GraceNotes 2.4 (May 2017)

GRACENOTES

May 2017

Equipping the Saints of Grace Bible Fellowship

Joy at Work | Maintaining a Work and Life Balance

By Landon Liles

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The Value of Attending a Mid-Week Bible Study

By J.R. Cuevas

Helping prospective employees maintain a work-life balance is a modern-day incentive that employers often use when searching for their band of all-stars. Companies promise longer vacations, greater perks at the office including free food and a gym, staff retreats, television, and a flood of other enticing incentives.

For the record, the Scriptures do not explicitly mandate that a Christian must regularly attend a mid-week Bible study. I do not intend to guilt-trip anybody who isn’t currently attending a Bible study into doing so. Nor do I intend to nominate those who do regularly attend mid-week studies for the Christian-of-the-year award.

Major news outlets cover the work-life balance topic with fervor. A simple internet search will result in anywhere from 4 to 37 steps on obtaining a proper work-life balance. A few of my favorite steps include the following: unplugging, exercising, managing your time, and taking a vacation. Indeed, each one of these steps can be quite valuable when applied appropriately.

In my own life, my attendance at mid-week Bible studies has varied. There were seasons when I attended up to three Bible studies a week outside of Sunday service. There were periods when I had the privilege of teaching two or more Bible studies a week. And then there were times when I didn’t attend any mid-week Bible studies. It would be hypocritical, therefore, to turn suggestions for Christian growth and fellowship into biblical mandates.

However, we are being conditioned to understand this phrase, “work-life balance” with respect primarily to a person’s desires. To maintain a work-life balance means that we are able enjoy the perks of one’s personal career ambitions while continuing to enjoy our play and rest. The objectives of these plans are to promote health, emotionBiblical Economics 8 al stability, and high productivity. Why are there so many systems, methods, and schools of Despair and the on this topic? I Christian 10 thought propose that there is one critical element missing Meet the Kims 14 in each of these methods that, if included, would solve the challenges many others are seeking to resolve. Specifically: in order for our personal lives and work to exist harmoniously, they must both be understood in the light of Scripture. As patterns of life and work are practiced in light of God’s Word, we will live a life pleasing to our Creator.

Work is mandated, necessary, and beneficial. Work began in Genesis 2:15, prior to the Fall, when God gave man the

In This Issue

Continued on page 12

The Scriptures do mandate that believers are to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Pet 3:18). Believers are exhorted in Scripture to long for the pure milk of the Word (1 Pet 2:2). Scripture does place a unique value in the formal teaching of the Word itself as a means for the growth of Christians individually and corporately. Scripture also commands that believers be vitally connected to fellow members of Christ’s church (see Heb 3:12-15; 10:2425).

It is nearly impossible to engage in these endeavors with excellence if one’s weekly involvement in the church life is limited to a ninety-minute Sunday worship service and nothing more. Involvement in a mid-week Bible study in one’s local region can serve as a means through which your growth in the Word and in ministry can occur. For many believers, being faithfully involved in a mid-week Bible study can provide a number of benefits.

Benefit #1: Bible Studies Provide the Opportunity for Believers to Receive the Whole Counsel of God The first benefit we derive from being involved in a midweek Bible study is that these studies provide us with the opportunity to receive the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27). While attending a mid-week Bible study does not replace attending Sunday worship service, it’s a logistical Continued on page 13

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The Pastor’s Study It wasn’t until I was in high school that I began to notice my mom would often repeat a proverbial phrase in response to my anxious musings about the future. “Bloom where you’re planted,” she would quip as I worried openly about what I should do with my life. I wasn’t a Christian at the time, and I was right in the thick of my teenage years, so these sayings—she had a host of others—would, to borrow another idiom, “float in one ear and out the other.” What hath horticulture to do with a young man’s concern over the future?

When I trusted Christ during my sophomore year of college, my passion for the Scripture turned insatiable. I desired to know the truth and talk about it with others. My parents were already Christians, so it was natural that our conversations would often turn to the Bible. It was some time after my conversion that I was talking with my parents, probably pondering over concerns about the future, when my mom again unearthed her agricultural wisdom: “Bloom where you’re planted.” But this time she added, “Where is that in the Bible?”

It sounds biblical, doesn’t it? The Bible is replete with agrarian references and illustrations, and there’s something about the prima facie wisdom of that short sentence that makes it sound like it fell straight from the lips of Jesus, or Solomon.

Discerning a Catchy Colloquial Phrase The problem, of course, is that there is no such phrase in the Bible. Pull out your concordance, open your Bible search program, and scour the Proverbs and the Gospels: you won’t find “Bloom where you’re planted.” The Law and the Prophets won’t help you; neither will Paul, Peter, James, or Jude.

The phrase “Bloom where you’re planted” is simply not in Scripture.

There are many colloquial phrases that get tossed around in our contemporary cultural milieu that are often mistaken as biblical statements. “Spare the rod and spoil the child” is one with which you might be familiar. It’s not in the Bible. The famous “Footprints” poem isn’t either. What about “Cleanliness is next to godliness?” Nope. “God moves in mysterious ways?” He does, but that actual sentence is nowhere in Scripture.

As we grow in our walk with Christ, we should desire to know our Bibles so well that we are able to spot biblical-sounding statements that aren’t in the Bible. This is a matter of basic discernment and it is the responsibility of every Christian. But our task doesn’t stop here. In the case of

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Is That i

by Derek

the catchy adage, “Bloom where you are planted,” it’s not enough to say, “That’s not in the Bible!” We want to bring the whole teaching of Scripture to bear not only on the words of the phrase in question, but the meaning of it. This practice follows Paul’s admonition to “Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good” (Rom 12:9). In other words, we want to ask what is true about the statement, and what is false.

What Does it Mean?

But first we have to ask, What does this phrase mean? While I can’t speak for everyone who uses it, the most likely meaning of this saying is basically, “Be content where God has placed you in life and make the most of your particular calling.” If this is what we mean when we use this phrase, then we are close to capturing a biblical principle.

Theologically, the doctrine of creation teaches us that God has designed and outfitted His creatures with particular skills, interests, and abilities, and sovereignly placed them in their given circumstances in order to exercise dominion over the earth (see Gen 1:26-31; Acts 17:26). The Great Reformers Martin Luther and John Calvin rediscovered this biblical doctrine of creation and taught Christians to fulfill their individual callings, whether that calling was to serve society as a banker, farmer, or homemaker. Giving careful attention to one’s calling would produce valuable goods for the greater community and, in the case of mothers, train the next generation. Careful attention to fulfilling one’s calling would also keep one out of trouble. Calvin wrote, Finally, this point is to be noted: the Lord bids each one of us in all life’s actions to look to his calling. For he knows with what great restlessness human nature flames, with what fickleness is borne hither and thither, how its ambition longs to embrace various things at once. Therefore, lest through our stupidity and rashness everything be turned topsy-turvy, he has appointed duties for every man in his particular way of life. And that no one may thoughtlessly transgress his limits, he has named the various kinds of living “callings.” Therefore each individual has his own kind of living assigned to him by the Lord as a sort of sentry post so that he may not heedlessly wander about throughout life (Institutes, 3.10.6).

In other words, constantly daydreaming about a different life, a better line of work, or a new community will lead to personal instability and lack of productivity. There’s a good chance Calvin would have endorsed my mom’s idiom.

Live the Life God has Assigned You Most importantly, it appears that Paul the apostle might have

in the Bible? | “Bloom Where You Are Planted”

k Brown

approved the parental counsel I received as a young man. In 1 Corinthians 7:17, Paul tells those who were anxious over getting married, “Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. . . . in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God (1 Cor 7:17, 24). Paul does not make this an absolute rule, for he tells the slave to be content with his status in life and seek freedom if possible (1 Cor 7:22). Those who were married must remain married, but the unmarried were free to marry or stay single (1 Cor 7:9, 27-28).

Nevertheless, Paul recognized that there was wisdom in burrowing oneself into their God-given calling and seeking contentment and productivity there rather than constantly looking around and hoping for something else (see also Prov 17:24).

Nor does genuine repentance necessarily require a change in one’s work (see Luke 3:10-14). But it might, and that’s where we come to a deficiency in the saying, “Bloom where you are planted.”

A Time to Uproot The problem isn’t so much in what the phrase says, but what it doesn’t say. Without the larger biblical context, the statement “Bloom where you’re planted” could imply that remaining in one’s calling is all

a person needs to worry about in life. But this approach wouldn’t account for the callings that are overtly sinful and from which a person must “uproot” himself or herself if they know Christ. Christians cannot abide in Christ and work in the pornography or abortion industry, for example. True repentance in these cases would lead to blooming elsewhere.

Conclusion But we can’t fault a proverbial saying for being, well, proverbial. Solomon’s catchy couplets don’t always give us the whole picture, but we don’t chide him for this reason. Diligence, most of the time, leads to abundance (Prov 12:27; 13:4; 21:5), but not when famines ravage the land. Generally speaking, a slack hand causes poverty (Prov 10:4), but it’s possible for a sluggard to inherit a large estate and much wealth.

Whoever keeps his tongue keeps himself out of trouble (Prov 21:23), unless unsolicited trouble finds him. In other words, a good proverb doesn’t need to say everything in order to be true, or helpful. For Bible-saturated Christians, sayings like “Bloom where you are planted” can be insightful and encouraging because we are able to understand them within a biblical framework. That’s the blessing of biblical discernment all Christians can enjoy, no matter where we are planted. †

Pastor Derek blogs on relevant Church issues, theology, and Christian books.

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GraceNotes

Volume 2, Number 4

Contents 1 Joy at Work | Maintaining a Work and Life Balance

By Landon Liles 1 The Value of Attending a MidWeek Bible Study

By J.R. Cuevas 2 The Pastor’s Study | Is that in the Bible? | “Bloom Where You are Planted”

By Derek Brown 4 Meet the Members | The Regan Family Interview with Breanna McManis 6 Theological Foundations | The Holy Spirit

By Cliff McManis 7 Book Review | Reformation: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

By J.R. Cuevas 8 Biblical Economics

By Stephen Carnagua 10 Despair and the Christian

By Bob Douglas 14 Meet the Chairman | Sam and Lily Kim Interview with Jasmine Patton 18 Staff Picks | Books for Children

By Cliff McManis 20 ENGAGE | Smartphones, Screen Time, and the Christian

By Derek Brown

Editor-in-Chief Cliff McManis Managing Editor Derek Brown Associate Editors Breanna McManis J. R. Cuevas Jasmine Patton

FromTheStudy.com

Advisory Board Bob Douglas, Sam Kim, Tim Wong, Peter Lam

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Meet the Members: The Reg Interview with Breanna McManis

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Where did you both grow up? Were you raised in Christian homes?

Danielle: I grew up in rural Minnesota, and I moved to Sacramento when I was about ten. I grew up in a home that was at least nominally Christian.

Mark: I grew up in Half Moon Bay, California as a Jehovah’s Witness.

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When and how were you both saved?

Danielle: I was saved around the age of eight. It’s a little harder to tell with children. I grew up in an Arminian environment where we believed that once you say a prayer, you’re saved. So that makes it a little bit more confusing.

But I knew I was a sinner and I knew I deserved hell, and so I asked a teacher at a retreat how I could be saved and she prayed with me. It’s kind of hard to know the exact point I was saved since I was so young, but I do know that I understood my sin and that I needed to be saved.

Mark: I came to Christ in 1996. My manager at the time had been witnessing to me and kept up our relationship and kept pressing me, and I then started attending Calvary Chapel Church, and I got saved there.

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How did you meet and when were you married?

Danielle: We met at work in 1996, when he was not saved. I was in a relationship at the time. Two years later, our pastor and his wife set us up! I went to my pastor and said, “I’m done with dating. Just point me in the right direction.” I was joking, but they ended up setting us up.

Mark: We were married on March 31, 2001.

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When did you start attending GBF, and why did you decide to become members?

Danielle: Currently, I am a homeschool mom.

Mark: I do accounting and finance for startups.

Mark: We started attending in August of 2013. I wanted to become a member within three weeks, but we had just come out of a hard situation at our previous church, so we wanted to take our time.

Danielle: We both believe in church membership, it just took us some time.

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What do you do for a living?

What are the names and ages of your kids?

What ministries are you involved in at

Danielle: Isaiah is nine, Josiah is five, and Talitha Grace GBF? is two.

Danielle: I work in the nursery, and I’ve served in music a couple times. I taught at a women’s bridal shower and I have led worship at a Bible study for a short time.

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gan Family Mark: I assist Austin in sound ministry, I do the accounting for the church, and I cook for the men’s ministry (I’m second chef, underneath Nathan Ng!)

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What are the biggest blessings that you’ve experienced since you’ve been at GBF?

Mark: I am excited about the trajectory of missions in our church and the leadership that oversees everything.

And the preaching is another blessing.

Danielle: I would say the preaching, which we appreciate a lot more considering where we came from. I appreciate the eldership, and I also enjoy having older women around to fellowship with.

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What is something that most people at GBF wouldn’t know about you?

Danielle: I play Djembe, which is an African hand drum, and I can also play guitar.

Mark: I went to Africa in 2012, where I was able to spend time preaching and teaching along with other men throughout the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

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How can the GBF body be praying for you?

Danielle: We would appreciate prayers for wisdom in our parenting.

Mark: We would appreciate prayer for managing our time well.

BIG TRUTH

LITTLE BOOKS ®

GBF Press’s Big Truth Little Books series continues to grow Below are the three most recent books Available at the GBF Book Cart or Amazon In June 2015 in the case of Obergefell v.

Hodges, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in a 5-4 decision that marriage between same-sex couples is a right guaranteed by the Constitution. In this unprecedented legal decision, five Supreme Court justices effectively redefined the time-honored institution of marriage for all Americans. But how should the Church respond to this recent earth-shaking event? By placing this recent judicial ruling in its historical-political context and examining it in light of Scripture, Dr. Cliff McManis helps Christians respond to their nation and their neighbor with Christlike conviction and compassion.

Ever since the Church’s inception 2000 years ago, Christians have wrestled with how to think about, relate to, and submit to the government. Answers to these important questions have ranged across a broad spectrum, with Christians often disagreeing with each other in significant ways. In this book, Cliff McManis looks to Scripture to help us think clearly about issues related to government, politics, and the Christian’s involvement in both. By establishing his discussion first and foremost in the Bible, McManis provides common theological ground for all Christians to discuss and reflect upon these vital issues.

We live in a fallen world, and our lives are often beset with physical suffering, emotional difficulty, relational problems, and financial uncertainty. In this short yet insightful volume, Cliff McManis discusses how to deal with trials in a way that pleases God and is best for us individually.

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Theological Foundations | The Holy Spirit

By Cliff McManis In the last issue of Grace Notes, Pastor Derek Brown gave an overview of the Trinity. I’d like to follow up with a survey about the Holy Spirit—who He is and what He does. Christians have a personal relationship with God, which means they have a relationship with the Holy Spirit, who is God. The more we know about the Holy Spirit, the deeper our relationship with God will be. Everything we know about the Spirit comes from the Bible. The Spirit is introduced to us in the first chapter of the Bible (Gen 1:2) and the last chapter (Rev 22:17).

Let’s start with who the Holy Spirit is. First, the Spirit is deity, or God (Acts 5:3-4). He is the third Person of the Trinity, but He is not the Father, nor is He Jesus. He is equal to the Father and Jesus in glory, power and essence, but He is a distinct person from them both and has different roles. He is not “part” of God, but with the Father and the Son, the three Persons together constitute the one true, Triune God of the universe— one God in three Persons (Matt 28:19). This divine reality defies human thinking, but it’s true because this is what God has revealed about Himself (Job 42:3).

Second, the Holy Spirit is a person. The Bible talks about Him using personal pronouns. Jesus always referred to the Spirit as a Person (cf. John 14:26). The Spirit is not an impersonal force, a created thing, or an “it” as some false religions want us to believe. Neither is He a phantom or a ghost. The Spirit is composed of all the attributes that define a person— intellect (Rom 8:27), self-awareness (1 Cor 2:11), emotions (Eph 4:30), volition (Acts 13:2), morality (John 16:8-11), and the ability to relate to other persons (Acts 13:2). The Holy Spirit does not have a physical body, but is an infinite and eternal spirit (Ps 139).

Now let’s look at a few of the many things the Holy Spirit does, which is point number three: the Holy Spirit complements the work of the Father and the Son. The Spirit was present at the time of creation and was working alongside the Father and the Son in fashioning everything. Job said, speaking of God the Creator, “By His Spirit He adorned the heavens” (Job 26:13), and Elihu asserted, “The Spirit of God has made me” (Job 33:4). The Spirit had a special role in producing Scripture. It was the Holy Spirit who actually guided the biblical authors to write down exactly what the Father want-

ed recorded, thus guaranteeing its inerrancy and infallibility.

King David, who wrote much Scripture, testified, “The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue” (2 Sam 23:2). And Peter said, “no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Pet 1:20-21).

The Spirit also has a complementary role in the work of salvation. The Father sent the Son to be the Savior (John 3:16); the Son is the One who died as the sacrifice and propitiation for sin (1 Cor 15:3); and the Holy Spirit applies the work of the Father and Son’s salvation to all who believe. Paul said, “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:4-5).

Further, it was the Holy Spirit who empowered and led Jesus throughout His three-year ministry when He was on earth.

Jesus declared, “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me” (Luke 4:18).

Fourth, in addition to complementing the work of the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit has a unique multi-faceted ministry toward believers. The main ministry the Spirit has with Christians pertains to His indwelling presence—the Spirit lives in every believer (Rom 8:9). He takes up residence in every person who believes in the gospel the moment they are converted, and He remains there. He will never leave the child of God. The Christian thus becomes the Temple of the Holy Spirit of God (1 Cor 3:16)—everywhere you go, so goes the Spirit of God. The indwelling presence of the Spirit is the promise of the New Covenant that was foretold in the Old Testament (Ezek 36:27), ratified by Jesus (Luke 22:20) and applied by the Spirit after Pentecost (1 Cor 12:13). Since the Spirit is always with us, He is our constant supernatural Comforter (Acts 9:31), Guide (John 16:13), Advocate (John 16:7), Teacher (John 14:26), Encourager (Rom 8:16), Mediator (Rom 8:26), Sanctifier (Rom 8:13) and Enabler (Acts 1:8; 1 John 4:4).

Much more could be said about the amazing Holy Spirit. In the meantime, as a child of God, be thankful and aware of the Spirit’s presence in your life. †

WE PREACH CHRIST 6

Book Review | Reformation: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow by Carl Trueman

By J.R. Cuevas Carl Trueman’s book Reformation: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow is an examination of the core doctrines of the sixteenth and seventeenth century Protestant Reformation, how they affected the evangelical scene of that period, and how they address the current state of evangelicalism.

In the first chapter, “The Pearl of Great Price,” Trueman argues for the current relevance of the Reformation. He emphasizes a dangerous trend in evangelicalism to treat the new as good and the old as bad. He states as his goal in the chapter is to show how the theological principles underlying the work of the Reformers ought to be applied today—because God and our theology have not changed while certain aspects of our culture and society have changed. In the second chapter, “Meeting the Man of Sorrows,” Trueman expounds on Martin Luther’s “theology of the cross” and how his emphasis on Christ grates against the current “gospel of self-fulfillment.” He argues that the Reformation’s emphasis on the centrality of Christ’s person and work ought to shape the lives of both individual Christians and the church as a whole.

In the third chapter, “The Oracles of God,” Trueman focuses on the Reformers’ theology of the Bible—what the Bible is and its role in the community of faith. He shows how the current popular attitude toward the Bible simply reflects the church’s lack of understanding of what the Bible is and how it relates to the Holy Spirit’s ministry in the church. Trueman shows the need for the church today to return to the high view of Scripture that the Reformers emphasized. In the fourth chapter, “Blessed Assurance,” Trueman examines the doctrine of assurance of salvation. He surveys the current problems sprouting in the evangelical field—legalism and emotionalism—and addresses how it is that the Reformed understanding of assurance challenges these modes of thinking.

Reformation: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow is an excellent resource for both leaders and laymen in the church. Trueman’s style of writing combines both simplicity and depth.

His simplicity enables believers from all stages of maturity to understand his major premises. His depth will cause even the most seasoned of Christian leaders to examine their own ways and better assess current trends of evangelical Christianity. In short: the book is both easy to read and thought-provoking.

But more important than the style of writing is the content of the book itself. Trueman’s examination of three key doctrines—Christology, bibliology, and assurance—are all accurate and applicable. His treatment of the meaning and implication of these doctrines presents a truthful and righteous challenge to the contemporary church’s understanding of these three vital topics. Rather than seeking to glorify Christ, the church is struggling with self-fulfillment and self-centeredness.

The professing church is also guilty of neglecting and mistreating the Scripture. Church leaders often mislead people as to how to find the assurance of their standing before God. In addressing these topics, Trueman demonstrates how the battle for certain doctrinal truths in the Reformation were not meant to be simply admired as historical relics in church history; the preservation of these doctrinal truths were meant to shape the church today.

Another one of the book’s strengths is its applicability. To explicate Luther’s theology of the cross is one thing; to show how such a Christology ought to shape the ministry and character of the church and Christian community is something else. It is crucial for Christians to understand that the doctrinal truths that were passed down from one generation of history to another were not meant to simply be known, but to also be applied in the lives of individual Christians and the life of the Christian community. Trueman challenges the Church not so much in the teaching of sound doctrine, but in the application of it.

Trueman accurately diagnoses the Church’s preoccupation with novelty. In an effort to address the culture in which they live, many churches sacrifice doctrinal truth for cultural relevance in their teaching and ministry. It is thus important for the believer to see his or her connection with the greater history of God’s people. Theologically, a church must not be driven by a desire for worldly esteem; rather the church is called to be faithful in preserving biblical doctrine and entrusting these doctrines to subsequent generations.

Let Reformation: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow challenge you to consider whether the doctrines emphasized by the Reformers of the sixteenth and seventeenth century are emphatically represented in your life. †

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Biblical Economics

By Stephen Carnagua Economics is the study and philosophy of allocating resources. Every household, company, and government makes choices about how to spend, and these choices are often carefully scrutinized and even agonized over. How should we determine where our money goes? What does Scripture have to say about the money God has entrusted to us?

Our Relationship to Money Before getting into what to do with your finances, let’s acknowledge the obvious: we think about money a lot. Money is involved in nearly every facet of our daily lives. It is also a primary factor in our decisions about education, work, and sometimes marriage. Jesus taught about money more than any other subject because He knew it was important to our spiritual lives.

that we are deeply satisfied by what “is truly life” (1 Tim 6:18– 19)—our relationship with God, not the things He gives us.

However, we must remember that material gifts are from God! Scripture presents money as God’s favor or reward. Job, Abraham, King Solomon, and many others in the Bible were favored by God in this way. Ecclesiastes 5:19 plainly states, “Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God.” As long as we are grateful for God’s gifts and ultimately desire Him more than

So, it’s unavoidable. We’re going to think about money.

How should we think about it? This question is crucial. While there are many commands about how to handle money, our chief concern, as with all things, must be our hearts. We do not live a faithful financial life by merely following a checklist of rules. However, God’s emphasis on our hearts over our outward actions is not a pass to do whatever we want. It’s more challenging than a set of rules.

We are supposed to submit all our thoughts and actions to God as a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1). We cannot serve God and money. We have to pick one (Matt 6:24). That means we are not able to keep things in neat boxes, designating our money and God’s money and using them with different standards.

There are eternal consequences for our financial decisions.

God deserves our sacrifices because He is the ultimate owner and authority over all we possess. As such, we are responsible for using our money wisely. The parable of the talents (Matt 25:14-30) illustrates how we should be responsible with the wealth God has given us. It is prudent to plan, save, invest, and buy insurance, and not spend more than we have (Prov 21:20). I believe it is wise to save money for retirement, but our goal in life must not be a life of idle pleasure or excessive wealth. Unlike the rich fool in Jesus’ parable (Luke 12:22-34), our hope must remain in God and not our money (1 Tim 6:17).

In fact, there is always a dangerous temptation to be ungrateful for our material blessings. Jesus said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” (Luke 18:24) and, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:34). Money and its comforts can, and often do, take God’s place in our lives. All of us should pray

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what He gives us, we will glorify Him.

Scripture’s Commands Concerning Money When God occupies the proper place in our hearts, we are able to handle our money rightly. The focus of Scripture is on our attitude, but there are a few clear directives, sufficient for our needs today.

First, we should earn money. If we are able, we should work and make money to provide for ourselves (2 Thess 3:7-11) and especially our family (1 Tim 5:4-8). Moreover, we should do all our work diligently, as if it were for Christ Himself (Col 3:23; Eph 6:7). Proverbs 10:4 says, “A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.” It is good and right to work hard for the purpose of making money.

Second, we are called to pay taxes. When Jesus said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s” (Matt 22:21), He didn’t offer additional commentary or qualifications. Caesar was an unjust, oppressive ruler, and the practices by which his government collected taxes were unfair. Yet, Jesus’ followers were instructed to pay taxes and financially support an evil secular state. God has graciously provided governments,

s good and bad, to rule and protect His people. Paul instructed us to “be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God” (Rom 13:1).

Third, we should give money to those in need. There are three groups of people outside of our own household for whom we are called to provide: the poor, widows, and orphans. Scripture is replete with commands to take care of those who are unable to take care of themselves. Throughout the Bible, providing for the poor is held up as the standard for godly justice and righteousness. Note James 1:27, which calls taking care of widows and orphans “religion that is pure and blameless,” or Isaiah 1:17, which says, “Learn to do good: seek justice, correct oppression, bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.”

Fourth, we should give money to the church. From the beginning of human history, God’s people offered sacrifices to Him (Gen 4:3-4; Job 1:5). A proper understanding of sacrifice is crucial to understanding God’s love and character. Before Christ, sacrifice was a messy reminder of the cost of sin as well as an opportunity to honor God by esteeming Him above prized possessions. As recipients of the New Covenant, our sacrifices are often financial and are no longer for the purpose of covering sin. But they are still used for the same purposes: to purify our hearts, to esteem God properly, and to meet needs.

Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthian Church is perhaps the most instructive command about New Testament giving: Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed….(2 Cor 9:6-8 NASB)

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Because money is a big part of our lives, we need to have a correct understanding of how to think about it and what to do with it. Because our wealth and our lives belong to God, we need to be grateful for our money and submit our financial decision making to God’s authority. And because Scripture is sufficient, we have commands and examples regarding the proper use of money. Praise God for the freedom and ability to worship Him in all things! †

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Is despair a legitimate emotion for the Christian? Some may quickly respond “yes,” because they believe there is nothing wrong with experiencing the full range of emotions in this life. After all, Christ was “deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled” at how distraught Mary and Martha were over the death of Lazarus (John 11:33). In the Gospel of Luke, Christ again was distraught and wept over Jerusalem just prior to His death (Luke 19:41-44). Others may answer this question with a quick “no,” because they think that once a Christian is saved, they have nothing over which to despair. Which response is right? Or, is the answer somewhere in between?

A Definition of Despair To answer this question we first need to establish a clear definition of despair. Our culture often uses the term “despair” in a light-hearted way. “My 15 year old daughter despaired over the loss of her boyfriend.” These kinds of troubles are better described as “common trials.” We all face these types of problems. Trials at our jobs, in our love life, concerning extended family, finances, marriage, or health, will confront us throughout our lives. These trials are not necessarily trivial; they can be extremely difficult, even heart-wrenching. However, this is not true despair. True despair occurs when these common trials become so chronic and debilitating that one loses all hope. Consider these definitions of despair: •Dictionary.com - to lose, give up, or be without hope •Merriam-Webster - to lose all hope or confidence •Vocabulary.com-the feeling of not having any hope left Psychologists define pathological or clinical despair as, “A profound and existential hopelessness, helplessness, powerlessness and pessimism about life and the future that goes so deep it brings one to a loss of faith about one’s ability to find meaning, fulfillment and happiness, and to see a satisfactory future for oneself.” A common cause of this kind of despair can be financial loss or the loss of one’s career. Typically, there is an initial emotional downward spiral followed by intellectual justifications.

Consider this scenario. The loss of a lawsuit causes the Jones’ to lose their family business. Mr. Jones becomes emotionally paralyzed as he ponders his family legacy, his retirement, the kids, all the money used to fight the lawsuit, and the deep and devastating financial loss. Mr. Jones feels powerless and literally does nothing all day. He has lost all confidence in his business acumen, financial future, and his

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Despair and t

By Bob D hopelessness is bleeding into other areas of his life, including his marriage and other relationships. Mr. Jones intellectually justifies doing nothing, saying, “all I know is the family business.” Mr. Jones has spiraled into clinical despair and he truly feels he has no hope.

It is the above definitions of despair and similar life scenarios I wish to apply to the earlier question, is despair a legitimate emotion for a Christian?

How Psychology Addresses Despair For decades the traditional psychiatric approach has been to improve a patient’s emotions through psychopharmacological drugs. The majority of the time this approach has no real effect in changing the patient’s loss of hope. Psychiatrists acknowledge that a pill can pharmacologically change one’s emotions but cannot change one’s intellectual and spiritual hope. Many times the failure of this approach only reinforces the patient’s already devastating clinical despair.

The same is true of psychotherapies like meeting with a psychologist who will use a variety of cognitive-behavioral, interpersonal, and other therapies that seek to relieve patients of their despair. These approaches have also seen little to no success in delivering people from the bondage of despair. The psychology industry’s failure in curing despair is under-reported, and these facts about psychology’s lack of success only occasionally leaks out. The bottom line is that these traditional psychiatric and psychological approaches don’t work, and one of the best proofs they don’t work is the growth in nontraditional psychotherapy over the last several decades.

One of these non-traditional approaches has been growing since the early 2000s. This approach has had little success in treating despair but has grown in general popularity. The roots of this approach are based in Karl Marx’s humanist concept of seeking freedom through revolutionary activity. This concept feeds the human desire for rebellion and revolutionary activity against anything that oppresses the individual.

This approach encourages the organization and facilitation of revolutionary activity against the oppressive agent. If you are “in despair” over the last presidential election then your despair should be remedied with organized revolutionary activity. So, the best way to come out of despair is to organize a rebellion…literally.

Even non-traditional approaches that began with a basic worldview have been evacuated of their Christian content over the last hundred years. Psychologists have successfully removed God, the Bible, or any remnant of the supernatural

the Christian

Douglas from the counseling enterprise and have substituted a need for existential freedom and self-trancendence while allowing the patient to define their own meaning in life.

Christian counselors, even some pastors, are using these and other non-biblical approaches to address despair in people’s lives. Christians need to be aware that using anything outside solid biblical doctrine to address one’s inward needs will be steeped in an anti-Christian worldview and will undermine one’s walk with God. Secular psychology is designed to empower you through your own effort and man’s wisdom, not God’s power or God’s Word. We must hold to the promises in the Scripture knowing they are sufficient for all the things we face in life.

How the Bible Addresses Despair For the unbeliever, a level of despair will be experienced in this life. We know from Romans 1:18-28 that all men know that God exists but choose to suppress that truth in unrighteousness. Over time, as they continually reject God, their hearts become so darkened that God gives them up to their lusts and dishonorable passions, and, eventually, to debased minds. This is fertile ground for despair. Indeed, Scripture tells us that unbelievers have “no hope” and are “without God in the world” (Eph 2:12).

For the believer, 1 Corinthians 10:13 addresses trials that are “common to man.” The promise of this passage gives the believer confidence that God will not allow these common trials and temptations to overwhelm the believer beyond what they can endure. That does not mean these are trivial trials; it simply means they are common to all humans.

But through God’s strength, grace, peace, and many promises, the believer will endure and not lose hope. The trials of this life can be excruciating, and some troubles may even last throughout our life on this earth. Children might have serious illnesses that plague them their entire adult life; our sin nature may continue to tempt us to fall back into dishonoring activities like idolatry, adultery, homosexuality, and more (see 1 Cor 6:9-11; Col 3:1-11). But the hope we have in the gospel enables us to endure the trials of today as we look forward to our eternal rest with Christ.

If Mr. Jones was a believer, he would have been able to trust the promises in God’s Word, believing that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him (Rom 8:28). He would be reminded that, as believers, our lives are not our own; we are slaves to Christ (Rom 6:15-22; 1 Cor 6:20). Our lives are to be lived for Christ and for the glory of God (Phil 1:21; 1 Cor 10:31). For the Christian, this world is

not our home (John 15:19). Our home and hope is in Christ and spending eternity with him: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (Rev 21:1-3) God chose us before the foundations of this world (Eph 1:4) and promised to guide us through this life and its trials (John 14:16; Heb 13:5) to one day be with the Lord forever (John 6:51). This is the eternal hope believers have in Christ (1 Cor 15:19-28). As believers, we are to have a Christian worldview which includes knowing this world is temporal and everything in this world will one day give way to a new heaven and new earth (2 Pet 3:10; Is 65:17).

We are also to trust the sovereignty of God (Eph 1:10-12) as He both unveils history and sanctifies each of us as believers (Heb 2:10-11).

True Despair In this life, unbelievers who have truly lost all hope and who are riddled with lack of purpose and meaning in their lives, like Mr. Jones, may believe they have reached ultimate despair, but that is not yet the case. While alive in this world, God’s common grace keeps the unbeliever from ultimate despair. Whether the unbeliever acknowledges it or not, they are presently receiving grace from God as He provides for them (Acts 14:17) and allows them to live in this beautiful world filled with His creative wonder (Ps 19:1-5). The very fact that we are alive this very day is grace from God. At death, earthly life is over, and God’s common grace will evaporate along with the possibility for salvation. Then comes judgment (John 12:48; Heb 9:27). All who don’t know Christ are cast into hell as God’s wrath is poured out on the unbeliever for eternity (Rev 20:15, 2 Pet 2:9-16). There is no salvation. There is no hope. This will be true despair.

Salvation from Despair Salvation brings HOPE; hope for today and for eternity (1 Thess 4:13-18). We are recipients of the “hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began” (Titus 1:2); and it is this hope that cures despair. When our eyes are focused on Christ and all that He suffered for us, we understand God’s sovereignty, and we realize Christ has gone to prepare heaven for us and that He will return for us (John 14:2-3), the believer should never truly despair. To do so would demonstrate a lack of trusting God and His Word (Eph 1:15-23; Heb 6:18-20).†

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Joy at Work | Maintaing a Work and Life Balance continued from page 1

task to work the garden and care for it. Work was a good thing; work was untainted by sin and commanded by God. Genesis 3 explains that sin has negatively impacted our work, but sin’s intrusion does not change the necessity of work. In Exodus 20:9-11, we learn that God established a six-day workweek with one day of rest. We learn that work is for the good of others and not to be merely for our own personal fulfillment (see 1 Tim 5:8; Eph 4:28). God has also given man the ability to enjoy work’s rewards (Eccl 3:13; 5:18-19).

It is important to understand that an improper approach to work will lead to unhealthy habits, relationships, and worship. In Exodus 18:13-24, for example, we find that when Moses attempted to take on a daunting task of judging the nation of Israel with limited support, his father-in-law warned him of doing too much. Moses yielded to this counsel, sought help, and God blessed him for it.

We should also keep in mind that working for the sole purpose of monetary gain is vanity. The fruit of our labor must be from the Lord (Psalm 127:2; Prov 10:22). Ultimately, we must be on guard and watch out for the desires of the heart that draw us away from worshipping the Lord. Reflect on your true desires in life and where you look for comfort, identification, security, wealth, power, and entertainment.

But we must also be careful that we don’t overcorrect and advocate a minimalist approach to work. We find wisdom in God’s Word with many warnings on idleness or laziness.

A man who choses to not work will certainly find himself without bread (Prov 6:9-11; 10:4-5, 14:23).

The balance to work, then, is rest. We need to look to the Lord as our example of how to rest from our labors. God rested after creation (Gen 2:1-3). He instituted holy festivals in the nation of Israel. During His Galilean ministry, Jesus withdrew from the public work for the sake of rest and refreshment (Matt 14:13).

With an extensive list of things ‘to-do,’ how and where do we start in evaluating the priorities in our life? Ephesians 5:15-6:18 provides an excellent picture of how we should manage our day-to-day lives. As we assess each aspect of our life, we need to remember to number our days (Ps 90:12).

Time management is crucial. We must regularly review our

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priorities. How we prioritize and form a plan for execution will differ from man to man and family to family.

Here is a practical exercise for evaluating our priorities and time management. Take a four-week period of your life and account for every minute. Categorize sleep, ministry, work, eating, driving, watching TV, surfing the Internet, reading, and any other activity that consumes your time during a month. In a four-week period, there are 672 total hours. If you sleep seven hours per night, 476 hours remain. If you work eight hours a day and have a one hour commute round trip, 296 hours remain (assuming five-day workweek).

As you continue with this list you just made, it will be easy to see how quickly your time is consumed. If you are like me, when you first begin this assignment you will find that you scheduled more hours than were actually available.

If that is the case for you, this personal inventory will require you to take a look at the priorities in your life and assess how well you are fulfilling your God-given duties. After you have accounted for each category, list the priority number, (1)-(4), with (1) being a necessity, (4) being a want, and begin to sculpt a plan.

Because we are sinful, we will struggle with this exercise. But our heart’s desire must be for the things of God before we will ever be able to put Him first. Even then we will not fully succeed on this side of heaven. Trade the desires of your heart that become snares or idols and replace them with worship, praise, adoration, and meditation on God. Spend time in the Word with your loved ones (wife, children, parents, friends), and watch God transform their lives. This practice will change you, also. Schedule time with your family. Living in northern California provides a variety of options for families to engage in meaningful and unplugged activities together—backyard games, beach, or the mountains. Plan some time together and keep to your commitment.

During the exercise reflect on what motivates you to get up out of bed in the morning. Does this reflect the call of God to constantly renew your mind (Rom 12:1-2)? In all that we do, we are to do to the glory of God, both at work, and outside of work, including how we manage our time, resources, and energy (1 Cor 10:31). †

The Value of Attending a Mid-Week Bible Study continued from page 1 reality that it is virtually impossible for a faithful expositor to preach through the entire Old and New Testament through the sole venue of the Sunday sermon and uncover all of the Bible’s exegetical and theological gems. Attending a mid-week Bible study allows for believers to receive teaching from books of the Bible and topics that are not covered or addressed by the preacher on Sunday sermons, thus receiving further training in the Scriptures.

Benefit #2: Bible Studies Provide a Forum for Less Formal and More Interactive Study of the Bible A second benefit is that involvement in a mid-week Bible study gives Christians a forum for studying the Bible in a less formal setting. Bible studies provide a smaller setting in which believers can share thoughts and ask questions that they can’t share or ask during Sunday sermons. In Bible studies, the ministry of the Word takes the form of teaching more than preaching. God designed the ministry of the Word to occur primarily—but not exclusively—through preaching.

The Word can be ministered through interactive teaching and individual counseling as well. The believer will benefit from receiving the teaching of the Word in its variety of forms.

Benefit #3: Bible Studies Allow for Believers to Stay Grounded in the Word Throughout the Week The book of James instructs believers to be quick to hear the Word of God, so that they may be effectual doers of the Word of God. Being involved in a midweek Bible study allows for the believer to hear teaching of the Word and sound doctrine multiple times a week, which allows him or her to be grounded in the principles of the Word in the midst of the storm of temptations and worldly philosophies. It provides believers the mid-course nourishment that is much needed in the week’s race of faith. It’s no wonder that the disciples in Acts are described as ones who were continually gathering to receive the teaching of the apostles.

Benefit #4: Bibles Studies Allow for Believers to be Taught by a Multitude of Gifted Teachers The gift of teaching in the local church is not delegated solely to the pastor-teacher who preaches on Sunday. Although not many should be teachers (James 3:1), God designed for there to be a multitude of gifted men (2 Tim 2:2) and women (Titus 2:3-5) teaching the Bible—both formally and also informally.

Regularly attending a mid-week Bible study allows for the Christian to be nourished and edified by the manifold teach-

ing giftedness of the body (1 Pet 4:10-11).

Benefit #5: Bible Studies Provide the Soil Through Which Relationships are Cultivated Scripture calls believers to be devoted to one another in brotherly affection (Rom 12:10), to stimulate one another to love and good deeds (Heb 10:23), and to bear one another’s burdens (Gal 6:2). In other words, Christians are called to nurture sincere, brotherly relationships with one another (see 1 Pet 1:22). I’ve heard several church members complain of feeling disconnected from the body, only to find out that they aren’t attending any of the church’s mid-week events where those connections can be formed. Mid-week Bible studies can serve as the place where these relationships and connections are fostered.

Benefit #6: Bible Studies Allow for Church Leaders to More Effectively Shepherd Christians and their Families Hebrews 13:17 reminds believers that their souls are under the care of the church’s leaders. The most difficult people to shepherd in the church are those who simply show up for the Sunday sermon and leave immediately following the closing song. Conversely, the easiest people to shepherd and care for are those who are involved in the life of the church both on Sundays and throughout the week.

Being regularly involved in a mid-week Bible study gives the leaders of the church an opportunity to spend time with believers and grow more aware of their circumstances that they face.

Benefit #7: Bible Studies Provide Opportunities for Believers to Serve One Another Christians are called to exercise their gifts for the glory of God and the good of the church (1 Pet 4:10-11, 1 Cor 12:7ff).

The more a believer is involved in the life of the church, the more aware he becomes of others’ needs, and the more aware he is of the needs of others, the more effectively he can serve them. It’s that simple.

If you’ve found yourself constantly nourished by the Word, vitally connected to the body, and fervently serving others in your current involvement in the local church, then perhaps attending a mid-week Bible study isn’t necessary.

But if you don’t feel vitally connected, then consider the benefits listed above. There may be a better way to spend your Friday evening than working or watching TV! †

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Meet the Chairman:

?Sam:Where did you both grow up?

I was born in Seoul, South Korea. My family immi-

grated to the U.S. when I was 5 years old. My father became a pastor late in life and we moved around a lot, never staying in one place longer than 5 years. In the US, I lived in San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Denver, and even spent a year in West Berlin (before the wall came down). During my teenage years, my family did stay in La Crescenta, CA (near Glendale/Pasadena in southern California). So that might be the location where I would say that “I grew up.”

Lily: I was born in Seoul, South Korea as well. My family immigrated to the US when I was 10 years old. I spent the first several years in the US in southern California, but spent my teenage years in San Jose. In fact, I graduated from Santa Teresa High School in San Jose.

?

When and how were you both saved?

Sam: I was blessed to grow up in a Christian home. When I was around 11 years old, it was very clear to me that everything I was taught from the Bible was true. That is the time that I recognized and believed in Jesus as my Savior.

Lily: I was also blessed to grow up in a Christian home. When I was 13 years old, I attended a youth camp and made the decision to give my life to Christ at that time.

?Sam:What do you both do for a living?

I am a Sales Executive for Lumentum (formerly JDSU)

selling Fiber Optic Components and sub-systems. The company is located in Milpitas, CA. I have been there 8 years.

Lily: I am an optometrist and have my own eye clinic in Santa Clara, called Eyetopia Optometry. I have been there for 12 years.

thought was a little odd. When I met Lily for the first time, I was smitten. Interestingly, I was a 21-year-old rising senior in college and she was a 17-year-old rising senior in high school. I was Lily’s date to her senior prom. Many of her friends called me “Mister.” I was very glad when she graduated from high school! We dated for four years because Lily had just started college at California Berkeley. Our original plan was to get married after she graduated. However, when she told me about four more years of Optometry School, we (I pushed, then she agreed) decided to marry after her junior year. We were married June 1989. We will be celebrating our 28th wedding anniversary this June!

?

How many kids do you have, what are there ages, and what are they doing?

Sam: We have three daughters. Melissa, our oldest, will be 21 in May and is a junior attending the California College of Arts in San Francisco. Our twin daughters, Jessica and Stephanie will be 19 in May and are attending UCLA and CAL respectively as freshmen.

?

What do you both enjoy doing in your free time as a family?

Lily: Our family loves spending time together. We are warm weather fans and love the beach and lots of sunshine. This past summer, the whole family went to Europe. It was our first trip to Europe as a family. We enjoyed visiting France and Italy. We also like to go for walks or hikes together.

?Sam:How has GBF changed since its inception?

The biggest change is that at the beginning we knew

everyone and their kids at church. It was very obvious if anyone was ever missing. Over the years, we’ve watched the young kids grow into young adults. For many of the early years, it was the founding members and their kids. Then all of a sudden, we got an influx of twenty-somethings, many who were graduates from UCLA and GOC couples began pairing up and having kids. Next thing you know, we had a multi-generational church! It was definitely a work of God and not something that we had planned. God has been gracious! One thing that has been consistent is the faithful serving and giving of our members.

? How did you meet and when were you mar- ? When did you come to GBF? ried?

Sam: We were one of the founding or charter members of Sam: We met through Lily’s brother, who attended the University of the Pacific at the same time as I did. He would always brag about how great his little sister was, which I

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GBF. It’s hard to believe that ten and a half years have gone by so quickly!

Sam and Lily Kim

Interview with Jasmine Patton

?

In what ministries have you both served and what are you currently involved with?

Sam: I have served as an Advisory Council member before we officially had Elders. I was ordained with first group of Elders in August 2008. I have also been a regular teacher of adult Sunday school classes since the beginning. The first class that I taught was Genesis. I am currently teaching from the book of Revelation.

Lily: I have served in the children’s ministry and nursery.

Most recently, I signed up to be a greeter. But my most important ministry was watching over the kids and managing the family to free up Sam to serve as an Elder.

?

What is the biggest blessing you have experienced while at GBF?

Sam: The biggest blessing has been to watch how the Lord has grown our church from inception to the present day.

God has faithfully met all of our needs. Just as importantly, the Lord answered our prayers concerning our children’s spiritual development. We knew that as parent’s, we had the primary responsibility of raising our kids. Nevertheless, our greatest concern when starting our church was the lack of a solid youth program. The Lord more than answered our prayers by providing something even more valuable than an established youth group. Over the years, the Lord brought many young adults that showed an interest in working and mentoring the youth. During the teenage years, it’s very helpful to have some reliable young adults to provide guidance when it may be difficult to hear things from the parents.

We were so blessed to have young mature ladies like Allison Ng, Shau-Ru Chao, Jenn Lee, and Phoebe Yip speak into our girls’ lives! I’m sure that I am not remembering everyone that supported our girls during their adolescent years, but it was a huge answer to prayer!

?

What is one thing most people at GBF don’t know about you?

Sam: Sometimes at church people seem to have the impression that I am always very serious and formal (I usually wear slacks, dress shirt, coat, and tie). While I do take my faith very seriously, I do like to dress down and joke around.

Many were surprised at the last men’s rafting trip that I jumped off the rocks into the rapids, not acting my age. If you spend time with me outside of church, you will see a different side of me. My kids think that I am goofy!

Lily: I was on bed rest the last two months of my pregnancy with our twin daughters. It was a challenging trial, but God answered our prayers and rewarded our efforts as Jessica and Stephanie were each six pounds, which is fantastic for twins.

?Sam:How can the GBF body be praying for you Thanks for offering to pray! Never turn down prayer

from believers! Our family is in the midst of a transition with all three girls in college. Our top prayer request is that the girls would continue to grow in their faith during their college years and that we would be a source of encouragement as our relationship changes with them during this time of growth.

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A GBF S

GBF Camp Join us July 4th weekend for a wonderful time of fellowship in the outdoors. You have a choice of tent or cabin accommodations. All meals are provided.

Camp events include:

Little Basin July 1st - 3rd

• Evenings at the Bonfire • Team Competitions • Late-Nite Board Games • Worship Time • Great fellowship Sign up now. Contact Pastor Bob bdouglas@gbfsv.org

Men come join us for a great weekend in the outdoors.

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Summer Kids K-7 June 26-30 9:00 AM to 12:00pm Location: Mountain View Academy

All Ladies Invited June 11 After Service $5 at the door Sign up so we can get a count

Ladies Don’t Miss this Great Fellowship Event

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GBF Staff Picks:

Books for Children

By Cliff McManis

It is a huge challenge to recommend children’s books to parents because there are so many to choose from and new ones are being published all the time. The following are just a few McManis Family favorites that we enjoyed with our kids as they grew up: As an English major, I start with The Rhyme Bible. I read this to all four of my kids when they were 1-4 years old. I did not read it for its deep theological content, because there was none. I had a blast reading it to the kids because of its simple rhymes tethered to classic biblical stories. Perfect as bedtime reading for parents with short attention spans.

I bought A Faith to Grow On for all my kids when they were in 1st grade. It’s a great devotional book for kids, grades 1-4, with an emphasis on the attributes of God and answering basic Bible questions.

The artwork is well done and attractive to young, imaginative minds.

Part of the fun was writing Pastor MacArthur when we were done, thanking him for writing the book. Even more fun was when he wrote back and said, “You’re welcome!”

Kids, especially young boys, are fascinated with dinosaurs. We had several books on dinosaurs written by Christian authors, all with very cool pictures and artwork. The text is written by Christian scholars and scientists who take the Bible literally and believe in a young earth, like this one by Timothy Clarey, A Guide to Dinosaurs. Other favorites are Dinosaurs By Design by Duane Gish, Dinosaurs for Kids by Ken Ham and countless others by Answers In Genesis.

Moving up to junior high, high school and college, I recommend Tim Tebow’s autobiography, Through My Eyes. Our family read the whole book, half a chapter at a time and loved it. You don’t have to like football to be blessed—the Tebow family’s vibrant faith and love for Jesus will bless you. The three girls in my family (non-football fans) loved it.

Our kids loved audio books. For long drives there was no better way to spend the time than listening to amazing classic stories. Now that our kids are grown up they testify that their favorite audio books included The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hiding Place (which was the true story of Corrie Ten Boom), Grace Abounding: The Life of John Newton, and so many more. Some parents fear having to drive more than 20 minutes in the car with their kids because the kids get restless, discontent and high-volume. That should not be the case—teach them the discipline of listening to classic audio books hours on end—they will learn, you will be edified and the whole family will stave off a nervous breakdown from crying, yelling and screaming during the long haul. The best audio versions are typically produced by Focus On the Family.

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Smartphones, Screen-Time, and the Christian continued from page 20 al study for later retrieval all require screen time. In each area, however, I am using the screen for productive and creative purposes that will immediately or eventually benefit others. I can also use my laptop or my iPad for edificatory and educational purposes. Because I am a pastor, these enrichment uses often intersect with the productive purposes.

Similarly, a child can use an iPad to learn how to read, how to solve fractions, how whales use sonar, or how Paul escaped the angry Jewish leaders in Acts 9:22-25. But the tablet can also be used for creative purposes like drawing and writing, and, for older children, music development and video editing.

Personal technology also provides us with opportunity for wholesome entertainment. We can watch an NBA basketball game, an interesting documentary, a wholesome television program, or a BBC mini-series. We can play fun games like Angry Birds. We can even watch that funny YouTube video about Charlie biting his brother’s finger and laugh with delight.

Our devices also allow us to interact with our friends and family. We can text, send emails, or talk to each other over video. We can engage each other on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

In each of these areas, it is not enough to simply restrict or expand the quantity of our screen time. We must ask if we are using our personal technology for the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31). Using our iPhones and iPads for wholesome educational and enrichment purposes is good. We are consuming media rather than producing something, but if the content is spiritually and intellectually nutritious, then our minds and hearts will benefit. But we can also use these devices to reflect our Creator by crafting poems, drawings, short stories, videos, and music. And in moderation, we can enjoy some wholesome entertainment.

Beware of Avoidance It is possible, however, to yield to our technology in a way that does not bring glory to God or serve our neighbor (Matt 22:3739). One way we do this is by using technology to avoid our responsibilities. When faced with a difficult chore or project or conversation, we all know how easy it is to turn to our smartphone or tablet to carry us away from our tasks and troubles.

But this is a form of unhealthy escapism, and it only harms our souls and keeps us from loving our neighbor. It is also a sign of spiritual sloth (see Prov 22:13). We must be aware of our tendency to use technology to avoid what God has given us to do.

Beware of Addiction Similarly, we can become addicted to our technology. This ad-

diction usually expresses itself in our inability to go more than a few minutes before we check our phone—whether we are looking at email, social media, or the latest basketball score— and it often coincides with our desire to escape from a particular situation or emotion (see above).

By constantly yielding to the urge to look at our phones, we have trained our minds and hearts to “need” these digital “fixes” in order to feel as though we can function properly (whether we are aware of this need or not). What’s most devastating about these habits is that they are ultimately an expression of idolatry. We are looking to our phones to provide the mental comfort and strength that only Christ can provide (see Jer 2:12-13). If you are unable to keep yourself from looking at your phone every few minutes, or if you find yourself checking your phone first thing every morning, you are probably in the throes of smartphone addiction. Over time, this addiction will fragment your mind, numb your heart, and render you insensitive to spiritual realities because you have replaced God with an idol (see Is 44:17-20).

Beware of Abdication Finally, it is possible for parents to use their personal technology in order to evade their responsibility to love, teach, and disciple their children. In this case, the tablet or smartphone can distract the parent from their parenting tasks, or these devices can be given to a child so that the parent can have some undistracted time to focus on other things. In this latter case, it is all too easy to allow our kids to be merely entertained by the screen rather than learning from or producing something with it. Again, the problem is not with screen time per se, but with the kind of screen time and the motives behind setting the screen in front of our children. If we find ourselves regularly looking at our phones while in the presence of our children or in order to provide temporary relief from the pressures of parenting, we are in danger of neglecting our children. The same holds true if we are constantly placing the tablet in front of our kids so that we can escape to some form of entertainment (on another device). Satan is prowling around looking to devour our children, so we must be watchful (1 Pet 5:8). And it is impossible to be watching for Satan when we are watching replays of last night’s game or scrolling through Facebook for an hour.

Conclusion Smartphones and tablets are a gift from the Lord to be used for His glory and our good. But using these devices for God’s glory and our benefit requires that we think carefully, constantly, and biblically about how and why we are using them. This is hard work, but it will pay off. We will grow spiritually, produce good works, and guard our children from the wiles of our great enemy. †

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ENGAGE Scripture, Culture, and the Christian

The dawn of the iPhone ten years ago, in the words of its chief inventor Steve Jobs, was a revolutionary event. It created a whole new category of personal technology that would, by itself, establish an entire industry within the global marketplace. The iPad, introduced two-and-a-half years later, would also prove transformative to the personal technology industry, again creating a new category broadly known as the tablet. Immediately after their respective unveilings, the iPhone and iPad prompted companies worldwide to produce similar products in order to gain a share in this new market. Presently there are approximately 2.6 billion smartphone users and 1 billion tablet users in the world.

For individuals, these products have not only changed the way we communicate and learn and seek entertainment; these touch-screen devices have changed the way we think about each of these areas of life. After a decade, we can say that in a very real way, the smartphone and tablet are not merely changing the things around us; they are changing us.

The Gift of Smartphones and Tablets Smartphones and tablets are excellent tools. They enable us to communicate quickly and efficiently with our friends, family, and work colleagues through text messages, email, and face-to-face video. They allow us to be more productive by providing organizational resources and a multitude of industry-specific applications that enhance and streamline our work.

Smartphones and tablets can be used for educational purposes by supplying books, videos, and programs that enrich, teach, and edify. We can track our exercise and food consumption for the sake of our health. We can catalog our home library, learn Spanish, store and retrieve notes, and maintain a blog. We can take pictures and record videos. We can listen to music and Podcasts and sermons.

And we can do each of these things with the ease of simply touching a few buttons on a screen. Amazing.

Christians should be thankful to God for these good gifts.

I don’t believe God intends us to use our smartphones and tablets begrudgingly or hesitatingly, as though they were evil but helpful tools that allow us navigate life in this

May 2017

Smartphones, ScreenTime, and the Christian

By Derek Brown

world. In His good providence, God has enabled men and women to develop technology that can be used to help us grow spiritually, serve others, be productive in good works, and, in many ways, just make life a whole lot easier. For each of these things we can be thankful to our gracious Creator.

Thinking Carefully About This Kind of Technology Yet, because of our own sin and our residence in a fallen world where man’s bent is to misuse and abuse God’s good gifts, we must give careful thought to these clever devices.

First, we must think rigorously over our use of this kind of technology because of its great potential for good and for evil. I’ve already mentioned many of the positive uses we can find for our smartphones and tablets, but there are a host of negative uses for these devices as well. These devices can distract us from our responsibilities, open doors to pornography, and drown us in frivolous entertainment.

Second, we need to pay attention to how we use our smartphones and tablets because this technology has become utterly pervasive in our lives. It is likely that nearly every person reading this article is in possession of a smartphone or a tablet, or both. It is no longer possible to avoid thinking about how we, as Christians, should use this kind of technology because it is now firmly embedded in our lives, and it’s here to stay.

Beyond “Screen Time” There is much debate about the effects that personal technology like smartphones and tablets have on children and adults. Much of this debate has been framed around the issue of “screen time” and how much of it should be allowed for people based on their age. What is becoming clear, however, is that the category of “screen time” is no longer helpful in determining how we should think about and use our personal technology. In fact, “screen time” may never have been a useful category because limiting our discussion to a formula (e.g., a three year old can handle one hour of screen time, a seven year old can handle more) tends to circumvent the discernment process. The issue is not so much with how much time we are on the screen but what we are doing with it.

Using the Screen for Good For example, much of our work requires that we spend a significant time each day looking at a computer screen. In my case, editing and writing articles and books, working on teaching and preaching material, writing and responding to emails, maintaining and updating our church’s online presence, conducting research, and recording notes from personContinued on page 19

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