The Merry Christmas Battle

Merry Christmas. It’s the statement that becomes the battleground of the season every year about this time. Jesus is the reason for the season, we Christians will cry out for the next 25 days or so. Some of us will go bonkers if we see a Christmas tree in somebody’s house. And Santa? Oh boy, a Christian better not tell that lie to his kids. If you do your kids will never believe in Jesus and spend eternity in hell.

I didn’t grow up in a Christian household. We didn’t go to church except for weddings, funerals, and sometimes for an Easter sunrise service. (Did I just call it Easter? Oh, my. Blasphemy I’m told.) Christmas was a big deal to me as a kid. Yes, Santa came to my house. We had a tree. We had lights, reindeer, and all other kinds of non-Christ related paraphernalia scattered throughout the house.

But you know what else we had? In spite of my mother’s self proclaimed atheism that went on through most of my childhood, we had a manger scene. It sat right there on the coffee table. It was awesome with cows and a donkey. It had these cool wise men and this man and this woman dressed in these cool clothes. And it all was centered on this other little thing. A baby. And somehow in the midst of this secular celebration of a season of decorations and gifts I learned that that little baby was named Jesus. I have no idea who told me the story. We quit going to church when I was little and I remember nothing about going there. Yet somehow in the midst of all that commercialism and secular stuff we all freak out about, I knew who Jesus was. I knew that Christmas is based on His birth. It would be many years later that I would come to know Jesus. But I did. And in spite of finally learning the truth about Santa, I still believe the truth about Jesus. I’d like to believe I would die defending that truth.

For many years as a Christian I have fought the “It’s Merry CHRISTMAS!” not “Happy Holidays” fight. But this year it hit me. This year I hear the whisper of the Holy Spirit speaking in my ear. Want to hear what he’s saying? Get ready; it’s not what you might expect.

This year I believe the message from God is this. Celebrate the birth of Christ every day. Celebrate the resurrection of Jesus every day. The world hasn’t captured Christmas. The world has convinced us we only need talk about it for 3 weeks. We only need to celebrate the resurrection of Christ on one Sunday. The message is the same as many Christians have about church. Church isn’t a place you go on Sundays; it’s us. We are the church everywhere we go and every day of our lives.

The message I believe God wants us to hear is to be His hands in the world. To be the light of Christ in a dark world so that people will see who Jesus is and want to know Him as well. We don’t need to take back Christmas. We need to be His light in the midst of it.

Jesus knew the world would not recognize Him for who He is. John 1:10 says that “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.” Jesus said this in John 9:5, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” When Jesus left this world He sent His Spirit to live in us. He passed on the torch to us. In Matthew 5:14 He reminds us saying, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”

So maybe the battle isn’t over a 3-week season. Maybe in our own hearts it’s a battle to live everyday as if it’s Christmas and Easter (there’s that word again) all the time. Then rather than go out and tell the world to stop the Christmas nonsense, we should simply be the light of Christ to them in the midst of the nonsense. Maybe we should simply be the manger scene on the coffee table in a house full of silly decorations.

Eliminating Friction In Our Lives By the Oil of God

 Zechariah 4:6 

Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.

Oil is a picture of the Holy Spirit.

Well here we are. The holiday season when Christmas cheer permeates the world and we all treat each other with kindness and gentleness. Yea right. Most of know that nothing really changes in this season. In reality the stress of what we’ve made Christmas into just makes us all even crankier and less patient with each other. We hate to admit it but most of us are far to “Scrooge” like than we should be.

Relationships are hard. Marriage is hard. Living with someone and dealing with them every single day can wear you out. Working alongside somebody day in and day out for hours at a time can really create conflict. It doesn’t matter where we go, when we deal with people there will be friction. Conflicts are a common occurrence of life. But do we really have to live lives filled with conflict? Does every interaction with people have to end up in a fight? Can we find a way around hurt feelings?

If you are a Christian the answer to this question is no. God has not destined us to the same old life of conflict as we had. Yet most of us are not living out the abundant life Christ speaks of.

In the world of mechanical engines and moving parts what is needed to reduce friction and save wear and tear? Engines need oil. Oil lubricates things and eliminates friction. God gave man the knowledge to develop engines that use oil. He designed us in the same way. We need oil.

In scripture oil is a representation of the Holy Spirit. Just as Olive oil and other oils were vital to the culture of the people of the Bible, so is the Spiritual Oil God has given to us.

Let’s see what God’s Word has to say.

Galatians 5:16-26
 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,  idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”

That scripture reading is one of those “wow” readings. Packed with a lot of real meat we can find a lot to break down but for this case let us zero in on the application to relationships and the corresponding friction and trouble we all face in them.

If you’ve ever wondered why we just can’t seem to get along with each other in peaceful harmony then look at this scripture reading. We don’t walk in the Spirit and when we don’t do that we find ourselves in the throes of the works of the flesh. And the result of that is enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, and envy. Yep, that pretty much leads to problems. Most of our conflicts have at least one of those things going on, if not all of them.

Take careful note of the flip side of walking in the flesh, which is walking in the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Imagine how many conflicts would be resolved if these types of actions dominated our behavior.

As we saw earlier oil represents the Holy Spirit. Impart the behaviors of the fruit of the Spirit, which is the oil, and the result is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Imagine how all the conflict and fighting would dissipate in the presence of that kind of love.

But, you say, you don’t know my husband. You don’t understand my family members or my boss; they are impossible to get along with. But you see it doesn’t matter what they do. If we exhibit the fruit of the spirit into our environment and stay that course it will change the room. It doesn’t matter how messed up the other person is, it takes two to tango and no conflict can survive with only one combatant. But for this to work we must humble ourselves and let go our own prideful desires to be right. We must follow the command to die to ourselves as the Bible commands us.

The secret to less conflict is more Holy Spirit. So we pray for God to fill us each day with His Spirit. We do that. But then we wonder why we aren’t feeling filled. The answer is simple; we are too full of self. We must first empty the cup of self and then will God fill us with His Spirit. This, my friends, is what Jesus means in Matthew 10:38-39 where He says, “Whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Tired of conflict? Be the light of Christ in the middle of it. But in order to shine for Him your lamp needs oil. That oil is the Holy Spirit. Empty yourself and prepare to be filled by the pure Spirit of God. Then watch the room you are in change when His light is the light that shines.

Death - Bad or Good?

Death. We do not like to talk of death. Man seeks all his life to avoid it and when our loved ones die it brings sadness and sorrow that for many is almost too much to bear. So we live out life in fear of the very word.

As I was standing in the back of my church last Sunday during our praise time I found myself in the very close presence of the wooden cross that is mounted on the wall. Being that close to the cross I started to ponder the very concept of facing death by way of crucifixion. Having read articles that provide the details of crucifixion it really hit me that hanging on a cross must be a terrifying and cruel way to die. It is a slow death, which often came through asphyxiation and exhaustion because of the position of one’s body. It is very difficult to exhale. I have asthma and have suffered through pneumonia and really bad cases of bronchitis in my life. Not being able to breath is terrifying to me.

Thinking all this though I am aware that most of the time people’s will to live is very strong and they will fight death to the bitter end. But it seems to me that it wouldn’t take long on a cross before death would become a desire due to the horrible suffering involved. Death, that terrible thing we all avoid, would become a good thing, something to be desired.

Then my thoughts shifted to Jesus. Jesus, who was the only innocent man that has ever walked this earth, went to the cross and suffered and died there. His death was such a good thing we preach about it and call it the Gospel, a word that means good news. Can death really be good news? This goes against the grain of how we think.

As I pondered all this it really hit me. How can death be good news? The answer lies in one simple word; Resurrection. If Jesus would have died on that cross and then simply been buried and that’s the end of the story then it would have been just a tragedy. But He rose again. The good news of the Gospel is that he rose again and was resurrected.  In 2 Corinthians 5:15 we read that “He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.” Christ died and was raised for us, so that we can have new life. Oh, and don’t miss the reason. It says so that we will no longer live for ourselves. In case you didn’t catch that, this means we die as well. We die to our old self and we have new life in Christ. We are resurrected.

You see when we become a Christian we have to die. We must die so that we can be resurrected. Resurrected to new life, not the old one we had before. This is what baptism is really about. Paul explains in Romans 6:3-4, “Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.”

This is what it means to be “Born Again.” So death really is a good thing. Without death we have no resurrection. Without resurrection we have no new life and are stuck in the old life that is just as painful and just as exhausting as death on a cross. Without Christ life is painful. Every breath takes tremendous effort. At first its not so bad but eventually it wears you down.

So friends we must let go of the old life. We must die. We must be born again into new life. But we cannot stop at the first part of becoming a Christian. The old flesh does not want to die. It clings to life. It manifests itself through old sins and habits. This why as Christians we still struggle.

The answer is though death. The answer is through resurrection. Kill off your old nature. We can only do this through the power of the Holy Spirit. But we have to stop clinging to the old life and we must desire the new life Jesus offers us.

If you don’t know Jesus as your Lord and Savior cry out to Him now. Hear the answer Paul and Silas gave to the jailer in Acts 16:30-33, who asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”  And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”  And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.  And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family.”

If you are a Christian then die to the old self. Kill off old habits ands sins. Follow the command of Jesus who says this in Mark 8:34-35, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.”

Death without resurrection should scare the “hell” out of you. It does me. But death with resurrection should fill your heart with joy and your mind with peace. As they say, we all gotta die. But not all will be resurrected to new life. It’s not too late to make the right choice. Make death a good thing. Jesus is waiting.

Finding Hope in the Prophet Zephaniah

Just wrapped up a study on another of the Minor Prophets, Zephaniah, a hard-hitting prophet who brought to Israel the message of judgment. Working through the OT I cannot help but wonder if all the events unfolding in the world today revolving around terrorism might not be a warning to the world. Mankind has moved farther and farther from God in its celebration of sin. As a whole we have decided we know better than God. Face this fact people; God could halt ISIS in a second. He could. But at this point He has not. America has fought terrorism for years now. Have we stemmed the flow and prevented some of it? Sure. But the bottom line is this; we are not in control. God is.

Read the Book of Zephaniah today. It's only 3 chapters. It starts out with hard-hitting judgment. It ends with a message of hope for it speaks of the day when Israel repents and God restore them. The spiritual application for us is clear as well. Turn to Jesus. Repent, put your faith and trust in Him. Hear the truth of His Word as it warns of the need to repent and He will restore you.

Hear the Word of God as He speaks through his prophet:

The Warning:

Zephaniah 3:1-2

 Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, The tyrannical city!

 She heeded no voice, She accepted no instruction. She did not trust in the LORD, She did not draw near to her God.

The Judgment:

Zephaniah 3:8

 "Therefore wait for Me," declares the LORD, "For the day when I rise up as a witness. Indeed, My decision is to gather nations, To assemble kingdoms, To pour out on them My indignation, All My burning anger; For all the earth will be devoured By the fire of My zeal.

The Hope:

Zephaniah 3:12

 "But I will leave among you A humble and lowly people, And they will take refuge in the name of the LORD.

The Restoration

Zephaniah 3:20
 "At that time I will bring you in, Even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will give you renown and praise Among all the peoples of the earth, When I restore your fortunes before your eyes," Says the LORD.

Friends we must be on our knees in prayer for this world. We must pray for God to raise up godly leaders. We must line up our own lives with scripture and then go out and preach truth and proclaim Christ. We must trust God no matter what we face.

I close with a good word from Zephaniah.

Zephaniah 3:17
 "The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

May God richly bless you.

Understanding God’s Love Through Understanding His Wrath

Understanding who God is, is the key to understanding the magnitude of what Jesus did for us at the cross. We all know God is love. The most common description of Him is just that; God is love. The Bible tells us so in 1 John 4:8 saying, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” But to stop there and say that is all we need to know about God dishonors Him and does not do justice to His ways.

If all God was is love then why did He allow His Son to suffer and die on the cross in such a brutal way? How is that love? If my dad sent me to a place where at first it seemed everybody liked me but then later they accused me of things I didn’t do and then beat me to a bloody pulp right up to the edge of death only to then hang me on a cross to die a slow and agonizing death, I would not find that to be very loving. There has to be more to the story. If my dad told me this was how it was going to be then I would need to have a little more information. There would need to be an explanation.

If love was the only attribute of God then He could have simply made us to be sinless and lived happily ever after with us in the Garden of Eden.

But there is more to the story. There is more to God. As a matter of fact there is so much more to God that we, in our finite and human minds, cannot understand His ways. Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

But this does not mean we cannot make some sense of all this. This is why theology is important. Too many people say we don’t need theology. We do. We do because really all theology really is, is the study of God. It is how we know Him. The saying goes “It is one thing to know OF God but another to KNOW God.” In order to know God we must spend time with Him. Unlike Adam and Eve or the people of the New Testament Times, we don’t literally in a physical way walk with God. We walk with Him spiritually. Jesus said this in John 4:23-24, "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  This is how we walk with God. The way to do this is through prayer, through Bible reading and study, and through fellowship with the Body of Christ. This is how we walk with Him until Jesus returns.

I used to think the New Testament was the only place to read and to learn about God. But God is revealed and can be found in all scripture. The Old Testament is more than a historical study of the Jews. It is the story of Jesus and of how god’s love is manifest through His life, death, and resurrection.

As a simple example of this I am studying the final books of the OT and this morning was reading the book called Nahum. In this small book we learn more of God’s nature. We learn here of some of the Judgment of God and a proper understanding of who God is including the fact that God’s nature is not just of love but also of justice. I don’t think any of us would disagree that God is Holy. Scripture is replete with that truth; God is Holy. But do we really understand what holy means? Again we try and think of holiness in terms of human nature. We think of people like Mother Theresa or maybe the Pope, possibly Billy Graham as holy people. Compared to most of us those people are probably pretty good people. But compared to God they are not. None of us are. Again read your Bible. Read the Book of Romans. We are all sinners. All of us. Thus we must have the Blood of Christ shed at Calvary to cover us and give us a Holy standing before God. Without it we cannot be in God’s presence. While God’s all-knowing nature allows Him to hear our prayers unless we come through Christ and His holiness, our sins separate us from Him and He has no obligation to answer us. Without Christ and His blood we are enemies of God.

Hear the Word of God as spoken through the prophet Nahum.

Nahum 1:2
The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and wrathful; the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies.

This is God’s own Word describing Himself. Let us go on.

Nahum 1:3-6
The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; he dries up all the rivers; Bashan and Carmel wither; the bloom of Lebanon withers. The mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who dwell in it. Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.

Do you hear the questions? “Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.” Thank you God that you are slow to anger.

To my point about knowing who God is and not just taking one part of scripture in learning who He is read the next verse. Nahum 1:7. “The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.”

You see God is holy and He is just. But He is good and he is loving. When you put all of scripture together you see who God really is. Through the knowledge of His anger against sin and the powerful and quite frankly scary understanding of the judgment He will bring upon those who reject Him, we can truly grasp the power of His love.

Knowing just what we see here in Nahum what Jesus was sent to do becomes an even greater act of love. When Jesus suffered and died on the cross He took the wrath of God meant for us, upon Himself. Wow. God really loves us.

Read the Bible. All of it. Learn of who God is and see how much He loves you. If you don’t know Jesus, call out to Him now and confess you are a sinner. I close with a great passage. Many of us know John 3:16 but take time now to read a little more. Then call on Him and ask Him to cloak you with His blood and to save you from His wrath into eternal life where love really will reign.

John 3:16-21
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God."