my NEW opinion of "Why bad things happen to good people"

So last weekend, I had the incredible opportunity to witness and take part in some of the incredible work that true heroes are doing in the name of Christ. Countless volunteers were willing to give their vacations and retirements not to golf in Florida, but rather to make a difference and leave an impact on a hurting community. These noble heroes stepped into the disaster zones from the recent tragic tornadoes that struck Indiana and Kentucky.

Images and videos do not do justice to the visual of entire communities laying in ruin and only chimney's protruding from the ground where there was once someone's home. Not just a house, but a home. Not merely a shelter, but memories, and family treasures which were dashed away in a moment by the power of nature. And these heroes entered into their world now lost, and with their words they spoke words of comfort and encouragement. With their hands they began the slow and painful process of clearing away the shambled homes and debris that lay across the countryside, and took the initial steps toward rebuilding the lives of countless people. Some they merely walked alongside through this painful experience. Others these heroes carried along into the frontier of new beginnings...reminding them that we do not forget the past, but remember that God holds great things in store for our tomorrows.

And so this experience has given me a new perspective on a fundamental question in Christianity, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" My answer used to be simply because we live in a fallen world, and our sinfulness creates bad experiences in this life for the other people around us. Someone loses their job because someone else lied about something or made selfish decisions. Someone loses a child because someone else commits murder. You get the idea. Also, since the fall of man into sinfulness in the garden, the world in which we live also bears the consequences of our sin. The ground began producing thorns, and mankind began abusing the earth. Now, the earth too is withering away into chaos.

But this answer is no longer sufficient for me. Indeed, I believe now that God still does not create tragedy, but that He IS glorified through it! And so, while God could stop the storms in life from coming, I do not believe that He should. I say this for two reasons. First, through the tornado disaster, I was able to witness a global community of believers unify and join together in a Holy cause of giving relief and expressing love where there was none. I was moved when I looked upon a hillside to see and army of people in orange shirts coming together to do their part to make the world a better place. When God's people are unified, His name is Glorified.

Second, and this is difficult to express without having gone through the tragedy first hand, but I believe that the men and women I met who are victims of the tragedy are better off for eternity because they will have walked through this season of disaster. God's purpose in our life isn't to make us prosperous, but to sanctify us...to make us more like Jesus. On the day I was a part of this relief effort, I had the opportunity to be a part of a conversation where two individuals crossed over from death into life. Many more I talked with had a reinvigorated hope and passion for life. Never again will they take for granted the blessings of this life. In the few weeks Samaritans Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association Rapid Response Team was on site, over 30 people discovered God's love for them for the first time, and a multitude more were reminded that possessions aren't the most important thing to live for. God was praised in the midst of this tragedy, and when God is praised, His name is Glorified.

It is for these reasons that I believe bad things happen to good people. No, God does not cause or create disaster. Nor does he prevent it. Because for most people, it will take bringing their life into shambled pieces analogous to a tornado ravishing a home in order to realize that there is a God, and that His Glory is all that matters. And even more so, it is in His name being Glorified that I can experience true joy and happiness. For everything else in life...there is insurance.

Pulse Message - 3/25/12 - Love Others

We are in the middle of a series of messages talking about the sequence of six main characteristics or traits that I hope every one of you graduate out of FMBC Student Ministries. Essentially, 6 fundamental aspects of a person who is radically surrendered to Christ. So we’ve already talked about having a love and passion for church and having a love and passion for worship. This week, we are talking about having a love and passion for people. Essentially, Following Christ into Radical Surrender demands a Love for Each Other. God’s love for us compels us to love others. His Holy Spirit within us gives us a unique connection to other Christians. And His commands give us a unique calling to the world.

Luke 10:1-4; 16-20

Jesus’ first instruction to the 72 was that they pray. When He said that the harvest was plentiful, Jesus meant that there was much work to do to bring the gospel of the kingdom to everyone. His disciple messengers were few in proportion to the large task. Therefore the disciples needed to pray God to send every qualified messenger out into the “field” and that none would fail to participate in this mission. This verse expresses Jesus’ desire for more workers and for full participation by the workers who were available. And our main task it to pray.

Jesus’ second instruction to the 72 is to go. The sheep among wolves pictures the dependent and vulnerable position of His disciples among hostile adversaries. They needed to trust in and pray to God. Jesus sent them out as missionaries. Jesus was speaking as the Shepherd of His sheep. I hope every one of you are actively praying for the salvation of your friends. That your non-Christian or unchurched friends would come to love Christ. Undoubtedly the 72 prayed as they conducted their mission trip, but they also preached. Jesus did not tell them just to pray for God to make the people responsive but also to proclaim the gospel to them. Neither did He tell them simply to go out and do good works. Praying for the lost and proclaiming the Gospel should go hand in hand whenever possible. So we trust God’s Sovereignty. We pray for God’s grace and mercy. And we go as God’s ambassadors.

We all have a good idea of how to pray. But what is the Gospel and how do you proclaim it?

The Gospel in a minute:

1.       God loves you and has a plan for your life to live a joy-filled relationship with Him forever.

2.       But we have turned away from God’s abundant plan and chose to live for ourselves. That is called sin.

3.       Our sin has permanently separated us from God both now and for eternity. And the price we have to pay for our sins is death.

4.       But because He loves us, He wasn’t satisfied to leave us in this spot. So He stepped into our situation and did something about it. He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh to pay the price for us. He allowed Himself to be crucified on a cross and died that God can now forgive us of our sins. And he rose from the grave that we may have eternal abundant life in Him.

5.       So how do we respond to this? You can either reject what God has done for you, or you can accept Christ into your life, commit to living your life for Him, and enter back into a joy-filled relationship with God forever.

This whole story deals with the joy that is only experienced by disciples who participate in God’s plan for their life. The greatest and most fundamental reason for rejoicing for any is his or her personal salvation. Yet there is additional joy for followers of Christ who take part in God’s plan for salvation and advance His will in the world. It involves seeing a preview of the final victory over the forces of evil. Being this type of Christian is going to be harder, and there is rejection and hardships that only you will know. This joy more than compensates for the deprivations and rejection that discipleship entails. A follower of Christ who does radically surrender to God’s plan for their life by passionately loving others knows nothing of this joy.

Before we make this personal, I want you to notice one more thing. What is the next Bold Sub-Heading in your Bible? This immediately precedes the story of the Good Samaritan. Do you think it is a coincidence that Jesus leads and teaches his followers to love people to the point of proclaiming the Gospel and then follows it up with a story about a guy who shows incredible love and compassion to his enemy? Don’t limit salvation to just your friends.

So let’s become like the original disciples of Christ for a minute. As you leave here, you are going to be sent out 2 by 2 back into your great mission field affectionately called the public school. I want everyone to pair off and for the 2 of you to come up with a list. I want you to think of one unchurched person that you will begin praying for, and one non-Christian person that you will look for and create opportunities to proclaim the Gospel to. So one friend that you are praying for and one friend that you will try to reach for Christ. What will that look like? I hope you are making opportunities at school or after school to engage these friends in spiritual conversations. And at some point in the next month or so, to intentionally and verbally present the Gospel to that friend. After you have done that, or if you are completely uncomfortable doing that, then you secondary goal is to get both these friends to begin attending Pulse with you regularly every week!

Pulse Message - 3/18/12 - Love Worship

This past week at Pulse, the warm weather and spring fever must have kicked in, because we only had 17 show up for Pulse. Well, I initiated a new rule that we need at least 20 to create critical mass. So we cancelled Pulse and all jumped into the bus for food and shopping at the Crestview Town Center. The important part in all this is that our Pulse message schedule will be pushed back one week on everything. So here is this coming Sunday Pulse message. Also, since we are discussing Worship, I am going to try and make the worship especially excellent by including Noah Husseman on the Saxophone!! I've been leading Student Ministry for 12 years, and I've never incorporated a saxophone into worship...this is a first for me!!!

Pulse Message:

This week, we are going to continue to talk about the main characteristics or traits that I hope every one of you graduate out of FMBC Student Ministries as a fundamental part of your identity as a Christian. Last week, we talked about have a love and passion for church like Jesus loved the church. This week, we are talking about having a love and passion for worship. I hope every one of you understand worship and make time to take part in worshipping God every day of your life.

Acts 17:16-31 (The Message)

Worship can take on many forms. In fact, Romans 12:1 essentially tells us that our lives, our lifestyle, our every day actions and motives, become our worship and sacrifice to God. But typically, when we think of worship, we think of what? Right, music. There is something powerful about music. It connects to our emotions and can make us feel excited, or sad. I listen to Metallica in the car on my way to go play church softball. I listen to Eminem when I’m mad. I listen to Adele when I’m sad or upset. And if I’m just happy…I listen to Taylor Swift. But when I want to worship, I listen to Dave Crowder, or Chris Tomlin, or Hillsong United. Recently, and Jen can tell you how much she loves this, I’ve been sitting at home, I’ll turn on the x-box, put on headphones, open up Pandora, and for 3 or 4 hours, search Dave Crowder or Worship, or Praise and Worship, and I’ll within an hour, I’m connecting with God in the deepest part of my soul. No prayer, no Scripture, no sermon or study guide, just me and God and a good Pandora radio station. There’s something about music that connects to the very depths of our souls. And it’s in that moment that we can enter into true worship.

What is worship?

Simply put, worship is our response to God. “We love, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

So how can you worship better?

Worship in humility, reverence, and service. Humility having the right attitude and showing God the proper authority He deserves. Reverence isn’t just not running in the sanctuary, but is showing God the proper respect He deserves. And service is having the right heart and showing God the proper surrender that He deserves.

Long story short is this: Worship is the humble response of redeemed Christians to the self-revealing Most High God. It is based upon the work of God. It is achieved through the activity of God. It is directed to God. It is expressed by the lips in praise and by the life in service.

So we worship through our prayer and devotional life. We worship through our life testimony and sharing God’s goodness and the Gospel with others. And we worship in song. So let me challenge you. When was the last time that you genuinely worshipped God? I mean with humility, reverence, and service, you actually responded to God love with authentic heartfelt worship? Did you worship tonight, or did you just sing a couple songs, or did you not even really pay attention? Do you even try to worship at Pulse?

I’m going to challenge you with 2 things. First, for the next week, as much as you have control, only listen to Christian music. 93.3, 90.1, 104.3, on Pandora, whatever. For one whole week, only listen to Christian, and see if this time next week, you don’t have a better, more positive outlook on life. And see if you don’t just feel more connected with God. I’m telling you, it really does make a difference.

Second, this one is going to be simple. We’re going to play a music video. I want you to pay attention to the lyrics, but I don’t want you to sing. I want you to take this time to evaluate your heart of worship and have a conversation with God. If you have failed to worship Him, then repent of that. And I hope all of you will make a commitment right now with your ultimate love that you will take serious His worship.