A Must-Read for All Christians

About 1:00 this morning I finished reading the book, Cracking DaVinci's Code, by Jim Garlow and Peter Jones. The book, of course, is a reaction to The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown, which has taken America by storm.

This is a book every Christian needs to read. The DaVinci Code is much more than a novel; it is a careful and calculated attack on the fundamentals of Christianity. By interspersing "historical facts" with fiction the book undermines everything we know to be true about Jesus. Brown asserts that Jesus was actually married to Mary Magdalene, the church of the 4th century "voted" on whether or not Jesus was divine, that 80 "gospels" were considered for the New Testament, etc. The author is clear that, though the story is fictional, the facts in the story are completely true. But the real fact is that his facts are wrong. Cracking the DaVinci Code reveals the historical facts.

Christians need to be prepared to answer the questions that undoubtedly will come from people who read this book. The purpose of the book, it seems, is to free people from the antiquated morality of the church and to endorse the worship of the "sacred feminine." Folks, it's nothing more than a call to ancient gnosticism and worship of the goddess Cybele, Ishtar, Asherah (or any of the other names she has gone by throughout the centuries). It's a call to embrace paganism

Just so you know, James Garlow, one of the authors of Cracking the DaVinci Code, is the senior pastor of Skyline Wesleyan Church near San Diego, CA. He is a recognized biblical historian. He's one of our own. And his book is now on the New York Times best-seller list. People are looking for answers. Let's make sure we have them when they ask. Read it this week.

I picked up my copy at Wal-Mart for $10.43. It's more than worth the cost!

The Call to Holiness

On May 16 Pastor Dan and I preached a message on the call to holiness. Since our son forgot to turn on our MP3 recorder, I thought I'd summarize the sermon here for those of you who missed it.

1. God Defines Holiness. Our understanding of holiness must begin with God. He defines holiness, not us. When we look through the Bible, we see that "holy" is the term overwhelmingly used to describe God. It's the word the angels use to sum up all His divine attributes (Isaiah 6:1-3; Revelation 4:8). Other Scriptures such as Ex. 15:11, Psa. 99:5, Isa. 5:16, 40:25 and 43:15 all point to God's holiness as the quality that separated Him from all else. "Holiness" describes God's justice, mercy, forgiveness, compassion, righteousness and moral perfection all rolled up into one word. Everything God does is holy because at the essence of His being -- His very character and nature -- He is holy.

Inherent in the concept of holiness is also the idea of separation. "Holy" or "sanctified" literally means "set apart." The Israelites saw God as separate from all His creation. He was above it, exalted, holy. He wasn't made of the same "stuff" as the world. God's holiness placed Him on a different plane than His earthly creation.

So, as we begin to define holiness for us, it goes beyond the way we wear our hair or our style of dress. It goes far beyond the legalism of our past. It begins with the holiness of God. God is pure, righteous and moral, on a completely different plane from the rest of the world. His holiness is the essence of His character that issues forth in everything God does. For us, too, holiness is purity of heart and moral excellence; it is separation from the world and unto God. If we are holy, it means we are available for God's use and pleasure and we are made of a different "stuff" than the rest of the world.

2. God Demands Holiness. Somehow we've gotten the idea in our minds that holiness is an "add-on" to our Christian lives; that it's optional or "icing on the cake." We treat salvation like buying a car. We know we need a vehicle to get us to our destination, but do we really need the deluxe package? After all, we reason, who needs power windows, power brakes and steering, air, stereo or leather seating? But that's not what the Christian life is like at all. What we think of as an option is actually a requirement. God demands holiness. It's not an extra; it's the main thing. Look up these Scriptures: Leviticus 19:2; 1 Thes.. 4:3,7; Heb. 12:14; 1 Peter 1:15-16. God says we don't have an option. He has called us to holiness. In fact, He says that without holiness we won't see Him. Holiness isn't just some nice ideal, a suggestion, or a goal to shoot for. It's the main thing that God wants of us. He demands it.

3. God Deserves Holiness. God deserves for us to walk in a way that honors Him. We were created to be like Him and He deserves for us to obey Him, to live in righteousness like Him, and to be separated from the world and available for His use. Why? Just read Romans 12:1-2, 1 Peter 1:14-19 and 2 Corinthians 7:1. Think of what God has done for you. He created you. He redeemed you. Jesus gave His life for you! He has given you abundant life and eternal life. Is there any price too high for you to pay in order to say thanks? Gratitude, reverence and obedience should be our response. God deserves at least that much. When we choose to live in sin or go our own way, we're just thumbing our nose at God. We're saying we don't care about Christ's sacrifice or God's commands. We're saying we don't love Him enough to want to be like Him. God deserves better than that! He deserves holiness.

4. God Delivers Holiness. In Leviticus 20:8 God says, "Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy." There are many verses in Leviticus that say the same thing. But down through the years our focus has been on the first part: "Keep my decrees." We have the mistaken idea that we make ourselves holy by what we do. So, we make lists of do's and don'ts; we conform to a dress code; we strive to be perfect. But holiness is not a journey of deepening disciplines. Holiness is what God does in us. Did you see what God said? He said He is the one who makes us holy. Holiness is allowing God to change who we are. It's not about "doing" holiness, but "being" holy. It is allowing God to change your character, your very nature.

Here is the good news: God can and will change us from the inside out. All we need to do is trust Him and obey what He says. He will change us and make us holy. You need to grab your Bible and look up these verses right now: 2 Peter 1:3-4; Hebrews 2:11, 12:10; Titus 2:11-12 and 1 Thes.. 5:23-24. These verses are exciting! God's Word says we can "participate in the divine nature," we can "share in his holiness." God will "sanctify you through and through"... He "is faithful and he will do it." God can do it and He will do it if we are willing to be made holy.

God defines holiness -- so, get to KNOW HIM. Read the Bible and learn what holiness really is.

God demands holiness -- so start to OBEY HIM.

God deserves holiness -- so show Him that you LOVE HIM.

God delivers holiness -- so EXPECT HIM to enable you to live the holy life He has called you to.

Holiness isn't just some add-on or option. Let's stop living below what God has made available. Let's become a holy people.

Want to learn more about holiness? Week 2 of our message, Understanding Holiness, is available in MP3 format on our sermon page at www.zhillswesleyan.org.

The Value of Pain

Here I sit at my computer while missing, for the fist time since the birth of my children, the adult Bible study at church. And there's nothing I would love more than to be teaching right at this moment. Instead I'm struggling with a good deal of pain in my lower back and hip, the result of being too stubborn to wait for help taking out the garbage on Monday. You guessed it, I threw my back out and have had a difficult time even walking or sitting upright in a chair. I can't stay in any position for very long without a lot of pain. I saw a doctor this morning who prescribed a hefty NSAID that should help with the inflammation.

I've received a lot of lovely emails and phone calls from church folk letting me know they are praying for me, and sympathizing with my current state. During our ladies' Bible study on Tuesday mornings we've been discussing the book of Job. One of the most interesting observations was that Job never asked to be healed of his illness. He did a good deal of complaining (as is understandable) and soul-searching to try to figure out why, but for the most part his primary concern was being right with God. What burdened his heart most was the thought that he had somehow sinned against God. Interesting concept, isn't it? On Monday I asked Dan, my compassionate husband, to pray for the Lord to heal me. We are both firm believers in divine healing. But we both realize that it is not always God's will to heal. And sometimes the struggles we face are bigger than they appear on the surface. Job had no idea that Satan had challenged God's credibility by calling Job's devotion into question. Who knows, maybe God said, "Have you considered my servant Patty?" Probably not. I don't claim to be as righteous as Job, but I do think there is a reason for this set-back in my normal routine.

I have a whole new appreciation for the pain a lot of our older members experience on a daily basis. I am grateful that God has taught me to be empathetic through my current pain. And I'm doubly thankful that this won't last forever. But think if it did! Could I bear it? Would I still have a good attitude? Lots of time to think.
This has also been a time to rest. I guess the Lord has given me "permission" to step back and rejuvenate. I've known for quite some time that I was on the verge of burnout. Really, I've been exhausted lately, and yet I keep pushing myself to do more. But for the last 3 days I've been able to rest my mind and lift my own expectations of myself. When I lie down to ice my back or put on a heating pad, I fall asleep. Not for long because of the pain, but I'll bet altogether I've had more sleep in the past few days than I had in the previous week. Maybe God knew I wouldn't take a break until he forced me to. Maybe this is just what the "Doctor" ordered.

Do I hope I'm back to my normal self soon? You bet! Am I tired of resting? Yes. Do I believe God can heal? Absolutely. But I also acknowledge that there are things to be learned in times of pain. And I'm grateful that the Lord loves me enough to keep teaching me.

Thoughts on Teenagers

I love being a parent. From the time my children were first born I have enjoyed almost every minute of being a mom. I know I pulled my hair out from time to time, but for the most part it was very pleasurable. I loved hugging my kids, kissing them, rocking them to sleep, even watching "Sesame Street" with them. But when they were very young I remember more than one well meaning friend or relative telling me to "wait until they're teenagers." They were sure I'd change my feelings about my children once they hit those wild and turbulent years.

Well, today Jonathan is 17 and Rebecca is 15. I'm full-force into the teenage years and I have to admit that I love it. Well, not EVERY minute of the day, but most of it. I still have a close relationship with my kids. I still hug and kiss them (and they let me). I still enjoy just being around them and hearing what's on their minds. I haven't experienced any of the "rebellion" I was promised would come. I guess I'm not out of the woods yet, but from what I see, I can only envision more smooth sailing. I have enjoyed every new stage in my children's lives more than the previous one, and I expect I will continue to.
Here are some things I've realized.

(1) If you expect your children to act like teenagers, they probably will. We told our kids early on that if they wanted to act like children, they would be treated like children. If they wanted to be treated as adults, they should act like it. Acting like a "teenager" was not acceptable at any time. We expect our kids to act like adults, not the typical teenager. For the most part, we've found that most people tend to live up to the expectations placed on them.

(2) As our kids get older we need to give them more freedom. Years ago I read an article in the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel by a columnist whose name I'll never remember. But she revealed a cultural tendency that has stayed on my mind ever since. She said that we have it all backwards in our culture today, and it leads to teenage rebellion. We give small children all the freedom in the world, allowing them to do whatever they want. As they get older, we tend to rein them in and start limiting their freedoms, which causes them to rebel. This columnist said that, instead, we should give children very little freedom and gradually give them more and more as they get older. Then, they tend not to rebel because they realize they're earning their freedom, instead of having it taken away. We allowed our kids to do very little when they were younger. We homeschooled them. They never went anywhere without us. They had to toe the line every minute. They knew they would be punished for disobeying the rules. Today they still know they'll be punished for disobeying the rules, but that rarely happens. When they disagree with our rules, they don't scream and throw a fit (something they attempted when they were two and found it didn't work well). They write out a very detailed defense of their position and all the reasons why we should change our position. It doesn't work every time, but it does work. We learn how much they've grown up and are assured that they're seeing all sides of the issue. It also gives us the opportunity to discuss things with them and to explain fully our position. You rarely have rebellion when your children feel like they're at least being heard.

(3) The more things change the more they stay the same. When I sit and talk to Jonathan and Rebecca about what's happening in their lives (they both attend the public high school here), I can imagine myself at that age saying the exact same things. I guess a lot of us has rubbed off on them. They tend to think a lot like we do. Their fears are the same ones we had when we were there age. Sometimes parents treat their children like they're aliens. But at the core of their beings, they are just people. If we could just treat them like they count and remember what it was like when we were their age, we'd find that the generation gap is really non-existent. We don't have to like the same music or have the same taste in clothing, but those aren't the things we talk about anyway. The things that really count pull us together and make us appreciate one another.

It's Massachusetts Law

Well, now it's official. Homosexuals are legally permitted to marry in Massachusetts. The only question for the moment is whether or not other states will be required to recognize such marriages. It's probably only a matter of time before all states will be required to.

If you've listened to talk radio at all, you've already figured out that the country is divided. Although most adults feel homosexual marriage is wrong, the vast majority are still in favor of civil unions. How do we combat this? How do we defend the traditional family? How did we even get to this point?

Here's my rub. Without a belief in the Bible, there is NO reason to not allow homosexual unions or marriage. If the Bible isn't your authority, then anything goes. You can do what you want. As long as morality is subjective, conservatives don't have a leg to stand on. The reason why most Americans feel in their gut that something is wrong is precisely because our country was founded on biblical principles and those principles have shaped every law and cultural more we currently have.

So, how can Christians defend marriage and uphold the Bible while at the same time reaching out to the homosexual with the grace of God? I think we need to stand firm on what the Bible says, instead of trying to make it palatable to those who disagree with what it plainly states. That being said, we also need to acknowledge that the sin of homosexuality is no worse than the sin of pride, or of gossip, or of any other sin mentioned in Scripture. These people are people that Christ died for; people that God loves intensely. You don't win a homosexual to Christ by decrying their sin any more than you win an alcoholic to Christ by decrying the evils of their behavior. You let them know where you stand, but your primary means of evangelism needs to be sharing the love of Christ and their need of a Savior. Once God changes their hearts, He will work on their behavior, as He does with everyone. Start with the heart. Let God do the rest. You'll win them by your love, not by your condemnation.