Why Did Jesus Come?

Last Sunday I got to go to jail to help do a church service for some men there.  In praying about what to share with them from the Bible, I got the idea to do a short survey of the Scripture verses that talk about Jesus' reasons for coming.  Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the facts of His coming (shepherds, angels, dreams, wise men) that we neglect the purpose of His coming. 

I was surprised at how many verses directly talk about reasons for Christmas.  But rather than tell you what those reasons are, I'm going to give you the same verses I went through with the men in jail.  There may be even more that I didn't find. You can dig out and enjoy their meaning for yourself.

Matthew 9:13
Mark 10:45
Luke 19:10
John 3:17
John 6:38
John 9:39
John 18:37
2 Corinthians 8:9
Galatians 4:4,5
Hebrews 2:14-18
Hebrews 9:26
1 John 3:5,8

Note: for a great short book on a somewhat wider topic, I highly recommend John Piper's 50 Reasons Jesus Came to Die.

The Innkeeper -- a touching Christmas poem by John Piper

This video of John Piper reading his poem "The Innkeeper" will move you, and if you are hurting, it will encourage you. You can also download a free PDF copy of the book.

Imagine There's a Lennon

Rock star John Lennon was murdered on this day in 1980.  Ray Comfort has just released a great 34 minute exploration of Lennon's life and beliefs.  Please take time to watch it and share it with your friends.  Imagine what John Lennon's life might have been like if he had heard and embraced the true gospel of Jesus.

Training in Biblical Counseling Coming to the Verde Valley

Interested in learning how to do Biblical counseling? Counseling is not just for “professionals” – all of us counsel each other, all the time, mostly "off the cuff" in informal settings. The question isn’t “Will you counsel?” but “Is your counsel based on the Bible, or based on your own thinking?” Training from the Biblical Counseling Training Center of Arizona is coming to Cottonwood. The training will be held in six, 8 hour segments on the first and third Saturdays of January, February and March (a total of 48 hours of instruction). Click this link for a typical schedule of the training.

The training does have a cost: $375 for individuals or $500 for married couples. (Our church is offering financial assistance to our members who are interested in taking the course but can't afford it. Perhaps your church would do the same for you?) There is also some required reading. If you’re interested or have questions, contact me ASAP and I can point you in the right direction.  You can also contact the BCTC directly.

PLEASE buy this book for your pastor--but don't read it yourself!

I've known for many years that being a pastor is a tough job.  For most of my life, I've known that only from the outside, watching many of my pastors succumb to various forms of death.  It's obvious that Satan knows the "smite the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered" principle very well.

You have probably seen the frightening statistics about the number of pastors who bite the dust.  If you've been a Christian very long, you probably have seen it first hand in your own church.  Only 1 pastor in 10 will actually retire as some form of minister. 

But since I became a lay elder in my church a year and a half ago, I've gotten to know the temptations and pressures of pastoring from the inside.  Granted, the pressures I've experienced are very low compared to what vocational pastors face, or even what a lay elder at a larger church might encounter.  Still, this position has exposed areas of sin in my own heart that other life challenges didn't.

That's why I have been profoundly touched by Paul Tripp's latest book, Dangerous Calling.  Not only does he expose, with scalpel-like precision, the very sins I have been wrestling, and not only does he explain in horrifying detail where those sins will lead if unaddressed, but he also gives great hope and encouragement by pointing back to the cross where my sins were conquered by Jesus.

Paul Tripp was a pastor for a number of years and fought the sins and pressures his book describes.  Then he taught in a conservative Christian seminary, and became alarmed at the way young men were being sent out into the ministry unprepared for the heart-battles they would be facing.  He now believes his mission is to be "a pastor to pastors".

This book is both stringent and kind, both passionate and compassionate.  He writes personally, talking directly to his reader ("you", not "they") and sharing many sins from his own life.  You can tell it's the product of tears.  The urgency in his tone, the realization that in his eyes this is life or death stuff he's writing about, keeps you turning the pages.  It's kind of like a long letter from your dad.

Dangerous Calling from Crossway on Vimeo.

The title of this blog post is not a joke.  Please, please, please, whether you think your pastor walks on air or whether you think he's a jerk, give him this book.  (Or, if he's not a reader, get him the DVD set.)  It may very well be the instrument God uses to save your pastor's marriage, children, or ministry.  It might even be the salvation of your church.  (Before you object to my terminology, look up 1 Timothy 4:16.)

But as strange as it sounds, I would recommend that you not read this book yourself. You want to be able to tell your pastor when you give him the book, "I haven't read it, but I heard it is really good."  If he knows you read it first, it will ruin the whole book for him.  He'll wonder whether you gave it to him because you saw in him the sins the book describes and he'll see your face staring at him from every page.  Also, it would be easy for a non-pastor to become more jaded towards his pastor after reading this book.  One reader described this book as "bathing in razor blades".  Congregation members who emotionally abuse pastors could use this book to tear their pastor apart even worse.  Trust me, the Holy Spirit does not need your help to rub the message of this book in.  If your pastor can read this book and remain unmoved, you probably should look for a different church.

Buy the book, give it to your pastor, and ask God to bless him with repentance and you with compassion.

The "$10,000 Federal Government Grant" Scam

Today I received a phone call from a woman in a 'boiler room' who said that my name and phone number had been selected by the US Federal Government to receive a $10,000 grant.  This is not the first such phone call I've had.  Of course, I knew that it is a scam.  The US Government is certainly profligate in its spending, but not to that extent!  Although the woman claimed to be calling from a government office in Washington DC, her West African accent leads me to believe she was probably calling from the world headquarters of fraud, Nigeria.

A quick Google search showed that many other people have been receiving similar calls.  Some people have taken the time to play along with the story until they are asked to send a small amount of money ($150ish) via Western Union or another money transfer service.

I took a different tactic: I told the caller she is a liar and that she needed to turn to Jesus in repentance and trust if she wanted to avoid hell.  I said this with a gentle voice.  What surprised me was how brazenly the woman continued to assert that she was telling the truth.  We continued to go around and around for several minutes: me pointing her to Jesus, her asserting her innocence.

Come to think of it, I guess we are all like that before Jesus saves us.  Although we might admit to sin when caught, normally we justify ourselves; we think we're basically good people compared to others.

The Joys of Missionary Life

Last year we met the Georges at a 5 day training in Bible storying by Simply the Story.  Sometimes we tend to romanticize missions life.  I hope you'll take time to read their latest two blog posts (links below).  They are short and have pictures.

http://www.georgesinmoz.blogspot.com/2012/11/trip-to-kenya.html 

http://www.georgesinmoz.blogspot.com/2012/11/more-drama.html

Kind of puts a different perspective on things doesn't it?

Now, for a completely different (but actually very similar) portrait of missionary life, please take 15 minutes to watch this great video.

Never the Same from Pioneers-USA on Vimeo.
The Sawi were headhunters and cannibals when a young couple named Don and Carol Richardson arrived in their village carrying their seven-month-old boy Steve—and a message that would change the tribe forever. The year was 1962, and Steve—and later, three more children—spent their youth among the Sawi, learning the language and embracing the culture in ways that would shape the rest of their lives. Their story was immortalized in the best-selling book Peace Child and a feature film of the same name, inspiring a new generation to take the gospel to the remaining isolated tribes of the earth.

Fifty years later, Steve joins his father, Don, and two brothers, Shannon and Paul, to visit the Sawi village where they grew up. Journey with Steve as he travels to the swamps of Papua, Indonesia, to introduce you to the Sawi, and explore the impact of the gospel among a previously unreached people group.

So where's the similarity between the Georges and the Richardsons?  The Georges seem dogged by repeated problems, while the Richardsons are seeing incredible fruit from their ministry. 

First,  Don Richardson and Tim George both brought young families from American comforts to live in an underdeveloped society.  Don was just 27.  How many "20 somethings" do you know who would want to do that, much less who would actually have the skills and character to last in an environment as hostile as what the Georges and Richardsons face(d)? We need to raise the bar of training goals for our youth (before they hit their 20s) if we are going to produce more Don Richardsons.  If our goal is to produce youth who can make enough money to live comfortably, we are not going reach the United States with the gospel, much less the unevangelized regions of the world.

Second, remember that 50 years ago, Don Richardson had never read Peace Child.  He didn't know he would be famous one day as a "successful" missionary.  He took his family clear around the world to the Sawi without knowing whether there would be any fruit whatsoever.  Missionaries motivated by anything less than love for Jesus quickly either burn out and go home, or compromise to achieve "results".  Jesus gets honor whenever we present the gospel, regardless of the response of the hearer; His honor is the greatest result we could ever want.

Join me in praying that in another 50 years the Georges will be able to visit thriving churches which they helped start.  But that either way, they and the thousands of other missionaries around the world will be faithful to honor Jesus regardless of the response they see.  That they each may someday hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful slave.  Enter into the joy of your Master!"