August 3, 2017

Today is my spiritual birthday.  I accepted Christ on August 3, 1958.  I remember the place and scene so well.  It was a Sunday evening in Tucson, Arizona and my mother and I were on the back porch when I asked her about the 5 day club teaching she was doing.  When I accepted Christ that night, even as a 4 year old, I felt a weight roll off my back.  Much later I identified with Bunyan’s Pilgrim, whose heavy pack was relieved of him when it rolled down to a place under the cross.  It has been almost 59 years of walking with the Lord and I still feel like a child in so many ways.  I was very passionate in my early years, telling people about Jesus and thinking I would become a pastor.  Some of my passion was quieted when I wanted to be a cowboy and an astronaut.  But through the years, I have always known in my heart that I was in Christ.  There were teen years when I wandered from the Lord, but He was always there, like the “Hound of Heaven” calling me back into relationship with Himself.  I also identify with the “Footprints in the Sand” poem and prayer.  He has had to carry me many times in our walk together. 

My mother, June, prayed for me regularly as she did all her children.  Later Miss. Elizabeth Stewart fervently prayed, even during my teen rebellion years, that I would become a minister.  When I was accepted at Talbot Seminary to study for ministry, I called her and told her that her prayers had been effective.  The following day she died and unknown to me, had left some money in her will that covered my seminary tuition.  (Susan and I named our second son, Mat, “Matthew Stewart” in her memory and honor.  Ironically, later he would marry the love of his life; Elizabeth.)  

As I stand on the threshold of another year, I am exceedingly grateful for so many things. I have so much to be thankful for.  When I count my blessings, you my friend are a big part of the tally.  Thanks so much for your friendship.  Mark vonEhrenkrook

Living Stones, I presume?

Pastor Mark’s Blog      3/21/ 17                               Living Stones, I presume?
Recently a man came to our church and he and his wife were instantly enfolded into the fellowship.  From all appearances, it looked like it was going to be a good fit for them and us.  It only took a couple of weeks, however, for the man’s true purpose to come to light.  He was not that interested in a fellowship of believers but he was more than interested in a group of people to help build his business.  When his true heart was revealed he left the church and sent me a disconcerting email which only reinforced, in my mind, his wrong motives.

This man reminded me of Demas in the Bible.  He is mentioned three times and in the beginning, Paul identifies him as a “fellow worker.”  Later, the sad truth comes out and Paul writes in          2 Timothy 4:10, “Demas has left me because he loves the things of this world…”
I was sad to see our friend go.  Christ must have felt something like that with the rich young ruler who went away and rejected His offer of eternal life.  Jesus did not go after this young man and try to placate him or turn him around, He knew what was in the heart of a man, and the kingdom of God did not beat in the heart of the rich young ruler.  

This experience got me to thinking about the kind of person that God uses to build His church.  The apostle Peter uses an analogy in the Bible that identifies such people as “living stones:”   
I Peter 2:4-5  As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men, but chosen and precious in God’s sight, you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Who is the person that God uses?  Who are the living stones?
 
 In the Old Testament, King David asked a similar question twice, when he wrote:
Psalm 15: 1  O LORD, who may abide in Your tent?  Who may dwell on Your holy hill?
Psalm 24: 3 Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place?  

In these passages David enumerates the attitudes and actions of the person after God’s own heart.  These verses are not a checklist, but they do provide a wonderful matrix of attitudes and actions that are evident in the lives of the living stones whom God uses:

He who has clean hands and a pure heart,

Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood

And has not sworn deceitfully. (Made promises with no intention of keeping them; NET Bible)

He who walks with integrity

and works righteousness,
And speaks truth in his heart.

He does not slander with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,

 Nor takes up a reproach against his friend;

In whose eyes a reprobate is despised,
 But who honors those who fear the LORD;
 He swears to his own hurt and does not change;

He does not put out his money at crushing interest,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things will never be shaken. Psalm 15: 2-5

David knew that even he did not measure up to God’s standard and so he prays:

          Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

Questions for personal reflection:

Do any of the areas which David mentions stand out for you? 

Is there one or more items which you struggle with?  

What is God speaking to you through these passages?

Where are you on the “Demas” scale: Loving Christ or Loving the World?

What other questions or thoughts come to mind as you meditate on these scriptures?

May this be our prayer today:

Lord, Create in me a clean heart and clean hands.  Convict me of sin and help me to seek Your forgiveness.  Make me into a living stone which cannot be shaken, one that You can use to Your Glory, in building Your church.

Manger Mythbusters: Clarifying the Biblical Nativity

Every year around December a website publishes the worst nativity scenes.  Probably the most awful one in recent years has been the zombie nativity.  People through the years have made creche’ scenes depicting the birth of Jesus.  (Creche’ comes from the French word for manger.) These scenes range from very beautiful to simply ridiculous.  There are hand carved wooden figurines to ceramic bear figures in first century costumes.  There are Lego nativities and even one made from smores.   Obviously, people have different tastes in art and discretion.  One thing is also clear; people have very skewed misconceptions about the birth of Jesus.

Most of the common misconceptions about the birth of Jesus come from the Christmas Card marketing firms.  They create very nice pastoral scenes and present a sanitized version of what was really going on.  Hollywood does their part to create a certain “Christmas” atmosphere and unfortunately they rarely get it right. Soon these misconceptions become part of the myth of Christmas.  This post is designed to answer some of the myths about the birth of Jesus so that we can have a more accurate understanding of the miracle of the incarnation- God becoming flesh and living among us!

If you ask a typical person about their understanding of the Christmas story they will probably tell you something like this:

On December 25 Mary and Joseph come into Bethlehem.  She is riding a donkey and needs to find a room to deliver her baby.  All the inns are full but a kindly innkeeper says they can spend the night in his barn.  That night, angels appear to shepherds and the skies are filled with music.  The shepherds and three wise men on camels find their way to the stable and find the sleeping Christ child, who does not make a sound.  The angels surround the stable and all the animals bow in respect and wonder at this sight.  Gifts are brought to the child and even a small boy plays his drum for Jesus. 

Sound familiar?  It has been told and retold so many times that it is hard to discern fact from fiction.  This is why we must go back to the source, the Bible, in order to set straight the truth of what really happened.  Here are some basic misconceptions:

December 25 is the actual day of Christ’s birth

Most people realize that this date was chosen somewhat arbitrarily by the Catholic church. We do not know with any certainty what the actual date really was.  Apparently God did not think it necessary to tell us the date, probably so that we would not revere the day and miss the person of Christ.  What is important is that Jesus was born, the date is not important.  Most Biblical scholars agree that Jesus was probably born sometime in September since we are told that the shepherds were “abiding in the fields.”  The shepherds would not normally be out in the winter with their flocks.  Trying to find the actual date and time of the birth of Jesus is a matter of conjecture and speculation. 

Mary rode a donkey to Bethlehem

The road from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem is about seventy miles over hilly countryside.  We don’t know if Joseph and Mary had enough money for a donkey or if Mary rode in a cart.  Whether she rode or walked it must have been very uncomfortable for a pregnant woman to make this journey.

Mary just made it to Bethlehem in time to give birth

Again we don’t know for certain how long Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem before Jesus was born.  Going around from inn to inn knocking on doors and pleading with innkeepers for lodging makes good drama but probably didn’t happen.   Both Joseph and Mary had to go to Bethlehem for the census because this was the place of their ancestral origin.  It is likely that they had relatives in Bethlehem and had already made some preparations.  The word, “inn” can be translated guest room or private chamber.  There was likely a huge family reunion with many people sleeping in the same room.  It may have been a practical matter to let the young people have their own space, especially since Mary was going to have a baby in the near future.      

The Bible says that “while they were there the days were accomplished that she should give birth.” Luke 2:6.  It does not say that Mary and Joseph just made it to Bethlehem at the last possible moment.  While we don’t know how much time they had before Jesus was delivered, it would have made more sense to get to town and get settled before the actual due date. 

Jesus was born in a stable

Was Jesus birth in a barn or a cave as some suggest?  We don’t know for sure where He was born, even though there are some places in Bethlehem that purport to be the actual site of the birth.  The Greek word used in the Bible is kataluma.  This word can mean a number of things like inn, or guest room, etc.  It is used in Mark 14:14-15 to refer to the large upper room where Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples. 

Angels attended the birth of Christ

While angels were sent to announce the birth of the Messiah, we do not know if they were visibly present at the manger.  The Bible suggests that there are messenger angels and there are ministering angels.  We are not always aware of the presence of angels. Hebrews 13:2.   We do not know for sure that the messenger angels sang, only that they were praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the Highest and on earth, peace good will toward man.”  Luke 2:13

Three kings rode into Bethlehem on camels

The Bible records that magi came to pay homage to the newborn king.  We do not know if they were kings in their own right or not.  We do not know how many there were, only that the word is plural in the Bible.  We do not know if the “wise men” rode camels or donkeys.  We don’t know when they arrived, only that the Scripture says they “entered the house” Matthew 2:11.  The three kings idea originated in the giving of the three gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  Again, we don’t know if there were three magi or not.  We do not know how much money this represented, but it is likely that Mary and Joseph used part of the gift to finance their unplanned trip to Egypt and their sojourn there. 

Given the fact that Herod had every male child in the district killed who was under two years of age, Mary and Joseph may have stayed in Bethlehem for awhile, before they were warned to flee to Egypt.  They probably used some of the money from the magi to rent a house or rooms in Bethlehem and to finance their presenting Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem.   While Bethlehem is only a few miles from Jerusalem, it would have taken funds for the circumcision, lodging, food and the required sacrifices. 

Jesus was a perfect baby that did not cry

The Bible tells us that Jesus was sinless and therefore perfect before God.  The miracle of the incarnation is that Jesus was 100% God and 100% man.  As an infant, it is unlikely he did not cry, after all, crying is not a sin.  Jesus had to grow in “wisdom and stature.” Luke 2:52.   He had to learn things and He physically had to grow up into manhood.  He maintained His sinless perfection as He grew, “in favor with God and man.”

Myths that Contradict the Birth of Christ

Well meaning believers and Christ-followers might be guilty of spreading some of the  stereotypes or myths that have already been mentioned.  However, another type of myth denies the reliability of the Scriptures and tries to cast doubt on the miracle of Christ’s birth.  Here are a few such myths:

Jesus was not born of a virgin

People who hold to this view do not believe that a virgin birth is possible.  By denying the Lordship of Christ they somehow think they will not be held accountable for their lives by God, when they die.  Of course the Bible says, “It is appointed unto man once to die, and after that, the judgment.” Hebrews 9:27

Those who don’t believe in the virgin birth are denying that God is able.  To this God replies: “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?” Jeremiah 32:27 After all, God did create all life and He holds the universe in space.  Is there really anything too difficult for God? 

Jesus was a good moral teacher but not God

It was C.S. Lewis, the author of the Narnia Series, who first laid out the idea that of all the things you can say about Jesus, the one thing you cannot say is that He was a good moral teacher.  Lewis said that Jesus was who He claimed to be, the son of God, or He was either a lunatic or liar.  He either knew He was lying and misleading people or He lied and didn’t know it because He was a mental case.  There are not a lot of options available.  Jesus was who He claimed to be or He wasn’t, and if He wasn’t who He claimed to be, there are only two possibilities.  He was a lunatic and delusional with a messianic complex or He was a charlatan intentionally leading people astray.  So Jesus is either the Lord, who He claims to be or crazy or evil.  Of those three possibilities, none of them give us the opportunity to say He was a good moral teacher. 

Quirinius was not the Governor of Syria when Jesus was supposed to be born

This argument from silence comes up every year by people looking for a way to deny the birth of Jesus.  It is true that Dr. Luke records in his gospel, Luke 2:2 that Quirinius was governor of Syria at the time of Christ’s birth, but in reality, he did not actually become governor until after Herod died.  Obviously Herod was alive at the time of the birth of Christ.  Luke says that the census was the “First” census and later in the book of Acts, chapter 5 verse 37,  Dr. Luke talks about “the Census.”  There is documentation in antiquity that there was a census and it was under Quirinius but it never records the “first” census that Luke states in his account. 

Luke has never been proven to be inaccurate.  He was an excellent historian not only by first century standards, but also today we can trust his accounts.  Scholars have shown that Quirinius had an illustrious career under Caesar and moved up the ladder into more and more important roles as he proved himself.  The scholars maintain that Quirinius was in fact, a governor of Syria when Christ was born and that he was involved with a regular (repeating) census and reporting of taxes back to Rome.  

What all these myths that attempt to discredit the birth of Christ  really do is try to discredit the reliability and veracity of the Bible.  It is very important that we individually study the Scriptures and enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.   Dr Luke also recorded the Apostle Peter as saying, “There is salvation is no other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  Acts 4:12  The question today is whether or not you have put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ.  He is not a myth, He said He was, “The Way the Truth and the Life” and the only way to be saved was through Him. John 14:1

If you have not received Christ as your savior and realize that you need to take this step of faith, please contact me or one of the believers in our church so that we may pray for you and support your decision.  If you need a Bible, or would like more information, please contact our church office.

Disciplining Children

Disciplining Children

We are living in a society today in which the discipline of children is largely being neglected or simply ignored.  Many parents seem to be abdicating responsibility for the training and nurturing of their children in the area of self-discipline to the schools or waiting for their sons and daughters to enter military service and get “straightened out.”  Whether you are in a public or more private setting with parents and children, it does not take long to figure out that our families are having trouble.  Children are being disobedient, disrespectful and destructive without consequences, and parents seem unwilling or unable to use teachable moments to train, direct and discipline their children.

Christian parents, if they are not careful, can be sucked into the vortex of societies norms and willingly accept the values and practices of the world instead of God’s design and principles for the family. 

Disciplining children is one of the tasks God has placed on parents.  Here is a key passage regarding God’s expectations of fathers and their role in discipline: 

            5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:5-11 NIV

Children move through life with a view that their earthly father is god.  He is big, he loves, he provides.  As the child matures they learn that their father has a god.  Often they will acknowledge their father’s god as their own.  Later in life, as an adult, the young person will move into the step of making God their Father.  Discipline is at work in each step of the spiritual development.  While this progression is of God’s design, it is delegated to the fathers and parents until God is made Lord of the young person’s life.   

A young person then, naturally moves from parental control to self-control and ultimately to spirit control.  Sadly many of our children do not have the benefit of parenting that leads them to self-control and eventually to spirit empowered behaviors.

The Bible is also written to children.  God even included children in the ten commandments.  The fifth command is to children; “Children honor your father and your mother in the Lord…”   Children learn to honor their parents through the loving consistant examples they give and through the discipline and training which leads to respect and honor. 

Parents are clearly responsible to raise their children and discipline them in the Lord.  When there is permissiveness or abdication of this responsibility, the children, parents, family and society suffers.  

Godly parenting is intentional. There are goals and strategies, there is design.  Dr. James Dobson makes a vivid analogy of this design through the observation of how young sapling trees are grown:  When a sapling is planted, often two posts are driven deep into the ground near the roots.  Then there are cords put around both posts.  The posts help the tree grow straight and tall.  At some point the posts are removed and the tree is strong to grow on its own.  Dobson likens this to training a young person, a mother and a father are the posts and the cords are the nurturing and training that the young person receives.  As the child grows, the cords must be loosened and eventually removed or both the tree and the person will be stunted.

There is a principle in scripture; “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old , he will not depart from it.”  Proverbs 22:6 KJV.  This is not a promise, it is a general principle.  Unlike trees, children have their own free will and choice.  At some point the child is ultimately responsible for the choices and decisions they make, but the passage does underscore the importance of early training and consistent nurturing.

When we talk about discipline, a lot of people confuse it with punishment.  Many of us have not been disciplined but punished growing up.  However, discipline and punishment   are very different in many ways:

Discipline is concerned with future behaviors,  Punishment deals with past sins

Discipline is corrective, instructive, Punishment is penalizing and retaliatory.

Discipline is done in love, punishment is often done in anger or dispassionately.

Disciplines goal is changed behavior, punishments goal is retribution.

It is clear that there is a big difference between discipline and punishment.  It is also easy to see why people are confused by the terms and why we need to be careful to discipline our children and avoid the negative aspects of punishment.

Scripture says, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.” Colossians 3:21 NAS  When discipline turns to punishment,  children are exasperated and they are discouraged and despair.  Some of the punishment behaviors are yelling at the child, berating them, not having a set standard of behavior that is agreed upon, being arbitrary, retaliating, hurtful, unkind etc etc..

Too many fathers and mothers exasperate, embitter and provoke their children when they do not give clear guidelines or a consistent system of rewards and discipline.  Fathers and mothers need to be on the same page when it comes to the families system of discipline.  Unfortunately, both husband and wife have often been raised in two very different systems and we tend to revert back to the system with which we are most familiar.   It is vital that parents share the same values and be on the same page with discipline or the system will fail and the children will not feel secure at home. “ A house divided cannot stand.”  Mark 3:25

Do you remember the game: red rover?  In the game hands are locked and the child runs and tries to break through.  This is a great picture of parenting.  Parents need to be in agreement, arms locked tight, to the limits and boundaries.  They need to be on the same page.  When this happens, the child will find strength and security.

It is very important that a system of consistent discipline is maintained in the home.  In the beginning, parents can come up with the system and as the children mature, they can have a part in the development of the system.  The system should include both rewards for right behavior and discipline for overt or unacceptable behavior.  Many times when the children are allowed to participate in the developing of a discipline system, they are harder on themselves than the parents or the authority figure (teacher) would have been. 

Suggestions for developing a discipline system can be found elsewhere, however it is important that chores are not used as disciplinary tokens.  Children should have chores and be responsible members of the family.  Adding chores or putting on more chores will equate chores to discipline in the child’s mind.

The paradox of childhood is that children seek a safe peaceful environment and as such are willing to endure discipline to have it.  Children prefer to be in a classroom or a family where consistent loving discipline is enforced.   Class or home “rules” and standards provide stability and peace.  It is much like a fence surrounding a back yard.  The fence will keep the children in the yard, but it also keeps them safe from external danger.  Our children’s safety and their very lives are dependent on the strength of the “fence” boundaries that we put into place and maintain. 

When we don’t set boundaries or fences around our children we are saying that we do not love them enough to give them safe healthy guidelines.  These are not arbitrary borders but wise, healthy boundaries. 

We have mentioned the trap of falling into the world’s system of parenting and have also suggested that sin and our own fleshly desires work against parents, but there is a third part of this unholy trinity of the world, the flesh and the devil.

We are engaged in a spiritual battle for our children.  “The enemy, the devil”, the Bible tells us “is a roaring lion walking around seeking whom he may devour.” I Peter 5:8.  Satan seeks to steal, kill and destroy.  He desperately wants your children.  But not because he loves them.   He wants to steal them, abuse them, defile them, destroy them and kill them.  satan hates the image bearers of the living and true God.  he hates you as a child of God and he hates your children. 

When parents abdicate the spiritual instruction and nurture of their children, they are basically handing their children over to the roaring lion.  Well meaning but misguided parents will say, “We aren’t going to influence our children to accept one religion, they need to make up their own minds when they are old enough to experience different religions.”    

Other parents make sports and school a priority over spiritual instruction and even church attendance.  “We can’t make our son (or daughter) go to church.”  is commonly heard by frustrated pastors and youth leaders.  One youth pastor recently said, “I just want to say to these parents, Why don’t you just hand your children over to satan right now, because that is what he wants and that is what is going to happen if you don’t give proper parental guidance.” 

Ideally the church and the home would work together with God for the growth and development of the children of the faith community.  It really does take more than a village to raise a child.  We need all the help we can get from the village, but we must rely on the work of the Holy Spirit in faith to speak to our children, to minister to them and to protect and lead them into a life of obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ.

When Christian parents are on the same page and enforce consistent and loving discipline on a regular basis, working together with Godly mentors and sharing life with other parents going through the same experiences, God is honored.  Fortunately, love does cover a multitude of sins.( I Peter 4:8.)

If our children turn out o.k., it is partially because of us and our modeling Christlikeness, and it is also in spite of us, because we are not perfect, we still sin and we make mistakes.  Praying for our kids and lovingly disciplining them for their own good will reap the fruit of righteousness in their lives. Becoming the best disciples of Jesus Christ that we can possibility be and loving our spouses dearly are both very practical steps that will make us better parents and we will directly impact our children’s walk in maturity and faith.

And just about the time you see them growing  up, being responsible,  running errands for you, being obedient and respectful, they leave home as young adults.  They have ceased to be just one of your children, they are now your friends.   Consistent loving discipline has yielded the fruit of a productive young man or woman of God. 

 It is not easy, it is not for the faint hearted, but it is worth it all.   Our kids are worth the effort.