Sunday Message by Joseph (05/05/2013) and Sophie (5/26/2013)

We had the pleasure to talk at church these past Sunday. If you would like to listen here at the message

Click here to listen to "The True Passover" message (Joseph)

Click here to listen to "Being the Light to the World" (Sophie)

Joseph Got published! Article 2

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Effective Leadership and its Impact on Employee Satisfaction

Joseph got published! First Article

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Vignette

Inflated Freedom

What is "freedom's inflation?" I think that, just like our dollar bill, the term freedom has become inflated over the years. Or like the time-value of money where money two or three weeks from now is not worth what it is today. Let me explain. This morning I was reminded by someone close to me how far our nation has drifted away from the original concept of celebrating our independence on the 4th of July each year. The lackluster comment was,"we celebrate our independence from separating from England, and that was a long time ago." As I considered their comment, I was saddened by the reality that they were right in the fact that many Americans have lost, or are losing, their patriotic heart; the true understanding of what Freedom really means. That "ho-hum, we separated from the English in 1776, now let us go shoot off some fire-works now." Yes, Independence Day is a celebration of our National Sovereignty, as it should be, but the celebration of this day denotes or exemplifies much, much more. I am reminded of the climactic end of the movie "Amistad," where our former President John Adams (wonderfully portrayed by Anthony Hopkins) says something quite profound. Speaking of one's ancestry, he says "We are who we were." The ideal of American Freedom, or our sovereignty, has been diluted over recent decades as society celebrates, more and more, mediocrity. In our current condition, where "everyone gets a medal" mentality, we distance ourselves from "who we were" as a nation. This day means more now, than it did when it was established as a National Holiday, because we have now come so far; through so much. Shortly after we declared our independence we almost split, losing more lives throughout the civil war than we did when we kicked the "Red-coats" off of our shores. We could have lost our nation then, but we didn't. Miraculously we became more unified and industrialized and we expanded west. We developed into the largest super-power the world has ever known. We cannot forget who we were, what we have come through, and what our Freedom costs. It isn't free. Today, not everyone really gets a medal. Today, we remember that national-sized victories come at extreme costs. Today we are proud of "those who have gone before us to defend freedom and democracy around the world." We are proud of what a great nation, a great God-fearing nation, can do to make and keep their world a safer, better place. To the youth of this country who expect life to serve them, because everything is so (too) available for them, I challenge you to take pause today. Think about what it was like at Gettysburg, standing shoulder to shoulder with real men, marching into the hot lead and cannon-balls of the opposition. Or imagine the bow of your landing ship as it lowered its weight into the pounding surf, revealing the hell of Omaha beach. What did it cost to climb the hill of Iwo Jima and raise our Colors? Listen to the word's of our Nation's Anthem: "And where is that band who so vauntingly swore That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion, A home and a country, should leave us no more?" Our National Anthem was inspired, in part, by Francis Scott Key's poem "When the Warrior Returns." I refuse to celebrate mediocrity. I refuse to forget what it cost to build this great nation. I encourage patriotism to pound the veins and pump proudly through the hearts of the American people, and I have a hope that our nation doesn't lose the ideals of freedom at a cost. That, as the BBQs and Fireworks are lit today, the embers of Freedom are re-ignited in a renewed, and refreshed way. Echoing Francis Scott Key, I am excited for when the true warrior heart of this nation returns.

The Threshing Floor

Who was Araunah the Jebusite, and how do we relate to him? God’s apparent deliberate randomness at work. Looking at Evangelism through God’s eyes. Be patient with the reading...it will all come together at the end.

Reading:

1. 2 Samuel 24:18 
2. John 2:13-21
3. Psalm 69:9 
4. Matthew 26:61
5. Mark 14:58
6. Matthew 27:39-43 
7. 2 Chronicles 3:1-4
8. 2 Chronicles 5:1
9. 2 Chronicles 5:11-14 
10. 2 Samuel 24:15-17
11. 1 Chronicles 21:14-17 
12. 1 Chronicles 21:18

What is a Threshing floor? 

A threshing floor is a specially flattened surface, usually circular and paved, where a farmer would thresh the grain harvest and then winnow it, before the advent of threshing machines from the nineteenth century onwards. The threshing floor was either owned by the entire village or by a single family. It was usually located outside the village in a place exposed to the wind.

Threshing floors are usually located near a farm or farmhouse, or in places easily accessible from growing areas. They are usually paved with material that may be of various kinds, for example round stone cobbles about the size of a fist; slate; tile; or sometimes the underlying bedrock itself is exposed. Unpaved earthen threshing floors are also sometimes found. The floors usually have a slight slope, to avoid water standing on them after rain; and the paving may be divided by rays traced from a central focus to facilitate the pavement.

To overcome possible unevenness, and isolate them from water running off after rain so helping to preserve them, threshing floors are often surrounded by a stout low wall. The construction was often in a high place, to take advantage of soft and steady winds to facilitate the work of winnowing, separating the grain from the chaff, once the threshing had been completed.

Sheaves of grain would be opened up and the stalks spread across the threshing floor. Pairs of donkeys or oxen (or sometimes cattle, or horses) would then be walked round and round, often dragging a heavy threshing board behind them, to tear the ears of grain from the stalks, and loosen the grain itself from the husks.

After this threshing process, the broken stalks and grain were collected and then thrown up into the air with a wooden fork-like tool called a winnowing fan. The chaff would be blown away by the wind; the short torn straw would fall some distance away; while the heavier grain would fall at the winnower's feet. The grain could then be further cleansed by sieving.

(Wikipedia, 2012)

As you read on consider how the threshing floor is where the proverbial rubber meets the road in the business of selling grain. Our hearts are the threshing floors of our bodies. In the life of the believer, the temple has been built on the threshing floor of your heart; the land purchased fully and completely by Jesus Christ. Enjoy these last verses as this truth permeates your heart.

Reading (continued)

1. 1 Chronicles 21:20-24
2. Hebrews 9:1-10
3. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 
4. Matthew 27:51-52
5. Mark 15:37-39
6. Luke 23:44-46 
7. Hebrews 6:19-20
8. Hebrews 9:11-28

 We have a lot more in common with Araunah the Jebusite than we ever knew before. A seemingly random person who happened to own some real estate which was so very important to God....

All joking about the end and last meal requests aside... by Joseph Crain

All joking and last meal requests aside, I feel compelled to offer some quick reasons why “May 21st, 2011” isn’t the end of the world. There will be a lot of “why” questions today; “why did the end not come,” “why did Jesus not come back,” “why are we all still here.” I hope to help you with some of your questions as the day unfolds.

It all was, is, and will be about Jesus. Our creation, life, and rapture/salvation is all tied to Him. Many theologians describe the Bible like this, “The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament Revealed.” The Old Testament discusses our creation, demise, and prophecy of a future King who will redeem. The New Testament heralds in the Savior King who is named Jesus, Emmanuel (God with us), Prince of Peace, or Yeshua which is the original Hebrew name for Jesus of Nazereth. They are tied together to tell the great love story of a Creator and His creation.

I don’t think this recent would-be prophesier or those who believe the predictions that his radio station are declaring truly know God…or know Jesus. I have this feeling because salvation comes through the Savior. Not through scare tactics, or timelines. Salvation comes through a heartknowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; that He was whipped, beaten, nailed to and died on a cross, was buried and rose again on the third day. Anyone who has actually read the Bible knows that. And the Savior never told us when He was coming back. In fact He specifically said the opposite! He said you do not know the day or hour He is coming back and, moreover, that He will come when we least expect Him (Matthew 24:42-44). In 1 Thessalonians Jesus’ return is described like a thief who comes in the night. We never know exactly when we would be robbed…if we did, we would never be robbed.

Any one who understands math can take an end number or date and then find a formula that can be added, subtracted, multiplied and then divided to get that exact number. Only one place in the Bible distinctly discusses a timeline as to the end of days and that is in Daniel chapter 9. Go there and check it out. Seventy “7s” and 62 “7s”…what? Exactly. What is the concept of “time” to God anyway? Think about it. In 2 Peter, we see the concept of time described like this, “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” (2 Peter 3:8).

In verse 9 of 2 Peter chapter 3 is where I will draw this to a close this morning. Read and know that He is not slow to return, but patient, “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” So, get to know God. Get to know Jesus. Your Bible should be more than just an ornament to your bookshelf…knock the dust off of it and crack it open and get to know the Word; Yeshua. Learn that salvation is through Jesus and hold onto this salvation. “I have this hope as an anchor” to my life and I share this hope with you on this questionable day (Hebrews 6:19). So that when the next predictor comes, you will not question your salvation or worry about what might happen.

A Baptism in the desert, written by Joseph

I have a man named Kevin in my Bible Study class who is from Kenya and he has been here since I have been here. Chris has only been here about a month and automatically began congregating with the other contracted workers from Kenya. We have about 8 from Kenya and about 25 from India. Chris had learned from Kevin that I was an ordained minister from his country and one day a little over a week ago asked if he could come and talk to me about something. I agreed and he came to my tent one evening where the Battalion Aid Station is. He had something private that he wanted to talk to me about…”I have been reading Acts chapters 8 and 9”…he went on to tell me about how the account of Philip and the Ethiopian and then Saul’s conversion had really spoken to him. He felt such an immediacy to be baptized that he wanted to know if I would baptize him out here. No problem…some sandbags and some tarp on a wooden pallet and Chris was baptized this last Sunday in the Helmand Province, Afghanistan!

Explaining the story of Chris

"Do you believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God?"

"Have you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?"

"Based on your profession of Faith it is my pleasure to baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!"

Tremendous elation is expressed!

Chris is very thankful for this opportunity and explains to everyone how thankful he is.

A word from Joseph: The Mystery Made Known

Joseph would like to share a word with friends and family. (All verses are out of the NIV translation.).

The Mystery made Known 

John 1:1 

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” 

   John is describing Jesus here and God wanted him to begin his description of Jesus in this way. The three other gospels begin by describing Jesus’ physical birth and life. The gospel of John focuses on Jesus in His eternality; meaning he describes Jesus in the most intimate way. To be known physically is only to be known temporarily, but to be known intimately is to be known spiritually; eternally. If this is a description of Jesus, how can He be the “word”; something we read? A “word” is usually a term that defines written communication or a message. John translates Jesus here in a way that doesn’t register to many when they read this verse; something is lost in translation. This lost translation is important and is described in more detail later. For those who do understand it, this verse is probably the most climactic verse in the entire Bible! Some verses later John describes Jesus physical birth spiritually in this way. 

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”

John 1:14 

   The whole Bible concentrates God’s desire with us: eternal relationship and this is entirely revealed, made possible, and sealed (past, present, future) in the person of Jesus Christ. It has been said “The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed; the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.” All this statement means is that Jesus is concealed in the Old Testament and He is revealed in the New Testament. That’s right; the entire Bible is for us to get to know Jesus better. It’s all about Him…and us. Us too? Yes. In the words that follow it is my prayer that special revelation pours out all over you like a refreshing waterfall and that you come to know our savior Jesus Christ in a new, exciting and powerful way; seeing the world and our lives in a whole new way. You mean so much to God and He wants you to know how you fit into the wonderful woven mosaic of life as he intertwines your life with others in the great fabric of life. This is the secret of life; the mystery of life. 

   This one verse (John 1:1) is the doorway into the “mystery” that Paul writes about throughout most of the New Testament. Here are some examples to set the stage and give some perspective. 

“Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him.”

Romans 16:25-26 

“I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness- the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory".

Colossians 1:25-27 

“My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Colossians 2:2

In Christ all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden. 

     There are many more verses which connect Jesus to the mystery of the gospel. Jesus is the great mystery of life; the walking Word. Let’s take this a step further; if Jesus is the translated word and doesn’t lie, because God doesn’t lie, than He is more than just the walking word, he is the walking Truth. Jesus answered to a questioning Thomas:

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you would know my father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 

John 14:6.

How many times have we heard or read this verse? Even as you began to read it you may have begun to recite it. But pause for a moment and let the realities of this verse permeate into your heart. Jesus came to bring us into the freedom of the truth. What truth? If there is truth, than there has to be a lie.

   This is where you are about to travel down the proverbial rabbit hole like Alice in Wonderland; or the scene in the Matrix when Morpheus offers Neo the blue pill. Satan doesn’t want you to live in freedom. He doesn’t want the truth to set you free. I will pause a moment and come against the enemy right now in the Name of Jesus. That all truth will come alive in your heart. That your heart will become fertile soil. That any scheme of the enemy over your life would be routed and destroyed. That the fullness of His glory would be revealed in rapid fire succession over your life as you read ahead. That the Holy Spirit would fan into flame the truths of Jesus and He would be revealed to you in the most intimate way. Jesus, I pray that whoever reads this becomes the answer to your prayer. That they would become the reality of John 17; that they would be one with You as You and the Father are one. Amen.

   You see, Satan wants you to continue to live the great lie. The great lie is this: you were born, you grow up, you go to school, maybe college, buy a house, have relationships, live tormented by bills, death, frustration, hate, bitterness, lost hopes, lost loves and then die alone. Have you ever heard that “misery loves company?” Well, Satan is no exemption. He is promised eternal punishment. He knows that everyone is going to live forever, many people don’t. Many people think that when you kick the bucket that it is over; so live, party, fully divulge in all that this life offers because this is it. Well I am here to tell you that this is not it! Far from it! So back to the concept of eternity; since we are going to live forever, where would you like to be? In heaven for eternity in the presence of the King of Kings or in Hell forever with the Liar of Lies? I know, it is a rhetorical question.

   Satan has lied to you, he called you lost; he called you loser, broken, fat, ugly, poor, weak, stupid, unhappy, and alone, you can add more to the list. I know you can, because you have heard him call you many of these things and maybe, even more. I know, because I have heard him call me many of these things. Then I read:

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes, not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

I don’t care how bad of a situation you think you are in. Jesus can turn it around. I don’t care how far down you feel you have fallen, Jesus can pick you up. Your light and momentary troubles are a lie of the enemy. Satan loves getting people selfishly lost in all of their own troubles; in a spiraling mess, a “train wreck.” He is the great author of any train wreck story ever told. But thank God that the story doesn’t have to end there, because remember, where there is a lie, there is truth.

The truth is that you are actually a winner, healed, beautiful- even sexy, rich, strong, intelligent, happy, overjoyed, and never alone. Check this out. I warn you now, there is no turning back. Get this: 

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.”

Galatians 5:1

“You, my brothers, were called to be free.”

Galatians 5:13

Jesus tells us,

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 8:32 

   We have already heard that Jesus is the Truth. Let these verses sink in; we were called to be free, and when we know the truth (Jesus, The Word) we will be free. Jesus squashes all of the lies of the enemy, just like the flick of the light switch, when light wipes out darkness. All of the “reality” Satan has shrouded you with; your devastated life, it is all a lie. It is fake; a mere backdrop. All the problems we face in the flesh are props; implements, or tools of the evil one. Everyone who thinks that this is too good to be true or just way too easy, look at Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus said:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 

Matthew 11:28-30

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
John 8:36

Not free maybe, or free partially, but free indeed! Let whatever defeat in your life be destroyed by the blood of Jesus Christ; in His freedom. 

   Remember when I mentioned that some have lost the translation of John 1:1? This is where I drop the bomb. Jesus has always been. What? You might be scratching your head…what about Christmas? That is when God wrote Jesus down. He picked up the pen, sent the Holy Spirit to the young virgin Marry, and began to write. He wrote of people lost and then found, He wrote of pain and then healing, He wrote of blindness and the restoration of sight, He wrote the greatest love story ever told to mankind. He wrote passionately for 33 years. Then His pen lifted from the paper; Jesus ascended into heaven. All through the Old Testament we see God trying to show people how to love and to live in relationship with Him. They didn’t get it, many didn’t understand, so He sent His son to show us the way. And, just before he ascended into heaven He said, “Ok, you have seen me do it. Now you go out and do it.” (Matthew 28:18-20 paraphrased). Still many, even Jesus disciples, missed the boat and still didn’t understand what was going on. What God wrote, His Truth, was written in a supernatural language. Have you ever seen the Arabic language? Or Chinese? Both are beautifully written languages, but I can admire them all day and could never tell you what they say! If you don’t know the language, you won’t understand the message. This is where many miss the translation. If one needs to understand a foreign language that they don’t know, they need a translator.

Before I go any further, go to 1 Corinthians chapter 2. Read the whole chapter (only 16 verses). You see, men’s wisdom is the lie of this world, and is only what he can see. But remember we need to fix our eyes on the unseen, the spiritual. Now look at verse seven:

“No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.”

1 Corinthians 2:7

Stop here for a moment and look back up at the verses used to reveal the mystery of the gospel (Romans 16, Colossians 1 and 2). Did you catch the correlation? You can take mystery and wisdom and interchange them in these verses. This is very important and will be discussed in detail very soon. But first, what, or better who, is this secret wisdom? We will only find out when the mystery is translated to us. Paul quotes Isaiah 64:4 right in the middle of this chapter (Old Testament truths revealed to him by the Holy Spirit). Look at what is translated! “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” Try as we may, we cannot even conceive with our own minds what God has prepared for those who love him. We would be lost here, but there is a “but.” See verse 10, “but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.” This is really brought home in verses 13 and 14. In verse 13, “This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.” In verse 14 he finishes this thought by explaining that those who fix their eyes on what is seen only will not understand, because the person without the Spirit will not understand the things of God because the things of God are “spiritually discerned.” That is why non-believers cannot understand why Christians are the way we are. That is why they call those who believe in something that can’t be touched or scientifically proven fools. No surprise to us, it is an eternal truth that those who do not know God will call those who believe in Him foolish. 

So spiritual language needs a spiritual translator. Who is the Holy Spirit? Quickly, the Holy Spirit is our translator. A whole different study will need to be done on the person of the Holy Spirit; this will be done at a later time. The Holy Spirit is discussed here, just briefly, in order that we may be able to even understand the main topic of this discussion; Jesus. We need the spiritual truths of Jesus to be discerned to us because to know the King of Kings, Prince of Peace, Emanuel (God with us), we need the Holy Spirit to help us process the person of Jesus Christ. 

   Now we are getting somewhere; getting deeper. If your head hasn’t exploded yet, just wait for this next one. Jesus was there when God created the heavens and the earth. Not only that, but He was the one doing the work. Kind of ironic that God incarnated the great builder of the entire universe as a carpenter! Amazing, I know, but as we look deeper into whom Jesus is you begin to fulfill Jesus’ own desire, His own prayer. He wants us to know Him and to know the Father, so much that you will be “one” with God. You may be thinking that the author may have gone too far…don’t take my word for it. Turn to John 17:20-26. Look at what Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane the night He was betrayed, the night before He was whipped, beaten, spat upon, and crucified. First Jesus prays for Himself, then He prays for His disciples, and then, starting in verse 20 Jesus prayed for us! Meditate on this for a moment… “Father, just as you are in me and I am in you”… “May they also be in us”… “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me.”… “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.”… “and will continue to make known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” Did you catch that? God loved Jesus before the creation of the world. How? Because Jesus was there! So was the Holy Spirit. Go now to:

“Then God said, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

Genesis 1:26

God is plural, meaning He is more than one, but is one; a Trinity. The Trinity is composed of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They were all there together in the beginning and Jesus has been the Wisdom of God; the Truth of God. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

   A lot to process, I know. Let’s go back to 1 Corinthians to regain our focus. Read chapter 1, verses 18 through 31. Look at what is said at the end of verse 24… “Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” Christ is God’s wisdom. God used Jesus to create us and then He used Him to save us. 1st John 1:1, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched- this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.” Jesus, the Word of life, was there from the beginning. Revelation 1:8 Jesus said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”  

I hope this has helped you better know who Jesus is. The Word of life, Alpha and Omega, our Creator, our Salvation. This work is not inclusive and was not meant to be the destination, but only a part of your personal journey as you become one with God. Be an answer to Jesus’ prayer and seek to know Him more. God bless you mightily!