Just last Thursday I took Aidyn, my three year old daughter to the movies. It was her second time seeing The Incredibles, but my first. I enjoyed it so much it became number one on my best Pixar movies passing Monsters Inc. The writers and animators for Pixar were able to capture so much with so little in The Incredibles.
First they captured our culture attitude toward good and evil, right and wrong, truth and lies really well. Whatever you want to call it, I don't like the term postmodernism but that seems the most used term. We are now either at the end of modernism or moved into something else, people dispute which it is all the time, regardless everything in our society has been deconstructed so that nothing has any value.
You can't trust business because they exploit workers and customers for profit, you cannot trust education because the people in power only teach you what they want you to know, you can't trust organized religion because the put God into a box that they can control and force you two worship him, and you can't trust Superheros because someone might get hurt while they are saving someone. Someone might get hurt while they are saving someone???? So in The Incredibles the legal system so exploits this idea that all superheros have to go into government sanctioned identity protection services. They must learn to live as normal people, not doing what they were created to do.
The thought doesn't cross anyone's mind does it that perhaps it is evil that is causing people to get hurt, and sometimes when good comes into conflict with evil the results might be tragic but not nearly as tragic if evil ruled the day. So the superheros go into hiding, pretending to be someone they aren't, and are systematically picked off one by one. They are isolated then decimated. These superheroes who protected the world, become weenies.
Yet the world needs superheroes. There is a need to save, protect, and defeat the forces of evil and everyone deep in their hearts no matter how skeptical and cynical they are know this. We are the champions of truth, Christ's followers. There is no need to go out and argue with an irrational world that they need us, we just need to go and be who we are. We are people created in the image of God, we are saved sinners, we share in Christ's righteousness, we know that our ultimate destination is glory.
Would you live differently if you knew how you were going to die? Of course you would because you would be able to do anything except for the one thing you know is coming down the pipeline. Each one of us may not know how we are going to die, but we know something even better. We know our destiny after we die, therefore there is nothing that we should fear in this life. Let us stand up, be who we were created to be, and let the world deal with those who call themselves followers of Chirst.

"...then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority." 2 Peter 2:9-10

As I came across this passage this morning I was immediately disappointed. Last night we were talking about trials vs. temptation at our Community Group. We spent time sharing what helps us get through difficult times of both trials and temptations, and what verses has God given to us in order to remind us in those times. I stuck with some of my favorites 1 Cor 10:13-14, Heb. 2:17-18, 4:15, I also enjoyed people in our group sharing Romans 8;28 and Psalm 139. Yet I left out this verse, which I should of because it has not been one that I have turned to before to help me in times of trial.

There are two sides though to this promise. The first is the one that I am comfortable clinging to, that is that God rescues the godly from trials. Boy, I am a Christian and God is going to grab me by the neck and pull me out of difficult circumstances when I need it. That is wonderful and I should be encouraged by that. Yet the flip side of the coin is a little more harsh. God promises to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment. We know from Romans that this punishment consists of God turning them over to themselves. They get whatever their heart wants.

Then the next part really struck me, "especially those who indulge int he lust of defiling passion and despise authority." I was struck. The two areas Peter says God will keep people under punishment are sexuality gone haywire and hatred of authority. Is that an accurate description of the Bay Area or what? Every authority structure is questioned, government, family, business, even church. While everything is permissible sexually and anything that is outside the arena of Biblical sex is encouraged.

"These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm." 2 Peter 2:17 What is more disappointing than a waterless spring when you are thirst. You can pump and pump and pump and nothing good is going to come out of it. Even mists driven by a storm are useless. They are not the refreshing drenching that the land needs in order for it to bear a harvest. Our ministry's foundation is the one who claimed, "I am the living water." "Come to me all you thirsty and heavy laden I will give you rest." Jesus satisfies, and I find satisfaction only as I am satisfied in Him.

When I look at my own life it is not different from those whom I minister. God is still working through areas in my life where I am in sin regarding my sexuality. When I place my desire above God's glory, when I choose to define myself in being a man before being a slave to righteousness. I also hate when people tell me what to do. Even the people who are closest to me and have the greatest position of authority. My desire is to do things my own way. "Lord, lead us not into temptation..." Jesus taught us the correct prayer. Lord save us from ourselves. Allow us to make it through today not even thinking of ourselves but entirely focused up loving you and loving others.

Ordination is now through, all I have to look forward to is the ordination service itself, yet I have managed to fill my time that was spent studying in such a way that it is only now that I am getting back to writing. It seems things always have a way of coming up and in order to communicate whether writing or speaking you must be intentional otherwise you end up taking it for granted and never being heard. The past few months have been the most challenging for me personally learning what it means to be a pastor. From handling personal attacks to facing my own failures my heart has truly been check to see if I have what is necessary to be a minister. Such trials are good, thought they are not much fun to go through. Isn’t it James that pretty much starts off, “consider pure joy my brother when you face various trials.” What strange words, yet having experienced trials recently I am thankful to know that they served a purpose.

Our house is much more quite since the summer has ended. Jakari and his two sisters have moved to another neighborhood. Both Karin and I lament every time we drive pass their old building. The good news is that Angelek became a Christian through attending VBS this summer. I was blessed to share Christ with Jakari’s cousin Greg and he made a first time profession of faith as well. It is clear that God has his hand upon their family, and I pray for them often.
I asked on friend, “Do you know why pastors tell the same stories over and over again?” It’s not just that they have bad memories. I believe it was St. Jude that is the patron saint of lost causes, you see pastor live out serving lost causes. Paul said if the gospel isn’t true of all should be pitied. Most work, effort, sweat, and blood of a pastor is put into a lost cause. Those moments where the fruit of our labor is recognized may only be twenty percent of our work, and we live on that twenty percent. So we tell the story over and over again. This reminds us that in God’s work there are no lost causes, he surprises us by joy revealing to us glories of heaven unseen by others. Once you have seen it and tasted it, the rest of the labor is bearable. Being apart of the work of the Gospel is addicting. Each day that I am a pastor I am more ruin to do anything else in this world. We of all should be pitied, but the joke is that it is true.