Four thoughts on the passing of Maura Carroll

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Four thoughts on the passing of Maura Carroll
Monday, July 20, 2015
Jeff Lampl

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory
that will be revealed in us.”
 Romans 8:18 (NIV2011)  

On Tuesday morning of last week Maura Carroll, wife and Duane for 26 years and mother of 5, passed away after three years of battling cancer.   Maura was the least deserving of anyone I can think of to experience this pain, suffering and ultimately death.   I think the same of Duane and his children.   The Carroll family was and still is an absolutely, stellar, God honoring family.   Maura was also one of CLC’s most powerful “prayer warriors”.   If anyone was sick or in trouble Maura could be counted on to intercede in prayer and God did indeed bring about healings due in part to Maura’s prayers.   Why then did prayers on behalf of Maura not “work”?  

After decades of thinking through this question as a Christian I offer the following response, which I hope helps you not only understand God’s ways as head knowledge but also as an actual and practical help in times of trouble that you will face.  

1.  Christianity teaches that the purpose of this life is training for the next.  This life is like primary school and when this life is over you will continue to exist.  Primary school will be over, training camp will be completed, the Introduction to the Book with you written into it will have been written.  Then Chapter One of the Never Ending Story, the Great Book, with you as one of its actors will begin, followed by chapter after chapter, each chapter being more full, vibrant, joyful, purpose filled and life giving than the one before.  The  “shadowlands” of this world will have been left behind and life will continue in full daylight.  Death will have been defeated and we will discover how God has taken all evil, all suffering, all pain and weaved it into a future world in which each of us will find the life and purpose and relationships for which we were born,  for which each of us has unknowingly always yearned.  And once there we will exclaim, “Amazing, it is this that I’ve sought after all my life, but I didn’t know it until now”. That will be the experience the Believer at the moment of what we now call “death”. That was and is Maura’s experience.  

2.  This implies that this life is intended as a time to grow up.  All the tests, trials, problems, pain of this world are used by God to grow each of us past selfishness.   Every time I face a challenge that forces me to transcend myself and care about God and others more than myself I grow more Christlike.  Every time I choose confidence, faith, perseverance, optimism instead of complaining, grumbling, criticism and blame in the face of a problem,  I am living out the purpose of this life.   In short, love is always about acting on behalf of the highest and best for others and that typically means forgetting about myself.  That’s love and that’s the purpose of this life.   As a wife, mother, friend, prayer intercessor and so much more, Maura’s life was one of growing Christlikeness.   Well done, Maura.  

3.  Part of God’s purpose for each of us is that we leave a legacy.   Ironically, while the legacy that God wants us to leave is about Himself as revealed in Jesus Christ, those of us who leave this legacy are best remembered as individuals.  In my mind Maura’s legacy is all about Christ and Christ’s purposes on earth, but that legacy is seen in actions and attitudes of her life.   From how her relationship with Duane began to how they together grew a wonderful family, to how they modeled love of Christ and others, Maura has left a behind a witness to the Life of God at work in a real person, real family, and real local Body of Christ.   

4.   When I put all of the above together I realize that the life that each of us has been given as pure gift, a life which, in the big picture of things, lasts no longer than the flicker of candle.  Our lives are not about longevity, rather they are about how we have responded to what we have been given.   Depending on your perspective God has either created or allowed a world in which suffering exists, even appears to dominate.  This tells us that even though God gives us joy and pleasures too innumerable to list, God has not set up a world in which our job is to avoid suffering rather our task is to embrace it, respond to it as Jesus did and as we do so we participate with Christ in the healing of this world, even as we ourselves are healed from our selfishness.   That can be accomplished by most of us regardless of how long one’s life on earth lasts.  

From this life as preparation for the coming real world, to this life as a time for growing up, to this life as leaving a legacy of God’s love, to this life not depending on longevity for it to matter, Maura lived a life that God is very, very pleased with.   Because of this, the capacity to know God that Maura developed in this life, has already resulted in a wonderful capacity to experience God now and forever.  Maura is not more alive than any one of us who are still here.

 
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Prepare for Worship Tomorrow

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Prepare for Worship Tomorrow
Read Megann’s awesome introduction to worship last week
so that you’re ready for worship tomorrow  

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Christianity is different because we have an Advocate in Jesus Christ.  There’s nothing we can do to “earn” our way into heaven.  The only thing we can do, is strive to know and understand the love of God, and accept that the only reason we can receive this love is because Jesus has made a way for us.    

I am a Christian—that means, I’m supposed to be Christ-like.  Unfortunately, I’m also human, so that means, that I am not always the perfect example of a “Christian.”  And, by the way, all the other “Christians” are also humans, so they’re not the best examples either.   Now, I’m not saying that I shouldn’t be setting a good example for “Christianity”, but if you’re trying to figure out Christianity, or Christians, I want to invite you to look to Christ—not me and not others, because while I am a Christian, I am not Christ.  You and I cannot be more Christ-like if we’re looking at each other.  

I find myself reading new Christian blogs or books or posts or Facebook and either liking them and thinking they are such a great example of a Christian, or not liking them and thinking how they really did such an injustice to Christianity.  Funny, right?  Because, even though I am a Christian, I’m still struggling to get it right.  I don’t want to be “Ann-like” or “Beth-like” I want to be Christ like.  The only way I can be more like Christ, is to spend more time with Christ.  More time in His word, more time in prayer, more time sitting before the throne of God and being present in my moment with him.    

“Before the throne of God above, I have a strong and perfect plea, a great High Priest whose name is Love, whoever lives and pleads for me.”  

Christianity is different because we have an Advocate in Jesus Christ.  Our names are written on His heart.  His Love won when he died on a cross so that I could be free.

       

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Gospel Freedom vs. the Endless Ladder of Attainment, and Merit

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How Christianity Differs from Hinduism and Buddhism and
Other Eastern Religious Practices   Part 4
Gospel Freedom vs. the Endless Ladder of Attainment, and Merit  

Friday, July 17, 2015
Jeff Lampl

*Let’s look once again at the concept of karma – a concept we also found in Hinduism.  The key idea is that your deeds and thoughts in past lives, and in this life, will determine your future here and your future lives. The way out of this cycle is to try harder to do more good deeds than bad. But few if any ever attain perfection in this life. Christianity also affirms that we reap what we sow. But among the central tenents of the Christian faith is that God chose to help us by sending his perfect son to suffer on our behalf, taking upon himself our bad karma while crediting to our account his good karma, thus offering grace instead of endless judgment.  

Notice what the Bible tells us  

“For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.  So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”  For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”    2 Corinthians 5:19-21 (NLT)  

Because of this Gospel Message Christian believers pursue a life of love in response to what God has done for us, not seeking to win, earn or merit salvation, but in gratitude  

*This post was excerpted from Adam Hamilton’s study on Christianity and World Religions

 
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Karma

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How Christianity Differs from Hinduism and Buddhism and
Other Eastern Religious Practices   Part 3
Karma

Thursday, July 16, 2015
Jeff Lampl

Buddhism, like Hinduism, teaches reincarnation through multiple lifetimes. Furthermore, Buddhism teaches that there is no soul – there is    no “you” that goes on after this life – only karmic energy which is transferred to another life being born. In addition when Nirvana is finally achieved, this karmic energy is snuffed out, dissipated throughout all creation. Christianity teaches resurrection – that we live this life only once, and then our soul lives on after our body, and is given a new heavenly body.  

Read I Corinthians 15, the entire chapter. Notice vs. 3, which if expressed using Hindu/Buddhist terms, could read, “Christ died for your bad karma, took it onto himself, paid for it, forgave it, and imputed to you His good karma”.   How different does that make Christianity from Hinduism, Buddhism and all religious teaching which tell you there is something you must “do” or achieve to be accepted by God.   Then re-read the last verse, verse 58, a powerful “therefore” in response to the teaching regarding the resurrection. Thank God today for the promise and hope we have in Christ.  

“Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it.  It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.  

I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said (vs 3).  He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.  He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve.  After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.  Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles.  Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him.  For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.    

But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.  So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed.    

But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead?  For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either.  And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless.  And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead.  And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins.  In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost!  And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.    

But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.  So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man.  Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.  But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.  After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power.  For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet.  And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.  For the Scriptures say, “God has put all things under his authority.” (Of course, when it says “all things are under his authority,” that does not include God himself, who gave Christ his authority.)  Then, when all things are under his authority, the Son will put himself under God’s authority, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere.  

 If the dead will not be raised, what point is there in people being baptized for those who are dead? Why do it unless the dead will someday rise again?    

And why should we ourselves risk our lives hour by hour?  For I swear, dear brothers and sisters, that I face death daily. This is as certain as my pride in what Christ Jesus our Lord has done in you.  And what value was there in fighting wild beasts—those people of Ephesus—if there will be no resurrection from the dead? And if there is no resurrection, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!”  Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.”  Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t know God at all.    

But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?”  What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first.  And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting.  Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed.  Similarly there are different kinds of flesh—one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.    

There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies.  The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory.    

It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever.  Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength.  They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.    

The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit.  What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later.  Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven.  Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man.  Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man.    

What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.    

But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed!  It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.  For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.    

Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:  

“Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
 O death, where is your sting?”  

For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.  But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.    

So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”   1 Corinthians 15:1-58 (NLT)  

*This post is adapted from Christianity and World Religion by Adam Hamilton

 
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Peace in the Midst of Anxiety

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How Christianity Differs from Hinduism and Buddhism
and Other Eastern Religious Practices   Part 2
Peace in the Midst of Anxiety
Wednesday, July 15,, 2015
Jeff Lampl

Most of the varied forms of eastern religions teach a spirituality where the ultimate goal is the unification of the “god” in you with the supreme truth or god which is all in all, an impersonal life force.   If you engage in the various forms of duty, paths (yoga), four noble truths, eight fold path, building good karma, etc, those practices will lead you to nirvana, the state of having finally been released from the endless reincarnations of struggle, the state in which you no longer struggle but also the state in which you to cease to exist as an individual.  

In a world full of suffering, angst, fear, and existential anxieties this is an attractive option and many of the eastern practices do bring a temporal sense of peace.  Some even have temporal health benefits.    

Yet the scriptures below from the Christian Bible show us how Christianity differs in its approach to the anxieties and fears of life.  

“Because the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need”   Psalm 23:1  

“I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us . . . . We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”      |
                                                                                                   Romans 8:18, 28  

“Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”                                                                                                     Philippians 4:6-7  

Christians find their salvation from the painful conditions of this life outside of themselves.  Christians do not seek to empty themselves through meditation, rather they engage in meditation to fill themselves with the knowledge and love of God Who is real, exists and is the One they will one day meet as their Savior Jesus Christ.    When Christians practice silence, that silence is meant to make room for God to enter.   If we seek to be emptied it is only to rid ourselves of that which can never satisfy, and replace it with that which does, God Himself.    In the end Christians look forward to the day when they experience not self-extinction, rather to the day when they experience the revealed Glory of God.

        *This post was inspired by Adam Hamilton’s Christianity and World Religions

 

 

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Suffering

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How Christianity Differs from Hinduism and Buddhism
and Other Eastern Religious Practices
Suffering
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Jeff Lampl

The writings of Siddhartha Gautama (583-483 BC) the Hindu founder of Buddhism, who came to be known as the “enlightened one” (the Buddha) challenge each of us with regard to the things we are attached to. He is right in noting that our attachments, clinging and desires can lead to suffering.   His solution was detachment, the practice of eliminating desire and thereby eliminating the pain of loss, transience, and ultimately death.  

While recognizing that some attachments are good (to our spouse and children).  Christians also recognize that many desires and attachments can become idols, which can not only separate us from God but can also become false gods which we worship (can’t live without). Among these are the craving, desire and attachment to our possessions, power, or an unhealthy obsession with even good desires.

How does Jesus instruct his followers regarding the suffering we experience when our desires and attachments let us down and leave us in despair?  

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?    

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?  So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”                 Matthew 6:24-34 (NIV2011)  

The Buddha taught non-attachment through meditation. Jesus calls us to keep our minds focused on the most important things first (6:33), to trust in God for the rest, and to not be obsessed with wealth. Invite.  

Do you notice the difference?  In Buddhism and other eastern religious practices the emphasis is on self-emptying.   In Christianity the focus is on filling, filling one’s mind, heart and life purpose with God as revealed in Jesus Christ.  This is no minor difference.  In Christianity there is a God who gives us desires as a means to drive us to Himself, in Whom fulfillment is found, and in Whom our deepest desires are met.   In many eastern practices God either does not exist, or is irrelevant, or is a supreme impersonal truth into which the finally detached person is ultimately subsumed.   Christianity actually teaches “not that our desires are too strong, rather that they are too weak.    We are like children who settle for playing in the mud when a holiday at the beach is available”   (C.S. Lewis paraphrase)

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Today is an Exciting Day in the Life of Our Church Family!!

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Today is an Exciting Day in the Life of Our Church Family!!
Monday, July 13, 2015
Jeff Lampl

“And now, friends, we ask you to honor those leaders who work so hard for you, who have been given the responsibility of urging and guiding you along in your obedience. Overwhelm them with appreciation and love! Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part”            1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 (MSG)

Today we welcome Dr. Gary Arntessoni, his wife Arnell, and his two daughters, Michaela and Becca to their official start as members of the CLC family and to Gary’s first day on the job as our brand new Pastor of Discipleship, a position this church has never had before!    This begins a new era for us as we strengthen our emphasis on growing all CLC adults in spiritual formation, in growing in our knowledge and love of Jesus Christ, in living out Biblical Community, and embracing God’s mission for each of us in our individual worlds.  

You can meet Gary this week as he greets VBS attenders as they arrive and depart.   He’s looking forward to getting to know each of you and finding ways to help you grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ.   Please introduce yourselves as you see him!   Here’s a brief bio of Gary:

Gary grew up in southern California and has served in pastoral leadership for over 25 years. His ministries have stretched across both coasts and have included Pastor, New Church Planter, Seminary teacher, and University Chaplain. With a Master of Divinity degree from Fuller Theological Seminary, and a doctorate in spiritual formation from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Gary's passion is to come alongside people through discipleship, teaching, leading, coaching, and equipping in order that they may grow in Christ and be the church in and for the world. Gary also enjoys taking walks with Arnell, fly-fishing, and mountain biking. Gary is married to the Rev. Arnell ArnTessoni. Together they home school their two daughters, Michaela and Becca.

 
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