We have a bunch of toys that Luke plays with called “Little People”.  There are lots of people in there of various races all dressed up for different professions or activities.  Luke loves playing with them.

We noticed something interesting.  Luke specifically decided on two people who he calls “Mama” and “Daddy” when he is playing with his people.  Can you guess which ones?

Which one is Mama? From left to right, A, B, C, or D?

Which one is Daddy? From left to right, A, B, C, or D?

Which ones did you guess?  Post a comment to share!

The one Luke calls “Mama” is B from the first picture.  The one Luke calls “Daddy” is A from the second picture.  Why these ones?  I’m not sure.  When I asked him, he pointed out to me that the Daddy has a mustache like I do.

We look forward to how Luke will be impacted by growing up in such a diverse part of the city where we see lots of different people and play with kids from many different countries.  One African-American guy (and former gang member turned Christian) who we hung out with this summer said, “I can’t believe he isn’t afraid of me!  All little white kids run from me!”  For Luke, interacting with him was not out of the ordinary.

We are thankful for Luke to have an opportunity to have a heart like Jesus, because Jesus loves all people form every tribe, tongue, and nation.  Everyone is equal in Jesus’ eyes, as he died for all of us sinners.  The book of Revelation tells us that this song is being sung to Jesus in heaven:

“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.” (Rev. 5:9-10)

God told me the night Kaelin and I conceived Luke.  It was on Thanksgiving night 2007.  We did not even think we could get pregnant.  God said, “you are going to have a son.  Do you trust me?”   We did not have health insurance at the time, but I said, “yes God, I trust you.”  And God has been faithful!  The next day I asked Kaelin, “are we ready to be parents?”  She laughed at me.  We kept joking until her next period did not start.  Then we knew God has started a life in her womb.

If you would have talked to me five years ago, before I became a Christian, I would have vehemently argued for abortion and women’s “reproductive rights”.  Now, I have two kids of my own and realize they were people from the beginning.  We live near one of five aboritoriums in the state of Minnesota.  I have gone to talk to and pray for women going in, hoping to encourage them to reconsider.  Most are very emotional. None are happy about it.  Many come with a boyfriend, husband, or father who is pressuring them to do it.  All of them feel the burn in their conscience.  I have great compassion for these women and God has great love for them.  He also loves their unborn children. For me, this has very little to do with politics or rights. It has to do with lives.

Watch this wonderful video rejecting our President’s stance on this issue:

As you may know, I am helping a doctor open a birth center in Minneapolis, where women will be able to give birth in a more comfortable setting, where birth will be treated as a normal physiological event and not a medical condition, and where life is honored. I praise God for the opportunity to put my convictions to action.

And by the way, abortions are NOT supporting women’s health. In fact, as I have been working with OB doctors I have found that they are bad for women’s health. For one example, each abortion increases birth complications and miscarriages in any future pregnancies.

I understand abortion is not done lightly and often there is emotional trauma for the mother afterward. I believe Jesus Christ can answer that pain. Jesus died for sins (even the worse kind of sins) and can comfort through pains resulting from sin. That is one reason I am supporting a friend’s business which gives proceeds of their sales to provide counseling to women who have lost children either through miscarriage or elective abortion.

I meet a lot of people who grew up in a church but have since left the church.  Now they may say they were a Christian when they were younger but they are not sure now what they believe.  Or they say they believe in God but do not need to go to church or really do anything about that belief.

I learned something great from a discussion on doing devotionals with our children.  We talked about how spiritual interest is not conversion.  Many people have heightened “spiritual interest” but have not been “born again” (a term I’ll define in a bit).  I myself had that experience.  After growing up without any church, I became interested in church when I was 18.  I started attending Intervarsity meetings and going to church and even participating in a Bible study.  I thought I was a Christian.  I had a Bible and a cross, I must have been a Christian right?  No.  I was not born again.  And it was demonstrated in how my life took a turn and I took satisfaction in sin and this World rather than God.

I was recently talking to a woman who grew up in the church and regularly goes to church.  I asked her, “when were you born again?”.  She replied, “um… do I have to be born again?”  I’ve actually had this question asked to me many times, as it is a good question to ask!  Let’s see what Jesus has to say about that:

Do I need to be born-again?

3:1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:1-3)

Seems pretty obvious right?   Jesus tells us some more:

But what is being born-again?

4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (John 3:4-6)

So Jesus tells us that it is a Spiritual birth that is different than the life we lived in our flesh (our human nature that desires nothing but sin).

So wait, do I really need to be born again?

7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:7-8)

Jesus makes it fairly obvious that one must be born again.  Clearly it is not a literal second birth out of the womb, but a spiritual birth by the Spirit.  But what exactly does that mean?  Just a few verses later, Jesus explains it:

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

You have probably seen or heard this verse.  It is fairly popular.  Here Jesus is linking belief with being born again.  Jesus continues:

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. (John 3:17-19)

So what is Jesus saying here?  Jesus is saying that everyone is born in the flesh.  This means they decedents of Adam and Eve, sinners by nature and sinners by choice.  That is ALL of us.  All of us have loved the darkness rather than the light.  We have not believed in Jesus but have chosen our own way.  All of us have earned death, both physical death and eternal death in hell.

But Jesus said there is a way out.  Jesus is the way out.  And if we accept that, we will be born-again. Based on my reading of this passage, being born again has three parts:

1)  Recognizing your sinful condition
We need to understand that Jesus came to save us.  We need to realize WHY we need to be saved.  We need salvation from our sin, which is trying to master and kill us.  While we will try to control the sin, we cannot stop it and it will reap its harvest without help.  Scripture tells us we are blinded by sin, so only God opening our eyes actually allows us to see this sinful condition.

2)  Repent of that sin
After realizing we need salvation, we ask God to help us out of that sin.  This means turning away from our sin – which is the hopeless, godless, and unsatisfying way we have lived our lives –  and turning toward God for everything.

3)  Believe
Whoever believes will be saved!!!  Isn’t that great news!?  It is not about anything you do, but its all about the gift God has given.  We are to have faith that Jesus really did die for our sins and really did raise from the dead, conquering sin, death, and Satan once and for all.  And when you believe, you will get the Holy Spirit and you will be born again.  And that is good news.

What if I have not been born again?

If you are asking this question and desire to be born again, you are very near the kingdom of God.  I would advise you to start reading the Bible and find a friend who is a Christian to ask questions about what you read.  Also find a good church and seek God in worship and hearing His Word proclaimed.  It’ll happen somewhere in there.  God is faithful!

So I was walking with a friend by my house and we see a Muslim man conservatively dressed walking up to us holding a bunch of litter.  I’ve seen him before but we had not exchanged many words.  It was evident that he was picking it off the street, which I am very thankful for!  I said hello and pointed him to a garbage can to drop off his load, thanking him for his service.

We walk past each other and continue on our way.  Then he calls to me and says “Do not be led astray by the beautiful things in this world!”  I turned and faced him and said, “Amen to that!”

Then he said, “This place, this place is not what matters, but heaven matters”.  I said, “Amen!”

And then said, “We need to have right religion to get into heaven.  This is what we must do:   love each other as we love ourselves”.  I said, “That is true!  That is what Jesus told us to do.”

He then said, “Yes Jesus was a prophet, but also Muhammad.  And Muhammad told us to follow the right religion”.  I said, “My friend, I will obey whatever God tells me to do.  He has told me to follow Jesus.”  We then parted ways amicably disagreeing.

What is interesting is that this Muslim man gave me direct encouragement with two of the main things that I had been studying in 1 John with a couple brothers in Christ.   It says in 1 John about the “beautiful things in the world”:

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15-17)

1 John also calls us directly to love our neighbor:

14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.  16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. (1 John 3:14-16)

God is so funny.  It is so funny that He would use this unlikely man to encourage me in this Biblical truth.  What is interesting is that most Christians believe the opposite, that it is okay to love this world and to not lay down our life fully in love for others.  Well, they might say they believe those things, but such a belief is not evident in their actions.  And I am sure that I have never been exhorted to not love the world by anyone before, although Lord knows I need that constant reminder.

Lord God, I am a bit confused by what this was all about and what this really means.  Please grant me insight into this situation.  And thank you for exhorting me with your Word through an unexpected source.

My conversation tonight with Luke:

Kaelin: Luke you’ve been so obedient lately. Thank you so much!
Me: Luke, is it because you’ve been realizing that sin leads to death?
Luke: I got no sin.
Me: You have no sin?
Luke: No, I got no sin.
Me: Let me tell you what First John says about that: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us”
Luke: I GOT SIN. I GOT SIN!
Me: Well that’s good to know. You know, First John also says that if we confess our sin, Jesus is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Lately I’ve been hearing a lot of bold visions to “end poverty”, “end world hunger”, or “end the sex slave trade”.  I whole-heartedly agree with those desires and applaud such efforts!  I am thankful for the people who desire to love their neighbor as themselves!  That is indeed God’s desire for us (John 15:12-13, Matt. 22:36-40).

I also think it would be helpful to view such efforts in the proper light.  Jesus said on the night before he died:

For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. (Matt. 26:11, c.f. Mark 14:7, John 12:8)

I see three ways to look at this:

1)  Not think that Jesus is really meaning this (the stance many who fight for social justice take).
2)  Think that Jesus is telling us to not care for the poor (a stance of many conservative evangelicals)
3)  Understand how Jesus is trying to reshape our thinking.

If we look at the story, we get more of a clue.  Here (in Matthew 26:6-13), a woman (Mary) anoints Jesus with a flask full of expensive perfume (probably worth over a year’s wages).  One of the disciples saw her doing it and said “Why this waste?  For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.” (Matt 26:8-9).  Look at Jesus’ reply:

10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. 12 In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. 13 Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” (Matt. 26:10-3)

I believe Jesus is trying to reshape our thinking.  He is telling us the true nature of poverty:  sin.  Sin has tainted everything in creation.  Hunger, poverty, war, slavery, and every kind of evil is a result of mankind’s sin.  Although Jesus has conquered sin at the cross, sin will continue to be here until Jesus returns to establish his perfect Kingdom.  Mary – however – recognized the real solution to sin:  Jesus’ death on the cross.  She poured out her wealth to anoint him for that task.

So what does this mean?
Because of sin, until Christ’s return…

We will not be rid of poverty,
but the poor can receive the riches of Christ’s Kingdom (Luke 6:20).

We will not be rid of hunger,
but the hungry can be full through Christ (Luke 6:21).

We will not heal all pain,
but we can rejoice for what Christ has done for us (Luke 6:21).

We will not vanquish all injustice,
but we can trust in Christ establishing all justice in the end (Luke 6:24-26).

Keep in mind… my heart’s deepest desire is that all this would go away.  But the reality is, these things are not the problem… sin is the problem.

Do we strive to address the ills of this world such as poverty, hunger, pain, and injustice?  Yes!  Absolutely! But not because we will eradicate those evils, but because our efforts point to an even more valuable truth that in Christ all those evils will be overcome!

Is this a pessimistic view?  By no means!  It is a way of being optimistic about how our earthly pursuits of relieving the pains of this world can result in not just temporary relief but eternal relief in Christ’s Kingdom.

Why is this important?  If we strive to end poverty, we will get burned out because we can never accomplish that goal.  It is an expectation that Jesus says in not possible.  However, we if strive to lay our lives down for the poor by the Spirit for Jesus Christ, we WILL see something greater happen:  the poor (who are ALL of us in some way) entering into the rich Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Some shots from Halloween.  Luke was a fireman (with his hat backwards, because he thinks the bill part should go forward like a baseball cap) and Corban was a pepper.  Grandpa Byron and Grandma Jennifer were wonderful hosts and made the evening a holiday!

Grandpa Byron (with a wig) and Corban the pepper

Grandma Jennifer loved holding that little pepper

A Fireman who has recently stopped wanting to smile for the camera

Its easier to catch a smile when this guy has some candy

from that adorable husband of mine

and he is such a busy man, too.  I don’t know how he squeezed in the time to get these.

But here they were when we (boys and I) got up from nap, with this note:

Five years ago today (Nov. 5, 2005) we met in a bar in Chicago.

There we were, out for Erin’s birthday weekend.. Happy birthday, dear.  Only God could have known I would meet my Beloved up in the VIP room!  And only God could have taken two sinners like us to make a good marriage!! I can honestly say this past five years have been the best I’ve lived so far.  Tonight Kesha asked me what my first impression of Paul was and I said, “I liked him.  We really hit it off.  I thought he was like 27 or 28, though… mostly because he had a good job and none of the other 23 year old fresh-out-of-college guys I knew then did!” Thank you for still making me feel like your cherished bride.

I was at a conference last week of mostly pastors.  I saw a young man (we’ll call him Jacob) in one of the sessions and felt like I was supposed to talk to him.  I asked God to put him in my path if I should.  Later that day, as the crowd shifts we end up standing right next to each other.  So I start talking to him.  He tells me how he goes to a Christian college.  I feel God telling me to probe deeper, so I do.  I ask him a bit about himself and we share some stories.  Then God tells me to ask him if he is born again.  My heart races.  I do NOT want to ask that!  I’m at a Christian conference!  Come on God.  But I obeyed:

Me:  So tell me brother, have you been born again?
Jacob:  Well, I was kind of born into the faith.  It really has been this last year that I think I’ve made that faith my own.
Me:  Oh that’s interesting.  What church do you go to?
Jacob:  (church I will not mention out of respect but one I would never recommend anyone go to)
Me:  Interesting.  So tell me, how often have you been in the Word?
Jacob:  You mean the Bible?  Well, not much at all.  I get my truth from other books.
Me:  Other books huh?  Can I share a piece of scripture that God really put on my heart this week:

63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. (John 6:63)

Me:  So tell me, based on this verse, if you are reading other books for truth, is that from the Spirit or the flesh.
Jacob:  Well the book of John is not trustworthy because …
Me:  If you are coming to other things seeking truth, is that not simply relying on your flesh to tell you what is true?  But it says the flesh is no help at all!
Jacob:  Well there is truth in a lot of other books.
Me:  I agree that is truth in a lot of places.  Psalm 19 tells us that creation itself tells us truth about God.  But you have to evaluate claims of truth somehow, right?
Jacob:  Yes.
Me:  But how do you decide what is and is not truth?  Something is your guide and your anchor by which you evaluate what is and is not true.  You only have two options:  either it is the Spirit as revealed in the Bible, or it is your own flesh.  If it is your own flesh, you cannot be sure you really know anything truthfully.

What do UFOs, 2012, the Masons, 9-11 cover-up theories, the Illuminati, ghosts, the Titanic, Obama conspiracy theories, and Elvis have in common?

They are all “secret”, “hidden”, “covered-up”, “unseen” things.  What is the best way to get people interest in something?  Make it look like its a secret!  And then let them “figure it out” and they will declare defiantly if it is true, no matter how much logic is really involved.

To sell a book on spirituality, just include the word “secret” in the title and you’ll sell a ton.  To get a high rated politics talk-show, just talk a lot about the “secrets” in the government and what is being “covered-up” from the American people and then claim to be the one person telling the truth.  Often we need to have dreams or a journey or a quest or buy something special in order to get at this truth.  And we Americans eat that stuff up! We often talk about how SOMEONE is controlling everything in this world and hiding the truth from us – maybe it’s the Jews, the Man, Aliens, the Illuminati, the Masons, or the Feds.  We constantly are looking for the “secret” to being happy, healthy, and harmonious, looking for it in ancient teachings or drugs.

Why do we LOVE the hidden things?  And why do we treat those things as MORE true than what we already know?  Usually we claim what we already know has been “covered-up” or “tainted”.

Why do we love these secrets?  Because we are in denial of the truth.  Not the answer you were expecting huh?  The truth is obvious (which I’ll talk about later).  But we don’t like that.  We want to find it out for ourselves, because through that we can control it.  We try to control truth ourselves and want to declare what is true for ourselves, so we suppress the obvious truth and instead look elsewhere.

There once was a woman.  This woman knew truth.  She was told that if she sought after things contrary to that truth, it would lead away from life to death.  She lived in that truth.    But someone came along and said “Hey, there are some hidden things you DON’T know!  You could know them and then you’d be in control of figuring out what is truth or not.”  That’s where we all want to be right?  We want to decide what is right and wrong for us.  We want to be in control.

This woman agreed.  And she died.  Her name was Eve.  Her story records how all of mankind fell from God’s presence and from truth because she sought the “hidden knowledge” by eating of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in direct disobedience to God (Genesis 3).  Today, we continue in this tradition by denying the truth and seeking the hidden things.  In this way, we believe we can control truth, which we cannot.

Unlike all other religions, conspiracy theories, philosophies, and everything else that claims to reveal hidden truths, the Bible makes the opposite claim:  God is obvious.  The very nature of creation shows that to be true.  We reject that truth.  Why?  Because it holds us accountable for our sin and reveals who we really are.  (Many of you are saying to yourself right now:  how dare he, I’m a good person.  Please read on.)

Here’s what the Bible says about all of us (including you and I):

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men , who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools (Romans 1:18-22a, emphasis added)

Praise be to God that Jesus was “publically crucified” (Gal. 3:1) and that God proved that He loved us by sending His son to pay for our sin (Rom. 5:8), including the sin of rejecting God over and over throughout our lives.  Thankfully, God’s love for you is obvious, you do not need to go anywhere to find it.