Update on Love

One of the reasons I hurried back from my lightening quick trip to California last week was to be with my good wife (not that I have others, such as a bad wife) for our anniversary. Yes, when we were 25 and 22, respectively, we had the bright idea of getting married on Valentine's Day. It may not be unique, but it allows you to buy one card for your beloved, instead of enriching Hallmark by paying for two.

We got married 29 years ago. I know this is a blog to discuss NET things--and that's coming--but indulge me a bit to tell you about my girl. Lisa is one of the sweetest persons you'll ever meet. And when she is not that--which is very rare--she doesn't kill you with snake eyes. She's been the faithful mother of our three kids since before each of them were born. And she continues to be so (they're now 24, 22, and 20, whew!), thinking and praying for them each day, sending pictures, and quotes, and stories, and occasional care packages to wherever they are in the world. My wife is not a complex woman, but she's still a woman, complex enough to a man like me. She's faithful and supportive and quietly puts up with things others would not. She's actually a Christian. And I'm a very blessed man. I miss her these days because she's in the West Coast taking a course, and the house is too big without her. Fortunately, our daughter is with us this year, and she will make sure Dad eats and sleeps, even if ocassionally.

Tonight I came back from an evangelistic meeting preached by Dwight Nelson in South Bend. The subject was Hell, a hot topic any day. The truth is that this is one of the clearest opportunities to talk about the true character of God vs. the medieval notion that God delights to turture forever any who choose to rebuff Him. Oh, the great love of God! So many very bright people over the centuries have gone to Christless graves because of false concepts of God! If we would give ourselves the chance to explore the picture given of God in the Bible, I'm convinced it would be nigh impossible to be reduced to total surrender to such overwhelming grace.

One of my favorite songs of all time is "The Love of God." Frederick Lehman wrote the first couple of stanzas on a scrap piece of paper while seating on an empty lemon box against a wall one day in 1917. His daughter later put it to music. Look up the words on Internet. The rapturous stanza is number three, written in 1050, yes, almost a thousand years ago, by Rabbi Meir Ben Isaac Mehorai, a cantor in Worms, Germany. Lehman found the words penciled on the room wall of an insane asylum, after the patient had been carried to his grave.

You've got to digest these words:

Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above, would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky.

The love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forever more endure
The saints' and angels' song.

Yes! This is what it's all about! To share the lavish love of a God who does not ever quit giving us more and more of Him. This is what I pray we may do every night we have the privilege to open the Bible for people longing for something to snap in place in their lives.

So, here is the list to pray for this week:

1. The Manual. I'm a third of the way through a fairly detailed manual that will go to every church involved with the NET. The deadline is upon us.

2. The Implementation DVD. We've encountered major setbacks in the taping and production of this 4-hr DVD which is also to go to the churches. We've been set us back a whole month. Please pray we may find an outlet that can help us get this taped (again!) and produced quickly (and not expensively)

3.  The Churches. As of yesterday, 262 churches had signed up to be part of NET 11. Praise the Lord! However, some who wish to do so have already allocated moneys for other things. The same thing with conference evangelism budgets. Pray the Lord will help people find a way to invest in evangelism for the sake of the lost in their communities.

According to Paul (see text below), love is seven things, and it's not eight. May you know God's love more and more every day, and may His love spill over to others with abandon.

"Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag, and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things. Love never fails."

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Tired

I’ve been nursing a cold for a couple of weeks now, and I’m not used to being sick. At times, I get these coughing attacks it sounds like I’m going to keel over right then and there. Two weeks ago I even had a fever, and felt quite miserable for a day. I think I’m worn out. I haven’t been running this winter, due to the weather and the book writing, and it has taken a toll.

It’s so much easier to lose your health than to gain it. At this stage of my life, if I don’t run or exercise regularly, the loss of strength and stamina is quick and easy. I guess I’m just plain tired.

Writing on a red-eye flight from California to Atlanta adds to the realism of it all. And last night, I arrived at my destination at 3:30 a.m. This was a 42-hr trip to California and back to meet with a number of conference presidents regarding NET 11.

There are times like these when you appreciate the Sabbath in a more existential way. Getting a full-night’s sleep, rising to simply read/study the Word at your leisure, with no pressure to present or do anything major. Tomorrow, Dwight Nelson will interview me about the upcoming Astonishing Discoveries in the Land of the Bible archaeology program Michael Hasel and I will be doing in March (this is not the uplink from Nashville, that will take place in September). Thousands of handbills should have arrived yesterday for members to use to invite friends and neighbors. But that is small fare and no real pressure.

My next urgent writing project is the manual for NET 11. There are only a few days left to get that done. Yesterday, I spent some time with Tim Standish, from the GSI, who will be my presenting partner for The Greatest Show on Earth: Making Sense of the Creation-Evolution Debate. We have a lot to do to produce that as well.

Church leaders frequently ask me these days if I feel my workload has eased some, since I no longer carry the division’s ministerial responsibility. Well, I smile and say, “It will…someday; maybe after NET 11 is accomplished.” But my wife smiles, thinking, “he’ll come up with another project by then.” Perhaps. But I’m less eager today to change the world and more determined that God would do that. And that is a good thing. And I won’t be so tired any more.

So, here is the list to keep before the Lord:

1.      The Manual—This will go to all the churches who sign up for NET 11 (220 as of last Tuesday)

2.      The Book Publishing—So the right book cover may be chosen, and all the editing completed in time to meet publication schedules

3.      The Pastors Hoping to Be Part of NET 11—A number of them have expressed interest in being a part of it but their churches have not signed up yet. They need to do that so they can receive the materials needed for a good year of outreach

4.      The Archaeology Program Development—Time is quickly passing and we need to have all the PPT slides redone and updated for our March 11-12 PMC weekend. Pray for the developer and his team

5.      The Funds—We are still a long ways away from raising all we need to meet the demands of the budget. Pray the Lord will lead us to good-hearted people that will give to evangelism

And keep our three children in your prayers. That would be really nice. Thanks from my heart.

“Do not grow weary in doing good.”

2 Thess 3:13

“Come unto Me, you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Matthew 11:28, 29

The Book

Over the last few weeks, my life has been in the basement. That's where I've been writing Adventism's Greatest Need: The Outpouring of the Spirit. I'm actually, literally, about six pages from the end (about 200 total pages--should be done Sunday), but Pacific Press, in the meantime, has been trying to get done as much as possible. They've already created a cover and the copy for the back page, settled on the title, worked on a promotional plan, etc. On Monday, I'm scheduled to tape a couple of devotional and promotional segments they can use around the country to promote the book.

All this is a bit sobering, if truth be told. I have a lot of books in my library and have read many of them, so I know about books. But this is my first real book written for the general public. It is scary because it appears there is considerable enthusiasm from the publishers and some of the readers I've sent chapters to about the book--about a book not yet finished, let alone one anyone has even read! What if it is not any good? I feel quite reassured I've done as well as expected with the time I've had, but the subject is so worthwhile that I can't help think it deserves a lot more attention and care.

Oh, well. As my relative from Spain, NT scholar and author, Roberto Badenas, says: "When you write a book, you either finish it, or it finishes you." There is only so much time, and then there is none left.

My hope and prayer is that is will be a blessing to as many people as possible, a tool which the Holy Spirit can use to awaken people, lead them to their knees, and cry out for more of God they ever thought possible before. My hope also is that whatever theological imbalance or inaccuracy it may contain, that it will be minimal and inconsequential. None of us are free from making mistakes, even if sincere and well-meaning. What you don't want is to give the devil an opportunity.

We've promised churches that sign up early for the NET quantities of the book, so they can study it with small groups or with friends or as leaders get together. It would be nice if it went somewhat viral, though I know only great, timely books have that type of a chance.

Anyway, thanks to those who've prayed for me and this adventure over the last few weeks. Pray that

1.  The editing and book publishing schedule may not run into any delays (we still hope to make this available by the end of March), and that the editors can catch as many glitches as possible; that

2.  Many more churches may join the 203 which have signed up to date, so they can be part of a process, not simply an event; that

3.  The Spirit of God may bring conviction to the vast central area of the United States, for pastors and churches from there to sign up (one reason is we have loved ones in that area); that

4.  3ABN reconsider their decision to not run the series, and instead decide to broadcast the three programs--Creation, Archaeology, and Prophecy--along with Hope TV, so we may give many more people the opportunity to hear the Word of God; and that

5. We may start settling on the content for the Creation-Evolution mini-series to be aired live May 4-8, with Dr Tim Standish and me.

There are other pressing needs for prayer, but that will suffice for tonight. Oh, may God take control of all His people, resources, and institutions so the Gospel may be preached in all the world, and then the Lord will come!

Shabbat Shalom.

"This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Joshua 1:8, 9

Rejoice with Me!

The parables of the lost, in Luke 15, all have a wonderful ending: rejoice with me that I've found the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son. This is, I'm convinced, what Jesus longs to give us while we walk in this world of sin: Joy! Matthew 25 reveals His invitation to enter the joy of the Master as we put to work the talents He has given to us. That joy is leading men and women to Him. This is, after all, the abundant life He promised (John 10:10).

But I digress into preaching without giving you all the background. The truth is that I woke up at three this morning, after a particularly troubling dream, nightmare, really. And I figured that before all that bad stuff happens, I need to acknowledge the good that has come from Jesus. I cannot withhold my gratefulness to Him for what He is doing which I'm able to perceive. So, rejoice with me!

1.  Rejoice with me because as of two days ago, 155 churches had signed up to join this NET adventure. We understand this to be the largest number of churches signed up this early in the process. And we are happy about that because it means that some churches are catching on to the idea of a process vs. an event. We pray many more may join soon. I've had the chance, over the last three weekends, to visit a number of ministers' meetings across the NAD, and have been encouraged by their response. We could have many more though, so let's continue presenting this before the Lord.

2.  Rejoice with me because as of yesterday, we'd had a jump in Prayer Warrior registration, with over 500 of them on board right now. This is encouraging, and oh, so necessary! Little or nothing will be accomplished without much earnest prayer. We'd like to see thousands become NET Prayer Warriors for the sake of the Gospel this year. People can sign up at http://host.propheciesdecoded.com/ right on the home page. Just scroll to the bottom and find the place to click there on the right. In addition, Ruthie Jacobsen, the Prayer Ministries coordinator for North America, started another website where people can sign up: http://www.pray4net2011.org/. No matter where people sign up, the important thing is to pray, pray, pray. Here is a statement that should make us think: "We are not willing enough to trouble the Lord with our petitions, and to ask Him for the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Lord wants us to trouble Him in this matter. He wants us to press our petitions to the throne. The converting power of God needs to be felt throughout our ranks"  (Fundamentals of Christian Education, 537, 538).

3.  Rejoice with me because a kind, generous Adventist gave a large donation to the cause. Remember that in my last blog I had expressed concerns about finances? We need to raise a considerable amount of money in addition to what the division, union, and local conference are pledging. Well, I was driving last Sunday night in a Southern state when, out of the blue, the thought came to me, as clear as a bell ringing on a brisk sunny morning, that I should contact this person again. I had once last November. Immediately, I called him and found him, to my surprised delight. I had a very narrow window when I would be in town and could see him the next day, and he was willing to do so for the 30 minutes I could make it happen. We met, and he promised a very substantial amount. This is an entirely God thing, because I had not even thought about talking with him again at this time. But God did not let me forget it. It was like "I know you're busy with important stuff and all, but I think it'd be important to connect with this person right now. What do you think?" Oh, what a wonderful God we serve!

Some of the other challenges remain, such as the implementation DVD and my book. I retook book writing yesterday, after being "in the freezer" for three plus weeks. I spent most of the day just reading the chapters I had written to take up the flow of thought. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will absolutely direct my mind over the next five days or so, that's all the time I have left.

Blessings to you. Thanks for your interest in the cause of Christ, and even in me. Jesus hears, Jesus knows.

"And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance."

Luke 15:6, 7

If We Ever Needed Prayer, Today Is the Day

We've come to realize the difficulties people have had trying to sign up as prayer warriors at the NET website: http://host.propheciesdecoded.com/.  So, we've made a quick fix to ease the problem, even if temporarily.

Go to the website above, scroll down until you see a box at the far right of the page, saying "To sign up to be a Prayer Warrior for NET 2011, click here." And click there.

Prayer is extremelly important for any endeavor in the name of Christ. Any sincere and focused evangelistic plan will meet with serious opposition from the world of darkness. This controversy between good and evil is real, and it takes many forms.

Here are a few issues we're dealing with right now, that need serious prayer:

1.  Implementation DVD. This is the equipping DVD designed for any church signing early on, planning to make a process (not a mere event) of the evangelistic opportunities offered by NET 11. We've encountered some challenges with the production of this very important 4-hr, full-menu DVD. Please pray the issues may be resolved so the DVD can be finished in time and be a real help to our churches.

2.  NET Finances. The NAD, the Southern Union, and the local conference (KT-TN) are putting a consirable amount of funds to help with this venture, however, we desperately need outside funding to make this work. I've never done professional fund raising, and this is a great challenge, in view of so much on my plate these days. Please pray the Lord will guide our thinking on how to do this, and send donors our way.

3.  The Book. With the start of the semester here at the Seminary--classes and meetings--and my extensive travel schedule since Jan 6, I've not been able to go back to finish writing the book on the Holy Spirit.  My absolute deadline is only days away, and there simply are not enough hours in a day to get this done. I have twelve chapters done and need three or four more to finish it.  Frankly, only a miracle hard to envision would make this possible by January 31. Pray the Lord will help me know what to do and how to do it.

Here is a bit of thanksgiving: We already have about 115 churches signed up for NET 11. This is a good start. Our hope is for hundreds more.

One last thing. Shortly after the live Hope Church Channel telecast of January 8, we received reports the second segment had transmission problems. Hope will rebroadcast the 90-minute segment at the same time as when it was live: 4:30 p.m. EST, 1:30 p.m. PST, on January 22nd and 29th.

Tell your friends.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against . . . the world forces of this darkness . . . Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day . . .

With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit . . .

and pray on my behalf . . . to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel."

Eph 6:12, 13, 18, 19

Thankful

I'm in a hotel room in Des Moines, Iowa, getting ready to drive down to Topeka, Kansas, for another Ministers' Meeting. It's snowing hard, and the drive will take four hours.

Sharing with pastors the potential of letting God use them for evangelism is a privilege and a joy. But some of them are discouraged, they have tried things that haven't worked. Pastors live under tremendous pressure, and they and their families are under constant attack from the enemy. We must pray for them.

Flying from California yesterday, I reflected on a number of the amazing things that took place Sabbath with the live Jesus in Your Church telecast. I really believed the Lord listened to those who prayed for this telecast. The entire team commented on how palpable the blessing of God seemed to us all. God took control of the program in spite of our personal limitations. I don't have any figures yet as to how many watched it live on Hope Church Channel, but I do know it should be a blessing to many.

So, here is a list of specific things I'm grateful to God about, from my personal perspective. These are things I was worried about regarding the telecast, though I should know that "Worry is blind, and cannot discern the future; but Jesus sees the end from the beginning" (DA 330). I'll just mention four:

1. The Moderator. Connie Vandeman Jeffrey did a terrific job. She internalized what we were trying to do in a very short time. It took me a while to finally connect with one of our well-known evangelists to be the MC, but the schedule did not work out. I then asked a good friend, also in media ministry. He happily accepted, but had to call and cancel just two days before the program. That's when Connie stepped in.
2. The Technical Issues. After planning and practicing for four hours on Friday, I stayed a while because we had trouble between my computer and their screens. Without a monitor, I couldn't use Power Point, and I'd have to entirely reformat my messages. Eventually, they found a way to make it work. And then, on Sabbath morning, we discovered the PPT configuration changed when in their equipment. They fixed just minutes before we needed to use it. The technical equipment at the Media Center is so sophisticated that anything can go wrong. Fortunately, the staff is really good, very professional, and things worked quite well.
3. The Sermon Length. For those who know me well, you know I tend to speak long, if given the chance. On Friday, we shaved more minutes from my first sermon due to program's needs. I cut some more. On Sabbath morning, I was impressed to dispense with one illustration, in case I'd run out of time. I was so fearful I'd watch the countdown clock and see 4 minutes left with 13 minutes worth of material! But it all worked out. I finished everything I needed to say with 14 seconds to spare. Now, tell me if that isn't a miracle! True, for the second sermon I went 5 minutes over, but I even consider that to be a miracle, since I only had the time to piece it together between sermons, and had no idea how long it would take to preach it.
4. The Live Crowd. We had someone from the local conference working hard to generate interest in the churches to be part of the live audience. We needed 25-30 people, but the problem was that they needed to be there at 7:30 in the morning. On Wednesday before the broadcast we only had five people, though more for the afternoon. We decided to cancel that and work with camera only. However, we started getting phone calls from people wishing to come! In short, we ended up with 75 people in the morning, and 35 in the afternoon. All extremely supportive. What a difference they made, and what a blessing they were!

All this may sound mundane to you, but for those in the thick of it it was real and it mattered. The Lord Jesus did answer our prayers, and Ruthie was able to announce our desire to have 100,000 prayer warriors all over North America to pray for the NET. This morning, as I sat down to eat breakfast, the president's wife told me she'd just signed up to be a prayer warrior.

And that's one more reason I'm thankful today.

"Rejoice always;

Pray without ceasing;

In everything give thanks;

For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

1 Thess 5:16-18

The Time Is Here

I'm in Southern California for the live telecast of Jesus in Your Church, tomorrow morning. California always seems to be a good idea in January, especially if you come from Michigan.

Surviving the first week of the semester is no small accomplishment, when so many other important things crowd your time. But God has again been good, as He always is. I've decided, for my morning time, to begin the year going over the book of Isaiah at greater depth than ever before. Isaiah is the "gospel prophet," without whom generations of faithful believers would not have known so clearly the hope of the Messiah to come. What a prophet! His ministry spanned well over 50 years, ministering to five different kings of Judah. The last one killed him (sawn him in two, according to Heb 11:37 and 4BC 1137), yet shortly before it, and now out of the public eye (because Manasseh, the evil king, wanted to destroy him), he composed some of the most important chapters in all of Scripture: Isaiah 40-66. The irony is that Manasseh, who caused "rivers of blood" to flow through Jerusalem, after he was taken captive, plead in repentance before the Lord, AND HE FORGAVE HIM after all the evil he had done! I have a sermon on this amazing story: From the Guttermost to the Uttermost.

It was to king Ahaz that Isaiah courageously spoke to from God when he was barely 20 something: "If you will not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all" (Isa 7:9, KJV). I just love that text.

I believe that is what we saw and heard from our GC Conference President as he preached to 7,000 young adults in Baltimore for the 2010 GYC convention last week. God will use young adults to help us older adults stop majoring in minors, and put God first. It is about time.

Don't forget to pray for tomorrow's program. We've done what we could to prepare for it, but with so many moving pieces, the landscape keeps changing. We trust God will use us and use it for His glory. If you go to http://host.propheciesdecoded.com/preparation you can get a glimpse of the program.

In summary, Jesus in Your Church is a live, two-part telecast, on Hope Church Channel. The 11 a.m. to 12 EST portion will introduce Robbie Folkenberg in song, and the Prayer Initiative by Ruthie Jacobsen. We're praying for many thousands to unite in prayer for our church. I will preach on the topic of how to love God with all your heart--To Fall in Love at Last. We'll come back live again at 4:30-6:00 p.m. EST for ninety minutes of exciting stories and testimonies with Pavel Goia and Judith Miranda, plus another message: The Good Life. Connie Vandeman, from the Voice of Prophecy, will moderate the program. Remember to check http://www.hopetv.org/ and look up Hope CHURCH Channel's live feed, unless your church is broadcasting it live.

Our team prayed this morning that the Lord could use the program to contribute to the revival and reformation of our hearts and our church. The time is here.

Blessings to everyone this Sabbath.

Thank you so much for your praying.

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?'

Then I said, 'Here am I, send me!'"

[Isaiah 6:8]