My Post Election Prayer

Posted November 10, 2008 by steveaholt
Categories: Mountain Springs Church
Tags: , , , , , ,

A hearty congratulations to President elect Barak Obama.  His victory in the 2008 Presidential election last night is unprecedented in many ways.  This is a historic moment in American and world history.  Our nation’s first African American President is history making.  It is further proof that Americans may be moving beyond the old racial prejudices that have divided our country since its inception.  The post election surveys seem to show, at least initially, that Sen. Obama was able to draw votes from all strata of society.  His campaign and victory transcended race and socio economic divides in many ways.  So, on this first day after the election, we pause to ponder this historic moment.

The Bible is clear that God is the One who raises up leaders.  In the book of Daniel we read these words,

And He changes the times and the seasons;

He removes kings and raises up kings;

He gives wisdom to the wise

And knowledge to those who have understanding.

(Dan 2:21)

God, in His sovereign plan has chosen to raise up Sen. Obama to be our next president.  Our heart and prayers must be lifted up on His behalf.  We must pray for his safety and the safety of his family.  We are to pray for his administration.  We must seek the Lord and stand in the gap for his leadership team to have wisdom from God.

It is our profound responsibility to pray for our leaders.  Paul in writing to his disciple and pastor, Timothy, exhorted us, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” (1 Timothy 2:1)  As a reminder, Paul wrote these words even as the Roman Empire was persecuting Christians.  We might take note the reason why we pray. We pray that the legislation of the “king” and “all who are in authority” would provide a society where we would have the freedom to “lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.”  That is my prayer for Sen. Obama and his administration.

These are crisis times. These are times of great challenge.  These are times of great concern.  Vice President-elect Biden warned us that the world will test this young new president within “the first six months of his presidency…Mark my word on this.”  We should “mark” Joe Biden’s word.  We should pray that Joe Biden’s words are not heeded by certain nations of the world, who are hell bent on our destruction.  These are indeed times for great prayer.

We must pray for the safety for our nation.  Our country and Israel could be in great peril very soon.  From Middle East experts that I am in contact with, the Iranians are thrilled to have Sen. Obama elected.  There is a sense that they can now proceed unhindered with their nuclear program.  Many in Jerusalem are very concerned for their safety.  With the growing rhetoric of the Iranian leadership to “wipe Israel off the map,” the possibility of a nuclear armed Iran is very unsettling.  Despite what Obama has said, let us pray that the Obama Administration will have the wisdom needed to maintain peace through a strong stance with Iran.

The 16 month pull out of troops out of Iraq, promised by Obama, is widely anticipated by Middle Eastern observers to be welcome news to the Taliban and radical Islam groups.  The struggling Iraqi government and security force is unsettled today.  There is cause for great concern as they begin to see the full pull out of American troops.  Despite his rhetoric in the campaign, let us pray that God will provide insightful leadership to President Obama as it relates to the Iraqi situation.

Let us pray for the peace of Jerusalem.  Joel Rosenberg, author of the bestseller on the Middle East, Epicenter, writes,

A senior political strategist in Israel emailed me last night with this thought: “The State of Israel is now facing the most unfriendly American administration ever….Israels will to live will be tested in ways that will not be pretty. Many of Obama’s foreign policy team and Middle East advisors see Israel as the obstacle to peace. And we cannot count on Jewish supporters of Obama to have any standing in setting policy in this administration.” A new poll released yesterday also caught my attention: 46% of Israelis would have voted for McCain, while only 34% would have voted for Obama. That tells us something about the concern from Eilat to Haifa and from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem about losing a great friend of Israel and the Jewish people in President Bush to someone who has not indicated convincing support for Israel in the past.

Despite what he has said in the past about Israel, siding most often with the Palestinians, let us pray that the Obama Middle East team would understand the plight of Israel and give the Jewish nation the continued freedom to defend and guard their nation against foreign intrusion.

I came in early this morning and sought the Lord in prayer in our sanctuary.  I cried out to God for His protection and loving care over our nation, the Church, and the world crisis we are facing.  God spoke loudly and clearly to me from Ps. 145:17-21,

Ps 145:17-21

17 The LORD is righteous in all His ways,

Gracious in all His works.

18 The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,

To all who call upon Him in truth.

19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;

He also will hear their cry and save them.

20 The LORD preserves all who love Him,

But all the wicked He will destroy.

21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD,

And all flesh shall bless His holy name

Forever and ever.

We have before us a new opportunity disguised as a challenge and the people of God must pray and seek the Lord in a deeper way.  Let us pray for our new leadership—pray for wisdom, discernment, and direction.  Let us pray for our new President elect to hear God’s voice and understand clearly the direction we as a nation should take. The promise in our passage is that the Lord “will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them.” (vs. 19)  I believe that this is a promise we should cling to. 

I am reminded of the letter from Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, to Thomas Jefferson, in 1790, “These are hard times in which a genius would wish to live.  Great necessities call forth great leaders.”  These are times of great necessities.  Remember, we are first Christians and then we are Americans.  We are first Americans and then we are Republicans or Democrats. Be assured, God hears our prayers.  Be assured that Jesus is as much on the Throne on November 5th as He was on November 3rd.  Let us pray.

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Gymnastics and the Kingdom of God Part 3

Posted October 10, 2008 by steveaholt
Categories: Mountain Springs Church
Tags: , , , ,

From the 9th grade until my senior year in high school, I lived, ate, drank, and dreamed gymnastics.  I was as crazy as my coach.  He was a fanatic about perfection in every routine that we worked so tirelessly to execute.  His disease for perfection and winning rubbed off on me.  Gymnastics was all that I thought about during the day and it was my last fleeting thought at night.  I imagined and dreamed gymnastics glory.  I could see in my mind the perfect catch and release on high bar, the flawless dismount off of rings, and the smoothly timed execution of a highly difficult trick in a floor exercise routine.  But such visions of perfection were not to remain just in my head.  They had to be worked out in my experience.  It took daily training.

Each day after class was a discipline of rigorous mental and physical training.  The constant pressures to improve were pressed into every movement and decision at practice.  The physical pain of breaking down the body to exert greater strength and flexibility was matched only by the mental anxiety of cerebral self control in learning a new “trick” (a gymnastics term used for the particular maneuver on an apparatus).  I came home at night with both my body aching and my mind exhausted from the day’s work out.

I can so vividly recall jumping up to grab the rings to perform yet another attempt at a difficult trick.  I had failed on every attempt.  I had fallen off the rings several times, coming close to major injury twice.  And as I jumped to grasp hold of the rings yet another time, I felt a warm tingling sensation on my arms—from my hands to my elbows, streams of blood were rolling down like rivers across my arms.  The blood flowed freely from the calluses in my hands that were  torn and ripped.  It was a vivid reminder of the price to be paid for gold.

Yet the end product was a flawless routine.  The pain paid off.  The blood wiped off, and the victories came.  The price was worth the admission to perfection. 

The roar of the crowd would dissipate.  But the sense of self accomplishment was a deep confidence and satisfaction that all the work, practice, and struggle had been worth it.  This goal being temperal; it prepared me to understand the uniqueness of seeking God for an eternal goal.

The Apostle Paul, in talking about his zeal for an eternal crown, said it this way,  “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.  And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.  Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air.  But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)  Paul is comparing the runner to the Christian.  His challenge to the Corinthians is that every runner, who really runs, runs for victory.  And every runner who cares about winning, must discipline his body with training in order to get the advantage.  And so it is for the follower of Christ.  We “fight” he says in order to win!

Fighting to win?  That’s what Paul says.  We must fight, we must run with a holy pursuit that brings our life into subjection to a higher good, a higher passion.  The Christ follower is a passionate fighter for the imperishable gold—the victory that is awarded by Christ at the culmination of a life well lived.

Like the runner who runs daily to prepare his legs and heart for the coming competition.  Like myself, with blood running down my arms, the Jesus disciple must learn to be “temperate in all things” and train in such a way that he or she may attain the glory of God.   

We are disciples!  Fighting disciples.  A disciple by his or her very character is a disciplined follower.  As disciples of Christ, we are passionate seekers and finders of the kingdom of God.  We have found the kingdom through giving our heart to Jesus.  Simultaneously, we are lifelong seekers of Jesus that never completely arrive in our full knowledge of His marvelous, unending, and ever exploding wisdom and love!  As we choose to seek God, discipline is involved.

As a gymnast I had to leave behind certain activities to obtain a higher goal.  I had to give up, quit, and not even look at certain things—foods, drugs, and drink—because I needed my body to be in the best condition possible.  It was the only route to the winners stand.  As a disciplined seeker of God, I have to temper my appetites, my activities, and my passions for the higher calling.  And it is a constant fight, yes a real fight.

Today, I’m in a hotel room taking a day to fast and pray and seek the Lord.  I do this every month; I steal myself away from work, family, and the constant busyness of my life.  I pull away and pray.  I get real quiet and listen.  I read God’s Word for hours.  I put the activity and “go” of my life on “pause”.  Yet, I push “play” in going after God!  But I can’t push “play” on one track, if I don’t push “pause” on another.  Discipline is like that.  To go for God, we have to say no to other stuff.  I am talking about “go” and “no.”  There are certain things in our lives that just can’t go unless we choose no.

Look at your life today.  What are those activities, choices, attitudes, and even relationships that are hindering your becoming a passionate disciple of Jesus and His kingdom?  Are their lower feelings blocking the higher passions?  Are there relationships hindering The relationship?  All of us who really want to know Christ must ask these question continually.  We all tend to drift off the mark.  We all tend to shift our focus and miss God’s deeper work in our hearts.

So, let me challenge you to “no” and “go.”  Say no to three things today that are hindering your zealous pursuit of God and His kingdom!  Don’t hesitate.  Don’t second guess.  Jump up on the rings of your life and train yourself for the higher joy, the deeper love, and the greater cause.  There is a gold awaiting you—yes, it is the gold that Jesus will present to you personally.  That’s a victory worth living for.  Say no and then go!

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Inklings on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Interview of Me

Posted September 9, 2008 by steveaholt
Categories: Mountain Springs Church
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Several weeks ago I was interviewed by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for a national TV special on the upcoming presidential election in America.  The program centered around the shifting trends among the religious right away from just voting a one party ticket, especially as it related to the upcoming presidential election.  I was specifically asked questions related to the religious faith of Barack Obama and John McCain and how this might impact the upcoming presidential election.  I answered as truthfully as I could at the time.  Though the interview took over three hours, only a few minutes were used for the broadcast. 

I have just viewed the telecast that aired a few days ago in Australia.  After reviewing the program, I felt it necessary to prepare a few of my inklings and thoughts to more fully share my position as it relates to faith and politics.

Though I still do not know about John McCain’s faith, which I clearly stated in the interview, be assured that I do know about his political convictions, which was not the question.  In 30 years of voting, I have never voted in an election based largely on a candidates personal faith in God.  I vote to elect a politician who holds my viewpoints on political issues.  Romans 13 is very clear that God raises up “ministers” (mentioned 3 times) in the civil/political realm as much as He raises up ministers in the spiritual realm.  In the Romans 13 passage, the Greek word, diakonos is used, which can be translated “minister.”  But what is interesting is that Paul never indicates that this civil minister has any need for personal faith in God, but rather that God has personally placed him in that position for God’s purposes.  Indeed when Paul was writing, Nero, one of the most deranged emperors of all time, was in power in Rome.  So personal faith in God is not nearly as important to me as whether the candidate will legislate, vote, and work for laws that uphold my convictions.  As Martin Luther, the father of the reformation, once said, “I would rather vote for a good pagan than a bad Christian.”

As a minister in the spiritual realm, I look for “ministers” in the political realm who will uphold, vote for, and legislate what I believe, in my understanding of the Bible and my worship of God, to be the most consistent with the Holy Scriptures. I believe that the stark difference between the candidates (Obama and McCain) on such issues as the right to life for the unborn and marriage, which are clearly spelled out in the Scriptures, makes the decision for president a very easy one.  The contrasts could not be more stark nor more clear.

So, the issue before every thoughtful follower of Christ in America is not what John McCain or Barak Obama personally believes about God, that is his personal faith question between him and God, but rather, how will John McCain or Barak Obama, lead our country through the laws and ordinances that his administration will promote.  The Bible is certainly not clear on many political issues, and thus each believer must seek the Lord and develop his or her own political convictions, but, and I do mean but—the Bible is very clear on some issues.  Namely that life begins at conception (Ps 139; Jeremiah 1, etc.) and that marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman (Genesis 2:24 and Ephesians 5:22-33, etc.).  The two candidates stand as polar opposites on legislation on just these two issues alone.  So, as an addendum to the ABC program, let me be very clear that though I don’t consider the personal faith of a candidate as primary  in my decision of how to vote, my personal faith in what the Bible teaches does play a vital part in how I would vote for a candidate.

I hope this is helpful in relation to those who have seen the program and have further questions related to my personal convictions as they relate to religion and politics in our upcoming election. 

Pastor Steve Holt

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Gymnastics and the Kingdom of God - Part 2

Posted September 8, 2008 by steveaholt
Categories: Mountain Springs Church
Tags: , , , , , ,

Rick Boyer was my high school coach and a fanatic about gymnastics.  His story was intriguing and unusual.  He had attended the University of Georgia as a Spanish major but, as a freshman in college, had seen a gymnastics meet and become fascinated with the sport. And so, at 18 years of age, as a freshman in college, he started working out in gymnastics.  The amazing thing is not only did he start doing gymnastics in college, he actually trained so hard and so diligently that he became quite an accomplished ring man.  And by his senior year he was nationally ranked.  He finished his senior year 25th in the nation on rings.  Now that’s incredible!

After graduating from college, Rick Boyer came to Clarkston High School as a Spanish teacher and the new gymnastics coach.  It was my sophomore year and when the announcement went out, I decided to show up for the initial interest meeting.  So, here we were, a bunch of punk suburban kids who didn’t know the first thing about gymnastics, seated before this short muscular Hispanic looking guy (he wasn’t Hispanic, but he looked like he was).  With no real introduction or niceties, Coach Boyer cut to the chase.  “I am here to build a state champion gymnastics team.  If you come out for this team you will work out 6 days a week, yes I said 6 days a week—on Saturday’s too.  You will train 9 months out of the year.  If you are involved with another sport, quit.  If you desire to be on the honor roll, don’t come out for the team.  If you have a girl friend, break up.  If you party and smoke dope, don’t come out!  I’ll see you tomorrow at 3:30.  If you are one minute late, you will run around the school ten times.  See ya tomorrow!”  End of discussion. What discussion?  Well, this little introductory speech did not win many friends or influence many people.  If I recall, at the meeting about 60 students had showed up.  The next day, at the first practice, ten of us came out.  And thus began the embryonic team that Coach Boyer would build into one of the best gymnastics programs that the state of Georgia has ever seen.

Coach Boyer was calling us to a commitment.  Coach Boyer was challenging us to give up everything we had known for something hidden, something unknown.  He was actually asking us to follow him, even though we barely knew him, for a prize that we weren’t even sure was worth possessing. 

In a way, Jesus did the very same thing.  As he walked along the Sea of Galilee, he ran across these ragtag fishermen and challenged them to follow him.  “And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.”  (Matthew 4:18-20)  Simon and Andrew knew very little about Jesus yet they followed Him.  What was it that drew them to Jesus?  What was it that made Jesus different than other religious leaders? 

The verse just before our passage gives us some insight, “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)  Jesus came preaching about the kingdom of God.  But, He not only proclaimed the kingdom of God, He also demonstrated kingdom power.  Let’s look at what happened next, right after Simon and Andrew signed up, “(and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.) And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.”  (Matthew 4:22-24)

Jesus came proclaiming and demonstrating the kingdom of heaven!  He was calling these men to leave everything familiar, give up all plans, and follow Him!  The ultimate challenge, the ultimate commitment.  On another occasion, when Jesus was explaining the kingdom of God to his followers he said, “the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matthew 13:44)  Jesus is saying that the kingdom of heaven is like something that is hidden from most people, but so valuable that for the people who find it, are then willing to give up all that they possess to have it.

The kingdom of heaven is a treasure.  It is a hidden treasure.  I discovered an earthly joy as I took on Coach Boyer’s challenge in high school, but I discovered an eternal joy when I chose to follow Christ and the kingdom of heaven.  The challenge to follow Christ will require everything that is familiar and all that brings earthly security.  God doesn’t want a part of our life, He wants our total being. God wants everything to be surrendered to Him.

Coach Boyer reached down into my heart when he challenged me to give up all for the pursuit of physical gold, and Jesus Christ reaches into our hearts and calls us to pursuit hard after the eternal gold promised to bring joy and peace.  Jesus said it best when he proclaimed a kingdom that calls out for the weary and tired, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Jesus still reaches into our hearts and calls out the best within us.  He calls us to a heart change, a heart transformation.  The kingdom of heaven will require everything we long for and desire, but the irony is that all that we have ever really desired and longed for is found in the kingdom of heaven made known through Jesus Christ.  The discovery of the kingdom of God is the greatest treasure I have ever known.  Might you discover it too?

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Gymnastics and the Kingdom of God Part 1

Posted August 11, 2008 by steveaholt
Categories: Mountain Springs Church
Tags: , , , , , , ,

When I was a 9th grader in high school, I watched the summer Olympics on TV.  I began watching the basketball, weight lifting, and track and field; all the same competitions that I had watched in the previous years.  But, one night I missed a listing and ended up seeing the gymnastics competition.  I had never seen a gymnastics meet before.  I was mesmerized and awestruck by the combination of such beauty, grace, and power.  The raw strength synergized with the elegant flow of the body in such graceful movements to produce such stunning beauty captured my heart.  My heart was moved and challenged by the controlled athleticism of these gymnasts. 

A few weeks later, there was an announcement in our high school news of the forming of a boy’s gymnastics team.  I went out for the team and the path of my sports career dramatically changed from that day forward.  Never again would I set foot on a baseball diamond or football field again.  My heart was hooked on gymnastics and my life was forever altered by that choice.

You might say that gymnastics changed my life.  For the next eight years, throughout high school and into college I competed as a gymnast.  Those years brought some of the most exciting and painful times of my life.  I experienced great triumph and deep agony as I struggled to be the best at a sport that is both terrifically rewarding when a routine is perfected, but tortuously unforgiving with even the slightest imperfection.

My life was altered by gymnastics, not only because of the victories and defeats of the sport itself, but also by an injury that I thought at the time would end my career.  It was my freshman year at the University of Georgia, and I was the first male gymnast in the history of the school to win a full athletic scholarship—so the personal pressure was immense.  In just the second week of practice, while completing a full twist back somersault on the floor exercise, I landed slightly off and severely dislocated my left knee.  It would take weeks to examine and figure out what had happened to the knee, but in the meantime I was on crutches and fearful of the future.

It was during this time of anxiety that a campus minister shared with me about the potential of a personal love relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  He shared with me that Jesus Christ loved me and had an incredible plan for my life.  He showed me from the Bible that if I would surrender my life into the loving arms of Jesus, He would take it and transform me from the inside out with the Kingdom of God.  And just like that first viewing of the gymnasts in the Olympics many years before, my heart was captured.  I was fascinated by the forgiving, uncompromising, and eternal love of God.  The stunning reality of what Jesus did for me on the cross—laying down His life for me, to forgive me of my sin, and form His life within me, revolutionized my thinking and enraptured my heart.

As I surrendered my life to Christ and His kingdom, it was like God was taking me through heart surgery—with me as the patient and He as the Physician.  Like a patient on the operating table, the Holy Spirit opened up my sin damaged heart and began to heal it with His loving hands.  It was as if God took the scalpel of His Word and began to cut into the sin and selfishness of my life.  I could feel the hands of the Great Physician simultaneously cutting and healing my heart. It seemed that I was regularly broken up over my arrogance and joyful over His forgiveness.

I can still recall walking to biology class one day and being suddenly overwhelmed by the love of the Father.  Like some kind of liquid love, God just poured into me an experience of His agape (sacrificial, caring) love that revolutionized my heart.  Like honey from heaven, I could feel His unconditional love being released into my spirit.  As I looked around at the trees, flowers, sky, and people all around me, I found myself just wanting to leap for joy and shout to anyone who would listen, that “God loves me!”

And so began my journey into the kingdom of God and gymnastics.  As I took those embryonic steps into the kingdom, my gymnastics career continued.  But the flame for my sport that I had once known as primary, was soon relegated to a secondary position.  My passion for Jesus had taken over and I found myself in a new journey of desire that fascinated my heart and inflamed my spirit.  Gymnastics would never again have the same appeal.  It had been replaced by a new life and a new purpose.

But now, as I look back upon those earlier times, what did God teach me about Himself and His kingdom through gymnastics?  Why did the Lord give me both a passion for this sport and a passion for Him? I can see in retrospect many powerful truths about the kingdom of God learned through the sport of gymnastics.  These truths and passions from gymnastics helped form the kingdom of God in my heart…

Watch for Steve’s next “inkling” in a week:  The Kingdom of God and Gymnastics part II

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Created to Crave

Posted July 29, 2008 by steveaholt
Categories: Uncategorized
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You were created by God to crave.  Advertisers know it.  Hollywood knows it.  The self help industry knows it.  Every magazine and periodical cover is designed to create a craving within you. The world we live in is constantly attempting to arrest a desire for some got-to-have-it thing that will finally make us happier than we were.

This desire did not originate with the 20th century.  God placed it within our hearts.  God placed a craving in all of us.  This craving is a desire, a desire for love, for acceptance.  A desire for adventure.

It is this unmet desire that drives some people to chase after adventure in ways that can never satisfy.  This deep thirst for fascination and beauty drives men and women to daring acts and longings of the heart that are seemingly unreachable.  Thomas Dubay, in his book, The Evidential Power of Beauty, explains it this way:

You and I, each and every one of us without exception, can be defined as an aching need for the infinite.  Some people realize this; some do not.  But even the latter illustrate this inner ache when, not having God deeply, they incessantly spill themselves out into excitements and experiences licit and illicit.  They are trying to fill their inner emptiness, but they never succeed, which is why the search is incessant.  Though worldly pleasure seeking never fulfills and satisfies in a continuing way, it may tend momentarily to distract and to dull the profound pain of the inner void.  If these people allow themselves a moment of reflective silence (which they seldom do), they notice a still, small voice whispering. Is this all there is?  They begin to sense a thirst to love with abandon, without limit, without end, without lingering aftertastes of bitterness.  In other words, their inner spirit is clamoring, even if confusedly, for unending beauty.  How they and we respond to this inner outreach rooted in our deep spiritual soul is the most basic set of decisions we can make; they have eternal consequences.

Solomon understood this when he wrote, “[God] has made everything beautiful in its time.  Also He has put eternity in their hearts.” (Eccl. 3:11)  Everyone is searching for eternity in their hearts—the churched, the unchurched, the saved and unsaved.  I have traveled to over 20 nations of the world and I have rarely met a person who is not searching, hungering, and longing with deep desire for an eternal purpose to their lives.

Spiritual hunger is driving people of all ages to experiment with virtually any religion or pleasure to find a way to quench this deep passion.  Right now Islam is the fast growing religion in America.  Hinduism and other eastern religions are growing quickly in the west.   It seems that we are living in an age where spiritual hunger is at all time high and people are willing to search for anything that will at least pacify temporarily this hunger.

I have been a missionary and pastor for the past twenty-five years.  As a missionary I spent time observing and conversing with Buddhist monks and the people who considered themselves followers of Buddha.  In virtually every situation and conversation I found a person who was lonely, frustrated, and unfulfilled in their search for meaning.

The other day I was in a coffee shop in Colorado Springs and I met a young woman who told me that she often listened to my radio broadcast.  She said she liked it because it seemed that I really believed what I was talking about.  I then asked her, “What is it I believe that I’m always talking about?” She looked confused and then got it.  “Oh, you believe the Bible!” What was it about the Bible that I believed, I asked her.  She wasn’t sure.

A lot of us are unsure of what we are listening to and what we really crave.  I believe we are all searching for beauty and eternal fascination.  Even Jesus understood this.  He used passion and desire to draw people in.  In Matthew 13:44, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”  This man found something that so satisfied his cravings that he was willing to sell everything he had in order to get it.  He was consumed by a treasure.  This treasure captivated his heart.

When I was a freshman in college a campus minister sat down on a lawn with me and shared that Jesus passionately loved me so much that He willingly left heaven and came to this earth and let Himself be shamed, tortured, and killed for me.  The man told me that even if I was the only person on the earth,  Jesus would have done this for just for me.  At the time I was finding great adventure in being a champion gymnast and all the allurements that accompanied such a lifestyle.

But that day, a new craving began to grow.  It was small, very small, like a little treasure in a field.  I chose to pursuit that desire and that decision has changed my life for the past thirty years.

Are you searching for beauty?  Are you searching for the fascination?  In our next blog installment I look forward to sharing with two hero’s of mine who found the cravings of their heart.
 

Carpe Diem Gloriae Dei,

Pastor Steve

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When God Bypasses the Head

Posted June 24, 2008 by steveaholt
Categories: Mountain Springs Church
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I arrived to my office early this morning, long before anyone else had come.  It was 6am when I walked into our sanctuary and ministry center.  This is one of my favorite times of the week.  I love to get up early on Saturday mornings (a work day for me since we have a Saturday night service) and enter the darkened sanctuary with no else around.  My custom is to take my Bible, journal, and iPod and crank up the music and just walk around the ministry center and worship the Lord.  I enjoy singing along with the music as loud as I desire and knowing that no one will hear my off key, very bad voice.  At some point in my worship walk, I usually end up prostrate before God in prayer and petition.  It is a holy time.  It is also a time where I don’t study, exegete scripture, or even think about my sermon.  It’s a heart time with my Lord and Friend.

Today, as I sang myself through the lobby, I looked at hundreds of pictures of little kids that are plastered on the walls.  You see, we just finished our second extremely crowded and joyful week of Vacation Bible School.  Taped to walls all over the lobby are these photos of laughing, leaping in the air, smudge faced children who have just given their hearts to Jesus.  Hundreds of the over 950 children have said “yes” in their hearts to Christ!  It’s a heart time with Jesus for these precious children.

Once when Jesus was teaching, someone had the idea of bringing a bunch of little kids to Him for a blessing.  The disciples were not at all happy with this idea.  We really don’t know why but I would surmise that they felt Jesus’ time could be better spent.  Better spent teaching adults the great propositional and theological truths of the kingdom of God? Better spent healing the sick?  Better spent…? Just better spent.  But, Jesus said something really interesting.  Let’s pick up the story as Matthew describes it,

“Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.’ And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.” (Matthew 19:13-15)

What does Jesus mean?  What is he saying here?  “little children…such is the kingdom of heaven?”  I’m no theologian, but I am pastor and a father (of seven children).  I have a hunch, an inkling, he is saying something like, “All you guys are so caught up in head games.  You are constantly asking me about what it is you should, could, or must do, to get into the kingdom of heaven.  You are giving me a headache.  If you are really that interested, and I doubt you are, but if you are, then quit thinking so much about it and look into your heart!  Look around you at your children.  They get it better than you do.  They live from their heart.  Find your heart guys.  The kingdom of God is a heart issue.”

The kingdom of God is a heart issue.  God often by-passes the head to get to our heart.  We believe with our heart. The head follows the heart.  It did when you fell in love with your wife (if you’re married).  It does when you go look at the puppies you’re thinking about surprising your child with.  The Bible says, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”  (Romans 10:9-10)  Confession is from the Greek word, homologeo, meaning to “agree” with God.  When we “believe” with our heart, we agree with God that He is God, that He loves us, that He lived, that He died, and that He rose again on the third day.  Children understand this quickly.  Children live from their hearts.  We adults have a real problem with living from our hearts.

God often by-passes the heads of adults to get to the hearts of children.  That’s what Jesus did in our story.  Just read the whole story in Matthew 19.  Jesus got tired of hanging out with a bunch of pseudo intellectuals and religious adults (and that includes his own disciples) and he just wanted to bless runny nosed, dirty faced, stringy haired, laughing, spontaneous kids.  And over the centuries, not a whole lot has changed. That’s what He did over the past two weeks at our Vacation Bible School.  We had 244 kids give their hearts to Jesus!

Jesus is still walking around.  Jesus is still looking for hearts that are open to Him.  Jesus shows up every day in our homes, our churches, our schools, and our barbecues and he’s looking for people, whatever the age, who will love Him with their hearts.  God often by-passes the head to get to our hearts.  The head always follows the heart.  So, passionately give your heart to Jesus in a fresh way.  Spend some time with your children today and ask God to give you a little bit of what they have.

Carpe Diem Gloriae Dei,

Pastor Steve

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Heads and Hearts on Fire

Posted June 12, 2008 by steveaholt
Categories: Mountain Springs Church
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From time to time members of our church ask me about my thoughts and opinions on various topics…Bible stuff and theology.  Due to the fact that I was “born to talk,” as my mother once said, I find myself increasingly piping off to someone my “inkling” and viewpoint in a hallway or our lobby.  As Mountain Springs Church has grown larger, I am hearing the same query more often than I care to keep answering.  Thus it has come to my attention that I might consider writing some of these thoughts down into something of a regular “column” or, to use more modern language, a “blog.” (Whatever in the world that means.)

So, this is the first installment of my “inkling” on various topics that God is laying on my heart for our Mountain Springs Church family.  I have chosen the word “inkling” because I think the word befits the purpose.  “Inkling” in the Merriam Webster Dictionary means, “a slight knowledge or vague notion,” as in “he had not the faintest inkling what he was talking about.” And since that is often the case with me, I thought I might use this as the title for my column, blog, musings or whatever we call it. 

Now I must clarify that using this name has nothing to do with The Inklings of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien fame who were an informal literary group from the University of Oxford in England that met at the The Eagle and Child Pub weekly to discuss the literary works of several of the members.  No, I’m not an author and I’m not a literary critic, but I just like the meaning of the word and its apt description of my purpose.  So, enough on the disclaimer and introduction to my column.  Now to the subject for this first installment. 

Heads and Hearts on Fire

God wants all of us to have heads and hearts on fire for Him!  God doesn’t just want passion-filled hearts with a theological vacuum upstairs.  And God is even less interested in Bible-packed heads with no heartfelt intimacy for Him.  God wants both a theologically, biblically-grounded head and a passionate, loving heart for Him.  This is part and parcel with truly growing to know and  love  God.  You can’t love someone you don’t know and you can’t know someone deeply without loving them.  So, God desires passion from our heads and our hearts.

 The synergy of the head and heart is not easy to find in the body of Christ.  Among Charismatics, passionate exuberance is often emphasized to the detriment of good theology and deep biblical thinking.  On the flip side, among conservative evangelicals, rigorous Bible study has devalued heart-filled passion and zeal.  At times both sides are looking too askance at the other.  And both are missing the point.

At MSC I want us to keep striving to value what Jesus valued.  In being probed by a lawyer as to “which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus responded, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)  I suspect that this may be the most important, all-embracing passage in the Bible.  Jesus is saying very plainly that if you want to get it right with your whole life—meaning everything—then you must start with love, love for the Lord that includes your heart and your head.  Not either or, but both.

So what does this kind of radical love look like?  Jesus clearly indicates that loving Him fully with our heart and head means that we love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  I have an inkling that this just might be the greatest outward sign of a true head and heart on fire for God—loving others as much as we love ourselves. 

Now this is pretty revolutionary stuff if you ask me.  The meaning is clear.  Jesus is saying, “If you are loving God with all of your head and your heart, then you will love your neighbor as much as you love yourself!” I don’t do that very often!  But Jesus says that this is the “greatest commandment.”  And Jesus even goes further in another place where He says, “whoever desires to be great in God’s kingdom, become a servant.” (Matt 20:26)  I have a sneaking suspicion that He means be a servant to PEOPLE.  Sounds a lot like the above passage?  I’m getting uncomfortable.

So, it seems that Jesus is saying that if we are delving into the Law and the Prophets with a head on fire for the Scriptures, and if we are worshipping and loving Him with our hearts aflame, then we will naturally be loving and caring for our fellow man.  Now this only works if you really want to follow the “first and great commandment.”  I think this was why Jesus was always so ticked off with the Pharisees and Scribes—they knew the scriptures but totally missed the love of God, and thus missed the real purpose of following Him—loving others as a result.  But, I suspect that Jesus could also get pretty frustrated with His twelve disciples too—for they loved Him but they were still fighting all the time about who was the greatest.  A little ego problem there?

So, bottom line is that God wants your head and your heart, and nothing less will suffice.  And if you are asking the right question, “Does He really have my head and heart?” then the answer lies in…yes, you guessed it, what are you doing with your “neighbor?”  Are you loving people?  Maybe the better question is “Are you really loving God?”  For it is in loving God with our full head and our full heart that we will begin to love people fully!  And I want a church like that!  How about you?  

Carpe Diem Gloriae Dei,

Pastor Steve

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