December 24, 2018

We Wait

“And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

– Luke 1:76-79

The stores are finally closing. Traffic is slowing down. Take a deep breath. Christmas is almost here.

It was never supposed to be this way. The hustle and bustle. All the gifts for ourselves and others. Christmas was never about that. It was always about a child, a baby born to save us all.

John the Baptist knew his role from the very beginning. These verses are part of the prophecy Zechariah gave over his son. The words were a gift from the Holy Spirit.

Remember Zechariah had doubts when the angel Gabriel came to give him the news that Elizabeth would give birth to a son. For that reason, Zechariah remained silent, unable to speak, until after John was born.

Zechariah learned a few things on his journey. He learned never to question any message God sends through his angels. And he learned that sometimes the greatest among us are the ones who lead the way.

That was John’s job in life. He was to point others toward Jesus. Nothing more. Nothing less. He would come to say later in his life that he would decrease as Jesus increased. It was never about John and he knew that.

It’s not about us either. Do we know that? In the midst of this holiday do we understand that we are here to glorify God, to praise Him, to lead others to know Christ as Lord and Savior? Do we understand our purpose?

I’ve certainly got nothing against a beautiful tree surrounded by gifts. I love the gathering of family and friends. I enjoy the food a little more than I should. But the challenge comes when we get so involved in all those things that we miss the coming of the Lord.

Do we see the baby in the manger? Can we imagine his cries? He left heaven for this so that we might be free from the sins that doomed us to eternal death. He came out of love for us. Do we love Him in return? Do we understand in the silence of the night that our lives are meant to point others to Him?

Our church has a beautiful Christmas Eve service. There is lots of merriment and singing of Christmas carols. But the end really brings it back to what’s important. After communion, we pass the light around the dark room. Silence echoes as each person lights the candle held by the person next to him. It is in that moment that we remember. We wait quietly, expectantly, for the sound of a newborn crying in the night.

Jesus. Messiah. Savior. King. Lord. Emmanuel.

Come.

May 31, 2018

Break the Chains of Doom

Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness, prisoners suffering in iron chains.

– Psalm 107:10

But if people are bound in chains, held fast by cords of affliction, he tells them what they have done – that they have sinned arrogantly. – Job 36:8-9

Because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.

– Luke 1:78-79

He is a most negative person. I’ve stopped inquiring about how he’s doing. Honestly, I don’t want to hear it. Do you understand what I’m saying? Do you have someone like that in your life?

It’s not that I don’t care. I do. It’s just that his total lack of hope, his inability to see anything good in his world, directly contrasts with the faith he claims lives in his heart. That bothers me. It really does.

He’s a good person. And, yes, he’s had stuff happen that has been hard. But he’s also had a lot of good too. Sometimes I think he misses that because his focus is on the bad.

Aren’t we much the same? We obsess over what’s gone wrong and brush off all that’s gone right. We hang on to mistakes and problems and hurt long after we should have given them to God and moved on.

We can’t count our blessings because we’re too busy looking at all that’s missing. We focus on what we can’t change, what we can’t fix, and miss what we can control. Like our attitude.

Satan loves to bind us in chains of despair. He loves to tell us again and again how awful our lives are, how others have wronged us, how futile our attempts to change can be. Satan wants to steal our hope.

But he can’t. Not unless we let him. Because Jesus is our hope. Jesus came to pay for all the wrongs we’ve committed and make us right with God. Jesus sent His Spirit to guide us. Jesus walks with us every step of every day.

We are not only to live in the light, we are to be the light. How can we do that when all we see is darkness? How can we show others Jesus when we can’t see Him ourselves?

This man is quick to tell others about the wonders of this beautiful world. But when it comes to his own life? Well, he doesn’t see anything good in it. I see his beautiful wife. Yes, she suffers from an illness but she is sweet and kind. I see the son who has made wrong choices but I also see the son who is excelling at the college of his dreams. I see the nice house, the good job, the fishing trips and other good things in his life. He sees the lack. I see the abundance.

That’s something else that’s true in our own lives. You don’t think so? Are you lustful for the new car your neighbor got? Do you want to remodel your kitchen like your co-worker? Do you long for the latest gadget, the promotion, the dream vacation someone else just took?

It’s great to have dreams but not when those dreams of tomorrow keep us from enjoying the blessings of today. Jesus came to break the chains of doom and set us free to live in His light. Why can’t we see that? Why can’t we live our lives basking in the light of His love? We can. If we will.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

God’s Word Tells Us What To Do

And the word of the LORD came again to Zechariah: “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.’

“But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and stopped up their ears. They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the LORD Almighty was very angry.” -- Zechariah 7:8-12

Look around you. Everywhere you see and hear pious people bemoaning the state of our nation. The liberals are killing it, they proclaim. People should turn back to God to save it, they shout, certain they are voicing God‘s will.

Have they read the Bible? Really read it? Have they asked God what He wants or merely told God what they want to hear? Because what they proclaim and what I read in the Bible just aren’t the same thing at all.

I don’t have any answers to the illegal immigrant problem in our nation. I don’t know how to make people go to work or to find living wage jobs for those who do work. I don’t know how to make people care for their elderly relatives. I can’t force people to have compassion and provide opportunities to children without support and guidance.

I guess you could say that I don’t know much of anything. But I do know what God says. God says to show mercy and compassion. He warns us not to harden our hearts against His words, not to turn our backs on those in need.

And yet we do. Again and again. We “justify” our actions, our cruel words, our hard hearts. We tell people to get a job, and we quote Scripture that warns against laziness. We warn people to follow the law, and we quote Scripture that tells us to obey the laws of the land. We condemn sinners, and quote Scripture about how God has called us all to live.

We somehow seem to forget all those passages calling us to love and compassion and kindness. We ignore the words warning us against judging others. We skim past the words of Jesus as He extended forgiveness and a helping hand.

We forget that we are all sinners. We all fall short of the glory of God. We all need God’s grace. And none of us deserve it. Not one. So why do we believe that it’s okay to place ourselves on a pedestal with rest of the world in a pit beneath our feet?

A dear friend, a deacon in a conservative Baptist church, told me he’s learned to quiet those criticisms in his own mind. He forces himself to imagine what it would be like to walk in the shoes of the person he’s judging and that changes his attitude right away. It opens his heart to love others as Jesus has called us to do.

Pious judgments turn people away from the very God who can save us all. Stop looking around for someone to blame for the state of our country and look in the mirror instead. Change starts with you and me doing what God has told us to do.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Give God Credit

Then he said to me, “This is what the LORD says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the LORD Almighty.”

-- Zechariah 4:6

“Yet I will show love to the house of Judah; and I will save them -- not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but by the LORD their God.” -- Hosea 1:7

When something wonderful happens in your life, who gets credit? Do you pat yourself on the back for a job well done? Or do you get down on your knees and praise God for blessing you?

It’s human nature to want to take credit for everything good in our lives and to blame someone else -- frequently God -- when something goes wrong. Of course, it doesn’t work that way. We have no success without God’s blessing. But we’d prefer not to think about that.

We want to believe that we control our own destiny. That we determine our outcome. That we can achieve all our goals without help from anyone. Sounds good. And, yes, hard work and seizing opportunities are a wonderful way to head down that road to success. So long as you don’t hit a detour.

You know about detours. They’re those things that really interrupt your life when you least expect it. Like a job layoff. A cancer diagnosis. A divorce. A car wreck. I could go on and on. Many hardworking people have watched their lives disintegrate through no fault of their own.

That’s where God comes in. See, God is in control. He can fix things. He can carry you through things. He can even keep things from happening, like when you really mess up and don’t get the punishment you deserve. God did that when He sent Jesus to die for our sins. That should have been you and me on that cross. Somehow, thank you seems inadequate.

We can do nothing without God. He, on the other hand, can do anything. He can take the weakest, most inept person and accomplish great things. And He can allow the smartest, most charismatic person fail spectacularly. Never, ever believe that your success is something you created on your own. Because none of us are anything without God.