Tacoma News Tribune

Light and Dark

/ The Pastor

The following is my most recent article that I wrote for the Tacoma News Tribune. A couple years ago, I was invited to submit articles twice a month (1st and 3rd Saturdays) for their church page. It has been a joy to do this and an amazing outreach opportunity. These articles are also linked on my congregation’s website which you can see on the left hand side of this page. To God be the glory.

One of my favorite activities as a child was playing night games with my friends. What this usually entailed was two teams of kids: the good guys and the bad guys. The premise was for the good guys to catch the bad guys and put them in jail. I loved being a bad guy. Maybe that’s because it speaks to our innate sinful nature to love the darkness. Whatever the case, as the bad guys, light was bad. We had to operate in the dark in order to conceal our motives. Whether it was hiding from the good guys or trying to break our fellow bad guys out of jail, we stayed in the shadows. The good guys, though, were not afraid of the light and thus they operated in the light. Funny, we had no idea then that we were living out a theological truth straight from the Word of God.

“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. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” [John 3:19–21 (ESV)]

Why do I share this story? Our world operates much in the same way. In order to conceal the truth, people have to operate in the darkness. Let’s use the abortion debate for an example. What we hear in the media or from those who are pro-choice is something along these lines: “It is alright to terminate/end the pregnancy of a woman in order to preserve/save her life.” When actually, what’s being said is, “It is alright to kill a baby for the sake of a woman’s health (physical or mental).” An unspeakable evil is being sanitized (kept in the dark) and equated with a medical procedure to promote the health of a woman. And who isn’t in favor of a medical procedure to save a life? But no one is going to talk about killing a baby because most people agree that killing is wrong. Therefore, abortion has to be sanitized because, consider this: The same people that support abortion also reject capital punishment.

Now, if you think I am getting too political, read these words from the prophet Isaiah, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness…” [Isaiah 5:20 ESV]

I am not being political. I am being biblical. You see, we must speak the truth in the light, not in order to win an argument but to save the souls of those residing in the darkness. We need to speak the truth in love, not hate. We need to shine a light in order to snuff out sin. We need to turn the Light on through our words and deeds. I am not being political. I am shining a light. This is not about trying to catch the “bad guys”. This is about the Truth and the salvation of souls. Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Other Articles

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

Some of you know this but others of you may not, but I write other stuff that doesn’t get posted here…but that’s now changing 🙂

A couple years ago I was given the opportunity to submit faith-based articles to the Puyallup Herald newspaper on a monthly basis. Eventually that transitioned to twice a month in the Tacoma News Tribune (TNT). It’s an incredible outreach opportunity and I give thanks and praise to God that I get to do this. I have a supportive congregation that encourages me. I have an amazing proofreader that checks every article I write before it’s submitted. As long as the TNT let’s me submit articles, I will keep writing them. God is indeed doing something here.

Currently, I submit articles for publication every 1st and 3rd Saturday. The following week, those articles posted on our church web page. On the left hand side of this  blog, I have added a link to that web page…just in case you want to read more from me. I am not bragging but giving God the glory for empowering me to write.

So NOW…”other stuff” I have written is posted here.

The Pastor -|—

Groaning

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

My most recent article in the Tacoma News Tribune (TNT)…

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. [Romans 8:22-25]

I don’t know about you, but I have been doing a lot of groaning recently. I wrote in my last article about the pervasiveness of sexual harassment in our culture and called for men to step up and change this culture of abuse. Since writing that article, things have continued with more “big name” people being fired, and more politicians being accused. No, I didn’t expect my article to have an immediate impact, but I am still groaning at the depth of this sin in our culture.

I also groan over the hurt in people’s lives close to me. I groan over the hate that continues to run amuck in the world. I groan over the rising tensions between the U.S. and North Korea. I groan, I sigh, and I lift my eyes to the heavens. I cry out to God for redemption. I cry out to God for renewal. I do all of this in hope, though, remembering God’s promises that came to us at Christmas time.

Yes, it is that time of the year, yet many people see increased tension as to-do lists become longer and household budgets get stretched. The Christmas season is upon us with Advent beginning on Sunday. “What is Advent?” you may ask? Advent is a time of waiting; a time of preparation. No, I’m not talking about decorating or searching for that perfect gift. Advent is a time of preparation as we wait for our Lord Jesus. It is a time to prepare our hearts and make room for him, and not just make room, but clear house.

Advent is also a time of hope as we groan, for the birth of Jesus signaled the beginning of the end of God’s plan of redemption for creation. It is not just us groaning but all of creation and thus we wait in patience; knowing that Jesus’ birth means that our groaning will soon come to an end. Thus, this is a season of joy and peace and love. This is a season of celebration and expectation and anticipation.

Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Jesus was born. Jesus lived on this earth. Jesus was crucified. Jesus rose from the dead. These are all verifiable facts. Now we wait for Jesus to come again. That is where my hope is placed. We live in a world of groaning, but Jesus is coming to end all groaning. Prepare and make room for Him, for Jesus was born for you.

Happy Advent
and
Merry Christmas

The Pastor -|—

Men, Enough is Enough

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

The following is my latest article in the Tacoma News Tribune, published on Saturday, Nov 18…

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. [Genesis 1:27]

Please indulge me as I go on a little rant. Ever since accusations of sexual misconduct began to surface involving Hollywood producer, Harvey Weinstein, accusations from various other women have surfaced left and right. You can’t login onto social media or turn on the news without hearing about someone else coming forward. Don’t get me wrong, I am not blaming these women, but rather I am embarrassed for men in general. This is not right and we, men, need to step up and do something. We need to say something and raise the bar for the next generation. There is something definitely missing in people to cause them to think that it is okay to treat people as just sexual objects to satisfy one’s own desires. I am not saying I am a model man; “Look at me and see perfection”, but something needs to change in this culture. Something has to give.

Treating people as something less than what God created them to be is a sin. God created men AND women in His own image; both equally precious in His sight. Men and women are both equally loved and loveable. They are created for a purpose but not for the purpose of being abused or harassed or treated as an object. I imagine God, the Father, being saddened to see His daughters (women) treated like this. For men to treat women like an object is to disobey the creational purpose of God. God created men and women and then brought them together in marriage. Through marriage, God is putting the relationship of Christ (bridegroom) and the Church (bride) on display. Ephesians 5 says, Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

Sexual abuse and harassment of women is so contrary to God’s purpose for men and women. Godly men ought to be angered and offended to see and hear other men acting so immature and irresponsibly. Godly men need to stand up and say, “No more!” Godly men need to be shaken to the core and be determined, more than ever, to be godly examples to our sons and to the rest of this world. Godly men need to teach our daughters what it looks like to be treated with respect. Godly men need to take the reins and write a new narrative for our culture; that harassment and abuse of women is no longer welcomed. Men, let’s be the men God created us to be and glorify God through our example. Let’s take back our godly roles.

Rant done. All praise be to God. Amen.

The (feisty) Pastor -|—

God’s Word is God’s Word

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

The following is an article I submitted to the Tacoma News Tribune. I have had the privilege of submitting articles every other week for a few months now and this my latest one; printed on Saturday, Nov 4. I have received a number of requests to make these more available so here you go…

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. [2 Timothy 3:16-17]

I came across a quote recently that really bothered me and scared me. The quote came from a prominent church leader in a major denomination. The reason it scared me was not just that it came from this leader, but that this leader has and will be again speaking at a national youth gathering. I fear what her ideas and beliefs will do to the next generation. The quote is this, “Preaching hopefully in some way is the word of God, speaking is not. So I thought, I wonder, we can look at (the apostle) Paul that way. You know like sometimes he was just going off on his snotty opinions, he has some authority to speak on it but that’s not necessarily the Word of God.” Just his “snotty opinions”? Wow, that is scary because it is saying that if you don’t like something in the Bible, you can just call it a “snotty opinion” and totally discount it as something not authoritative. The problem is that when you start doing this, then all of scripture becomes suspect. When that happens, then scripture ceases to be authoritative.

The fact of that matter is that ALL of scripture is breathed out by God. ALL of scripture is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness, not just the parts you like. C.S. Lewis once said, “I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.” Those are very wise words. The Word of God operates the same way. You simply cannot twist and manipulate it to justify a certain way of life, or a certain behavior, or a certain belief system. You simply cannot toss out the verses and/or chapters you do not like or agree with. You cannot rewrite scripture because it makes you uncomfortable. The Word of God is just that, the Words of God almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. You cannot pick and choose like going through some divine a la carte line. The Word kills but brings to life. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. [2 Corinthians 5:17]

The Word of God is not outdated or irrelevant as some would want you to believe. It doesn’t need to be updated to fit our culture today. The Word of God does not need to be softened so as not to offend certain people. The Word of God is authoritative, all of it, and thus needs to be listened to, for in it are the words of eternal life and that never goes out of style. Don’t minimize God’s Word but hold it as authoritative and watch it transform you. Cling to God’s Word and trust in its power. Taste and see that it is indeed good.

The Pastor -|—