Month: December 2014

A Christmas Riddle

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images (1)Is the myth of Santa a riddle or a taradiddle?  The contrasting stories I saw yesterday certainly paint different pictures of old St. Nick:

  • Story #1: Georgia Church Posts Message Saying ‘Santa Is Satan’
  • Story #2: Secret Santas in Massachusetts Pay Thousands of Dollars to Close Out All Layaway Orders at Three Toys ‘R’ Us Stores
  • Story #3: Ho Ho No: School bans Santa from winter concert
  • Story #4: Santa and his elves wash windows at Mission Hospital

It seems that people have different opinions of the red-suited giver of gifts.  Is he the demon or the delight of December?  Is he charming or harming to our children.  Is he innocent folklore or a fatuous troll?

A Pew Research survey released in December of 2013 found that Santa is not just a childhood fixation:

  • 69% of parents with at least one child under age 18 said they planned to pretend that old St. Nick would visit their house on Christmas Eve.
  • 22% of parents who don’t have kids that believe in Santa still expected to participate by gift-giving in Santa’s name.
  • 11% of people who don’t celebrate Christmas still planned to get a visit from Santa.

Frank Riga, emeritus professor of English at Canisius College, says the myth of Santa Claus can enhance creativity and imagination in children.

Our focus needs to be on more than Santa and enhancing creativity and imagination.  A new survey (Pew Research) suggests that most Americans report a belief in the biblical Christmas story as historical events that actually occurred. Nearly 75% of Americans believe:

  • Jesus Christ was born of a virgin
  • Angels appeared to shepherds to announce the birth of Jesus
  • Wise men were guided by a star and brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to Jesus
  • 80% of the adults in the USA believe the newborn baby Jesus was laid in a manger.

What will be your main focus this Christmas season?  Will it be the red-suited Claus or the angelic clause?

Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”         Luke 2:10-12

Linguistics and Liars

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spkwaveA Southern Gospel Revival is a band that I like.  Ben Hester sings and plays guitar for this group, and he gives a fine performance of the song In the Sweet By and By.

As I was listening to this song this morning, it reminded me of an incident at the Kansas State Fair.  I was watching a demonstration and closely listening to the fine-honed monologue of the salesman.  As he finished his demonstration, he displayed a toothy grin and waved to us saying:  “This is the end of our demonstration, so I want to say “bye-bye,” and I want to thank you for coming.  Bye now!”

His use of the word “bye” was a clever display of linguistics and the subtle use of a homophone.  On one level the crowd was thinking:  “Gee what a nice man to say good-bye like that.”  On another level, however, his message was, “I want to say buy-buy . . . buy my product now!”

I had a similar experience at the Home Show.  There was a booth touting the warm feeling of fleece and the benefits of wool, and they even had a little pen with a ewe and her lambs.  I smiled when I heard the salesman say:  “Every ewe here knows how important it is to keep her babies warm.”  The message he was sending was not focused on the “ewes” but the “yous” in the crowd—“You mothers want to keep your babies warm, so buy this fleece blanket.”

When Paul wrote to the Christians at Rome, he warned them of linguistics and liars and of people who would use “smooth words and flattering speech to deceive the hearts of the simple (Romans 16:18).”  This verse has also been rendered as “enticing words” and “pious sweet talk to dupe unsuspecting innocents.”

I don’t have anything to sell, and I’m sending only one message:  Bye for now, and take a minute or two to listen to In The Sweet By and By.

The Characteristics of Contentment

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contentment1While watching the Kansas Jayhawks play basketball on Saturday, I became keenly aware of the intent and goal of each of the commercials on TV.  They were designed to arouse a sense of dissatisfaction and an incensed desire.

The pitch lines may have been a little different, but the message was the same:

  • You can’t be happy and fulfilled with the life you have—unless you buy our product.
  • You will never be whole and feel like you belong—unless you join our group or support our cause.

The more you believe the lies of the world, the more you will feel like somebody owes you some- thing. This breeds a sense of entitlement that can be the onset of resentment, and resentment and contentment cannot coexist.

This constant onslaught of “something must be bought” to find happiness and fulfillment or “the world owes you” is foreign to the thinking of the Apostle Paul:

Now godliness combined with contentment brings great profit.  For we have brought nothing into this world and so we cannot take a single thing out either.  But if we have food and shelter, we will be satisfied with that (I Timothy 6:6-8).

Notice the characteristics of contentment:

  • Godliness is enhanced by the presence of contentment
  • There is the realization that you were born with nothing and there is nothing in this world that you can take to heaven with you when you die
  • You are satisfied with the blessings God has given you and do not resent the manner in which He blesses others
  • The key to contentment is the content of your life, and Paul called this godliness

If want to hear the expression of contentment, take a moment to read Psalm 145.  In the first two verses of this Psalm you’ll find the words “praise” and “bless” repeated.  These are the words of contentment not resentment.

Here’s a thought to keep you thinking:   “Many people lose the small joys in the hope for the big happiness ( Pearl S. Buck).”

Like A Satin White Snowflake

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sad-snowmanWhen I walk down the street or press my way through a busy mall, it seems people are as adrift as a satin white snowflake that’s blown by a fierce wind.  They participate in a vigorous celebration of an annual winter holiday that is a time of jubilation, but they have never experienced that infusion of joy that Peter described as being “unspeakable and full of glory (I Peter 1:8).”

Paul wanted the saints at Ephesus to embrace a joy-filled relationship with Christ, so he prayed for them to “have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:18-19).

The joy and fullness of Christ is the essence of the incarnation, and as John said:  “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth . . . and of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace (John 1:14, 16).

When I observe people today, I wonder if their holiday happenings are a celebration of this grace and truth or an aberration of its substance.

When you look at the faces and into the eyes of the people you meet on the street:  What do you see?  Is it a lighthearted twinkle or a heavyhearted wrinkle?   Is it the glad refrain of the fullness of Christ or is it the sad disdain of the world’s dullness?

What’s the difference between the two?  Isn’t the incarnation the demarcation of wholeness and hole-ness?  Christmas is a contrast between the love of God and the lack of the world. Paul captured this in his letter to the Colossians:

  • In him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily (Colossians 2:9).
  • In him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell (Colossians 1:19).
  • In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3).

The joy, peace, and fullness that you hunger for will never be found in a neatly wrapped package beneath a tree:  It is only found in the baby who was born on Christmas day.

Peace On Earth

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Christmas Bells 11516When Jesus came to this world, it was not to address the peccadillo needs of a few, but to fill the chasm of sin that separated man from God.  He did not come to just please the whims and fancies of the human race, but He came to pacify of the righteous demands of a holy God.

His coming was full of promise; yet, the people to whom He came rejected Him.  John said:

He came into the world—the world he had created—and the world failed to recognize him. He came into his own creation, and his own people would not accept him. Yet wherever men did accept him he gave them the power to become sons of God. These were the men who truly believed in him, and their birth depended not on the course of nature nor on any impulse or plan of man, but on God (JB Phillips)

Whenever I read the verses above, I am intrigued by four words:  “the power to become.”  When people accept Jesus, not an idea nor a philosophy, but the person of Christ, they receive “the power to become” a child of God.  This spiritual transformation is the real hope of the Christmas story.

At this time each year I see people go to great expense to decorate their house–to transform it from the ordinary ho hum to an extraordinary display of flashing lights; yet they still miss the meaning of Christmas.  While they are willing to pay homage to a diorama of Christmas, they fail to worship the Christ of Christmas.

Longfellow wrote the words to the song I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.  In the third stanza of the song, he stated the condition of mankind without Christ:

 And in despair I bowed my head:

“There is no peace on earth,” I said,

“For hate is strong and mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

As you celebrate Christmas this year, remember peace on earth is only possible because a piece of Heaven was born in a manger.

Today is Christmas

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This is the time of year when the mystery of the Old Testament prophets is understood in the fulfillment of that pinnacle of prophecies—the incarnation of Christ.  The birth of Jesus is the axiom of Christianity.

Wonderful-Counselor

Today is Christmas day, and it is the day when the dignity of Deity was clothed in human flesh and was born in an insignificant manger.  Today we celebrate the birth of the Magnificent Messiah and the Savior of the world, and we can truly sing, Joy To The World.

Merry Christmas!

The Goats of Christmas

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Lamb of God, Bread of LifeI’ve always had a strong affection for books.  Even when I was a child, I would ride my bicycle the dozen or so blocks to the library several times a week.  It is this affinity for books that lured me into Barnes and Noble yesterday.

As I elbowed my way through the throng of seasonal shoppers, I wondered:

  • How many of these people revere the holiday but never adhere to the Savior?
  • How many serenade the season, but never offer an accolade to the Almighty?
  • Has the citadel of Christmas moved from the manger to the mall?

Celebrating Christmas without Jesus is like going to the goat’s house for wool—you might have the semblance, but you’ll never have the warmth.

An Invitation: Come Emmanuel

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imagesOne characteristic of the Christmas season that I really enjoy is the music, and one of the classics is O Come O Come Emmanuel.  Whenever I sing the chorus of this song, it has the sound of a long-awaited hope that is realized and claimed:  Rejoice! rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

As I think of this song, I think of three other sections of Scripture that contains the word “come.”

  • Isaiah 1:18:  Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.
  • Matthew 11:28-30:  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
  • Revelation 22:17:  The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

Isaiah’s use of the word speaks of repentance of sin and regeneration (salvation); Jesus uses it in the sense of a relationship; and, in the Revelation it speaks of our final redemption.

The story of Christmas is the gift of Jesus.  He came to earth, so you could come to God.  Listen to the words of O Come O Come Emmanuel, and focus on the hope, the invitation  and the sound of victory in the word come.

incarnation-header-600x200-2

Under the Cloak of Darkness

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into-the-lightHis name meant “victory of the people,” but Nicodemus was living a life of spiritual defeat that left him thirsting for something more.   His religious zeal had left him parched and perched.  The dryness of the religion he had practiced from the time of his birth had withered his soul, and the conundrum of messianic proportions left him sitting in a precarious position.

It was within the framework of this nodus that Nicodemus went under the cloak of darkness to find Jesus and said: “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

Even though Nicodemus could see the signs he was blind to his sins, so Jesus went straight to the heart of the matter:  “I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Like many people today, Nicodemus thought he had lived a good live.  After all, he was a Pharisee and even a member of the ruling council—the Sanhedrin.  He was no religious malcontent, but he questioned the content of Jesus’ discourse.

If he followed Jesus what course would his life take?  Would it would lead him away from Judaism and the prestige and prominence of his position?  Was he ready to sacrifice everything that he had worked so hard to achieve?

Nicodemus decided to wander away to ponder and pray.  I believe Nicodemus re-examined the Messianic prophecies and they validated the claims of Jesus.

When the third chapter of John comes to a close, Nicodemus is never head of again until Jesus is crucified.  Then he came out of the darkness to identify with Jesus and to prepare the body of His Lord for burial.

Which stage of Nicodemus’ life best describes you?  Is it the under-the-cloak-of-darkness Nicodemus, the closet-Christian Nicodemus, or is it the stand-up-and-stand-out for-Jesus Nicodemus?

Suffering and the Sovereignty of God

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trustGodWhen people are confronted with the existence of evil, some will question the existence of God. When this happens, I encourage people to consider the nature of evil.  Evil and Good are value judgments, and as such, they must be measured against a morally perfect standard.  If some act deviates from this standard, it is deemed to be evil.

Early in his life, C.S. Lewis rejected the idea of God.  After a thorough investigation, he made an interesting statement:   “My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call something crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line.”  Lewis also made the point that a portrait is a good or a bad likeness depending on how it compares with the “perfect” original.

Any time you feel intense physical or emotional pain, you may find yourself asking the question:  “Why?”  Randy Alcorn offers an excellent discussion of suffering and the sovereignty of God in his book If Good Is Good:  Why Do We Hurt?  

God is both loving and sovereign . . . Knowing this should give us great confidence that even when we don’t see any redemptive meaning in our suffering, God can see it—and one day we will too. We can trust that God has a purpose for whatever he permits. We are limited to time; God is not. From the perspective of a timeless God, the distant future—when justice is fully granted, and evil and suffering are gone—is as real as the present. What he knows he will ultimately accomplish through suffering, for his glory and our good, is not merely a possibility but a reality he can already see, in all its fullness ~Randy Alcorn

Immorality, pain, suffering, evil, and ethical failures are, according to some people reasons to question the presence of a loving God.  I strongly disagree with this assessment, and  I believe they help to prove the existence of God.  I have written about this in the past, and encourage you to read my post: Why God?

My words are neither nonsensical nor vacuous, they are the thoughts of one who has walked the path of suffering and loss on more than one occasion, and I still believe in the goodness of God.