Hold Fast Philadelphians!

This might be a headline in the Philadelphia newspaper when the Eagles are clinging to the final playoff spot in the NFL! However, that is not what Jesus had in mind when He commanded the Philadelphians to hold fast!


Above is a picture of an ancient fresco painted on the side of one of the ruins in Philadelphia, Turkey. I took the picture because a few of us were having trouble seeing what our tour guide was pointing at. Once I got what he was showing us I took the picture and then was able point out on my camera screen the painting. You can see a faint image of Jesus at the top center and a faint image of Mary in the lower left. (The white line at the top intersects the image of Jesus; the faint red at the bottom is the clothing of Mary and her arm is just above the red. She is facing to the right. You can see why it was difficult for us to see!)

As I reflected on our time at this site, and also the words of Jesus to the believers in Philadelphia, I realized that we need to hold fast to what we have too! Kind of like looking at this painting, once I understood what to look at, I got it! And once I got it, I could show others. A simple truth of life is that once you've got something, you've got it! Once I have a car, I have a car.

Jesus tells them to hold fast to what they have. We too need to hold fast to what we have been given. Now in terms of faith this needs a little explaining. I believe that once we have the gift of salvation that comes through faith in Jesus Christ, we cannot lose that salvation (see Romans 8:31-39; Ephesians 1, esp. verses 13-14; and Philippians 1:6 just to name a few).

However, we need to "hold fast" to our gift and not neglect it. Jesus commends the Philadelphians for keeping His word. The root word in the Greek for "keep" is teros and means "to attend carefully." Back to the car illustration—unfortunately this example doesn't work because it is possible for me to lose my car! But let's assume, that the car is like Christian salvation and it is not possible to lose. If I just leave that car in my driveway and don't "attend carefully" to it, then it will have little value. However, if we attend to the car, if we keep God's Word and attend to it carefully, then there is great value for ourselves and for others. And ultimately great glory is given to Jesus Christ!

One you get it, you get it. Once you have been saved from your sins, you have been saved! (And this Christmas remember that the reason Jesus was born was to save us from our sins--Matthew 1:21.) Hold fast to what you have been given. Attend carefully to the gift of faith and you too will persevere as the Philadelphians did!


"To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars--I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. --Revelation 3:7-13

Indiffernce Leads To Ruin

Seven Churches, Seven Reflections. Reflection Three—Laodicea
"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, `I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." (Revelation 3:14:22)

Indifference Leads to Ruin
The ancient city of Laodicea now lies in ruins like many of the sites we visited. For the church of Laodicea these ruins remind me of the warning Jesus gave them. He said that their deeds were neither hot nor cold. They were indifferent. They could care less about things. They were merely lukewarm and indifferent to what was going on around them.

It is important to remember when reading this passage that it was written to believers. This is not a message telling non-believers to get off the fence and be for Christ or against Christ. Jesus says in verse 15 that he wishes they were either hot or cold. Hot water is great for a bath. Cold water is refreshing to drink. Lukewarm water has little use. The town of Laodicea was close to a hot spring that still flows today. They had an aqueduct to bring water to the town but by the time it got there it was lukewarm and wasn’t very satisfying.

So too was the faith of the Laodiceans and Jesus tells them to be useful. Jesus tells them to be earnest and repent (verse 19). Be earnest. Don’t be indifferent to Jesus. And since you are not earnest, repent—turn back to Jesus. Chaplain Woodson pointed out during our trip that repent is a great word. We so closely associate it with sin that it carries a shadow of disgrace. However, Jesus is telling the people to turn back to him. Repentance is a good thing! Quit being indifferent! Quit being lukewarm! Repent!

Which brings us to the other place where it is important to remember that this passage is written to believers. We often use verse 20 as an evangelistic tool to say that Jesus is standing at the door of your heart wanting to come in and save you. However, Jesus is not speaking to unbelievers. Jesus is telling a church, that has become so indifferent, that He is knocking at the door wanting them to repent. He wants them to turn back to Him. He doesn’t want them to continue to live a life of indifference but He wants them to turn back to Him. He wants them to open the door and fellowship with Him again. He wants them to be useful—to be hot or cold.


The current site of Laodicea lies in ruins. It serves as a picture of what happens when we are indifferent to God and the things that He cares about. It is a picture of what can become of our lives when we are indifferent to sin. It is a picture of what can happen if we don’t maintain our relationship with God. The good news is that if you are living a life of indifference, God wants you to repent—to turn back to Him so that your life will be one that is useful, not one that will end up in ruins.

Turkey Trip Reflection Two--Ephesus

I spent Thanksgiving in Turkey with a group from our chapel. Below is my second reflection on our experiences. Please scroll down to see my first reflection on Smryna.

"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:1-7)

Jesus told the church at Ephesus that he knows their deeds, hard work and perseverance. I can’t help but think about all the hard work and perseverance it has taken to excavate the ruins in this ancient city. It is a tedious process that requires painstaking attention to detail and a long-term commitment.


Library in Ephesus

We were fortunate to have one of the lead archeologists accompany us through the ruins. I asked him when they would begin excavating an area that was still underground. He replied, “The next generation, generation, generation!” They might not even begin excavating that area for another century! They had another area that has a permanent roof over it because the excavation of it will take decades to complete (and it had already been going for decades)!


One thing I noticed about this archeologist is that he still has a love for archeology. He is retired but still is passionate about the work. He would see a roof shingle on the ground and gather us all around to tell us about it. He found an ancient nail that he passed around to us. We were late to the bus and he still had to stop us and spend ten minutes explaining some stones that served as road markers.

His passion and love for the ruins at Ephesus remains. This wasn’t the case for the church at Ephesus. While commended for their hard work, they were condemned for forsaking their first love. Jesus says, “Remember the height form which you have fallen.” Approximately 35 years before this Paul wrote to the Ephesians and commended them for their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love for all the saints (Eph. 1:15). In 35 years their love had grown cold.

While continuing to work hard and serve they had forgotten what they first experienced. Could this be said of you? Maybe you serve in many ways but your love for Jesus is cold. You need to return to your first love! Doing things, even good things, doesn’t replace loving God. The Pharisees were good at doing religious things. They weren’t so good at loving God and loving others.

If your love for God has grown cold, make it your goal to rekindle that love. How? Think about any good human relationship you have and how that love is fostered. I would say that the most important ingredient might be time. Spend some time with God today by reading your Bible, praying, or singing some worship songs to nourish your soul and your love for your savior. Be still and know that He is God!

Turkey Trip Reflection One--Smyrna

I was blessed to spend the Thanksgiving holiday in Turkey with a group from our chapel. We visited the seven churches that Revelation is written to. The revelation was given by Jesus Christ to John and addressed “to the seven churches in the province of Asia” (Rev. 1:4). However, it also says, “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written it, because the time is near” (Rev. 1:3). Below are my post-trip reflections on each town we visited. I say “town” because some of the time we visited church ruins from the first century; some of the time we visited a church or ruins from later centuries. We didn’t always visit the church-site from the first century. I am glad for this because it reminds me that the revelation is for the churches in terms of people and not in terms of buildings as we so often think in our 21st century western culture.

Over the coming days I plan to reflect on our trip, what was specifically addressed to each church, and a few other thoughts I had about my time. I am writing in the order that we visited the sites and not in the order they appear in Revelation. These reflections will not always tied directly to the passage written to that church as some of my thoughts are more about what I experienced.

Smyrna (Present Day Izmir)
Our first day in Izmir we visited St. Polycarp’s Church. This is a modern-day catholic church (built in 1910) named in honor of St. Polycarp who was a convert of the apostle John and who was martyred for his faith. It is interesting because it is built where there used to be a cemetery and so they used the headstones as the marble floor for the church.


A couple days after visiting this church, I was standing in my hotel room on the 19th floor looking out at the harbor. It was a beautiful view; one that I had gazed at many times in my short time there. I even spent one evening in a comfortable chair just staring out at the harbor and lights of the city. On this particular day though, I got to looking straight down at the base of the hotel and saw that St. Polycarp’s Church was only ½ a block from us.


As I thought more about that I have realized that there are so many things in my life that cause me to overlook the important things. Now half of the battle is making sure that we have a right priority on what is important. But once that battle is won (and that might be an ongoing battle as life changes) we are still prone to overlook the important. I had looked so intently at many unimportant things in the harbor that I had overlooked that which was right at the base of my building. We often focus too much on things that, while good things in themselves, are not the most important. What things cause you to miss the important?

Busyness causes me to overlook important things. Some days I came to the hotel to quickly change and then go to dinner. In my fleeting glance out the window I had no chance to see what was important. Are you too busy to notice the important things?

Distractions cause me to overlook important things. A couple of nights college football was on TV and my glances out the window were momentary as I turned back to the TV. College football is not a bad thing (I’ll be the first to tell you that!), but it can be a distraction from what is important. What distracts you from the important things?

Busyness and distractions also make it difficult for us to reflect on what is important. It was one thing for me to know the church was there and to see it below. It is also one thing to know what is important and to see what is important. It is another thing to stop, reflect, and meditate on what is important. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God.” Too often we aren’t still because we are the god of our own lives. When was the last time you slowed down and were still? When was the last time you reflected on the most important person in your life—the one who loves you so much that He sent His Son to die for you? When was the last time you were still and trusted God to be God of your life? When was the last time you considered what was really most important and what causes you to overlook it?

"To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty--yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.” (Revelation 2:8-11)

This Week at the Graf House!

This Week at the Graf House--There is a lot to choose from around the Graf/Vilseck area and I know I am missing some activities!

Monday: Free Christian Comedian/Singer performance tonight at the Vilseck Chapel at 1800. Refreshments provided.

Wednesday: Vilseck Singles Bible Study in building 301 at 1830.

Thursday: Graf PWOC (9:00) and PMOC (11:45) in the chapel annex. Men, bring a lunch and join us this week!

Friday: Dinner and Bible Study. Potluck Theme—Casseroles! We will continue our Andy Stanley DVD series on “The Best Question Ever.”

Saturday: Graf House work day! Bring your gloves and old clothes and join us as we rake leaves, trim bushes, and clean up for the winter! We would love your help from 1:00-5:00!

We look forward to seeing you this week!

This Week at the Graf House!

Thanks to everyone who came to hear Sareth Duong share his story of growing up in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge regime and surviving the Killing Fields. It was quite amazing to me how much we take for granite as Americans and as Christians. I was also encouraged by the incredible work God is doing in the lives of so many men in the miltary and police throughout Southeast Asia. Continue to keep Sareth and Paul in your prayers as they seek to further the Kingdom of God.

Friday Night Dinner and Study—Potluck Theme: Fall Foods; Lesson Three of “The Best Question Ever: Living on the Edge.”

Fall Festival—Saturday 4:00-6:00 at the Graf Elementary School. Volunteers are still needed! If interested, contact the chapel office at 475-1570.

The Graf House will be closed next week (2-8 Nov) for our staff conference.

From Oswald Chambers

"We give credit to human wisdom when we should give credit to the Divine guidance of God through childlike people who were foolish enough to trust God’s wisdom and the supernatural equipment of God."

(Chambers, Oswald: My Utmost for His Highest : Selections for the Year. Grand Rapids, MI : Discovery House Publishers, 1993, c1935, S. October 26)

A Thought

This was in one of those "pass it along" emails. While it wasn't the main point of the story, I thought it was quite true.

"I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she handles four things: a rainy day, the elderly, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights."

Owen and Jacob Bowling

Here are videos of Owen and Jacob bowling! I think the best part is when Owen cheers after the machine clears his pins off the lane! Enjoy.

This Week at the Graf House!

Saturday Spelunking!
We are going near Pottenstein to do some real spelunking! This isn’t your pay for the walking-tour spelunking. You will need to bring old clothes, gloves and a hat, flashlight, sack lunch, and knee pads if you want. We will LEAVE the chapel parking lot at 10:10. This is not suitable for little kids as it is dark and there is some difficult crawling.

A Special Opportunity Next Week!
Next Thursday we will have two Cadence missionaries staying with us who minister to the Cambodian military and police forces. Sareth Duong will be sharing his incredible story of surviving almost two-years in a child labor camp after Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge Party took power of Cambodia in 1975. Here is a summary of a few of his experiences:
• At age six, Sareh’s parents were told that he did not belong to them but to the government. He was taken from them and forced to live and work in a child labor camp.
• For almost two years he worked 12-hour days in a rice field with only a t-shirt and a pair of shorts for clothing. His subsidized his daily ration of one cup of rice soup by eating insects, charcoal, and even dirt.
• He endured cold and rainy nights with other kids huddled in neck-deep water standing by water buffaloes for warmth. He endured beatings and even once was hogtied and thrown into a cesspool of human feces for misplacing an officers drinking cup.
• Through all of this, Sareth clung to the hopeful words of his father, “Fight to stay alive; things will get better some day.”

Eventually Sareth became a Christian and the Lord has led him to minister to the military and police forces of his country. He has an incredible testimony of what it means to love your enemies.

Next Thursday, October 29th, Sareth will be sharing his story with the Graf PWOC ladies at 9:00am and then the chaplains are sponsoring a lunch at the Vilseck Chapel from 11:30-1:00. Attached are two flyers about Sareth and the luncheon. We hope to see you there!

Bowling

Here is Jacob and Owen bowling during Jacob's Cub Scout bowl-a-thon!

Men's Paintball on Saturday

If you are Army Strong and are not afraid of some freezing rain and snow, then come join us for paintball on Saturday. We currently have nine guys who are indeed Army Strong. Let me know if you are interested.

We will meet at the Graf Chapel Parking lot at 12:10 and the Vilseck Burger King parking lot at 12:45. I’ll have the big-blue van for anyone who wants a ride. Let me know if you live in Netzaburg and I can pick you up on the way to the chapel.