Thursday, July 25, 2013

Pastor's Perspective - God Knows Your Name



Yesterday our beautiful 15-year-old daughter Emma returned from a three-week getaway to Florida to visit family and attend a Christian youth conference with her cousins. This was the first time she had ever flown by herself and the longest she had ever been away from home. Thanks to my wife’s good planning and the loving care of family and friends in the Sunshine State, Emma came home with a suitcase-full of beautiful heart-warming and life-changing stories and memories. Perhaps the best story happened just ten minutes after taking-off.

As mentioned, this was Emma’s first time flying alone.  She was a bit anxious and so were we. My wife Michelle was able to take her personally to her departing gate in Sacramento. We texted Emma as she settled into her seat to offer our best parental assurance; but, as all frequent flyers know, those electronic devices don’t stay on very long! With that, we could only trust God and pray. Sounds like parenthood, huh? You plan for your child, you protect your child, you reassure them and walk with them as far as you can – but ultimately you must trust God and release them into His sovereign care.

As the 737 Emma was on was climbing in altitude out of Sacramento, she said that the plane experienced severe bumpiness that only seemed to intensify. Though Emma has flown with us several times, she had never experienced this unnerving sensation to this degree before. In her seat in Row 8, she began to do what we hoped she would do under such circumstances –she prayed; but, the shaking only continued. She told us that she felt herself begin to panic. Here she was, a teen flying alone, trying her best to be brave. She told us that as the panic continued to rise, she knew that she was within seconds of publically “freaking out”. Just then she heard a voice she described as a distinct whisper – “Emma Kiefer”.  She turned around in her seat, but she was cognizant of the fact that nobody on the plane knew her; yet, somebody had just clearly spoken her name. Though the turbulence continued, Emma said she felt an immediate peace wash over her. Likewise, she knew Who had spoken to her.

Friends, God knows your name.

When you feel all alone and have no one to turn to, God knows your name.

When life is turbulent and seemingly out of control, God knows your name.

When you’re on the brink of a complete breakdown, God knows your name.

He knows everything about you – the good, the bad and the ugly. Everything! And He still loves you any way. There is nothing you can do today to make Him love you less. The Cross of His Son Jesus is the proof of His immeasurable love for you. So, stop running from it. It’s a love that would rather die than live without you.

God knows your name.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Pastor's Perspective - Falling Short



Like most of you, I was stunned and saddened by the news of the ill-fated landing of Asiana Airlines flight #214 at SFO recently. The horrific images of people running from a torn burning fuselage and of a debris-littered runway reminded me of the unpredictability real life offers each of us. As my congregation and I pray for the family of the two victims and the healing of the survivors, the investigation of the cause of the crash continues. Of unanimous initial agreement, from flight data and video, is the fact that the lumbering wide-body fell short and was unable to avoid disaster.

The idea of ‘falling short’ is one we can all personally relate to as humans, isn’t it?

Like me, maybe sometimes you feel like you’re falling short of the expectations, real or imagined, of others. Perhaps you continuously fall short of personal goals and experience the disillusionment and discouragement that follows. All of us can rewind the tapes of our lives and pinpoint those regrettable seasons and events in which we deviated from the proverbial flight path we knew was best for us.

Do you ever feel like you’re falling short somehow?

If so, you’re in good company.

Speaking of falling short…

The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 3:23 that ‘all (of us) have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God’. That means that whether we feel like we’ve fallen short in life or not, God’s perfect Word assures us that we have! So what does it mean that every member of the human family has fallen short of God’s glory?

The Bible tells us that God’s glory is the sum impression of all that He is. This includes especially the sublimity of His elevated position and His pure and moral perfection or holiness. Scripture also makes it emphatically clear that sin (lawlessness or transgression of God’s will) shuts down our proverbial engines, reduces our air speed, and makes it absolutely impossible to mirror His holy character or even have fellowship with Him. Stated simply, sin separates us from God. Sin makes each of us come up short and crash.

Here’s where God’s scandalous and incomparable love and grace come in.

By placing our personal trust and faith in the perfect redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, we are justified freely before God. What’s justified mean? Jesus makes us right with God! We are made right with God not based on our righteousness (God’s standard for a holy life), but on Christ’s righteousness. This is why the Gospel is good news! Through Christ alone (John 14:6) we don’t get what our sinfulness deserves; but instead, we get what we need - forgiveness.

Friends, let’s face it. We’ve all fallen short. We continue to fall short. It’s the human condition in a sin-fractured world. It’s real life. However, through Jesus Christ we can overcome the guilt and shame of our crashes, and experience the immeasurable joy and freedom of a saving, rewarding and eternal relationship with our Creator.

In an unpredictable world, only through Christ are we assured a safe landing!