Is God Fair?

By Rey Diaz

I have mentioned it many times in the past, that justice and fairness are major issues for me.  In many ways, these issues have helped me develop my love for people in suffering.

Yet this sense of justice has also served as an obstacle in my walk with God.  When I look around at the injustice in this world, I can’t help but shout to God: “It’s not fair!”  For many of us, this hurdle is one we cannot seem to get over.  Although we would probably never vocalize it like this, it’s as if we say “I cannot accept, believe, or have faith in a God that is not fair.”

Over the years, and after many hours in the bible and on my knees, I have come to realize a couple things that have shaken my understanding of fairness and justice.  The first is simple: something can be true and unfair at the same time.  I know it seems like such a trivial matter but just recognizing this fact has helped me.  For example, every male in my family has a full head of hair.  Yet I’m going bald.  That’s not fair.  But it is true.  So although I might not think Christianity is fair, I can’t make the assumption that it is not true just because I don’t think it’s fair.  

The second truth that has helped me in my struggle to understand fairness is Christianity is the idea of grace.  When I look at my life and the times I have walked away from God, I realize that I need grace and mercy.  When I see what the bible teaches about sin and its consequences, I realize that God has not been fair with me.  God has not given me what I deserve.  Instead, God gave me mercy.  Instead God gave me grace.  I have come to realize that I don’t want fairness because I would be in big trouble if God kept a record of my sins.  Like King David, I ask “If God kept a record of our sins, who could stand?  But with God there is forgiveness. That is why I worship him. And now I realize that I need both of those in large quantities every single day.What about you? What's your take on the "fairness" or justice of God? Are you glad that he went beyond fair with you?

Do Good People Go to Heaven?

By Rey Diaz

We all like the sound of "good people go to heaven" and it makes sense to us.  We like the idea that there is a good God who has a good heaven reserved for good people.  We like it when the good guy wins and the bad guy loses.  Yet when put to the test, this theory really doesn't hold up that well.  Here are some of the problems with this way of thinking:

-          How many good deeds do we need to outweigh a bad deed?

-          What percentage of good deeds do we need to pass?

-          Which good deeds are most important?

-          Which set of laws do we follow?

-          What happens if what I think is right hurts others?

This list can go on and on because there are so many glaring holes in the logic of this system.  As I mentioned in the Sunday message, it’s the equivalent of a teacher telling the class “Good morning.  This class will have one final exam on the final day.  It’s pass/fail.  See you then.  By the way, there is no syllabus, study guide, no one you can talk to, no notes, and no text book.  Good luck.”  That wouldn’t be fair would it?  That wouldn't produce peace, would it?  In fact that class would produce stress, anxiety, and worry.  And that is how many Christians live their lives never sure of their identity and standing before God. 

More importantly, believing good people go to heaven makes a liar out of Jesus, because Jesus taught the exact opposite.  He invited many “bad” people into heaven and refused the way for some “good” people.  Better stated, Jesus taught that forgiven people go to heaven.  In fact the Bibles goes as far as to say that no one on earth is good…that all of us have made mistakes.  These mistakes are called “sin,” separate us from God, and mandate punishment.  But in His mercy, God sent his son to pay for our sins, thus forgiving us.  Now when we throw ourselves in the mercy of Jesus who forgives us, we experience heaven. 

I ask you to reconsider the idea that “good people go to heaven” because it isn’t as clear as we might think.  I ask you to process the idea: Forgiven people go to heaven. 

What might this change in paradigm mean for our assurance of salvation? For our faith? Perhaps it takes more faith to trust God to his goodness on us instead of earning it ourselves.  How does this change how we see ourselves? How we see others?

When it’s hard to love those around us…How do we do it?

The family unit, the basic building block of society, is disintegrating rapidly in the United States today.  As more and more reports are published on family demographics, we see that an increasing amount of couples are opting out of marriage and choosing co-habitation, the majority of divorced family with kids can only look to a mother-figure for support (75 %),[1] and of course more and more families feel the strain of the economic recession and the stress of being out of work.

Yet even among families who seem whole and complete by statistical standards, harsh words and tones, disconnection and isolation, and a general lack of love pervade the home.

When things seem hard, the story of Joseph in the Bible speaks to us: “maybe I can never live up to my father’s expectations…but at least he hasn’t considered killing me! (As Joseph’s brothers did.) Maybe my brother and I don’t get along, but at least he hasn’t sold me into slavery!”

The main thing we learn from the story of Joseph as it relates to the modern family is to fix our identity in God’s love. Emotional wounds from our family hurt more than pain caused by anyone else. If we don’t fix our identity in God’s love for us, it would be easy to live our lives as an abused animal lashing out with barred teeth to anyone who comes near.  Yet when we realize our status as children of God and found our lives on this truth, we are able to offer grace to those who have hurt us…breaking the cycle of affliction, just as Joseph did.

Are you placing the love of God as the central influence in your household? Or do other things (like the media, friends or the stresses of the world) take prominence?

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.  Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.  This how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love; not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another”.  1 John 4:7-11

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[1] Marital Events of Americans: 2009  (US CENSUS)

How to Keep Our Hearts Refreshed

Last weekend I talked about a key element in the Modern Biblical Family: kindness. But how is that attained on a daily basis?

Proverbs 4:23 gives us a straightforward answer: Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.” (New American Standard)

This verse and its reference to “springs of life” remind me of hiking in the mountains. If you take a long hike, you can only bring so much water with you. At some point you will run out and need to look for fresh water in the mountains. Yet you must be very careful from which source you choose to fill your bottle and drink.

Those without a lot of mountaineering experience often dip their canteens in the convenient streams which cross the trail. This is a novice mistake. The water may look clear and delicious but if you drink from these streams you will pay the consequences later. Animals drink (and sometimes urinate) in these brooks. The water has collected many toxins along its journey. Drinking from these easy-to-come by springs will most definitely make you sick, causing further dehydration.

Yet if you can find the source of the spring it is an entirely different experience. A good mountaineer knows where to find these spots and the water is the best tasting liquid on earth.

Just as our bodies need refreshment, so do our souls. The NIV translation of the verse says: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” The philosopher and theologian Dallas Willard summarized it like this: “we live our lives from our hearts.” It is so important to keep our hearts pure because it affects everything we say, do, and the attitudes we pass along in our sphere of influence.

Jesus alone can purify our hearts and we need this all the time. This should come as no surprise. The thoughts and attitudes that pollute us and our relationships come out of our hearts: pride, malice, envy, bitterness, and a host of other toxic things. We need to keep our hearts clear and refreshed for our families and church community to be healthy. We need to be continuously refreshed from the Jesus, the source of living water!

Have you been renewed by the Source today? If not, take a moment, step out for five minutes, and commit your day to the Lord in prayer. Ask him to temper your heart and relationships with kindness.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim

Frequently Asked Questions

As a child I always had so many questions. I was the one in class who always had his hand up. With her back turned to me, my teacher would often reply, “yes, Rey,” because she knew I would be the one with a question.


In the church my childhood curiosity was squelched. When I asked questions of my church community, I began to understand that some issues and themes that were off-limits. It was not appropriate to ask about hell, homosexuality, or desire mathematical proofs for God’s existence.

At the cathedral, we want to break the taboo that some issues are off-limits in the church. We want to create a culture where questions are okay, even encouraged! We, ourselves, certainly have questions sometimes (especially me). Faith is not the absence of questions, but leaning into God with our questions.

Thus, we have created the summer preaching schedule with this goal in mind: to create a culture of authenticity with our questions.  The only problem is that we don’t know what questions YOU have and what you want to talk about!

For the next 2 weeks, we are asking everyone to send us a list of their biggest questions regarding God, life, and church.  Nothing is off limits.  If you don’t feel comfortable asking the question, feel free send us questions anonymously (commenting on this blog is a great way to do so).  After we receive the questions we will pray and choose the eight issues that Pastor Tim and I will address each Sunday this summer.

Would love to hear your feedback!

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- - Pastor Rey

 ¹ Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. ² This is what the ancients were commended for. – Hebrews 11:1

Top 10 Reasons to Join a Small Group (TLC)

Our summer small group session begins the second week of May and goes through mid-July. We are offering 26 TLCs for you to choose from, each covering a different theme or topic.  You may be wondering why we think it is important to join a small group.  Here are the top 10 reasons to join a TLC: 

10. Receive encouragement from other people doing their best to follow Jesus.

9. Give encouragement to others trying to follow Jesus, each at different points along the journey.

8. Get to know some great people deeply….more than just: “what are your plans for the summer?” acquaintances.

7. Understand the Bible better and learn how to apply it to your life.

6. Share the burden. Benefit from having others pray for you regularly.

5. Feel the freedom to share openly, knowing that the concerns of your heart will not feed into that week’s gossip circle.

4. Experience the joy of serving alongside your friends.

3. Receive loving accountability in problem areas of your life.

2. Get off the “spiritual island”: thinking that you're all alone in the struggle for holiness.

1. Develop relationships that will last a lifetime.

Any one of these reasons is a good enough reason by itself for you to join a TLC.  We are praying for you to experience God at a whole new level these next 10 weeks.  But there are only two more weeks of sign- ups before it is too late and the TLC is closed for the summer! (TLC sessions are different now, you can’t just drop in and out, you need to sign up for a session).

SIGN UP HERE

(On the contact form, list the TLC or the TLC leader that you would be interested in joining).

Following Through with Repentance

Did anyone sense God speaking to him or her this last Sunday when Pastor Tim spoke of "Repentance: the Hardest Part"? If so, what have you done about it? 

If you are just joining us we have discussing the theme “Lord Change Us.” In the first week of this series Pastor Rey encouraged us to “Look Up,” to look to God, the true source of change. The following week he outlined the formula for doing that: complete cooperation.

This past Sunday Pastor Tim continued the series with his talk: “Repentance: the hardest step.”  He told the story of the crippled man who had lain beside a pool for 38 years, hoping for a miracle, wishing for someone to help him into the pool, and that an angel would stir the water and he would be healed. Instead of an angel he met Jesus, who, when learning about the length of his infirmity, asked him: “Do you want to get well?” (John 5:1-14)

The man replied with an excuse, but it didn’t satisfy Jesus. He told him: “Get up, pick up your mat, and walk.” In other words: stop making excuses, leave your old life behind, and step out in faith towards God.

Pastor Tim related it this way: every one of us who doesn't change has an excuse, just as the man did on the mat. But, also like the man, we need to have a conversation with God, so that God can get at the real reason change is not happening in our lives.  

Perhaps many of you are like me and you sensed God speaking to you in this message. What was God calling you to do Sunday morning? And what have you done in response?

To me, the most fascinating aspect of this story is what the crippled man did after he was healed. He began to make excuses again! When he got in trouble with the Pharisees for carrying his mat, he replied: “I’m just doing it because the man who healed me told me to.”

The light of the miracle must have faded in the everyday pressure of 2^nd Temple Judaism.  He was healed, but he chose not to live differently. Jesus would not have it. He came back to him and fought against the crowds to reach and warn the man: “stop sinning, or something worse might happen to you.”

What did God reveal to you on Sunday? And have you followed through with repentance, or are you back to your old ways, leaving the back door open to old habits, old friends, and hidden stashes of the old way of life?