The American-Christian Tension

We must obey God rather than human beings!          

—Acts 5:29b

I still love America. Over the past month, many people have either celebrated or condemned the Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage. Whether you agree or disagree with the ruling, we can still thank God for and pray for the United States of America.

After being away for a few weekends, I returned to Oakland Church to worship, pray, and celebrate the greatness of our God and His Son, Jesus Christ. I exercised my freedom to worship as I saw fit, and in November, I will exercise my freedom to vote for the candidate of my choice.

After the last Presidential election, Rev. Franklin Graham told many in the Christian community who were unhappy with the results that we only had ourselves to blame. Out of the 80 million evangelical Christian adults eligible to vote, less than half voted.  

The early Church was born into a world ruled by the Roman Empire. Living under an antagonistic government, Christians were urged to be subject to that government and acknowledge its authority. “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God” (Romans 13:1). They lived within the tension of being subjects of two kingdoms: the Kingdom of God and the Roman Empire.

Two passages illustrate this tension of being subject to the governing authorities and being obedient to God. The apostles in the book of Acts were instructed by the Sanhedrin Council not to teach in the name of Jesus, but they continued teaching and preaching in Jesus’ name and were arrested. Upon examination, Peter and the apostles responded, “We must obey God rather than human beings!” (Acts 5:29)

In the book of Daniel, a law was passed that no one should pray to any god or man except to King Darius for thirty days. Daniel, the man of God, continued his life of faith and obeyed God rather than human law. “Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before” (6:10).

Daniel was not protesting, criticizing, or fighting against the government. He was an obedient, faithful subject, as much as he could be as a Jewish man exiled in a foreign land. After spending a night in the lions’ den, Daniel responded to King Darius, “My God sent his angel and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty” (6:22).

American Christians, today, live within a similar tension. We are citizens of a country designed to be ruled by its people and also citizens of heaven sojourning in a land on earth that we also love. We have the opportunity and privilege to be faithful citizens of the United States of America to the point it does not contradict our obedience to Jesus Christ. We are urged in Scripture to go the extra mile, pray for our leaders, and remain subject to the governing authorities. We also know we must obey God in all things rather than humans. We live in the tension of being in this world but not of this world. God bless America, but Jesus is Lord!

Randy Bain is the Senior Pastor of Oakland UM Church located at 1504 Bedford Street in Johnstown. You may reach him through the church website www.oaklandumc.com.

Seeing Potential In Others

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.    —Matthew 16:18

During a recent Father’s Day message at Oakland, the preacher asked the question, “As a child, who did your parents or family say you were?” We were challenged to fill in the blank, “I was the ____ child.” Although I have a pretty good self-image today, the message really hit home for me in this point. You see, I could have filled in the blank, “I was the fat child.” “I was the middle child.” Or, “I was the blamed for everything child.”

The speaker went on to say, “You are not who your parents and family say you are; in God’s eyes, you are special, chosen, capable, and God’s own child full of potential.” Many of us today still live with the labels and judgments of others rather than our blessed potential in Christ.

The Apostle Simon was renamed “Peter” by Jesus meaning bedrock. Jesus said, “On this rock, I will build my church” (16:18). Jesus knew everything God planned to do in and through Peter’s life. Jesus also knew all Peter’s weaknesses and every failure that was ahead. Jesus named Peter based on his current profession and future potential. Only if we would be so positive and supportive of ourselves and others.

If Peter would have been listening with me to the Father’s Day sermon, he might have filled in his blank, “Peter is the ___ child” with “denier, impulsive, bold, unbelieving, critical, or violent.” Jesus did not judge Peter based upon his weaknesses but on his potential as a child of God transformed by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus came as a nobody, was born in a barn, and lived His early life as a country bumpkin in obscurity. When selecting the Disciples, He called fisherman, revolutionaries, tax collectors, and uneducated men. Jesus spent time with the poor not because He pitied them but because He saw their potential. Paul, also, describes this kingdom attitude and discernment, “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view” (2 Corinthians 5:16).

According to the Lord’s Prayer, our forgiveness is partially based upon how we forgive others (Matthew 6:12). Jesus taught us, “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:2). Judging is the negative side of seeing others only in their brokenness and human weakness. Seeing the potential in others is the positive side of living, thinking, and seeing with the eyes of Jesus Christ.

When is the last time you based your opinion of someone according to their potential rather than on their mistakes and failures? Are you living and behaving today based on what people said or are saying about you or based upon who you are and who you can be in Christ?

In Christ, all the promises of God are ours. We can do and be anything God calls us to. The labels of our past do not define us. We are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:17). God sees and knows our great potential in Jesus. Let us walk and see others in light of that potential. 

Is Jesus Enough?

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.     —2 Corinthians 12:9

This past week, I heard two statements that got into my head upsetting my spirit. Difficult questions stalked me for days. Is there hope? One person, alienated from friends, family, children, and a productive life in general, asked the question, “Is there hope?” Is hope something that drives you with a passion to get through anything or is hope a carrot dangled in the face of the desperate?

A second person, after years of leading the life of the prodigal son, ruining his life, body, and prospects for a future, hopes that God will show him a way to a new life and independence. Is there hope for him? Is there hope for you and me?

We all face trials and challenges; some never seem to go away. When will my children grow up and become responsible adults? Will this depression and anxiety ever leave me? Will I survive the cancer that seeks to destroy my body? I need a job. Does anyone care? Is there hope amid these questions? Is Jesus enough?

The missionary and evangelist, Paul, asked the Lord three times to remove a thorn in the flesh. This fleshly thorn may have been some physical challenge, disease, or emotional scar. Scripture does not tell us, but Paul prayed to God for deliverance. Our Lord’s response was not what we would expect. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” God responded by saying, “No. I am not going to remove this burden, but I am enough for you.”

Paul, who gave up everything to travel the world proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ received the message and lived it. He responded, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

To Paul, Jesus was enough. He gave up everything for the sake of gaining Christ. He goes on to write, “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:10-11).

According to Paul and Christians down through the ages, Jesus is enough. Jesus gives grace and strength to cope with the trials of this present life. His grace is sufficient. Jesus, as the firstborn again from the dead, also promises to give us life with Him for all eternity. We live in hope for this life into the next. Jesus is enough, we can trust Him.

We can’t compare our life to others’. To some, hope is rewarded in this life with miraculous deliverance. To others, God says, “Trust me in this. I am the same yesterday, today and forever. I will be with you now and forever.” We may never receive the same job, health, family, or peace that the person next door has, but Jesus is enough. Enough for this life and enough for all eternity. 

Safe In God's Hands

I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.    —Philippians 3:12

Over the past ten years I have had numerous folks give me wonderful words of encouragement.  Many have spoken words of prophecy over me that God will accomplish great things in my life and ministry. The future is wide open. A super abundant outpouring of God’s anointing is about to happen. I hear these words so frequently that now I tend to smile and simply say, “Bring it on, Lord.” This past week I shared with a colleague another word that came my way. He responded in a text message, “He’s just getting started…hold on tight!”

I responded, “I’m hanging loose. He’ll [God] have to hang on tight to me; I’m resting in Him.” I wasn’t disagreeing with the wording of my friend’s encouragement; but rather, I was trying to describe my feeling and faith. Have you ever had promises spoken over you that have not yet come to pass? You may even wonder if they will ever happen. Have you had expectations placed upon you by parents, children, spouse, or even a boss that seem beyond your grasp? I cannot depend upon myself to hang on tightly to all God’s promises for me because my grip is not that strong compared to my body mass.

A few years ago, while visiting my brother’s lake house in South Carolina, we took the family to an area of the lake with a rope swing. I had never swung on a rope into the lake but had seen others do it. It looked so easy and fun. My niece went first; she slipped off the rope very near the bank but appeared to enjoy it and was not injured. My older brother, in his sixties, went next. Nicely done! He hung on tightly and swung high into the air before releasing into the lake.

Since I was the athletic type and not afraid of heights, I climbed higher into the tree to begin my swing. I didn’t realize how firmly one must grasp the rope to complete the swing out over the lake. As the rope hit the lowest part of the arc, my hands slipped, and I plunged directly into the lake just beyond the rocky shore. Embarrassed and shaken, fortunately only my pride was injured. I will not soon try that again—probably never.

Thinking about the promises of God, I feel unable to hang on in my own spiritual strength alone. After all, they are God’s promises and calling, not mine. The One who makes the promises is the One who has to keep them. Paul says that he had not already obtained everything that God had in store for him, but he does one thing, “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” I am inspired by the phrase, “for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”

Can you imagine a small child needing pulled out of the water or up over a mountain ledge? If two hands meet, a small child’s and a stronger adult’s, who is hanging on to whom? We may say to the child, “Hang on tight;” but, in fact, whose grip is stronger? The child can rest in the fact that his/her parent will never let them slip.

Friend, we can claim all the promises God has spoken over us. He will never fail us. “‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty” (Zechariah 4:6). “The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it” (I Thessalonians 5:24). Rest safe in God’s hands.

Eyes That Do Not See

Seeing you will see and not perceive.   —Matthew 13:14

I am not normally one of those people who count steps, although I once counted the steps between the new pole lights on the walking track around Roxbury Park. In my defense, I was a contractor when I was in my twenties, and I wanted to see if the lights were put in willy-nilly or in a set plan. This past week, as I loaded the car to leave our annual United Methodist Church gathering at Grove City College, I found myself counting steps. In order to add to my step total on my pedometer, I used the stairs, three flights, instead of the elevator.

On the first trip up, I counted one, two, three … ten steps to the first landing and then eleven, twelve … nineteen steps to the second floor. I was intrigued that the landings were not both ten steps so I counted the steps to the next floor—nineteen steps again. Uncertain whether I miscounted or not, I counted again, one, two … nineteen. Yes, nineteen steps between floors. Did you notice anything? I was headed to the third floor. After counting steps three times, I was now looking at a ladder that went from the fourth floor to the roof. I was so busy counting steps, I forgot that my destination was the third floor.

Most of us have heard the saying, “Can’t see the forest for the trees.” As I climbed the stairs, I saw the steps (counted every one of them) but did not recognize the floors. Spiritually, many of us get so caught up in the day to day activities that we miss the spiritual significance of what is happening. We need spiritual eyes and spiritual understanding to see how God is at work in and through our lives.

As Jesus taught the people in parables, earthly stories with spiritual meanings, Jesus was fulfilling what Isaiah had prophesied. People would hear Jesus teachings but not understand and see spiritual events but not perceive. The reason the disciples heard Jesus’ teachings and understood and saw the miracles and perceived the significance was twofold. One, they were in a relationship with Jesus, and He taught them. Two, they believed and were willing to obey.

Many of the religious elite of Jesus’ day studied the Scriptures and Biblical laws with great diligence but missed God’s intended meaning and its fulfillment in the life of Jesus. Jesus condemned the Scribes and Pharisees not for not knowing the Scriptures, but for not believing in Him. The fact that they knew the Scriptures increased Jesus’ criticism towards them.

We can all see and understand if we believe and are willing to heed Jesus’ teachings. The wise and learned of this world do not automatically have an advantage over the young and uneducated in understanding spiritual truths. Jesus said, “I thank You, Father … that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes” (Matthew 11:25).

When we claim that we do not understand, we may actually be saying that we will not understand. If we believe in Jesus Christ and are willing to do what He commands, the Holy Spirit reveals God’s will to us. We see and perceive spiritual truth. Having eyes that don’t see doesn’t have to apply to us. We can see, believe, and respond. Lord, give us eyes to see, spirits to understand, and hands and feet willing to obey.

Washed Clean

Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.    —Isaiah 1:18

Along both sides of my driveway are stone walls made of rock-faced sandstone. The stones come in three heights, and until recently, were a grayish brown color. The stonework is good, and most of mortar remains solid. But, there was nothing exciting or extraordinary about the wall.

The church gave me a pressure washer for Pastor’s Appreciation month back in October. Last week (yes, seven months later), I finally got around to removing the bow and firing it up. We washed the driveway walls, and to our delight, the stones were not brown and gray, but red, gold, white, and tan. The pressure washer made the walls come alive in beauty. Imagine looking at the Grand Canyon in a black and white photo and then seeing it live in full sunshine.

Many persons live broken, dismal lives without Jesus Christ. They get by, and things seem good enough, but they have no idea how beautiful life could be in an intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Isaiah writes, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow” (1:18). Past sins, failures, and rebellion leave stains and scars in our lives. The blood that Jesus shed for us on the Cross cleanses us from all sin.

As I power washed the stone wall, dirt, road dust, and mildew were blown away leaving clean, beautiful stones. Some of the stains had been there for years and may have been on the stones when they were installed. In our lives, some sins have plagued us for years. Others have been in our families for generations. Just like the high pressured water washed even nearly permanent stains away, Jesus Christ promises to not only forgive our sins but to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

How do we receive this spiritual cleansing from sin? It’s a gift! Just as the pressure washer was a gift to me, salvation, eternal life, and forgiveness of sin are gifts from God. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). A gift means two things. One, someone else paid for it. The people of the church paid for my pressure washer. Jesus Christ did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He lived a perfect life and died a sacrificial death to pay the price for our sins. Jesus can now offer us eternal life as a gift which He purchased.

Two, a gift must be received to complete the transaction. On a Sunday in October, last year, I was presented with a new pressure washer with a large gold bow on it. I said thank you. Mentally and ceremonially, I accepted the gift, but in reality, I did not receive it until last week, when I removed the bow, read the instructions, and started the engine. Then and only then did I personally and actually receive the gift. It has made such a difference—beautiful.

Spiritually, many believe there is a god and believe Jesus came and died for us but have never personally received this greatest of all gifts. John 1:12 says, “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” Have you received the gift of God’s Son? Have your sins been washed clean? When we believe and receive, we become children of God. Friend, Jesus loves you. Jesus gave His life that you might receive life in all its fullness. Call upon the Lord, today. Receive His love and forgiveness and be washed clean.

Deep Sea Fishing

Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.              —Luke 5:4

Darlene and I were both only nineteen years old and had been married less than a year. We sat in our home church’s fellowship hall eating cookies after a missionary and evangelism service. As we visited at one table, members from our youth and young adult small group were beginning to cause a commotion in the other end of the basement.

Several of our group had been on choral mission trips to Haiti. They decided among themselves that since Darlene and I had not yet been on a mission trip that they would send us on one next year. The commotion was excitement caused by deciding who and how they would tell us. Upon hearing their plans, we felt God was calling us to “put out into deep water.”

For us, deep water, was stepping out in faith and committing to something we could not afford. Deep water was leaving the comfort of our small little church, small little hometown, and family to travel to the third world. We were only nineteen and had never been anywhere, alone, together.

The door to Haiti closed to us, but God opened a new door to Honduras. We went on a three week mission work tour during November, 1975. We took our first plane ride to Miami, but no one from the mission team was there to greet us. We literally ran through the construction-ridden Miami airport, got our luggage, and hopped our first taxi ride to the hotel. The taxi nearly crashed in road construction, but we eventually found our hotel and our team.

We handled the stress well enough, but, during this time, we discovered how desperately afraid of flying Darlene was. The two airlines we flew on from Miami to Honduras were TAN and SAHSA. I think they were Honduran airlines but cannot remember what the letters actually stood for. The locals told us TAN meant Tragedy Arrives Nightly, and SAHSA—Stay At Home, Stay Alive. We landed on short runways in the mountains; we believed their jokes.

We worked hard for three weeks building a church in the outskirts of the capital city of Tegucigalpa. We toured the country, met many great folks, and became committed to world missions. We were definitely fishing in deep water, but God protected us and gave us strength.

Sometimes the deepest water is a situation in your own home or the difficult neighbor across the street. If we are willing and available to be used by God, the Holy Spirit will call us to join Him in reaching the lost of our world. When Jesus told Peter to “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch” (Luke 5:4), He went along with him. They caught such a large catch of fish that they had to call their partners to come help them with a second boat.

Jesus begins the Great Commission in Matthew’s Gospel by telling the disciples that all power and authority had been given to Him (28:18).  Jesus then commands them and us to “Go make disciples of all nations” (19), but concludes His command with a promise, “And surely I am with you always” (20). What deep water is Jesus calling you into? Across the table, across the street, or around the world? Take a step of faith. Hear God’s voice and go deep sea fishing for men.