Either voluntarily or by compulsion, one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
At that point it will be too late to make a decision about who Christ is. But imagine if people could come back from that encounter and warn others who haven’t yet experienced that event. I saw a mug last year that shows how Santa might spread the word:
You’re all naughty. Romans 3:23-24
…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. –Romans 3:23-24
Don’t forget what Christmas is really all about. God came in the flesh to permanently cover all the sins of those who embrace Him as their Savior. This amazing gift is what inspires our own exchange of presents to one another. May this event inspire joy in your heart year round, but especially this time of year!
The Christmas season is in full swing. While Christ is, of course, supposed to be front and center, the season has come to be characterized by shopping, hustle and bustle, extra parties, and Christmas carols.
Imagine if, right about now, less than two weeks away from Christmas, you departed for Basic Training?
That’s what I did when I joined. I left for Air Force Basic about 10 days before Christmas. You can imagine how fun the holiday was that year. We didn’t have any decorations or Christmas trees or anything like that, but we were given the opportunity to go to a couple of extra church services.
Part of the services involved singing Christmas carols, which is a nice thought. It turns out that some sadistic weirdo decided to add “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” to the song lineup for those services. For those of you that may not be familiar, the lyrics talk about how wonderful it is to be home for Christmas, and that the people back home can count on the singer(s) being home in time for the celebration. It then abruptly changes direction and decides that, well, it’s looking like it’s not going to be possible to get home in time, so “I’ll be home for Christmas…if only in my dreams.”
What kind of demented sicko adds that to the song lineup to poke at a bunch of miserable, homesick people in the days leading up to Christmas? Somebody who didn’t get enough hugs as a child, that’s who. Parents…hug your kids!
But anyway, to you military folks, you make lots of sacrifices for us all, and we often lose sight of that. We know it’s not always possible for you to be home for holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, or other special occasions. Thanks to all of you for raising your right hand and for doing whatever Uncle Sam asks of you in order to keep us free to celebrate our freedoms. I hope you have a great Christmas wherever you are. You are appreciated!
Since many of us are probably doing something a little outside of our weekly routine this Thursday, I thought I’d post a little early.
There’s a character in the Bible that normally only gets mentioned around Christmas, but it’s probably more appropriate that we stop to think of him around Thanksgiving.
Simeon (Luke 2:25-35) was a devout man. God had provided a special promise to him. The Lord revealed to him that he wouldn’t die until he had seen the promised Messiah. Since God had been largely silent for hundreds of years (in terms of speaking through prophets), this was a huge deal.
Luke 2:27 says that the Spirit led Simeon to the temple on the day Mary and Joseph were required by law to present their newborn son as the law required. It doesn’t say anything about how he recognized that Jesus was the Messiah, but verses 28 and 29 say that he took the child in his arms, praised the Lord, and proclaimed that he could now die in peace.
This is a level of thankfulness that’s difficult to describe, yet relatable for Christians today.
We’re bombarded by bad news and starved for good news. We see the collapse of morality everywhere, and even the apparent rise of immorality. We’re constantly being asked how our God could let these things happen. It’s easy for Jesus-followers to get discouraged.
And then we remember the promises about the restoration to come.
It’s not quite on the same scale as the guy that got to hold baby Jesus and understand the significance of who he was holding, but it gives us hope and reason to be thankful.
This year as you reflect on what to be thankful for, remember to keep God’s promises and the hope that comes with them at the top of your list.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all, and may you be able to celebrate with loved ones this year!
I recently came across a thought-provoking quote from John MacArthur:
“Satan continues his efforts to make sin less offensive, heaven less appealing, hell less horrific, and the Gospel less urgent.”
It is impossible to put into words exactly how important it is that people make the switch from Hell to Heaven. This quote reminds us that even though the world continues to reject Christ and that its rejection of Him will become more emphatic, all Christians have received spiritual gifts and that if they haven’t already received a commission about how to use them, they will someday.
While nobody can predict how God will use them, He’ll put those gifts to work to bring revival, to bring comfort, to work salvation, to build up other Christians, and to spread the gospel. God can counter each and every portion of Satan’s advances in that quote, but He does it through people like you. The challenge is that you decide whether you take part in the calling God has presented to you. Try to live your life in a manner that when you come to the end of it, you won’t look back and say “I wish I’d tried harder to fulfill the calling God gave me.”
Christ commanded us to go out and share the Gospel with people. That’s one of the jobs of the people that make up the Church.
Lots of folks, wanting to get more people into church on Sunday mornings, naturally ask the question “how can we get the world to like us more?” Sadly, there’s only one answer: be more like the world.
Sorry, that’s not why the Church is here. We’re here to point the way to everlasting life and fellowship with our creator. If the world likes the Church, we probably need to take a closer look at what’s actually happening. Conforming to the world waters down the message and pulls us off that mission. When we spend time worrying about what the world thinks of the Church, we’re likely not focusing on getting out there and being the Church.
Christ wasn’t afraid to offend people. He came to bring truth, which is what we’re to do, too. We point the way and let others make up their own mind. Many will ignore us, or even laugh at us. That’s their right, but it’s not an excuse for us to stop spreading the message.
This past weekend I watched a movie where two men were being held captive by terrorists and forced to build something their captors wanted.
One of them, bemoaning his situation and ailing from a medical condition, complained to his fellow captive “They could kill you, they’re gonna kill me either way, and even if they don’t, I’ll probably be dead in a week.”
His companion, looking at the situation through a different lens, replied “well then this is a very important week for you, isn’t it?”
None of us knows exactly how much time we have left; it could be minutes, decades, or anywhere in between. The time we have here on earth is the only time that “counts” for making an eternal difference. Once we close our eyes for the last time and take our last breath here in this life, we’ll no longer be able to help save souls or build God’s Kingdom. The attitude we should have as Christians is “well then, the rest of this lifetime is very important, isn’t it?”
Are we making the most of the opportunities we have?
While there’s a time and a place for wordy posts, sometimes less is more. There’s even a Bible verse about that. Ecclesiastes 6:11 says The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit anyone?
With that in mind, I introduce to you a style of post I’m calling “The Quick Hit.” Here’s the first one:
Did you know that the more time you spend in prayer and in meditating on the Bible, the more you become like Christ?
The more you become like Christ, the more your desires align to His will.
The more your desires align to His will, the more likely your life’s efforts and plans will be fruitful.
This helps explain the meaning behind Proverbs 16:3: Commit your works to the LORD, and your thoughts will be established.
What else needs to be said?
Lord, help me be patient but persistent in becoming more like You. Break my heart for what breaks Yours, and help me rejoice in what makes You rejoice. Help me go where You send me.
