The Wonder of Adoption

"He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God." (John 1:12-13)


Adoption is a wonderful thing!  A child who was once without a family and without hope suddenly has both. Contrary to popular belief we are not all God's children at birth. We are indeed God's creation, fearfully and wonderfully made.  We are known and loved by him before one cell came together in our mother's womb. But, we are separated from God and without the rights and privileges of members of his family. Adoption can take a number of years and cost thousands of dollars but becoming a child of God takes only faith.  If you are walking outside of God's family it's time to come home.  Jesus paid the price so believe in his name and receive him today.


For the full Blog Post, Click on the link below.


Heirs to the Promise - The Wonder of Adoption


If you have been adopted into the family of God praise him today!  If you are alone and separated from Him by sin then pray like this:


Lord, I know I'm lost and in need of forgiveness.  I want to be accepted and brought into your family.  I trust that Jesus died in my place and rose from the dead so that my relationship with you don't end in the grave.  Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice.  In your name I pray, Amen.

Seeing vs. Perceiving and Hearing vs. Understanding ~ Turn and be Healed

So there was this kid who was playing videos games when his mother asks him if his homework is done. No response. She asks him again, this time a bit louder. No response. Finally, she claps her hands and asks him a third time, "Johnny! (name changed to protect the guilty) is your homework finished?" His eyes never leaving the screen and as his fingers continuing to control Luke Sky-walker's light saber, his head nods up and down. Mom, then opens the folder to see the blanks of the homework page just that . . . blank! Ah, hearing but not listening.

There is a big difference between hearing and listening and between listening and understanding. There is also a big difference between seeing and perceiving. I think that the difference lies in the wanting. Kids hear what they want to hear and see what they want to see. They will hear "yes" before "no" and will see the ice cream behind two packages of frozen peas but not the dirty underwear in the middle of the bedroom floor. We want what we want but not always what we need.

I have had so many discussions with people lately who are struggling with life and with faith. They seek wisdom from people they look up to and from books on the shelf. Some do church and some do not but often the result is the same, struggle, struggle, struggle. Some spend their time trying to disprove God while others complain that they just can't hear him in their lives. If any of these sound like you, I think this post is for you. I want to start by sharing a personal testimony and a little truth from the Word.

There was a time when I was religious on the outside. I went to church, prayed, put my money in the offering plate, served on a committee or two, and called myself a Christian. Although I lived a sinful life, it was easily rationalized and compartmentalized. I could argue that the Bible was just a book written by men so it didn't really pertain to me. God was nice and he certainly understood my needs and my desires. He knew I was basically good and certainly better than most of the heathens around me. I had some head knowledge about this God and this Jesus but it really meant little to me. When I struggled I'd complained to God that it was his fault because he could have told me what to do or just prevented the problem in the first place. When my life got bad enough I would just deny God's existence all together. I looked to others who lived like I did so that I could justify my actions and my thoughts. I read books that did the same. I did some inward seeking because surly I could heal myself. Me, Me, Me, Pride, Pride, Pride. I saw what I wanted to see, heard what I wanted to hear, and did what I wanted to do. And God let me wander in the desert until my feet burned and my thirst was unbearable. I lived the promise of Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."

Do you really want to know God? I mean do you really want to know regardless of where it brings you? I think for me the answer at one time was really, no. I wanted to know God as long as it didn't cramp my style or make me set aside some firmly held beliefs about the world and about man. I wanted a God that would take care of my needs, tolerate my sin, and protect me from all harm. I acted like I wanted to know but didn't really. How about you? Are you doing some religion, some church, some youth group stuff, some rituals, and some repetitious and heartless prayer? If you are hungry for the truth of God and humbled before him, desiring his will in you life then you can sign off and catch us back here next week. If that doesn't really describe you right now then lets go a bit further.

Two men hung on crosses, their lives ebbing away. In between them a third man hung, a man named Jesus. One man mocked and jeered Jesus and, in his pride, ignored his own guilt and refused to believe in God's one and only Son. The truth was before him but he wanted it not. The second man became humble and admitted his guilt and understood the justice of his own death. He wanted to know the truth and to be accepted by Jesus who claimed to be the way and the truth and the life; this Jesus who said that the truth would set men free. "We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong. Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' Jesus answered him, 'I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.'"

Jesus stood before the Roman Governor of Judea, a man named Pontious Pilate, and Pilate asked him if he was a king. Jesus told him he was right in saying that he was a king. He said, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." Pilate then asked, "What is truth?" But he didn't stick around for the answer. He was standing inches away from the truth, from God with us, and he walked away.

Paul spoke to the Jews who had questioned him about this Jesus and who refused to believe. He quoted Isaiah saying, "For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them."

Do you need healing? I did. I pray that God would help your eyes to be open and your ears to hear so that your heart can understand and be healed. If you want to know the truth you have to seek it with humility. God's Word tells us that God accepts a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. I have to admit the process was sort of painful but his love and grace made it worth it. What a ride it's been! God is good all the time!~

I want to thank everyone who has sent emails and comments to the posts. We have had people from 23 different countries join us here and hope that you all have found food for your souls.

Peace in Christ,

David and The I-61 Project

Don't Stop Half Way - God Wants You to Keep Walking

I woke up this morning with no idea what to write today then a picture came to my mind. First, a little background. Today is Saturday August 22, 2009 and in about six and a half hours a good friend of ours is going to be married in our back yard. We've spent many hours preparing the yard for the wedding and the bride-to-be has spent many hours preparing for her big day. She has sent out invitations, picked out rings, picked out her wedding dress, and chosen her maid of honor and her wedding party. We've mulched, mowed, weeded, washed, painted, and spread stones. Last night they had the rehearsal. You know the pretend wedding. Walk the path, say the things, and do the kiss but no rings, no blessing, no marriage. They leave the rehearsal dinner the same way they came to the rehearsal - unmarried.

So here is the image I had this morning. The pastor and the groom are standing there in the front as the music plays then comes the beautiful bride down the steps and slowly up the aisle. People have tears in their eyes because they know the magnitude of what is about to happen The groom's heart races and his hands begin to sweat just a bit. About half way down the aisle the bride stops dead in her tracks, frozen like a mannequin. There is a weird hush and the music stops. What will she do? All eyes are on the motionless bride. (Just for the record my vision isn't about this particular wedding because I know Susie will walk all the way to her man and leave with a new last name. This is a parable per se. So it's OK Susie, I hope you don't mind me using this analogy on your big day.)

Here is where my vision takes three turns:

1) She turns around and runs for her life. Flowers fall, the groom flashes a look of horror, a low but powerful corporate sigh comes from the people, and the last thing you see is the train of her dress as she rounds the corner and heads out of dodge. She made it half way then went back to her old life.

2) She stays there frozen stiff, not moving forward and not running away. Just going nowhere. She made it halfway and is stuck there like bubble gum in your hair. (sorry, that was the first thing that came to my mind and I had to use it.)

3) She continues her slow and steady procession to the front where she gives her life to the one she loves and her whole life is forever changed. She becomes part of a family and is no longer her own. She is united with her husband and has become one with him. She didn't stop half way!

There aren't many things that are good half way. A putt that gets only half way to the hole. Two years of a four year college degree. A drag racer who's car makes it half way down the track. A skateboard with only two wheels. Half way almost always leaves you feeling disappointed, sad, and unsatisfied.

Peter went half way (Matthew 14:25-31)

During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."

"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."

"Come," he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

The rich young man went half way after asking Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life (Matthew 19:16-22):

Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

I've witnessed to many people and one thing I see over and over is an initial excitement or curiosity, some sense that their life is on the wrong track and is somehow void of real, eternal meaning. They get out of the boat but then sink part way out. They get part way down the wedding aisle and either freeze or bolt. Then they say to me, "Why, can't I hear from God?" or "Why is my life so empty or confusing?". They go back to their lives unchanged and maybe even a bit worse because they had a small taste of the goodness of God and now their lives taste even a little bit more bitter in contrast. Jesus compared them to seed that "fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root."

One thing I've come to understand about my relationship with God is that it doesn't work well when I stop half way. Sure I stop at times and have fear, stop at times and have sin, stop at times and see stuff in the world that I know is wrong but my flesh wants it, but when push comes to shove I know that nothing really matters if I walk away from the God of the universe who made me and knows the plans he has for me. Do I know better than him? I think not.

Here is my prayer for you today. I pray that you have a sense of God's call on your life and that he grant you the courage and the strength to go the distance. That you walk forward no matter how scary it gets, how many friends walk away, how much the tug of sin wants to drown you under its waves, or how alone you might feel. I think Chris Berman, the NFL commentator, would sound cool saying it like this: "I think he's (she's) going to go ALL ... THE ... WAY!" Let it be so for you.

Please drop us a note if you are stuck in the aisle, running away, or maybe thinking it's time to go all the way. We're here for you but more importantly God is there for you!

Peace, David

Love, Wrath, Love, Wrath - Which one is it God?

NEWS FLASH !!!!!!!

July 24, 2009 7am est.

The A.P. confirmed today that recent reports claiming that the God of the universe had "undergone a radical change" have been proven false! There had been a recent, growing number of religious leaders who had been reporting that the God of the Old Testament (The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) was a God of wrath and judgment but had somehow mysteriously changed when he entered the time frame of the New Testament; that he no longer was engaged in wrath and judgment but had since decided to forgo the wrath/judgment thing, turning instead to a policy of love and mercy only. Upon intense investigation, however, it seems that God's nature is unchangeable and he appears to have displayed all four of the above characteristics from the beginning of time, continuing to the present day. There are also reports that God has set a day in the future when he will judge the whole human race but will, from then on, have no further need for judgement because the object of his wrath will no longer be present. It seems that his anger had been directed against a little talked about characteristic of man . . . sin. Stay tuned for more news as it comes in to our station.

Immutability: The doctrine of classical Christian theism that God can not change

This does not mean that he doesn't do different things or alter his actions but that his NATURE does not and can not change. The Bible says in Malachi 3:6 (Old Testament): "I the Lord do not change." and in Hebrews 3:8 (New Testament) "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

My purpose today is to tell you the whole story (at least a blog sized version). As I said in a previous post, there are mega-churches and many other churches as well that are preaching a God who loves ONLY and doesn't punish sin, a God who is interested more in our happiness than our salvation, a God who is interested in our self-esteem, a God who created heaven but not hell, in short, a God of their own liking, but not the God of the Bible. My goal is to not pick and choose the parts I like and dismiss or discard the parts that are offensive or scary to me. God is who he is!

Those who preach ONLY a God of the Law, one of judgment and wrath, a God of fire and brimstone do so usually in self-righteousness and have become modern day Pharisees. They forget that Jesus came not to save the righteous but sinners. God has shown us grace through his Son. We, in Christ, aren't "appointed unto wrath"

However, those who preach ONLY God's love, failing to share God's intense distain for sin or those who preach a gospel of universalism (ie. Everyone will go to heaven) are doing so against the clear teaching of scripture and are leading many to an eternity without God. Paul said, "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!" Bummer, huh!

So to prevent my own eternal condemnation, here is the whole story (condensed for your reading pleasure):

God's nature is revealed to us in the truth of his Word (The Bible) and it tells us that God is a God of love. He loved us enough to create us and prepare a place of perfection for us (Eden) but we (Adam and Eve initially but all of us in our actions and hearts) rebelled against God and have sinned. God is perfectly holy and can not tolerate sin. In fact the Old Testament reveals to us very vividly how serious God is about sin. You may recall that God wiped out the whole world (except Noah and his family) with a 150 day, world-wide flood and he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with fire from heaven. Romans 6:23 tells us that "The wages of sin is death" and that, the often abrupt action of God against sin, is what the Bible labels "wrath". But, is God any less serious about sin in the New Testament? I think not! I would recommend that when you finish reading this post you watch the "The Passion of the Christ" then read the Book of Revelation.

The Old Testament Book of Deuteronomy describes God as a "Consuming fire" but the writer of Hebrews (in the New Testament) also says, " Our God is a consuming fire." God IS as serious about sin now as he was in the Old Testament. Paul wrote in Romans, "But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed."

But here is the GOOD NEWS, God sent his only Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty for our sin. The Bible says that God's wrath was poured out on him. How crazy! How hard to imagine! Jesus, the one without sin, becoming sin for us. God himself being both the judge and the judged! "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." But look closely because it says, " . . . for those who are in Christ Jesus". That is where many churches fall dangerously short. If you are not in Christ Jesus, God is calling you home. You wouldn't be reading this if it weren't true!

You and I will never be good enough but Christ was. What God asks of us is that we turn from our sins (not that we become sinless, because we can't) and trust that what Jesus did on the cross was payment in full. The wrath goes away and grace comes in. Grace isn't deserved. It is a gift! This isn't written to scare people into the kingdom of God but to tell you how serious God is about sin but also how serious he is about his love for you and me. You've probably read or heard John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." That's where many pastors would stop. But, Jesus didn't! John 3:18 says, "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." Jesus would never condemn anyone! "That is judgmental", we shout in protest!! But Jesus goes on in John 3:35-36, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." There is that nasty old word again, "wrath". Love, wrath, love, wrath, love, wrath . . .

So, which is it? The answer is BOTH. That is why the cross was the cross and not a spa. It was a place where justice was served, where penalties were paid. It was the electric chair or the gas chamber. It was a place of pain and of death. Don't let the fact that we wear it as jewelry rob it of its meaning. Both God's LOVE and his WRATH were revealed on that dark Friday on Calvary! In Christ you can have the former and be free of the later!

A wise old preacher and good friend of mine once said, "I'm only delivering the mail.". I pray that I delivered it faithfully and that God continues to work in your heart and in mine. Don't forget that God's nature doesn't change. The God of ancient Israel is the same as the God of Livingston, Montana and your home town today.

Peace,

David