There is a great need today in our public schools for the light of Christ. While there are many Christian teachers sowing the Gospel, it is still a brutal spiritual battlefield. I asked a friend who is actively being salt and light in the school system to write a devotional about the need on our public school campuses. Pastor Jeremy Geerdes of Debra Heights Wesleyan Church in De Moines, Iowa offers this... I visited the gates of hell today. We think they run through far-off lands torn apart by war, the darkened corridors of brothels, or the dank dungeons of some closed nation. Perhaps we have seen them bisecting the neighborhood rent by gang violence, the homeless shelter filled with lives shattered by addiction, or the family devastated by infidelity. But I tell you, the gates of hell run also through well-lit hallways, brightly-colored classrooms, and playgrounds echoing with laughter. The gates of hell run through our neighborhood public schools. Take, for example, the school my kids attend. According to the US Census Bureau, it is in the middle of a community dominated by pale-skinned Americans. According to the latest economic reports, the majority of its neighbors are upper-middle class homeowners. And according to the local police department, it is nestled in the back corner of a neighborhood with one of the lowest crime rates in town. Yet every year, a growing number of students at this school have just arrived from refugee camps in far-flung corners of the world with names like Burma, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Sudan. Their families were forced by murderous madmen to flee from their homes, in many cases, decades before these children were even born. Six out of every ten kids qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, and some do not eat after school lunch on Friday until they return for school lunch on Monday. Yesterday, we learned that the father of a little girl in my son’s third-grade class was shot to death over the weekend. Indeed, the gates of hell run through our neighborhood public schools. In Matthew 16, Jesus led His disciples to Caesarea Philippi. This city, built by Philip II as a showcase of Roman power in the Middle East, was less than thirty years old. As they sat in the shadow of its gate, surrounded by Roman soldiers, politicians, and nobility, all against a backdrop of glistening opulence, it probably seemed to the disciples that there was nothing that Rome could not do. Then, in verse 18, Jesus told Peter and co. that He would build His church on Peter’s confession - that Jesus is Christ the Lord - “and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” The implication was that there was at least one thing the mighty Romans could not do: they could never storm hell itself to rescue those trapped within its gates. War, poverty, crime, infidelity, addiction, and violence are just some of the hallmarks of those enslaved on the wrong side of hell’s gates. Maddeningly, many of those mired in these things are innocents pounding desperately on the gates, hoping someone will open them so they may escape. To their credit, the faculty and staff of our local schools are working mightily to pry open those gates so some may escape. The English Language Learner (ELL) teachers are tireless advocates for their students and families, bringing attention to their plight and providing translation services for far more than school. The administrators passionately ensure kids have everything from lunch and school supplies to winter clothes and groceries. And the classroom teachers are just plain heroic. But while they are certainly successful at freeing some, they were never supposed to be the ones storming the gates of hell. The problem is that they are the only ones left to do it. We heard that God was not welcome in public schools, so we, the Church, withdrew from this key battlefield, enrolling our kids instead in private schools or keeping them home, and leaving this section of the gates of hell unmolested, thus conceding the innocents trapped beyond. That must change, and the key to changing it is found in red letters in Matthew 16. Nearly 2,000 years before the first church t-shirt was printed, Jesus said, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” The key, I believe, is in the word “you.” What would happen if you actually showed up at the school? What would happen if you started building relationships with the students, faculty, and staff there? What would happen if you worked to stop the stuff that is not quite right and to encourage the stuff that is? What would happen if you unlocked the entrance to the kingdom of heaven so that the innocents trapped behind the gates of hell could escape? Is that not what Jesus was telling us to do? Yes, the gates of hell run through our neighborhood public schools. But those gates cannot overcome Jesus’ church as long as we show up to knock them down. GUEST CONTRIBUTOR - Pastor Jeremy Geerdes Pastor Jeremy grew up in a small town in northeast Iowa. He attended North Fayette High School in West Union (IA). Following high school, he went on to attend Bartlesville Wesleyan College, now Oklahoma Wesleyan University, where he received a B.A. in Pastoral Ministry in 2002. He is now the Lead Pastor at Debra Heights Wesleyan Church in Des Moines, IA. Jeremy and his beautiful wife Nicole were high school sweethearts. Today, Nicole teaches elementary music and band at Woodward-Granger Elementary in Granger, Iowa. The two have two children, Rebekah and Andrew. Pastor Jeremy enjoys spending time with his family, studying Scripture, and developing websites. He also strives to find time for a little hunting and fishing whenever possible. I was recently at the beach. The weather was somewhat threatening. It made for a nice walk, but not such a great swim. As I walked the shore with my wife, the lifeguards began to blow the whistle and called people in. Most of the people began to make their way to the beach, but some continued to play in the ocean. As we continued to walk we happened upon some other lifeguards. I stopped and asked one of them, “What happens if people do not heed your warning to exit the water?” He said, “We call the beach patrol and they take them to jail.” We laughed at the short answer. He went on to say that most of the time the beach patrol will give a warning or a ticket, and rarely have to take the person to jail. To me, the bigger point was… lifeguards don’t swim out to offenders and take them to jail. That’s just not what they do. Lifeguards watch people. They give warnings to swimmers based on the information they have about the conditions. They blow the whistle on people. They rush out to save people who get into trouble. But they also call enforcement authorities on those who will not heed the warnings or directives. They don’t make the rules of the beach. They just enforce them. They aren’t judgmental. They aren’t hypocrites. They aren’t trying to take away anyone’s fun. They are trying to save lives. Sometimes you save lives by watching. Sometimes you save lives by swimming out to people who are drowning. Sometimes you save lives by blowing a whistle. Sometimes you save lives by calling beach patrol. The goal is saving lives. The fact that some people don’t like the way a lifeguard saves lives does not relieve them of their obligation. As Christians, we are spiritual lifeguards. We aren’t beach patrol. The apostle Jude put it this way to the early Christians… “Have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.” (Jude 1:23) The Christian will not have the same response to everyone in sin anymore than the lifeguard will have the same response to everyone in the ocean. Sometimes we will look too merciful. Other times we will look judgmental. Don’t worry about how you look. Be more concerned with how well you are doing your job. Are you watching out for your fellow man? Are you watching the life conditions? Are you warning people who are swimming into danger? Are you going out to help those who get into trouble? Are you calling on God to stop those who are rebelling against sound teaching? Today you are not the beach patrol (police). You are the lifeguard. Put on some sunscreen. Get your equipment together. Keep a keen eye. Be prepared to put yourself in harm’s way. Ask God to help you do your job well. And ask Him to do those things that you are not to do. [Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.] Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry. Another Sunday morning. Another day for Christians to gather together and worship God because He is God, because He is good, and because He is making us new. There will be praise songs, encouraging testimonies, glorious prayers, inspiring sermons, and warm fellowship. The lost will be found, and the found will be established. Everything will (or should) point toward Jesus. We should enjoy this experience. We get to worship God in spirit and in truth. We, as redeemed people get to exalt Christ in a way that even the angels cannot. We join with creation in giving glory to the One who makes it all possible. He is worthy of our praise. And even though we are unworthy on our own, He makes us worthy to give Him honor. But remember… in the midst of this Sunday experience, someone is hurting while another is celebrating. Someone broke free from an addiction on Saturday night while another a few pews up fell back into an addiction on Saturday night. Someone got a clean bill of health from the doctor on Friday morning while someone on the worship team got a brutal report from the doctor on Friday morning. Someone got a promotion on Thursday afternoon while the nursery worker lost their job on Thursday afternoon. Someone accepted a proposal for marriage on Wednesday while the person sitting next to them had to file for divorce on Wednesday. Someone was shown great love on Tuesday while someone else in their youth group was abused on Tuesday. Someone had a new baby on Monday while their prayer partner lost their child on Monday. A lot can happen between Sundays. God is unchanging. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. But life is fluid. Life is difficult. Life actually stinks sometimes. It is so easy to forget the pain of others when we are focused on the praise of God. And I would not ask you to shift your focus away from praise. I would suggest that you praise with an awareness of your fellow worshippers. The apostle Paul wrote this to the early Christians… “I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep [died], lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) He went on to say in the same letter… “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:9-11) These words which seem so far away from those going through pain are meant as a comfort. Those who are basking in the victory of the positive should share these words with those who are suffering in the waves of defeat. These words are to be shared in a sensitive way… but they must be shared. There is hope, grace, mercy, peace, joy, etc. available in the sorrow, because this new life is not based on what we feel, but how we faith. God is our power. He is our shelter. He is our preserver. Worship God for all you are worth today. But as you lift your heart and hands upward, be sure to hold another up who can’t finds the strength to lift their head from the hands. [Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.] Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry. Sometimes we want God to save us from every problem. There is no such promise in Scripture. But there are multiple promises that He will preserve us through trouble. This must be comforting as the ONLY alternative is to not be preserved by God through trouble. Jesus said that each day has enough trouble of its own. But remember... Jesus made the day. I will praise the Lord at all times;His praise will always be on my lips. I will boast in the Lord; the humble will hear and be glad. Proclaim Yahweh’s greatness with me; let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant with joy; their faces will never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him from all his troubles. The Angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them. Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him! You who are His holy ones, fear Yahweh, for those who fear Him lack nothing. Young lions lack food and go hungry, but those who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing. Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is the man who delights in life, loving a long life to enjoy what is good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful speech. Turn away from evil and do what is good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry for help. The face of the Lord is set against those who do what is evil, to erase all memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He saves those crushed in spirit. Many adversities come to the one who is righteous, but the Lord delivers him from them all. He protects all his bones; not one of them is broken. Evil brings death to the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be punished. The Lord redeems the life of His servants, and all who take refuge in Him will not be punished. (Psalm 34) Sometimes it may enter our mind that as Christians we should not have any enemies or trouble. But rather what should enter our mind is that our enemy or trouble will not determine our fate. God will. Today as you encounter your problems, do no despair. Be glad that you have a protector and sustainer. [Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.] Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry. How about a first-hand message about Christ from someone who knew Him personally and wanted others to know Him as well?
"What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have observed and have touched with our hands, concerning the Word of life— that life was revealed, and we have seen it and we testify and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us— what we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may have fellowship along with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. Now this is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in Him. If we say, 'We have fellowship with Him,' yet we walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth. But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say, 'We have no sin,' we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say, 'We don’t have any sin,' we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." (1 John 1) John was likely the disciple who had the closest and deepest relationship with Christ. If you ever begin to wonder about the truth of the message of Christ, be encouraged to know that people who lived, walked, ate, laughed, and rested with Jesus actually wrote down their experience. Perhaps it can be an encouragement to you to write down what God has done for you so others can see that He is real. |
AuthorMy name is David, and I want to know God more, and help other people find Him. Archives
March 2019
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