But By My Spirit

You can dedicate what you do as an act of love for Jesus or you can decide to do only the will of the Father. The first is an act of love that depends on you. The second is obedience, that comes from the root of love. The first is what you decide to do. The second is what you are compelled to do. The first is often done in your own strength, ability and talent. The second is done by the power of Yahweh.

Jesus did not dedicate what he did as an act of love for Father. He came in obedience. He lived in obedience. He acted in obedience. He spoke in obedience. Read through the gospel of John and it will become clear to you that Jesus did not act on his own but only did what he was directed to do by the Father. His was a remarkable life of obedience right up to his final breath and beyond. He never asked blessing from the Father for his plans. He had no plans. He did what he was told to do, in love.

In order to be able to carrying out Father's plan, Jesus was given the Holy Spirit at the very beginning. Although he was equally God and equally man, he set aside his claim to the divinity to walk like you and me on this earth. He was given the Spirit so he could demonstrate for us how we are to do what he commands us to do; to do as he did. We too have been given the Spirit so we can follow in Jesus' steps, obeying the will of the Father. Too few people see it this way and often live by option one instead of option two.

We are too quick to read through what we think has become overly familiar. We miss the parts of Scripture where the Spirit led Jesus into the desert, out of the desert, to this place and then that. After writing it so many times the Spirit must have thought we would understand and so did not mention it every time after the beginning. When you read it with open eyes you begin to see things like Luke 5:17b:

"And the power of the Lord (Adonai) was present to heal them." (NKJV)

The New American Standard has it as:

"And the power of the Lord (Adonai) was present for him to perform healing."

What does that tell us? Jesus was given power through the Holy Spirit to do what was needed when it was needed, just like today. Unfortunately we overlook this and continue to go for option one. We do not seek or expect the Lord's anointing (power) and simply do what we think is best, in our own strength and ability. We make our plans and ask him to bless them. This comes from a lack of understanding or simple laziness. It takes effort to seek the will of Father. It takes time in prayer and being in the Word. It takes an emptying of self and a filling of the Spirit. It's easier just to seek blessing because it is a simple matter to overlook scripture:

"'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord of hosts." (Zechariah 4:6)

Remember the words of Jesus just before he ascended:

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

We have been given the Spirit for many reasons but one of them is so we can receive power for what needs to be done in the moment. If it is to preach then preach, if it is to heal then heal, if it is to cast out demons then cast out demons. He always equips us with his power for his will. We refer to it as the anointing of God. And when we have developed an ongoing, intimate relationship with him, we are given to know his specific will for the moment. We have not been left on our own to figure it out. May we never attempt to serve the Lord without his anointing for the task.

I leave you with this, Paul's prayerful desire for the Colossians:

"For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light." (Colossians 1:9-12) 

Yes, we can live out option one and continue seeking blessings on our plans but these are done without his divine power and will not stand the testing fire. That's a lot of wasted time and energy. Or we can go with option two, and spend our lives occupied with Father's business, following his instructions, involved with a work that will last all eternity. Work within the anointing.

How Are We Any Different?

If we are so different why are we the same? I keep calling out to Christians that we are different than those without Jesus. We have been made new; a new creation. The Word tells us that we are not to live by the patterns of this world because we no longer belong to it. So if this is true, and I believe with all my being it is, why are we so similar to everyone else? We say the words but we are still living on the surface of the fullness of God instead of plunging into the depth of this new creation.

How much of scripture do we have to read before it starts sinking in? In truth, we can read it all of our days and still never allow it to affect us because we have to allow the Holy Spirit the freedom to do something with it in us. Scripture after scripture tell how we are transformed and now have a different mind and heart, a different perspective, a different way of responding to our environment. We have a greater purpose than survival in this place.

Our purpose is to proclaim Jesus and live by his character. Our purpose is to allow him to glorify himself in us that he would be revealed to the world through us. He is the Light in the darkness and we carry that light but we do not carry him in our strength but by the power of God in us. We are totally different from what we were and have been called to a greater purpose and are being shaped and moulded into that purpose.

It is vital that we understand that we, in our old character, are not able to live the life we are called to. We do not have the resources or strength to get it done. Left up to us, we would rather stay in bed. Left up to us, we would rather leave everyone alone and make our own way in the world. Left up to us, we would live and let live. Left to our own, we would fit into this world. But we are not left to our own. This is what we have to understand:

To this end I labor,struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me. (Colossians 1:29)

These are the words of Apostle Paul, the great champion of the Church. This is the man who brought the gospel of grace to the Gentile world, who spent his life with a people who were not his people, understanding that in the new order God had brought through Jesus, he had a new people. Paul did not have the strength or ability to do this. What he did was impossible for one man to do, to endure. But he tells us here that he did not do it in himself, but he struggled with all of Jesus' energy in him.

This is my concern, that we are building too much in our own ability and wisdom, that we are building a shallow church that is void of any of God's power and glory. We are not unintelligent. We are very resourceful. We can do a lot that looks great according to the pattern of this world, but what does it look like from God's perspective? God does not glorify himself by what we do for him but by what he does through us. If we do not understand the difference we have yet to plunge into the depth of his fullness.

Do not be satisfied by what you can do for Jesus. Do not be satisfied with your sand castles, as wonderful and clever as they may seem. Don't build your life on the principles of this world, whitewashed by the vocabulary of the Bible. Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are glorifying God while fulfilling your own desires. Abandon it all. Give it all up. Surrender the whole thing and tell Jesus you want what he wants. Then, let the Holy Spirit lead, trusting he will do the impossible through you while you press on with all his energy. Let's show this world just how different we are in Jesus.

God's Grace Is Awesome

God's grace is awesome and yet so terribly misunderstood. In fact, I would say that the vast majority of Christians just don't get it. Of course a three minute read is not going to delve into the great depth of God's marvellous grace but there is something about it I want you to understand: It presents you as perfect before God. I didn't say you are perfect but his grace makes it so you are perfect to him. That's the part we just don't get.

The apostle Paul was far more than an evangelist. Yes, he brought Jesus to the gentiles and reached out to a world that did not know God. But Paul did more than that. To him was given the gospel of grace and Paul saw it as his purpose to drive that gospel home to the hearts of sinners because it is what God's love is all about. The cross is all about grace. Paul wrote about his purpose in bringing the gospel of grace to believers:

We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. (Colossians 1:28)

Perfect in Christ. Not perfect to the world but perfect in Christ. Not perfect in yourself but perfect in Christ. It is fantastic that you hate the imperfections in you. That is a good sign of the power of the Spirit working in you, breaking, melting, transforming you into the image of Jesus, but do not allow those imperfections to keep you from a full relationship with God. He saved you to restore you to the position of friend. He has proclaimed you as perfect, covering you by his grace so that he can enjoy fellowship with you again.

This teaching is so vital that Paul spent a great deal of his time "admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom" what God's grace meant. He warned us not to be a grace abuser. It is a matter of the heart. If you are using God's grace as an excuse to sin then you are in danger. We are no longer "married" to sin, it no longer controls us. If we are controlled by sin we are lost. However, if in our imperfection we sin, we are devastated; repent and seek God's forgiveness; it does not impact our relationship with God. There is no need to try to make it up to God. There is no need to beat yourself up. There is no need to "hide" from God as Adam did. Bring it out in the open, talk it over with God, allow the Spirit to heal, to cover it in the blood of Jesus and get on with the enjoyment of your friendship with God.

Being controlled by sin is not the same thing as being imperfect. Paul summed it up:

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. (Romans 6:15-18)

It would be good for you to read Romans 6 to grasp the whole matter but the general rule is that you belong to whatever has mastery over your heart.

God's grace is incredible and it presents you as perfect to him. So stop hiding from him because of your imperfections. Stop hiding your sin. Stop no trusting his love. He is all that he says he is and you are exactly what he proclaims you to be. You are his child who he loves with a mountain of love. All he asks you to do is love him with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. He wants all of you. All of your intellect, passion, energy. He wants to enjoy every part of you and he wants you to get lost in his ocean of love and with so much love obedience becomes a simple thing. If you truly love him you will obey him.

Stop hiding and live abundantly in his grace.

People Are Waiting To Hear

Since the beginning of time man has always known that there is something greater than himself. We have not always understood what but we knew we were created to worship this greater thing. This is the reason there are so many different religions in so many different cultures. We have not always understood and in many ways most people still don't understand, but we are trying. Unfortunately the enemy is all too willing to step into the Creator's place and receive worship from those who are ignorant.

The Bible tells us that we are without excuse for ignoring God:

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)

For those who are willing to look, we can see God's eternal power and divine nature in everything that has ever been created. Even through the effects of the Fall we can still see Jesus' finger prints. Most of us are all chasing after the same thing, friendship with God, it's just some are confused and sidetracked in the looking.

Now, through the Holy Spirit, the Good News of Jesus Christ is being proclaimed to every creature, according to the Word of God:

This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. (Colossians 1:23)

This means when we share this gospel it is not to unfamiliar hearts that we speak. There is something true and attractive that appeals to people as we present Jesus. The Spirit has already planted seeds and prepared hearts, ready to receive the good news. The only thing that stops people from responding is pride, self-determination, rebellion.

Throughout the ages man has sought God's face but our sin nature has distorted that image. We have placed our own character on the gods we created to fill the void of our need to worship. Today, much of the western society is making a god of man. Humanity has become our god, with our intelligence and wisdom guiding the way.However, we can try all we want, we will never be able to fill the void of our need to worship that which is greater than us. Even creation itself cannot fill this void. There is only one who fills that place.

We should be encouraged by this. When we are presenting Jesus it is not to a person who is unprepared and who knows nothing. Everyone is without excuse and every creature has received the proclamation of the gospel. We are only bringing light so that divine revelations is given and they can finally see the face of God. Be encouraged. You are not presenting some religion that fails to answer even the most basic questions. You are presenting the key that unlocks all understanding to the question of our existence and purpose and which brings completeness to our life. You are holding out to that person the fullness of life. If they turn it down it is their choice but be true to what Jesus has told us to do: Share the Good News to all the earth. People are waiting to hear.

Paying Attention To The "If's"

There are some who think that because they said a magical prayer they are free to go on living however they want. To them Jesus is some kind of insurance package. They accepted him as Saviour but never as Lord. They take the deal of eternity but do whatever they want here. But it doesn't work that way. Jesus is far from an insurance policy. He must be Saviour and Lord, which means our desire is to live as he lived, to be controlled by the Spirit, to live a life that brings him glory.

A couple of days ago I was writing about how we are holy in God's sight, without blemish and free from accusation. Regardless of how you feel, you are covered by God's grace. That is a hard thing for us to accept because we want to beat ourselves up for our failures but God has this attitude where he picks us up, dusts us off and tells us to get on with it. But there is an "if" to this thing that Jesus does for us:

But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. (Colossians 1:22-23)

You see that, right? IF you continue in your faith. Can you imagine running a 12 hour marathon and giving up with a mile to go? All that training; all that time; all that effort, wasted. I think anyone who has trained that long and hard is going to make every effort to complete the race. Many Christians don't.

They don't because they were not established and firm. They called themselves Christian, went through all the motions but they set aside the Word because they didn't have time; they worshiped only at church; they never involved Jesus in anything of any importance in their life. So when the winds of trial and destruction hit, they had no root and were blown away.

Or, because they did not maintain a great relationship with Jesus, neglecting him and leaving him aside, over time their faith was worn away.I little here, a little there. They started changing their mind on things. Sin began to take control and cloud their mind until they were lost again in the depravity of sin. We think it can't happen, but when we do not stay connected to the vine, failing to remain established and firm, it is amazing how quickly we change.

This is very important in this age we are living. Things are changing quickly. Values are evaporating before our eyes. What was once considered sin is not acceptable and what once was acceptable is sin. What once was wrong in this world is right and what was right is wrong. In four short years the public opinion of Americans has flip flopped on homosexuality. Where the majority of people saw this as wrong, today the majority now sees it as right. Just one small example of hundreds of values that are changing.

If you are not established and firm in your faith, standing on the Word of God, possessed and controlled by the Spirit, madly in love with Jesus with a desire to obey, then you will be swept away in the changing tide. You will be sidelined from your faith and will soon be lost, failing to finish the race. We cannot afford to neglect our relationship with Jesus in these darkening days. We need to get as close as we can, increasing our faith, not decreasing. We have to be sure of where we stand and refuse to move as long as we are standing on the Rock, Jesus Christ.

Many will claim to follow him while doing what they want. Many will try to use the Word to win the case for their selfishness. Many will try to convince others that sin is no longer sin to excuse their own attitude. They will approve of other people's sin so they can be free to sin as well. They want both eternal salvation and to live a selfish existence here, but it doesn't work that way. We need to pay attention to the "if's" in the Word of God.

If You Are A Christian ...

Are you a Christian? Are you a Christian in name only? Do you know Jesus or know of Jesus? There is a difference. Do you have any idea what you are proclaiming when you take on the name Christian? You aren't saying that Christianity is your religion, you are telling all of creation that you are a little Christ, a little Jesus; you are proclaiming that you are like Jesus.

Christianity is not something you are taught; it is something you are. Yes, you can be taught Bible passages and what they mean but the Bible is not a rule book to which we conform; it is an explanation of who we are. It shows us, reveals to us what we have become because of Jesus Christ; because of the cross; because of the empty grave; because of the Holy Spirit. The Father's love, when accepted, transforms us through the Son so that our pattern of thinking and behaviour changes. It is not our determination that changes us but God who changes us.

So when Jesus taught us to love our neighbour, it wasn't a rule but an explanation of what happens with the transformation of our heart. He showed us what it is to love your enemy when he was nailed to the cross. Jesus was not a victim. Don't rob him of his glory by thinking that he was powerless concerning what happened to him. Jesus went to the cross by choice, to save the enemy of God; us.

The Word tells us that it was while were were still sinners Jesus died for us. It was the only way that we could be freed from our sin nature. But as sinners we were the enemy of God. Sin separated us. Rebellion, self-determination, independence turned the creation into the enemy of the Creator. I can't stress this enough because it is incredible what God did for those who wanted nothing to do with him:

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. (Colossians 1:21)

People today believe there is good and evil in all of us but it doesn't matter. One act of rebellion is enough to separate us from God and turn us into his enemy. Imagine how many acts of rebellion we go through in a day, but those who have chosen life in Jesus are covered by God's grace. He has reached out to his enemy and made it possible for us to become family:

But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation. (Colossians 1:22)

He has covered his enemy, transformed them into his children and has covered them by his grace so that now we are presented before him as holy, without blemish and free from accusation. That means right now, today, at this very moment, you are blameless and innocent, covered by the blood of Jesus. Your rebellious acts from yesterday are covered by his grace. It is so incredible and that is why the Word tells us not to abuse this grace because it can be abused. You, who were once the enemy of God have been reconciled to him, adopted as his child and covered by his grace.

So when we read the words "Love your enemy" we can understand they are not just words to Jesus. It cost him everything to love his enemy. When we take on the name Christian we are stating that God's love has transformed us so that we too love our enemy. Not a choice we make but the action we take compelled by the love of Jesus. Not self-determined but Holy Spirit shaped by the love of Jesus. Not a rule to follow but a pattern embraced because of the love of Jesus. "Love your enemy"; not a command or rule but the nature of Christ's character in us.

The Beginning Of Something Incredible

I get concerned with how we romanticize Christmas and the manger. Forget about how Santa Claus has impinged on the significance of Christmas and consider what we do to it. We aren't even accurate. Joseph and Mary weren't poor. They were in a manger out of desperation  because there was no more room in the town, not because they had no money. And there were not three wise-men at the scene. First, they showed up about two to three years later at Joseph and Mary's home, and second, we have no idea how many there were. But there inaccuracies are nothing compared to what all our private and public manger scenes do to the way people see Jesus.

When we celebrate Christmas we are not celebrating a baby but God's insertion of himself into his own creation. We celebrate the King of kings, Jesus, who became the firstborn of the new creation. We celebrate the risen Lord, who sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for us. We celebrate what the Father has done for us through the Son:

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (Colossians 1:19-20)

That fullness happened through the Spirit at Jesus' point of baptism when the Spirit came upon him. Not a symbolic gesture but the empowering of the Spirit so Jesus could fulfil his mission. The same Spirit Jesus sent to us so we could have the fullness of God to fulfil our mission.

There is more going on than we realize. We keep emphasizing what Jesus has done for us, and we should, but the reconciliation through Jesus was for all things. The Word here stressing that this included all things whether they be on earth or things in heaven. Something beyond our comprehension started that first Christmas morning. It started in the form of a baby but did not stay there so we should not be celebrating a baby on Christmas, but the complete work of Jesus Christ.

Christmas must also be a celebration of the cross and the empty grave. If all God did was become one of us it would have been a wondrous thing but absolutely useless to us. The fact that he became one of us to die for us, to free us from the dominance of sin, and to kick open the door to eternal life is what we are celebrating. We celebrate the birth, the death and the rebirth on Christmas morning and we celebrate the most incredible, powerful, giving, forgiving, merciful, compassionate, supreme Lord of earth and heaven. The Father has placed everything under his feet.

Let's not romanticize any part of Christmas. December 25th is just a date we chose to mark the beginning of a complete package of God's plan. There are lots of interesting facts about how it happened but we must always keep in mind why it happened. On Christmas, wish Jesus a happy birthday but wish it to the King of kings and Lord of lords, not to a baby in a manger. And keep in mind that our sovereign King has always been and will always be, Christmas was only when the Father inserted the Son into the fabric of our history as one of us. A great event but an event that only marked the beginning of something incredible.

Defender Of The Bride

I am as guilty as the next person for Church bashing. I look at the Church, know what she is suppose to be, see what we turned her into and am disappointed. I criticize her, point out the ugly bits and often forget to lift up the pretty parts. But I forget something; she does not stand separated from Jesus. Jesus has not abandoned her or stepped back from her. He is the head and when we criticize the Church for being less than what she was designed to be, we are attacking Jesus too.

Now let's be a bit more personal.

The Church is not some great temple somewhere. It is not an institution. The Church is people. The Church is people who have gone through and are still going through a great transformation. The Church is people who are a new creation and are still trying to get use to the newness of it all. When we criticize the Church we aren't pointing a finger at some nameless vague wispy thing; we are pointing a finger at Bob, who we may or may not know. We are pointing a finger at Mary, and Sue. We are pointing a finger at millions of people with names, faces, and a genuine love for Jesus. We are pointing a finger at ourself.

The beauty of God's grace is that it covers all the failings, blemishes, ugliness and then calls us blameless and innocent. If it does that for us as individuals then it has done that for the Church. The Bride may be far from perfect but Jesus has covered her with his garments, has called her beautiful and is pouring out his love on her. And we dare stand back and call her ugly?

We certainly need a grander vision of the Church, a greater understanding of who she is and knowledge of how we function in her. But the one thing we are desperate for is wisdom to honour the Bride of Christ with the reality of Jesus' place in her. He is the head:

And he is the head of the body, the church. (Colossians 1:18)

We love to keep Jesus in the manger. He looks so cute and innocent there. We love to see Mary and Joseph watching over him with adoration. We like to keep Jesus small, like a baby, then we can do what we want with the Church as if she is on her own. But Jesus isn't a baby. He is not stuck in a manger unable to defend his Bride. He has not left the Body without a head. He has not told the hand to govern her. He has not told the feet to do what they want. He has not given her over to the whims of the heart. Jesus is the groom and he will defend his Bride: Bob, Sue and Mary.

It means that as a pastor I cannot do whatever I want in the Church. It means that I don't get to shape her according to my will. It means that I am not in charge. It is not my church. I am only one small part of her, called to specific roles and responsibilities. It means my function is to be faithful in my role and to praise the Head.

As I celebrate Christmas this year I am not celebrating the baby but everything that came after that moment. It is great that God became Emmanuel but if that is all there had been it would have been worthless. This Christmas I celebrate Jesus, supreme above all things and the head of the Church. And I stand amazed at what he has done for the Bride.

Who Do You Worship During Christmas? (part 2)

Don't be mistaken this Christmas, we don't worship a baby Jesus. In fact, the Jesus we worship is beyond the one we read about in the gospels. We get a glimpse of him near the end but we will come to know him so much more as we serve. Jesus of the gospels set for us an example of a life lived to the fullest through the Holy Spirit. But Jesus is a lot more than this. We need to have better clarity on who it is we worship:

For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. (Colossians 1:16)

The one who we worship this Christmas is not a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes or even the one who walked on water. Yes, he was that but he is so much more. He is clothed in what we will become when we are called home. He is dressed in eternity which will also be ours. We need to remember that Jesus is the instrument of creation. He is the word with which the Father spoke things into being. By him all things were created.

That's what makes his 33 years with us so much more amazing. We know he is the Son of God and we know he is our Saviour, but I don't think we always appreciate who he is. This one we celebrate this Christmas by placing him in a manger is the one through whom heaven and earth were created. Pretty amazing when you stop to think about it. The one who is responsible for this entire universe volunteered to come as one of us, to rescue us from our own stupidity.

He is responsible for all the things we see; the great waterfalls, the beautiful sunsets, the majestic mountains, the microscopic wonders, the far flung stars. He is also responsible for what we cannot see; the invisible world that so many deny but that is just as real as the visible. The One we keep putting back in the manger is responsible for it all.

This also includes the great powers of the visible and invisible world. When he returns all authorities will bend their knee to him as the reality of his full majesty is pressed upon them. Every authority in the invisible world will yield to him as well. Read the Word, Jesus will not take on Satan, the angels will. Satan is so far beneath the King of kings that the King does not need to face this foe to defeat him. When he returns to take his place as ruler there will be such an army with him that we will finally begin to realize the authority that is our God.

The thing to remember today is that not only was everything created by Jesus but it is created for him. The Father has established the Son's authority and he has placed everything under his feet. He used the Son to create everything and he did it for his Son. Everything belongs to Jesus even if they reject Jesus. It is good to keep that in mind the next time you think of not being nice to someone; that person belongs to Jesus.

This is who I am celebrating this Christmas. Yes, he came as a baby, just like us, but he did not remain a baby. We is the King of kings and Lord of lords, so beyond our comprehension and yet called our friend. He is supreme over everything including your small life and everything in it. There is nothing that comes into your life that he does not know about and nothing that comes against you that he has not permitted. The enemy can't do anything against you that Jesus has not allowed and if he allowed it there is reason for it, even if it is simply to add muscle to your faith. He is sovereign and I trust him. Who are you worshiping this Christmas?

Who Do You Worship During Christmas?

It's Christmas season and those who still remember what Christmas is about are teaching everyone about baby Jesus. The only thing is, we need to make sure we are not worshipping baby Jesus. We like to be sentimental about the circumstances of Jesus' birth and we like to think of that little baby, watched over by his loving parents. We will attend plays about this birth. We will create manger scenes. Children will colour pictures of it. People will attend church for their annual visit and they will hear about the baby again. But we don't worship a baby. Jesus is not a baby. We need to remind ourselves who Jesus is this Christmas.

Over the next few days I am going to use Colossians  to remind us of who Jesus is, of his supremacy over all creation and I am going to do it in bite sized morsels. Smaller bite sizes are better for digestion. Let's start off with this:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. (Colossians 1:15)

If you want to know who God is look to Jesus. God took on physical shape and revealed his heart to us. He demonstrated his compassion, mercy and grace while being one of us. He lived and demonstrated how we are to live, under the control of the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit came on Jesus at the baptism, it wasn't symbolic,  it was necessary. Jesus had set aside his divine nature to become one of us so he needed the Spirit to do what would follow in his three years of ministry. This is the same life he has called us into and he has filled us with the same Spirit.

Jesus came as a seed. He had to be first so we could follow. He was creating something new so that we could become a new creation. When Jesus came as one of us, everything was changed forever. There would be no going back to what he was. He has been changed for all eternity.

When Jesus was raised from the grave it was as a new creation. Something like that had never existed before. Even now he sits at the right hand of the Father in a resurrected body, which he did not have before. He sits there representing us and what we will be. He is the first born of this new creation and because he was born this way the rest of us can follow.

We have to learn from Jesus what it is to live in this place, under the restrictions of this body but filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.We have to look to Jesus' example and understand that he spent three years setting an example for us. If you want to know how to live a life that glorifies God look to how Jesus lived, under the control of the Holy Spirit.

We also get our hope from him. If you want to know what is in store for us, look to see what happened at the resurrection. Understand that our bodies are the last thing to be redeemed. Our minds and hearts have already been redeemed and on the day we are called home our bodies will be redeemed as well. No more illness, weakness or suffering. The work of redemption will be made complete, all because Jesus went first.

This is who we are celebrating this Christmas. We do not worship a baby in a manger but instead the first born of all creation, the risen Lord, Christ Jesus. To him I bow my knee. To him I pour out my adoration. To him I sing songs of thanksgiving. Come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord! And let us give him all the glory.

Why Are You Here?

We seek after God`s will for our life.

Why?

Is it our goal, our longing, our desire to live a life worthy of Jesus?

Do we wish to please him?

Do we know what it is to please our God?

Some would say we please him just by being with him, and we are with him every moment of our day. We actually have the pleasure of friendship with God.

But there is more!

We were left in this wretched place for a reason. There is purpose to our life:

First, to bear fruit in every good work. We are producers. God blesses everything to which we put our hand, he promised he would, and especially eternal things. Every good work is every kind word, every act of kindness, every act of love, every scripture shared, every dollar spent, every encouraging embrace, every moment given. You have no idea how powerful these things are and the fruit the Spirit produces from them.

Second, to grow in the knowledge of God. Yes, study the Word but more than that, because God also speaks in our circumstances, to apply the Word. We go through what we do in order to learn about God, to become even closer and more dependent on him. There is purpose in it all and we are told it is to benefit us. God doesn't waste any of the things we experience. It only requires trust on our part.

Third, to grow in great endurance and patience. God does not want us dependent on ourselves but on him. He is not raising independent children. He actually fills us with his power for this purpose. He provides us with super human strength to endure much more than we thought possible. He doesn't rescue us from situations because he is teaching us through them. The trick is to fully lean upon and trust our God. We continue to fail to learn this lesson and have to repeat it again and again. We don't understand that we are in training and the muscles we are gaining are called endurance and patience. Both of these in us are under attack by this society that demands instant gratification.

Our fourth purpose is a thing of joy, giving thanks to our Father. We call it praise and worship. It is something not confined to a moment of the day or week; it is an attitude of living. It is Jesus who has given us great joy because of all that he has done, and nothing can take this joy from us. We can give it up, caste it down, throw it away but nothing can take it from us. We are meant to be creatures of joy, of great thanksgiving, always content in Jesus, filled with praises for our God all day long, in all circumstances of our life. Why? Simply because of what he has done, what he is doing and what he will do. There is no sense of gaining patience and endurance if it contains no joy, no thanksgiving.

These four things are our purpose:  to bear fruit, to know God, to be patient and enduring, to be instruments of praise. This is who we are. This is who we are designed to be. But are we living our purpose?


For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:9-14)

Will The Real Super Stars Please Stand Up

Maybe you're not a famous rock star or an admired actress but you can be something of far greater worth. Our society is crazy over idols; people we lift up above others, considering them to belong to a group that we can only stand at a distance and admire. They require security guards to protect them, secretaries to keep them organized and agents to look out for their personal interest. We hang on their every word as if it is gold. Yet most of their lives are so messed up they look like soap operas. Still, they are our idols.

The funny thing is, the grocery clerk contributes more to our lives than these over rated stars. It's nice to be entertained and we can appreciate the skill level of some of them, both acting and music, but where would we be without food? There are a lot of unsung heroes out there who faithfully show up to do a job that no one thanks them for but without them we would not survive. Think of the farmer. When is the last time you saw a farmer walk down the red carpet to the cheers of adoring fans. Yet, who do we need more than our farmers? When you think about the people we consider to be worthy of our adoration it is crazy

There are a lot of unsung heroes who remain invisible and under appreciated, who contribute to our lives every day. They don't have bank accounts worth millions of dollars and they don't get to go home to a luxury house. In fact, most struggle to survive but we need them more than we need over paid actors and musicians. I'm not saying that we don't need music, because we do. Music is an important part of our life, but so is food. Why do we idolize one and look down on the other?

The same thing happens in the Church. There are some who we idolize, lifting them up to be of greater value than others. We hang on their every word, follow them on FaceBook, rush to read their tweets. Yet, our pastors, in smaller churches, faithfully preach every week, serve their communities and contribute to our lives more than these others. Our local worship leader faithfully gives of himself for the building up of the body. The prayer warriors in our churches faithfully petition the Lord on our behalf. It is our local elders who pray over us when we are sick or listen to us when we are hurting and who faithfully teach us from the Word of God.

What about the ones who faithfully clean the church every week, or the ones who walk the streets to feed the homeless? What about the family who takes every Saturday to cook meals for the shut ins or who take the time to drive the elderly to their doctor's appointment? There are a lot of unsung heroes in the Church who go unnoticed but who are great contributors to the Body of Christ. We should not have super stars in the Body who risk becoming idols. We should not have super star musicians. We should have faithful servants who thrill at being considered faithful. We should long to hear ourselves referred to as Paul often referred to those he served with:

You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. (Colossians 1:7-8)

"A faithful minister of Christ". If we are looking to become famous in the Church we have missed the point entirely. The greatest position in the Body of Christ is the humble servant and the greatest accomplishment is faithfulness. Our goal should be to hear those words from Jesus, "Well done my good and faithful servant". That's what it is to be a superstar in God's books and that is the only thing that should matter to us. We are no different, you and me; I am not more important than you and neither are you of greater worth than me. We both are servants to the Body and warriors in the King's army. We are called to be faithful in our role which is vital for the Body of Christ. So let us serve together and encourage each other to the end. It is a pleasure to serve with you and I appreciate all you do to contribute to the lives of others, even if you are not a super star to this world..

Where Have All The Producers Gone?

I often ask this question of people: Are you a producer or a consumer? The short answer is that we are both but the eternal answer should be that we are producers. Unfortunately our society is bent on creating consumers; people who do nothing but consume whatever junk is thrown their way. Very little of it is of any value, mostly just entertainment related things. But we eat it up with an insatiable appetite. What is it that we are contributing, producing for our society?

The seed of God is not a consumer but a producer. Wherever God's Word goes things are produced. Wherever God's love is shared things are produced. Wherever he sends his children things are produced. We are seeds. We are producers. We contribute. If we are born of the Spirit it is part of our new character and we can't help ourselves.

In one of my favorite passages of the Bible, Isaiah 55, God says this of his Word:

As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (vv. 10-11)

"It will not return to me empty". Jesus gave that same direction for our lives as he told the story of the talents. A master was going away for a while and he gave some money for his servant's to invest for him, to produce more. The one who produced the most from what he was given was rewarded the most. The one who produced nothing was rejected. Our lives are like that money. We have been given many blessings but those blessings are not to be selfishly hoarded away but instead they are meant to be given out, shared, planted, invested so that they will produce.

Paul encouraged the Colossians with this:

All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth. (Colossians 1:6)

Wherever the gospel goes in produces growth. We have been given this gospel to seed into people's lives but we are like farmers who hold on to the seed, afraid of offending the soil. People are not being saved from death because we are too afraid of offending them; we withhold the good news. We have not yet understood that we have the key of life to be offered to those who are dying. If they accept it or not is up to them but how will you know unless you offer it?

So again I ask, are you a producer or consumer. We have enough consumers in this world, what God has called you to be is a producer. Wherever the gospel goes it produces fruit and there is growth. Are we taking the gospel with us wherever we go? Do we trust that God will do something with it? Are we willing to set aside our fear of rejection and just trust that God will use the words he places in our mouth and the action he gives to our hands? We are producers because of Christ in us, so let's get to work.

There Is A Hope That Springs Eternal

Hope is a funny thing. In the context of this world it is something that is dependent on circumstances. We hope that things will get better. We hope we will get the job. We hope she "likes me as much as I like her". We hope and we are told that hope springs eternal. But hope is often left unexplored in the fear of seeing it crushed.

Hope is often fleeting like trying to chase after the wind. The least little word or action can suck it away from us, leaving us empty and dark. In an instant our castle built on the foundation of hope is reduced to rubble. All those things you hoped for, gone when you lose ... your job, your fight with cancer, your spouse, your court case. All hope destroyed as you see ... her with him, your failing grade, your rejection letter, your home gone up in flames, your car wrecked beyond repair. Lost hope can be described in countless ways and we have all tasted that bitter pill in one form or another.

That is the hope of this world, weak, fleeting, dissipating like a wisp of smoke. But that is not the hope born of Jesus. It is not the hope of which Paul wrote:

Faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. (Colossians 1:5-6)

The hope that is stored up for you in heaven is a treasure where no thief can steal it away, or rust corrode or moth destroy. Circumstances cannot get close to what has been stored away for us in heaven. This is not a weak hope because our hope is Jesus himself. Paul writes:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

Does this sound like a cashing after the wind to you; or something that dissipates like a wisp of smoke? This hope comes from trust, a trust that says "No matter the circumstances, I have peace Jesus because I know I am yours and you are mine. I know your promises and you are the great promise keeper. I know your priorities trump my priorities and I trust you".

Our hope is based on relationship, on trust which comes from faith. How can we forget these words:

Love ... "always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres". (1 Corinthians 13:7)

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

You see, our hope is based on love. Not love as defined and known by this world but the eternal love which is our God. Our hope is based on Jesus Christ, his act of love and redemption. No matter what this world has to throw at us it cannot touch our hope. It can't even come close, unless we have a false faith, false trust, false love and a false hope. This is why we must make sure that the ground we are standing on is solid so the storms can't steal the ground away from us.

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. (Hebrews 6:19)

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:23)

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1)

Let your hope, your real hope be renewed today. Know the promises of God. Place your life squarely upon them. Make sure it is the solid rock of Jesus Christ you stand upon. In everything give thanks to him who has given you new life. Trust Jesus so that your heart will not be troubled. He has given you peace; it is yours and it cannot be stolen away.