witness – Eagle Rock Community Church

It Is All About Power!

We have been flooded with materials on the local city elections. I wonder how many of us really read what comes in the mail or is left on our doorsteps? Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful for public servants. I pray for good people to serve on all levels of government. What is disheartening, is when our elected officials work harder to keep their positions of power and influence than serving their constituents. Power in any arena can blind people from truly serving the needs of others. Jesus dealt with this in his little band of disciples. Too often the history of the church has been riddled with people abusing power. Jesus modeled how to truly influence and transform lives by living as a servant. He had all the power available to him by being the divine Son of God, yet he humbled himself and became a servant. He went all the way in giving his life as a ransom for our spiritual freedom. These four weeks before Easter, we are looking at Isaiah’s portrait of God’s Servant. God gave the prophet four songs,(Isaiah 40:1-7, 49:1-7, 50:4-11 & 52:13-53:12), and each one provides critical revelation of how this Servant will fulfill God’s plan of redemption. In preparing for these messages, I have been reflecting on our current historical context. The powerful are really powerless in bringing any social, spiritual or political restoration to our world! We must face the reality that this age will never reach perfection. There will always be evil and injustice. In fact, the Bible says it will get worse! Jesus Christ must return in order for evil to be finally eradicated from this age. The powerful will be overthrown and the meek will inherit the earth. In the meantime, it is up to the multitude of Christian communities to serve the Kingdom and faithfully witness through their words and actions. We can make a difference! What God is doing in this age is rarely seen by the world. God doesn’t need headlines, He needs faithful servants to witness for Jesus. I am excited to be a part of this kingdom work here in Eagle Rock. Let’s not get discouraged by the ineptness of the powerful, but be energized to see God work through our faithful service!

“Food for thought: Fact or fabrication?”

If you haven’t heard or seen the news, anchor Brian Williams of NBC evening news has been suspended without pay for six months. He was caught fabricating a story that involved himself, his team and the military in Iraq. He told the fabricated story more than once. I saw video of his appearance on David Letterman. In that video, he fabricated the story of taking rounds of fire while on a helicopter. It did not happen that way. He got found out the other night and now there is doubt about other stories that he covered. I heard one commentator claim that either Brian was delusional or he trumped up his stories to make them interesting. This commentator mentioned that entertainers often do that, but Brian had a responsibility as a journalist to keep the facts straight. Maybe his professionalism and his “stardom” became blurred and it affected his ability to tell the truth. The point I want to make has to do with the message of the Gospel. The witness of the Apostles and those who were with Jesus was that He healed, drove out evil spirits, performed miracles and rose from the dead! We have the “story” handed down to us in the New Testament. Is the story true or is their fabrication? Were the disciples delusional or were they simply trying to make Jesus out to be someone different than what He really was? Or maybe, the story is historically reliable as it stands and it is up to us to be open minded to the reality of Christ’s person and work? If I need a little encouragement from the text of Scripture, I find an astounding amount of transparency in how the disciples portray themselves. They make it very clear that they did not get it until after the resurrection. They portray themselves as fearful, doubting, and ignorant of what Jesus was really up to. Their change came after the resurrection. It was a divine revelation that inspired them to preach Jesus. Consequently, they endured hardship and some of them were killed for their “story”. No one caved! No one came clean and said it was fabricated! Why? Because it was true! Jesus had risen! The healings, exorcisms and miracles were all signs of the Kingdom of God in their midst. When I observe preachers in the media that profit from the word of God, I do see why some would doubt. The reality is that in this world that we live in, more “preachers” and followers of Christ are suffering for the “story” than those making a profit. It is their testimony and the testimony of the New Testament that grabs my heart and says, “Jesus is risen!”.