Are You a Cracked Pot?
A water bearer in India had two large pots—each hung on opposite ends of a pole that he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it. The other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of the water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house, but the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his master’s house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, the cracked pot spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself and I want to apologize to you.” “Why?” asked the bearer. “What are you ashamed of?” “I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house. Because of my flaw, you have to do all of this work and you don’t get full value from your efforts.” the pot said. The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot and in his compassion said, “As we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.” Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure. The bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw and took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path and every day while we walked back from the stream you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house.”
Each of us has our own unique flaws. We’re all cracked pots. But if we will allow it, the Lord will use our flaws to grace His Father’s table. In God’s great economy, nothing goes to waste. Go out boldly knowing that in our weakness we find His strength, and that "In Him every one of God's promises is a Yes." - Author Unknown

It’s November and in case you haven’t noticed – it is getting colder. Most of the leaves have fallen off the trees and January’s bitter sub zero winds blowing the snow across the road are just around the corner. But November does offer some warmth and promise. With all due respect to Veteran’s Day, November brings to mind Thanksgiving Day. I think Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. Why? Let me explain.
It has been said, “the key to happiness is a heart of thanksgiving” and I believe this is a profound truth. But why is this so? Great insight into understanding this truth is given by the Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:4-7 when he says, “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again-rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (NLT) Paul encourages us to not worry. Instead he says we should bring everything to God in prayer with a heart of thanksgiving. The result of this is an inner peace that is beyond our ability to comprehend.
Why does what Paul says in these verses work in us? I think it is because a thankful heart leads to a changed perspective on life. We humans basically have two choices: (1) look at our lives from the point of view of what we are lacking. In other words, dwell on the things that are depriving us of true happiness, or (2) look at our lives with a heart of thanksgiving, thanking God for all the blessings He has bestowed on us. Choosing to be thankful breeds an attitude of appreciation which changes our entire outlook on life and draws us closer to God.
Thanksgiving Day gives all of us an opportunity to pause, reflect and express to God what we are thankful for. But God doesn’t want us to stop there. Make this and every day of your life from this point on an opportunity to practice having a heart of thanksgiving for all God has blessed you with. Make a conscious choice to be thankful. Resist the pressure from our culture and media to always be looking at what you are lacking. It’s just an illusion anyway. Numerous personal stories and studies show that those who have the most things are among the most miserable. If this is true, then why do we continue to pursue this false illusion of happiness? True happiness comes only from a heart of thanksgiving towards God. God wants to challenge us: Start living today with a heart of thanksgiving and see what a difference it makes!

“10th Anniversary of 9/11”

In only a few weeks, America and the world will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the infamous day in which airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, triggering a global war against terrorism. The coming anniversary got me thinking, “How should we honor this anniversary?” It’s certainly not a joyous event so celebration is definitely out of the question. At the same time, this is a profoundly important event that has impacted each of our lives and deserves some sort of reflection and commemoration. So what can we New Heighters do on September 11th to honor the 10th anniversary of this event that has changed each of our lives in profound ways? Let me suggest a few ideas:
1) Reflect on 9/11 and the impact it has had on you as a person and how it has changed your life. Also reflect on the impact the events of this date had on our nation. What has God been trying to communicate to our nation through this event? Have we listened? If not, what does God want you to do to help our nation hear and obey what God is trying to tell us?
2) Pray for our nation’s churches – Many of us Christians were uplifted in the swell of church attendance after 9/11. The unchurched saw the events of 9/11 as a call from God to return to Him. Unfortunately, after several weeks, when life seemed to return to normal, the unchurched returned to normal also – not attending church. This saddens God profoundly. We need to pray that God will do whatever it takes to encourage people in America to join a church body and attend faithfully in the manner that the Bible commands us to do.
3) Pray for the families that lost loved ones in 9/11. This will be a difficult time for the thousands of families that will be remembering the loved ones who perished during this awful attack. They need our prayers for comfort and peace that can come only from God.
4) Remember those around the world who live with terrorism daily. There are Christian missionaries and others around the world, like the citizens of Israel, who face the threat of death and violence each day. Pray for their safety and for the Gospel to spread to these people who see violence and death as a means to their goals.
5) Use this as an opportunity to better understand Islam. Over one billion people in our world follow Islam. We have over 60,000 Somali immigrants living right here in the Twin Cities, most of whom are Muslim. Unfortunately, many of us know little about this religion. If we are going to be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ and engage Muslim believers in dialogue, we must have a basic understanding of their religion and a strategy of how we can reach them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Let’s make this anniversary of a horrible event an opportunity to be used by God to make an impact on the future of those we know and our nation!

Are You Tantalized?

In Greek mythology, King Tantalus offended the gods and was punished in the underworld. He was placed in a lake of cool, fresh water up to his chin, but whenever he attempted to satisfy his burning thirst, the water receded. Over his head were branches full of delicious ripe fruit, but when he tried to satisfy his hunger they eluded his grasping hands. The things he desired were right there in front of him but yet were unattainable. Tantalus, therefore became the symbol of utter frustration. Even today, his name is remembered in the English word tantalize.

Many of us, if we look at how we live our day-to-day lives, find an appalling similarity between King Tantalus and ourselves. All people have a deep hunger and thirst in our souls and we spend our lives trying to satisfy it. We are tantalized by many things in this life: materialism, sex, power, leisure, sports, popularity, or just a comfortable and peaceful life to name a few. Although they may give us some temporary satisfaction, the inner peace and joy we ultimately long for remains out of our reach.

Solomon, the author of the book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament, was perhaps the richest, wisest, and most powerful man that ever lived. He pursued happiness through knowledge, pleasure, riches, and work, but nothing satisfied the hunger in his soul. So he wrote in Ecclesiastes 1:2, “Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” Later in Ecclesiastes, he writes that trying to satisfy his soul’s hunger through earthly things is like “chasing after the wind.” It was only when he focused on knowing and pleasing God (12:13-14) that he found life’s true purpose - what he was searching for.

The Bible says God created us to have an intimate, personal love relationship with Him. This is our purpose in life. However our sin has separated us from this relationship with God and gotten us off track from fulfilling our created purpose. The only way we can restore this relationship and have true satisfaction, peace and joy is by putting our faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. Then our relationship with God can be restored and the satisfaction we long for can be found forever.

The things this world dangles in front of us are tantalizing but unfulfilling. If you are among those who have been tantalized by what you thought would bring you happiness and peace, and you feel worn out and tired of “chasing after the wind,” come to Jesus. He promised in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” You will discover with joy that He has everything you’ve ever hoped for - and so much more!

We all have noticed that this has been an unusual spring here in the Twin Cities area. It seems like days with nice weather can be counted on one hand. First, we had a very late spring. Winter seemed like it would never loosen its grip. Recently, it’s either been cold, rainy, cloudy or hot and humid. On top of that, the weather forecasters often get the forecast wrong. Just this past weekend, Sven Sundgaard on KARE 11 said we would have a dry weekend and it ended up raining most of Saturday! Even my golf game has suffered. Many times when I had planned to play or practice, the weather hasn’t cooperated. I feel like I’m still rusty! I know many of you are shedding a tear for me now.
Our weather frustrations got me thinking about life. Just was we get frustrated with our weather and the inability for the local forecasters to always get the forecast right, we often get frustrated with life and our inability to forecast how events will unfold. There are several recent examples of this that come to mind. One was Harold Camping’s (a Bible prophecy Sven Sundgaard) forecast that the world would end on May 21st. Well, we are all still here. Another example is my mom and my trip to California to see my friend Andy who was suffering from stomach cancer. When we planned the trip and booked the flight in early May, although his condition was serious, there was still hope that Andy would make a recovery from his illness. Our expectation was that we could spend some quality time with Andy and his family and help them with some work around their house, meals, etc. The week before we were to leave, I found out Andy had taken a serious turn for the worse. They were going to release him to home hospice care that Friday. We arrived at his house on Monday and Andy was basically unresponsive. He went to be with the Lord that night. What happened? This certainly wasn’t according to my mom, me, and Andy’s family’s plans!
I think our frustrations from such occurrences come because we like to control things. But I believe God likes to remind us frequently that He is in control and He knows better than we do. The Bible says in Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts’” (NIV).
Yes things didn’t go according to my plans for Andy and our trip to California but God used this time for His purposes. God gave me the opportunity to speak at Andy’s memorial service to over 500 people and testify to the impact Andy made on my life and the lives of many others. I was able to speak at Andy’s former church on Sunday and encourage them to unify and take on the challenges that they now face with the passing of their pastor. I was able to spend time with Andy’s family and share in the grieving process. Although a very difficult time, God’s timing was better than mine. If Andy had lived a few more weeks, it would have been difficult for me to turn around and fly back to California. Then I would’ve missed out on those opportunities to be used by God and to grieve with people I care about deeply.
So the next time life frustrates you because things don’t go according to your plans, remember what God says in Isaiah. His plans and ways are not ours. Although the unfolding of events may not fit our agenda, we need to trust God that He knows better than us. We need to trust that His plans will serve a deeper and higher purpose than ours, even if we struggle to understand them in the present. Now the big question - what are God’s plans for my golf game this year?

The Search for Personal Significance

In May, I started a summer sermon series on “Old Testament Characters.” We are studying characters from the Old Testament that made a significant impact on people thousands of years ago. Deep inside most of us is a desire that our lives be like these Old Testament characters. We long to be significant and remembered long after we pass away from this world. How do we make our lives meaningful? How do we satisfy our search for significance?
A few years ago, a newspaper editorialist in the New York Times was writing on the subject of America's escalating fascination with book writing, the author made an interesting comment. "The search for personal significance," he explains, "was once nicely taken care of by the drama that religion supplied. This drama, which lived in every human breast, no matter what one's social class, was that of salvation: Would one achieve heaven or not? Now that it is gone from so many lives, in place of salvation we have the search for significance, a much trickier business.”
As Christianity has declined in Western Civilization as a provider of significance, humanity is left searching for other sources of significance other than God. This is nothing new. The desire to make a name for oneself is as old as the Garden of Eden. In the Garden of Eden, we see human arrogance that seeks the godlike characteristic of defining good and evil. We see the human mind refusing to allow God to be God because of the desire to be as God ourselves. We see the heart that seeks distinction and significance apart from the true Source of significance. All of us, if we are honest, we see ourselves in Adam and Eve.
Jesus said in Luke 9:24, "Whoever loses his life for me will save it." Jesus’ words are the key for the life searching for significance. Knowing who we are and what we need is the starting point of what we will become. He is the One in whom our lives find their greatest significance because He is the only One who accepts who we are and offers us purpose and meaning in life.
In the book of Hebrews, Jesus is described as the author and finisher of our faith (12:2). Ultimate significance is not found in making a name for ourselves, but in being written into the story of God. That is what Christ offers, a chance to take an active part in the adventure of the unfolding story of God’s work on earth.
Why do we still remember and study these characters from the Old Testament thousands of years later? Because despite the shortcomings they share with us, they made a choice to follow and obey God with all their hearts. God was able to use them to do incredible things. And as a result, we remember them even today.
Are you feeling insignificant today? Do you feel that your life as it is will have little or no impact on the course of human history? God invites you to change that today! How? By sharing the Good News about Jesus Christ with others. Remember, if God uses you to lead one soul to Him, their eternal destiny will have changed! We can also change the impact of our lives by giving all of ourselves to Jesus Christ and focusing our lives on working for the eternal Kingdom of God. If we do this, we will find the significance we are searching for!

Thoughts on God & Mother's Day

In May we celebrate Mother’s Day and express our love and appreciation to our mothers. The Bible teaches that God loves each of us with a type of love known as “agape” love. Agape is a Greek word which means love that is unconditional and unchanging. No matter what we do, God’s love for us remains. For many who have not experienced God’s love, the closest experience of agape love comes from our mothers. Did you know that God’s agape love and the love of a mother have much in common? The Bible actually uses motherly references in describing God numerous times. Here are some examples:
• Genesis 1:27 “So God created human beings in His own image. In the image of God He created them; male and female He created them” (NLT). If God created us male and female in His image, then the image of God contains both male and female aspects to it. This would include motherhood.
• Isaiah 42:14 “He will say, ‘I have long been silent; yes, I have restrained Myself. But now, like a woman in labor, I will cry and groan and pant’” (NLT). God groans over us just like a mother in labor.
• Isaiah 66:13 “I will comfort you there like a mother comforting her child” (CEV). God thinks of a mother comforting a child when He reaches out to comfort us during our times of need.
• Matthew 23:37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone the messengers God has sent you! How many times I wanted to put my arms around all your people, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not let me!” (GNB) God longs to gather us under His wing like a mother hen gathers her chicks. What a beautiful image of God’s love for us!

Female images of God in the Bible can get some people kind of squirmy. They think it is messing with theology. They ask, “God is male isn’t He?” The truth the Bible teaches is clearly “no”! God is not male. He is spirit and as a spirit, he has no physical characteristics including gender. God has chosen to reveal Himself to humanity as “Father” but this is merely metaphor. Metaphor is, “An actuality meant to convey a truth that can’t be interpreted literally.” In other words, God is “like” a father in real ways but this doesn’t mean he literally is a father in the same sense that our earthly fathers are. Now, some churches today have gone to praying to “Mother God” but I think this goes too far. We should honor God’s choice of metaphor as our “Father” to reveal Himself to us and continue to refer to Him in male terms.
Now things are a bit different with Jesus. Jesus became incarnate in human flesh as a Jewish man. Jesus possesses a fully human nature and a fully divine nature - all in one person. The human nature of Jesus is male. Jesus retains His glorified male human body for eternity so it is a theological mistake to think of Jesus as anything other than male.
But there is nothing wrong with thinking of God in a motherly sense especially since in our culture the expression of love that most closely matches God’s love for us is often from our mothers. This Mother’s Day, as you reflect on your mother, as you express appreciation to her for all she’s done for you, I challenge you to think of God. Think of how a mother ideally loves their child and holds him/her in her arms. This is a good way to think about how God loves each of us. God longs to love us in a similar motherly way.
And Happy Mother’s Day to all of you moms. May the way you show love to your children reflect the mother-like love of God!

One of the best-selling Christian books in the past year is Radical by David Platt. The book addresses issues that are vital for every Christian to wrestle with. The author challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences. He shows what Jesus actually said about being his disciple–then invites you to believe and obey what Jesus has said rather than our culture. And he tells the dramatic story of what is happening as a “successful” suburban church decides to get serious about the gospel according to Jesus.”

I am forming a Men's Book Club. We are staring with Radical. We'll read it then get together about a month later to give our impressions of the book and talk about how we can apply what we learned to our lives as we seek to become better disciples of Jesus Christ.

Great leaders throughout the ages have been known for the discipline of reading. Oswald Sanders, in his book Spiritual Leadership wrote, “The man who desires to grow spiritually and intellectually will be constantly at his books.” Another great leader said, “The greatest difference between you today and five years from now are the people you meet, the places you go and the books you read.”

My hope is our book club will help you grow as a Christian man and transform your life! Let me know if you are interested in join us.

I've been asked a few times what I thought of Rob Bell's new book "Love Wins." Rob is the pastor of Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids, MI. This book though not teaching universalism, does depart from orthodox Biblical teaching on hell. I haven't read the book myself yet but there is an excellent review of the book by Kevin DeYoung you can read at this website: www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2011/03/14/rob-bell-love-wins-review