Come to the Cross to See the Christ of Christmas

Well, it's 4:30AM on Christmas morning and I can't sleep.  I'm sitting in front of the fire place and as far as I can tell no one has come down the chimney, the chocolate chip cookie is still on the plate, and the milk is still in the glass.  Oh yeah, I'm the dad and I have to eat the cookie again but this year my youngest son told me that he didn't believe in Santa Claus and he's quite sure I'm the one who eats the cookie so why did we still put out the cookie?  Why?  Because I like cookies.

And, why am I up at 4 AM?  First off, I have been awake since 3:30AM and, as strange as this may sound to some, usually when I wake up at 3:30AM God put's something quite strong on my heart and I have to do something about it. Sometimes its a verse of scripture, sometimes it's a dream, and other times it's a message I need to put forth. I've asked God (very politely of course)  if it would be possible to move this regular meeting to 9AM but so far he seems content with the current time frame so who am I to press any further?  OK, so what's the reason for my insomnia today?

Christmas.  I mean, CHRISTmas.  The celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ.  Yeah, that's it!  Not Santa, not the big pine tree in  my house, the presents, the cookie and milk, the reindeer, the yule log, the crowded mall, the Grinch, or even Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" (I know that last one really hurts). And, before I get a bunch of comments about Christmas being the remnant of a pagan holiday, December 25th unlikely being the factual date of Jesus' birth, or the fact that the early church didn't celebrate the birth of Jesus (The Church didn't proclaim this date and celebration until 440 AD), I want to say, "I know all of that."  But so what?

The point is that Jesus, the Christ, WAS born and his birth was both miraculous (not to say that every birth isn't quite miraculous) and his birth was prophesied hundreds of years before it happened.  I know you've likely heard these verses before or read them at the bottom of a Christmas card (if you actually read the card before the twenty dollar bill from Aunt Mildred fell out) but I want you to really ponder them today:

"But you, Bethlehem Ephratha, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."  (Micah 5:2) 

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."  (Isaiah 7:14)  

God spoke though these prophets nearly seven centuries earlier, proclaiming that the Messiah (the Christ) would be born of a virgin (quite an amazing feat!) and would be born in the VERY insignificant and small town of Bethlehem. They predicted he'd be born of the tribe of Judah (only a one in twelve chance) and that he'd be born of the line of David.  This is very helpful for a man of such weak faith as I.  I like some reassurance for my faith. I would be like Thomas, poking my fingers in the wounds and then saying, "My Lord and my God!"  So, do I think God woke me up this early to prove to you that Jesus was the Christ?  Maybe, but I don't think so.  I think it was something even bigger.

I think it was to fast forward 33 years from the birthday of Jesus (whatever the real date is) to a cross on a hill and then to an empty tomb around the corner.  You see, until I came to the saving knowledge that what this God-man did on the cross at Calvary, his birth meant little to me. Yeah, it was a fun holiday and I could get a bit sentimental about the baby in the manger but the magnitude of the event didn't hit me until I came through the cross. When I finally understood that Jesus, who was both fully God and fully human, came to earth to pay the penalty for our sin (the atonement) and to make us right with God (reconciliation) and that through his resurrection, he conquered death, I finally was able to look at CHRISTmas and sing, "Oh holy night..." and really mean it.

I think we contemplate it backwards.  We can certainly grasp the birth of the baby Jesus with our minds before we come to the cross but we really can't celebrate Christmas with our hearts until we know him as Lord through that cross.  Even though the virgin birth was amazing, the transaction that bought our freedom came on Easter and when we cling to him on Easter and know our need for his love and his grace and his sacrificial gift, we can then finally see past the tinsel and wrapping paper and worship him on this wonderful December morning!

I want to thank you for spending the past year with us and with those who have participated in the I-61 Project.  I want to invite you to drop us a comment, a question, a concern, or a prayer need any time.  We love to get into the Word and would also be honored to pray for you or with you.  If any of you have been on the fence with regard to Jesus Christ, we would be glad to chat with you and answer questions as best we can.  Drop us a note!

May God grant you a VERY blessed CHRISTmas!

David and the I-61 Project

Fear - Bad thing or Good thing? The Bible says, "Both!"

When I was about ten years old I watched a movie called "The Legend of Boggy Creek".  I don't think I was supposed to watch it but somehow it passed the parental filter. Fear was born.  The movie was about Sasquatch, otherwise known as Bigfoot and from that night on (at least for a few months) I was certain the hairy, ape-man was roaming my neighborhood.  I couldn't sleep and fear gripped my mind. I peeked out of my bedroom window every night scanning the yard and the street for signs of him and then anxiously looked under my bed just in case he somehow got through the front door.

Fear, anxiety, worry, dread.  We're afraid of our failing finances, our failing health, our safety. We fear losing our children, our spouses, our pets, our freedom, and our honor. We can't sleep and our appetites go south. We seek counseling and we seek medicines that will calm our fears and, behind our Sunday smiles, the fear still lingers.

So, do you have a Sasquatch roaming the streets of your mind right now?  I think that it would be a good time to look at fear and anxiety and see if we can find some freedom and some hope from the giants that are holding us captive.

I set out to search the Bible to see how many times and in what ways the word "fear" was used.  I guess I assumed that I would see over and over "FEAR NOT!" and yes that was there  but  that is not exactly all that  I found.  The most common Old Testament word for fear was "yare" and in the New Testament was "phobos" from which we get the word phobia. These words mean fear, dread, terror but also have a component of awe and reverence.  As I scanned the search results what I found over and over and over again were the phrases "fear God" and "the fear of the Lord". GREAT! One more thing to be afraid of! "That will not go over well with my readers!", I thought. But then I began to read and search and pray. Here is what I found and I pray that you will grab ahold of this and find freedom from your fear.

I first want to say that there are many times that the Lord reminds us that he is ALWAYS in control and the believer need not ever worry.  We will look at those awesome promises in a moment but it seems that the Bible tells us that there is a precursor to the promise and that the answer to the problem of fear is fear.  WHAT? How can fear cure fear?  Let's see.

Take a look at these verses and ponder them for a moment:

Ecclesiastes 12:13  "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." (King Solomon)

Proverbs 9:10  "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (King Solomon)

Deuteronomy 5:29  "Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and there children forever!"  (God)

1 Samuel 12:24  "But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you."  (Samuel)

Psalm 103:11  "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him."  (King David)

Acts 10:34-35  "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right."  (Peter)

I think that the beginning of our freedom from fear begins with a right view of God and an understanding and acknowledgment of who his is.  It begins when we see him with the awe and the reverent fear he deserves.  I know that it seems counterintuitive to fear the One from whom we look to for love but we are weak people and there is a certain amount of fear necessary to keep us on the right road. Be honest.  Don't we drive a little slower when we think there is a state trooper around the next corner?  Don't we walk a little more carefully along the edge of a cliff than we do when we walk down the side walk.  There are fears that are healthy and reasonable and the fear of the Lord is one of those.  When we know who we are and who He is then we can humble ourselves and draw near to him but always with a holy awe and reverent fear.

Now for those who fear him and seek him he promises that we need not fear!  Ever!!  Soak in these verse and hold them close to your heart:

Psalm 23:4  "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of the valley of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me." (King David)

Isaiah 41:10 "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."  (God)

2 Chronicles 20:15  "This is what the Lord says to you, 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army.  For the battle is is not yours, but God's.'"  (Jahaziel son of Zechariah)

John 14:27  "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."  (Jesus, the Christ)

So, today as you go forward, consider the power, majesty, and love of the God of the universe and fear him.  But as you do remember that he created you for relationship and for eternal life.  Remember that he loved you enough to send his Son to die for you and me.  Then remember that for those who love him and have come by faith, nothing is impossible and no enemy too strong.  There are no storms too violent or diseases that can't be conquered!  Jesus said, "Do not be afraid".  Let's cling to that and remember that one day there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things... will soon pass away.

May peace reign in your hearts this Christmas!

David

I Can See Clearly Now the Plank is Gone

When I was much younger I worked for a plumber and one day while I was in the shop cutting a piece of metal a very small sliver of hot steal shot right into my eye.  One blink and it stuck nicely into the inside of my upper eyelid so that every time I blinked it would drag the sharp shard of steel across my cornea and send intense pain all the way down to my left big toe.  The ER doc flipped my eyelid inside out and plucked the sliver of metal out, put it on a piece of gauze, and said, "Well, here is the little demon."  I could barely see it!  It was like half the size of a gnat.  I wonder what it must be like to have an eight foot 2x6 stuck in my eye.  Jesus said these words in Matthew 7:

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, "Let me take the speck out of your eye," When all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of our own eye, and then you will see clearly to  remove the speck from your brother's eye.

A couple weeks ago someone you know took a fall, a really big fall. He sinned against the Lord and against his wife and kids.  Since then much of the world, including many Christians I know, have taken out their red hot pokers and have mocked him, scorned him, and accused him.  His name is Tiger.  I have never met Tiger Woods but it seems that he has led a double life.  He has been unfaithful to his wife and has likely been addicted to the attention (physically and socially) of other women.  Yep he is a sinner.  Oh, yeah by the way, so am I.  And, so is this guy I saw a statue of in a church once.  His name is "Saint" Paul.  He said these words in Romans chapter 7:

"For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep doing.  Now if I do what I don't want to do, it is no longer I who do it but sin living in me that does it.  So I find this law at work; when I want to do good, evil is right there with me.  For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.  What a wretched man I am!"

So I think it's time to pluck the planks out of our own eyes, take a look at what sin really looks like, and also reevaluate what our response should be to one that has fallen hard.  I'll go first.  OK, I'm slowly removing the lumber from my eye.  Ouch! Ok, that hurt but now I can actually see clearly.

I want to start by saying that what Tiger did was very serious and has caused his family much pain.  From experience I also know that he is also in a lot of pain now.  Sin does that.  James tells us that "Sin when it is fully grown gives birth to death." It sure does!  But Jesus reminds us that the sin isn't just in the final ugly act but begins in the heart way before someone crawls into bed with another woman.  Jesus said, if you look at a woman with lust you've committed adultery in your heart.  So how many of you guys have ever looked on a woman with lust?  Or you women looked on a man with lust?  If you said, "Not me!" then you also have to add lying to your list of sins.  So if you've engaged in pornography, the adultery is in your heart and from the God's perspective it is the same.  Maybe it's not pornography but looking longer at the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders than Tony Romo.  Bottom line is that we have to examine our own lives for the sin in our hearts.

I don't know if Tiger is a born again believer but I would guess he likely isn't.  So, then there may be a chance that he is closer to a saving relationship with God now than he was when he was putting on the green jacket at the Masters.  Being humbled and fallen and seeing the "depravity" that the Bible reminds us we each share is often the first step towards seeking God.  Do I care if Tiger hits a 360 yard drive, eagles a 595 yard par 5, or wins another Major?  Nope.  Do I care if he earns another million dollars from Nike?  Nope.  Do I care that he comes to know the Savior of the world, the One who died for Tiger while he was yet a sinner?  Yep.

Look, he failed big time and so have I.  Tiger and I have a lot in common except  that I have a wicked slice and can't putt worth a darn.  So, let's each take a real close look at our own lives (and the planks in our eyes) and see where we are sinning against God.  Lust, greed, deceit, pride, coveting, gluttony,  cursing, cheating, selfishness . . . should I go on? Nah, I think we get the idea.

Lastly, I'd like to say to my brothers and sister in Christ that when we see someone fall regardless of the magnitude of the crash our response should be to find an opportunity to share the One who came to take away our sin, restore relationship, and to remove condemnation.  If we find ourselves making a joke at the expense of the man who is broken and his wife who is crushed we might want to stop, find a quiet place, and pray for them both.  They could sure use someone with the love of Christ to show them the way home.

Paul said, "Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am the worst.  But for that very reason I was shown mercy, so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.'

Thank God!

Peace,

David

Skin - God's First Covering for Sin

I know last week's post was long, complicated, and had some thoughts that are up for debate so I want to thank those of you who stood strong and read it anyway.  For those that got about four sentences into it then bailed out, "No worries."  With that in mind I'm going to cut you all a little slack and keep this a bit shorter but hopefully no less important.

I was reading Genesis the other day and then listening to a Christian talk show a couple days later when I realized that there was a statement in the third chapter of Genesis that I had glossed over and never gave much thought.  I want to share it with you then I want to show you how the Gospel (The Good News of Jesus Christ) is repeated over and over and over from Genesis (The first of the 66 books of the Bible) to Revelation (The last book of the Bible).

Here is the statement (Genesis 3:21):

"The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them."

You may recall that in the beginning of Genesis 3 Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which caused them to be separated from God.  It was the first sin and the first time man was no longer pure and walking in harmony with God.  For the first time Adam and Eve felt ashamed and saw their nakedness.  But as I recalled, they had sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves when they realized they were naked so why in the world did God make them "garments of skin"?

Here is the revelation!  As far as we can tell the very first physical death that occured in the Garden of Eden came at the hands of God.  It was the first sacrifice.  God provided for Adam and Eve a covering of skin, animal skin.  An innocent animal (maybe a lamb?) sacrificed to cover the shame and nakedness of the guilty.  The attempt of Adam and Eve to cover themselves must have been inadequate and the seriousness of the sin and the magnitude of its consequences so severe that God determined its solution necessitated the shedding of blood.  Wow!  So now I'll just give you a few scriptures as you journey from Genesis to Revelation that show God's plan of redemption (healing the broken relationship between man and God) is consistent all the way through.

Genesis 22:9-14 (God provides a substitute sacrifice for Abraham)

When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.  Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.  But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.

  "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."

  Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.  So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide.

Genesis 7:7 (God provides a means of safety from his wrath against sin)

And Noah and his sons and his wife and his son's wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood.

Exodus 12:23 (The blood of a lamb protects the Israelites from the wrath of God)

When the LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.

John 19:17-18 (Jesus "the Lamb of God" sacrificed for the sins of man)

Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Here they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (the innocent dying for the guilty)
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him, we might become the righteousness of God.

Revelation 19:11-13 (Jesus returns to make all things new)

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.

God's beautiful plan to restore us to himself is consistent from the beginning to the end and today I am going to reflect on the incredible gift that Jesus gave me.  Himself.  Undeserved for sure but that is the meaning of grace.  We can't sew on our own fig leaves!  It's God's doing.  So, if you haven't experienced forgiveness then I invite you also to reach out and receive it from the one who died for you!

Peace, David