God's Character News

After You Believe

Admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 09:14:44 -0800

It is often implied that as Christians we are just "hanging out on this earth, waiting to get to heaven." The latest book by N.T. Wright, After You Believe, highlights the importance of living out the life of Christ on earth - here and now - and to "join the revolution." Listen to the description:

From the author of the acclaimed Simply Christian and Surprised by Hope comes a book that addresses the question that has plagued humans for centuries—what is our purpose? As Christians, what are we to do with that ambiguous time between baptism and the funeral? It's easy to become preoccupied with who gets into heaven; the real challenge is how we are going to live in the here and now.

Wright dispels the common misconception that Christian living is nothing more than a checklist of dos and don'ts. Nor is it a prescription to "follow your heart" wherever it may lead. Instead, After You Believe reveals the Bible's call for a revolution—a transformation of character that takes us beyond our earthly pursuit of money, sex, and power into a virtuous state of living that allows us to reflect God and live more worshipful, fulfilling lives.

We are all spiritual seekers, intuitively knowing there is more to life than we suspect. This is a book for anyone who is hoping there is something more while we're here on Earth. There is. We are being called to join the revolution, and Wright insightfully encourages readers to find new purpose and clarity by taking us on an eye-opening journey through key biblical passages that promise to radically alter the work of the church and the direction of our lives.

You can purchase the book here>>

Finally, Richard Rohr discusses in this brief clip the danger of seeing Jesus merely as a way to heaven as opposed to a means of transformation in the world we live in:

Brain, Heal Thyself!

Admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 11:04:33 -0800

For many years it was believed that the adult human brain was not capable of effective regeneration. In recent years, however, there has been more and more evidence that real physical and regenerative changes are possible.

The lead editorial for the February 2010 issue of Neurology is entitled "Brain, heal thyself!" and reveals the first convincing study of "endogenous neural progenitor cells" that effectively proliferated and regenerated into new healthy neurons after patients suffered a stroke.

The theological implication is just to say that we often suggest that forgiveness is the end-all goal. Rather, we should associate "salvation" with the real meaning of the word which is "unbroken," "whole," and "healing," just as a wound is healed by a "salve." We are meant to change and to experience healing.

So, when David pleaded with God, "Create in me a clean heart (mind), O God. Renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10) we know that God loves that kind of a prayer. The One who created our minds is entirely capable of healing the damage we have done to them through years of self-centered and destructive thoughts.

Dr. Scott Nelson in Haiti

brad — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:47:44 -0800

Dr. Scott Nelson is an orthopedic surgeon, a Loma Linda University School of Medicine graduate, and one of the first medical people on the ground after the earthquake given that he runs a speciality hospital in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Dr. Nelson has virtually been working around the clock as witnessed by the front page video. It is great good news that he is receiving additional support:

"Two additional teams from Loma Linda University have arrived in Haiti to continue support of Hopital Adventiste d�Haiti (HAH), a 70-bed facility built in 1978 that is serving as one of the clinical centers for the nation.

On Friday, January 22, Haiti sustained yet another earthquake that has resulted in structural damage to parts of the hospital. On the advice of geological experts, patients waiting for treatment and their families have been moved outside of the structure. A new inflatable outdoor O.R. tent has been established outside of the hospital, courtesy of GlobalMedic. This will help to accommodate the more than 400 people waiting for surgery.

In 2003, the hospital joined Adventist Health International, an nonprofit international organization based at Loma Linda University.

On Thursday, January 21, two orthopedic surgeons and a translator arrived in Haiti, bringing additional supplies and a much-needed sterilizer.

�Several members of the LLUSchool of Medicine class of 2010 prepared a shipment for the hospital that included several surgical saws and the sterilizer,� says Dustin Jones, associate director of public relations at LLU. �Their support for the hospital in Haiti and our teams there has been amazing.�

The School of Medicine class of 2010 spent this last weekend speaking to several community groups trying to raise funds for the hospital. Three years ago, the class adopted the hospital in Haiti and has been involved with it since then.

Additionally, a team was deployed from the School of Public Health�s Center for Public Health Preparedness. This team will be collaborating with the Adventist Development and Relief Agency and HAH with rapid public health assessments that will serve as the baseline for relief efforts from this point forward.

The team will also focus on the availability and quality of safe water, sanitation needs, food security, shelter, vector control (mosquitoes, etc.), and control/prevention of infectious disease transmission.

Loma Linda University is partnering with Park Ridge Hospital (Hendersonville, North Carolina) and Florida Hospital (Orlando, Florida) to help maximize response to the humanitarian crisis in Haiti. From this collaborative effort, a reliable system for scheduling and transporting medical teams, supplies, and equipment into Port-au-Prince is emerging. More than 30 pallets of supplies have already been transported to HAH.

The Global Health Institute at LLUcontinues to collect names of individuals who possess skills that would be best suited to assist at the hospital, as well as medical supplies.

A website at LLU was created to accept donations for Hopital Adventiste d�Haiti. Funds donated thus far have been used to purchase a sterilizer, a generator, orthopedic saws, medications, and other medical supplies.

Individuals who would like to donate to the relief effort of HAH are invited to visit the website at <www.llu.edu>; or to contact the LLU office of philanthropy at P.O. Box 2000, Loma Linda, CA 92354. The phone number is (909) 558-5010. Please make checks payable to: Loma Linda University�Haiti Earthquake."

Finding the Father

Admin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:25:01 -0800

Herb Montgomery has just released a new book on God's character entitled, "Finding the Father."

We have really appreciated the opportunity to listen to Herb preach at two of the Good News Tour conferences. His message about God's character is powerful and convicting. Here is a description of the new book:

"Finding the Father is a revolutionary new book like none other. As each page is traversed you will truly begin to experience the truth of our God's character of love, as it unfolds for you right before your heart. Within these pages Herb addresses topics ranging from the atonement, the "why" of human suffering, as well as misunderstandings regarding God's forgiveness and the final fate of the lost. Each subject is approached from a refreshingly practical perspective, making sense intellectually, but also moving you deeply at your heart level as well, making this volume truly like none before it. Discover a new God's love as you’ve rarely encountered it before. We feel deeply grateful to be able to offer this volume for your advancement in your own spiritual journey and know you will be genuinely blessed."

You can purchase the book here>>

No Longer Naked and Ashamed

Admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:47:06 -0800

We'd like to make you aware of the newly released and highly recommended book by Dr. Jean Sheldon, "No Longer Naked or Ashamed - Discovering that God is not an abuser." We appreciate these comments from our friend Cherie Clough:

"For everyone who has ever been abused, or abused someone else, this book not only explains the problem of sin, but delivers the cure. Jean Sheldon takes the reader through the process step by step, unpeeling the layers of deception that God's enemy has incorporated into some of Christianity's most treasured beliefs. With her educational knowledge of Near Eastern Religions and the Old Testament, Sheldon presents a process of healing that can only come from God.

This book is full biblical proof that God is love. It not only explains how God re-parents each of us, it gives hope and peace of mind for those who have been abused and controlled by others. The proofs of God's love that it offers are solid, substantial and straight from the Bible. It also discusses the Ten Commandments and explains how they are meant to be descriptive, rather than prescriptive, enabling us to build a relationship with God and in turn relationships with people. This book is quite intense
because every page offers the reader new insights into understanding how much God truly cares about us as individuals. It's the best book I've read in years!"

If you are turned off by traditional treatments of the plan of salvation and weary of theoretical theology, this book is for you! No Longer Naked and Ashamed discusses sin and salvation in fresh new concepts, without the usual traditional jargon. It contends that sin is abuse and stems from our misconception of God as an abuser.

The only way we can recover from it is to experience a drastic change in our thinking about God and His ways. This book delineates the process by which the fall of Lucifer took place as well as the fall of our first parents, showing how abuse became normalized in the early establishment of Mesopotamian civilization. It offers an explanation of the process by which we may recover by being re-parented through coming to know the true, non-abusive God revealed by Jesus.

To purchase Dr. Sheldon's book, click here >>

Haiti Relief

Admin — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:05:14 -0800

There is an important time and place for words, sermons and theological discussions. But, when you get right down to it, unless all the chatter leads to a change in the way we treat people, it really isn't worth a whole lot. These pictures are painful to look at, but it reveals how devastated and in need the people of Haiti are today.

James would say, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress (translate, "people in Haiti")...What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don't show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister (in Haiti) who has no food or clothing, and you say, 'Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well' - but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?" (James 1:31, 2:14-16)

This is a time for action and for all of us to do what we can. There are many worthy charities - here is just one recommendation. Three years ago, the Loma Linda University School of Medicine Class of 2010 "adopted" the Hospital Adventiste d'Haiti in Port-au-Prince. This is a 70-bed facility that was built in 1978 and is still functional after the earthquake. Scott Nelson, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon who graduated from Loma Linda University. Today he flew to Port-au-Prince. A number of other LLU graduates and volunteers will follow. Updates on this endeaver can be followed here and on-line donations can be made on the llu.edu web site to specifically support this mission. Or, checks can be mailed to:

Loma Linda Universy - Haiti Earthquake

Office of Philanthropy

24519 Redlands Boulevard, Suite A

Loma Linda, CA 92354

Update>>

Remember Jesus' words when He said that Satan is the "prince of this world." Sadly, people like Pat Robertson don't very often credit Satan for the dangerous world we live in.

The Lost Meaning of the Seventh Day

Admin — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 15:35:09 -0800

Hot off the press, Dr. Sigve Tonstad's latest book, "The Lost Meaning of the Seventh Day" provides a refreshing look at the Sabbath. Some might be surprised at the title. Does the Sabbath have a meaning? Isn't the Sabbath merely an arbitrary test of obedience to God's command? Dr. Tonstad opens up the spectacular message of the seventh day and beautifully relates it to the character of God. Here is just a glimpse:

"On the cross, the script of the Gospel retraces the steps of the Creation account. As the Sabbath draws near, Jesus's life is fast ebbing. At that point His voice rings out in a final announcement, 'It is finished!' (John 19:30). These words, a single word in Greek, signify completion, not the end in an absolute sense. It is significant to hear Jesus cry out, 'it is finished' at that specific point in time. The resurrection and Sunday morning will come, but Jesus will not wait to say 'it is finished' until then. He has reasons to say it at that point in time, on Friday night. The Sabbath that is about to begin is not a theological no-man's land.

"The Greek expression in John 19:30 is the word tetelastai, a word that must not be orphaned from the Creation parentage. In the Genesis account, when 'the heavens and the earth were finished,' the Greek translation of the Old Testament chose the same term, sunetelesthesan (Gen 2:1, 2:2). If we keep the ear close to the ground, listening to the distant Old Testament echo, the connection cannot be missed. John is appropriating the language of the Creation account, specifically the language heralding the inauguration of the first Sabbath. As Creation culminates in the Sabbath rest, the work of making right what is wrong comes to completion (John 19:31-34). The relationship between the Revealer and the revelatory intent of the Sabbath is here at its zenith. In John's story, where attention to detail is everything, the timing cannot be more precise, the scene more poignant, or the message more persuasive.

"'Finished.' This is the key word, deserving to stand alone because it is a word that brings together all the parts of the story. 'What God had begun by the Word in the days of Creation, God finished by the Word in the days of Redemption,' says Ethelbert Stauffer.

"God has kept the committment embodied in the seventh day. From henceforth the meaning of the Sabbath must be viewed through the lens provided by the life and death of Jesus the Revealer."

This book received high praise from Richard B. Hays:

"Sigve Tonstad's wide-ranging study of biblical teaching about the Sabbath offers fresh, provocative readings of texts from across the entirety of the canon, while constantly engaging the best recent scholarship. The result is a luminous, deeply encouraging book that beckons readers to understand the seventh day as a celebration of God's gracious work of creation and God's faithful intent to restore and heal all that is broken." --Richard B. Hays, George Washington Ivey Professor of New Testament, The Divinity School, Duke University

You can purchase the book here >>

Spiritual Care Workshop

brad — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 05:40:41 -0800

The Loma Linda University Center for Spiritual Life & Wholeness is sponsoring a two day workshop for health care professionals, January 22 and 23, 2010. This will be an outstanding conference that will suggest practical ways to provide relevant, meaningful and supportive spiritual care for patients. This conference will highlight "narrative theory" as an effective approach:

"Narrative theory focuses on how a person recognizes meaning in his or her life and provides ways for people to make sense of themselves through stories. These stories often run in the individual's own mind as they identify what is important in the process of thinking about his or her life situation. If spiritual care is to be of benefit it must engage at some point with that ongoing inner dialogue or narrative."

Jesus understood the life stories of the people he taught and he met them where they were with common everyday stories about such things as a farmer planting seed, a woman cleaning a house, laborers in a vineyard, and yeast working its way through dough. Likewise, we should also seek to understand the storyline in others and to reach people by tapping into that story.

You can register and find out more about the conference here>>

Relieving Poverty 2010

dorothee — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 08:40:21 -0800

Many people make New Year's resolutions to lose weight, exercise, or stop smoking. While these are all fine resolutions, we'd like to turn your attention to a most noble cause for 2010: the fight against poverty .

Yesterday, we learned about Frank, a 7 year old disabled boy without legs and hands. He's one of the over 50 orphans from the Kissi highlands of Kenya who resides at Maranatha Family Centre (MFC), a society which is registered with the Kenyan government and authorized to care for orphans. Frank is currently in need of a specialized hygienic toilet which costs about $400.

For $40 a month, anyone can sponsor an orphan at MFC. This monthly pledge provides food, clothing, shelter, education, necessary medical treatment and spiritual training for one child. Tuition for the nearby Adventist primary school costs $286USD per term (the school year starts in January and is divided into three terms). Education is the best gift one can give to a child in a country like Kenya where only the educated can get employment. Some of the orphans are being sponsored, like Grace in the picture below, but most of them are not. And even more orphans are on the waiting list to join MFC.

David and Gillian Moses are two of the kind Seventh-day Adventist volunteers who currently care for over 50 orphans at MFC and we can provide you with their e-mail address if you're interested. MFC is in part sponsored by Theme of the Bible, a ministry dedicated to the proclamation of God's character.

While there are many worthy organizations out there, we have had a very positive experience with MFC.

For more information, visit here>>

Information for donations:

Bank name; National Bank of Kenya - Kisii Branch

Account name: Maranatha Family Centre.

Account Number: 0124234301200 Swift code: NBKEKENXXXX

Bank address: 2435 Kisii – 40200, Kenya.

What if?

Admin — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 19:28:27 -0800

Jarrod McKenna asked some pointed questions based on President Obama's recent speech. Can the teachings of Jesus, which command us to love and pray for our enemies really be followed? You can read the article at the highly recommended web site, JesusManifesto.com, or below:

"What if? What if Obama’s speech had not simply referenced Gandhi and King but [actually] followed them in following the way of Jesus? I have a number of friends like Nobel Prize nominee John Dear and Ken Butigan who has articulately raised concerns about Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr’s teachings and example being admired while simultaneously sidelined as impractical in Obama’s Nobel speech. As Obama stated, “But as a head of State… I cannot be guided by [Gandhi and King’s] examples alone.”

Which raises an interesting question for me, “Can we as Christians be guided by Christ’s example alone?” Is Jesus’ example enough? Is Jesus’ Way realistic? For both Gandhi and King it was central to their program but is Jesus' example alone enough for a President? Or does our hope, our example, our salvation, lay elsewhere?

My concern is not just for Obama as someone who shares these philosophical influences of Gandhi and King with me, but for Obama as a brother who in the Nobel speech sidelined the teachings and example of Jesus as Lord. While this is not any different from any other world leader, it might be worth pointing what many might have missed; Obama in this respect has not been any different to any other world leader. Cornel West and Travis Smiley continue to remind us of Obama’s need for us to hold him accountable. Desmond Tutu said this week about Obama, “You are now a Nobel laureate—become what you are.”

This got me thinking “what if”. What if instead of Reinhold Niebuhr being Obama’s favorite theologian it was Martin King, Dorothy Day or John Yoder? What if Obama like Gandhi and King looked to Jesus’ example not as an ideal but a practical program for transformation? What if Obama had made a study of the few places nonviolence was tried against Hitler (like in Denmark) and did successfully halted Hitler’s armies and save the lives of 7 thousand Jews? What if Obama instead of merely quoting the Balkans made a real study of the nonviolent movement “Otpor!” that brought down Slobodan Milosevic? What if Obama took real action at COP 15 and led the world in a binding treaty that was just for the Global South? What if Obama fought terrorism by taking the billions in his war budget (which exceeds that of George W. Bush), and invested it in grassroots community development, health care and education in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq (and at home?). What if Obama saw what Martin Luther King Jr. called “the love ethic of Jesus” as the pragmatic and realistic way forward? What if as a head of State could risk being guided by Christ’s example embodied by Gandhi and King?

What if Obama had not taken a step back from the Black Churches (in which he had come to faith) because their impassioned prophetic rhetoric became a liability in cultures where we like God to bless our agendas, not challenge them? What if Martin Luther King Jr. had lived to preach his next sermon, which he had titled “Why America May Go to Hell”? Would Obama still have referred to him? It would be hard for any President to be part of King’s congregation that day, let alone respond “amen.” How much harder to not just claim King as a hero but Christ as Lord? Yet in our sinfulness we seem immensely skilled in sanitizing and sidelining examples that show us that Jesus’ Way of costly love and risky nonviolence is not just practical, it’s the narrow road that will lead out into life. There is a danger in quoting King and Gandhi as embodiments of abstract ideals to admire rather than fiercely pragmatic examples to follow. Instead of following them as they follow Christ we might just end up “believing in him” while playing chaplain to Empires the likes of which put him on the cross. Instead of living Martin King’s dream we might find ourselves collaborating with the nightmarish forces that assassinated him a year to the day he publically called for an end to the war in Vietnam.

Since Augustine drew on pagan philosophy to reconcile the irreconcilable, namely the Kingdoms of this world and their ‘way of the sword’ with the Kingdom of God and Jesus’ ‘way of the cross’, Just War Theory has replaced obedience to the commands of Christ with Christian ‘ideals’.

I know it’s not cool to mention the word “commands”. It’s about as cool as referring to Jesus as Lord instead of ‘my spiritual guide’ or something else equally insipid which allows the fundamentalists to high-jack biblical language. ‘Command’ doesn’t sound very 21st century. We like “ideals” or “principles” but commands seems so, well, authoritarian. You won’t find a book on commands in the self –help section. It sounds… militant. It sounds confrontational with other orders and other rulers. It sounds like something you wouldn’t hear in a talk from Ken Wilber. Contextualized it sounds like something you’d hear in the mouth of a grassroots radical like Fred Hampton, not in the mouth of a spiritual guru, a wisdom teacher, or a philosopher. ‘Command’ doesn’t sound very tolerant. Command sounds more like something which challenges and clashes with authorities that issue other commands be they political, religious or economic.

Yet at the heart of New Testament ethics is not a safe spiritual guru teaching us privatized enlightenment, nor merely a wisdom teacher offering us pithy points for contemplation, nor merely a mystic philosopher or theologian offering elaborate systems of thought or abstract ideals. At the heart of New Testament ethics is the teaching and example of the nonviolent Messiah Jesus who commands we put down our swords and pick up our cross in imitation of his militant nonviolent love. In the New Testament this is unavoidable in the grace of discipleship.

Obama is right in saying “For make no mistake: evil does exist in the world”. But it is dangerous and in no way faithful to the New Testament to talk of evil unless he also states evil is NOT located in our enemies but that any “axis of evil” runs through the heart of us all. (Romans 3:9). And that biblically the only way God and us can overcome evil is with good! (Rom. 12:21)

But none of this need concern us if Jesus is only a guru, or a philosopher, or wisdom teacher, or incidental means of atonement. But if Jesus is Lord, then Biblically the only way to overcome evil is the kind of costly Calvary-shaped ‘good’ that Christ embodied and Gandhi and King followed. If Jesus is Lord, then ‘loving your enemies’ is not an abstract ideal that you can work toward with bombs, rather a concrete practice and program for overcoming evil by imitating the transformative nonviolence of Christ, as Gandhi and King did. If Jesus is Lord, then the way of the cross, the way of militant nonviolent love even unto death, is our only “realpolitik” (despite the brilliant theology of Niebuhr) and may cost us our lives like it did Gandhi and King.

I almost want to joke if taking up the cross costs Obama his job, he, Michelle and the kids are welcome to move out of the White House and into our house and do their organic gardening in our community garden. But we are talking about life and death if Obama was to follow the example of his heroes (even if he doesn’t because of the intensity of racism from extremist groups he is still facing death threats). This is no laughing matter. If the nonviolent way of the cross becomes only a “north star that guides us on our journey” we will always cast off the commands of Christ as unrealistic when it might cost us our popularity, our careers or even our lives. We must pray for our brother Obama, we must provide him with accountability and we must refuse to cooperate and collaborate with any ‘realism’ that undermines what is most real for us as Christians, our Lord Christ Jesus and his nonviolent example.

This Christmas let’s pray that the way of Christ not be lost in rhetoric as an ideal but be found in practice in our communities as we live the grace God has shown to us. The nonviolent power and wisdom of God seen in the manger, in the life, in the teachings and ultimately in the cross and resurrection is not merely our “highest aspiration”, it’s our salvation."