An Article From "REFLECTIONS of the Living Hope Church" in the Summer, 2008 issue.

From the Pastor

Whom Do You Trust?

by Tim Sitterley

The late monk, Thomas Merton, once acknowledged a problem most of us have. He wrote in his journal: “The chief thing that has struck me today is that I still have my fingers in the running of my own life.

“My actions prove that the one I trust is myself - and I am still afraid of you.”

I wonder how many of us could write the same thing in our journal (if we had one). We have spent so much of our lives trusting ourselves that it sometimes seems almost impossible to place our trust entirely on God. And yet, if someone were to ask us how life is working out with us in charge, we might find ourselves struggling for an answer.

Henri Nouwen puts it this way; “Our life is full of brokenness—broken relationships, broken promises, broken expectations. How can we live with that brokenness without becoming bitter and resentful except by returning again and again to God’s faithful presence in our lives?”

When I see the bumper sticker “God is my Co-Pilot” I’m tempted to point out that the wrong person is flying the plane. It is only of late that I’ve come to see the real truth in this short little statement.

God has not called us to sit back in coach and enjoy the ride while He flies the plane. Rather, He has equipped us with the gifting we need to fly the course He has set for us. We have the freedom to turn left, right or even fly straight into the ground. But it is only with His guidance in our lives that we can ever hope to keep our plane in the air. When we surrender, not the controls, but the navigation, we can complete the journey He started us on in the first place.

Merton understood that there would be turbulence and the occasional loss of altitude, but that God would be faithful to complete the good work He began in us. Finally, after struggling spiritually for a long while, he came to a new commitment. He wrote, “Take my life into your hands, at last, and do what you want with it. I give myself to your love, and mean to keep on giving myself to your love - rejecting neither the hard things nor the pleasant things you have arranged for me. It is enough for me that you have glory.”

God wants you to fly the plane. He also wants you to know that without him, you can’t. Together, you can soar. By yourself, the plane will get you all the way to the scene of the crash. With God, the sky is truly the limit.



An Article From "REFLECTIONS of the Living Hope Church" in the February, 2008 issue.

From the Pastor

Call Screening

by Tim Sitterley

I recently came across the following story at ABC News.com, and I think we can learn a great deal about the ruler of the Universe by contrasting Him to the ruler of the free world.

Access to the most powerful leader in the world—the President of the United States of America—is granted only to the few who have successfully passed through a series of detailed, cautious checkpoints. A Norway teen created quite a stir in the United States when he challenged the system, boldly dialing a secret phone number for the White House. Sixteen-year-old Vifill Atlason claims he called President George W. Bush out of curiosity. "I just wanted to talk to him—have a chat, invite him to Iceland, and see what he'd say," the teen told ABC News.

In order to get through security, Atlason pretended to be Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, the President of Iceland. He was surprised when his initial call didn't pass through a switchboard, but went directly to a higher office to be screened by various security officials. Atlason was asked a series of personal questions in an attempt to verify his identification as President Grímsson, including Grímsson's date of birth, hometown, and even the names of Grímsson's parents.

"It was like passing through checkpoints," Atlason said. The checkpoints proved one too many—the teen never made it through to the president and was later taken from his home for questioning by local police. No charges were filed.

Hebrews 4:14-16 states the following: "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

Aren't you glad that we don't have to go through a screening process every time we come before God in prayer—some angel doing a background check on who we really are? Instead, we get right through, not because of who we are, but because of Who Jesus is, and what He has done for us.

Atlason had to pretend to be someone he wasn't. For us, there is no need to pretend. God already knows exactly who we are, and yet we get a direct line to His throne. And better yet, we don't even have to explain what we want, or what we need, because Jesus already understands. He's been here, and experienced the same wants and needs.

And best of all, we don't need a secret number, or an area code for Heaven. All we need to do is talk. God so desires to speak with us, that each of us is given a direct line. Just think of how great it would be if God ran the DMV.               



An Article From "REFLECTIONS of the Living Hope Church" in the October/November, 2007 issue.

From the Pastor

The Attack Continues

I've learned that a discussion regarding what we watch (and don't watch) on television and in the movies is a very dangerous area to stray into. Comment on the lack of moral value of a program or movie and you are guaranteed to run into that one person who believes that Pulp Fiction or Desperate Housewives defines all that is great about cinematic art.

And yet, there comes a movie from time to time that forces me to wander into the minefield and speak the truth. Not to tell anyone what they should, or should not watch, but simply to inform you as to WHO you are supporting with your $6.00 ticket admission.

The Golden Compass, a children's fantasy film starring Nicole Kidman that is scheduled to be released into theaters on December 7th has been drawing fire from Christian groups around the world. The film is based on Northern Lights (released in the U.S. as The Golden Compass), the first offering in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy of children's books.

The series follows the adventures of a streetwise girl who travels through multiple worlds populated by witches, armor-plated bears, and sinister religious assassins to defeat the oppressive forces of a senile god.

Books of the trilogy have sold more than 15 million copies around the world, with Northern Lights winning the Carnegie Medal for Children's literature in 1995 and in 2007 being awarded the `Carnegie of Carnegies' for the best children's book of the past 70 years. The Amber Spyglass, the final book of the series, won the Whitbread Prize in 2001, making it the first children's book to do so.

The series' author, Philip Pullman, is an avowed atheist who has stated that "I don't profess any religion; I don't think it's possible that there is a God; I have the greatest difficulty in understanding what is meant by the words `spiritual' or `spirituality.'" Critics of Pullman's books point to the strong anti-religion and anti-God themes they incorporate, and although literary works are subject to a variety of interpretations, Pullman left little doubt about his intentions when he said in a 2003 interview with The Sydney Morning Herald that "My books are about killing God." (Conservative British columnist Peter Hitchens labeled Pullman "The Most Dangerous Author in Britain" and described him as the writer "the atheists would have been praying for, if atheists prayed.")

I've seen the trailers for The Golden Compass, and they look remarkably like The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, the famous Christian-based childrens' story by C.S. Lewis. But when one of the pagan "Daemons" in the The Golden Compass declare that "Every church is the same; control, destroy obliterate every good feeling…"

Well, as I've said before, watch what your conscience allows. But at least don't say I didn't warn you on this one. And mark my words. The movie Bella, a beautiful story of redemptions and adoption, is being released in theaters at roughly the same time. Anyone want to guess which one will make it big at the box office?

——Tim Sitterley               



An Article From "REFLECTIONS of the Living Hope Church" in the August/September, 2007 issue.

From the Pastor

Wasted Oil

There is an old story of a lighthouse keeper who worked on a rocky stretch of coastline and who received his new supply of oil once a month to keep the light burning.

Not being far from shore, he had frequent guests. One night a woman from the village begged some oil to keep her family warm. Another time a father asked for some to use in his lamp. Another needed some to lubricate a wheel. Since all the requests seemed legitimate, the lighthouse keeper tried to please everyone and granted them all.

Toward the end of the month he noticed that the supply of oil was very low. Soon, it was gone, and the beacon light went out. That night several ships were wrecked and lives were lost.

When the authorities investigated, the man was very repentant. To his excuses and pleading their reply was: "You were given the oil for one purpose—to keep that light burning."

During my years of ministry I've learned (often the hard way) that if you don't have a clear and definable purpose, you often end up wasting valuable resources. Too often I have found myself involved in some "ministry" that in hindsight had little or nothing to do with the ministry God was obviously behind. And yet, there I was, wasting the "oil" I had been given on things that seemed important, but did nothing to further the Kingdom.

I found myself pondering this issue after returning from our denominational conference in Palm Springs. As WCG leadership demonstrated a clear desire to find our purpose, perhaps I should refocus my energies and efforts as well. What am I doing to allow the light of Jesus to shine through me into the surrounding darkness, and conversely, what "ministries" were using up precious oil?

And that really is the bottom line. Whether we are talking about individual ministries, or the activities of the church itself, are we acting as a lighthouse? All around us are lost people. Their lives are in crisis, because they are lost. We must be a light to bring them to Jesus.

Some people change their ways when they see the light; others only when they feel the heat. Either way, we are not called to simply "meet the needs" of the lost, but to reflect the light of the one who truly can meet their needs, both physically and spiritually.

In John 3:16-19 (NKJV) we read, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."

Paul brings us into the picture in 2 Cor. 3:18 (NLT) when he writes, "And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more."

Our witness will only be as effective as the degree to which we reflect the image of Jesus. That is what we have been called to do, and that is why we've been given the gifts we have. That is our purpose, and it must be clearly before us as we evaluate ANY ministry or activity. Unless we can see an opportunity to fulfill that purpose, we must consider the activity an "oil-waster."

And no matter how "noble" the cause, if we have nothing left for the "calling", we risk missing the opportunity to shine the Light of Christ where, and when it is most needed.

——Tim Sitterley               



From the Pastor
Editorials from the Willamette Review, Newsletter of the Living Hope Church
Congregations of Salem and Albany, Oregon

Running

timjan

Two Gas Company servicemen, one a senior training supervisor and the other a young trainee, were out checking meters in a suburban neighborhood.  They parked their truck at one end of the alley and worked their way to the other end.  At the last house, a woman looking out her kitchen window watched the two men as they checked her gas meter.

Finishing the meter check, the senior supervisor challenged his younger co-worker to a foot race down the alley and back to the truck.  He would prove once and for all that an older guy could still outrun a younger one.

As they came running up to the truck, they realized the lady from that last house was huffing and puffing right behind them.  They stopped and asked her what was wrong.

Gasping for breath, she replied, "When I see two men from the Gas Company running as hard as you two were running, I figured I'd better run too!"

All too often, I believe, we as Christians find ourselves running, and we're not quite sure why.  We know we're making progress.  We're tired and out of breath.  We just don't know where we are going, or often, for that matter, why we are even running at all.

Personally, I have reached the point in my life where the only time I run is if I am trying to catch something, or something is trying to catch me.  When I extend that metaphor to my spiritual life, the same holds true.  I find myself running to compete with someone else...to catch up to someone I see as spiritually farther ahead of me.  Or, I find myself running to keep ahead of those things I think are chasing me...my shortcomings, fears and sins.

The problem is that on my own, I know that I can never win either race.  What is in front of me is unattainable, and even if I could catch up, the reality wouldn't be what I expected.  And what I run from will always be there, breathing down my neck.  Or worse, tripping me up completely.  Either way, I lose.

The Apostle Paul writes, however, of a race that we can win, when he writes, "I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me -- the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." (Acts 20:24)  Paul realized that the gift of God's grace is something we can never earn on our own, so it is not the goal we run toward.  And, because of grace, our past is no longer a thing to fear, so it is not what we run from.

Rather, the race we run in Christ is not about the past, or the future.  It is all about the race itself.  And just like the woman in the story above, we may not have completely understood this (and often still do not) when we started to run.  But now that we know the gospel -- the good news of God's grace -- our goal should be to encourage others to run with us.

As a church, we have been resting a bit these last few years.  It's been a time of healing.  But I truly believe that we are now ready to take off -- to run the race God has set for us.  I am confident that Jesus wouldn't mind this paraphrase of His final words...

"Run into all the world.  And as you run, teach others to run with you.  Equip them to teach others the good news I have taught you regarding this race.  And if you stumble along the way or grow weary, don't worry -- I'll be running right beside you till the end of the race."
    ——Tim Sitterley               

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