as Campus Pastor to eighty persons (the Benton Heights Congregation and the “Core 50” from First Church). The next Sunday Pastor Colp preached on video (which will be the norm) with live preaching every six to eight weeks by Pastor Mary, sometimes Pastor myself, and ever so occasionally Pastor Colp. These first two services were a “soft opening” so we could learn to do church together as a congregation, before inviting the community to join us for worship.
And join us they did! A house full—158 people gathered for the “Grand Re-Opening” Sunday, March 21st! About ninety were new to the Church of God. Most were seeking a church home, but unsure they were welcome. Like a united nations of Berrien County many white families, a significant number of African-American families and several Hispanic families joined our warm fellowship. It was beautiful!
Brother Art Gift and the worship team led us in joyful, praise-filled worship of God, then Pastor Mary introduced Lead Pastor Colp (live no less) to preach his first sermon at the new First Church at Benton Heights. The congregation gave him a warm and welcome applause. The message was powerful and many responded to his encouragement to let God help them be the people He created them to be.
Thirty three children had their first experience at the new Benton Heights that day, led by First Church Children’s Pastor Bill Shepard (or Mr. Bill!), FCBH Ministry Director Ellen Russell, and their loving staff of children’s workers.
For our second Sunday, and the new normal First Church at Benton Heights, more than ninety people gathered. God has answered the prayers of his people—from both congregations, now one congregation meeting in five (count them) five different venues—Saturday night worship at 6, Sunday Sanctuary worship at 9:30, two 11:00 worships, one in the Family Life Center and one at Benton Heights, with the Young Adults, who gather at the Old Box Factory on a monthly basis to worship God and find warm fellowship. How good it is when God’s people worship together in unity, even when it is in several different locations!
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Hundreds have given uncountable hours cleaning, repairing, re-building and beautifying this wonderful old temple under the leadership of Pastor Greg Gordon and his marvelous voluntary crew. Dozens more joined Outreach Ministry Director Jenny Fry in creative and joyful ways to tell the community God loves them and so do we.
It all started when Benton Heights lay leader Brother Jim Benson called me, an associate pastor at First Church to ask if I could help Benton Heights by preaching for them until they got a pastor. As we talked I agreed to meet with them and see what we could do to help. I knew State Pastor and Overseer for the Church of God in Michigan, Reverend Bill Jones had been working with them and knew they were struggling to survive.
I also knew that for the past two years or so, First Church had been praying, dreaming and planning to begin a satellite ministry to Benton Harbor and all Berrien County. The question was where to begin. As soon as Lead Pastor David Colp heard about the Benton Heights request, a light came on in his eyes and he said excitedly, “Maybe this will be our first satellite site!” With Pastor Colp’s encouragement and blessing I met with Brother and Sister Jim (Lisette) Benson. They were very positive about the possibility of becoming a satellite ministry of First Church and assured me the congregation would whole-heartedly accept it. A subsequent meeting with the congregation’s leaders, Pastor Colp and other First Church staff, as well as Advisory Council Chair Jim Schueneman, affirmed that assumption and the process began in earnest.
Pastor Colp shared first with the Advisory Council, then with their enthusiastic blessing, with the entire congregation, and our new phase of outreach ministry began to take shape. The decision was made that regardless of what Benton Heights decided, this was the direction God was leading First Church. The First Church congregation enthusiastically supported the concept with their words of encouragement, prayers, financial support, time and talents. It was a small beginning that quickly became a total church effort.
The first day I talked with Brother Jim Benson was a Wednesday and that night I shared with my Wednesday night prayer group and asked them to pray for Benton Heights Church of God and for God to lead in what He wanted to happen there. That prayer mandate was enthusiastically accepted and it soon spread to the congregation as Pastor Colp began to share the vision, asking the church to pray for God’s direction.
For the first few weeks in November, 2009, I preached at Benton Heights and Lead Pastor David Colp arranged meetings between the leadership at First Church and Benton Heights. The fellowship was good and it seemed good to all to seriously consider joining our ministries to more effectively reach our communities. Instead of doing all the praching, I arranged for Pastors Bob Confer, Mary Shawl-Ranke, Bill Shepard, and Ryan Carrell to preach at Benton Heights, share the vision for their ministries, and tell how each of them and all our pastoral staff would cooperate to help the Benton Heights congregation move ahead. State Pastor and Overseer Bill Jones joined some of those meetings and encouraged Benton Heights to join forces with St Joseph First Church. He also explained how to handle the merger so we didn’t break any laws (or hearts) and so God would be glorified. His leadership, encouragement and expertise were invaluable.
On Sunday, February 7th, we held the last service as Benton Heights Church of God. It was a strange mixture of sadness and excitement. We knew something beautiful was ending, but something wonderful was also being born. Southwest Michigan State Pastor James Sparks came from Battle Creek, Micihgan to preach and encourage the congregation—thanking them for their sixty years of ministry, but also for their willingness to make drastic changes so they could continue to serve God effectively. Then for three weeks the congregation at Benton Heights joined First Church in St Joseph to, as Pastor Colp expressed it, “Experience the DNA of First Church at St Joseph”. That’s when Pastor Gordon’s voluntary crew of hundreds descended on Benton Heights to get it ready for the new normal. It was an amazing transformation and joyful prayer-filled labors as the two congregations worked together to renew the building for a new era of ministry.
Then Sunday, March 7, 2010, Rev. Mary Shawl-Ranke preached her first sermon as Campus Pastor to eighty persons (the Benton Heights Congregation and the “Core 50” from First Church). The next Sunday Pastor Colp preached on video (which will be the norm) with live preaching every six to eight weeks by Pastor Mary, sometimes Pastor myself, and ever so occasionally Pastor Colp. These first two services were a “soft opening” so we could learn to do church together as a congregation, before inviting the community to join us for worship.
And join us they did! A house full—158 people gathered for the “Grand Re-Opening” Sunday, March 21st! About ninety were new to the Church of God. Most were seeking a church home, but unsure they were welcome. Like a united nations of Berrien County many white families, a significant number of African-American families and several Hispanic families joined our warm fellowship. It was beautiful!
Brother Art Gift and the worship team led us in joyful, praise-filled worship of God, then Pastor Mary introduced Lead Pastor Colp (live no less) to preach his first sermon at the new First Church at Benton Heights. The congregation gave him a warm and welcome applause. The message was powerful and many responded to his encouragement to let God help them be the people He created them to be.
Thirty three children had their first experience at the new Benton Heights that day, led by First Church Children’s Pastor Bill Shepard (or Mr. Bill!), FCBH Ministry Director Ellen Russell, and their loving staff of children’s workers.
For our second Sunday, and the new normal First Church at Benton Heights, more than ninety people gathered. God has answered the prayers of his people—from both congregations, now one congregation meeting in five (count them) five different venues—Saturday night worship at 6, Sunday Sanctuary worship at 9:30, two 11:00 worships, one in the Family Life Center and one at Benton Heights, with the Young Adults, who gather at the Old Box Factory on a monthly basis to worship God and find warm fellowship. How good it is when God’s people worship together in unity, even when it is in several different locations!
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Saturday, March 06, 2010
Steps to Salvation
I believe a personal relationship with God comes through faith in Jesus Christ. When you see a person who is happy and contented, lives a fulfilled and productive life, handles difficulties and tragedies with grace that seems extraordinary or totally unbelievable, rest assured, what you see is not human strength, but the grace that comes from God. It is available to everyone who will accept it by faith. In the next few paragraphs I would like to share how you can experience this for yourself.
The first step is confession of sin. The Bible tells us “If we confess our sins, He who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9) So confession to God—admitting the sin in our lives—is the first step.
The second step to a personal relationship with God is repentance. The Bible says “Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out. (Acts 3:19a) In other words, we tell God we are sorry for our rebellion against him, our neglect of a relationship with him and our tendency to do our own thing with no regard for what He knows is best for us. There may also be specific sin that should be confessed. God already knows all about us, but for our own sake, we confess sin so we can be rid of it. Sin destroys people and it is something we all have to deal with until we surrender our lives to God. Even after we make a full surrender to God, our enemy Satan will try to interfere and it is important that we depend on God’s Spirit to be our friend and companion and give strength and guidance for whatever we face.
The third step to salvation is to “Believe on the Lord Jesus,…” (Acts16:31a). Belief, however, is more than mental agreement. This belief is a firm acknowledgement that Christ is the only means of salvation. But, and this is important, he is also all that is needed. Jesus Christ, God’s son, came to earth with the express purpose of making salvation available to all.
The remainder of this verse (Acts 16:31b) continues “and you will be saved—both you and your household.” We are saved from a life of sin, not by our own good works, but through faith in Christ, and a commitment to serve him to the best of our ability for the rest of our lives. That is not a life sentence, but a promise of an abundant life that is also eternal. Heaven really begins when we accept Christ as Savior and as long as we trust in him we live, even when we die. When we accept Christ as Savior, death becomes a mere doorway through which we walk into an even greater life.
I encourage you to pray through these three steps. Just talk, personally and from your heart, with God as if he were sitting right there with you. He is.
The final step in the abundant life with God is to continue to live your life surrendered to him. He loves you and wants what is best for you. You can trust him to guide you and give you the strength you need to serve him and be the best spouse, father, mother, son, daughter, worker, boss, etc. that you can be. God’s power will flow into and out through you, to help you be all he wants you to be, and do all he wants you to do. Trust him that what he wants for you is what you would want if you knew as much about life and the future as He knows.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
The first step is confession of sin. The Bible tells us “If we confess our sins, He who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9) So confession to God—admitting the sin in our lives—is the first step.
The second step to a personal relationship with God is repentance. The Bible says “Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out. (Acts 3:19a) In other words, we tell God we are sorry for our rebellion against him, our neglect of a relationship with him and our tendency to do our own thing with no regard for what He knows is best for us. There may also be specific sin that should be confessed. God already knows all about us, but for our own sake, we confess sin so we can be rid of it. Sin destroys people and it is something we all have to deal with until we surrender our lives to God. Even after we make a full surrender to God, our enemy Satan will try to interfere and it is important that we depend on God’s Spirit to be our friend and companion and give strength and guidance for whatever we face.
The third step to salvation is to “Believe on the Lord Jesus,…” (Acts16:31a). Belief, however, is more than mental agreement. This belief is a firm acknowledgement that Christ is the only means of salvation. But, and this is important, he is also all that is needed. Jesus Christ, God’s son, came to earth with the express purpose of making salvation available to all.
The remainder of this verse (Acts 16:31b) continues “and you will be saved—both you and your household.” We are saved from a life of sin, not by our own good works, but through faith in Christ, and a commitment to serve him to the best of our ability for the rest of our lives. That is not a life sentence, but a promise of an abundant life that is also eternal. Heaven really begins when we accept Christ as Savior and as long as we trust in him we live, even when we die. When we accept Christ as Savior, death becomes a mere doorway through which we walk into an even greater life.
I encourage you to pray through these three steps. Just talk, personally and from your heart, with God as if he were sitting right there with you. He is.
The final step in the abundant life with God is to continue to live your life surrendered to him. He loves you and wants what is best for you. You can trust him to guide you and give you the strength you need to serve him and be the best spouse, father, mother, son, daughter, worker, boss, etc. that you can be. God’s power will flow into and out through you, to help you be all he wants you to be, and do all he wants you to do. Trust him that what he wants for you is what you would want if you knew as much about life and the future as He knows.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The Most Important Job in the World
Many good things are happening in the church and in the world. More living people know Christ as Savior now than at any time in the history of the world! The gospel is being published more broadly than at any time in the past. But that doesn’t change the urgency of the evangelistic task because there are also more people who are lost today than ever in the history of the world, simply because world population is growing faster than we are evangelizing.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Even though much good is being accomplished in the kingdom, I am convinced that the most important task for Christians, is to pray. To pray for the good of the saints, for the salvation of the lost and for the success of every godly effort. But even more than all that, we pray just for the sheer joy of talking to God! What an awesome privilege we have, to talk personally at any time with the Creator of the universe, who is also our Father and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Again, what an awesome privilege.
Jesus taught us to pray for God’s kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. I think that means God wants everyone to be saved, so we need to pray for that on a regular basis. Paul wrote to Timothy that God “desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” (I Timothy 2:4(ESV)) and in II Peter 3:9 he wrote that the Lord is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” So a relationship with God through Christ is the first priority of God, and should be of every Christian. That won't happen unless people pray.
The wonderful thing is that prayer is also a work every Christian can do! Isn’t it marvelous that God makes the most important work the work of all Christians? He didn’t reserve the best and most important work for a few elite people, instead he allowed it to be a work we all can do.
Imagine if every Christian, every day, would 1) Pray for all the saints, 2) Pray for all the lost people on earth to be saved, and 3) Pray for God’s kingdom to come and God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven! There is absolutely nothing we can do that would have a greater effect for good and for God!
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Full Surrender
Surrender is vital to Christian maturity. Even after accepting Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit, the work of the Spirit is limited unless we remain fully surrendered to His work in and through us. God cannot bring us to Christ-like maturity unless we give His Spirit freedom to work.
Surrender is not a ritual where God arbitrarily blesses the obedient—nor a form of Holy magic where God waves a wand and we suddenly become super-saints. Neither do we pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, then give God the glory just to be nice. Christian maturity is a blend of human and Divine surrender. We surrender our weakness. God surrenders His strength. We surrender our sin. God surrenders His holiness. We surrender our resistance. God surrenders his assistance. If we live in full surrender, God will continue to work in our lives.
The work of the Holy Spirit is similar to the power steering unit in an automobile. The driver decides when and where to turn and the power steering unit supplies power to accomplish it. However, when we go outside the will of God, God must withdraw His Spirit to avoid helping us do what is not His will and not for our good. When God withdraws the power of his Spirit from our lives it is like an automobile engine that dies while the car is still moving—the car becomes extremely difficult to steer. If life is not going right we need to carefully consider what the reason may be. Could it be we are outside the will of God in action, activity or attitude?
Life in Christ means becoming more like Jesus—our main task and the primary work of the Holy Spirit working in us. He constantly seeks to restore in us the image of God lost first by Adam through disobedience, and secondly by us when we personally choose sin. Our every disobedience distorts God's image in our lives, and the farther we go outside God’s will, the more work God's Spirit must do to restore us to what God created us to be.
The surrendered life helps us become more Spirit-directed in daily living. Learning to live under the Spirit's constant direction saves us from many heartaches as well as much wasted time and effort. After all, God knows everything—even the future. He knows the ramifications of all our possible decisions before we even make them. He knows what we should do to achieve the best for our lives. If our desires agree with His Will, we can count on God to help us accomplish them. When we live in disobedience to God we must live without God’s help. (Although not entirely, we could not survive at all if God totally withdrew his support for life. The Bible makes it clear that: “in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28(NIV)).
But when we try to live the Christian life without the infilling of Christ’s Spirit we ignore our greatest help, because the most significant help for spiritual growth is the active power of God’s Spirit working in believers’ lives. Is it surprising Jesus told his disciples to wait until they were baptized with the Holy Spirit to begin their witness?
The surrendered life also helps us become more useful in God’s Kingdom. If our desire is to be more useful for God we can depend on Him to be constantly refining us to make our lives pure spiritual gold.
Remember, we are created in His Image to the Glory of God; distorted by sin to the disappointment of God, redeemed from sin by the sacrifice of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord, and restored to His Image by the Spirit of God.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Surrender is not a ritual where God arbitrarily blesses the obedient—nor a form of Holy magic where God waves a wand and we suddenly become super-saints. Neither do we pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, then give God the glory just to be nice. Christian maturity is a blend of human and Divine surrender. We surrender our weakness. God surrenders His strength. We surrender our sin. God surrenders His holiness. We surrender our resistance. God surrenders his assistance. If we live in full surrender, God will continue to work in our lives.
The work of the Holy Spirit is similar to the power steering unit in an automobile. The driver decides when and where to turn and the power steering unit supplies power to accomplish it. However, when we go outside the will of God, God must withdraw His Spirit to avoid helping us do what is not His will and not for our good. When God withdraws the power of his Spirit from our lives it is like an automobile engine that dies while the car is still moving—the car becomes extremely difficult to steer. If life is not going right we need to carefully consider what the reason may be. Could it be we are outside the will of God in action, activity or attitude?
Life in Christ means becoming more like Jesus—our main task and the primary work of the Holy Spirit working in us. He constantly seeks to restore in us the image of God lost first by Adam through disobedience, and secondly by us when we personally choose sin. Our every disobedience distorts God's image in our lives, and the farther we go outside God’s will, the more work God's Spirit must do to restore us to what God created us to be.
The surrendered life helps us become more Spirit-directed in daily living. Learning to live under the Spirit's constant direction saves us from many heartaches as well as much wasted time and effort. After all, God knows everything—even the future. He knows the ramifications of all our possible decisions before we even make them. He knows what we should do to achieve the best for our lives. If our desires agree with His Will, we can count on God to help us accomplish them. When we live in disobedience to God we must live without God’s help. (Although not entirely, we could not survive at all if God totally withdrew his support for life. The Bible makes it clear that: “in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28(NIV)).
But when we try to live the Christian life without the infilling of Christ’s Spirit we ignore our greatest help, because the most significant help for spiritual growth is the active power of God’s Spirit working in believers’ lives. Is it surprising Jesus told his disciples to wait until they were baptized with the Holy Spirit to begin their witness?
The surrendered life also helps us become more useful in God’s Kingdom. If our desire is to be more useful for God we can depend on Him to be constantly refining us to make our lives pure spiritual gold.
Remember, we are created in His Image to the Glory of God; distorted by sin to the disappointment of God, redeemed from sin by the sacrifice of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord, and restored to His Image by the Spirit of God.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
How can a loving God send someone to hell?
God doesn't send anyone to hell. Hell is real, but it is a result of humanity rejecting God. Scripture shows us how to escape hell and spend eternity with God. God's perfect plan is that we, though conceived on earth, are eternal souls who live eternally with him.
Sin separates us from God and that is hell—to be eternally separated from God—whereas in heaven we live in the eternal presence of God. God wants to save us from hell so he sent Jesus to redeem us from sin and bring us back into His glorious Presence. In a sense, our physical bodies and earthly existence separate us from God because he is Spirit and we are flesh. We have a taste of hell when we cannot see God face to face because our earthly eyes cannot see spirit, whether the Spirit of God or the spirit of a brother or sister in Christ. In heaven we will see the glorified bodies of our brothers and sisters, as well as God and His holy angels, as easily as we see earthly bodies here.
Satan’s desires oppose God. Satan wants to separate humanity from God eternally and have them with him (not because he loves us) because he wants to destroy God’s creation. The human heart is good and beautiful and true only when totally surrendered to God. Without God we, like Satan, can be vile and capable of every kind of evil. The prophet Jeremiah warns (17:9) "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked." Without God, the heart’s deceitfulness runs rampant, so Satan succeeds when he separates us from God.
When God created humanity, we were designed for God. We cannot live without him. While on earth, we can survive physically without God but only because of his loving kindness and generosity. He continues to give life and breath even when we reject him. However, when our physical bodies die (and they do because our bodies were not created for eternity) we are homeless and separated from God. Satan has accomplished his desire—to separate us eternally from our Creator and his unconditional love.
Hell is a "place" for Satan and his demons. They want no part of God and probably prefer where they are, to heaven. We, on the other hand, were not created to be separated from God and we perish without him. Because our souls are eternal, the death of the soul is not like the death of a physical body, which will eventually be complete so our earthly bodies find rest in death. Without the redeeming power of God, once sin enters our lives we are condemned to eternal death—prolonged and eternal—absent from a loving God and in the presence of Satan and his demons.
If such a thing sounds horrible to us with our limited understanding, imagine how it grieves God that those he created to live eternally as his children instead experience eternity without him and his goodness. The Bible is clear God doesn't want that to happen to anyone—"not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9NIV). “God wants everyone to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.” (I Timothy 2:1-4NIV). “God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the whole world, through him, might be saved.” (John 3:17).
You are God’s child. He loves you and wants you to experience the full blessing of His unconditional love. I urge you to open your heart to him now and invite him in. If you need help, call a pastor or Christian friend. Help is available.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Sin separates us from God and that is hell—to be eternally separated from God—whereas in heaven we live in the eternal presence of God. God wants to save us from hell so he sent Jesus to redeem us from sin and bring us back into His glorious Presence. In a sense, our physical bodies and earthly existence separate us from God because he is Spirit and we are flesh. We have a taste of hell when we cannot see God face to face because our earthly eyes cannot see spirit, whether the Spirit of God or the spirit of a brother or sister in Christ. In heaven we will see the glorified bodies of our brothers and sisters, as well as God and His holy angels, as easily as we see earthly bodies here.
Satan’s desires oppose God. Satan wants to separate humanity from God eternally and have them with him (not because he loves us) because he wants to destroy God’s creation. The human heart is good and beautiful and true only when totally surrendered to God. Without God we, like Satan, can be vile and capable of every kind of evil. The prophet Jeremiah warns (17:9) "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked." Without God, the heart’s deceitfulness runs rampant, so Satan succeeds when he separates us from God.
When God created humanity, we were designed for God. We cannot live without him. While on earth, we can survive physically without God but only because of his loving kindness and generosity. He continues to give life and breath even when we reject him. However, when our physical bodies die (and they do because our bodies were not created for eternity) we are homeless and separated from God. Satan has accomplished his desire—to separate us eternally from our Creator and his unconditional love.
Hell is a "place" for Satan and his demons. They want no part of God and probably prefer where they are, to heaven. We, on the other hand, were not created to be separated from God and we perish without him. Because our souls are eternal, the death of the soul is not like the death of a physical body, which will eventually be complete so our earthly bodies find rest in death. Without the redeeming power of God, once sin enters our lives we are condemned to eternal death—prolonged and eternal—absent from a loving God and in the presence of Satan and his demons.
If such a thing sounds horrible to us with our limited understanding, imagine how it grieves God that those he created to live eternally as his children instead experience eternity without him and his goodness. The Bible is clear God doesn't want that to happen to anyone—"not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9NIV). “God wants everyone to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.” (I Timothy 2:1-4NIV). “God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the whole world, through him, might be saved.” (John 3:17).
You are God’s child. He loves you and wants you to experience the full blessing of His unconditional love. I urge you to open your heart to him now and invite him in. If you need help, call a pastor or Christian friend. Help is available.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
The Power of the Sign
Around our church staff we often hear comments about “the power of the sign”. Often coming from Jennifer, our church receptionist. She often gets calls about the sign in front of our church on Niles Avenue, sometimes from our own congregants and often from persons in the community. Niles Avenue is a busy street and many people read the sign, especially if they’re caught by the traffic light at Botham Avenue as they travel toward downtown.
The risen Christ said, in Acts 1:8 that we would receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on us and, as a result, we would be his witnesses “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Probably, to those disciples, Berrien County Michigan, would be the “ends of the earth”. North America was totally unknown to the world at that time, but his witness has come to our community and we are blessed with thousands of Christ-followers who try to live out the love of Christ in an amazing variety of ways. We are the “signs” for Jesus! We are his witnesses!
We often think of witnesses as being when we tell someone about what God has done for us through Christ Jesus, and that is a wonderful thing. We should do it at every opportunity and with increasing skill the longer we serve him. However, “the power of the sign” is in just being there where people can see it and read it at their leisure or in the midst of their busy days. That is also true of the power of a transformed life. If God has touched your life—if you are living out your faith to the best of your ability, then God has transformed you into a powerful sign of his divine presence.
An unbeliever might sometimes view the sign with suspicion—why is she being so nice? What does he expect to get out of this? What is their real motive? But the power of the sign, if it is just there, day after day, being Christ-like, loving others through normal courtesies, casual friendliness, genuine compassion when they’re hurting, or honest appreciation for a kindness shown, is the very best witness to the power of Christ to change a life.
Not everyone has the gift of evangelism. Not everyone can put their faith into words in a way that will influence someone else to become a follower of Christ. But each of us can be witnesses for Christ as we allow his Spirit to live in us and transform us day by day into his image—not making us all alike, but giving each of us the attributes of godliness that bless the world around us on a day to day basis, each of us in our own unique way.
I am the beneficiary of those blessings on so many days, in so many ways, from so many people, who quietly go about their lives being Christ to everyone they meet. May God help each of us to always be a sign of Jesus Christ to everyone we meet. God will do his part if we will each do ours, and the result will be the gradual, but dramatic transformation of society, by his divine Presence in our very human lives.
Never underestimate the power of the sign!
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
The risen Christ said, in Acts 1:8 that we would receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on us and, as a result, we would be his witnesses “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Probably, to those disciples, Berrien County Michigan, would be the “ends of the earth”. North America was totally unknown to the world at that time, but his witness has come to our community and we are blessed with thousands of Christ-followers who try to live out the love of Christ in an amazing variety of ways. We are the “signs” for Jesus! We are his witnesses!
We often think of witnesses as being when we tell someone about what God has done for us through Christ Jesus, and that is a wonderful thing. We should do it at every opportunity and with increasing skill the longer we serve him. However, “the power of the sign” is in just being there where people can see it and read it at their leisure or in the midst of their busy days. That is also true of the power of a transformed life. If God has touched your life—if you are living out your faith to the best of your ability, then God has transformed you into a powerful sign of his divine presence.
An unbeliever might sometimes view the sign with suspicion—why is she being so nice? What does he expect to get out of this? What is their real motive? But the power of the sign, if it is just there, day after day, being Christ-like, loving others through normal courtesies, casual friendliness, genuine compassion when they’re hurting, or honest appreciation for a kindness shown, is the very best witness to the power of Christ to change a life.
Not everyone has the gift of evangelism. Not everyone can put their faith into words in a way that will influence someone else to become a follower of Christ. But each of us can be witnesses for Christ as we allow his Spirit to live in us and transform us day by day into his image—not making us all alike, but giving each of us the attributes of godliness that bless the world around us on a day to day basis, each of us in our own unique way.
I am the beneficiary of those blessings on so many days, in so many ways, from so many people, who quietly go about their lives being Christ to everyone they meet. May God help each of us to always be a sign of Jesus Christ to everyone we meet. God will do his part if we will each do ours, and the result will be the gradual, but dramatic transformation of society, by his divine Presence in our very human lives.
Never underestimate the power of the sign!
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Rising to the Next Level
Recently I have had a number of experiences of talking with people who are Christians, and have been so for many years, but they have not yet had the personal experience with God that they see in others in our congregation—and they hunger for it.
Many of them have grown up in, or been a part of solid Christian denominations, but those who do not encourage or teach a personal relationship with God. So they live their lives praying to God, but he is always the God who is “out there”—as if they’re standing at the door talking to him through the screen door, or through a window—with God on the outside and they on the inside of this house called life.
But now they want more. They know people who seem to have an inside track with God. These other persons have a close personal relationship that they themselves have never experienced—and they want to experience it too.
Too often in the past we have told these persons they need to “get saved”, which is really an insult because they have been serving God to the best of their ability for many years. After much thought and prayer I now approach this situation in a different way. In a situation like this I talk to them about moving up to a whole new level in their relationship with God. I try to never denigrate the relationship they already have. I recognize them as Christians and I truly believe if they died, they would go to heaven. We are saved through faith in Christ, not by some particular method of believing or ritual (such as kneeling at an altar) no matter how meaningful that ritual is to us. The secret of salvation is in our faith in Jesus Christ, not in a particular method or denominational polity.
If you don’t know Christ in a personal way, you’re missing something very special. He wants to be your best friend and when he becomes so, it won’t hurt your relationship with your current best friend. (At least not usually—there are exceptions when the current best friend resents the change in you and tries to turn you away from Christ.) When that happens you have to make a choice and I hope you choose Jesus. He will make all of your good relationships better, he can sometimes redeem relationships that are bad, and He will help you move up to an entirely new level of your Christian walk.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Many of them have grown up in, or been a part of solid Christian denominations, but those who do not encourage or teach a personal relationship with God. So they live their lives praying to God, but he is always the God who is “out there”—as if they’re standing at the door talking to him through the screen door, or through a window—with God on the outside and they on the inside of this house called life.
But now they want more. They know people who seem to have an inside track with God. These other persons have a close personal relationship that they themselves have never experienced—and they want to experience it too.
Too often in the past we have told these persons they need to “get saved”, which is really an insult because they have been serving God to the best of their ability for many years. After much thought and prayer I now approach this situation in a different way. In a situation like this I talk to them about moving up to a whole new level in their relationship with God. I try to never denigrate the relationship they already have. I recognize them as Christians and I truly believe if they died, they would go to heaven. We are saved through faith in Christ, not by some particular method of believing or ritual (such as kneeling at an altar) no matter how meaningful that ritual is to us. The secret of salvation is in our faith in Jesus Christ, not in a particular method or denominational polity.
If you don’t know Christ in a personal way, you’re missing something very special. He wants to be your best friend and when he becomes so, it won’t hurt your relationship with your current best friend. (At least not usually—there are exceptions when the current best friend resents the change in you and tries to turn you away from Christ.) When that happens you have to make a choice and I hope you choose Jesus. He will make all of your good relationships better, he can sometimes redeem relationships that are bad, and He will help you move up to an entirely new level of your Christian walk.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Visiting Alzheimer Patients
I recently visited with a parishioner who has Alzheimer’s Disease. It was a pleasant experience and the parishioner seemed to appreciate and enjoy the visit and my prayer before I left. It occurred to me that perhaps my experience with my mother, who had Alzheimer’s for years before she died, probably gave me some experience that would be helpful to others.
Often when we visit friends or family members with Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia, we feel ill at ease because the patient is often anxious and uncomfortable. Then, we often think it would be better if we hadn’t come at all. Let me assure you, that is not true. It is good that you went to visit, and it was probably helpful to the patient to have some diversion to their life, even if they don’t remember it moments after you leave.
Here are some suggestions that may be helpful to you:
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
(This article was first published in First Touch, online newsletter for First Church of God, St Joseph, Michigan.)
Often when we visit friends or family members with Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia, we feel ill at ease because the patient is often anxious and uncomfortable. Then, we often think it would be better if we hadn’t come at all. Let me assure you, that is not true. It is good that you went to visit, and it was probably helpful to the patient to have some diversion to their life, even if they don’t remember it moments after you leave.
Here are some suggestions that may be helpful to you:
- Just love them. How long they remember you isn’t as important as bringing a bright spot to their day.
- Treasure the moments. Learn to treasure the moments, the smiles, the conversation—even if it is sometimes disjointed and doesn’t always make sense. It is good for them to chat with you. Your presence is important to them.
- Don’t ask questions. Never ask them to clarify or explain. They can’t, and the anxiety will come quickly.
I noticed early on in Mom’s Alzheimer time of life that if I asked her questions that she couldn’t answer, even the least thing, she would become anxious and ill at ease—perhaps embarrassed because she didn’t know the answer. (Although, I’m not sure if she was embarrassed, because she couldn’t tell me.)
I soon learned to never ask questions, but to always tell her things. First, I would tell her who I was: “I’m your son, Rick. I wanted to stop by and see you today. How are you?” (That’s one question I could always ask Mom. It may not be true of all Alzheimer patients.) Tell them about the weather. Tell them about your children, grandchildren, friends, the news, anything that may be of interest. But always tell it as if you wouldn’t expect the patient to know any of it, so he/she doesn’t have to do mental calculations, which might make them feel anxious.
The main thing is to visit. Even though they won’t remember, the moments are precious “in the moment.”
In the latter days of his life, former president Ronald Reagan was afflicted with Alzheimer’s Disease. His son was faithful to visit him, and Reagan greeted his visits eagerly, even though he then only knew him as, “the man who hugs me.”
Just be the one who hugs them.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
(This article was first published in First Touch, online newsletter for First Church of God, St Joseph, Michigan.)
The Slaughter of the Innocents
President Obama didn’t waste any time overturning President Bush’s limits on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. In my opinion it was a very sad day in our nation’s history. He who talked so much about bringing people together not only “dissed” millions of people who sincerely believe such research is wrong because it destroys people, he also endorsed as "good" science something that has not proven to be good science. Embryonic stem cell research has not been nearly as effective as adult stem research, which does not have any bad ethical implications. Why then, do people continue to insist on something as being “good science” when the preponderance of scientific evidence supports something else entirely? It may be politically correct, but it is definitely not good science.
There is a God and he is fully involved in the human experience. When we do what is right he helps us to accomplish it. When we do what is wrong he not only doesn’t help, he may even hinder our efforts. Do you think maybe he is trying to tell us something about embryonic stem cell research? Could it be when he created us he built into our DNA the possibilities of adult stem cells being used in such powerful ways and now that human understanding has developed to the point we can use such research effectively he is ready to open up to us great new areas of scientific knowledge in the area of human health?
On the other hand, because he who even sees the sparrow fall, agonizes over the death of even an infinitely small and unborn human being, perhaps even before creation he looked into the future and saw that “the heart is deceitful and exceedingly wicked” perhaps therefore, he created us so that it would be impossible for us to effectively used embryonic stem cells that require the destruction of his beloved children? Perhaps it will never be successful and therefore we will spend billions on worthless, pseudo science that is totally out of touch with reality.
President Obama also over-turned President Bush’s executive order that ended taxpayer support of abortions in the world outside our nation. I pray for President Obama and I hope you do as well. One of the things I pray for is that God will impress on him the fact that he has been elected to be president of all the people, even those who are not yet born. And, I pray God will help him make godly decision that will bless our nation.
Our home and congregation are just a few miles from the famed Catholic University of Notre Dame. The president and leaders of the university have asked President Obama to be a speaker at this year’s Spring graduation exercises. They also plan to give him an honorary degree. However, many students, faculty and staff of the university, as well as laity, cardinals and priests throughout the church are speaking up with the conviction that his strong pro-abortion stance is totally out of sync with the theology and ethics of the Catholic Church. (Notice I said “pro-abortion”, not “pro-choice”—the babies have no choice at all.)
You’ve probably heard about this on the news, although we probably hear more because we’re so close. Please pray for the university to make the right decision and reject the concept of ignoring sin just because it is politically correct.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
There is a God and he is fully involved in the human experience. When we do what is right he helps us to accomplish it. When we do what is wrong he not only doesn’t help, he may even hinder our efforts. Do you think maybe he is trying to tell us something about embryonic stem cell research? Could it be when he created us he built into our DNA the possibilities of adult stem cells being used in such powerful ways and now that human understanding has developed to the point we can use such research effectively he is ready to open up to us great new areas of scientific knowledge in the area of human health?
On the other hand, because he who even sees the sparrow fall, agonizes over the death of even an infinitely small and unborn human being, perhaps even before creation he looked into the future and saw that “the heart is deceitful and exceedingly wicked” perhaps therefore, he created us so that it would be impossible for us to effectively used embryonic stem cells that require the destruction of his beloved children? Perhaps it will never be successful and therefore we will spend billions on worthless, pseudo science that is totally out of touch with reality.
President Obama also over-turned President Bush’s executive order that ended taxpayer support of abortions in the world outside our nation. I pray for President Obama and I hope you do as well. One of the things I pray for is that God will impress on him the fact that he has been elected to be president of all the people, even those who are not yet born. And, I pray God will help him make godly decision that will bless our nation.
Our home and congregation are just a few miles from the famed Catholic University of Notre Dame. The president and leaders of the university have asked President Obama to be a speaker at this year’s Spring graduation exercises. They also plan to give him an honorary degree. However, many students, faculty and staff of the university, as well as laity, cardinals and priests throughout the church are speaking up with the conviction that his strong pro-abortion stance is totally out of sync with the theology and ethics of the Catholic Church. (Notice I said “pro-abortion”, not “pro-choice”—the babies have no choice at all.)
You’ve probably heard about this on the news, although we probably hear more because we’re so close. Please pray for the university to make the right decision and reject the concept of ignoring sin just because it is politically correct.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Holy Week Musings
As we move through what we call Holy Week, we may ask ourselves, why would we call this “Holy Week”? It was the week during which the holy Son of God was crucified by unspeakable evil on a cruel cross in the most horrific crime ever committed in the life of our planet. Shouldn’t we call it “Evil Week”?
No we shouldn’t. Because this is the week that goodness, or holiness triumphed over evil. It was a week of cosmic battle between the forces of good and evil—and righteousness prevailed totally and completely. Evil has forever been condemned to second place in the power forces of world domination.
One purpose of Holy Week is to help us remember that good did triumph over evil in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ and because of that we do two things. First, those of us who have accepted Christ’s death on the cross by faith experience the joy of new life personally and communally, as we worship and work individually, and together with our fellow Christians, locally and around the world, to help Him make the world better.
That’s actually the second thing we do—we make the world better. This is found in John 10:10(NIV) where Jesus said, “The thief came only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” As people of God we cooperate with Jesus in what he came to do. His work on the cross was a complete work, but the results are seen incrementally as lives are transformed by the power of the Gospel of Christ working in individual hearts. This personal transformation, multiplied over and over again brings an amazing transformation to society that is the Divine plan.
So during Holy Week we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, proof of the greatest victory the world has ever known—a victory that makes possible ever more victories on top of victories. This wonderful victorious life of triumph over evil will continue and increase as long as this world exists and then will continue in heaven for eternity.
So this Holy Week and every resurrection Sunday of our lives we celebrate the victory of good over evil in the person Jesus Christ and in every person who lives a life redeemed by him and surrendered to the power of his Spirit living in us.
“Praise God, from whom all blessings flow!”
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
No we shouldn’t. Because this is the week that goodness, or holiness triumphed over evil. It was a week of cosmic battle between the forces of good and evil—and righteousness prevailed totally and completely. Evil has forever been condemned to second place in the power forces of world domination.
One purpose of Holy Week is to help us remember that good did triumph over evil in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ and because of that we do two things. First, those of us who have accepted Christ’s death on the cross by faith experience the joy of new life personally and communally, as we worship and work individually, and together with our fellow Christians, locally and around the world, to help Him make the world better.
That’s actually the second thing we do—we make the world better. This is found in John 10:10(NIV) where Jesus said, “The thief came only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” As people of God we cooperate with Jesus in what he came to do. His work on the cross was a complete work, but the results are seen incrementally as lives are transformed by the power of the Gospel of Christ working in individual hearts. This personal transformation, multiplied over and over again brings an amazing transformation to society that is the Divine plan.
So during Holy Week we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, proof of the greatest victory the world has ever known—a victory that makes possible ever more victories on top of victories. This wonderful victorious life of triumph over evil will continue and increase as long as this world exists and then will continue in heaven for eternity.
So this Holy Week and every resurrection Sunday of our lives we celebrate the victory of good over evil in the person Jesus Christ and in every person who lives a life redeemed by him and surrendered to the power of his Spirit living in us.
“Praise God, from whom all blessings flow!”
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Letter to a Prisoner. .
Previously published Saturday, March 7, 2009, in the
Herald-Palladium newspaper column: Insights, at:
http://www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2009/03/07/features/295090.txt
Dear Friend,
I compliment you on the interesting letter you wrote and your honesty about your life situation. All of us make mistakes, so you are not alone. I can’t imagine how difficult prison must be, but I rejoice in your desire to improve.
The fact you made mistakes and have sin in your life doesn’t mean you are not acceptable to God. It means you need God’s help. And God wants so much to help that he sent his son Jesus, to die for us. You said you’re trying to improve your life. I believe the best way to improve our situation is to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, then experience God’s love as His beloved children!
Two Bible versed in John’s Gospel (3:16-17) make this clear. These verses show God loves us and Jesus did not come to condemn, but to save. We all have things in our lives that deserve condemnation, but that is not what Jesus is about. He is about forgiveness. He came to save the world, but he also came to save you. Every one of us could read these verses like this:
16"For God so loved me that he gave his one and only Son, that if I believe in him I will not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn me, but to save me through him.”
You wrote you feel “almost lost”. Really, all of us are lost when we don’t know Christ as Savior. The only solution is this spiritual birth, in which every other Christian on earth becomes your brother or sister in Christ. You find both yourself and a new family.
This spiritual birth comes when we admit our sin to God, are sorry for that sin and ask God to forgive us. In Romans (3:22-24), the Bible says:
"22God treats everyone alike. He accepts people only because they have faith in Jesus Christ. 23All of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. 24But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins." (Contemporary English Version)
You asked about joining a church. I believe there is only one church—God’s church. Local churches and church groups have many different names, but if they teach salvation by faith in Christ, they are part of God’s one true church. We all become members in this universal church by that spiritual birth called faith in Jesus Christ. Then you find a local church in which to worship and serve.
Jesus tells us in John 3:3 “No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” Here is a prayer you can pray to be sure you have experienced this spiritual birth. God is with you and he understands the language of the heart, so when you pray in sincere faith, He will hear. If you are ready to make this decision, pray this prayer (either silently or aloud):
Heavenly Father, I am a sinner. I have done much wrong, and am truly sorry. I want to reject sin and be saved by faith in your son Jesus Christ.
Lord Jesus, I believe it is only by faith in you I can be saved. You are God’s Son and Savior of the world. Please come into my heart and cleanse me of all sin. I accept you as my Savior and with your help I’ll do my best to serve you all my remaining life. Amen.
If you prayed sincerely and believe Christ is not only Savior of the world, but your personal Savior, you are born spiritually as a child of God and are a member of his universal church. Welcome! Find another Christian and tell them you’re in the family too.
Or, find someone who is not yet a Christian and invite them into the family!
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Herald-Palladium newspaper column: Insights, at:
http://www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2009/03/07/features/295090.txt
Dear Friend,
I compliment you on the interesting letter you wrote and your honesty about your life situation. All of us make mistakes, so you are not alone. I can’t imagine how difficult prison must be, but I rejoice in your desire to improve.
The fact you made mistakes and have sin in your life doesn’t mean you are not acceptable to God. It means you need God’s help. And God wants so much to help that he sent his son Jesus, to die for us. You said you’re trying to improve your life. I believe the best way to improve our situation is to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, then experience God’s love as His beloved children!
Two Bible versed in John’s Gospel (3:16-17) make this clear. These verses show God loves us and Jesus did not come to condemn, but to save. We all have things in our lives that deserve condemnation, but that is not what Jesus is about. He is about forgiveness. He came to save the world, but he also came to save you. Every one of us could read these verses like this:
16"For God so loved me that he gave his one and only Son, that if I believe in him I will not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn me, but to save me through him.”
You wrote you feel “almost lost”. Really, all of us are lost when we don’t know Christ as Savior. The only solution is this spiritual birth, in which every other Christian on earth becomes your brother or sister in Christ. You find both yourself and a new family.
This spiritual birth comes when we admit our sin to God, are sorry for that sin and ask God to forgive us. In Romans (3:22-24), the Bible says:
"22God treats everyone alike. He accepts people only because they have faith in Jesus Christ. 23All of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. 24But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins." (Contemporary English Version)
You asked about joining a church. I believe there is only one church—God’s church. Local churches and church groups have many different names, but if they teach salvation by faith in Christ, they are part of God’s one true church. We all become members in this universal church by that spiritual birth called faith in Jesus Christ. Then you find a local church in which to worship and serve.
Jesus tells us in John 3:3 “No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” Here is a prayer you can pray to be sure you have experienced this spiritual birth. God is with you and he understands the language of the heart, so when you pray in sincere faith, He will hear. If you are ready to make this decision, pray this prayer (either silently or aloud):
Heavenly Father, I am a sinner. I have done much wrong, and am truly sorry. I want to reject sin and be saved by faith in your son Jesus Christ.
Lord Jesus, I believe it is only by faith in you I can be saved. You are God’s Son and Savior of the world. Please come into my heart and cleanse me of all sin. I accept you as my Savior and with your help I’ll do my best to serve you all my remaining life. Amen.
If you prayed sincerely and believe Christ is not only Savior of the world, but your personal Savior, you are born spiritually as a child of God and are a member of his universal church. Welcome! Find another Christian and tell them you’re in the family too.
Or, find someone who is not yet a Christian and invite them into the family!
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
From Where Do Church Groups Come?
Well, somebody starts them. Often not intentionally. They may begin because of doctrinal differences with a person’s current church. John Winebrenner was a Dutch Reformed minister who began having evangelistic revivals to get people saved. When he wouldn’t stop, he was removed from the Dutch Reformed Church and started the Churches of God of North America. About a hundred years later, Daniel Warner, one of their ministers, began to preach about sanctification and the work of the Holy Spirit and he was removed from that church and thus began our group who call themselves the Church of God, or the Church of God Reformation Movement. Also know as the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) to differentiate us from dozens of other groups who also use this biblical name.
Or they may be cultural in nature. A particular church group may have doctrines that are very similar to other groups, but the people don’t fit in with those other groups because their culture is so different they just can’t connect.
And there is the possibility that God starts them because he wants to reveal himself through them in a particular way. Sometimes the doctrinal differences aren’t great enough to justify two different groups being separate, but their emphasis in ministry is very different. Could it be that God wants both so he can express himself fully in both those ways? Could it be different church groups are gifted by God in different ways—anointed by God to lead the whole body of Christ in particular ministries? Let me give some examples.
The Mennonite, Amish and Brethren Churches tend to be greatly gifted at “helps” and “service” ministries. They’re good at a lot of things. Strong Bible teachers, great worshippers, etc., but they are known for their ability to help people when they are in need. They have also taught other church groups how to do those things better. Maybe they have the gift of helps.
The Pentecostal movement has not taken hold in all of our churches because many of us just do not accept the concept of a “heavenly language” or “unknown tongue”, but the charismatic worship of the Pentecostals has blessed almost all of Christianity because they have taught us how to worship God more fervently and passionately. Perhaps they are particularly anointed for worship and for teaching us all how to worship God with all our hearts.
The Baptists, such as Rick Warren and many others in many different Baptist groups are greatly gifted at evangelism and have taught the entire body of Christ how to be more effective evangelists. Perhaps they have the gift of evangelism.
There are many more examples, but the point is, just because church groups differ in some ways, doesn’t mean they aren’t our brothers and sisters in the Lord. There is really only one Christian Church and whether we call it the Church of God, Christian Church, Church of Christ, Assembly of God, etc., etc., etc., doesn’t matter. What matters is our relationship with Christ and our correct teaching on those basic Christian doctrines on which we all agree.
I’m Rick Blumenberg,
And that’s My View from Tanner Creek.
Or they may be cultural in nature. A particular church group may have doctrines that are very similar to other groups, but the people don’t fit in with those other groups because their culture is so different they just can’t connect.
And there is the possibility that God starts them because he wants to reveal himself through them in a particular way. Sometimes the doctrinal differences aren’t great enough to justify two different groups being separate, but their emphasis in ministry is very different. Could it be that God wants both so he can express himself fully in both those ways? Could it be different church groups are gifted by God in different ways—anointed by God to lead the whole body of Christ in particular ministries? Let me give some examples.
The Mennonite, Amish and Brethren Churches tend to be greatly gifted at “helps” and “service” ministries. They’re good at a lot of things. Strong Bible teachers, great worshippers, etc., but they are known for their ability to help people when they are in need. They have also taught other church groups how to do those things better. Maybe they have the gift of helps.
The Pentecostal movement has not taken hold in all of our churches because many of us just do not accept the concept of a “heavenly language” or “unknown tongue”, but the charismatic worship of the Pentecostals has blessed almost all of Christianity because they have taught us how to worship God more fervently and passionately. Perhaps they are particularly anointed for worship and for teaching us all how to worship God with all our hearts.
The Baptists, such as Rick Warren and many others in many different Baptist groups are greatly gifted at evangelism and have taught the entire body of Christ how to be more effective evangelists. Perhaps they have the gift of evangelism.
There are many more examples, but the point is, just because church groups differ in some ways, doesn’t mean they aren’t our brothers and sisters in the Lord. There is really only one Christian Church and whether we call it the Church of God, Christian Church, Church of Christ, Assembly of God, etc., etc., etc., doesn’t matter. What matters is our relationship with Christ and our correct teaching on those basic Christian doctrines on which we all agree.
I’m Rick Blumenberg,
And that’s My View from Tanner Creek.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Celebrating the "Most-Christian" Era . . .
I don’t know if he was quoting someone else or if it was his own creation, but the speaker said “There are only two ministry experiences in this post-Christendom era: 1. slow death 2. deep change.”
From my experience, I’m convinced the two ministry experiences have always been slow death or deep change. It was true when Jesus walked the earth in human flesh as a God-man and it is still true today as he walks the earth in human flesh as the eternal transformer of mankind. The worst thing that can happen to any Christian at any stage of development is to think we have finished with change. When we stop changing we lose the vitality of our relationship with Christ because he never stops changing us as long as the relationship is real and growing. When we stop being changed by our relationship with him we can be sure he has ceased to be Lord and Master, otherwise he always transforms us into his likeness. When we are totally surrendered to Christ and living in the power of his Spirit, we are “complete in him” (Colossians 2:10) but Christ will continue to transform us more and more into his image as long as we live in this world if we live in a state of full surrender.
What troubled me most, was the implication that we live in a post-Christian era. Now, notice he did not say “post-Christian” but “post-Christendom”. There is a huge difference and I’m sure the phrase was intentional. Perhaps he used that phrase because he, like myself, believes the best of the Christian era is not past but future, even though, as we all know, it will continue to be different in the future than it has been in the past.
I just “Googled” “Post-Christian” at fifty hits per page and got twelve pages or 600 hits. As you can imagine, I didn’t read them all, but skimming through the info I saw some heralding the demise of Christianity—some with glee and some with sorrow. Some dealt with how to witness for Christ in a Post-Christian world. I’m sure all have good thoughts, but I won’t accept the idea of a Post-Christian world until Christ returns. Until then, he will continue to work in the hearts and lives of those who allow him to work, he will continue to be victorious, and not only the individual people, but the world will continue to become more Christ-like.
Jesus taught us to pray to the Father “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10) Surely we don’t believe that was a prayer he doesn’t expect to answer in the affirmative? Surely it is not that he wants God’s kingdom to come in this world, but isn’t able to accomplish it?
As for me, I believe we are in the “Most Christian” era the world has ever seen. Perhaps this time is what Christ saw in his mind when said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.” —John 14:12 (NLT)
I'm Rick Blumenberg,
And that's My View from Tanner Creek.
From my experience, I’m convinced the two ministry experiences have always been slow death or deep change. It was true when Jesus walked the earth in human flesh as a God-man and it is still true today as he walks the earth in human flesh as the eternal transformer of mankind. The worst thing that can happen to any Christian at any stage of development is to think we have finished with change. When we stop changing we lose the vitality of our relationship with Christ because he never stops changing us as long as the relationship is real and growing. When we stop being changed by our relationship with him we can be sure he has ceased to be Lord and Master, otherwise he always transforms us into his likeness. When we are totally surrendered to Christ and living in the power of his Spirit, we are “complete in him” (Colossians 2:10) but Christ will continue to transform us more and more into his image as long as we live in this world if we live in a state of full surrender.
What troubled me most, was the implication that we live in a post-Christian era. Now, notice he did not say “post-Christian” but “post-Christendom”. There is a huge difference and I’m sure the phrase was intentional. Perhaps he used that phrase because he, like myself, believes the best of the Christian era is not past but future, even though, as we all know, it will continue to be different in the future than it has been in the past.
I just “Googled” “Post-Christian” at fifty hits per page and got twelve pages or 600 hits. As you can imagine, I didn’t read them all, but skimming through the info I saw some heralding the demise of Christianity—some with glee and some with sorrow. Some dealt with how to witness for Christ in a Post-Christian world. I’m sure all have good thoughts, but I won’t accept the idea of a Post-Christian world until Christ returns. Until then, he will continue to work in the hearts and lives of those who allow him to work, he will continue to be victorious, and not only the individual people, but the world will continue to become more Christ-like.
Jesus taught us to pray to the Father “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10) Surely we don’t believe that was a prayer he doesn’t expect to answer in the affirmative? Surely it is not that he wants God’s kingdom to come in this world, but isn’t able to accomplish it?
As for me, I believe we are in the “Most Christian” era the world has ever seen. Perhaps this time is what Christ saw in his mind when said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.” —John 14:12 (NLT)
I'm Rick Blumenberg,
And that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Praying from Besieged Cities
The Psalmist wrote these words thousands of years ago but they are just as fitting today when we go through difficult times.
He wrote “Praise be to the Lord for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged city. In my alarm I said, ‘I am cut off from your sight!’ yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help.” (Psalm 31:21-22)
Most of us have found ourselves in besieged cities (virtually if not literally) at times, and often we felt like we were cut off from God’s sight. We didn’t feel His Presence and were sure at the time that He was not listening. But when we pray about it (specifically talk to God about our situation and ask for His help rather than just worrying and pretending that was prayer) God is always there and he always answers. Every one of us can say with the psalmist, “…you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help.” We’ve all had those times when God intervened in our times of need, or when we looked back and saw God had been there all the time when we felt so alone.
It is really important, if we want answers to prayer, to pray specifically to God for what we see as our need, then trust God to do what is best for us, whether it is what we ask for or not. The “besieged cities” we find ourselves in may be psychological, emotional, financial, occupational, or dozens of other types of struggles, but in all of them, God is our helper if we can just learn to trust him to do what is best.
I tend to believe our faith grows more in the besieged cities of our lives than anywhere else. Those times when we don’t feel God’s Presence, but go on doing the best we can, or when we fail, but instead of quitting we pick ourselves up, brush ourselves off and try again, refusing to quit the faith, I believe God is hugely blessed, just as you and I are when we see our children struggle through to success from a difficult place.
I know it is hard to do, but I think we need to learn to thank God for the times in our lives when we’ve had to pray from inside those “besieged cities”.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's my view, from Tanner Creek.
He wrote “Praise be to the Lord for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged city. In my alarm I said, ‘I am cut off from your sight!’ yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help.” (Psalm 31:21-22)
Most of us have found ourselves in besieged cities (virtually if not literally) at times, and often we felt like we were cut off from God’s sight. We didn’t feel His Presence and were sure at the time that He was not listening. But when we pray about it (specifically talk to God about our situation and ask for His help rather than just worrying and pretending that was prayer) God is always there and he always answers. Every one of us can say with the psalmist, “…you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help.” We’ve all had those times when God intervened in our times of need, or when we looked back and saw God had been there all the time when we felt so alone.
It is really important, if we want answers to prayer, to pray specifically to God for what we see as our need, then trust God to do what is best for us, whether it is what we ask for or not. The “besieged cities” we find ourselves in may be psychological, emotional, financial, occupational, or dozens of other types of struggles, but in all of them, God is our helper if we can just learn to trust him to do what is best.
I tend to believe our faith grows more in the besieged cities of our lives than anywhere else. Those times when we don’t feel God’s Presence, but go on doing the best we can, or when we fail, but instead of quitting we pick ourselves up, brush ourselves off and try again, refusing to quit the faith, I believe God is hugely blessed, just as you and I are when we see our children struggle through to success from a difficult place.
I know it is hard to do, but I think we need to learn to thank God for the times in our lives when we’ve had to pray from inside those “besieged cities”.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's my view, from Tanner Creek.
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