Christmas Lifesongs - part 2

This past weekend, our church did had Christmas program. It wasn’t a large fancy production, just something simple to walk through the Christmas story in Word and in song. I got to sing one of my favorite Christmas carols as a solo, “O Holy Night.” I love this song. It is such a powerful song both musically and lyrically I still get goose bumps when I hear a powerful voice like Phelps sing it, especially when you know they understand the meaning. I especially love the second verse. It declares some of the most powerful truths. “Truly He taught us to love one another His law is love and His gospel is peace… Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother and in His name all oppression shall cease.”

I haven’t had the misfortune of spending any time in jail nor chains, but I have come to love freedom nonetheless. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” (Rom. 8:2) We have been set free! That is tremendous reason to celebrate. “Let all that is within us praise His Holy name!!!!” He has taught us to love. That in a nutshell is the Christian life-- love God, love people.

What is within you? Is it bursting out in celebration to His Holy name or are we just celebrating with our leftovers? Christmas is a great time to start anew.

Christmas Lifesong Notes- part 1

I love Christmas songs. This year especially, it seems like I have noticed, more than usual, how much the old Christmas carols speak of the Christian life and the hope that we have through the Christ child. One of these songs is “God Rest You Merry Gentlemen.” The first line says “God rest you merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay…” Isn’t that such an appropriate message for today?

Given the current financial dire straits, I have heard frequently in recent days people say a phrase that disturbs me, and I think it disturbs me most because I have heard myself say this in years past. The phrase is some version of this, “we don’t have much money this year so we are not going to have much of a Christmas.”

As a man, carrying the responsibility of provider for my family I too have felt the anxiety of not having many presents for those I love under the tree. As a result, in years past I succumbed to the pressure of putting “Christmas” on plastic. And although we haven’t done that for years, we are still paying the ghost of Christmas past. I equated in my mind, as many others do, weather or not there were presents under the tree with “having Christmas this year.” I missed the real meaning of Christmas. As Stephen Curtis Chapman so eloquently put it “Christmas is all in the heart.”

These days I am reading in the book of Romans. It seems that Romans always takes me the longest to read. There is so much doctrine that often I am captivated and find myself meditating on the truth of just one verse. This morning, it was the first verse of chapter 8. “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” This verse speaks of the same hope as this accent Christmas carol. Rest. The rest that we can experience has it’s root in the freedom from the law of sin and death. Of which the following verses speak. And yet, too often we loose sight of that and allow the world to dictate to us how we celebrate such a wonderful time as Christmas.

My brothers and sisters, this should not be! The next line of the carol calls us to, “remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas day.” This Christmas season, are you able to rest well in the truth that you no longer stand condemned before a holy and righteous God, for He has “saved us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray.” These are tidings of comfort and joy.

Big Change from Little Words

Sorry for the change in title and picture but apparently, all I did was either offend or confuse. Perhaps this will suffice. If you have heard me teach, you have likely heard me state that my favorite word in the Bible is the word "but." Grammatically speaking, the word "but" is a conjunction, which describes a contrast from one phrase or clause to another, and in my reading this morning, I ran across one BIG "BUT!" I was reading Paul's letter to Titus when I ran across it.

Paul is writing to Titus, the pastor of the church on the island of Crete and one of Paul's converts. The book's outline and message is simple and straightforward. First, Paul speaks about church leadership, then he addresses how a diverse church should interact with one another, and in the third and last chapter, he instructs on how the church should interact with the world. He reminds them of who they (we) once were: "For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another." (3:3) I don't know about you, but I usually don't have much trouble remembering my past. So, why would Paul bring up the past? However, the thought doesn't stop there...

BUT...

"...when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 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, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." (vs. 3:4-7)

Can you see why I like the word "but?" And this is a big one! This describes a transformation of identity. This, folks, is the Great Exchange! We go from rebels to being heirs! The awesome thing that this verse declares is that we can do NONE of it! God does it all himself, because He is the only one who can do anything about our plight (go back and look at all the times the words "He" and "His" is used)! The verb forms used here state that this is a done deal! And since it is God who is doing this, it is sealed! (cf. 2 Cor. 1:22, Eph. 1:13)

Raising the Bar

"Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally."

-- Abraham Lincoln

I read this quote this morning and smiled. It complimented my scripture reading this morning very well. In Matthew 5, Jesus, having shared the famous beatitudes with the crowd on the mountainside, begins speaking about the Law. He states that not a stroke of the Law will pass away until, "all is accomplished." Then, He says that unless their righteousness is beyond that of those teachers of the Law, they could not inherit the Kingdom of God. This was quite a statement considering following the Law was very difficult and most people probably felt, if anyone can follow the Law the Pharisees could!

However, beginning in verse 21 through 48, He starts using a phrase repeatedly, "You have heard it said..." and follows that with, "but I say to you..." With each of these contrasts, he highlights a handful of familiar Laws and raises the bar. It was already extremely difficult, and then He makes it harder! What's that all about?

Well, I see two things in this passage. One, He goes to the heart of the issue, it's a matter of the heart. He was saying that if even if the Pharisees and teachers of the Law might on rare occasion get part of it it right, they aren't dealing with the heart. Secondly, God's standard was not following PART of the Law, SOME of it or even MOST of it, but rather, ALL of it. And, anyone failing to follow ALL of it would not see the Kingdom of Heaven. I have said it before, and I will repeat myself again, always obeying God is not difficult, it is impossible.

So why the high bar? Christ addressed this earlier in the passage, "until all is accomplished." You see, He is the only One who has accomplished all of the Law, and He is the One who can justly deal with the heart. Through Him alone can our righteousness surpass all the "i-dotters" and "t-crossers" Abe Lincoln's above words are appropriate here. The Pharisees expected everyone else to follow their version of the Law, and yet they themselves could never fulfill all of it.

This lie continues today. Oh we may not be concerned about how many steps we are taking on the Sabbath, but we often have our own version of the law that we ourselves cannot live up to, and yet, we expect others to live by it. Christ raised the bar, and unless our heart is changed, we will never be good enough. We must have a heart transplant. Christ has done that for us, and we must rest in His completed work on the cross. For in Christ, we are new creations. In Christ, we are set free from the Law of sin and death. So stop trying to jump over anyone's bar, Christ has done it for you. Abide in Him, and He will transform you.

This Little Light of Mine...

This weekend, we went shopping in Arlington with our exchange student. I prefer to avoid malls on the weekend as I tend to be a introvert and avoid large crowds. This weekend was no different, and yet for some reason, I had my discernment turned way up. When I am in large gatherings, I like to watch people. I look at the way folks are dressed, what they do in groups, what they do by themselves, the language they use, etc. I was just overcome with the lost-ness and emptiness I saw in their eyes. It has been said by someone that the eyes are the window to the soul. I guess I saw this this weekend. My heart was broken over the despair that I saw.

It reminded me of when Christ had the same experience in Matthew 9:35-36. "Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd."

At the same time, I felt overwhelmed by the vastness of the need. I mean, what can I do? Sometimes we just need to be reminded that there are masses of folks that are just trying to survive wandering in darkness. We are the light of the world. Even the smallest light can make a difference. Let your light shine!

Pucker Up

In past posts, I have written about how we must know the Word, and know it well. Over the years I have been a part of some really awesome teaching churches, and I attended a seminary that is world renown for it's instruction on the exposition of the scriptures. God's word itself teaches us clearly that we are to grow in our knowledge and understanding of it, in fact, the writer of the book of Hebrews scolds his readers that they still were only babes needing the milk of the Word instead of the meat, and he tells them to grow up in their faith. (cf. Hebrews 5:11-6:3)

Unfortunately, this true teaching has become a stumbling block for some in sharing the gospel with those around them. I see three errors that has resulted: 1. they don't share because they, "don't know as much theology as those who are educated"; 2. the other extreme, they share too much and go too deep into theological issues and confuse the hearer; or 3. they have such a pre-packaged "1...2...3..." approach to sharing the gospel that it becomes mechanical and disingenuous. I think most of the time, instead, we should use the K.I.S.S. method in sharing the gospel: Keep It Simple Silly!

I was reading in John 6 this morning, and it gives a great example of this. Jesus heals the man born blind from birth, and his followers try to make it a deeply doctrinal issue by asking who sinned the man or his parents. Christ cuts to the chase and tells them it isn't about that stuff, but rather, so that God can be glorified. Later in the passage, the Pharisees in their interrogations of the former blind ask him theological questions about his Healer, and he too cuts to the chase and says this, "Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see." He simply shared what Christ had done for him.

When sharing the gospel, one of the most important elements we need to share is not just the doctrine and theology, which is powerful in itself, but we must share what Christ has done in our lives. Our personal experiences can be powerful, and we are to be witnesses, but in order to be a witness we must bear witness of what He has done in OUR lives, not just the facts.

So, keep studying, keep preparing so that you may be ready to give an answer, but don't wait till you have all the answers. Read and grow in the Word. Share what you know. Pucker up and keep it simple silly!

In the News Today...

Like many people, part of my morning ritual is having some coffee and watching the news. But is it really news? I have watched it day in and day out for years, and it is pretty much the same thing, just different locations and different people: Sadly some folks died because someone either can't control their anger or was so greedy they wanted what someone else possessed; there is battle going on all around the world; traffic is heavy in metro areas; it is too wet in some areas and too dry in others; the Dow Jones hits new highs or new lows; politicians disagree, etc. ad nauseum.

This morning in several ways, God reminded me of something that I think for all of us who follow Him may seem like a no-brainer, but the longer I am alive, I am not so sure that everyone even in the Body of Christ really understands... the Good News (or Gospel) of Jesus Christ.

I will start off by stating what it is NOT. It is not a church membership nor a ticket to heaven, although it can lead you there. It is not a plan or purpose for your life, although through it you can you may definitely obtain these. Even though you can walk in the newness of life that can be found in Him alone, it is not a way to feel good about your yourself nor bolster your self-esteem.

The Apostle Paul hit the nail on the head in his description of what exactly is the Good News in his first letter to the Corinthian church. "Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures," (1 Cor. 15:1-4).

Anytime I lead someone to Christ, for me it is imperative that they understand the core of the Gospel, not just to be able to regurgitate the "Roman Road" or any other "plan of salvation." The sheer fact that "Christ died for our sins" is the first step. One must understand WHY Christ died for our sins. WHY did we need a Savior? I wonder if all of the American Church REALLY knew the answers to that, would we be as impotent as we are in our culture. Because if we did, it would transform us into the new creatures that Paul speaks of in his second letter to the same church. (2 Cor. 5:17) If we really grasped that one element of the Gospel, our faith would not be without works as James tries so hard to explain in his letter. (James 2:14-26)

You see, we were so desperately separated from God because of our failure to maintain a righteousness on our own that only God could reconcile us to Himself. THAT is the Good News! We no longer have to be separated from God by our missing the mark of His perfection, but rather because of His grace (giving us what we don't deserve), we can be reconciled to Him forever. We put our trust in the completed work of Jesus Christ when he hung on a cross to accept the full responsibility for everything you and I ever have or ever would do that was displeasing to God.

Consider Eugene Peterson's rendering of Romans 5:6-8: "Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him. "

For me I have to stop and remember regularly what the Good News did for me, otherwise, I get caught up in the day to day news report that can drown out what is truly good. "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!" (Romans 8:1) Now THAT is some Good News!