April 23rd

Breakfast by the Sea...

Jesus spent over three years teaching in order to make disciples. And when He was finally ready to call them to action, it was not to a private retreat into the peaceful, nearby hills. He never intended that they set themselves apart like that. What He intended is that they learn to love as He had loved them. John Chapter 21 records one of the most poignant, loving and deeply interesting exchanges between Jesus and the disciples. It’s a passage that sets the stage for the Great Commission of the Church and it came at perhaps the exact same spot where He had called the disciples three years earlier.

The Chapter begins with the miracle of catching fish and you have to wonder if Jesus wanted the disciples to be evangelists, why did He prosper them in a secular business? Was it part of His lesson on love? After they pull in those 153 miraculous fish, they find that Jesus had prepared breakfast for them on the beach: a campfire burning -- fish already frying. Jesus simply invited them, “Come and dine.” Again, is Jesus simply showing love by providing physical nourishment for their bodies?

And why does Jesus single out Peter at this meal? Peter’s got the most erratic personality of the bunch? He yanks out his sword first. He bursts into the empty tomb. He jumps into the water. (I love him!) Peter had to be thinking, “Well, I guess this is it. I denied Him three times. Now He’s going to let me know that John is taking over.” The expectation of this inevitable confrontation had to have been lying heavily on Peter’s mind for days. So when Jesus merely asks, “Do you love Me?” Peter was pretty much spiritually naked - he had nothing to offer apart from an “of course I do” response. But Jesus asks him again. And again! “Do you love Me?” Note: Jesus did not ask Peter if he had a four-year degree in Bible. He did not ask him if had the financial resources and backing to enter the ministry, or if he felt emotionally ready to serve. He asked, “Do you love me?” Of course we know that Jesus responded each time with specific commands: “Feed my lambs…. Take care of my sheep…. Feed my sheep.”

Jesus’ final words to Peter are the same words He first spoke to him three years earlier: “Follow Me.” But what a difference! What depths of meaning they have acquired over three years! Same voice. Same words. Same ears. But Peter’s heart had been transformed.

“Do you love Me? It’s our answer to that question that determines how we live our lives and how we interact with the world. We end our study of John with one crucial underlying message: Jesus calls us to LOVE and feed and care for His followers – the “sheep” and the “lambs.” This really needs to sink down into our minds. Will you accept this responsibility? Will you determine that your life and your influence will build up the Church in LOVE and not tear it down?

--Pastor Mark

Groundbreaking. . . The Vision Goes On

We mark a milestone today in Crane Chapel’s history: We celebrate the conclusion of a long season of praying and planning and never-ending meetings. (The Building Committee is to be applauded for their dedication and determined efforts.) At the same time, we mark the beginning of a new season: A season of construction – along with anticipation, obstacles, certainly some chaos, and much hard work!

It’s an exciting and emotional time. The media will no doubt report our milestone. But will the average person in our community really grasp the idea of the Church? More likely than not, they will visualize a “Christianized” physical structure with pews and a piano and a platform - a building distinctly built for preaching and singing.

Do we ourselves understand the idea of Church? Over the last several weeks, we’ve been studying Jesus’ final instructions to His disciples. We’ve learned that in the hours before His death, Jesus was indeed establishing His Church. The disciples were effectively being trained as the first evangelists and first Church-members! The Church exists to evangelize. Jesus’ final words before he returned to heaven were a commissioning to all Christians: "Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you…." (Mt. 28:19-20)

We should remember that the early church, as recorded in the New Testament, did not own property, and yet they were very successful in preaching the Gospel to the whole world. The Bible does not tell us exactly where we are to meet together, but only that we must do so. The Greek word for church is 'ecclesia' which means the called out community. Christ’s Church can be anywhere at anytime and it holds closely to the scripture that says, “for where two or three gather together in my name, I am there among them” (Mt 18:20).

I don’t think this passage could be more obvious than it has in the last year of Crane Chapel’s ministry. We’ve been gathering in a Union Hall! Many of us meet in each others’ homes. We meet and pray together in the back room of an old house. I’ve even been spotted with some of the youth at Culvers! See, the goal is not to gather weekly in an appointed building but rather the growing of relationships through people. People are the church. Take out the people and the church ceases to exist. Remove the building by fire – and the church still exists!

In no way am I downsizing our new church building or minimizing the long hours of planning to reach this point. Not at all! This is going to be a beautiful and functional building where we will carry on a God-given vision for our community! I do hope, however, that you will see how fitting and appropriate it is that we welcome a new member in today’s service. As we break ground for a brand new physical church building, we also celebrate and welcome in a new member of Christ’s Church.

- Pastor Mark

Resurrection...Context is Everything

Easter Sunday is a pretty popular and fashionable time for church worship, especially for those who only occasionally attend church. But if you haven’t been exposed to Passion Week, then attending Easter Sunday worship is like coming in on the last scene of a movie, or reading only the final chapter of a novel: it’s hard to appreciate the emotional payoff without being involved in the whole story as it unfolds. If you were here on Good Friday, you likely wept (literally) with Mary as she grieved. And if you did, then you can truly experience the power and the joy of the ending: the Resurrection of her precious Son Jesus!


The Resurrection really is the conclusion of a long story line that begins, well, at the beginning of Creation! Here is the problem: without knowing how the story develops from the beginning, the resurrection episode sometimes becomes a puzzle. There is a lot that takes place leading up to Resurrection Sunday, but it is what happens on the last two days that makes Christianity meaningful. Let us imagine that Jesus failed to rise from the dead. (Might be difficult, but please allow yourself). Would Christianity really be worth believing? The answer is no. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is absolutely central to our faith.

In 1 Corinthians Chapter 15, Paul gives us in-depth insight into the whole design of the Resurrection. See some people in the church were declaring that there is no resurrection of the body (v. 12). They rejected that Jesus was raised from the dead and that those who believe in him will also be raised. Paul explains in plain words that if Jesus had not been raised from the dead, a believer’s faith is completely useless! And so is preaching! There’d be no Good News to proclaim and we’d all be rotting away in our sins apart from a relationship with God. In verse 19, Paul pounds the final nail in the coffin when he tells us we’d be pitied by men for believing a lie!

Back to Good Friday: Mary’s heart was ablaze with grief as she watched her precious boy Jesus die. She shed agonizing tears and wailed in unbearable pain. Two days later, her world was brand new! Her Jesus was alive! And like childbirth, the unbearable pain had vanished. Remember John chapter 16? Jesus makes a direct link between childbirth and death. They are similar in more ways than we imagine. It’s the power of Life that caused the unbearable pain to vanish. It’s that same power that brought Jesus back from the dead and the same power that works within those who belong to Him. So the resurrection is not only the culmination of the most dramatic story ever told, but an ongoing one too. Paul put it this way:

“It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he’ll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus…? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ’s!” (Romans 8: 10-11 The Message)

-Pastor Mark

Palm Sunday...From Euphoria to Grief

Palm Sunday. We all know at least the highlights of the story that Palm Sunday celebrates: Jesus directs his disciples to get him a young donkey, and He uses the little colt to enter Jerusalem to the “Hosannas” of the crowd. Palm branches are strewn in His path and people run confidently alongside Him. It had to have been an exhilarating -- almost euphoric – experience!

But there is something odd about this picture. We’re not allowed to linger in this festive mood for very long at all. Over the next 100+ hours, Jesus is betrayed, rejected, deserted and denied. He is arrested and put on trial on trumped-up charges. He suffers vile abuse by Roman soldiers, faces the most cruel and terrifying death the world has ever devised and is forsaken by His Father. The same people who cried out “Hosanna” and waved the palm branches now called for his execution.

So where does Palm Sunday fit in our human spiritual journey? As we’ve been working through Jesus’ farewell conversation, we find that He has a continuing theme of reassurance and comfort for His disciples. But the guys just don’t get it. Put yourself in the disciples’ sandals. Would you have understood? “It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come…” (John 16:7) They had no idea what Jesus was talking about and they remained confused and uneasy about the future. Are we much different? Who among us has not been confused about why God allowed certain things to happen? Who hasn’t faced an unwelcome surprise and wondered where God was in the mix? Jesus brings the whole thing full circle in John 16:33. He reminds his disciples one more time:

"These things I have spoken unto you,

that in Me you might have peace.

In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer,
I have overcome the world.” - John 16:33

Notice what Jesus does not say. He does not say that He will take the confusion away or make everything clear immediately. In fact, in verse 20, he tells us that we will weep and grieve. He does not promise instant relief. Instead, He promises that things will get worse.

This brings us again back to Palm Sunday. I read once that Palm Sunday can be seen as a kind of warning to us about the fleeting moments of euphoria that we encounter along our spiritual paths. The story of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem bespeaks such euphoria. Palm Sunday reminds us that, while there certainly will be magical moments in our lives; there will surely be low points as well. Let this Palm Sunday remind us that earthly happiness is transitory; and that every triumphal entry inevitably leads to a cross of some kind.

But wait!…. Wait until Sunday. Wait until Resurrection Day. Wait until the disciples become fully aware that Jesus has really risen from the dead and that he truly has “overcome the world.”

To Be Continued…

-Pastor Mark

Making All Things New...

The timing is always perfect. Just as trees and flowers begin to bud, plants begin to grow, and the grip of a Minnesota winter finally breaks, we celebrate life: Easter! The Resurrection of Jesus! Here’s what Easter is not: It is not an observance of some mystical “spiritual” renewal. It is not a [politically correct] “Spring Holiday.” It is a First-Century historical event, but the reason we celebrate Easter is because Jesus proclaims, “I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” (John 11:25)

The cross is a widely held symbol of Easter. Churches of all denominations draw on it’s meaning. The cross is where Jesus was put to death. His hands and feet nailed to it. People actually watched as he slowly suffered and finally died there. And to make sure He was indeed dead, the executioners sliced open His side with a spear. Convinced, they allowed friends to take his body down from the cross and bury it. And everyone thought the whole ordeal was over.

But the cross was just the preface. The transforming power of the Christian Faith is not in the crucifixion, but in Christ’s glorious resurrection! The cross has such significance because it is so closely related to the resurrection. The cross destroyed the penalty for sin – but the resurrection destroyed the power of sin. When Jesus cried out from the cross, “It is finished,” it was God’s final word on the old creation: a creation swarming with the weight and despair and power of sin – a creation interrupted with cancer and car accidents and divorce and depression and terrorism and arson fires and old age and death. All the things that seemingly have power over us.

When Mary arrived at the tomb that first Easter morning, she found it empty. Jesus had come out. He came out of that tomb so that He could come into our hearts and give us power over the old creation. Here’s the tragedy: The tomb is empty… but so are many people’s hearts. The Christ who came forth from the tomb has not been invited in….

If you’re not connected to the resurrected Jesus, the sense of powerlessness over the old creation is well founded. Paul understood this himself knowing he was “dead in sin” (Eph. 2:1) before Jesus entered his life. If you feel enslaved to the “old,” perhaps you haven’t encountered the resurrected Jesus.

The same passage of scripture (Revelation 21) that assures us that God is “Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end” also promises us, “Behold, I am making all things new.” It is that wonderful mix of assurance and promise that greets each of us personally this Easter. Each spring here in Minnesota, we yearn for the newness of “all things” in nature. What a wonderful opportunity for all things to be made new in our individual lives as well…

- Pastor Mark & Esthermay Goossen

Withered Vines & Broken Vacuum Cleaners

Again the setting is the last hours before Jesus is arrested and separated from the disciples so every moment counted, and although the disciples didn't realize it, Jesus’ every word and every action had immense significance for how they would continue His ministry on earth. John chapter 14 ends abruptly with Jesus announcing, “Come now, let us leave.” We assume that Jesus was seeking to change his location knowing that the betrayer Judas was on his way. Jesus was “buying time.”

We can now imagine the eleven remaining disciples walking in single file between the rows of neatly tended and generations-old vines toward the Garden of Gethsemane. We know it was a full moon because it was Passover. The group most likely passed by the bronze gates of Herod’s temple, where wrought in gold were grapevines representing the nation of Israel (Psalm 80:8-9, Isaiah 5). The actual vines would have been showing signs of new spring growth and Jesus simply stopped and reached for one to illustrate what He'd been trying to impart through His whole discourse in the Upper Room. He said, "I am the vine, you are the branches." (John 15:5) Jesus loved to convey the deepest truths with simple, earthly examples, and vines were a very familiar sight in Israel. And what is a vine? It is the portion of a plant that transfers vital nutrients from the roots to the branches of the plant. It’s interesting to note that if the roots are cut, a vine can manufacture new roots. Also if the branches are cut, a vine can produce new branches. The vine is the central most important part of the plant. Just as Jesus is to be the central most important part of our lives.

To convey the same truth using that which would be equally familiar today, Jesus might have said, "I am the power station and you are the electrical appliance.” Admittedly it's not quite as elegant a way of putting it, but the message it conveys is the same. If an electrical appliance, such as a vacuum cleaner, is not connected up to the power source it works about as well as my two-year-old’s Fisher Price vacuum. The purpose of my Hoover is too actually clean the carpet and if it doesn’t produce the results it was designed for, it’s going out on trash day…. Just as do the branches in Jesus’ next thought:

“…he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” (John 15:6) When branches get dangly and unproductive, a gardener prunes them away so that the productive branches can receive more nutrients for their growth and production. Cutting the dead wood out of our lives might mean ending relationships that are leading us to live in the ways of the world, rather than in the ways of Jesus. It may mean giving up destructive habits. It may mean sitting down long enough to listen to God. Each of us will know what “pruning” is if we tune ourselves to the gardener’s voice: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.”(John 15:1)

- Pastor Mark

Troubled? Need A Heart Specialist?

People all over the world are seeking peace and comfort at this very moment. They long for peace in their lives and in their hearts. For whatever reason, people everywhere are troubled. Jesus said:

“Let not your heart be troubled….”
John 14:1

In context here, we’re still in the Upper Room with Jesus and His disciples. The entire passage from John 13:32 through chapter 16 is one long heart-melting farewell address that keeps getting interrupted by questions from the disciples. Troubled disciples. And in the hour of His own deepest sorrow, it was the troubled hearts of the disciples which now occupied Jesus. And it should be remembered that Jesus was speaking not only to the disciples in the Upper Room, but to us as well. His words are just as poignant and relevant to troubled believers today.

Think for a moment about the circumstances leading up to this tender farewell: Just days earlier, the disciples had watched Jesus ride into Jerusalem amid joyous acclamation. He was hailed as a king! The anticipation and enthusiasm of the disciples had never been higher. They were fully convinced that Jesus was their unconquerable Messiah. And now… well, Jesus’ actions and words during this Passover supper were deeply perplexing and distressing. They were troubled at hearing that one of them would betray Jesus (John 13:21). They were troubled at seeing their Master "troubled in spirit" (John 13:21); troubled because He would remain with them only a "little while" (John 13:33); troubled over the warning He had given to Peter, that he would deny His Lord three times. Clearly these men were disquieted and cast down…. The greatest blow was the slow realization that Jesus really was leaving them. It is no big surprise that the disciples were troubled!

People everywhere are troubled and want peace and comfort. But they’re looking for it in all the wrong places! The world can’t give it. Money can’t buy it. Circumstances can’t provide it. Antidepressants can’t improve it. Pleasure can’t proffer it. Status can’t impart it. Relationships can’t supply it. Only Jesus Christ can give us peace and comfort and untroubled hearts because He was the One sent to “heal the brokenhearted.” (Luke 4:18) He enters into our feelings just as He did two thousand years ago for the disciples. There is room in His heart for our sorrows too. He feels our trouble and grief as if it were His own.

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”
- John 14:27

- Pastor Mark

No Dessert for You. . . Your Feet Stink

Jesus “got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” (John 13:4-5)

Put yourself in the Upper Room and visualize the scene of this verse: Jesus abruptly rises from dinner and just starts washing the disciples' feet! Imagine the dramatic silence: Only the sound of embarrassed breathing and the trickle of water. Foot-washing in first century Palestine was not a ceremonial thing. It was regarded as one of the most demeaning tasks anyone could perform – usually reserved for household slaves. The disciples’ feet were stinky and dirty from walking through dusty, muddy and manure-filled streets in their sandals. And since there were no household servants at this secret meeting, who was going to wash all these smelly feet? Luke’s Gospel says that the disciples were in the midst of their favorite argument --"which one of them was regarded to be the greatest" (Luke 22:24). What a set-up! Whoever washed feet in this setting would be admitting he was the low-life of the bunch!

Peter saw at once the inappropriateness of Jesus stooping down and washing his feet; and he declares, "You shall never wash my feet." At this point a new truth emerges. Up to this moment it appears that Jesus is trying to teach His disciples the spirit of love and servanthood. Jesus replies to Peter: “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” Jesus doesn’t mean, "Your feet stink so bad that we’re not having dessert until they're clean." He means "Unless you are willing to let me wash away your moral filth, you may not have fellowship with me." Peter catches the point of spiritual cleansing in a flash and he cries out, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!"

Once Jesus is finished, and the towel is brown with dirt and manure, He asks the disciples if they understand what has just happened. And the question we need to be asking is: Do we understand what Jesus has done for us in light of his whole ministry and his death and Resurrection? Do we really understand the symbolic, spiritual significance of the whole foot-washing drama? It is one of the central principles of Christianity--allowing Jesus to bathe and cleanse us from our sins and our stink.

-Pastor Mark

You're Invited to Eavesdrop...

Think about the last time you badly wanted to listen in on a conversation. You may have been seated at one end of a table and craned your neck to hear the conversation at the other end. Or maybe you’ve longed to be "a fly on the wall" to absorb a conversation in which you simply had no part. I’m not sure where your thoughts are right now, but consider this: What better conversation to eavesdrop on, but the conversation between our Savior and his disciples in the Upper Room?

Imagine being part of a Small Group/Care Ring led by Jesus himself! John’s Gospel stands alone as the only record of Christ’s words in the Upper Room. And John invites us to pull up a chair and listen in. Within hours of this gathering, Jesus was hanging upon a cross. In less than twenty-four hours he was dead and buried. These are indeed the last words of Jesus before his death on the cross.

Some scholars have called the conversation in the Upper Room the "holy of holies" of Scripture. That is, if you think of Scripture as a temple, this is the sanctuary, where you come into the very presence of God himself. Through his words to his disciples, we are permitted here to enter into the thinking, the emotions, the very heart of Jesus just hours before his own death. Jesus lays bare his heart before his disciples and He seeks to impart to them the secret of his life. The disciples will soon understand that this secret explains all of the marvelous words that Jesus spoke and each one of the miraculous works He performed. And this amazing truth is ours too.

Jesus distills for his disciples – and for us - the most important truths and spiritual principles of the Christian life. He talks about the Holy Spirit - another Comforter -- a Strengthener who is on the way. Jesus tells the disciples that he will no longer be merely with them but within them. This is powerful! It is this indwelling presence that enables – in fact makes possible -- living in our predominantly troubled world. Our Jesus does not so much discuss the world as he does how to deal with the world. So the message of the Upper Room is a vital message for each of us.

As we move toward the Easter Season here at Crane Chapel, we’re going to spend some time considering this small-group meting between Jesus and his disciples in John Chapters 13 – 17. Please come these next weeks with great expectations and an eager heart as we look into this deep and insightful passage. The Upper Room really is the quintessential Small-Group/Care Ring study. By listening in, we can each uncover the secrets of living a fulfilled life with Christ!

Pastor Mark and

Esthermay Bentley-Goossen

Post Script on Suffering

It may be cancer or a sore throat. It may be the illness or death of someone close to you. It may be a personal failure or disappointment in your job or schoolwork. It may be a rumor that is circulating in your office or your church, damaging your reputation, bringing you grief and anxiety. It can be anything from a mosquito bite to facing a lion as Daniel did. It is suffering.

The Book of Job approaches suffering largely from one angle. Job’s suffering ultimately brought him to a high degree of spiritual refinement. His suffering was not so much punishment as it was disciplinary. But why do we suffer? Christians are subject to common calamities just like the rest of the world. If God protected His children from all storms, disappointments, poverty and destruction, they would be tempted to serve Him for selfish reasons, just as Satan falsely accused Job of doing. Good people have no insurance against physical death; even innocent children and babies die. In my studies, I’ve
uncovered the following from Scripture as reasons for our suffering:

• Refines the Christian (Job 23:10)
• Brings the fruit of righteousness
• Discipline from God (Hebrews 12)
• Caused by the reaping of sin (Gal. 6:5-6)
• Cause by the sin of others (alcohol, temper, thieves, gossip, etc.)
• Result of a bold witness for Christ (Phil. 1:29, I Pet. 4:12-13)
• Prevent a wrong course of action (Ps. 119:71, 67)
• Shows us our need of God (Ps.119:71)
• Brings patience (James 1)
• Prepares us for a future test (I Cor. 10:13)
• Brings solitude/ Helps us hear God
• Brings future rewards (James 1:12, II Tim. 2:12)
• Caused by violation of God’s natural laws
• Caused by violation of moral laws
• Brought by Satan under Gods’ permissive will
• For God’s glory (Ro. 8:28, Jn. 11:4)
• Shows us God’s comfort, grace and power (II Cor. 1)
• Teaches us how to comfort others (II Co. 1:4)
• Unites Christians/ opportunities for saints to minister (Acts 12)
• Helps us identify with Christ’s suffering and example (Phil. 3:10)
• Teaches us obedience (Heb. 5:8)
• Keeps us humble (II Co. 12:7-10)
  

Jesus explains, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness” (John 10:10). None of us is immune to the thief (Leviathan) and none of us will escape suffering. But it is during times of suffering that we learn to refocus our lives on God. David confessed it in Psalm 119:71: “The suffering You sent was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to Your principles.” If it still doesn’t make sense to you, just learn to rest in God’s sovereignty and trust in His Goodness and Love.

-Pastor Mark

Job's Epilogue...

The last Chapter of the Book of Job seems to hurriedly yet neatly tie up one of the most intellectually rich and challenging Books of the Bible. The verses are often ignored or quickly and easily identified as a simple fairy tale-like conclusion. What a mistake! We’d miss the whole point! This is a part of Scripture that we should not let go of until it has fully probed our thinking regarding God’s sovereignty, human suffering, and restoration.

What the closing narrative tells us is that Job is -- at long last -- through both Truth and humble trust -- fully transformed, fully vindicated, and fully restored with double his goods and wealth, blessings over and above what he had in Chapter 1, and a replacement set of children. And his life is more than doubled. Job lives another 140 years which is twice the biblical span of our days (Ps. 90:10).

Would the message of the Book be any different if God had not restored Job? No. God is still sovereign and the whole matter of suffering would still have been at the forefront of our study. It would have still been necessary to consider the questions of “Why vs. Who” and “Good vs. Evil.” The whole notion of human emotions, counseling the troubled, and comforting the hurting would still have been addressed. And we would still have had to put our personal trials in proper perspective alongside the enormity and grandeur of God’s creation.

Henry Morris, a renowned Christian scholar, has said that Biblical Creation is the answer to all human suffering. Do you suppose if you made an appointment with a psychotherapist for help with depression or anxiety, you’d hear that!? Hardly! But as we’ve learned through our study, it is only through our understanding and a profound appreciation of God’s creation and sovereignty that we can put our suffering into perspective and be emotionally and spiritually restored.

On the flip side, the brevity of the conclusion of Job’s story invites questions and even speculation. The Book of Job is unique in that it emphasizes that an inheritance is divided among daughters (as well as sons). Job 42:14 lists the names of Job’s three daughters -- but not the sons. Does Job now question “tradition” and act accordingly in paying tribute to daughters? Does he now see that the security of earthly possessions is irrelevant? What is Job’s spiritual condition as the story wraps up in the closing verses? Does he pray? Does he have joy? Does he continue to worship God? Are these questions even relevant? Yes, questions still ring in our ears. And in my mind, the only remedy for that condition is to read the Book again! And again….

- Pastor Mark

Rocks of Adversity...

From the beginning verses of our study, Job has longed for an opportunity to plead his innocence before God. Finally God appears in Chapter 38 and gives Job that opportunity. And what does Job do? He remains silent. It had become clear to Job that it was no longer necessary for him to speak. In his first address, God challenges Job with the magnitude and grandeur of His natural creation. From the stars to the ocean to the desert, what does Job know about anything? Job is humbled and ashamed and he concedes his unworthiness. But God is not done….

God moves now beyond the creation and supervision of the elements to the animal kingdom and his care for it in order to further demonstrate how limited Job’s knowledge really is. God has filled the earth with living creatures that are absolutely dependent upon Him for life and for the sustenance of life. God’s zoology lesson was not intended to end with a quiz, but to allow Job to become fully aware that the God who cares for every creature on the earth would most certainly make adequate provision for the one He had created in His own image!

God’s zoology lesson begins and ends with lectures on animals of prey – the animals that in today’s world are considered injurious and of no value. Yet, God cares for them with unerring wisdom. (Do you consider some things in life valueless? God doesn’t.) He speaks of the mountain goat that inhabits the most inaccessible and rugged mountain areas of the earth. Job could hardly miss the point here. Was Job himself not climbing over rugged rocks of adversity? God continues. . . He speaks of the life cycle of the animals -- the moment of birth and the moment of death. Something - again - that God knows and we do not. God moves on to the ostrich – a most unusual and brainless bird as it is devoid of any maternal instincts at all! (Know anyone that fits that description?”) A mistake on God’s part? Hardly! God provides for the young eggs’ protection in the most amazing way and provides food for the young bird in the very eggshell from which it hatches. Chance? No. Proof again of the wisdom of God in caring for his creation. The examples and lessons go on and on. And on. . . . As anyone who has studied the animal kingdom knows, God’s creation is truly vast and incredible and inexplicable.

God had shown Job once again that as a limited human being, he has neither the ability to judge the God who created the universe nor the right to ask the why of anything. God’s actions do not depend on our lack of understanding. God’s challenge to us then, is first to be awed by the natural creation and our insignificance within it, and secondly to realize the magnitude of the task he has in bringing both righteousness and judgment on both his creation and those created in His own image. It is ours to question the rocks of adversity in any way at all? Are you getting the point?

- Pastor Mark

GOD Speaks...

By the time we reach Chapter 38 in the Book of Job, we’ve come to appreciate the depth of Job’s affliction, we’ve wallowed in his misery, we’ve undeniably considered our own suffering, we’ve listened to Job's smart-aleck friends offer their own pretentious and useless wisdom, and we’ve perhaps ourselves questioned God’s role in the whole mess. At this point we are left pretty much famished for spiritual food and drink. Enter: GOD. Not through another “counselor,” but by direct revelation!

God speaks for 70 verses in these next two chapters before Job has an opportunity to respond. And when he does, Job only mumbles words suggesting that God’s speech has undone him (Job 40:3-5). What is it in the words of Job 38-39 that evoke such a change from the defiant Job of 31:35 to the abashed Job of 40:3? Speaking from a whirlwind of a mighty storm, God – surprisingly – does not answer any of Job’s questions. Instead of answering Job’s charge of abandonment, God challenges Job to respond as He defends the design of His creation and the very existence of the entire universe. As we read these poetic verses, it is obvious that God’s questions could not possibly be answered by any human. The Divine questions reveal to Job that he does not know the ways of God. And if Job is ignorant of the earth’s natural order, it’s ridiculous to think that he (or any human) could comprehend the moral order of God. There is a purpose in creation that God knows but Job does not. There is a purpose in human suffering that God knows but Job does not. God's great power and wisdom is certainly a contrast to Job's limited ability and understanding. Overwhelmed, Job admits his unworthiness and inability to answer. But, God is not through with Job yet. God continues for 53 more verses! You could say Job was silenced and humiliated by his own self-centeredness and pity.

Henry M. Morris writes these words

. . . even Christians have become self-centered instead of God-centered. We emphasize personal Christianity, personal experience, self-image, inter-personal relationships, and what Jesus can do to meet our needs. All these have their place in the Christian life, but not when they relegate God and his purpose in creation to only a peripheral role ….

(The Remarkable Record of Job,©1988)

So why is the issue of suffering never directly settled by God? Why does God focus exclusively on His creation and His providential care over it? The entire Book of Job presents a story that moves beyond what it means for humans to suffer. It should lead us to inquire what it means to be an ordinary human at all when God is truly GOD. And if he is GOD, there is little else to do but to submit our suffering to Him and rest in his care.

-Pastor Mark

Weep With Those Who Weep...

Counseling is an often-used word today, but what do we really understand of it from a Biblical perspective? The Book of Job is replete with lessons on suffering, but one of the greatest that we can apply to the church body is that of how to counsel and how not to counsel those who are hurting? Counseling can do harm. Job evidently took some time to recover from his friends’ “counseling.” Recovery only came after Job forgave and prayed for his counselors. (Job 42:10)

Let’s revisit Job’s counselors: They wept. They mourned. They sat with Job in the dirt, in shocked grief, speechless, for seven long days. Great start! They might have done well to just pack up their stuff and leave at this point. But, like so many of us, they became impatient and instead of filling their divinely appointed role of comforter, they chose the world’s preferred alternative of claiming godlike knowledge. They focused their efforts on becoming superior-advice-giving-therapists, rather than comforting and counseling their friend as a peer.

When they saw him…they began to weep aloud …they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.

- Job 2:12-13

Like Job’s friends, we also tire of being in the dirt with our hurting, depressed, and often-irritable sisters and brothers. We want to dust ourselves off and show that we’re above that sort of thing. We refer our hurting friends to secular therapists and best-seller books. We rely less on God and our divinely appointed role as comforters and defer to a therapeutic culture, that looks beneath every hurt, pain and struggle in life and finds a psychological disorder that needs repair; and more often than not: a pill. What’s really going on is a soul crying out for what only Jesus Christ can provide. We need to quit relying on professionals to fix damaged “psyches.”

The problem is disconnected human souls. The church is designed to “grow and build itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians 4:16) Just as spiritual gifts are to be used for the entire church body – so is its capacity to listen, understand, empathize, and nourish. If you’ve ever received comfort from God – no matter how small - you have something in you that could deeply impact someone else who is hurting.

…. the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

- II Corinthians 1:4

You can stimulate the lonely, revitalize the discouraged and introduce hope into the lives of people who feel rejected and useless. Even if you yourself feel rejected and useless. Look at Jesus for inspiration. He is – after all - the Wonderful Counselor. (Isaiah 9:6) He was the Son of the God of the Universe! Yet he was humiliated his entire life. He was despised and rejected. (Isaiah 53:3) He was physically vulnerable, weak, tempted, subject to pain, and as the final disgrace, rejected by God. (Matt. 27:46) We see him tired, thirsty, in tears, impoverished, ridiculed. Scripture stresses that the thing that equipped Jesus for his ministry was that he became like those he was called to help. Today, we’ve somehow established that only those exalted to godlike status holding PhD’s are empowered to minister and counsel. Nothing could be further from the truth. Even, the most renowned Christian counselors have said that they are only able to truly help people when they put aside their academic training and rely upon the Lord to direct them. And isn’t this what each of us is called to do?

Much heartache could be averted in the body of Christ if we could learn to “weep with those who weep.” (Romans 12:15) Not necessarily shed liquid tears, but unashamedly embrace the pain of others, and let it be obvious that “if one part of the body suffers, every part suffers with it.” (I Cor.12:26) It’s a huge shift in thinking, but the greatest need for the hurting and depressed in our community is not to have more counseling centers or psychotherapists, but a church body where Christ is exalted and ordinary people learn to shepherd the hurting because, Biblically speaking, simply being a friend, confidant, and sympathizer, is a lofty role that not even angels or God himself can fully fill. Only we, for instance, can give a hug or share coffee with a friend. People in pain need to know that they are not alone - they need people with whom they can relate. They don’t need advice as much as they need company and comfort. We don’t see Jesus asking his disciples for advice, but we often see Him asking for their company. Advice is cheap. Comfort is precious.

-Pastor Mark and Esthermay Bentley-Goossen

Elihu To The Rescue

Anger and youth are not qualities valued in the wisdom traditions of the Old Testament. But in Job Chapter 32, we’re introduced to Elihu as an angry youth, frustrated with Job and his three friends and Elihu might just have the answers for which Job is desperately searching. Was God at last using someone to speak truth to Job? Elihu is presented as a “Buzite” and this lineage is important to his character. The Hebrew noun “buz” means contemptuous or contemptible and occurs several times in the Book of Job (Job 12:5, 21 and 31:34) with the same meaning. Is the author trying to tell us that Elihu is a little bit out of control? We have to wonder what kind of “counselor” this new kid is going to be.

Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar were lousy counselors who repeatedly brought accusations against Job trying to convince the poor guy that he was suffering because of his past sins. They were of no consolation at all! Now here’s Elihu: He does speak very clear, plain words, but his attitude is a bit obnoxious. He assuredly maintains that Job’s suffering will leave when Job realizes his present sin. He maintains that Job wasn’t suffering because of sin, but was sinning because of suffering. While Elihu’s speech was on a much higher plateau that the others, he still wrongly assumed that a correct response to suffering always brings healing and restoration and that suffering is always in some way connected to sin. The new kid did bring Job to an awareness that he ought not exalt himself so piously, but imagine how you’d feel – having gone through all that Job had -- being put in your place by a smug, overbearing teenager!

So what can we learn from Elihu? Correctly, Elihu exhorts that suffering is not meant to punish us as much as it is meant to correct and restore. And the bulk of Elihu’s counsel focuses on the justice of God, which Job has repeatedly criticized. He concludes his session with an effort to speak on God’s behalf …. He admonishes Job to sit still and consider the wondrous work of God. Elihu seems to be preparing Job for what is about to follow.

To be continued. . .

- Pastor Mark

I Know My Redeemer Lives

The Book of Job touches so many issues. If you’ve ever suffered hardship or heartache, you perhaps feel an affinity with Job. There’s no doubt seeing the crafty maneuvers of Satan serves as a great help to know how to better handle temptation. And who hasn't been challenged to become a more intelligent counselor when comforting a hurting friend because of the colossal mistakes of Job's friends? But we need to ask, "What is the chief purpose of Job?" Many believe it is to prepare the way for the work of Jesus on the cross.

Following the long, drawn-out squabble with Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, Job longs for a daysman (KJV). He desperately needs an umpire - a mediator - to settle the score. It’s right about here that Job declares:

"I know that my Redeemer lives"
- Job 19:25

Job is speaking of his Goel. So, our first question is, “What is a Goel?” It’s an ancient concept where members of the extended family were bound to the rest. Each bore a particular responsibility for the others. The Old Testament Law explains that if a man became indebted, the Goel was responsible to pay his debts and thus free the man. (Leviticus 25:25) If a man died childless, the Goel was responsible to marry his widow and produce a child to carry on the family name. (Deuteronomy 25:5) If a man were murdered, the Goel was responsible to avenge his death. (Numbers 35:12) The law further provided an order of priority to determine who of the family members was responsible to fill the role of the Goel. There were, after all, very particular requirements of the Goel. Besides being a near relative, he must be willing and able to fulfill the role. So you can get a sense of how important this whole thing was. The Kinsman-Redeemer had the responsibility of redeeming his relative’s lost opportunities. And in Job Chapter 19, Job's faith launches out and declares that God will definitely provide his Goel!

Jesus answered Job's cry. Jesus ideally fulfills Job’s need for an umpire. Emmanuel is the one true mediator between man and God. Between Job and his affliction. Between righteousness and sin:

"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all….” (1 Timothy 2:5-6)

As for the requirements of the Kinsman-Redeemer, Jesus fully fulfills that role as well. He is like us – a near relative:

“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy… the power of death…” (Hebrews 2:14)

He is willing:

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to
give his life as a ransom for man.” (Mark 10:49)

Finally, He is able:

“…has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual
blessing in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3)

We have a Kinsman-Redeemer. Someone who will redeem all our lost opportunities. Someone who will take up our cause. Someone who will meet our needs. It’s Jesus. He has bound Himself to us by covenant oath, an oath that was established at the Cross. We may not have the afflictions of Job, but we each live with our own predicaments and it is at the Cross that we can find hope. Whatever your situation, you too can declare, “I know that my Redeemer lives!”

- Pastor Mark

How Do You Comfort The Grieving?

Imagine the unimaginable. You’re home fixing dinner. The television news is on and there’s the breaking story – cameras on the scene: A child is absolutely still. Deathly still. In a pool of blood. Under a pale blanket. It’s just another horrifying, heartbreaking news item. But then your phone rings. Suddenly it doesn't matter what was for dinner. The dead child is your neighbor.

You’re suddenly reeling, as if in a dream. The world around you screams to a halt. The grief of someone very near becomes as close as your own. Your first thought is, “Oh, how my heart goes out to _______.” Your next thought is, “What can I do to help? How can I comfort this family?” You realize that many of the seemingly sincere gestures offered over the next days may be of no “comfort” at all. Some “comforters” may be good candidates for a Job’s counselor – and none of us wants that title. What do you do?

“…the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles,
so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the
comfort we ourselves have received from God.”

- II Corinthians 1:4

God’s Word tells us to comfort others with the same comfort we’ve received ourselves! When we survive a traumatic situation with God’s help, we become uniquely qualified to help others who have the same problem. In a sense, God gives us a special ministry. But simply being comforted by God in any circumstance gives us a message of hope for others with problems, regardless of the nature of their trials. That’s the way God’s comfort is supposed to work. It flows from heart to heart!

The entire book of II Corinthians is a letter of comfort. The word is used twenty-nine times in the letter. But comfort here is not just sympathy, it refers to “calling another alongside to help.” The word combines the ideas of exhortation and consolation. There is comfort and grace available for every problem we face and each of us has – and always will have -- problems and dilemmas and shockingly horrifying things happen to us and to our neighbors because “Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.” (Job 14:1)

So what kind of comforting blanket do you throw around your neighbor to put out the smoldering anger and burning pain and grief?

“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”

- Romans 12:15

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up….”

- 1 Thessalonians 5:11

“Carry each others’ burdens, and in this way you
will fulfill the law of Christ.”

- Galatians 6:2

“And we urge you, brothers… encourage the timid,
help the weak, be patient with everyone.”

- 1 Thessalonians 5:14

When one person comforts another, something is poured out of one and into the other that has the power to encourage, restore and heal the deepest hurts. It’s God’s design! Ordinary people intersecting to share and reveal HIS Comfort!

- Pastor Mark

Problems or Pearls

The little pearl oyster receiving accidentally into its shell a rough fragment of rock or sand tries in vain to expel the intruding and irritant substance and only suffers in the struggle until rasped and bleeding it gives up in agony and helplessness. Then a new force comes into play. From its peculiar physiological system the little mollusk sends forth a crystal fluid which covers and coats the rough piece of rock with a soft crystalline cushion and as this grows and hardens it becomes a beautiful pearl. It ceases to irritate and soothes and rests the wounded side of the little creature until the curse has become a blessing, and some days later the pearl fisher discovers the hidden treasure, opens the shell and takes forth a gem of purest luster and boundless value which is worn in the coronets of kings and adorns the highest rank and grandest occasions. So someday our sorrows, irritations and wrongs, having first been sweetened by the Holy Spirit into heavenly virtues, will become the jewels of an immortal crown and will shine in the diadem of Jesus and adorn our brow forever!

(A. B. Simpson, Volume V in the Christ in the Bible series - Christian Publications, Inc.)

A.B. Simpson’s words are tender and poignant. The pearl oyster embodies so many human problems, sorrows, and emotional suffering. Like the oyster, we encounter “irritants,” but we have a tendency to try and avoid them. We’re human – it’s inborn. Christian counselors will tell you that the basis of almost all mental illness is the tendency to avoid problems and the emotional suffering inherent in them. It was renowned physician Carl Jung who said, “Neurosis is always a substitute for legitimate suffering. “

The tragedy of course is that the substitute for our suffering ultimately becomes more painful that the original suffering we are trying to avoid! Does this explain why the wisest saints among us are often the people who endure pain rather than escape it? These saints are men and woman who are “acquainted with grief.” I believe this describes Job. How about our Savior Jesus Christ? “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.“ (Isaiah 53:3) “…yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.” (Hebrews 5:8)

Are you trying to avoid problems and the suffering that comes with them? Maybe you have several dozen problems today. If you listen to the voices around you, you’ll search for a substitute – an escape route. You’ll miss the fact that your problems are God-appointed – fashioned to stretch you and challenge you and deepen your walk with Him. Growth and wisdom come with each irritating-piece-of-sand-kind-of-a-problem. And what emerges is an exquisite gem of purest luster and boundless value!

- Pastor Mark

The Gift or The Giver

The quandary of undeserved suffering… It’s a puzzling mystery and an age-old question. Why does God allow the righteous to suffer? It’s the question that the Book of Job addresses:

In just a matter of hours an especially righteous and notably wealthy man loses all of his material possessions, each of his children, and his good health. Next, to add misery to despair, Job’s friends condemn him rather than console him and then his wife gives up and turns on him. Worst of all, the God he loves and serves refuses to answer his cries and rise to his defense and do something. The question of suffering has been addressed in countless ways through the centuries since the time of Job. Why do we suffer? Who or what causes it? Why does God not do something? Not all of our questions are answered and it’s worthy to note that Job himself did not receive a direct answer to his own suffering.

In Job’s story, the accuser suggests that Job serves God only because of the things he receives from God in return for his service – that if Job suddenly lost all his rewards, his reverence and respect for God would surely wane. Satan proposes that Job does not serve God out of love or devotion at all!

Satan’s suggestion clobbers the human race right at the heart of our basic, inner, egocentric existence: Selfishness. Do we only worship God for self-seeking reasons? Would we serve the Lord if we enjoyed no personal gain from it at all? The accusation was an attack on God as well for it suggests that the only way that the Creator can get people to worship Him is to promise them health and wealth and worldly treasures.

Surely God knew Job’s heart and understood his devotion. Indeed God allowed Satan to buffet and beat Job, so as to silence the accuser. And to be sure, God was in command of Job’s mystifying journey – a journey that would forever change his spiritual insight.

How about you? Are you in it for the blessings? Or are you worshiping the Blesser? The gifts are nice, but do you love the Giver? Have you reached the point where you can recite the words of A. B. Simpson as your own? . . .

Once it was the blessing,
Now it is the Lord.
Once it was the feeling,
Not it is His Word.
Once His gift I wanted,
Now the Giver own.
Once I sought for healing,
Now Him alone.

Once it was my working,
His it hence shall be.
Once I tried to use Him,
Now He uses me.
Once the power I wanted,
Now the Mighty One.
Once for self I labored,
Now for Him alone.

All in all forever,
Jesus will I sing.
Everything in Jesus
And Jesus everything.

- A.B. Simpson

- Pastor Mark