Happy New Year.
Jan1
Well, here we are in 2010. Hard to believe isn’t it? Remember when the world was coming to an end in Y2K? Many Christian leaders were even getting caught up in the whole fiasco, but now here we are a whole decade later. God be praised. If you are like me you have probably been thinking about what this New Year holds for you. Maybe you have new career ventures, maybe the current economic crisis has you concerned. Is the Health Care bill really going to help and is global warming a serious issue? Now some of you probably could care less about all those issues because your issues are the more pressing. We all have issues facing us in the unforeseen future and no amount of planning, when it comes right down to it, can prepare us for it. The only thing we can count on is the sure mercies, faithfulness and love of the Lord.
I have been guilty myself of hoping that things will actually get better in our World. Time and time again however, God’s word reminds me, that is the furthest thing from the truth. We are going to see the Nations of the World continue their revolt against the God of love and salvation. We are watching our very Nation do exactly what the Bible tells us “They frame mischief with a law,” Psalm 94:20. We have been watching our rulers ignore the American people when it comes to health care, global warming, abortion, prayer in school and homosexual marriages and it is only going to escalate as we see the return of the Lord drawing closer. But I did not want to write this to discourage, but rather to encourage.
The very God that has brought us to 2010 will be faithful to bring us to the end of the age. His promises have not failed us yet and there is no reason to believe that they will in the coming year. I want us in this New Year, rather than making resolutions, to simply resolve ourselves to be more like Christ. Often times when I think of being like Christ I focus many times on His ministry to man, His example, His holiness and the way He treated other people. However, this year, let us focus on His relationship with the Father. The Lord Jesus trusted the Father implicitly. The Lord Jesus did nothing without first checking with the Father. The Lord Jesus did those things that were always pleasing in His sight, (John 8:31)and because of that Christ knew His prayers would always be answered. Going into 2010, don’t you want to have your prayers answered? I do. I would venture to say that more than ever we need to have our prayers answered and we also need to take the time to pray. You and I are going to face uncertain times but we serve the God of time. We serve the one who knows the end from the beginning, the God of all comfort and care. Resolve to rely on the Father who has His everlasting arms underneath us and if His hands span the universe, think how big and strong those arms are. May you have a wonderful Christ like, Christ centered New Year. God bless you.
Beauty In The Fall
Oct2
Every time Fall comes around I am reminded of the beauty and the tragedy of the Cross. It is a beautiful picture of what Christ has done for us and wants to do in us as we take up our cross and follow after Him. (Romans 6:6-11) Have you ever thought about that?
As you look at the colors of the leaves, be mindful of the beauty of your life in Christ. People are watching you, they want to see this Jesus you speak of and Christ desires to reveal Himself to them, through you. As you daily die a beautiful array of colors will explode from your life. They won’t be tangible colors, but they’ll be there spiritually, and the beauty of Christ in you will be on display for the world to see. For those that are searching for Jesus, it will truly be a sight to behold. So, this fall, don’t think of Summer being over and don’t be sad about the trees losing their leaves but rather think about the way you can demonstrate the colors of Christ in you.
Look at the reds this fall as symbolic of His blood, the forgiveness for you and for others and the price He paid to secure eternity for you. Think of the golds and the yellows as a picture of His Deity and the glory that He wants to reveal to and through you. May the purples remind you of His royalty as King, a royalty that He not only wants to reveal but to share as well. (1 John 3:2) Remember that He is a faithful King and will provide all of your needs according to His riches. How many riches does He have? The browns remind us of His humanity and His bruising, symbolic of His desire to identify Himself with us and familiarize Himself with our sufferings. Remember that is pleased the Father to bruise Him. Are we willing to identify with Christ and suffer persecution and be bruised for Him? Also, amidst the various colors of the dying leaves remember that the trees are not dying but rather preparing themselves for the long cold Winter and it’s storms. Are we preparing our selves for the storms ahead? And all the while the deciduous foliage is falling there are the ever present Evergreens, symbolic of our lives, we who were once dead in trespasses and sins, has He now quickened. (Ephesians 2:1-6) Last thought. Just think about Fall and then think about the Fall of man. The two are closely related, one is a result of the other. Is it a coincidence that the most colorful season has to do with death or do you think the Lord wanted to remind us of the beauty of His life, death and resurrection? Just a thought, what do you think?
Happy Halloween. Treat, Or Trick?
Oct0
Well it’s about that time again. Time for all good little ghouls and boys to dress up like “harmless” little creatures, superheroes and yes, even Bible characters. What are we to do about this pagan holiday or is it Christian? Should we be celebrating it? What do you tell your children when they ask you if they can partake of the festivities? Is it really just harmless fun?
Let’s deal with the latter question first, because if we can determine whether or not Halloween is harmless then the other questions are pretty much moot. If it really is harmless then we should celebrate it, no? If it is not, well we’ll discuss that later. I am hoping that you will have a few things to add to this post and we can dialogue.
It did not take me long, thanks to the Internet, to determine that the roots of this festive holiday were deep, long and anything but harmless. My first stop was History.com. One of the beliefs of this celebration is that the ghosts of the dead return to Earth and wreak havoc on the living. Hmmmm sounds like fun. Not. I’m sorry but since when did it become fun to have the dead come back, not to life as Jesus would do, but still dead? That doesn’t sound like a celebration to me. Now, the business of the costumes are all part of placating the evil spirits by making oneself look like them. After all, what could make the dead even angrier then to see a bunch of healthy living human beings walking around enjoying themselves? The Druids, or Celtic priests were the ones to really kick this thing off. They would have the children dress up in costumes and perform what was known as “souling.” That is the poor people would go door to door begging for “soul cake,” or food in exchange for prayers to the dead on All Souls Day. Once Rome conquered the World, to include much of the Celtic territory, it was only a matter of time till the some of the festivals naturally blended together. Eventually, All Souls Day came to be known as All Saints Day. On the surface it sounds good, after all it is the celebration of the departing of the faithful saints. The purpose for this post is not to give a history lesson because, frankly, I don’t have the knowledge to do that. What I do have, and you do too, is the Word of God. And so I would like to hear what you think about Halloween. Are you going to take little Johnny out dressed as Moses or little Susie adorned as Ruth? Will your neighbors recognize your children dressed as Bible Characters or as little Al- Qaeda operatives? What does the Bible say? Do we know what God’s Word tells us? Better yet, do we believe it and are we willing to obey? I’ll be honest, as a father, the pressure is great from my children and sometimes I don’t have the answer as to why we don’t or why we do certain things. So let’s talk, honestly, kindly and lets see what the Lord would have us do as we look into the Word. If you tune in to WZXV for the month of October you are sure to hear some teachings on this subject. There is also a great resource available at the Chapel Store called The Facts On Halloween by John Ankerberg and John Weldon. I would encourage you to get a copy for your library. I look forward to growing with you as we “rightly divide, faithfully abide.”