Under the Influence

We all know what “driving under the influence” means.  In California it means that your test results indicate your blood alcohol level is at .08% or higher.  It also means you’re busted!

But blood alcohol levels are not arbitrarily tested.  A person typically is displaying other signs of being “under the influence” such as weaving in traffic, driving erratically or at excessive speed.  They are clearly not in full control of their behavior, and they get pulled over to test their sobriety.

What signs do you display of being “under the influence?”  You may be thinking “None.  I don’t smoke, drink or do drugs.  I’m not under the influence of anything.”  We all want to think we are independent thinkers, masters of our own destiny, able to make our own decisions and chart our own course.  But is this actually our reality?

Take a moment and look at yourself in the mirror.  What kind of hair do you see staring back at you?  Is it a buzz cut, crew cut, mullet, pony tail, corn rows, frohawk, spiked, or waves?  It probably is not a bun, bouffant, or beehive.  In fact it you ever had one of those hairdos in the past, you’ve probably buried those pictures where you hope no one ever sees them! 

Now go to your closet.  What kind of clothes are you currently wearing?  Probably different styles than you wore 10 years ago.  What’s parked in the driveway or garage?  Why do you drive that make and model? Why do you get that latte at Starbucks every morning, eat sushi, or order martinis?

Are you a Republican, Democrat, tea party advocate?  Do you routinely listen to Fox News or CNN?  If you’ve tried to help your junior high aged child with their math homework lately, you may find its changed quite a bit since you went to school.  What dances do you know?  Any pattern in the type of movies you go to see?

If we are honest, we all must admit that we are under a number of different influences.  In fact in our current tech dominated, instant communication society, its impossible to escape an almost constant barrage of attempts to influence us. 

It has been suggested that there are 7 major mountains that shape any culture:  media and communications, education, government, economics and business, arts and entertainment, family, religion.  Together they exert a myriad of influences upon us from womb to tomb.  Their power over us can’t be minimized.

There is nothing inherently good or bad about these 7 mountains, but they can be controlled to influence us for our harm or benefit.  In fact the Bible pulls back the curtain on the spiritual dimension, and shows us the major strategy of Satan in his temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4:8-9:  “The devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms (spheres of influence) of the world and their authority.  ‘All this I will give You,’ the devil said, ‘if You will worship me.’” 

Satan was not offering just nations to Christ, but the ability to control the 7 mountains of culture as well.  He knows that whoever controls these mountains of influence shapes the behavior and destiny of nations.

Christ rejected the bait and told Satan to get lost.  But He has instructed us to pray for God’s kingdom, His sphere of influence, to come to earth.  Imagine how different our lives would be if our government, the media, big business, education and religion were controlled by the heavenly influences of love, joy and peace!

Please come join us this Sunday at 10:30 AM to discover more about these 7 mountains of culture and their influence.  Our guest speaker, Johnny Enlow’s sermon, “The 7 Mountains of Culture” is part 5 in our “Reformers’ Pledge” series.

Surviving Choice

“I’d known ever since I can remember that I was adopted, and was born about four months premature. I knew that I was very sick and tiny, and the doctors didn’t have a very good prognosis for my life. I didn’t have a lot of questions about that growing up, because I was in a great home. I was loved, and life was good.”

The speaker is an attractive young woman, with short brown hair and sparkling blue eyes, doing an interview on a television talk show.  As she speaks, a series of photos of her as an infant, child and young adult are flashed across the screen.  Looking at the smiling images displaying obvious robust health, it is hard to believe she began life as such a premature, high-risk infant.  The photo montage ends with more recent wedding pictures to husband Ryan in 2005, and the birth of their first child, a daughter Olivia, in 2008. 

She speaks of the joys of motherhood, after working for several years as a social worker with a masters degree in substance abuse, and assault and sexual abuse counseling.  As I listen I think, “Here is an accomplished, young mother who undoubtedly brings great joy to her adoptive parents, who probably can’t imagine what their lives would have been like without her.  Another heartwarming human interest story.” 

As I start to change channels, her next words stop me cold, and rivet my attention.  “I was 14 years old when my Mom decided to tell me the circumstances surrounding my birth.  She said, ’There’s no easy way to tell you this.’ Then she just kind of blurted it out. She said, ‘Melissa, your mother had an abortion during her fifth month of pregnancy with you and you survived it.’”

She goes on to describe how her 19 year-old mother chose to have a saline abortion, subjecting Melissa to 5 days of toxic salt poisoning in the womb.  Supposed to be dead at delivery, she was discarded as medical waste, but rescued by a nurse who heard her feeble grunts.  She spent the next 2 months in a NICU, on IV feeding, not expected to survive.  She was adopted by her parents, who made their choice in the face of medical warnings that Melissa would probably have multiple impairments and never be normal. 

Despite the happiness she enjoyed with her adoptive parents, Melissa Ohden shares the deep pain this revelation brought. “My biggest question was, ‘Why? Why could you make that decision to end my life?  Could I have been so unwanted and so unloved?”  It took a decade of soul searching, but Melissa relates that she came to understand that her life, indeed everyone’s life, has tremendous significance that needs to be respected.

Consider for a moment, what if your mother had chosen to abort you?  Your spouse, if you are married, would not know you and your children would never have been born.  Your parents would never have watched either you or your children grow up.  Your siblings and friends would never have had all those wonderful childhood adventures with you, and your work associates would never experience your contributions to the group effort.  The ripple effects of a single human life go on and on, bridging generations.

 

Psalm 139, verses 13 and 16 tell us: “For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.  Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.”  If God values the significance of our life so much, can we value our life or the life of anyone else, less?

Please come and join us this Sunday at 10:30 AM to continue this discussion.  My sermon, “Creating a Culture of Life,” is Part 4 in our current series, “Reformer’s Pledge.”      

Calling 911

911 Responder: “911  Where is your emergency?”

Caller: “She’s hit!  She’s still breathing….She’s still got a pulse……We got one dead….There’s multiple shot….”                                                           

911 Responder:“Sir, How many people are injured?”

Caller: “There’s bodies everywhere.  We need more than one ambulance.”

911 Responder: “Oh my God!”

The last few days we have all been caught up in the unfolding drama of this 911 call.  Last Saturday morning, January 8, an apparently mentally ill young man, shot Tucson Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford in the head, at a public meeting with her constituents in a Safeway parking lot.  He then opened a barrage of gunfire into the small crowd, leaving 6 dead and 13 injured.

As more details emerge the victims’ identities come into focus, and our hearts reach out to them.  Many of us want to do more, but feel sidelined and distant.  Realistically, how can we help in a situation like this?

In our world of global communications, we are frequently brought into intimate contact with tragedies.  One year ago, we witnessed the massive earthquake in Haiti that left over 200,000 dead and 2 million homeless.  Nightly this past summer, we watched multiplied thousands of gallons of oil spill into the gulf of Mexico, killing marine wildlife and polluting hundreds of miles of pristine coastlines.  And for the rest of our lives, most of us will remember the iconic images of hurricane Katrina’s destruction and the crashing twin towers of 9-11.

While we can contribute to relief agencies, we are often left feeling helpless, thinking that there must be something else we can do.  I want you to know that there is something very powerful you can do, whether it’s public events, or more personal situations like the divorce of good friends, or a relative or friend being diagnosed with a serious disease.

You can intercede in prayer, a divine 911 call..  Intercession is bringing petitions in prayer on behalf of others to a loving, concerned God.  It is requesting God to comfort and strengthen people, provide for needs and re-establish justice in situations where it is being violated.  But does it really make a difference?

Let me share two documented examples from history.  Every year at Thanksgiving, we remember the original feast day celebrated by the Pilgrims and native Americans in 1621. But few of us know about the famine that followed.  In 1622 the harvest was poor, and in 1623 a severe drought threatened the existence of the colony.  The Pilgrims set aside a day to pray, and by day’s end, clouds appeared.  The next morning began 12 days of continuous moderate rain, just enough to revive the crops and turn their situation around.

My second example is more recent.  In 1985, four churches in Leipzig, communist East Germany, began holding weekly prayer meetings for the reunification of their country.  Then they lit candles and peacefully walked through the town.  Despite repeated threats from city officials and the police, they faithfully gathered to pray and walk for the next four years.  Their numbers grew and by fall 1989, 500,000, nearly the entire population of Leipzig, prayed and walked.  The movement spread to East Berlin, where a million prayed and walked.  The final result?  The communist regime fell and the Berlin wall was dismantled without a shot being fired.

Intercession changes things!  God values intercession so much that the prophet Ezekiel tells us God constantly searches for those who will stand in the gap and intercede. (Ezekiel 22:30)  So know there is more you can do and begin to intercede!

Come join us this Sunday at 10:30 AM to continue this discussion.  The sermon title of our guest speaker, James Goll, is “History Belongs to the Intercessors,” part 3 in our series on “The Reformer’s Pledge.”

Is Your Pursuit Holy or Holey?

Is there a central focus in your life?  Do you wake up every morning energized and motivated by a pursuit so large, that you can give your entire life to it?  Or are you wandering through life, getting by, while each day blends into the next without distinction?

I was a young adolescent when the original “Star Wars” movie was released.  As an avid sci-fi fan, it ignited my imagination and I saw it many times.  But it wasn’t just the fantastic alien creatures and special effects that attracted me.  I was captivated by the epic tale of a young man similar to me, Luke Skywalker, who was completely dedicated to his pursuit of the Jedi arts to meld with the Force and avenge his father’s and uncle’s deaths. 

His pursuit required him to set himself apart for a period of rigorous training under the watchful tutoring of the Yoda.  He had to learn to hear and receive instruction and discipline himself to obey it.  I was leaving childhood and invading the borders of adulthood, and the idea of having a life defined by a grand and highly focused pursuit was very appealing.

As a culture, we admire people who are motivated to focus their entire lives to attain excellence in a single pursuit.  World-class athletes are one powerful example of this.  Whether in team or individual sports, we tune in regularly to watch them perform in play-offs, tournaments, world championships and Olympic events.  And we celebrate their achievements with star class salaries, fame and lucrative endorsements.  They encourage our hope by demonstrating that, if we pursue something with enough intensity and discipline, anything is possible. 

We’ve all read and seen sports reports about the long hours of intense training over many years that go into the making of an athletic or team champion.  Yet even with all the accolades, their achievements and time in the spotlight are only momentary.  Tomorrow always appears with new contests and contenders. 

For example, take Michael Phelps.  A couple summers ago you couldn’t pick up a paper or hear a sport’s cast without some mention of his name.  He was an athlete of truly Olympic proportions, winning 8 gold medals in one Olympics, more than any athlete in history.  We eagerly devoured every detail of his life, as he appeared on one talk show after another.  It’s now just two years later, and when is the last time you heard of Michael Phelps?  Despite all his disciplined, focused pursuit and celebrated success, he has slipped into virtual obscurity.

No matter how significant our human pursuits are; they are “holey”.  They fade and lose relevance with time.  They may dominate a season in our life, but they are not powerful enough to motivate our whole lifetime.

God invites us to a pursuit that is big enough to fill our life forever: His holiness.  Holiness is being dedicated and set apart to pursue intimacy with God.  It is an invitation to share in the life of God Himself, by hearing, receiving, loving and obeying Him, and it will completely transform your thinking, being and doing as you live your life.

Choose to have a holy pursuit.  The apostle Paul reminds us:  “All athletes are disciplined in their training.  They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it (pursue holiness) to obtain an eternal prize. So we run with purpose in every step.” (I Corinthians 9: 25)

Please join us this Sunday at 10:30 AM as we continue this discussion.  My sermon, “The Beauty of Holiness” is Part 2 in our series on “The Reformer’s Pledge.”

20 – 20 Foresight?

It’s that time of year again.  Time to look backward and evaluate the present year now ending.  Time to look forward and plan for the new year directly ahead.  If you’re like most people, you want to celebrate accomplishments, and learn from this year’s mistakes, to maximize your success and minimize your failures in the year ahead. 
We’ve all learned, usually the hard way, that hindsight is 20 – 20.  We can all look back and see where we could have made better choices, listened more to good advice, been less impulsive in our actions, and given more thought to the consequences of our decisions.  In retrospect, we now know that the all fruit diet doesn’t work weight wonders for us.  Mom and Dad do indeed have a degree of wisdom, and there would be less strain on our pocketbook, if we’d given more thought to gas mileage before signing the sales contract on that new fully-loaded SUV.
Experience is indeed a powerful teacher, but is it necessarily the best teacher?  Can’t there be a less painful, more positive way to acquire the knowledge to succeed?  Wouldn’t it be great if we knew that certain events were going to happen and could put ourselves in the right place, at the right time, with the right people to take maximum advantage of the circumstances?  Wouldn’t it be great if we could have 20 – 20 foresight?
We all want to live a life that is meaningful, successful and significant.  We’d like to feel that with every year that passes, we are making real progress in having this kind of life.  Did you know that God shares this desire for your life?  Jesus tells us that He came so that we could enjoy a fulfilling, abundant life. (John 10:10)
How does God give us a more meaningful, successful and significant life?  Well for one thing He knows everything.  He actually has 20 – 20 foresight.  He gives us principles for living that position us to have an abundant life.  And He has life goals of great significance for each of us.  Life goals that will use all our abilities and talents, fulfill our hearts’ desires and make our lives exciting and enjoyable.
He calls each of us to be a reformer, a world changer and a history maker.  And He shares principles to live by that will accomplish this in our life.  He tells us to forget hindsight and rely on His foresight instead.  “Forgetting all that is past and behind, strain toward what is ahead.  Press on to the goal to win the prize for which God has called you heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 3:13b-14)
Let this be the year you let God’s foresight, rather than your hindsight, direct your decisions and actions.  For the next two months I will be sharing eight God given principles that will transform your life, and through you, the world around you.  Open yourself to God’s timeless wisdom and enjoy life to the max!
Please come and join us this Sunday, the first Sunday of 2011, at 10:30AM, to discover the first life principle.  My sermon, “By God’s Grace, I Will Live a Life of Love,” is part 1 in our new series on “The Reformer’s Pledge.”