When Seeing Isn’t Believing

We tend to believe what we see, right? When I was growing up, and maybe this is also accurate for you, I was told, “Believe half of what you hear; believe what you can see.” After all, it’s one thing to question what someone else claims to have experienced, but it’s really hard to argue with what is right in front of you. Our whole lives, we’re trained to respond to what we see before us. “Keep your eye on the ball, son.” “Keep watching for deer!” “Aim carefully.” We’re conditioned from birth to believe what we can see.

It’s one of the most common reasons skeptics question matters of faith. After all, people can claim to sense God all the time, but they can’t see Him. If God cannot be experienced by the 5 senses, how can we know there is a God at all? After all, seeing is believing, right?

Now, a lot of work has been done in the fields of theology and philosophy to demonstrate and, in my opinion, prove the existence of God without primarily relying on the 5 senses. That’s not my purpose here. My concern today isn’t about believing what you cannot see, but rather the danger of believing that which you do see.

We’ve been conditioned to focus on images much more than text. Advertisers know that an image on a website gets a lot more clicks and likes than text alone. We’re driven by the image more than by the text that our brains have to process. Pictures, photos, and graphics grab our fleeting attention spans much faster than fonts and characters. That’s why the most effective way to get a message out on social media isn’t in a video or a story. It’s in a picture.

The problem is that in today’s world, we can doctor images. Remember the whole Kate Middleton Picture fiasco? Before it was revealed that she had cancer, there were so many rumors flying around, everything from “she’s been killed” to “William has had an affair”. This largely occurred because a photo was visibly altered, possibly even entirely fabricated. With the rise of Artificial Intelligence, or AI, we will see much more doctored media as we scroll through our devices. Some of this will be artistic in nature, but much of it will be used to convince people of things that are not true.

We’ve seen so much of this in the past few years in the explosion of conspiracy theories. Images have circulated that supposedly showed Tom Hanks consuming adrenochrome ( a chemical compound that is supposedly used in satanic child sacrifice rituals). We even have a former president selling digital trading cards of himself, doctored by AI to make him look much younger and fitter than he is. “But Adam, it’s artistic license.” By and large, I agree, except when people use those images to claim one candidate is healthier than another.

We really need to question what we see on social media when it comes to Memes. These are often real images that have text superimposed over them. Often the text is used to completely change the context or meaning of the photo; to twist reality.

One instance I won’t forget was during the 2016 election cycle. There was a meme circulating that was a picture of a young Bernie Sanders attending a civil rights protest in the 1960s. The image claimed that Sanders was protesting against African Americans, rather than protesting with them. The claim was quickly debunked here. What frustrated me more than the image was that after the claim was debunked, people clung to what they saw as truth. One lady I followed on social media at the time, when confronted with reality said, “Well, I don’t care what you say. I choose to believe this is the truth because it fits with what I think.” She was so committed to her distaste of Sen. Sanders, that she would willingly embrace a falsehood rather than the truth.

There’s a lot of psychology at play here. A March 2019 article at Scientific American shares how people who believe in conspiracy theories often share certain traits. But why don’t people realize the truth when confronted with it? One answer is quite simple: pride. No one likes admitting they are wrong. Especially after they have staked their reputation and integrity on something they believed to be true. Just like no one likes to admit they miscounted their total at a bake sale, no one likes the idea of coming back around and saying, “Ya know what, even though I was fully convinced, I was wrong.” We don’t want to admit that we were fooled by our senses or that someone took advantage of us. A similar phenomenon is when senior citizens fall victim to scams and don’t report them because they are ashamed that they were victimized.

All this brings me to my most recent run-in with the fakery that is modern social media. Shortly after the horrific collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, I saw this graphic floating around on Facebook and X (FKA Twitter):

The author of the post and image wants you to believe that some cabal or deep-state conspiracy, or maybe even a foreign actor, is trying to destroy our infrastructure. And man, three bridges in one day? That seems like a lot at first glance. Then if you consider the economic impact of closing the Port of Baltimore is something like $150 Million per day, this sounds absolutely catastrophic!

But then I did a little digging. Did you know that in the United States, there are an estimated 600K bridges? Yes, that’s right: six hundred thousand bridges. I’m kind of surprised there weren’t more of them not working that day!

The graphic says “major” bridges. So, let’s consider “major”. What does that mean? The Baltimore Bridge had an estimated 11.5 million vehicles cross each year, carrying a major interstate near our nation’s capital. Definitely a major bridge! But what about the other two? The Valley View bridge carries Interstate 480 in Cleveland over the Cuyahoga River and several roads and train tracks. It carries an estimated 18K vehicles per day, so certainly major. But guess what? It didn’t collapse. A truck caught fire on a road beneath the bridge, so it was temporarily closed out of caution. So, major yes. The same? Definitely not. You can cross the Valley View Bridge today with no problems, besides Cleveland traffic, that is.

That brings us to our final bridge of the day: the Indian River Inlet Bridge in Delaware. What disaster befell this bridge? The ocean breached a sand dune in front of two lanes, closing them while they removed the sand from the lanes of traffic. Clearly a scheme by the deep state (sarcasm, I promise.) And this isn’t what I’d consider a major bridge, although I couldn’t find traffic numbers to back that up (I base my assumption on the size of the bridge and that it isn’t on an interstate or major freight route).

So what I am saying is this: Don’t believe the memes and graphics shared on social media. Check sources. Do your own research. And please, for the love of all things sacred, quit considering watching YouTube or scrolling social media to be doing research! To quote the prophet Hosea, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children” (Hosea 4:6).

Before we dismiss for the day, this may beg the question from skeptics, “Adam, what makes ‘faith’ or religion any different from people making up stories or memes or people believing something that isn’t true?”

Good question! According to Hebrews 11:1, faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” How is that different? Faith, at least the Christian understanding of it, is a firm conviction based on evidence already presented, not a fairytale make-believe. It’s not, as that lady put it, “something I choose to believe” or something I want to be true. We believe that God has already demonstrated His existence and His character through nature, history, and His word. Because we have historical, eyewitness accounts that Jesus rose from the dead, and reliable historical records, we have evidence to base our convictions on. While God cannot be proved using our 5 senses, I do find His existence to be rational and logical based on what I can perceive with my senses and my brain. But this is a different topic for another time.

The truth is worth searching for and fighting for. As a Christian, I believe that all truth is God’s truth. And Jesus said that the truth will set us free. While He was talking about the truth of the Gospel when the concept of truth itself is under attack, so is the Gospel. As a follower of Christ, I believe in truth, and that Christ is the way to know all truth. Today, trust in Him, more than what you see on the internet.

Advent: Passing It On

I promise I’m not a hoarder. Okay, maybe slightly, but I promise you won’t see me in a documentary about hoarding. I’ll be the first to admit that I get too emotionally attached to things, often things of little monetary worth, but of great emotional value.

A few months back, my mother was cleaning out some things at her home and filled a box with old toys and such that were mine. She thought I might want to see if my kids wanted them before she threw them out. It brought me so much joy to see my kids, especially my youngest, Philip, playing and laughing with the same toys that I loved playing with as a little boy. One toy in particular, a little wooden puppy you pull on a string, has been by his side for weeks.

I’m not suggesting you try to save money by re-wrapping your former toys as gifts for your kids this year. However, I am suggesting that there is something special in passing things on, whether it be toys, traditions, or especially our faith.
Deuteronomy 6:4-8 (ESV) says this:
⁴ “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ⁵ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ⁶ And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” 

“Teach diligently” in the original Hebrew conveys a sense of repetition, of going over again and again. It means we don’t just read the Luke 2 account of Jesus’ birth once and expect young people or new Christians to get it. It means that we continue to share the meaning of Christmas with people again and again. It’s a story that bears repeating, that is worthy of contemplating afresh every year, and not just in December.

As I got ready for work the other day, David, my 7-year-old, was the only one awake. He was playing a video game as I was putting on my shoes. I decided it was a perfect time to impart some deep spiritual insight.

“Dave, you know the real meaning of Christmas, right?
“Yeah, Dad. Lights and presents and stuff.”
“Well, that’s part of it, but it’s mostly about Jesus.”
“Oh Yeah! It’s his birthday, right?”
“Well, sort of. It’s when we celebrate him coming to earth and being our savior. He came so that we could go to Heaven when we die and be better people who follow God.”

I’m not gonna lie, I was sort of proud of myself. But any illusion that I had once and for all explained this to Dave was shattered by his next phrase: “Cool. Hey dad! I’m killing zombies!”

“Good talk, Dave. Good talk.” as I rolled my eyes and headed out the door.

David circa 2020 wearing a shirt I had when I was little.

Passing on our faith, like passing on traditions of Christmas, takes more than a single conversation. It means investing in others and telling the story of Jesus again and again. How are you passing on your faith this year? It may mean inviting loved ones to Church or a Christmas Eve service. Maybe taking time to explain to others what Christmas is truly about. The important thing is to do it. Pass it on today!

Prayer:
Father, Thank you for sending your Son to earth, to be our Savior and King. Help me to pass my faith on to others today and throughout this season. May many people come to Jesus. Amen

Surprised by Christmas

On my way to work last week, I encountered something unexpected: snow flurries! Now friends of mine who live in Colorado and New Hampshire have already had snow this season, but here in the Ohio River Valley, it’s unusual to have snow flurries before December 1. Not unheard of, just unusual. Combine those flurries with the frigid temperatures, and there was no doubt that December was coming.

Don’t misunderstand me. I am a big fan of winter and the idea of being snowed in with a roaring fire and Christmas music makes me smile. But as I said, in Southeastern Ohio, we usually ease into winter. And yes, I joined in the chorus of complaining, “It’s too cold! Too early for this!”

Looking back, it’s silly to be surprised by the arrival of winter, right? I mean, we have calendars. We have the Weather Channel. We even have alerts on our smartphones to remind us of changes in temperature or weather patterns. I get an alert every time rain or snow falls in my vicinity. Yet here we are, still complaining about how wintery weather just snuck right in on us.

We’ll probably comment similarly when it comes to Christmas. “I can’t believe it’s Christmas already!” But seriously, what did we expect? It’s not like Christmas changes dates? Easter, now that I understand getting confused about it, with it shifting every year. But Christmas? It’s been celebrated on December 25 for millennia. It didn’t sneak up on anyone.

But then I think back to that first Christmas. It certainly took many people by surprise. Perhaps no one was more surprised than Mary. When the angel Gabriel told her that she had found favor with God and would bear His Son, she was certainly confused.

“And Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?'”

It would have been one thing had Gabriel announced a birth to a married couple, that God had chosen them to birth a King who would lead a national revolution and free the Jews from the yoke of oppression. That would seem at least much more likely than a virgin girl being told she’s going to have a Son. That’s a bit much already. But what’s more: this will be no ordinary son, but the Son of God!

Joseph was surprised. When he found out Mary was pregnant, he was going to divorce Mary (in 1st Century Judaism, an engagement could only be broken by a divorce). It took a message from God for him to stay with her.

The innkeeper was certainly surprised by Christmas. If he had known that the Messiah was to be born, I’m sure he would have had a room set aside, or surely a bed. Something besides a stable and manger scene. The shepherds had obviously forgotten to put an angelic army concert into their calendars. And even the scribes of King Herod couldn’t remember what the prophet Micah had said about Bethlehem being the birthplace of the Messiah.

God orchestrated this whole affair at the right time. Galatians 4:4 says, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law”. God had everything planned out, down to the day in which Jesus would be born in Bethlehem.

I wonder what surprises God has in store for us this Christmas. Oh, I know we will all face challenges between now and the end of the Christmas Season. But what incredible blessings await us if we just slow down and take some time to consider that the very God who made you, came to earth in the form of a baby. He would grow up and live among us, and then willingly choose to die for our sins. This is the real surprise of Christmas: God’s amazing love.

Prayer:
Father, thank you for the gift of each day. Help me to slow down and enjoy your blessings. Forgive me for being too busy to notice what you’re orchestrating in my life. Help me to see the wonders not just of this season, but of Jesus. And may I share this joy with others. Amen

Advent: In the Beginning

Today is the beginning of Advent, the four Sundays leading up to Christmas. Maybe for you, Advent isn’t something you observe, you’re just doing regular ol’ Christmas things. For others, Advent is serious stuff: the beginning of a new Church year, etc. I tend to fall in between. For me, Advent offers a chance to slow down, pray, contemplate, and celebrate.

Beginnings are a good place to start, so let’s look at John 1:1-2:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.”

The “Word” here is the Greek Logos, and while it does mean “word”, it conveys something much deeper. If you’ve ever studied ancient philosophy, you may be familiar with the concept. For those not, let me give you a real quick primer.

The Greek philosophers were some of the first to notice that living things, particularly animals, had something that animated them, that gave them their personality and mind. This became to them a concept similar to the idea of a “soul”. One Greek then said there was a universal force (Star Wars fans take note) that controlled everything but was separate from the Greek pantheon of gods.

John took that idea of Logos and applied it to Jesus. He in effect said, yes this Logos does exist but not just as a force, as a person. And so when Jesus is referred to here as “the Word”, it’s not, as some mistakenly believe, calling Jesus the Bible or even referring to God’s Word. John is saying something even deeper than that.

Jesus is not merely the fulfillment of God’s Word, He is the Being (not force) that made the entire universe. Check out verse 3: All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.

You see, from the start of John’s Gospel, we have this marvelous proclaimation that Jesus is different. He’s not a biological son who was created (as the Mormons believe), a created angel (like the Jehovah’s Witnesses believe), or merely a prophet (as taught by Islam). No, He has always existed and is of the very same essence of God the Father. He is God and He was with God.

This is why Christmas is different than other celebrations. This is what makes Advent different than Ramadan or other feasts or fasts. What we are celebrating is the fulfillment of God’s promise to tabernacle, or dwell, among His people.

Today, take some time to contemplate how Jesus is different than other aspects of the holiday season. Remember that He isn’t just some ornamental trapping, but very God, who loved us enough to come and dwell among us and to offer us salvation.

Prayer:
Jesus, you are God. You are greater than anything else we think of during this time of year. Help me to remain focused on You this Advent and Christmas season. Shine Your light in our darkness. Amen

Avoiding the Appearance of Evil?

1 Thessalonians 5:22 says “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” (KJV). 

I think this verse is perhaps one of the most misunderstood and misused verses in all of the Bible. It’s right up there with “Do not judge” and “Money is the root of all evil”, both of which are incomplete and inaccurate statements. If we’re going to be faithful to the Lord, and obedient to His word, it would behoove us to take a closer look at this verse. 

This verse comes to us at the end of Paul’s first Epistle to the Church at Thessalonica. He is ending his letter with quite a few single-sentence imperatives. Sort of like we do when getting off the phone when we’re on a trip: “Make sure the oven is off. Feed the dog. Take out the trash. Please pick up after yourself.” And because they don’t seem interconnected, we don’t have much context to go with and must assume Paul means exactly what he is saying.  

I’ve heard this verse used for all sorts of reasons.  

• Dating: “You shouldn’t go on a date by yourself, and certainly no trips away, even if it’s separate rooms, because it could appear that you’re sleeping together outside of marriage.” 
•  Going to school dances: “You know, people get too close together during those things, and you don’t want anyone to think that you’re subjecting yourself to temptation.” 
• Restaurants that serve alcohol: “Well, you had best not go there; people will think you’re an alcoholic. Avoid the appearance of evil!” 
• Going to Las Vegas: “All they have there is gambling and strip shows! You better avoid even the suggestion that you’re going to those!” 
• Social Settings: “Hey! Don’t be hanging out with her, she has loose morals. You don’t want people thinking you’re next! Avoid the appearance of evil!” 

Interestingly, I’ve never heard this verse used to admonish people from going to buffets where they could appear to be gluttons, shopping because they could be going into debt, or buying a new car because maybe they were stealing from work. But I digress. 

There are two issues here: 1, What does the Bible actually say, and 2, The Implications of our interpretation. 

So, let’s look at the text first. Paul says to “abstain from all appearance of evil” in the King James Bible, but my ESV says “Abstain from every form of evil.” The NIV says “Reject every kind of evil” and the NLT says “Stay away from every kind of evil”. They are all saying evil is bad. On that, we can agree. But our abstention of it seems to change, right? I mean, the KJV says to abstain not only from evil but from the appearance of it. In other words, “Don’t just avoid evil, don’t even do something that people might think is wrong!” Is this just an example of “modern Bible versions” watering down God’s Word (as I have heard many people say over the years)? 

In order to answer that, we need to get a little nerdy. I’m game if you are. So, we have to remember that the New Testament was written in Greek, not English. When translators were looking at the Greek texts, they had to consider what English words to use. Just like English, some words have multiple meanings. “I gave a five (money) to my five-year-old after he gave me a five (high five).” I pity the poor person who tries to translate that into Spanish, then to Russian.  

The English translators for the KJV were incredibly brilliant men. When they encountered the word ειδος (eidos), they had to decide which translation to use. They used the same words they used for eidos in Luke 3:22 and Luke 9:29, “appearance”. The context of those verses tells us it could only mean “appearance” and not the other senses of the word: Kind (category) or Sight. And you can’t blame them because Paul doesn’t give much context to go on. 

So, let’s play this out a little bit, assuming that this verse means to avoid the appearance of evil. The question immediately becomes “appearing evil to whom?” Surely, it can’t refer to God, because He knows our thoughts and intents even better than we do. And according to 1 Samuel 16:7, God doesn’t focus on the external, He looks to the heart.  

Is it what appears to be evil to the Church? This is a possibility, considering that Paul has just told the Church to “test everything; hold fast to what is good.” So perhaps Paul is saying, “Don’t do what looks bad to you.” That sort of reminds me of James 4:17, where our conscience plays a role in our actions. 

Is it what appears to be evil just to anyone? Is evil in the eye of the beholder? God’s commands are certainly not subjective to personal whims. Unlike much of our “morality” today, God’s Word speaks of right and wrong, good and evil. It would be foolish to subject ourselves to everyone’s subjective opinions, correct? 

And so that is the problem with avoiding the “appearance” of evil. It becomes subjective. It puts us under the yoke of man’s traditions and opinions. It leads to human-made rules that miss the point. It causes us to constantly worry that Bill might misunderstand what we’re doing when we all know that Bill always misunderstands. 

If we take this verse to mean what looks bad, it means that Jesus shouldn’t have been hanging out, alone, with a woman of questionable morals at a Samaritan well one noonday. It also means that Jesus shouldn’t have been eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners. It also means Jesus probably shouldn’t have turned water into wine. Nor should Jesus have plucked grain on the Sabbath.  

You see, Jesus encountered this same line of thinking from the Pharisees. These were well-meaning people, who because they didn’t want to disobey God, thought they should have rules stricter than God (let’s leave aside for now the idea that we could know better than the Lord… HERESY ALERT). So, to make sure they wouldn’t violate the Sabbath, they said, nope… picking grain is to eat is bad. Because bad company corrupts good morals, nope, you can’t spend time with ungodly people. Because alcohol can be dangerous if misused, anyone who ever consumes it is certainly sinning. 

For these reasons, the overwhelming majority of Bible scholars and translators agree that this verse should be translated as “Abstain from every form [kind] of evil.” And sure, majorities mean nothing when it comes to morality. And this is certainly not a license to do foolish things. If certain things that aren’t sinful cause you to stumble or be tempted, avoid them. Flee from them. Don’t play around and get burned. Avoid what is evil, whatever form it may take. 

But also, don’t allow your faith, and even your ministry, to be controlled by the subjective perspectives of others. Listen to wise counsel. Don’t put yourself in stupid situations. And ask yourself: Is God, who looks at the heart, more concerned with what I look like or what I am doing? 

Lenten Devotional Day 13: Seeking God First?

Oh Lord, you call us to seek your face (Psalm 27:8).

You say that we will find you when we seek you with our whole heart (Jeremiah 29:13).

You tell us to seek you while you may be found (Isaiah 55:6).

And we know that we need you. Our hearts long for you. As the Psalmist says in Psalm 42:1-2, “As the deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”

And yet, how easily we neglect you.

The last few couple of days, recovering after the nastiness of allergies and such, I have slept as late as I possibly could before needing to leave for work. I have neglected my time with the Lord and instead have rushed out the door. Oh sure, I listened to some worship music on my commute. Even had a moment or two where I felt God’s presence with me as I sang along to worshipful lyrics.

But was I really seeking the living God?

I have to go to work, you see, because I am expected. I have people who depend on me. I also get paid by the hour, so in order to provide well for my family, I need to be in the office. I have things that must be done. And so reason within myself such thoughts, and I am sure that you do as well. We resolve to wake up earlier, despite how we feel. We will improve. We will get better.

And like a gracious Father, I am sure the Lord understands. He at least knows our thoughts. Like a good Father, who just wants to hear from his child, I’m sure the Lord just shrugs his shoulders, feigns a smile, and says I love you, son. We’ll talk later. Que “Cat’s in the Cradle” theme music here.

My question is this: Why, when it comes down to it, do we prioritize everyone and everything over the Lord? Okay, maybe not everything. But it seems like God keeps getting shorted. “He is kind and gracious,” we reason, “so he won’t be offended. But if I miss one more [fill in the blank], they will be upset.” And so we go to the meeting, the card game, the trip, the visit, the thing.

For years, I have known that one of the most hard hitting sermons I could preach would be on the issue of priorities. It’s also one that I would always get the most creative negative feedback on. We’re pretty good at coming up with excuses for why we spend our time the way we do, even when it’s found to be wanting. But here I am, a “professional Christian” realizing the same in my life. Even though 9 days out of 10 I spent a good amount of time in God’s word and in prayer, I STILL find myself excusing God when the schedule gets tight.

I’m short on solutions today, my friend. But this is something I think we need to wrestle with. I’m not telling you to skip work or shirk your responsibilities at home and everywhere else. What I am saying is this: Should not the God of the Universe, the Maker of all things, the One true Triune God, should He not be our greatest responsibility? Should He not be the one who never gets shorted by us? Is it too great a thing to place Him above all?

My heart still needs some shaping, some turning and crafting by the Master, friends. What about you?

Why We Examine Ourselves

On Friday, I shared a spiritual discipline that is all about the daily examination of our lives. This isn’t always an easy task and certainly not always a fun one. No one likes to think about their mistakes, sins, and where they haven’t measured up to God’s standard. So why do we do this? Why do we engage in what some might view as spiritual masochism?

Before we understand, let’s recognize what we’re not doing: We’re not whipping ourselves or cutting ourselves as some pagans and some mystics have done. Jesus doesn’t need us to physically suffer for us to be redeemed. But this difficult spiritual exercise is crucial if you and I are going to experience a genuine spiritual renewal, which is ultimately what Lent is about.

It means we need to be real with ourselves and with God about our sin and our need for Him. It is the acknowledgment that apart from Him we are totally lost. And that even though he offers grace and pardon, and for the believer, there is no condemnation, we cannot just gloss over sin and brokenness like they never happen.

1 John 1:9 tells us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

I believe that one of the reasons many people have such an up-and-down spirituality is that they don’t have depth. And you can’t have depth with God unless you have honesty with God.

Think of any other relationship that you have. Married couples: if you are hiding a bunch of stuff from your spouse, or rather just refusing to discuss what you both know to be true, is your relationship really all that healthy and life-giving? Parents, if there is some hurt between you and your children, say they did something wrong but refuse to take ownership of it, even though you both know who did it, is there a close bond of trust?

In the same way, when we just want to sweep things under the rug with the Lord, rather than doing the deep and often painful work of examining what happened and why, how can there be real healing? I’m not talking about salvation here, because He is still your Father. I’m talking about something even greater than salvation: an intimacy, a closeness, with the God of the universe. Life to the full that only Jesus offers. Oh, friends, we’re missing it!

When a surgeon is confronted with a wound that has started to fester, before they can close the wound, they must cut away the dead tissue so that living flesh can bind to living flesh. The diseased tissue must be cut away, and the dirt must be cleaned out. And this is painful!

The prophet Hosea declares this truth when he says in Hosea 6:1- Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.

Today, ask the Holy Spirit to do some deep cleansing of your soul. Allow Him to tear that He may bring about spiritual healing. It’s not going to be easy, but friends, it is so worth it! Remember, you are not alone.

Post-Script: If you’re keeping track, today should be day 6 of Lent. However, Lent doesn’t take into account Sundays, which in the ancient Church were always days of feasting and celebration of the Resurrection of Christ. Otherwise, Lent would be 46 days. And to top it off, I forgot to publish a devotional on Saturday. So today is the 4th devotional on the 5th day of a season that began 6 days ago. Go figure, it’s Monday. 😊

Lenten Devotional: Day 3- Advent Vs Lent

If you were with me for my Advent devotions this past Christmas, the theme was about waiting and preparing. So how is that different from Lent? Is Lent just preparing for Easter?

Well, yesterday we saw that Lent started as a time of preparation for new Christians before they would be baptized on Easter. But it’s a different type of preparation than Advent. Advent is about preparing the way for the coming of the Lord. It looks forward with anticipation.

During Lent, we reflect that not only has Christ come but that Christ has died. It is a season of fasting and repentance more so than eagerly awaiting. In Advent, we anticipate the joy that the coming Messiah brings; in Lent, we reflect on our brokenness and why he had to come. We reflect on our need for His grace, and that it was our sin and His love that led to the cross. Perhaps you could view it this way: Advent looks to the outside, the coming of the Lord whereas Len looks to the inside, the human condition, and why we need the Lord.

I’ll readily admit that I prefer Advent and the celebration that Jesus is Immanuel, God with us. It’s a much more pleasant thing to think about. Gifts versus death. Candles versus tombs. And as someone who has generally struggled lifelong with negative self-image and discouragement, the last thing I want to think about is my own brokenness and the ways I fall short.

In 2 Corinthians 13:5, Paul says “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?” And so, friends, take some time today and examine your hearts. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you insight into your own soul. He is able to do the hard work of discerning your thoughts and actions.

Here’s one such way I came across, especially helpful at the end of the day:

1. Give Thanks. Thank the Lord for his gifts and blessings throughout the day.
2. Ask for Insight. Ask God to reveal to you how He has been at work in your life through the event, people, and places of the day.
3. Examine Your Day. Review the highlights and lowlights of your day. What was a “God-sighting” and what was a struggle?
4. Seek Forgiveness. Confess where you sinned or fell short. Repent of when you said or acted contrary to His will.
5. Resolve to Grow. Decide, through prayer, what it is in your heart that you will seek grace and improvement.

Prayer: Lord, help us today to examine ourselves, to know, by your Holy Spirit, the condition of our walk before you. Thank you, Father, for your mercy and grace. Thank you for saving us. Because of your great mercy and love, may we today grow in our love and commitment to you. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.

Post Script: I did not originate this daily examination. It comes to us from a priest from the 1500s named Ignatius of Loyola. While certainly don’t agree with much of his theology, I think we can definitely see how this 5 step process originates in historic Christian prayer and scripture and is a great tool for spiritual growth in Christ.

Lenten Devotional: Day 2—What is Lent?

On Day 2 of Lent, I think it would be a good idea to discuss what Lent actually is, and why I think you should join us on this spiritual journey towards the Cross and the Empty Tomb. The other day a co-worker, who knows that I am a minister, asked why I observed Lent because “you’re not Catholic, are you?” Where I come from, most protestants don’t observe religious feasts or holy days apart from Good Friday, Easter, & Christmas. So, it’s a fair question.

Lent, from the Old English word for “spring”, refers to the 40 days preceding Easter during which Christians of all backgrounds devote themselves to Christ through 3 different types of spiritual exercises. Those are fasting, giving to the poor, and committing more time to spiritual exercises. This started very early in Church history as the time in which new Christians would fast from food in preparation for their baptism on Easter Sunday. Irenaeus, in the 2nd century, records the fast as being no more than 2 or 3 days.

By the early 300’s, that time had grown to 40 days. Throughout the Bible, the number 40 is significant: 40 days and nights of rain for Noah, 40 years of wandering for Israel, and perhaps the most significant, the fasting and temptation of Jesus for 40 days.

In the west, most protestants don’t fast as the early church did, often giving up a meal a day or perhaps a habit or item that is overly relied on. The idea isn’t to somehow merit God’s blessing, but to 1, deny oneself something, 2, rely on the Lord instead of that particular comfort, and 3, use the time or money spent on that which is given up to grow closer to Christ and do His work.

For example, I know people who give up purchasing coffee from the coffee shop. They will then donate the money they would have spent over those 40 days to a Christian cause, such as a missionary or a food pantry. They will also seek to lessen their dependence on caffeine and strengthen their reliance on God,

So if you’d like to join me in observing Lent as a spiritual exercise, here are 3 simple ways to do that:

1. Find a Way to Deny Yourself. Jesus said in Luke 9:23, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Maybe for you, this means social media, or binge-watching, or giving up sweets. The idea here is to sacrifice something, to build up a spiritual discipline of telling yourself “no”.
2. Commit to Daily Time With the Lord. We should be doing this anyway, but now is a good time to start. If you do this already, try mixing it up a little bit like by also reading the Gospels over the next 40 days, or by reading a book on Spiritual Formation.
3. Daily Examine Your Spiritual Life. Look, we’re not perfect. I’m not asking you to dwell on your imperfections. However, I am encouraging you to look carefully at your life. The psalmist prays “Search me oh God and know my heart.” See where you’re growing in Christ and thank Him for doing that. Repent of shortcomings and ask for the Holy Spirit to do a work of healing and revival in your heart. Ask the Lord to see people and things the way He does.

Lent is not prescribed in the Bible, so it’s understandable that some would object to its observance as a man-made tradition that isn’t needed. By and large, I would agree with that. I don’t believe that observing Lent is something that all Christians must do, or even should do. But I do find it fitting with the teaching of Jesus and his disciples that we should take time to examine ourselves, to repent of where we have strayed from Christ, and to commit ourselves anew to His Kingdom.

Together, over the next several weeks, let us, led by the Spirit, grow in Jesus Christ

Lenten Devotion: Ash Wednesday

“For He knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:14 ESV)

Ash Wednesday is a little weird as far as Christian observances go. Think about it: For Advent, you have nice little calendars with either a Bible verse or a piece of candy. Christmas: a feast and gifts. For Easter, you have empty tombs and gift-filled plastic eggs. But for the start of Lent, you get some ashes, usually smeared on your forehead. Oh boy, sign me up!

The purpose of Ash Wednesday isn’t to get rid of last year’s palm branches from Palm Sunday (although that’s traditionally the source of the ashes), but to remind us of something essential in the Christian walk: This life is temporary.

If you’ve ever been to a traditional Christian burial service, you’ve heard the phrase “earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” This harkens back to Genesis 2:7 when God created mankind: “Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed life into his nostrils, the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” After sin entered into creation and Adam & Eve were both disobedient, God said this to the man:

“By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to the dust you shall return.”(Genesis 3:19 ESV)

Lent is about repentance and examining our lives. The best way to begin this 40-day journey is to remember that we are but dust. Life is short. I see that every day by working in the “death and dying industry”. While it is true that the vast majority of the deceased who use our funeral home are elderly, we are almost daily reminded of the brevity of life. When we realize how brief and fragile life is, it gives us a great sense of the awesomeness of God. He who is eternal, unchanging, all-knowing, and ever-present.

Psalm 103:14-16 says, “For He [The Lord] knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. 15 As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; 16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.” But look at the first part of verse 17: “But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,“

Today, friend, remember that you are but dust. Yet, the Lord, his compassion and steadfast love endures forever.

Starting This Week: Daily Devo’s For Lent

Starting on Ash Wednesday, February 22, 2023, I’ll be sharing daily devotions for Lent, which is the 40 days leading up to Easter Sunday. To follow, make sure that you’re subscribed to my page or you can follow my FB ministry page by clicking here. Let’s examine our hearts in the light of what Jesus did on the Cross and may we follow him well.

Found People Find People

“The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.””
‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭43‬-‭45‬ ‭ESV‬‬

One of the most challenging things for followers of Jesus seems to be bringing others along on the journey. Study after study and interview after interview have shown this. A 2014 survey from Lifeway Research (https://research.lifeway.com/2014/01/02/study-churchgoers-believe-in-sharing-faith-most-never-do/) found that less than 22% of Christians had shared Christ in some fashion in the last 6 months. A 2016 survey found that more than 40% of unchurched people in the USA have never had the Gospel shared or explained to them.

There are all sorts of reasons people don’t share their faith, many of which we’ve been dealing with for a long time (fear of rejection, feel unprepared, etc). But what should really be alarming for followers of Christ is the increasing percentage of “Christians” who don’t believe it is the responsibility of Christians to share their faith (33% in a Barna Survey).

Now, I know, figures lie and liars figure, but these numbers tell a story that jives with my own personal anecdotes. Not only are we reluctant to share Jesus with a world in desperate need, we increasingly don’t think that’s our job to do.

When you look at the passage of John 1 that I started with, there are some key truths to understand:

1. Jesus Found Philip. Salvation begins and ends with Jesus. He pursues us, and we, led by the Holy Spirit, respond to him. Jesus told Philip to follow him.

2. Philip Followed Jesus. We don’t have the details. Was he fishing? Did an organist show up and play all the verses of “Just As I Am” while Jesus stood by an altar? That stuff doesn’t matter. What is important is that Philip followed Jesus. Sometimes we get so caught up on methods that we forget the mission.

3. Philip Found Nathanael. The first thing Philip did wasn’t to attend a new members class or sign up for baptism. He didn’t join the choir or become a member of the worship team. No, as soon as Jesus found Philip, Philip went after Nathanael.

Found People Find People. Philip went after someone who needed to know who Jesus was. He didn’t wait. He just went. And if you look at what he said to Nathanael, you’ll see that his theology wasn’t perfect. He didn’t understand the virgin birth or that Jesus was the second person of the Trinity. All that would come in due time. But he did understand two important things:

1. That Jesus was the Messiah, the Savior.

2. That he and Nathanael needed to follow this Savior.

Who are the people in your life today that need to know Jesus? Who is someone that you can, without having a perfect grasp of doctrine and theological principles, can invite to church or tell them that Jesus has saved you? Found people find people. If Jesus has changed you, it’s time to bring others along on the journey.

Medina Road

My travels this evening took me through Jackson County, WV, where my grandfather Wyers was born. He had a very difficult childhood, but he and his siblings rose above their poverty and sorrows to raise solid families. They’re all gone now, and now their children are starting to grow old and pass away. Memories fade, but legacies are like ripples that go on for eternity.

“Medina Road”
By Adam Will 1/4/2023

I couldn’t grab a picture
As I drove down the interstate
When I saw the exit that my grandma used to take.
Of the old run down church house
Barely standing all forlorn
Near the old abandoned farmhouse
Where my grandfather was born.

His parents, poor, died when he was young
His brothers and he stayed together
Toiling through snow, rain, and sun.
I went there once when I was a boy
Abandoned, broken, but standing still
My grandfather’s childhood home,
Nothing left but simple graves on a hill.

They loved him, of this I’m sure, but they left three boys behind
Just teenagers with older sisters who had their own kids to mind.
I never knew my grandfather, he died when mom was young
But I know that he loved Jesus
And to his grace, A.E. clung.

I’m amazed at the life those Wyers boys had
The grief of losing momma
and then losing their dad.
In the hills of Jackson County
Those orphaned boys strived
Audra, Fred and Clyde.

I think about them often
when I drive past that road
Where we had our family reunions
Not far from that abode.
They worked hard, they made it!
They raised their own families too
Never forgetting the struggles
And the love that between them grew.

The family is mostly gone now.
Faint memories remain.
Like the faded tombstones
And pictures in their frames.
That little church on Medina road
The memories it holds
Like that tiny Wyers house
Where love was kept, the stories told.

So when you drive through valleys,
Over hills and streams
Take thought, oh traveler,
Of visitors and sojourners before
And how they prayed and dreamed
How we’re blessed by those of old
By those folks long forgotten
Who gathered down by Medina Road.

Let Love be Genuine

“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.”—Romans 12:9 ESV

Love… I say I love you, Lord. I tell myself that you love me. You tell me that you love me. And how you have manifested your love! You have shown your love to me by sending your Son while I was your enemy. You show your love to me through your many daily blessings. Your grace is unfathomable. Day to day you provide me with life, nourishment, with what I need to live. You quench the thirst of my lips and that of my soul. Your love is real, it is genuine. It cannot be doubted any more than one can doubt the sun in the sky or the stars you hang in the heavens. Your love is more real than the air that we breathe. Your love is real.

My love for you? Oh Lord, I long for it to be real, to be a deep reservoir of devotion to you. I sing my love to you. I proclaim my love for you. But is it real? When I am tempted to go my own way, to forsake your commandments, is my love real? Is it real enough? When I disregard my siblings in the faith, when I neglect the people you have placed in my life, is my love real? Is my love for you genuine when I crowd out others for more, for a second helping, or the best seat? Is my love for you genuine when I spend analyzing people’s prayers rather than joining in? Is my love for you real when I am listening for someone’s error when they are sharing with me the sacredness of their lives?

Is my love true when I am more focused on getting things done so I can master my own time rather than subject it to the needs of others, or to spending time with you? Is my love true when I demand accommodation to my preferences when I deem only certain circumstances appropriate for time with you? Is it a manifestation of love to insist that children be quiet, dogs not bark, birds to hush their singing, all that I might find some sort of inspirational thought?

Can I claim to love you with my whole heart when I curse my brother? When I despise my father and mother? Is my love sincere when I growl in traffic or question the intelligence or cognition of others? Can I justly proclaim my devotion to you when I deviate so willingly from your heart, from your character? Lord, is my love real?

Oh, how I want it to be real! I think it is real, and yet, when I consider my ways and your ways, my love for you is so infantile. Like a child who throws a tantrum and screams “I hate you”, my ways must often seem to proclaim at best an indifference to you. And yet, you call me to love you, to trust you, as a child. As a babe clings to innocently and so instinctively to their parent, may I cling to you.

When I scream, rant, rave; when I turn aside to another way, Oh Father, call me back to you. Calm my childish insecurities and banish my selfish immaturities. May my love for you be both instinctive and cognitive. May I love you like the perfect Father you are, and yet grow to love you more than I do.

Do a work in me with your Holy Spirit, so that my love for you would be shown in how I treat and respond to others. Lord, may I love in action and not just in word! May I love in my mind, in my thoughts, in the quiet places that no one sees. For how can I love God, whom I cannot see, and hate those I can? Lord, in the loving of others, may I see them as you see them, even as you see me.

And my love for you, let it be genuine today. As genuine as your love for me. Amen

O Holy Night

Well, a winter storm has arrived and covered much of the area with snow and bitterly cold winds. With only 2 days until Christmas, it looks like we might as well just hunker down and stay indoors. If you haven’t picked up my present yet, it’s okay. You can give it to me next week. Some of us are frantically trying to ensure everything is wrapped and the stockings are hung with care. Others have been ready for days and are just relaxing to the sounds of Andy Williams and Johnny Mathis.

As we come toward the end of Advent and the beginning of Christmas, I wanted to share with you the story of my favorite Christmas carol. In fact, it’s probably my favorite hymn of all: O Holy Night.

In the mid 1800’s a parish priest in France asked a local poet and wine merchant named Plaucide Cappeau to write a poem based on Luke 2 that he could use during the Christmas services at the church. Luke 2, as you probably known, is commonly referred to as “the Christmas story” in the Bible. So Plaucide wrote a beautiful poem. But here’s the catch: Plaucide wasn’t even a Christian!

Plaucide knew the story found in Luke because back then, in a majority Christian country, most people simply knew the story. If they weren’t raised in a Church-attending family, many had religious instruction in school. Beyond that, Christianity had a much bigger cultural impact than now. Cappeau wasn’t chosen because he was a godly man with a heart for Jesus, he was chosen because he was a good poet.

After writing the poem, he asked his good friend Adolphe Adams to put the words to music. Guess what: Adolphe wasn’t a believer either! But the church had a new organ and they were eager to try it out. And the song became an instant hit. People came to the services just for that song. It spread quickly to other churches. But when people found out that this beloved hymn was written by two unbelievers, each wo had a bit of a reputation, there was an effort to remove the song from circulation. But the cat was out of the bag.

Fast forward about 50 years or so to 1906. Reginald Fessenden, a 33-year-old Canadian professor and inventor was playing around with a new invention called the radio. On December 21, 1906, Reginald read Luke 2:1 on the air and then played “O Holy Night” on his violin. It was the very first voice and song broadcast over the radio.

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining.

It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining.

Till He appeared and the Soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!

O night divine, Oh night when Christ was born.

Here’s something to think about today, friends, as we are a mere 2 days from Christmas: The two people responsible for writing the words and music to one of the most well-loved Christmas hymns did so without knowing Jesus. Oh, they knew the story! But they didn’t have a relationship with Christ.

How many people we know, or even us ourselves, get a little teary-eyed when Linus recites Luke 2 and yet still miss out on who Jesus really is?

Jesus said in John 17:3, “And this is eternal life, that they know [God] the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom [he] has sent.” Don’t be satisfied with just knowing the story. Trust in Jesus today. Get to know Him. Follow Him with your whole heart.

Reconciliation

We’re coming down to the wire with Christmas. Only a few more days to go. Some of us have already started with family get-togethers and office parties. Hopefully, by now you’ve picked up your Christmas spiral-sliced ham and got your ingredients for the scalloped potatoes. Me? Just give me cranberry sauce, ham on a roll, and maybe a bit of stuffing. We eat until we’re stuffed, and then sneak into the fridge for leftovers around midnight.

It’s remarkable how much of our collective Christmas celebrations revolve around food. I mean, as long as you have a good spread and happy people, the gifts under the tree don’t matter as much. After all, what is a celebration without yummy food? It brings it all goes together:  The laughter we share, the stories we rehash from yesteryear. The game of UNO or Euchre that can get dangerous if you cross Aunt Marcie.

For many of us, however, there will be an empty chair this year, and not because of a loved one passing away. For many of us, Christmas brings back memories more bitter than sweet when we consider those who, by our choice or theirs, are not at our table. Maybe they decided they were better than you or better off without you. Perhaps they chose someone else or another family over yours. I know of far too many people who have decided to leave their own families for some dream lifestyle or a fling that ended in disaster. In other cases, I know stories of people who haven’t spoken to their kids or their siblings in years. You know those stories too. You may be one of those stories.

I’m not trying to get into why or if we should cut people from our lives. There are times when God actually encourages it (“avoid divisive people”, etc.). It’s very possible that our lives are far better, even safer with those people not at our table. You can love someone, and care about them, without liking them very much. My point in all of this is to acknowledge the real pain many people feel.

Now, with that alienation in mind, think about God. We are, on our own, each separated by God. Not because God didn’t care enough to invite us to the potluck, but because each of us, in our own way, have chosen to ignore him. To leave our Father’s house and go after something we perceived as better. Some of us are still blinded by the glitz and thrill of deception. Others have come to their senses but not returned because of pride. No one likes admitting they were wrong, so they tend to wallow in pity and blame the innocent for the separation.

That’s where Christmas comes in. Jesus changes things. Listen to the words of Paul in 2^nd Corinthians 5:17-21:

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

I’m an idealist. I’m always hoping that things change, that people come to their senses (and to Jesus), and that things can be restored. I rarely block anyone on social media, despite themselves, because I’m always hopeful. Why? Because if Jesus can bring me, a sinner, into the presence of God the Father, perfect and blameless, then I know He can help reconcile me with others.

This year, even if your table has an empty space, thank God that He has reconciled us to Himself. And maybe, just maybe, he’ll work in someone else’s life too.

Waiting on Christmas

When you live in a home with 4 children, Christmas can be an amazing wonder and a major test of patience at the same time. Over the past several days, we’ve been getting our cards ready for mailing and purchasing the last few items we need for our Christmas celebration. I am a notorious procrastinator, so there is nothing like waiting until the last minute. But we’ve also begun to wrap presents to be placed under the tree for Christmas morning.

In our house, wrapping is a big deal. Gift bags are for people who refuse to take the time or effort, and after all, isn’t it the thought that count? Okay, maybe I was a little harsh. You gift-baggers are alright.  We make it a family thing, where the kids argue over who gets to wrap with me. As I type that, it seems a little dysfunctional. Oh well. Here’s what I am trying to get to: Once the present is wrapped, what do we do? We wait.

Previously in this Advent series, I have talked about God’s waiting. But now I want to hone in on our own waiting. Many times we can be like my son David, who is so eager for all things Christmas, in that as soon as we finish our preparations, we’re continually seeking “what’s next”. It’s both beautiful and exhausting, to have your son so excited but also not satisfied. And while I wish I had his energy level, I’m trying to teach him to wait. It’s so hard when the presents are wrapped and covered with ribbons and bows, just sitting there, waiting to be unwrapped, but we wait.

The theme of waiting on God is found throughout the Bible. In our day, the idea of waiting for someone or something seems rather tedious. It leads to frustrations and we try to invent ways to distract ourselves. We play a game on our mobile devices. We count the tiles on the ceiling or floor. Or worse, we jump ahead of God and try to do it on our own. See the story of Abraham to find out how that works out (not good).

In the Bible, however, we often see waiting associated with positive emotion. There isn’t a dread of the here-and-now, but a confident hope of what is expected soon. In Psalm 27:12, David prays that God will “Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence.” Ouch. That is what we pastors call a “difficult season”. But instead of despairing, see what David prays/ celebrates in the next two verses:

“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! 14 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!”

David was strengthened by his hope. He didn’t just hope that everything would be hunky-dory in the life to come. He was convinced that He would see God work things out in this life. He didn’t know how or when. But he was reminding himself, not to just wait anxiously checking his sundial for the time, but to wait, expecting a glorious outcome.

Maybe you have done all you can do. I don’t just mean have the presents wrapped and cookies baked. Perhaps in your situation, you have done all you know to do. You’ve worked hard. You’ve put in the time, the tears, the sweat. And now it’s up to God. Don’t despair. Christmas is coming. Christ is coming. Believe that you will see God at work. Be strong and let your heart take courage. Christmas is all about waiting for the Lord!

God’s Ultimate Gift

If asked what the most well-known verse of the Bible is, many of us would respond “John 3:16”, right? If you grew up in a church setting, it is probably one of the first verses you learned. We see it in people’s social media biographies. We even see it painted on the faces of some of our favorite athletes. We can recite it, right? Let’s go ahead: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Very good! Your old Sunday School teacher and I are proud of you.

Sometimes I think that we can become so familiar with something that it loses its significance to us. For example, how often do you just take for granted that the ice machine in your freezer works? Then one day, you really need some ice, and poof, there is none. I think we rush through so much, especially the holidays, that much of what makes them Holy Days (where we get the word “holiday”) is overlooked, or worse, forgotten. It can be that way with John 3:16, too.

God loved the world– God “agape” the world. Remember, agape is the most committed form of love. C.S. Lewis said, “Love is not an affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved one’s ultimate good as far as it can be obtained.” God loved, and loves still, the world, his creation, especially his most cherished creation, humanity. He was and is committed, not to our momentary happiness, but to what is our ultimate good. And by virtue of being our Creator, He knows that better than anyone else ever could.

He gave– Every year, someone will go on about how Christmas has its origins on paganism and that the traditions we observe have nothing to do with Christ. I disagree. While, yes, there are a lot of cultural appropriations in Christmas, things we have taken from culture rather than scripture, that does not make them inherently bad, but I digress. No, we give gifts because our heavenly Father gave a gift. We are most like God when we give and when we are generous.

His only Son– But God didn’t give us a new gaming system or a subscription to the Jelly-of-the-month Club. No, He gave something of much greater value. Quick Bible nerd moment. I’m not a fan of the word begotten in the phrase “only begotten son”, because it doesn’t appear in the original Greek, and gives the appearance that Jesus was created rather than pre-existent with God the Father from eternity past. The literal phrasing should be “one and only Son”. But regardless of the translation, the key thing here is that God the Father gave God the Son to be our Savior, the ultimate gift.

You see, God doesn’t love humanity because of what it is, but rather despite what it is. We didn’t somehow earn a gift from the Father. But because of our sins, the things we do that violate God’s laws, we are separated from Him. Our separation is both now in this life and in eternity. That’s not what God desires. It’s not something He is okay with. God is a relational being and He desires us to know Him and love Him.

And so, Jesus came. Not to condemn us, because apart from Christ we are already condemned. But to save us. To bring light to our darkness, hope to our despair, and healing to our brokenness. That’s why John 3:16-21 isn’t just good news at Easter or Christmas. It’s the Gospel, the Good News for every day. So take some time today and this week and thank God for His ultimate gift.

What Is Love?

We’ve made it to the 4^th Sunday of Advent! Christmas is just around the corner, a mere 7 days away. If you’re anything like me, you still have cards to sign and mail, gifts to wrap, and cookies to bake. If you’re one of those special kinds of people who have been ready since December 1, my hat is off to you. Now please come and help me out!

Now is crunch time, you see. It’s where we really get busy. Last-minute shopping. The kids are probably out of school, so we have activities or trips planned. We’re running out of time to go see all the lights and do all the things. Caroling, baking, plays and pageants, mad trips to the store. It’s the most wonderful and hectic time of the year. Here is where the rubber meets the road with our resolve to keep Christ in Christmas. Here is the test of our priorities. Here is where we must slow down.

Because if we don’t, we’re going to slide right past Christmas and before you know it, we’ll be packing away the tree and putting away the nativity set. All without taking the needed time to ponder, wonder, pray, and worship.

The 4^th Sunday of Advent is usually devoted to the theme of love. Love is another thing we rush through. We’re too quick to say it, too flippant with its usage, and push the word out of our mouths like an automated voicemail when saying goodbye. No, I’m not advocating the abandonment of love, just like I’m not telling you to avoid baking those cookies or going to the mall. What I am saying is that we need to slow down and consider.

What is love? I’m sorry if I’ve just put the 1993 song by Haddaway in your head for the rest of the day. But what is love? A deep affection? A feeling? One of the disadvantages of English is that we have one primary word for love while during the times the Bible was written, there were several, each distinguishing the kind of love, such as a platonic friendship, a sexual or sensual connotation, or an absolute commitment to someone.

In 1 John 4:9-10, John writes to us, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

You see, sometimes we take the notion that God loves us, well, we take it rather lightly. God wasn’t content to just send a prophet or two to tell humanity, “I love you.” No, he demonstrated it. He made it known. It was made manifest for everyone to see. While some of the Old Testament was shadowed behind ritual and ceremony, the gift of Jesus was shown and available to everyone.

You know those times when someone does something nice for you, so you get them a little something as a token of appreciation. Maybe because you don’t want to feel like you owe them anything? God didn’t give us Jesus because we were good, or because we first loved him. No. That demonstrates his agape or steadfast commitment to our good, that he sent Jesus while we were far from him. Romans 5:8 says “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

So today, this week, slow down and consider the great wonder of God’s love for you. Yes, for YOU. And celebrate the gift that is Jesus. He is the manifestation of Love.

Taking Jesus Back

Some years ago, during an energy crisis, a father decided to help his adult son’s family during what was shaping up to be a very cold winter. He went out and purchased a non-refundable $10,000 credit in their name from the propane fuel company. When the son opened the card on Christmas morning and read the note from his father, tears began to form in the corners of his eyes. With emotion, he looked at his father, and said “Oh, Dad! Thank you! But there’s just one problem. We heat with total electric.”

What do you do with gifts that don’t seem to fit? The shirt that doesn’t hold your holiday, uh, stuffing? Or what about that baby doll your daughter got that is identical to the one still under the tree that you bought her? You usually take it back to the store and exchange it, right? Now, this is just me, but I personally have a problem with taking something back. Even if it doesn’t fit or I find it hideous, to me, it feels like I don’t like the giver if I take it back. My wife assures me that this is silly and that they would want you to take the gift back and get something that you need or can use.

But there are some gifts that are worth rearranging your life for. If my dad got me $10,000 worth of propane, you bet that I’d call the HVAC company tomorrow and get a new furnace. Maybe a new fireplace insert too. For something that generous, I’d change the way we live. If you bought me a brand-new car, provided I could fit my 6’5 self into it, I’d be thrilled, no matter if it was a Ford or Toyota. Some things that don’t seem to fit at first, are worth keeping, even worth changing for.

You see, when we consider the gift of Jesus, well, He doesn’t seem to fit in with our lives. He calls us to be willing to leave everything behind and follow Him. And while most people seem to like the idea of Jesus, they aren’t fond of giving something up to follow Him. So, for a lot of people, they get Jesus at Christmas, when He’s a sweet little baby laying in the manger, all meek and mild. But as soon as He begins to insist on changes in our lives, we put Him away, just like the nativity set.

Luke 9:23-25 says, “And [Jesus] said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?’”

Jesus said that if we seek to save our lives, we will actually lose them. But if we give our lives away, give them to Him, it is then that we truly experience the life He created us to have. Yet far too many people look this gift horse in the mouth. “Sorry, I know you’re offering me a completely new life, new freedom, and new hope, but it’s just too much. I can’t make Jesus fit.”

This year, don’t put Jesus away or exchange Him for something else. He is the greatest gift of all, a gift worth keeping.

Beauty Out of Brokenness

My oldest son David loves Christmas, perhaps even more than I do. He loves his Christmas pajamas and decorations. He might love decorations too much. If he had his way, we would purchase every decoration at the store. For him, it’s the whole Christmas season, the lights, the songs, the hot cocoa, the gifts, and the Baby Jesus.

While I’m thrilled that my children share my love of Christmas, the truth is they have added to my joy immeasurably. When we had Libby, our oldest, Christmas was something so special. Seeing her eyes as she opened her first gift, well that was a memory I’ll never forget. But if I’m honest, it was Christmas of 2016 when David was just 7 weeks old that affected me the most. Here I was holding my son in my arms, wondering what Mary and Joseph must have felt as they held their little son so long ago.

There is a special joy in seeing a child come into the world. To hold a child and imagine the possibilities this little one presents. The potential. The many ways God may use this babe. That’s why Christmas takes on a special meaning when you’re a parent.

I know most parents have dreams for their children. Expectations. High hopes. But what if an angel told you your child was going to change the world? After checking with a therapist and adjusting your medication, what would you think? I can’t even imagine! Perhaps that’s why two miracle announcements in the Christmas saga were met with, at best, dumbfounded responses.

You have Zechariah and Elizabeth, two godly people who have been faithful to God. I know Joseph and Mary get most of the attention during Advent and Christmas. I get it. But sometimes we too quickly gloss over this family. We can learn a lot from them. Despite doing what God has asked them to do, they have been unable to have a child. That’s a pain that is all too common. And now, they are advanced in years and all of a sudden an angel tells Zechariah that they are going to have a son and name him John. Zechariah’s understandable doubt leads to him being temporarily made mute.

For instance, even though they observed the Lord’s commandments and lived blamelessly, they still didn’t have all that they longed for. God had not blessed them with a child. Sometimes we have the mistaken notion that if we do all the right things and jump through all the right hoops that God will give us what we want, what we long for. And while God did ultimately give them a child, there are millions of couples who have not received that blessing.

Zechariah and Elizabeth show us that despite disappointments or hard times, we can still be faithful to the God who has given us so much, even if their one desire is not met. Many would rejoice at the birth of John. Even more would rejoice at the birth of Jesus a few months later. So what do we take from this unexpected announcement?

Luke 1:16-17 says, ” And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

Out of brokenness, God can bring about something beautiful, something unexpected, that will cause people to turn to His Son. My hope for you this season is that God will take the broken parts of my life, and yours, and turn them into something beautiful.

Rejoice Always

Yesterday, we talked about the difference between joy and happiness. It’s an important thing to remember, especially during the Christmas season. For instance, most of us probably aren’t happy to get up on a Monday morning and go to work or take the kids to school. I don’t normally walk into the office singing “Oh Happy Day.” School, work, and appointments are a necessity in life, not always a source of smiles and giggles, but something that must be done.

We can, however, have a sense of joy. Joy because we have a job and God has provided us with a way to take care of our families and loved ones. Joy because we have the opportunity to learn, gain wisdom, and help others. Joy because even when we have to go to that appointment, we’re reminded that we are made in God’s image and He will take care of us.

You see, happiness just, well, happens. A joke, a good meal, affection from a loved one, a funny meme. Those bring happiness. And often that happiness melts away soon after its cause. But joy? Joy must be cultivated. It requires work and mental preparation. It means rethinking your thinking.

You see, Paul, a follower of Jesus, tells us in Philippians 4:4 to “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” Paul wasn’t insane, despite an insult from Festus in Acts. No, Paul was a learned man, a man who made logical decisions based on supernatural occurrences. Paul was disowned by his own people, beaten, whipped, imprisoned, abandoned, and ultimately executed for his faith. How on earth does this man have the wherewithal to tell us to rejoice, to be full of joy?

The key is in the 3 words following rejoice. In the Lord. This means that because of our union with Christ, we rejoice. And it is the determining factor in Paul’s exhortation. We can have joy, always, because of Jesus.

Let me give an example: When Christina and I first got married, I was pastoring a small rural church and working as a janitor in a hospital. My boss at the hospital didn’t like me too much. Even my co-workers felt that she had it in for me. After a year of trying to meet unrealistic expectations, she had me fired. As I was sitting with her in HR with the HR manager, I had been silently praying. After I was handed my final check, I was asked if I had something to say. I managed to say, “Well, obviously I’m disappointed I’m being let go, but I want to thank you both for the opportunity to work here. This job has always been a stepping stone and now it must be time to find something else. I wish you both nothing but the best.” And I walked out with a smile on my face.

Look friends, I am not psychotic. Well, not entirely. I had just lost my main source of income. I lost health insurance during a season when we desperately needed it. But I was able to still have joy. Not because I am Super-Christian, but because I remembered Jesus. That he was and is with me. He is Immanuel, God with Us. He is with you today, despite how bad a case of the Mondays you may have. He is with us. And that, well, that brings us Joy.

Happiness Vs. Joy

We’ve made it to the 3^rd Sunday of Advent! In many advent traditions, today a candle will be lit symbolizing Joy. That’s a word we often use at Christmas, right? Joy to the World! Joyful and triumphant. Tidings of comfort & Joy. But what is Joy? Is it more than a smile and twinkle in Santa’s eye? Is it more than an emotional high we get when we open that new present?

Not to offer too much of a commentary on modern society, but as a whole, we are miserable. We are the most depressed, anxious, and medicated we’ve ever been. As someone who struggles with depression, I think I can say that in fairness. With all the blessings we have, homes, jobs, toys and gadgets, by and large, Americans are miserable. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of joy going around, does there?

I would argue that a significant part of the problem is we have been taught to pursue happiness as if it is life’s highest goal. It is, after all, the plot of every Hallmark movie this season, finding real happiness. It is the cause of many shipwrecked relationships: “sure I care about X but I’m just not happy.” And every young person is told to not settle for a job unless it “makes you happy.” Fiddlesticks. Or rather in keeping with the season, humbug.

Happiness is nice, but it’s over before you know it. That’s because happiness is dependent on happenings, on what is going on right now. It is fleeting, a feeling we chase and can hold on to no more than we can grasp the tides in our hand. Joy, on the other hand, well joy is a deeper feeling. It abides deep within a person’s soul and is not dependent on emotions or circumstances. It is a state of being. That is because, especially at Christmas, we who follow Christ realize that Joy is found in Jesus.

Look at a few familiar verses in Luke 2:8-11: “⁸ And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. ¹⁰ And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’”

I can’t imagine that being a shepherd was a regular nine-to-five celebration. Sheep stink, sheep are stupid, and sheep aren’t cooperative. Kind of like us sometimes, hmm. But I digress. Being a shepherd wasn’t the most sought-after career. It was important work, but no one decided to be a shepherd based on their desire to be happy. It just needed to be done. But while doing their work, their mundane routine, something amazing happened! Angels appeared to them and told them about the birth of Jesus.

“Good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” This joy wasn’t just for shepherds but for everyone, for Jews and Gentiles. Why? Because a Savior has come. This is no ordinary baby that you send a card to the parents. No, this baby is worth getting up, disrupting your plans, and going to see. And that’s precisely what they did.

And as they left, they weren’t just happy. “Oh that’s a nice baby. He has his mother’s eyes.” No, Luke tells us that they went back to they lives, forever changed. Not because they got a promotion or got to come in from the fields, but because they saw the Messiah. They went back to their fields “glorifying and praising God.”

Sometimes the pressures of life, and especially the holidays, can get to us. There is so much extra piled onto our already busy lives. We get so busy trying to create happiness that we crow out joy. Joy that endures long after the last gift has been opened and the ornaments have been put away. Joy that endures the harsh, dark winter. Joy that keeps us going through difficult days.

Don’t mistake happiness for joy this year. Seek the Joy that is found in Jesus

When God Waits

This past week my wife and I have ventured out to go Christmas shopping and the traffic has been bonkers. I don’t think I’ve seen this many people out since before COVID. So for the first time in years, I found myself waiting in traffic, trying to not block intersections and still trying to get where I needed to go before places closed. While I’m better at it than I used to be, I’ll admit that waiting is not one of my favorite pastimes.

I find it comforting, therefore, to know that God also waits. While he doesn’t have to deal with time the way that we do, the Christmas story is full of instances where God was waiting for the perfect timing. As we saw previously, God had a perfect plan, and a perfect plan requires perfect timing.

For over 400 years, it seemed that God was silent. He sent no prophet. He had no burning bush. The people longed to hear from God. But he wasn’t absent. He was waiting for the perfect time. Look at Isaiah 7:14

4 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

800 years before, God promised he would take care of His people. And he gave a promise that a virgin would conceive and bear a child. Not simply a young woman getting pregnant, because, frankly, there is nothing miraculous about that. But a virgin getting pregnant? Now that’s something!

God promised all the way back in Genesis 3:15 that a virgin-born man would destroy evil. And God reminded his people. This was going to be the sign.

Why was God waiting? I believe he was waiting for the perfect time. To fulfill all the prophecies of Jesus, God would have to cause some unique things to happen. Gallilee would have to have a large gentile population. The Messiah’s parents would have to be in Bethlehem, yet from Nazareth. God was waiting for the Roman Empire to create a system that would allow for the mass spread of the Gospel.

God was waiting for the very moment to show off His glory.

So maybe your life seems a little crazy right now. Maybe you feel like you are stuck in traffic, not going anywhere. Maybe God is waiting for the perfect moment to show off in your life. Maybe Jesus is going to show up in unexpected ways. He is worth waiting for.

Too Busy Getting Ready

In our house, I typically do the cooking on holidays. On Thanksgiving, I’ll have multiple alarms on my phone for the turkey, the dinner rolls, when to start boiling the potatoes, and how long to chill the cranberry sauce. It’s not exactly an art yet, but I’m working on it. Christmas morning is usually the same: I’ll be working on biscuits, eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns, and getting the ham ready to put in for lunch. I’m getting a little hungry just writing about it.

The end result is usually the same: a delicious meal and a worn-out cook. There have been a couple of years that I’ve been so occupied, anxious even, over the cooking that I couldn’t enjoy the meal, let alone any festivities afterward. I’ve wanted so much to have a good meal, a proper holiday tradition, that I exhausted my nerves, and usually those of the people around me.

It’s funny how preparing for something can cause us to actually miss out on the event itself. You hustle around the house to make it look presentable to guests you’ve invited, only to find yourself relieved when they leave. You feel like you need a vacation after simply trying to get everyone ready and out the door in the morning. Or how about that Sunday morning drive to church, where you’ve threatened everyone in the vehicle with indentured servitude if they don’t behave, only to try and calm down before entering the church building.

Luke 10:38-41, only a few verses, have such a telling story for us:

38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Martha was doing good things, things that needed to be done. And she was getting more than a little perturbed that her sister wasn’t helping. Martha was so preoccupied with preparation and activity that she missed the most important thing: Jesus.

We all have a lot going on during the Holidays. It’s the nature of the beast. But part of preparing your heart for Christmas means not letting all the other preparations get in the way of the most important thing this season, and every day: Jesus

Maybe this year you don’t need the 3-course meal. Maybe cut back on an event or two. Perhaps this is the time to just sit back, either alone or with your family, and focus on Jesus. He is more than the baby in the nativity set, He is the King of kings.

Course Correction

An experienced pilot was flying from New York to LA. He had thousands of hours of flight time. He knew how to fly in good weather and bad. He just seemed at ease in the cockpit. On this particular flight, he decided that he wasn’t going to use autopilot, he was just going to fly the plane himself and enjoy the trip. After all, he knew where he was going. But along the way, they hit a little turbulence. Not much, just jostling the plane around a bit. But the pilot felt his way through it and kept the plane headed west.

He was so confident that he didn’t even bother to check with air traffic control. He didn’t need their help. He knew what he was doing. Or at least he thought he did. As he descended to approach for a landing, he realize that instead of the Hollywood sign of LA, he was seeing the Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco. Apparently, the turbulence was just enough that without checking, his course changed slightly to arrive in the wrong city. It didn’t help that he wasn’t communicating with the ground.

Turns out that you and I sometimes need some guidance. Someone to point us in the right way. Even though we’re sure we know what we’re doing, from time to time we end up on the wrong course. For God’s people of the Old Testament, this was commonly the function of prophets. We often think of prophets as some old dude with a scraggly beard telling us the future. But more often than not, prophets spoke of the present need for course correction than the future.

Around the time of the first Christmas, Israel was different than what we might imagine from reading the Old Testament. Most Bibles go from Malachi to Matthew with only a cover page between them that says “The New Testament”. And so if we turn the page like any other book, it just seems like a new chapter to the same story. But a lot is different.

Perhaps one of the greatest differences was that for nearly 400 years, Israel had no prophet. The book of 2^nd Baruch (not in our Bible but rather considered a pseudepigraphical work of the 1^st century) says this in chapter 85:1-3:” Know, moreover, that in former times and in the generations of old our fathers had helpers, righteous men, and holy prophets: 2 Nay more, we were in our own land and they helped us when we sinned, and they interceded for us with Him who made us, because they trusted in their works, and the Mighty One heard their prayer and forgave us.

3 But now the righteous have been gathered and the prophets have fallen asleep, and we also have gone forth from the land, and Zion has been taken from us, and we have nothing now save the Mighty One and His law.”

Despite this darkness, this time of spiritual depression, they looked forward to the time when God would once again be active and fulfill his covenantal promise.

Fast forward to the days of King Herod. Herod, who was not Jewish, but of Moabite descent, became king of Judea with the help of the Romans. He was king from 40 BC until his death in 4 BC (yes, this means that Jesus was born 4 years “before Christ” but that’s another story). We have this man named Zechariah who was a priest. Luke tells us that he was righteous before God, but he and his wife Elizabeth had no children.

One day while Zechariah is in the Temple serving, an angel appears to him and tells him that they are going to have a son. Sorry to spoil the story, but he doubts and is struck mute until the child is born and named John. Our focus here is on what the angel said in Luke 1:16-17: “And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

For the first time in nearly 400 years, the people of God will have someone to give them needed course corrections. Now, for my fellow protestants, one of the questions that immediately comes up, or at least for me does, is “Adam, are you saying we need ‘prophets’ today? Isn’t that dangerously close to saying that I can’t understand God’s Word and will for myself?” And no, I am not saying that at all. Today we have God’s Word available to us in ways that the common person did not have access to. We also have the Holy Spirit dwelling in the hearts and minds of believers, and He will guide us into all truth (John 16:13).

But one thing we all often need is a correction. Sometimes we think that we have this whole Jesus & God thing figured out. Like the pilot in the story, we may feel at ease at the controls. But without communication, and by just feeling our way through life, we get on the wrong flight path. John is tasked with bringing people back to the Lord. 

So, my question is two-fold today: Who has God used to bring you back? And who can God use you to bring back to Him? Many churches are having special Christmas services this year. Invite someone. Better yet, have a cup of coffee and ask someone to tell you their story and then share with them how God brought you back to Him.

Getting Ready

When you have 4 children, it feels like you are always getting ready for something. Getting myself ready for work. Getting the kids ready for school. Making sure the youngest can find his shoes. Making sure that the kids have coats on before we go outside. Getting ready for basketball practice or cheer practice. Always getting ready. Add in some holiday preparation and it seems like life is in full-blown chaos mode. Surely I’m not the only one, right?

It really isn’t fair to place all the blame on the kiddos. I probably make 3-4 trips back between the house and the car every morning before I leave for work. I’ll start to turn around in my driveway and realize I forgot my work bag or more importantly, my coffee. What’s really bad is when I get anxious over trying to remember if I took my anxiety medication. Man, this whole getting ready thing is for the birds!

So what does it mean to get ready for Advent, for the coming of Christ? In my background, that usually meant a revival service, an evangelist preaching on the “end times” and a full altar call. While I’m not sure that’s an inherently bad thing, I’m also not sure that’s a full picture of getting prepared for Jesus. To be frank with you, this idea of preparation is one I’d rather gloss over. But I think there is some value for us to dig down into this idea of being ready for the Lord.

In Isaiah 40:3-4, the prophet writes, “A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.’” Just as an aside, I wonder if these are the theme verses for the state highway department.

The voice in the wilderness is describing people getting ready to meet God. Because God is holy, all who meet him need to be holy. So this person is encouraging people to make provision for the time when all people will meet the Lord. He uses the analogy of constructing a royal road. Before a King or high official would come through, an advance party would make sure the road was free of obstacles, that any low places were filled in, and that there were no uneven grades of travel. Pre-modern heavy equipment operators and civil engineers if you like.

Now we know that God cannot be hindered physically. No tree across the road is going to stop his progress, and no pot-hole is going to make him detour. So what or who is this referring to? Matthew, one of the 12 and a writer of a Gospel account tells us that it was referring to John the Baptist (Full discloser, I prefer to call him John the Baptizer because it’s a more accurate rendering of the original and we might get confused thinking he was a Baptist in the modern usage, he was not.).

John was in the wilderness, the desert, preaching “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” See, he’s not preparing a road for the King to traverse as he is preparing the people for the arrival of the King. Now many of us know the story of John and his own miraculous birth, which we will get into later, but how is his ministry applicable to us today?

I mean, if Jesus has already come, if he has already died and risen, what, if any, need is there for John’s message of preparation? Especially if we have accepted Christ, made him our master and Savior, what need do we have of preparing? I can easily see some of my Christian friends thinking that because they are “saved”, they have no need for this preparation nonsense. And in some respect they are right. One doesn’t need to go through Advent, or any preparation, to follow Christ, as long as they have a sincere conviction and repentant heart.

At the same time, while I know that I am “born again” and that I am following Christ, I also know that sometimes I stumble and sin. No, thankfully because of Christ, I don’t need to go through a ritual of confession or start the salvation journey all over again, I am still the Father’s child. But it’s as if I have placed a stumbling block before myself. For my sin dampers the fellowship I have with God.

Now maybe you don’t have any un-repented-of sin in your life. It’s been ages since you last swore at the person who took your parking space and at least 6 months since you last contemplated smothering your spouse with a pillow as they snored. Progress is good. But maybe in your heart, you are harboring some bitterness. Some anger. Some unforgiveness towards someone who did you or a loved one wrong. John would tell us to rid ourselves of harmful emotions. I think he would warn us that bitterness is robbing us of true joy this Christmas.

So yes, Advent, waiting, and preparation can be very beneficial to us as followers of Christ. It’s like the time of reflection before taking the Lord’s Supper. It’s the daily examination of our spiritual journey. It’s the time of preparing our hearts to daily do our Master’s will. This is one “getting ready” that is worth it!

Preparing for Christmas

Well, we’ve made it through the first week of Advent! We focused a lot on hope during the first week, and we may come back to it from time to time, but now we’re going to focus on a new word: Preparation. That word doesn’t sound so snazzy, does it? I mean, no one sends a Christmas card with the word “preparation” written in a glittery font, do they?

But preparation is part of waiting, part of Advent, and a big part of the Christmas story. Our word prepare comes to us from Latin via French and it means to procure beforehand. Today, the dictionary says that prepare means “to make ready beforehand for some purpose; to work out the details of the plan in advance; to put together”. And when you look at the first coming of Jesus, all those definitions work in some way or another.

God the Father had been preparing for the appearance of God the Son since before the beginning of time. Imagine how strange it would have been if Jesus just randomly showed up? Nobody would have believed him. There would have been nothing to confirm his identity as Messiah. He would have seemed to have been just another in a long line of deranged false messiahs.

But God is wise beyond our comprehension. Starting in Genesis 3:15, right after sin entered Eden, God began showing that He was sending a savior. Interestingly, Genesis 3:15 promises that there is coming the “seed” or “offspring” of Eve, the woman. If you didn’t do so well in biology or Jr. High health class, let me tell you that women do not possess “seed”. They are unable to fertilize on their own the egg they carry for a child. Most Bible students, yours truly included, believe this to be a prophecy of not just a coming Messiah, but a virgin-born Messiah.

But it’s not just in Genesis 3 that we find God preparing the minds of humanity that a savior is coming. The entirety of the Old Testament is pointing ahead to the person and the ministry of Jesus Christ. It is actually the preparation and fulfillment of this preparation that gives us hope in God’s many promises.

One particular prophecy helps us to be “prepared”. And that is found in Malachi 3:1- “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me.” Isaiah 40:3-5 gives us more detail on this messenger- “A voice cries ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.’”

There is a lot to unpack there. Don’t worry, I’m not going to try to do that today. Instead, I want to zoom out a little. There are several difficult things about reading prophecy in the Bible. First, it’s largely poetic in nature, using figurative language. In other words, most of the time, you cannot take prophecy to be 100% literal because it’s not meant to be taken that way. You have to consider the environment, language, and understanding of the author.

Secondly, we spend a lot of time trying to understand specifics about prophecy that is yet to be fulfilled when often it is clearly seen through hindsight. What I mean is the people of Jesus’ day may not have understood fully that he was the “Root of Jesse”. But afterward, it would become clear as day to them. In our day, so many people are looking for specific clues in the Bible and in the news to try and pinpoint how and when Jesus is coming back. That is simply foolishness. The point of Jesus telling us signs of the future isn’t so we’d be careful to not roll out the red carpet for a coming “anti-Christ”, but rather to show us the need to always be ready.

This passage in Isaiah is calling the Jewish people to be ready and to be anticipating a day when a messenger comes to prepare the way for the Messiah. So what about us today? You don’t have to search very long for people who have made false claims about the return of Christ. Jehovah’s Witnesses took a failed prophecy (of theirs) that Jesus was to return in 1914 and changed their minds after the fact to say that Jesus returned invisibly (and Jesus told us his return would be visible). Harold Camping promised several dates, with the last being in 2010.

No, friends, the call for us today is to be ready for Christ’s coming. That means that we should be connected to Christ, following him, and sharing the Good News of Jesus with others. We have work to do. Let’s be prepared.

Wiping Away the Tears

If you know me well at all, you know that Christmas is my all-time favorite holiday. I mean, it’s not even close. I think that is one of the reasons I have been drawn to more liturgical and traditional celebrations of Advent and the Christmas season because they last longer and give me the excuse to keep my music and decorations going. But while I love all things Christmas, I understand that for many people Christmas, and the Holidays around it, are challenging seasons.

I currently work at a funeral home /cemetery combination and every day I work with families who are grieving a recent loss. They are facing their first Christmas without their friend or loved ones. I spoke to a lady the other day who is going through her first holiday season in over 55 years without her husband. She told me, “It just won’t be the same.” I grieved with her. I gave her the answer that “the firsts are always the hardest” and again assured her of my support. Some of you reading this are experiencing, or have experienced, similar emotions.

I am incredibly blessed to have my parents, my brother, and my wife and kids with me. I’ve not experienced that kind of loss yet. But I will admit that at Christmas, as much as I love it, I tend to get melancholy. Part of it is the low amount of sunlight. Part of it is the emotional low after such emotional highs. And part of it is the bittersweet memories of seasons gone by.

I often think of my grandmother Will, or Mamaw. The 5 Will boy cousins would spend Christmas Eve at her house with her. We’d watch a Christmas comedy before bed. We’d wake up to a nice Christmas breakfast before going to our respective homes. Mamaw always made Christmas special. I can still see her wearing a sweater with a big red cardinal emblazoned on it. I have a few Christmas ornaments that she made, and those are very treasured possessions.

Or I think of playing on Christmas morning with the toys I got as a child, listening to my dad play Manheim Steamroller on the giant stereo system. And then we would listen to Reba McEntire’s recitation of “The Christmas Guest”. I remember Christmas cards from great aunts and uncles who have passed away. I think of Emma & Adrian, who always came to every Christmas event at Church dressed in their finest, Adrian with usually a goofy Christmas tie.

I think about how my kids will never get to open up a quilt on Christmas made by my either of my grandmothers. Or smile when they opened that card from Uncle Philip. You see, Christmas makes me smile while a tear rolls down my cheek. That’s the paradox of it all. A little sorrow mixed with thanksgiving. Hope for the future mixed with nostalgia.

When I read through the Old Testament prophets, I find similar emotions. No, they aren’t longing for grandma’s molasses cookies, but they recount how God had done amazing things for His people. How the Lord made them a people, brought them out of slavery, established them as a nation, and a golden age during the reigns of David & Solomon. But now a new generation has forgotten and because of the judgments of God, they will never experience the joyful celebrations at the Temple. They’ll not know what it means to celebrate the Feast Days as they sojourn in a foreign land.

But the prophets offer hope in the midst of the sorrow, a light in the darkness. They point to the future, where, as Philip Brooks would write, “the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.” Isaiah wrote of such a day in Isaiah 25. Look at what He says in verses 8-9:

“He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from the earth, for the LORD has spoken. 9 It will be said on that day, ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.’”

You see, even as we think about those who will be physically absent from our gatherings this year, because of Jesus, we have hope. Hope because Jesus has defeated death. And while for now we still feel its pain, it is only temporary. We have hope, a promise, that because Jesus has risen from the dead, we can have eternal life with Him in paradise. I don’t know where heaven is or much about what it is like, but I know that Jesus will be there and that He will wipe away every tear.

These verses will find their fulfillment in Revelation 21:3-4 which say, “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’”

This is our hope. This is our God that we are waiting for. Salvation is worth the wait. The making-all-things-new is worth the wait. The sorrow that we endure for now will someday give way to a glorious revealing of Christ Jesus and our dwelling with him forever. So as you reflect this season on things sorrowful and joyful may you be encouraged to hope on Jesus, the Hope of the World.

Live Like You Hope

What does it look like to hope? Does it mean to be superstitious? We Ohioans probably all know someone who blames the loss of Ohio State to Michigan on them not wearing their buckeye necklace or favorite jersey. Is that hope, to depend on a talisman or trinket to get you your desired outcome? What about the person who recites a memorized prayer every time they drive across a bridge? Is that hope? Is hope merely some emotion that you bury inside yourself only to bring it to the forefront in times of need?

What if hope, real hope, causes us to act? One of my favorite movie lines of all time comes from the film Facing The Giants, when a Christian man is trying to encourage a down-and-out football coach. In describing faith, he said “Two farmers prayed for rain. One went out and prepared his fields to receive the rain.” And then he asks the question: who had demonstrated more faith? Whose prayer did God answer? Faith and hope, while not the same, are intricately connected. If we are truly hopeful for something, we begin to act differently.

Hope is the reason you plan an outdoor event in Ohio because you never know what the weather will do. It’s the reason a parent of a missing child leaves the porch light on each night. It’s why you don’t throw away your favorite team jersey after they blow the game. Hope is the reason you plant seeds in the garden. Hope makes a difference.

Paul, in writing to the Romans, talks about how our hope in Christ should cause us to order and live our lives differently than people who don’t trust in Christ. In Romans 13:11-14 he says, “Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

When Paul says that our salvation is nearer to us now than previously, he’s not talking about almost being “saved” but rather the coming of the Lord. It’s a mathematical fact that we are one day closer to either our death or the return of Christ. What does that mean? It means we have things to do. We’re not called to just sit and wait the rest of our days, scrolling Facebook or watching TikTok. We have more to do than just get through the day. No, Christian, our hope awakens us to reality.

You see, the non-Christian lives as though human history was destined to continue forever or to colonize Mars. But we know that God is the unseen mover of history, causing nations to rise and fall, and bringing history to a determined end. And so we must “wake up to reality” as J.B. Philips translates this passage. The world may be asleep at the wheel, but we’ve got places to go and things to do.

The Christian hope in Jesus doesn’t mean we put our heads in the sand or keep our eyes fixed on the sky. Rather, it means that we live a life of faithfulness and fruitfulness. We love God and love others well. We engage with a world that needs the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It means that we don’t allow ourselves to get distracted by the glitter and glimmer of sinful pleasures that separate us from our heavenly Father and cause us to forget our hope. The fulfillment of our hope is at hand. What began way before Bethlehem is continuing today, the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today, live as if we have hope.

Hope in the Darkness

Growing up in Appalachian Ohio, I was always amazed at how either people wrote off our entire region as “hillbillies” or they thought that they could fix us. For example, people in our region often felt neglected by our elected representatives until it was election time. Then they became our champions. Or, outside groups, with good intentions, thought they could fix the problems of Appalachia with more money, new roads, and new assistance programs. Don’t get me wrong, those things helped in some respects, but many of the challenges of Appalachia (addiction, unemployment, poverty, lack of educational attainment) remain.

I think that’s because what Appalachia has really needed, for generations, is not found in funding, programs, or political power. It’s simple, really. We’ve been starved of hope. Take away a person’s hope and then they have no reason to get out of bed in the morning. No reason to get a job when they are convinced, they either will fail or that it means nothing. There’s no reason to educate the mind when the soul is parched. Addiction? Well, that is easily explained by a lack of purpose and a lack of hope. Life is miserable for someone just drifting. “Ok, Adam, nice bleak picture. What on earth does this have to do with Advent and Christmas?” Thanks for asking.

In Isaiah 9:2, the prophet foretells of a time when “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.” Specifically, Isaiah is referring to gentiles, people who until Christ, had been explicitly separated from God’s promises unless they went through a cultural and personal conversion to become a Jewish proselyte. Even then, they would be viewed almost as second-class. Combine that with idol worship and ignorance, and you end up with the gentiles being in spiritual darkness.

Darkness isn’t fun whether you’re talking spiritual darkness or the physical kind that causes you to stub your pinky toe on the couch in the middle of the night. While we have flashlights and candles for the physical kind, spiritual darkness requires something much more illuminating. Spiritual darkness leads to darker places. A lack of hope. A lack of purpose. A lack of truth. A lack of meaning for everything. And when I think of a people in darkness, I think of folks who have no hope. Like the gentiles of old or the despondent person of today, they sit in darkness. Waiting. Not even knowing there is light.

But when Jesus came, he shined the light of God’s love and offer of forgiveness to people who didn’t look, act, or even believe, like He did. He brought meaning and purpose to His followers, something He still does today. Each of us has people in our circle who need hope today. Maybe it’s a grieving family. Perhaps it’s a person who seems completely unmotivated in life. It could even be you—just going through the motions of life and of the season… It’s our job to share the news of hope, of Jesus.

And in case you are the person who needs a hope boost today: Remember that Jesus defines you. Not your past, not your mistakes or your failures. He has a purpose for you, a divine assignment. A reason for being. And I’m praying today that you would walk in the light of Jesus, not stumbling around in the darkness anymore. Jesus is our hope!

A Look At Micah 7

As I’ve been preparing these Advent devotions in advance, I’ve tried to follow an outline. My original plan was to spend the first full week of my devotions on the idea of Hope. After all, hope is traditionally the theme for the first week of Advent. But as I’ve been studying and researching, it is hard to separate the Biblical concepts of hope and waiting.

In Micah Chapter 7, we see the prophet Micah lamenting the decay of society. It’s not just a decline of the nation he sees, but of the people. Ultimately, God’s judgment on the Jewish people wasn’t because of their nation-state (a relatively modern concept), but because of the moral decline of the people. Micah 7:2 says, “The godly has perished from the earth, and there is none upright among mankind;” and the next 4 verses go on to describe the immorality of the people. What he paints is a sad picture: people have disregard for their God and also each other. Because of this, they will face great difficulties from God as a punishment and a means to correct their course.

Even just a surface-level look at Micah 7 would remind us of our own time. Sadly, we’ve learned little in over 2,500 years. In 2 Timothy 3:2-5, Paul describes our days this way: “People will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.”

But despite the lament, despite the brokenness Micah feels and sees around him, he has hope. He has hope because he isn’t trusting in society to redeem itself. He isn’t looking for a major reform or political change. He knows that the only solution is God. Listen to his declaration in 7:7- “But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.”

Although the word “hope” is found nowhere in that verse, you can see hope there in Micah’s statement, can’t you? In Hebrew, the words for “hope” and “wait” are closely related to words for “trust”, “believe” and the idea of putting faith in something or someone. The word Micah uses here for wait can also be translated as “hope”. The New Living Translation really does a good job of communicating this because it translates this verse as “I will wait confidently”. Confidently waiting… A pretty good definition of hope, don’t you think?

Micah is saying he is resolving to wait for His God, his Savior to act. After all, God is his salvation. And what is the Hebrew word for “salvation”? It’s transliterated as Yesha. Sound familiar? To many students of the Bible, it should. It’s the root word for the names Joshua and Jesus, which mean “The Lord Saves”. This is why in Matthew 1:21, the angel Gabriel said to Mary, “You will call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

And today, we sit in the middle of God’s redemptive plan. While Jesus has already provided a way for us to experience the Lord’s salvation, we await the final day, when He will make all things right and all things new. So let us, like Micah, wait in confidence, with expectation. The King who would be born in Bethlehem is still redeeming and saving.

Is There Any Hope?

In December of 1927, the USS S-4, a navy submarine, was accidentally rammed by a ship and quickly sank. The entire crew was trapped in what was quickly becoming their watery grave off the coast of Massachusetts. Severe weather hampered rescue efforts for several days until a diver reached the hull and could hear a tapping noise. 6 survivors were trapped in the forward torpedo room. They tried desperately to communicate with the outside world, tapping in Morse Code: “Is… there… any… hope?”

Although a valiant effort was made, resulting in one diver being awarded the Medal of Honor, none of the crew of the S-4 survived. Without hope, they wouldn’t have made it as long as they did.

In a way, many people today seem to be crying out, “Is there any hope?” Oh sure, people may not be tapping it out in morse code or even sharing it on their social media. But people are asking that. You can tell by their actions and attitudes. It’s as if we are stuck in a sinking vessel, knowing that our oxygen supply is slowly diminishing. Only a rescue operation can save us from a desperate existence, slowly being deprived of hope and breath.

I was having a conversation the other day with a co-worker, and we were discussing why some people, especially young people, given all that we know about the risk factors, begin smoking. Sure, addicts to smoking have a need to continue, but why does anyone even pick it up? When you consider how expensive of a habit it is, it seems even more of an absurd choice. But my wise co-worker said, “Yes, Adam. But consider all the ways we try to medicate or soothe our stress. Some of us eat our emotions and that’s certainly not healthy or cheap.” She is right. We try all sorts of ways to deal with our stresses, all the while wondering “Is There Any Hope?”

It may be cliché to say, but it makes it no less true: There is hope in Jesus Christ. In his letter to the Romans, Paul says this in Romans 8:24-24: For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes in what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

We don’t see Jesus. We can’t visibly see all that He is doing. If we could, we wouldn’t need faith. Remembering God’s faithfulness in the past, we wait for His Advent, His showing up and working. We wait with patience, knowing that God is faithful and that He is coming to our rescue.

But before we finish for today, I want you to think about something: who in your circle, or maybe just outside your circle, needs to know that there is hope? Who, by the way, they speak and live, are tapping out in Morse Code that they are in desperate need of a rescue?

Oh, I know you and I don’t have all the answers. But we do have hope. We have Jesus. And maybe this year is a good time to invite them to wait on Jesus along with you. Perhaps now is the time to reach out to them and say, “I’m here for you. I’m listening. You’re not alone. And I can’t make this right, but I am going to wait with you until things turn around.”

Is there any hope? Yes. Hope has a name, and He is Jesus. Today, beloved friend, keep going and keep waiting. Jesus is our hope.

Hope Deferred

I asked my daughter Libby what she hoped to get for Christmas this year. She’s banking on a computer, but sadly for her, mom and dad are not. So, unless Santa has a surprise up his sleeve, I’m afraid this is going to be one Christmas hopes that is dashed. Has that ever happened to you? You wanted a certain toy as a child or maybe you were hoping for a certain gift, and it didn’t happen? I’m still waiting for that remote-controlled airplane I wanted at age 10.

We hope for a lot of things, don’t we? Kids hope for a snow day. Parents hope for an easy day at work. Hunters this week in Ohio are hoping for a chance to get that massive buck deer. Others are right now hoping for more time, with a loved one, time to study, time to just slow down. I know a friend right now who is hoping for his wife’s cancer to go into remission. Another friend is hoping to stay sober.

Proverbs 13:12 tells us, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.” When something is deferred, it is withheld for a long period of time, postponed, or delayed. The word “heart” in this verse means a person’s whole being. So, we might paraphrase the verse this way: “Waiting too long on something you’ve hoped for leads to despair.”

I think sometimes non-Christians view Christ’s followers as people with their heads stuck in the clouds or the sand, and that we aren’t grounded in reality. That, and false teachers paint a false view of God and living for Him. They portray God as some divine genie, granting wishes if you just say the right words and have enough faith. But a deeply rooted walk with Christ is one where we grapple with reality and the promise of God for a universe of eternal perfection.

As we enter the first week of Advent, our overall theme is of hope. But our hope is not just rainbows and unicorns. Oh no, our hope is more than that. As we consider the story of God and His people in the Bible, we see a people who had received promises from God and trusted Him. Some of them saw God do amazing miracles, and some didn’t witness the fulfillment in their lifetime. But almost all of them had to endure waiting.

For example, God’s promise to Abraham to make him a great nation took not just a while. It took centuries. It took Abraham and Sarah having a child in old age. It meant Isaac being deceived by Jacob. It meant Jacob and his family dealt with near-constant conflict both from within their family and without. In fact, it took over 400 years of slavery in Egypt before God had formed a great nation, and then they still didn’t have a land to dwell in. But in Joshua 21:43, we see where they finally took possession of “all the land [God] swore to give to their fathers.”

Yet, even once God gave them the fulfillment of their hope, they were not satisfied. They were not faithful to God. Many times, they would turn their back on Him. But even then, there was still hope. In Jeremiah 14:8, the Lord is called the “Hope of Israel, its savior in time of trouble”. And we see that time and time again, God would rescue His people. His faithfulness would continually give them hope. As it should us today.

Yet what about the people of God today? Even though Jesus has come, died, and risen, do we not still need hope? As we look out at this world of brokenness, we long for God to put to a final end all distress and heartache. We hope and we wait. This is the message of Advent. And we long for the day when with all the people of God throughout all time, we can recite the words of Isaiah 25:9, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

Oh, come, Emmanuel, into our worlds today!

What Is Advent?

As we kick off sharing the next 4 weeks together, I think it’s only fitting that we start by asking and answering a simple question: What is Advent?

I grew up in a faith tradition that wasn’t particularly “liturgical”, meaning we didn’t follow a set calendar in Church for readings or ceremonies. We did Communion every 5^th Sunday and, well, that was about it. I remember a few years when someone in the Church would do an advent wreath and candles, but that seemed to be the exception. I think that, without being spoken, the idea was that those sorts of traditions would be too stuffy, too formal for us.

But as I got older, and my love for Church History grew, I began to learn that Advent was more than 4 candles and a calendar that my mom would buy. It was more than counting down the shopping days left before Santa showed up.

Advent comes to us from the Latin word Adventus, and it means coming. It refers to the coming of Christ. While the word itself appears nowhere in the Bible, the theme most certainly does. Throughout the Old Testament, we have prophecies concerning a coming Messiah. We also see in the writings of the prophets, a longing for Messiah to make all things right, to restore God’s people, and to see a renewal of the covenant with God. When we look at the history of the Jewish people, especially the last part of the Old Testament period, and in the 400 years between the Old and New Testaments, we see that this waiting moves from just a desire to expectant waiting.

So why should we, who live after Bethlehem and the birth of Jesus, commemorate Advent? I think there at several reasons.

First, it helps us to remember that God has a plan and a timeline that doesn’t often coincide with our own. In Galatians 4:4, Paul writes, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law,” Christ came at the precise moment the Father knew to be best. God’s time and God’s plan aren’t ours. But we must learn to wait for His perfect timing.

Secondly, Advent helps us to remember the mystery, the wonder, of the Incarnation. Incarnation simply means that Jesus became a man and lived among us. I love Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase, The Message words John 1:14—The Word [Jesus] became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son. Generous inside and out, true from start to finish. I think it would behoove us to take time, more than just a few weeks each year, to meditate on the truth that God loved us so much that Jesus didn’t just show up, he came and lived among us, experiencing life with us.

Thirdly, Advent reminds us of our mission to prepare the way for the Messiah. According to Old Testament prophecies, before the Messiah would appear, there would be individuals preparing people for his coming. John the Baptist was one, the “voice crying in the wilderness”. John 1:6-8 says this about him, “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light [Jesus], that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.” Now, you don’t have to be Baptist to be like John. No, you see, each of us has been tasked with helping to prepare the way for others to come to Jesus. Each of us has a role to play in seeing others place their faith in Jesus. It is during Advent that we remember we have a part in the Christmas Story as well.

And finally, Fourth, during Advent, we are reminded that Jesus is coming again. We call this the Second Advent. This is where we share in the eager expectation of the Old Testament saints of God restoring, no, surpassing, Eden and that we might dwell with our Lord. Sadly, when we think about the Second Coming of Christ today, we’ve often focused on “end times” prophecies and blood moons and hogwash like that. In fact, the “last days” began over 2,000 years ago. There is nothing to prevent Jesus from coming back at any moment. Instead of fixating on days or silly conspiracy theories or secret raptures, we can rejoice that in the end, God wins, and because of Christ, we are victors over death, hell, and separation from our heavenly Father.

So maybe Advent isn’t your thing. Hey, that’s fine. I think I’ve given you four pretty good reasons to check it out. I hope you’ll consider going on this journey with us, as we go into the Christmas season and even beyond it a little bit. Together we remember that Christ has come, Christ has risen, and Christ is coming again.

Daily Advent Devotions Coming This Sunday!

Hey friends! Starting this Sunday, November 27th, I’ll be publishing daily devotions for the season of Advent! Make sure you subscribe and you’ll get them sent directly to your inbox, perfectly timed for your morning cup of coffee.

Taking A Step Towards Jesus: Pt. 2

Part 2 of 4

Today, I’m continuing to share some truths found in Matthew 14:22-33. This is a familiar passage to folks who grew up in a church setting. Jesus comes to his disciples in the middle of a storm and walks on water. Now, I grant you, walking on water sounds silly, right? I mean, no one can do that.

So if you’re not a person of faith, let me clue you in on something. By and large, Christians don’t subscribe to silly stories. Most of us don’t believe in fairy tales. But we do believe in supernatural occurrences. All that means is that there are things that cannot be explained naturally. We believe that miracles can and do happen. No, we don’t believe in the tooth fairy, but we believe in Jesus. And as illogical as it sounds, Occam’s Razor leads us to believe that sometimes a supernatural occurrence, like Jesus walking on water, is the most logical conclusion. Don’t worry, we’re not talking about miracles today; that tidbit is free.

So where were we? Ah Yes, Jesus is walking on the water.

The disciples were scared. Honestly, I don’t know what would be scarier: being in the middle of a giant lake in a bad storm or seeing someone walking on the waves. But scared they were.

22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

Now, last time I shared that a nugget of truth is that God Will Allow Us to Encounter Storms. I mean, Jesus knew what was going to happen, and he allowed those disciples to sail right into what seemed like a danger zone. But as I said, many times what seems like a setup for failure is a setup for God to show up. And that’s something we need to know: Jesus Always Shows Up at the Right Time.

I know, for those of us with some miles on us, and some life experiences, we would think that might sound cute but life would have us believe something else entirely. “That’s a nice greeting card sentiment, but in real life…” Hey, I get it. Where is Jesus when the doctor gives you the diagnosis that the cancer is back? Where is Jesus when the bills come in with a FINAL NOTICE stamped on them? Where is Jesus when you feel like you’re all alone, the only one still trying?

I’ll tell you where. Right there beside you. Do we question the promise of Jesus when he said “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5b)? Or do we take him at his word?

There are a lot of times that I don’t feel God with me. But ours is a belief system of faith, not of emotions. When the God who set the stars in their places says that He is with me, who am I to doubt that? It is just possible that I’m not trusting him at that moment? Overcome by worry or emotion, have we allowed the situation to cloud our confidence in our Creator?

Jesus showing up doesn’t mean the storm is always over. It doesn’t mean the journey through turbulent seas is over. But it does mean that the Master of the seas is riding along with us. And we can trust his timing and his guidance to get to the other side of the storm we find ourselves in.

Jesus always shows up at the right time.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Taking A Step Toward Jesus: Storms

Part 1 of 4

As we head into Fall, and a new season, it’s the perfect time to evaluate our lives, habits, and goals. As I ponder what I can share to encourage and exhort others, I keep returning to a message I shared a few years ago called Taking A Step Toward Jesus. So over the next few posts, I will be going through a familiar passage to many of us, Matthew 14:22-33 ESV:

22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

Quick thought here: This is a little different. Seeing Jesus walking on the water is not a normal occurrence. The disciples are scared, ad frankly I would be too. Let’s pick back up in verse 28:

28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

I want to unpack this passage a little bit before I get to today’s application. Jesus had just done an incredible miracle. He fed 5,000 men plus women and children. He fed this huge crowd on with just 5 loaves of bread and two fish. With a family meal, Jesus fed a city.

Everyone was so excited (you and I would be too)! They wanted to make Jesus a king. But since that wasn’t his purpose, he sent the crowd away and his disciples as well. So while the disciples sail to the other side of a huge lake, Jesus goes up on a mountain for some quiet time and to pray. But the disciples were about to encounter some major issues.

And that brings me to today’s point: God Will Allow Us to Encounter Storms.

Look at verse 24: But the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. I’m not much for boating, but this doesn’t sound good. But doesn’t life just feel that way sometimes? The wind blows against you. You try to do something, even the right thing, but it seems like you meet opposition all the time.

Remember, the disciples were doing what Jesus told them to do. Even though they followed the direction of Jesus they went straight into a storm, and now they didn’t see him with them. This wasn’t the first time they experienced the storm, but the last time they were in a storm, Jesus was physically there with them. Now? They are seemingly all alone.

God Will Allow Us to Encounter Storms. That’s not a pleasant thought. But we can always count on God to be honest with us. Life brings storms. And it can be really difficult for us to understand God’s promises of peace and provision when we have this account of Jesus sending his followers into a storm without him.

But what seems like a setup for failure is oftentimes a setup for God to SHOW UP in an unexpected way. We’ll see more about that in the next post.

For now? Remember that just because you may be in a storm doesn’t mean that Jesus doesn’t know or care. Even his disciples encountered rough seas. And perhaps for you, life is smooth sailing right now. Don’t take the calm for granted. Sometime soon Jesus may call you to take a step towards him, a step into the storm.

Photo by Johannes Plenio on Pexels.com

When God Remembers

Welcome to 2022! It feels so weird typing that. What happened after 2018 just seems like a blur, doesn’t it?

I’m reading through the Bible this year with The Bible Recap (more on that later), and today’s reading is Genesis Chapters 8-11. So I began this morning’s reading right in the middle of the flood narrative (somewhat fitting considering all the rain we’ve gotten here the past few days). And for the first time in my memory, the first phrase of Genesis 8:1 jumped out at me: But God remembered Noah…

This isn’t the first time that God paid attention to Noah. Yesterday, I read in Genesis 6:8, “But Noah found favor [grace] in the eyes of the Lord.” In the midst of all the evil and selfishness in the world, Noah found favor with God. Not because he deserved it, because grace is God’s unmerited or unearned favor. In other words, God decided to shower Noah (no pun intended) with his blessing.

So God used Noah to save humanity and the animals. No small task for Noah and his family. I’m sure those 100 years or so of building the Ark enduring the mocking of the surrounding people had to be difficult. But Noah, through that grace, endured. The last verse of Genesis 6 (22) says, “Noah did this, he did all that God commanded him.” Wow! Now that is what we rural Christians would call a testimony of faithfulness!

But then the real test came: The Flood. You see, for 100 years Noah had been preparing for this disaster. Yet, once it began, there was no longer anything he could do to get ready. God opened the fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens and it rained. It rained feet of water per hour for 40 days and 40 nights. The ark would have been lifted off the ground and everything Noah had known was now under the waves. Even the tallest mountains were covered. For 150 days, the ESV says, “the waters prevailed on the earth.”

Let’s zoom out and consider our lives for a moment while Noah floats around. If we examine our lives and search the scriptures, we see that if we are in Christ, we have experienced grace from God that is indescribable. We also see that God has a work or works prepared for us (Ephesians 2:10) that will accomplish God’s purposes. We also know that He has equipped us. Maybe you’ve heard this saying: “God doesn’t call the equipped. He equips the called.” There sure is a lot of truth in that.

But then comes the point that our faith and our works for God are tested. The rubber meets the road, so to speak. The honeymoon is over and now the real work of marriage begins. Our health faces a difficult diagnosis. That great job is over. Your sweet child has become a teenager. 🙂

The name Noah comes from the Hebrew word meaning rest. And here, in the midst of the tempest, that is all Noah is seeking. I’ve been on a long drive with kids before. Restful isn’t exactly how I would describe it. Now imagine what it must have been like with all those animals on board, the sounds, the smells… Life gets messy and that’s putting it mildly.

In those moments, it can feel like we’re forgotten. It feels like God somehow tricked us or betrayed us. We were told that everything would be ok but here we are, like Noah, in the middle of a sea that is strong, prevailing, wondering how long until we come to rest. It feels as if God has prepped us for nothing but disappointment and disaster.

And then we come to those precious words of Genesis 8:1- “But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark.” Catch that? God didn’t just remember Noah, he remembered all those who were in Noah’s situation.

Okay, let’s clear something up. God didn’t forget Noah. It wasn’t as if God was wandering around Heaven one day and snapped his fingers and exclaimed, “Oh yeah! Noah’s on that boat! I better deal with that!” No, the word translated as remember, zakar, when in reference to God, conveys the idea of turning one’s attention to. God’s purpose with the flood was accomplished, so now God was ready to deal with Noah and what would take place once the waters subsided. At no time was Noah far from God’s mind. Simply put, some events needed to occur before Noah would experience the fulfillment of God’s plans.

And so you and I need to realize that God hasn’t forgotten us. We are not out of sight and out of mind. God is actively working all things for good for those who love Him and are called by Him (Romans 8:28). Throughout the Bible we see people asking God to remember them. What they are really asking is that God would take action for their welfare. So God hasn’t forgotten you or me. He’s right beside us, working in ways we often can’t yet see. Ironic, isn’t it? We need to be reminded that God remembers.

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P.S. At the beginning of this post, I referenced The Bible Recap. Click the link to learn more about how you can read through the Bible in a year. The Bible Recap is more than a reading plan. It also includes a daily podcast that recaps what you’ve just read, helping you to see the application of what you’ve read as well as helping you to learn more about the God of the Bible. They have loads of free resources, graphics, and support. Check it out!

Poor in Hope

“And when I thought of the poor I had met in my life, especially in recent years, it was clear that there were poor who were only poor—very sad, often angry, and certainly not blessed.

And then again, I recalled very well, there were poor people who were quite otherwise, poor people who wore their poverty beautifully.

Poor people who had the conviction that they were being guided by God, supported by his Presence.

Poor people who were able to love, in spite of their sudden vexations—poor people who were patient in trial, rich in hope, strong in adversity.

Poor people who were blessed because they could bear witness, every day, that God was present in their lives, and that he provided for them as he did for the sparrows of the ski, which possess no granaries.”

• From I, Francis by Carlo Carretto

Having grown up middle class in a depressed part of Appalachian Ohio, I have always been around poverty. I’ve been on both sides of the poverty level, and for the last 12 years or so have floated above and beneath it. I’ve seen people with plenty live miserable lives, and I’ve seen people with little be beacons of light and hope in an otherwise dark valley.

I hold no degree in social work. I have no deep psychological training. I have only a varied and rich lived experience to base my thoughts. But what I see as poverty is not so much the amount of money you have, if any, or the condition of your home or possessions. What I see as the real poverty is a lack of hope.

I think that by and large, that is the real failure of social welfare programs from the government. The problem isn’t mass benefit fraud, though that exists. It’s not people being lazy and refusing to work, though that is certainly an issue for some. No, the failure of the War on Poverty isn’t a lack of money but a lack of hope. The government can give out money all day long. What it can’t do is offer hope and community. That can only come from other people.

In the Gospels, when Jesus called us the salt of the earth, he meant to convey a message that we are his agents in this world. We carry out his mission. And His mission is that we make disciples who love God and love others. And while I would say you can never successfully secularize, or remove the aspect of faith and conversion, from that mission, there is the universal need of hope.

From a spiritual standpoint, Jesus is the hope of the Gospel. A person who is lost in their sin, and even made aware of that by an honest inward look, has no reason to follow Jesus unless they realize that with him there is hope, indeed something far surer than hope.

As a Christ follower and one who has theology as the heart of his philosophy, I believe that it follows that the reason for many, not all, in not seeking to live their lives to the fullest, to their God-given potential, is a lack of hope. Sure, there are some that simply need to find a good job. But how many times has that job fallen through before, or discouragement or other barriers crept into their lives, and they give up? Yes, there are those who have deeper issues that need explored with a qualified professional, but I have seen time and time again where that counseling experience didn’t work because there was no hope of a change.

Jesus said that “the poor you will always have with you.” Let’s be honest. Some of us conservative Christians have used that snippet of a verse to justify inaction on behalf of the poor. Thinking to ourselves that because the Messiah said they would always be around that there is no sense in trying to solve a problem that will never stop. And contrary to what some televangelists and faith-healers would have you to believe, Jesus did not come to this world to eradicate poverty. But he did come to give hope.

And so it is with us. We will never eradicate poverty based on income levels and financial goals. But we can work to eliminate the mindset of poverty where people have simply given up. Even some of the most stubborn, some who might be called lazy, have not found a motivation, a reason for being. They need hope. Not the hope of riches or having nicer things, but of a new mindset, one that looks for the good and that sees the good. One that can live cheerfully and as Carlo Carretto said, wear “their poverty beautifully.”

So today, let’s encourage hope. Let’s seek to lift each other up. You don’t have to be financially poor to be hope poor. Be a blessing to others, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Happy Trials to You

No, I didn’t misspell trails. I promise.

James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial… I do not know about you but I’d much rather this verse read: “Blessed is the man who has come out of the trial;” or “Happy is the person who has already gone through the storm” or “It’s a blessing to get on the other side of the mountain.”

The word here that James uses makarious and it means happy, blessed, fortunate. How in heaven’s name are you supposed to be happy during a trial? And what makes it more challenging: the textual structure of this phrase means it is not a wish or a description. It is not like James is saying “May you experience a blessing during this rough season of life.” Not even a “bless your little heart.” Nope. What James is saying here is a judgement, a verdict that the person who is steadfast under trial is blessed. Let’s unpack that a little bit.

This verse should not be taken to mean that everyone who is having a bad day is blessed. It does not mean that smile should cross the face of all who encounter a “Check Engine” light today. No, there are specific qualifiers as to what kind of person is blessed. Yes, they are going through a trial. All of us go through trials. Every person you see today or whose social media you see could very well be going through a horrific trial right now that you know nothing about. We hide them well.

James does not say just a person who is going through a trial. What do we know about this person? They remain steadfast. Steadfast means to remain, to reside in place, to stand one’s ground. Some images come to mind when I think of this idea of steadfastness.

I conjure up a basketball player on defense. His legs are bent, arms spread wide, the ball of his feet planted firmly on the court yet ready to pounce at any minute. He is ready to move, but he keeps his eye on the ball, ignoring what is taking place behind him. He has one goal, to stop that ball from making it into the basket. He is steady, he is alert, and ready to plant his whole foot down to draw a charge at any moment.

Or maybe it is the teenage boy at the beach in the surf. It is amazing how even small waves can shift the sand under you just enough to make you collapse in a heap. That is what happens to a lot of us in life. Seemingly insignificant waves of difficulty come and because our footing is not secure our life seems to crumble all around us. But this boy, he is learning. He knows that the top layers of sand move with each passing wave. So, he pushes his feet under the sand. Pushing his feet down several inches under the sand, he finds security. He knows now that he can stand up to the surf and dare the waves to give him their best shot.

You and I face trials often, most days if not all the time. Unfortunately, sometimes we try to stand and endure by our own strength. Sheer determination and stubbornness are not what God rewards but often it is what we try. Our marriage has hit a rough patch and we know that we are the ones in the right, so even though we extend grace to our spouse, we hold on to the ground we think we have won. We cling to the importance of being right, in our own mind at least, and refuse to give an inch. After all, doesn’t steadfast mean to stand your ground?

I have seen many people encounter a storm of their own making. They thought they knew what they were doing or allowed pride to prevent them from asking from help. Instead of steering clear of the storms, they piloted their lives straight into the rocks. To make matters worse, they identify themselves as the victims of others and remain committed to their task, convinced of our Lord’s impending rescue. The only rescue that can occur, however, is for them to surrender control of their lives to Jesus and stop trying to captain their own ship.

No, the strength required to endure does not come from within. It can only come from the LORD. You see God does not choose the “right people” to show his power through. He uses broken clay pots to display his glory and his power. He has chosen the foolish and the weak things so that He might be reflected in our lives. For what glory is it to God for us to endure a trial on our own? For even He could be glorified in that way, we could not endure a trial on our own.

We are blessed when we endure when we remain steadfast under trial. If you recall from earlier, one of the meanings of steadfast is to remain, to dwell or abide. Listen to the Words of Jesus in John 15:9-10

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my father’s commandments and abide in his love.”

How do we remain steadfast? We abide. We abide not in the storm, not in the tumult of our lives, but in the love of Christ Jesus. We cling to the truth that He loves us, that His love endures, and that there is nothing in all of creation that can separate us from His love. We confess that He is good in a world full of brokenness. We proclaim that He is faithful when all of life lets us down, and especially when we ourselves have not been faithful. He does not and cannot change. His grace is sufficient and His strength is shown to be more than enough in our weaknesses.

And so, friend, as the trials of life wear you down, remember that you are now blessed. Jesus is working in and through you to the glory of God and your ultimate good.

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12 ESV)

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Don’t Put Your Pen Away Just Yet

One of the best habits I’ve developed in the last few years is that of journaling. I still struggle to keep track of to-do lists and reminders, but I’ve gotten good at journaling my devotions or quiet time with God. It usually goes like this: I get a fresh cup of coffee, my journal, Bible, colored pencils for marking passages, and my ink pen. If a verse sticks out to me, or a prayer forms in my mind, I try to make note of it. Each day, I fill 3/4 to a page of notes from my devotions.

But this morning, as I was finishing filling up the page (lots of good stuff this morning!), something clicked in my brain. You see, as I was finishing, I closed my eyes for a time of reflective prayer and I instinctively clicked my ink pen. After all, I was finished, I was done. I had written a whole page! I said all that I needed to say.

But what about what God wanted to say? No, I don’t hear voices and I don’t think I’ve ever heard an audible voice from God. Yet here I was, closing out the time of communication with my creator, having read his words back to him, adding my own petitions along the way, without bothering to ask if he had anything more to add.

Lest some of you more seasoned theologians worry about my beliefs concerning continuing special revelation, rest assured I don’t mean God has some massive revelation for me that I must tell the world. No book deal, no prophecy conference… But what if the Lord has something to remind me of? Have I “been still and [known] that [he] is God”? Or have I finished my prayer time, checking one more thing off the list that I have to do today? God help us when we come to the point that he is just one more item on the list.

Henri Nouwen said about time with God, “Pressing my eyes against my hands is not praying, and reading about your presence is not living in it.” How true! Simply calling my morning routine “devotions” does not make my morning devoted to Christ. It doesn’t mean that I have listened for the leading of the Holy Spirit. In fact, if I put away my ink pen and journal, I might just be closing the door on a great blessing of the Lord showing me some grace or giving me needed assurance. It is one thing for me to tell myself that I am a child of God. It is another thing altogether to hear it from him.

So today, Christian, spend some time in God’s Word. Underline it. Mark it up. Journal. But don’t put your pen away until you’ve listened for the Master’s voice.

Henri Nouwen said about time with God, “Pressing my eyes against my hands is not praying, and reading about your presence is not living in it.”

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Manure and Church Bells

The US is not the only country with a “cultural Christianity” problem…

From Christianity Today news article:

The French government has passed a law protecting the “sensory heritage” of the nation’s countryside. Vacationers and tourists will no longer be allowed to file official complaints or sue over crowing roosters, manure smells, or early-morning church bells. In 2018 a visitor to the village of Jettingen complained about a 5:40 a.m. bell. The villagers voted 427-73 to continue ringing it, though mass no longer takes place at that time. In 2019, someone sued Saint-Chartres in Vienne over the volume of the 7 a.m. bell. An estimated 5 percent of French people attend church regularly.”

Christianity Today, April 2021 Issue

Okay, so several things are going through my mind as I read this gleaning of worldwide religious news. First off, who goes on vacation to the French countryside and does not want to smell manure, hear the roosters, and wake up to church bells. That is the whole point of escaping there in the first place, n’est pas?

Who goes on vacation to the French countryside and does not want to smell manure, hear the roosters, and wake up to church bells. That is the whole point of escaping there in the first place n’est pas?

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But the main thing that gets me is the last sentence. “An estimated 5 percent of French people attend church regularly.” Now, taken by itself, that is not such a surprising statistic if you know much about the religious habits of Western Europe. It is increasingly secular in most aspects, though it retains a good deal of religious customs and traditions. Western Europe in many ways has what I would call a “secular Christian” culture, but little “Christian” practice. What’s amazing to me is that the government, from the national level all the way down to the ity-bity villages, would pass laws to protect this religious heritage when many fail to practice that religion.

In the US, we have some similar trends. The percentage of those who observance of religious traditions, particularly Christian ones, has been declining gradually for the last several decades. It began accelerating before COVID and early indications are that church attendance will decline by around 15% nationwide as we (hopefully) emerge from the pandemic.

But there remains a cultural tug, especially for those of us of white European ancestry to keep certain cultural aspects in place. Especially in rural, white America, there is a religious element to much of what we do, even on a secular level. Folks who have never darkened the door of a local church building complain about sporting events on Sunday, even as those events are often led by otherwise church-attending people. There is the drumming up of support for the “culture wars” every major holiday season over whether the local municipality should be allowed to have a manger scene or not.

And my question, as a Christian Minister, is, “Why?”

I think there are several reasons, and to each their own, but what I have noticed over the years is how people are satisfied with a Christian veneer to culture if it makes no significant demands on their lives or challenges their choices. We will endure, even cherish, the 5:40 a.m. church bells if it means we are not actually expected to attend an early morning church service.

It reminds me of the religious Pharisees in Jesus’ day. Now while these Pharisees would be the ones who got up for the early service, they would also neglect matters of the heart. Jesus compared them to beautiful tombs; they seem great, but inside there is spiritual death. That is what happens when we settle for a veneer, an outer appearance, rather than the real deal.

So as a history buff I say, “Good for France!” But as a follower of Jesus, I say “Get your butt to Church!”

How Thirsty Are You?

How much water do you drink everyday? Probably not enough, right?

For years, I’ve struggled with dizzy spells off and on with no known cause. I’ve been through a battery tests, from thyroid to cardiac and everything in between. Some days, after breakfast I will feel so icky, so dizzy, that I have to lay down. Maybe a nap would help, maybe it wouldn’t. Because of being overweight I was afraid I was developing type 2 diabetes and maybe it was my blood sugar. But nothing seemed to help.

Then a couple of weeks ago, I tried an experiment. I would drink large amounts of water, interspaced with a coffee or two, within the first hour of waking. I wasn’t thirsty. My mouth wasn’t dry. But I made myself drink. Guess what? It’s lessened the amount of dizzy spells I have dramatically. Yep, good ol’ H2O.

Sometimes in life we get confused, dizzy if you will. With no known cause, we feel out of it. Life seems topsy-turvy and to be spinning out of control. And I wonder… I wonder if it’s because deep down we’re dehydrated and don’t even realize it. Our souls are parched and yet, we think there is some other cause. Maybe we convince ourselves it’s because we aren’t happy or need a new car, spouse, or career. Or we tell ourselves that what we really need is to just do what makes us happy, all the while the world seems to keep spinning out of control.

God, the creator of our very personhood, knows the problem, and it’s remedy. He calls us to come to him and find rest and satisfaction. He says this in Isaiah 55:1-2:

“Come, everyone who thirsts,
    come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without price.
² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
    and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
    and delight yourselves in rich food.

Today, you might not even feel that thirsty, but take some time to drink from the fountain of God’s presence and His word. Filling up will make all the difference in the world.

Secret Pain

One of the themes that I’ve often connected to in God’s Word is the idea that eventually secrets will be made know. It’s something we often relish when we’ve been wounded by others: the idea that the truth will eventually come to light, either in this life or the next.

As a pastor, I’ve used the verses that back this idea. Numbers 32:23 says “be sure your sin will find you out.” Luke 8:17 says, “For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.” Luke 12:2 says, “Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.” Never mind the context for most of these verses refer to the judgement at the end of time or the mysteries of the Gospel (that God would use those considered foolish by the world and accept those deemed “unacceptable”), part of us relishes the idea that right will prevail and what is wicked will come to light and be punished.

And while I at times find that comforting, I also find it incredibly disconcerting. You see, just as others have done things in secret, so have I. God is causing me to relish the thought less and less. God has been dealing with my heart that my desire for the “truth” to come to light is dangerously close to seeking revenge or a misguided belief in “karma” which is a totally wicked concept fully foreign to the Christian life.

The truth is, we all do or have struggled with secret sins. Sometimes when we hear that phrase, “secret sins”, we easily think of some salacious sin or social taboo. But in reality, any sin or temptation we don’t share with others is by definition a secret. That temptation to tell your boss what you really think… The second look you take at someone who’s not your spouse… Hating your neighbor… All of those can be secret sins. So the next time you wish for someone to get their just desserts, remember how that can cut both ways.

But there is another kind of secret that God knows about… Pain. And that’s what I really want to focus on.

God sees your secret hurts as well. David says this in Psalm 56:8, “You have kept count of my tossings (or wanderings); put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?” David recognizes that God is keeping track of David’s sufferings and sorrows. He knows the pain that David experiences.

God knows the pain you carry as well. The shame you struggle with from enduring abuse. The miscarriage that no one knows about. The struggle of same-sex attraction that you felt you could never open up about with your Christian brothers and sisters. The pain you carry from hearing what people “really thought” of you. The accusations that were false. The broken heart that you never even journaled about. The pain of unfulfilled dreams. The sorrow over a wayward friend or loved one. God sees this. He knows. He cares.

And someday, he will deal with not only secret sins, but he will deal with secret pains. Those apart from Christ will have their secrets made known at the judgement. But those who are in Christ have the promise that is found in Revelation 21:4, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall their be mourning, nor crying, not pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

So, friends, let’s take comfort in that God sees our pain, he knows our hurts. Jesus, who lived among us, sympathizes with us and has experienced much of the same pain we have. And someday, he will make all things new and there will be no more pain.

Saint Patrick’s Day

I love Saint Patrick’s Day. Not because its an excuse to pinch people I don’t like (oops, I forgot, you were wearing green…).

But it’s the celebration of a culture. No, not a culture of drinking green stout. But the culture of an island people who’s story is largely unknown to most Americans. I’m proud to be of Irish descent, mostly on my mother’s side.

But St. Patrick’s Day is more than that to me. It’s the celebration of a man who as a boy was enslaved and taken from his native Wales and forced to serve pagan Irish chieftains. After escaping, and coming to faith in Christ, he felt compelled to return to the people who had treated him terribly. No, he didn’t go back to chastise them or seek revenge. Patrick went back to share the life changing message of Jesus Christ.

He famously used the shamrock as a teaching tool to teach the doctrine of the Trinity to the pagan Irish. Whether he really drove the snakes from Eire is doubtful, but he did dispel the darkness with the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

That is an example to every Christ follower, Irish or not. We live in a world of darkness, but inside of ever Christ follower is a flicker of light. Let’s take that light and bring hope and freedom to others. Let’s be like Patrick, and have the desire to serve Christ and His Kingdom in any way we can, even by grace to those who have hurt or wronged us.

Surviving

Note: This is a bit darker than some of the things I normally write or share. It’s not a happy piece. But it’s not supposed to be.

This past week I had to submit some annual reports for my church. Yes, I know, it’s late.

Anyways, one of the questions for me personally was along the lines of “What is something that you are celebrating from 2020. My answer? We survived.

I mean, think about it: Since the COVID Pandemic began more than 500,000 people in the USA have died from the virus. And yes, many may have been older or have had underlying health conditions, the fact is that some of those people would surely not have died if they didn’t contract the virus. I think of the people that I know who have passed away from either COVID or COVID complications. Some of them were older, several were residents of long-term care facilities where others passed away. Some, however, were relatively young and would have otherwise been considered healthy people.

In what was considered a few weeks ago, a study came out that showed the average life expectancy in the US declined by a full year. A full year! And it is three times that bad for people of color. It’s not just the novel coronavirus that has been killing us though.

In the middle of the COVID outbreak, the US had experienced the highest number of drug overdose deaths in a 12 month period, with some jurisdictions seeing a 98% increase in synthetic drug overdoses. Suicide statistics normally lag by 2-3 years, but modeling has suggested the suicide rate in Western European and North American countries could rise as much as 14% or more because of the effects of the pandemic. And on top of this is the valid concern of many that some mitigation efforts and lockdowns may have done more harm to emotional, developmental, and economic health than we can track.

I’m not trying to paint a bleak picture. The picture is bleak enough, it doesn’t need any embellishments or exaggerations. 2020 and 2021 have brought a season of life that 95% of us have never experienced. We weren’t prepared for it and everyone has made mistakes in responding to the multifaceted crises we’ve faced.

That’s why I am serious when I say that something to celebrate is survival. We’ve been spoiled in the United States in that for a long time we haven’t had to face a deadly pandemic. We’ve taken for granted that if we die before normal life expectancy it’s due to diet, cancer, or accidents. But this? This has threatened our sense of invincibility. It has forced us, quite violently, to realize that we’re not in control as much as we think we are. I think that is why some reacted so negatively to mask mandates because it was at least some measure of control they could maintain in a world that was looking very quickly different than the world we thought we had understood or even conquered.

Education has been a challenge for EVERYONE. Work looks different for many people. Nothing is the same right now. I’ll leave it for the clairvoyants to predict how much of it will ever go back to the same. But all of the mental health professionals I’ve talked to and those who work in social work and related professions are identifying 2020-2021 as a traumatic event. I don’t think we have come to grasp with that yet. A good deal of the people I interact with are like a person still in shock at the scene of an accident. They almost seem in denial of the pain they have experienced or are still experiencing.

We are hurting. We are traumatized. Jobs lost. Friends dead. Loved ones separated. Marriages broken up. Addictions on the rise. The sooner we come to grips with the pain, the better. And part of that is realizing all the difficulties we’ve been through. And then remembering, we’re getting through them. You may have heard this quote by Winston Churchill or maybe not, but it’s a great reminder for where we find ourselves—

“If you’re going through hell, keep going!”

Obviously, the point is here, we keep going until we get through it. So let’s keep going.

Acknowledge the pain. It may mean crying. It might mean a long drive on back-country roads with the radio on blast, or it might just mean looking into a flickering candle, remembering what we’ve lost and yet observing that we’ve survived.

And that is worth celebrating.

Thirsty For God

Thirsty:
noun; feeling or having thirst; craving liquid.

In today’s common vernacular, thirsty is used by the cool kids to usually mean someone’s desire for attention or sexual satisfaction. Yeah, I had to get that out of the way, because when I speak to young people about having a thirst for God, they give me really weird looks. But it makes sense why that has become the connotation, right? To thirst means to long for something, be it water, attention, fulfillment, satisfaction, etc.

In Psalm 63:1, David writes:

"O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you, 
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water." (ESV)

This isn’t the first time David uses the idea of being thirsty as longing for God. David spent a great deal of time in the Judean wilderness (think of a rocky desert) where water was scarce and worth fighting for. He realized that just as the human body has a biological need and a drive to find liquid sustenance, so the soul longs for God. In Psalm 42:2, David writes:

"My soul thirst for God, 
the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?" (ESV)

David is longing not just for some belief or set of traditions to fill the void left in his life. He’s not looking around at the spiritual options for something to give his life meaning. No, he is looking for the truth God, the Living God, not some wish-upon-a-star superstition, but for a real relationship with the Living God. He asks “when shall I come and appear before God?” When you study the original Hebrew, you’ll find that David isn’t just longing for a worship service or to appear before God, but he is longing for God’s face. In other words, he is seeking intimacy with his Creator.

There are so many things we thirst for, but they ultimately leave us longing for more. One cup of coffee is never enough. A cost of living raise at work is nice, but oh what you could do with more! Addictions always over promise and under deliver. But God? He satisfies. He quenches the thirst.

Jesus said in John 7 that “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'” In Revelation 7:16, we see this description of those who follow Jesus: “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water…”

Today, don’t try to fill up on the empty promises of attention or things this life has to offer. Quench your thirst by seeking after God with your whole heart.

What’s Best?

Perhaps one of the most important questions we can ask in our life consists of two simple words: What’s Best?

Every day through our 5 senses we receive thousands of stimuli, each ding of our cell phone or flashing light or sensation competing for our attention. But what if in amongst all those competitors for our focus we lose sight of what’s most important?

Here’s a pill that’s difficult for most of us to swallow: Everything is not equally important.

Now, that’s a statement that seems on its face to be obvious. Most people would agree with it, in theory at least. Surely breathing is more important than locating that missing sock. Eating a balanced diet is more important that what time of the day you check your email. Reading the Bible must be of greater need than scrolling social media for the 4^th time today.

But even though we would nod our heads that there are things that are more important than others, many people struggle to move from agreement to alignment. In other words, we’re nodding out heads but we’re not adjusting our schedules or routines. It’s a lot simpler to agree that I need to spend more time in prayer than it is to buckle down and work on a discipline that I’ve neglected.

If we’re going to do what God has called us to do, we must recognize that we can’t do everything and we can’t possibly give everything equal attention or equal importance. To do so would make everything of equal value, regardless of what we may say otherwise. Dr. David Jeremiah, in his new book Forward says, “We become so distracted by molehills that we can’t charge up the mountain.” That sentence stuck out to me and has kept churning through my mind.

In the classic Spanish novel Don Quixote, the aged hero has imagined every windmill to be a giant, and so he mounts his stead and charges the windmill, in a vain attempt to rid the world of these would-be giants. His squire tried to help him realize that he was imagining a battle when it was just a windmill. I wonder if too often we aren’t preoccupied with the windmills, the molehills, if you will, that we miss the real battle, that we miss our dream, our calling.

So when we come to something, we need to ask, is this best? Is this what I need to give my time and attention to? Do I need to see the photo’s of Brenda’s quarantine vacation or should I spend time with my kids? What is best? What has God called me to do? Has God called me to catch the game on TV or to play with my grandkids? Do I need to finish binge watching the latest season of my favorite show or should I spend some time getting to know God better through His Word and prayer? What is best?

So for the next few days, let’s try an experiment. Let’s ask ourselves when evaluating our day, “What’s best?”

Before I let you go, I need to warn you. Asking this question will cause you to question things, and that’ a good thing. But it may also lead others to question to. Thinking like this isn’t normal. But I don’t know abut you but I don’t want normal. Normal isn’t what God has called us to. He’s called us to the best. After all, He is the best.

Photo by Leah Kelley on Pexels.com

An Imperfect Bride

I am a pastor. I realize that’s a major newsflash to many of you. Many of us think of a pastor as the guy or gal who teaches or talks on Sundays at a church building and does funerals. But as a pastor, my calling isn’t just to a particular congregation or local church, but to The Church, the collective of Christ’s followers, world over.

Can I tell you a secret? Promise you won’t tell: “Church People” aren’t perfect. In fact, they are incredibly flawed. No, I’m not revealing something private, no breaking of confidentiality here. It’s an open secret. No local church is perfect. The capital C Church isn’t perfect. Here’s why: The Church isn’t made up of buildings or pews or fancy windows or steeples. The Church is made up of people. People are broken and people are messy.

And because we’re imperfect, we hurt people. We hurt each other. There are countless stories that I’ve heard– and likely you have too– about “church people” saying or doing horrible things. Ranging from all kinds of abuse to simply being rude, the spectrum of pain inflicted by “church people” is broad and can be very deep.

I’ve been hurt by the church and I know that I have also hurt the church. Folks, well intentioned I’m sure, have hurt me and I have, I am certain, hurt people. Oh it’s rarely intentional: a careless remark here, a grumpy face there, a missed call that was forgotten, a special occasion missed. It happens. It’s not right or good, but the Church is an imperfect bride.

Bride, you say. Did I miss the invite to the nuptials? (And Yes, I’ve also caused pain by failing to RSVP.)

In Scripture, the Church is called to Bride of Christ. Jesus death on the cross was, in effect, paying the bridal price or dowry common at the time. And the price was high because Jesus purchased with his blood all who would someday call on his name and follow him. And like most spouses, he ended up with an imperfect bride.

I don’t endorse all Carlo Carretto said or wrote, but man, he hit the nail on the head when he wrote the following describing the imperfections of the Church:

How baffling you are, oh Church, and yet how I love you!

How you have made me suffer, and yet how much I owe you!

I should like to see you destroyed, and yet I need your presence.

You have given me so much scandal and yet you have made me understand sanctity.

I have seen nothing in the world more devoted to obscurity, more compromised, more false, and I have touched nothing more pure, more generous, more beautiful. How often I have wanted to shut the doors of my soul in your face, and how often I have prayed to die in the safety of your arms.

No, I cannot free myself from you, because I am you, although not completely.

And where should I go?

The God Who Comes by Carlo Carretto

But, Jesus isn’t content to leave us imperfect. Writing to husbands, the Apostle Paul says this in Ephesians 5:25-27 (ESV)

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

Friends, we’re not that Church just yet. Someday we will be. But until then, we’re broken people who tend to hurt others if we’re not careful.

And to my friends who have given up on Church but still believe in Jesus… Don’t allow the pain caused by broken people to prevent you from seeing God do something beautiful. Let me put it this way: you may love me, but if you despise my bride, we’re probably not going to be all that close, no matter how much you proclaim your devotion to me.

Yes, the Church, both local and universal is most definitely an imperfect bride. I am an imperfect pastor. And you, yes you reading, are also imperfect. Let us not excuse our imperfections, but may we ask the Lord to give us a greater love for imperfect people and healing for pain caused by them.

Just maybe, that’s the way He will remove the blemishes.