Month / April 2013

by In Light Of The Cross

Rumor in Town and Church

I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area. Al Lang Field is an old Spring training Park in St.Petersburg where Babe Dahlgren probably played.

I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area. Al Lang Field is an old spring training Park in St.Petersburg where Babe Dahlgren probably played.

Babe Dahlgren was enjoying the off season after winning the 1939 World Series with the New York Yankees baseball club. Back home in San Francisco he decided to meet with a local batting instructor for the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League to get some friendly tips. When he re-joined the Yankees in St. Petersburg, Florida, for spring training, his manager was suddenly very cold towards Babe. Unbeknownst to Babe, the batting instructor was a long-time enemy of his baseball manager. And now his baseball manager no longer wanted anything to do with Babe, despite his great fielding abilities and steady bat.

After a game where Babe made a rare error, his manager was talking to reporters, when off the top of his head, without an ounce of proof, he said, “If Babe had not been smoking marijuana, he would have made that play.” Thus began the rumor that Babe’s grandson, Matt Dahlgren, writes about in his book,“Rumor in Town.”

In those days smoking marijuana could get you kicked out of baseball for life. Of course the manager had no proof, but his position gave him enough influence and power to get Babe traded to another team, even though he was a great fielder and batter. The rumor seemed to follow Babe as he got sent from team to team. Babe wondered why he kept getting traded while he was leading the league in several categories.

It would be years before Babe would learn that a rumor was going around about him. In a meeting with his team executive, while playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, he was asked about doing drugs. The team executive used the rumor to try to intimidate Babe to go down to the minor leagues.

Babe did his best to try to clear his name of this rumor, but trying to find out who has heard a rumor is like emptying a box of feathers into the wind and then trying to gather them all up. They are impossible to trace and recover.

Matt Dahlgren goes on to write that this Brooklyn Dodger executive was the same man who brought Jackie Robinson into major league baseball and broke the foolish color barrier that had for so long oppressed the United States.

I was perplexed at the inconsistency in this executive, but then I realized he represents the entire human race, even many Christians. On one hand he is a hero who relieved oppression by breaking the color barrier in baseball. On the other hand, he caused oppression for Babe by continuing the rumor. I laid the book down for a moment and prayed that God would keep me from doing like what was done to Babe.

Babe loved the game of baseball and devoted himself to his team, yet his manager turned against him just because Babe talked to someone he did not like. Then others carried the rumor further, and still others used it as a weapon to blackmail and oppress Babe.

We need to be careful that we do not participate in any way by listening to and intentionally or unintentionally spreading rumor that will hurt others, as mentioned in this week’s SS lesson. While we think of political and social oppression and corruption being carried on in the world, let’s be careful we are not carrying it on in the church.

We may think of ourselves as good people, just as the executive probably did, but we may still be doing much harm and hurt by listening to, and even spreading rumors which may deeply hurt a brother or sister in the church! The executive may have thought the rumor to be true, and so may we. But that does not lessen our responsibility before God. Even spreading negative things thatare totally true about someone may make us guilty before God because it is not a loving thing to do and thus not reflective of God’s character. The Apostle Peter reminds us to “love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude ofsins. (1 Peter 4:8)

When rumors hurt people’s ministry, the cause of God suffers. Satan uses rumors to not only hurt the people the rumor is about, but to also taint or destroy their ministry to the point where their ministry is no longer useful to save lost souls. What a tragedy!

In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.  And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. James 3:5-6 NLT

Rumors are dainty morsels that sink deep into one’s heart. Proverbs 18:8 NLT

It has been said that “sticks and stones may break my bones but words may never hurt me.” Nothing could be farther from the truth! Many people who have been abused physically as well as verbally say they would rather be physically abused than verbally abused. Physical abuse hurts the body but verbal abuse wounds the depths of the soul.

I know that God can foil all of Satan’s rumors and accusations so that all things work together for good to those who Love God and are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) Like many others I have had rumors told about me. One time someone told a lie about me right in public. When I was talking it over with a friend to see how I should respond to clear myself of this lie, my friend wisely suggested, “Don’t respond to the rumor. By responding you only give the rumor merit.” I said nothing and later found out that everyone else either forgot what was said that day or was distracted when the person said it, and never heard the rumor at all!

That is how it worked out for me, but I know this is not always the case. This is why when I finished the book and put it down, I asked God to keep me from participating in a rumor that could destroy someone’s life!

The Yankee manager was foolish to let the fact that Babe saw an enemy of his bother him – especially since Babe had nothing but the best intentions in getting batting tips. Jealousy is a silly excuse to start a rumor, but does this happen in the church as well? When we entertain thoughts of jealousy, we may not even realize  when we are gossiping and spreading rumors because what we think in our hearts will come out of our lips. (Matt 12:34)

We need to ask God to give us hearts like His – filled with a love that will never participate in any way in gossip that may hurt another of God’s children, either in the world or in the church.

by In Light Of The Cross

Acts of Humanity

Indian Rocks 5

I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

As this week’s SS lesson talks about acts of inhumanity being sins against God, I would like to write about acts of humanity.

 

Taking a walk in Texas, I came across a beautiful patch of Texas Blue Bonnet flowers and Indian Paint Brushes. Among the flowers I saw some litter. I thought to myself, as ugly as sin has made this world, God still has His beautiful flowers for all to enjoy among the litter.

 

Not long after the New York World Trade Towers were hit by terrorists, New York City mayor, Rudy Giuliani, said, “Evil manifested itself that day, with those who were willing to die if they could just kill someone else. Good was manifested that day by those rescue workers who were willing to die if they could just save someone else.” Crashing the planes into the towers was an act of inhumanity, but the rescue workers running into the disaster area while everyone else was running away were performing acts of humanity. As terrible as that day was, it was a defeat for Satan, as we actually saw more good than evil. We saw a handful of terrorists taking lives, but we saw hundreds of rescue workers saving lives. We saw planes being forced out of the sky and landing in places like Nova Scotia, where the townsfolk took some of these traveling strangers in and boarded and fed them. Acts of humanity were everywhere.

 

Last year I made two trips to Connecticut and Massachusetts, while doing evangelistic meetings. Never having been to New England, I was taken in by the beauty of the area. It seemed so peaceful. I loved visiting the pleasant little villages and old churches. The people were so kind and pleasant to be around. One evening I took the night off from meetings, and visited Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox baseball team. They were playing my Tampa Bay Rays. Even though I was for the other team, everyone was very polite and helpful – from the people who helped me get on the right subway, to the Japanese  tourists, who sat next to me, asking me Red Sox trivia questions throughout the game, not realizing I was not a Red Sox fan. I surprised myself on how well I could answer their questions. On the train to my hotel, after the game I ran into nothing but the nicest people ever. Even traveling alone, I never felt alone.

 

Imagine my shock and horror when months later a crazed gunman walked into a Connecticut school and started committing one of the ugliest acts of inhumanity ever seen. When I thought of the wonderful people I met there, I could not imagine such a thing happening. Later I heard about something I could imagine. Victoria Soto, a young school teacher, died in the gunfire while unselfishly protecting the children. That was an act of humanity. After recently being in New England I found the gunman’s actions unbelievable for that area, but I found the action of Victoria Soto to be what I would expect from people in the area.

 

Last Monday Satan raised his ugly head again in Boston as people were innocently trying to finish a marathon. An act of inhumanity. But we see videos of people rushing to the aid of those who were hurting. That night I thought of Paul writing in 2 Timothy 4:7 NLT “I have finished the race” – the race of life and he would be receiving his prize at the Second Coming. I don’t think Satan is going to be as happy at the end of that race as he was at the end of the Boston Marathon.

 

A few weeks earlier, I had watched a documentary which left me upset. It was about a child who was abused and killed back in the 1960`s and the trial that brought justice. It was very disturbing, and I think I should have followed the counsel of Philippians 4:8 and skipped the documentary. Like the Boston Marathon bombing, the acts of inhumanity in this documentary were senseless. I was so angry with the evil people that I wanted them to suffer justice! It reminded me of a time many years ago when I was watching Roots, with my grandmother. As a child watching the movie, I was outraged by the cruelty many slave owners practiced towards their slaves. As I was watching, I thought in my ten- year old little mind, “I wish I could bring those slave owners back to life and beat them back to death again! They are so cruel!” I started to tell my grandmother how I felt, when she looked and saw how upset I was. She was upset too, but she said, “It makes you want to bring those poor slaves back to life and be good and nice to them, right?” I agreed with her and didn`t tell her what I was really thinking. My way of thinking, bring the slave owners back and beat them to death, would only continue the inhumanity.

 

My grandmother died decades later, never knowing what an important lesson she taught me that night. She does not even know she rebuked my attitude, when she said, “It makes you want to bring the slaves back to life and be good and nice to them, right?” I was plotting acts of inhumanity while she was plotting acts of humanity.

 

After watching the recent documentary about the child who was abused to death, I was thinking how senseless this crime was and I realized I could not bring that child back to life to demonstrate love. Jesus can and will bring people back to life and treat them with love, but in the meantime I`m thinking of what I can do. I can commit senseless acts of kindness in this child’s name.

 

The next day I found myself having lunch with a friend at one of our favorite restaurants. I saw a family eating together at a nearby table. I told the waitress, “Give me their check.” I did not know the family. They may have had more money than I did. There was no reason or motive for my actions. It may have been totally senseless for me to pay their bill, but that was the point. I decided if some people are going to be senselessly mean, then I am going to be senselessly nice!

 

I learned my lesson watching Roots with my grandmother that night long ago. I don’t want to continue with acts of inhumanity. Count me in with the millions who are committing acts of humanity!

 

God, I don’t want to be another piece of litter. Please make me a Blue Bonnet or an Indian Paint Brush. 

 

Will you join me in committing `senseless` acts of kindness to make this world a little better for some of the people in it?  Perhaps it will catch on.

 

by In Light Of The Cross

The Spirit of Prophecy or the Spirit of Bitterness

Clear Water 7

I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Many Adventists and former Adventists either have the Spirit of Prophecy or the Spirit of Bitterness. Where does the bitterness come from?

This week’s SS lesson focuses on the book of Joel, which speaks about the Holy Spirit and gift of prophecy being poured out in the latter days. See Joel 2:28-29. Paul reminds us again that the gift of prophecy will endure as long as God has a church. Ephesians 4:11-13. Still, with all the false prophets today, people are skeptical of anybody being a true prophet. That is nothing new. What prophet has ever been accepted in his or her own time or place?

A few days ago someone shared a website with me that bashed Seventh-day Adventists and Ellen White. This site said Adventists were a cult because we are trying to be saved by keeping the commandments. That is not true. We keep*, (treasure* or cherish* is the literal translation in the Hebrew) the commandments because we love Jesus. John 14:15. This site also said we are trying to work our way to heaven by keeping the Sabbath. I don’t know how they came up with that one. We don’t rest on Sabbath so we can be saved by working. That accusation, like most accusations you find on anti-Adventist or anti-Ellen White websites do not even make any sense if you just stop to honestly think about it. The Sabbath is not a sign of works. It is a sign of rest. The Sabbath is a sign we are NOT saved by works.

I have to wonder what spirit is behind their accusations. After all, I am not a Mormon, but I respect them and have no reason or desire to run an anti-Mormon website.  I don’t accept their prophet Joseph Smith, but again I have no desire to run an anti-Joseph Smith website. Each to their own, I say. So I wonder why some people have the obsession to bitterly bash Ellen White and Adventists. The point I am trying to make is, while I do not believe in Joseph Smith, I am still not angry and bitter about it. The anti-Ellen White and anti-Adventist websites often have a bitterness that you cannot ignore.

Problem is, Adventists have also been misrepresented by their own people, and Ellen White has been misrepresented by her own fans. Please keep in mind, if I wear my Tampa Bay Rays baseball jersey into Yankee stadium and start throwing my nachos at the Yankee fans, that I am not properly representing the Tampa Bay Rays. Just because a Tampa Bay Rays fan does something does not mean the Tampa Bay Rays did it. They would be appalled by it. Same with the Adventist Church and Ellen White. They do not condone the action of all of their fans.

I do not know if Ellen White would approve of a compilation book called Messages to Young People, where everything she wrote was literally and blatantly taken out of context and then placed in a book to beat young people over the head.

There is much counsel, which was written to specific people, and what God leads me to see in her writings may not be what He is needing everyone to see. What I read I need to pray and apply to myself instead of hitting my neighbor over the head with it. In a church district where I served years ago, we had a lady who read Ellen White all the time. I mean all the time. So much so, that she never had time to help with Vacation Bible School when we needed her, or to help with Community Services when a tornado struck. She could never help. She was too busy reading Ellen White books.

Ellen White was balanced. Not all of her fans are though. The Adventist Church is balanced but not all of its members are. Hopefully we balance each other out. That being said, I guess I do understand where some of the bitterness can come from. But please do not become bitter of Ellen White or anyone else for that matter, because of someone else’s misrepresentation of her. Please don’t judge a sports team by its fans.The team may be nothing like their fans.

Let me just come right out and say here, the point of my post is not so much addressing whether or not Ellen White is still relevant to today’s church or not, but regardless of what people believe, why do some need to be so bitter about it? That being said, I believe if the Adventist Church and Ellen White had been properly represented, regardless if people believe in them or not, at least they would not be so bitter towards them.

Could the spirit behind their attacks be found in Revelation 12:17?

“And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children—all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus.”

Keeping the commandments is not a sign we are a cult. It is a sign we are God’s children!

None of us likes it when other people put words in our mouths. If you have visited a website bashing Seventh-day Adventists, I would like to invite you to a website where you can find the truth about Adventists. Even if you do not want to be one, its only fair that Adventists are rightfully understood. No one likes to be misunderstood.

Every month someone sends me a magazine which bitterly bashes Seventh-day Adventists. Again, I find this very strange that someone wants to spend their time, energy and money bitterly lashing out at any Christian denomination. Bitterly bashing people is just not in my psyche I guess.

While I have made a habit of tossing this magazine into the trashcan next to my mailbox every month, this time I did happen to open a couple pages. One page was an article saying that the Spirit of Prophecy is about the Holy Spirit and not Ellen White. Well of course it is. 2 Peter 1:21 tells us all the prophets wrote or spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. So when a prophet has the Spirit of Prophecy it is from the Holy Spirit and not from him or herself.  In other words, the Holy Spirit gives His own prophecies to men to share with us. The fact that Ellen White’s writings are from the Holy Spirit and not herself, gives it even more merit.

Some like to point out supposed contradictions in her writings. Bible skeptics use the same logic to discount the Bible that Spirit of Prophecy skeptics use to discount Ellen White. People can find things in the Bible to look like a contradiction, but once you study it out and think about it you realize it is not a contradiction. It’s the same with Ellen White. I have seen a handful of people myself, who have stopped believing in Ellen White’s writings, and then stopped believing in the Bible and God all together. Christians need to be aware, that the same supposed logic that will lead you not to believe in the writings of Ellen White will also lead you to stop believing in the Bible and God.

I hear people say Ellen White is too legalistic and conservative. This year I have been reading through the Testimonies to the Church, by Ellen White, and what I have been finding over and over is that she actually attacks legalism. She is far from conservative, and being legalistic and works orientated. In her writings I find grace and mercy. I find her to be very balanced, and if she has to go to either extreme she goes to the side of mercy. A lot of anti-Ellen White people have never read her for themselves. I invite you to do so. After all, you would not want someone telling people about you. If you are like me, you want people to get to know you personally instead of just going by what they hear. I invite you to get know Ellen White for yourself.

Here is a link where you can explore the writings of Ellen White and find the treasures of the Spirit of Prophecy.

Also if you have been to any of the anti-Ellen White websites, the links below may help you find factual and logical answers to some of her critics.

http://www.ellenwhite.info/ 

http://www.ellenwhiteanswers.org/

http://www.ellengwhitetruth.com/

Here is a link where you can find out how to tell from the Bible if someone really has the gift of prophecy or not.

I hope you find it to be as great a blessing as I have. If you decide not to accept her as a prophet I hope we can still be friends. There is no reason to be bitter either way. The Spirit of Bitterness, accusations, and finding fault with other peoples religions comes from Satan, not from God.

And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children—all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus. Revelation 12:17 NLT

by In Light Of The Cross

Crime and Punishment

Clear Water 1

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong. Ecclesiastes 8:11 NLT

Several years ago I was studying with a family and the wife’s father was in the hospital. I went to see him, and arrived literally moments after he had passed away. The family asked me to join them in the family room as they met with doctors. A son said he probably would not have died if they would not have let him add that room onto the house. That extra work is what did him in. The daughter suggested he would still be alive if they had gotten him to his current hospital before taking him to the closer, smaller hospital. Everyone chimed in with their explanations on why the elderly gentleman had just passed away. As they talked, I listened quietly, while I thought to myself, he died because the wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23

Satan works with us over a lifetime, getting us to compromise here and there, and disobey. Time goes by, and we think we are getting away with sin. Then at the end of the line, sin brings us to the grave, which is the reward of sin, and Satan says, “thank you for playing my game.”

While Hosea is chock- full of pleas of mercy from God, and forgiveness for transgressions, let’s not fool ourselves into thinking that sin does not have consequences, even when there is forgiveness and redemption. We do not want to use fear as a motivation for obedience, because we rightfully want to focus on God’s love and mercy. We don’t obey for rewards or to avoid punishment. We obey because we love Jesus. That being said, I will never forget hearing a preacher on the radio telling everyone, “God may be loving, merciful, and forgiving, but Hell will still be hot!”

I don’t know that I would use his exact same approach, but he was right! Satan’s lie in the garden, “you shall not surely die” was more than about spiritualism. He was also insinuating there would be no dire consequences for sin. Today, as we stand over the grave of a loved one, we realize Satan is a liar. Even the repentant thief, who asked to be remembered in Christ’s kingdom, accepted his death as his just due. This is one sign that his repentance we genuine. He did not make any pleas for Jesus to deliver him from the consequences of his sin. The repentant thief was sorry for his sin, and not just the consequences. Even though forgiven and promised eternal life, he still had to pay the consequences.

People point to David, and say “look at what David did, and God still forgave Him.” True. God did forgive David, and He will indeed forgive us. Still, there are two lessons we can take from David’s sin and repentance.

  1. Even though David was forgiven, he still had to reap the consequences of his son dying, and also the influence it reaped on the rest of the family. One son committing rape, and another committing murder. Not exactly the legacy God wanted His nation’s first family to be passing along. Even though David was forgiven, it would have been far better had he never made those choices.

Even so, David’s repentance was sincere, in that He did not lament the personal consequences of his sin, but rather that He broke God’s heart.

“Against you, and you alone have I sinned.”   Psalms 51:4 NLT

2.The good news is we don’t see David going back and making the same mistakes over and over.

While Israel kept falling back into apostasy we don’t see David making the same mistake, possibly because unlike Israel as a nation kept making promises and resolutions they could not keep, David instead, clings to God’s promises.

Instead of promising God He would be pure He asks God to purify him.

“Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow.” Psalms 51:8 NLT

Instead of trying to rehabilitate himself, David asks God to just recreate his heart.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God.” Psalms 51:10 NLT

Hosea, and the rest of the Bible teach us there is a God who forgives and saves us. He loves us unconditionally. Still, let’s not lull ourselves into a false sense of security, like those Solomon talks about in Ecclesiastes 8:11, who think because sin is not quickly punished that there are no real consequences.

You may study this week’s SS lesson on Hosea here.

by In Light Of The Cross

Try a Little Love and Tenderness

CW Again

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

This week’s Sabbath School lesson is about Hosea and the relentless love of God. To me, one of the key verses is Hosea 2:14,

But then I will win her back once again.
I will lead her into the desert
and speak tenderly to her there.

I am so thankful for parents who understand this. I wish all parents understood this is the way to win their children’s loyalty to God and to themselves.

Several years ago I was preaching for Father’s Day, and I had a few people, young and old tell us what they liked about their Fathers. One young man, about 12 years old, gave a powerful, heartfelt tribute to his dad, even saying “nobody reminds me of Jesus more than my father.”

That same Sabbath morning, the son was offered some cookies in his Sabbath School class which he gladly took. His father saw him eating the cookie and starting publicly berating him and telling him how sinful it is to eat in church! (News to me!) The son could not hide his hurt and humiliation. The son definitely was not trying to be a hard-hearted rebel by taking a cookie just like everyone else. I know the Father meant well too, but you don’t have to be a parent to know that publicly embarrassing and humiliating your child is not the way to go. Remember, Jesus worked His first miracle, turning water into wine for no other reason than to save the host from public embarrassment. It would not have killed them to just drink water, but Jesus is a Savior from public humiliation and embarrassment. It is not one of His tools.

Not long after this the father called me up, and wanted me to lecture his son because he was becoming defiant. I came to their home as requested, but the talk did not actually go the way the father expected. The father was accusing the son of being disrespectful. With father and son both present, I asked the son about the beautiful tribute he gave to his father. Both agreed that was very nice and respectful. I then asked the son how he felt when later, his father publicly berated him for eating a cookie just like everyone else. He said it was very hurtful and you could see the hurt in his eyes as he said that. I shared Hosea 2:14 with them both and asked the father if he thought he could be a little more tender when correcting his Son. I was not asking him to change his standards, just his approach. Though I did share with the father that I was unaware of any Bible teaching against eating a cookie in church. Being a father is a very sacred calling, and I did not want to distract from that or appear to try to trump him. However I did encourage him to follow 2 Timothy 3:16  and be sure to correct his son according to Scripture.

Tears were in the son’s eyes by now as I explained to the father how much his son loved him, and how hurt he was, when publicly humiliated for doing something, he thought was totally innocent, with no rebellious intentions. I assured the father, the son would not have written such a loving tribute if he did not deeply love and respect him. His son nodded in agreement with tears still in his eyes.

I thought the father was going to turn on me now for not ganging up with him on his side, but instead he actually thanked me! I know the father had a good heart and really cared about his children. Why else would his son write that no one reminded him more of Jesus than His father?

Parents please be tender with your children. You may not think they love, appreciate and respect you, but at school and church I hear them say things you may never hear. I always tell kids, your parents love you more than you think they do, and I say the same to parents. Your children love you more than you think they do. As a third party observer, I know this for a fact.

If you don’t want to take it from me, take it from God,

But then I will win her back once again.
I will lead her into the desert
and speak tenderly to her there.