Hope

Many of us have memories of family gatherings, traditions and laughter at Christmas celebrations. Yes, I have had my share of all these things. But growing up my family was not close, whether they were immediate or not. It is one reason I love visiting my wife's family. They actually hung out and enjoyed each other, other than holidays. There was no masquerade. As I got older, and the presents faded, Christmas lost its ferver to the point that I am sometimes called Grinch because of my cynicism.

When I became a Christian I finally understood that the baby boy we celebrate at Christmas was sent straight from our Heavenly Father. That is the greatest gift we could ever receive and that is what Christmas is really about. But I get bummed because of what Christmas has become. I don't believe this is what God intended for the Savior of the world. We think, "Oh, this person gave me a gift so I have to give them a gift." What?!?! Don't misunderstand me, gift giving is not wrong, but giving a gift should come from the heart, not a sense of obligation. But more importantly Christians have lost the reason for Christmas. I expect the world to not understand this time of year, but Christians get just as caught up in the drama of it all. Maybe that is why I enjoy Thanksgiving more than Christmas - just family and food!

As I started to think about Christmas this year only one word came to mind. HOPE!!! The prostitute that was about to be stoned to death by the religious - Jesus stepped in and brought her hope of a new beginning. Jairus, as his daughter became sick and eventually died, Jesus intervened and brought her back to life and gave the family hope for better days. To the criminal on the cross with Christ, when Jesus said "today you will live with me in paradise" He brought hope of eternal life. To the disciples, some living criminal lives and others just going through the motions of life, Christ said "follow me". Those words gave them purpose and meaning.

Jesus is a Savior of hope!!!

For us. We were blind but now we see. We were lost and confused, now we have a future and a hope. The void has been filled and purpose has come. We have hope for better days, restored relationships and mended wounds.

So I wonder if the first time Jesus opened His eyes did He realize that He would be my Savior? And the first time that breath left His lips did He know that He would change the world forever?

I thank God for Hope!!!

Be blessed,
Steve

The Jesus of Suburbia

Adapted from the book, The Jesus of the Suburbia, by Mike Erre

In Luke 2:41-51, we see the boy Jesus being left by his parents in Jerusalem. As Mary and Joseph were traveling they realized that they had left Jesus behind.

"This story brings to mind much of modern American Christianity. It seems in many ways we are like Jesus' parents on the road to Jerusalem: We think He is with us, but we've moved on without Him. Do we as western Christians reflect Jesus or obscure Him? Can we say that we, His Church, teach what He taught, love what and whom He loved, and hate what He hated? Are His priorities really ours? I think we have lost sight of Jesus among all the trappings of the Christian religion. Amid all the hype about the growing political power of evangelicals, the growing numbers of mega-churches, and the booming, billion dollar Christian subculture industry, I wonder if we have left Jesus behind. Or, worse, if He has left us behind? Much of what passes for modern, western Christianity isn't of Jesus. We can (and do) lose Jesus right in the middle of prayer meetings and worship services. We can miss Him in the Bible and in church. As the Scriptures remind us, not all worship is pleasing to God, not all Church services are attended by Jesus, not all teaching is sound, and not all prayer is "in Jesus name". Is it because we have substituted human traditions for the teachings of God? Have we made our Jesus the Jesus of Christianity, not the Jesus of the Gospels? We may think we worship Jesus of Nazareth, but in reality we worship the Jesus of suburbia. A growing number of people are awakening to the same thought Mary and Joseph must have had: we've lost Jesus, and we need to begin searching for Him."

Be blessed,
Steve

Being fake

In Luke 18:9-13, Jesus is telling a parable about a Pharisee and a tax collector. How they both were praying and the Pharisee said out loud, "Thank you that I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that tax collector." The Pharisee goes on to tell God how "good" and "spiritual" he is. But the tax collector (they were despised and hated among the people) stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead he beat his chest in sorrow saying, "O God, be merciful to me, for I am sinner." Jesus goes on to say that the tax collector, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God.

In Matthew 21:31, Jesus tells the crowd how the prostitutes will inherit the kingdom of God before the Pharisees (religious). Too many times we look for the right words to say or try to prove to God how good we are, even if Romans 3:10 tells us no one is good.

God is looking for the real, the broken, and those who want to pursue Jesus. We have to stop putting on a show. God sees through the mask we put on.

So be like the tax collector, someone who realizes he is messed up and needs God to embrace and forgive him. Let God wrap you in His arms.

Be blessed,

Steve

I'm NOT ALRIGHT!!!

1 Kings 17-19 recounts the story of Elijah and the many miracles God performed through him. Yet, even after all God brought Elijah through we see in 1 Kings 19:3-4 that Elijah runs away when his life is threatened by Queen Jezebel. He becomes dispondent...he says, '“I have had enough, Lord,”...“Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.”' This blows me away...after all these miracles why would Elijah RUN?

I look back at my life and remember some of the miracles God has done through me and for me. But my first 2 1/2 years back in Colorado I went into a complete depression. I felt the enemy attacking constantly; I became drained, weak, questioning my calling and faith. I just wanted to sleep the day away. I asked God to take my life.

Just like Elijah I had to admit that I was not alright!!!! But God tapped me on the shoulder and reminded me that He was still with me, even though I was walking through the wilderness. My bread and jar of water in the wilderness came in the healing of my daughter and in seeing a lump go away on a girl afraid that it was cancerous. I was seeing lives changed for the glory of God right in front of my eyes. Once followers of the evil one they were now becoming disciples of the Most High!!!!

Think about the miracles God has done through you and for you....

Think about the times when you were in the wilderness, when God gave you the hot bread and water....

Think about those days when life was not worth living, your faith didn't seem real, God seemed distant and you just wanted to sleep the day away.

He is still with you!!

It is okay to say you are not alright, you are broken inside. But remember all that you go through leads back to Him!!!!

In Matthew 6 Jesus reminds us to look at the lilies of the field...look at our mountains, stars, the sunrise or sunset...the birds of the air, and yet you are far more valuable to God than these things.

Stop looking for God in the big things of life. Look instead at the small things; a child's smile, a simple hug or a kiss from a loved one. But more importantly - your Father's whisper that you are His!!!

Be blessed,

Steve

When the Spirit of the Lord...

Last year my wife preached at a women's night at our church. When she came home she was telling all about what had happened that night. As she was preaching she said that it was like somebody else had taken over. At the end of the night as she was praying for and seeing women give their hearts to the Lord she felt drained. In the next couple of days she would try to go to bed and the Lord wouldn't let her sleep and so she would start writing another sermon. I couldn't believe the excitement and renewed passion for God in her life.

As I have been doing a study on the life of King Saul, I came across a verse in I Samuel 10:6, that reminds me of what my wife experienced.

I Samuel 10:6, "At that time the Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you and you will prophesy with them. You will be changed into a different person."

When King Saul allowed God to move the Spirit of the Lord accomplished things through Saul that he couldn't do by himself. God has been telling my wife to preach for a long time. When she finally gave in the Spirit of the Lord accomplished mighty things through her.

So the question is...will you let the Spirit of the Lord come powerfully on you?

Imagine what God could do through you if you let Him?

For further study read Acts 2.

Be blessed,
Steve

God's love letter

Have you ever doubted God? Feeling you have let God down over and over and there is no way He could forgive you again? Felt worthless? Unreliable? Like you can never live up to God's standards?

Why should I even be living? What is the point?

All those are lies..... Here is what God says about you...

"I made and created you (Psalm 119:73). I made all the delicate, inner parts of your body and knit you together (Psalm 139:13). I watched as you were being formed in utter seclusion (Psalm 139:15). I saw you before you were born, everyday of your life was being recorded in my book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed (Psalm 139:16). Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world (Jeremiah 1:2). Long ago, even before I made the world, I loved you and chose you to be in Christ, my Son, to be holy without fault in my eyes. My unchanging plan has always been to adopt you into my family, by bringing you to myself through my Son, Jesus the Christ (Ephesians 1:4-5). Even though all have sinned and all have fallen short of my glorious standard, but in my gracious kindness, I declare you not guilty. I have done this through my Son Jesus the Christ, who has freed you by taking away your sins (Romans 3:23-24). For I have sent my Son into the world and gave my only Son, so that anyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). I am not really being slow about my promise to return, as some people think. No, I am being patient for your sake. I don't want anyone to perish, so I am giving more time for everyone to repent (II Peter 3:9). I did not send my Son into the world to condemn it (John 3:17). Remember that you are in a race that everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize. You also must run in such a way that you will win. All athletes practice self control. They do it for a prize that will fade away, but you do it for an eternal prize (II Corinthians 9:24). Run with endurance the race that I have set before you. You do this by keeping your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). From the ends of the earth cry out to me, when your heart is overwhelmed. I will lead you to the towering rock of safety, for I am your safe refuge, a fortress where your enemies cannot reach you (Psalm 61:1-3).

I love you (John 3:16).

Your Heavenly Father"

Be blessed,
Steve

Count the cost

In Luke 14:26-33, Jesus is talking about the cost of becoming one of His followers. Jesus says some pretty hard things, that you must hate your mother and father, wife, children, siblings, even your own life. How you must carry your own cross to be one of His followers. He continues and says that a builder makes sure he has enough money to construct a building, so should we as followers of Christ. The builder would be laughed at having an unfinished structure. In our churches today we love to sugar coat the price a Christian has to pay in serving Christ. Yes, I love when God's presence shows up in service and I am forever grateful for His mercy, grace, and unconditional love. But serving God is more than just receiving God's hand of blessings. It is picking up our cross daily and following Him.

Read about all the disciples and Stephen (martyred for his faith), Paul, Timothy, etc....you will see that following God is more than just being handed a white picket fence life. It actually takes sacrifice (I got rid of a friend of 11 years) on our part to be more like Christ. We must get rid of things that hinder us from the ultimate goal.

Jesus gave up His life so we might live. So what are you going to do with the baton that has been passed off to you? Let nothing get in the way of following Him.

Be blessed,
Steve

Engaging our culture

"Instead of engaging our culture in a meaningful way, we (Christians) have often preferred a siege mentality, retreating into the safety of our Christian subculture. We are more comfortable fighting culture than we are being constructively involved in it. Ironically, on every front we mount highly charged rhetorical battles with a worldly culture, while at the same time, within the walls of our subculture, we try to imitate the worldly culture's nuance. This retreat form the world turns into a sort of cultural catch-22. The more we remove ourselves from the world, the worse the world gets in the absence of a Christian influence and the stronger the argument becomes to stay away from the world. If we are training our children to understand and critically examine the world's popular art, literature, music, and film instead of limiting them to safe Christian versions of these things, we might have a different world waiting for us in the next generation. But it may not be too late to rethink our approach.

Thousands of Christians lobby for conservative legislation; few go into politics. Thousands of Christians protest abortion clinics; few provide for single moms or adopt babies. Thousands boycott blasphemous movies; few seed a vocation in Hollywood."

*taken from the book Fearless Faith, Living Beyond the Walls of Safe Christianity by John Fischer

Be blessed,
Steve

Resting in Central Park

Last year I had the privilege of going on a trip to New York. What a trip!!!! On my first day there (which was on a Friday) I was on a senses overload. If you have never been there, and those that have know what I am talking about, everything is at a rapid pace. There is very little time for conversation and sight seeing (tourists definitely stand out). For the people of New York it is go all the time. It doesn't matter what time of day or night there is a chaos of people.

Early evening on Friday my dad and I went to Central Park. As we walked into the park I literally felt a weight lifted off my shoulders. The calming peace that came over me was an amazing feeling. As we continued walking through the park you wouldn't even know you were in the hustle and bustle of New York City.

I believe God wants to be our Central Park. We all are constantly going and going and going and going.....family, jobs, school, friends, hobbies, church, etc...all are asking for our time. We are breaking down physically, mentally, emotionally and most importantly, spiritually.

In Matthew chapter 11, Jesus is telling the people that He, "wants to give rest to the weary and those that carry heavy burdens." Jesus is standing at the entrance of Central Park drawing us in and saying come and get some rest.

As the Psalm says, "Be still and know He is God."

So my recommendation is to STOP!!! Let God's peace fill you, and enjoy your heavenly Father.

Be blessed,
Steve

Finding God in the small things

I was reading I Kings 19:10-15, when Elijah was on a mountain with God complaining how he was the only follower of God left and how people were out to kill him next. Then a thunderstorm came, then a earthquake, then a fire, "but God was in none of those." Then Elijah heard a small still voice and he felt God's presence.

Being in the ministry for years I have been to many conferences and big events "where God always shows up." Sometimes we believe in God if we see the signs, like a healing or a parting of the Red Sea type of experience. God is in those things, but sometimes we forget God is in the small things in life; when a baby laughs, flowers blooming, a sunset/sunrise, a kiss or a hug.

Remember God cares about every detail of your life and be reminded this week that every breath, smile and friend is from God.

Be blessed,
Steve

Integrity

Integrity. In Psalm 139:1-12, David is talking about how God knows everything going on in his heart and no matter where he is God is there. How God even knows what David is going to say before he says it.

Proverbs 24:12, tells us "God knows all hearts and He sees you." and Matthew 16:27 says, "(Jesus) will judge ALL people according to their deeds."

I work at a Christian bookstore and the most popular item that is stolen is the Bible (they must not read it, or skip over the 'thou shalt not steal' part) and in the music department we get so many demos stolen. Have you ever burned a CD even though it says that you shouldn't? Or received extra change back from buying something and not given it back (even if it is three dollars)? There are many examples...

But if the Scriptures above are true....then God is watching us continually and knows when we are trying to cheat our way through life.

Proverbs 20:7 says, "The godly walk with integrity; blessed are their children after them." If that is true then people are watching us, (especially when you have kids) they will imitate your very actions.

So the question is would your actions be different, the words that come out of your mouth change, if Christ was right next to you in person?

But the scary thing is - He already is..

Be blessed,
Steve

Would you die for what you believe?

With the popularity of the prosperity preaching and finding your best life now, I have a story for you....(story taken from Jesus Freaks book)

The communist soldiers had discovered their illegal Bible.

As the pastor was reading from the Bible, men with guns suddenly broke into the home, terrorizing the believers who had gathered there to worship. The Communists shouted insults and threatened to kill the Christians. The leading officer pointed his gun at the pastor's head. "Hand me the Bible," he demanded.

Reluctantly, the pastor handed over the Bible, his prized possession. With a sneer on his face, the guard threw the Word of God on the floor at his feet. He glared at the small congregation. "We will let you go," he growled, "but first, you must spit on this book of lies. Anyone who refuses will be shot." The believers had no choice but to obey the officer's order.

A soldier pointed his gun at one of the men. "You first."

The man slowly got up and knelt down by the Bible. Reluctantly, he spit on it, praying, "Father, please forgive me." he stood up and walked to the door. The soldiers stood back and allowed him to leave.

"Okay, you!" the soldier said, nudging a woman forward. In tears, she could barely do what the soldier demanded. She spat only a little, but it was enough. She too was allowed to leave.

Quietly, a young girl (16/17 years old) came forward. Overcome with love for her Lord, she knelt down and picked up the Bible. She wiped off the spit with her dress. "What they done to Your Word?
Please forgive them," She prayed.

The Communist soldier put his pistol to her head. Then he pulled the trigger.

I am not against the people preaching/teaching that God is willing to bless us. I agree. But ask this girl if that is what the gospel of Jesus is about. Is it really about us? We have made God into someone who is like Santa Claus at Christmas, but continually Jesus asks us pick up our cross and follow Him.

There are millions of believers out there risking their lives just to carry a Bible or have a church service. So the question I have asked myself for years is the question I have for you....would you die for what you believe? Really think about it. Because sometimes we cannot give up earthly stuff for the cause of Christ or stand up for Christ among friends. I know I have failed many times in those two areas.

Be blessed,

Steve

Who I Am

I have an amazing and godly wife of 9 years. I have a drama queen daughter and sports loving son. And I am a pastor of a church that thinks outside the box.

Check us out...www.therefugedenver.com

Fortified Walls

Joshua 6:1-5

The city of Jericho was one of the oldest cities in the world. In some places it had fortified walls up to 25 feet high and 20 feet thick. Jericho was a symbol of military power and strength---the Canaanites considered it invincible.

But the Canaanites heard about the Israelites' God, "We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror." Joshua 2:9. In Joshua 6:4 it says, "Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram's horn..." What is important about this verse is that the Ark of the Covenant was a symbol of God's presence and power and was placed inside the holy of holies [where God dwelled]. The ram's horn, also known as a [shofar], was blown for several reasons but one was to summon warriors to battle and signaled the beginning of an attack [which was the case in Joshua 6]. When the "loud blast" happened it signaled the onset of the attack--psychological warfare intended to create panic and confusion.

Many of us have our own fortified walls that need to be conquered. Whether it be gossip, self-image, trust, lust, greed, envy, bitterness, troubled marriage, unruly kids, drugs, alcohol, etc..... As long as you trust in your own knowledge and strength the fortified wall and your enemy will laugh at you. You always need to bring God with you [the Ark of the Covenant].

As for the shofar not only was it used to summon the warriors for battle but also it was used to summon worshippers to the Temple. It was also used in regular Temple worship. The only way we can defeat our enemy/fortified wall is to really exalt the name of Christ.

Read Psalm 98