I was reading from Dietrich Bonhoeffer last night and was struck by something he said. Basically he said that Christians should not be surprised by injustice directed towards Christians. Usually we react with anger and want to "show them." Instead, he suggests that we remember that we have the favor of God and that, while we were still God's enemies, He died for us. Perhaps more importantly, He also died for those who are mistreating us. How can we hold a grudge against or seek to "show" these who mistreat us? We were warned by Jesus to expect that the world would mistreat us - they did Him - and we have God's guarantee of eternity with Him. "Turning the other cheek" is a small price to pay for serving Him and helping others to see His love. Sounds good to me!

Pastor Ken

Give it a rest!

There is so much to do! How many times have we said that? And it is true. There is much to do in this world and in this life. Now, some people try to make us feel that much of what we are trying to do is unimportant. Perhaps that is true on occasion, but I am not so sure that overall it is true. Of course, much of what we do will not be remembered in eternity, but then, I am not even sure what I ate a week ago, let alone for my whole life, yet I am glad that I did! And it is no less important to have done so for having been forgotten. And yet.... It is also true that we need to rest from time to time - in fact, if God is to be trusted, then one day out of seven. Now, I confess that I have not been as good at doing this in the past several years as I had been for the thirty or so before that. Pastoring a church and pursuing a doctorate managed to take up almost all of my time. I suspect that better planning might have given me more "down time." All I can say is that, having lived with a regular, weekly day off and without, the former is much superior. I highly recommend it. If it means some important things don't get done - then they don't get done. I suspect that it is much like tithing - I do better with 90% of my money with God's blessing than 100% without. The same is true of my time - I do better six days a week than working seven, because that is how God made me. As the old commercial used to say, "try it, you'll like it!"

Pastor Ken

Just two days left

We are down to the last two days of Renewal and Revival services with Rev. Nick Farone. His simple messages of trust in God have been encouraging and well received. I have know Nick for over 20 years now and have watched him "up close and personal," and know that his walk matches his talk. His ministry to children on the streets of Bastrop, LA and in churches all over the US has made a difference in thousands of lives. If you are in the area, I encourage you to come on out tonight and tomorrow night for these last two services. In the meantime, back to normal blogging in a couple of days! God bless, everyone!

Pastor Ken

Happy Birthday Cameron!

Yesterday was my grandson's first birthday. Today we will have the party. And I have been reminded of the person who said, "If I had known that grandchildren were this much fun, I would have started with them instead of children!" Our little (well, actually he is big - the size of a two year old!) grandson is such a joy. And, we live just minutes away, so we can go over quickly whenever invited or needed (no, we don't go over whenever we want - one prefers to be wanted rather than tolerated!). It is a joy, and one that I would not trade for anything. So, happy birthday, Cameron!

Pastor Ken

No jobs

The December job figures were just released, and once again California lost jobs - 39,000 last month alone. The jobless rate remained at 12.4%, so that means that several tens of thousands of people must have just given up looking for work to make up for those newly unemployed. What are we going to do? Well, I'll leave the public policy suggestions and decisions to those with more knowledge in that are than me. But I do know this - our God can be trusted when we trust Him and do what He has told us to do. That doesn't necessarily mean that every Christian will have a job, even when others do not. God does not seem to work that way. I suspect that it is because if it could be statistically proven that Christians are employed at a greater rate than others, some would accuse us of favoritism and others might decide to follow the Lord just for the job. So how does this work? Well, it may be that some will have divine intervention on the job front. But most of us will just have to be our brother's (and sister's) keepers and look out for and help each other. That used to be how the church did it anyway. So maybe today we should all look for how we can help a brother or sister in the Lord who is in need. "By this shall all men know you are my disciples - if you love each other." - Jesus

Pastor Ken

Can't we all just get along?

Well the votes have been counted and Scott Brown has been elected as the new Senator from Massachusetts. What it will mean for healthcare and the rest of President Obama's agenda only time will tell. But what I take out of all of it is that we will probably never all agree on what needs to be done, let alone how to do it. The tragedy of recent politics has been the demonization of opposition. Even on the most serious of so-called "social issues" like abortion most people agree on their desire for the best for people. They just disagree on what constitutes the best. After all, if you do not believe that unborn children are humans (a stand I frankly do not understand), then you would not want to see someone having to carry a child that is not yet human. It would be a choice. What I am saying is that we can continue to disagree - I, for one will not surrender on abortion unless someone can give me definitive proof that an unborn child is not a human being, something which will be quite difficult in light of scripture - but I do not have to assume the worst about the motivations of those who oppose me. The election of Scott Brown shows that people are seldom as monolithic as some politicians want to believe. Fortunately, in the US, the politicians have to keep going back to the voters. There is nothing like a jolt of reality to upset our applecarts!

Pastor Ken

The Basis of Trust

The death toll in Haiti just keeps rising. It now stands at over 200,000. And it will undoubtedly go much higher. Why? Why did God allow all this. A few days ago I wrote that most of the tragedy is human-made. And I stand by that. But that doesn't mean that I don't understand those who, if they don't blame God, at least question just what He is doing. So how do I handle it? It sounds simple, but I trust. But it isn't a blind trust. It is a trust based on the firm foundation of what God has done. I know that I have said this before, but it all begins with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That it occurred I am sure. I have talked before of what that means about everything else that Jesus said. But, from the other perspective, it also means that God's love for me, and indeed for all humanity, is unbounded. And so I trust. I trust that when I don't understand, that the God who created all this and died for me will do, and indeed has done, what is right. And one more thing - He has told me that I am my brother's keeper, and so I will do all I can to help. I will help Haiti and as many others as I can. I need to be reminded of all this from time to time.

Pastor Ken

I Have a Dream

When I was in High School Speech and Debate, my category in Speech was Oratorical Interpretation. Basically that meant that we chose a speech from history and then delivered it in a way that would elicit a response in our own time. Now, I chose an unknown speech from an unknown senator in the 1890s, and did pretty well with it. But by far the most popular speech to deliver - usually two or more in a round of eight to ten speakers - was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's "I Have a Dream." Now, there were some speeches that I got tired of hearing after just the first delivery. But not "I Have a Dream." It was by far the best expression of the American Dream I have ever heard. I know that Dr. King was a flawed man. And I know that many used those flaws in an attempt to marginalize him. But on this day I want to celebrate one of the greatest Americans of the 20th century. Dr. King was taken from us much too early. But I shudder to think what would have happened to our country without his influence. And yes, I do expect to meet him in the Kingdom of God.

Pastor Ken

The Best Answer

This morning I was reading the review of the new movie "The Book of Eli," starring Denzel Washington. Most of the review was pretty straightforward, but one statement really stood out to me. The reviewer asked if anyone really wants Christianity to survive the apocalypse. Now, leaving aside the fact that this reviewer would never have asked that about Islam or any other religion, the rhetorical question itself reveals the kind of disdain with which Christianity is held in many circles today. Now I know that many who read this blog (both of you!) are as tired as I am about Christianity being treated this way by many of the so called "cultural elite." But what do we do about it? Frankly, I think we ignore it. We don't comment on it. Instead, we ask God to help us to live lives that will convict those who continue to reject God's free offer of salvation in Jesus Christ. To the extent that this disdain is brought on by actions and attitudes on our part that are unworthy of our God and Savior, we must repent and live differently. To the extent that they represent the inevitable opposition God's plan will always raise, we just keep going on and leave it all in God's hands. But we don't strike back. We don't picket or sue or do any of the other things that might "show them" that "they can't treat us this way." Why? Don't we have our rights? Well, frankly, no, we don't. Jesus warned us that we would be opposed in this world. In the Bible we are told to make sure that we are not suffering for our own wrongdoing, and if we are not, then to suffer such treatment in silence, even turning "the other cheek" if necessary. Besides, when I talk to the pastors of our Armenian and Assyrian congregations, I am humbled by the persecution they suffered and yet continued to serve both God and their fellow people - even those who persecuted them. Let's live lives of such godliness that those who oppose us are ashamed for having done so.

Pastor Ken

A Man Made Disaster

The earthquake that hit Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere is a growing tragedy. Current reports estimate at least 100,000 dead, possibly more. This is a tragedy of the first order. And perhaps the worst part of all is that most of the tragedy is of human making. In this morning's LA Times an article said that the tragedy was the result of a three things: tectonics, population and poor building standards. How do these three things add up to a man made tragedy? Well, first, let's understand that plate tectonics, while a cause of the earthquake, are not really a cause of the tragedy. Modern science tells us that it is the dynamic nature of our planet, as reflected by tectonics, that makes it a place suitable for life. The fact is that earthquakes are as old as humanity (older actually, but what came before didn't affect us). Earthquakes are known happenings. And, in today's world, we know how to minimize death and destruction from earthquakes. What has made the situation in Haiti so tragic is that there are so many people crammed into such a small place that is filled with buildings not built to standards designed to protect people in an earthquake. And this is directly traceable to the graft and corruption that constitute the nature of Haitian politics and culture. It is the heart of man which is desperately wicked, not the heart of the earth. I cry for and with the people of Haiti. Something must be done both today and tomorrow to alleviate their suffering and prevent such a tragedy from happening again. What can be done? Well, today, we need to give to organizations that are providing immediate assistance to those affected. To that end I recommend an organization which will get 100% of what you give to those in need: Convoy of Hope. You can give online and immediately by going to their website: http://www.convoyofhope.org/ . As for tomorrow, it is only by changing the hearts of people that a better society can be built. That is why we support the work of missionaries in Haiti and around the world who are bringing the good news of God's love in Jesus Christ to every nation - including Haiti. So give to Convoy of Hope. And give to support missionaries. Together we can prevent such a great tragedy from happening again.

Pastor Ken

Nick is back!

I am excited about services we have coming up beginning on January 24 and going through Tuesday night the 26th with Nick Farone. Nick is a former actor who quit at the height of his career when God called him into the ministry. Since then he has been evangelizing and has founded a ministry to street kids in Bastrop, Louisiana, a town that cares little for the kids who run the streets and receive little or not education, and sometimes little or no food. Nick has built a youth center and led many to the Lord as well as helping them to realize that God loves them and has more for them than just repeating the patterns they grew up with. Nick brings an inspiring message of faith in song and word. Those of you who know me know that I seldom bring outside speakers in. But Nick has a special message and a special ministry, and I cannot imagine missing even one of the services. I hope you won't either if you are in the area.

Pastor Ken

Pray for me!

This morning I received my copy of Rosetta Stone software for Persian (Farsi), levels 1,2&3. As I write this I am loading the software on my computer and will soon begin my first lesson. Since we have a department of the church that reaches out to Armenian-Iranians and one that reaches out to Assyrian-Iranians, and since I am lazy and only want to have to learn one language rather than two in order to be able to speak to them, as well as preach and teach in services, I have decided to learn Persian, which is common to both groups. On the one hand, I have learned six languages in my lifetime. On the other hand, I don't even fully remember all of them and I only read the others, except for English. So this promises to be interesting. Hence, the title of this blog - Pray for me!

Pastor Ken

Prayer request

I am in Phoenix this morning with a couple that has been trying for almost two years now to plant a church in this southeastern suburb of one of America's fastest growing cities. They are throwing in the towel. There are a lot of reasons why this plant did not work. But what I want to do today is to ask you to pray for all those across the nation that are trying to plant churches in their communities. It is one of the hardest jobs there is, kind of like trying to start a new business, but not having any access to funds, since no bank will loan for a church start-up. This couple has worked long, hard hours for literally no pay, and all in order to reach people who do not yet know the good news of God's love in Christ. So pray for those across our nation who are trying to do the same thing. God bless!

Pastor Ken

Keeping it clean

While I was looking at this screen just now I noticed that there were quite a few spots on the screen. They weren't large and they hardly showed up when I was looking at what was on the screen instead of the screen itself. But I had recently run across a post on a Mac billboard that said that a certain product was great at cleaning the MacBook White - a real need when you have a white computer. I bought the product and it works great. But cleaning my computer just now reminded me of the much more important task of cleaning up our lives. It occurred to me that there are quite a few parallels between my computer and my life. First, the computer is white - which is what the Lord said He has done to my life - made it whiter than snow. Consequently "dirt" - in this case sin - is going to show up pretty quickly. When I look past my life to what is happening in it, it is easy to ignore the dirt. But most important of all is that I need the right product to clean it. In this case, the Bible says that the blood of Christ is what it takes to make me clean. I apply the blood by asking for forgiveness, renewing my trust in Christ and asking for His Holy Spirit to take over my life. And you know what? When I do it is like my mother used to say when she made me clean up as a little child - "doesn't that feel better?" Yes, mother it did - and it does!

Pastor Ken

What is Salvation?

We have begun a new Bible Study series on Wednesday nights here at West Valley Christian Center on the four fundamentals of our movement - Salvation, The Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Healing and the Second Coming. Last night we took our first look at salvation. And one of the questions that arose was just constituted salvation. It is an interesting question, since most religions disagree on the answer. Perhaps the two which are furthest apart are the two which many people think are the closest - Christianity and Buddhism. The simple answer regarding the difference is that Christianity teaches that salvation is being saved from the effects of our past sins, the power of sin over our present lives and the deliverance from the eternal effects of sin by allowing us to spend eternity with God. Buddhism, on the other hand, seems to teach that salvation is the deliverance from existence itself, with the individual coming back through multiple lives to work off all the bad things they did in the past so that they can cease coming back and at the same time cease to exist. At the heart of this difference is a difference of opinion regarding the value of life itself. I am not qualified to make extensive comments on Buddhism, but it seems pretty clear that any religion which teaches that the ultimate goal is to cease existing must believe that life itself is more of a burden than a blessing. But Christianity teaches us that life is so valuable, especially human life, that God was willing to come and die for us so that we could have life with Him forever - life is the ultimate good! Now, just because I like one concept over the other doesn't mean it is the correct one. The truth of Christianity is best seen in the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ, thus proving the truth of all else he said as well. But I am glad to know that there is a personal God who gave me life and wants to have me with Him for all eternity, and who respects and treasures my individuality enough to allow me to keep that individuality throughout eternity. Add to that the fact that He paid the price for my salvation, and I can only sit in awe of what He has done and praise Him for it - forever!

Pastor Ken

Getting it all done

I have been in a hiatus for the past month from my ongoing Ph.D. work since I submitted my dissertation. And, I really thought that I would find myself with more time than I have been having for the past several years. Silly idea! With the start of the new year I have been deluged with new projects, and the total time required seems to have increased over what I previously had. You would think that approaching the age of 55 I would finally have learned how to prioritize and get the most important things done first. Alas, that is a talent that seems more elusive in practice than it is in theory. I suspect that this is also true of many other things in our lives as well. It is amazing how easy some things are in theory. I guess that is what life is - it is messy and chaotic and never as easy in fact as it is in theory. What do I do about it? I ask God for wisdom and trust that He knows what really needs to be done. I don't mean that I sit and pray for hours (or even minutes, or even at all) before each task. But I do pray for God's help and guidance everyday and I do trust Him to give me what I need. I would like to think that everything is being done exactly as He intends - but I would have to be perfect for that to happen. So, I just keep muddling along and trusting that God will take what I offer and use it for His glory and kingdom. And if that's not very satisfying sometimes - well, welcome to real life!

Pastor Ken

The Great Healthcare Debate

Oh no, am I about to enter into the great debate that started today on reconciling the healthcare bill in congress? And I going to say that the Bible either does or does not support some version of the likely bill? Well, no. Rather I want to ask a question. Do you think that healthcare should be a function of personal wealth? Should the quality of healthcare we receive be a function of how much money we have? If you think so, then I challenge you to either show how the Bible teaches that, or that the Bible is silent on our responsibility to each other when it comes to health. And if you don't think so, then I challenge you to show how the Bible speaks to your opinion. If you think that the Bible does teach us that healthcare is something everyone deserves regardless of financial situation, then you must decide what you think is the best way to accomplish that. If you think the Bible teaches that healthcare ought to be reserved for the wealthy, well . . . . And if you think the Bible is silent on the subject, then you should probably sit back and enjoy the political fireworks! What do I think? Well, what do you think I think?

Pastor Ken

A New Year's Resolution

I was listening to a local radio station the other day and they were playing different people's new year's resolutions. What I found most interesting was that every one of them was something like, "I hope this is a better year financially," or "I want peace in the world." Of course, neither of those is a resolution. They might be good wishes. I certainly would like to see a better year financially and peace around the world would be great. But to idly wish for something is not the same thing as deciding to do something. A new year's resolution is a decision to do something. That is why, when I go the gym this afternoon, it will have more people in it that it probably will any other day of the year - people have resolved to do something about their health. So what have I resolved to do this year? Well, I won't bore you with all the things I would like to do. But there is one that stands out. It sounds like something a pastor would say only in order to preach a message or guilt others into doing something. And I want neither of those. But of everything that I can think of that I want to do this year, far and away the greatest desire I have is to know God better. You see, it is so easy to just keep going along in life and only deal with things as they come along. So, of course I will spend time with my grandson and my wife and my children. I will try to pastor the church God has given me to the very best of my ability - which includes relying on God's help. But it is so easy to get busy with all that stuff and just not take time to get closer to God. I don't want to just do all that stuff this year. I want to get to know God better than I ever have. Fortunately, history is filled with great Christians who have had the same desire and have succeeded. They have left for us a record of their own journeys. And they always seem to include some of the same things. Usually it involves spending time away from all the hustle and bustle of the world and getting alone with God. It involves spending more time reading the Bible. And it involves spending more time with others who are also seeking to know God better. Does that sound like just so much of the same thing? Well, I guess it is. But then, when I drive to the office everyday, I take the same road that I have and that others have and still do. The reason we all take the same road is that it will actually get us where we want to go. I guess I could take a new way. But I am not sure what that way is, and I certainly would take a lot longer to get there. so I guess I will just stay on the old paths. I know where they lead.

Pastor Ken

A New Year

Well, it is here - 2010. It is a new year, and with it comes hope for a better year for many. 2009 was certainly a tough year for some, especially in the financial area. If you have had a tough year financially, my prayer for you is that God will richly bless you as you remain faithful to Him. As John put it, "may you prosper even as your soul prospers." Have a terrific 2010, everyone!

Pastor Ken