Be Like Me

The boldest people you will ever meet are those who know themselves well. They aren't perfect and they don't try to pretend they are. They have gotten to know themselves, their strengths and weaknesses, their beauty and their ugliness and they live in the boldness of that knowledge. The weakest people you will ever meet are the pretenders; the ones that work so hard not to know themselves. They avoid seeing their ugliness and they never want to admit their weaknesses. They pretend to be strong all the time.

However, life isn't always about being bold in our knowledge of self. This kind of boldness is not going to get you very far and will probably still leave you pretty messed up. You see, we are a busted creation and nothing we do will ever amount to very much. We need another ingredient added. It is not enough to know self. We have to know self but the greater ingredient is knowing Jesus. In fact, it is in knowing Jesus that we realize we are not a lost cause. We realize the greatest part about knowing self is that we know that we can't do it on our own, that we need Jesus. Those who pretend will never realize they need Jesus because they are never willing to deal with their imperfections.

It is in this sense, of knowing self and knowing how much Jesus has done in him, that allows Paul to say quite plainly:

I plead with you, brothers, become like me, for I became like you. (Galatians 4:12)

This is not like some Hollywood star saying, "Hey, copy me". It is not like some millionaire that everyone studies to see how they too can become so rich. This is a man who was forced to face his own ugliness, embrace the truth of it, and then become broken so Jesus could put him back together.

Paul was not a success according to this world but he was becoming a spiritual success. He wanted everyone to become like him, in his love for Jesus and in his dedicated and faithful service. Paul was a bold and fearless man, but not by any strength or ability he had but because of the relationship he had with Jesus Christ. Paul was no dummy and he had all the tools to become rich and successful according to this world but his only desire was to be obedient to Jesus Christ.

All of us have been called to this same boldness but the boldness begins when we realize how far short we have fallen from God's grace. When we realize how much we need Jesus and then realize everything Jesus has done for us, we gain a great boldness. We are able to realize that if God gave us his very best what good thing would he hold back from us. He has given us everything and nothing is a barrier to us. Our boldness is found in our faith just as it was found in Paul's. We trust every word ever spoken by God, every promise ever given, every teaching and instruction laid out by Jesus. We trust the direction of the Spirit and believe we are equipped and empowered (anointed) to do what Jesus told us to do.

All of us should be found in that place of being able to say "become like me" when we refer to our faith and relationship with Jesus. If we can't then we need to realize the truth of it and take steps to correct our luke-warmness. Live boldly in Jesus my friend.

It Really Is A Joy To Be Alive And Free

Sometimes we get so involved in the living of our day that we forget to put it in the context of our life. Today may seem horrible and so we think we have a horrible life, but that is only how we feel for this moment. Last week we felt much different as the sun was shining, the birds were singing and everything was great for us. The same with 2 years ago and so on. We have had great days in the past and we will have great days in the future. This moment is just a brief thing that will pass because we have a great life. This is putting things in the context of our life.

We need to do this with God as well. Sometimes we get so caught up in our present-day struggle that we forget to put it in the context of his great plan. We have to remember that he created man to have a relationship with him. Man rebelled against him. God had a plan to bring man back into fellowship. He chose Abraham to be the beginning of a nation of priests through whom he would reveal his glory to the world. When this people had become a nation he gave them a law so that they would see how miserable we really are and gave them a system of sacrifices as a temporary way of administering his grace. But his plan was to raise up one priest who would become the one great sacrifice to cover man's sin so that God's grace would be available freely for those who wanted it. He sent Jesus to be that priest and revealed his great plan of redemption through him. Now today, anyone who believes is immediately covered by that one sacrifice and God adopts them as his children. It's a wonderful plan that should explain to us why the law was given and why it no longer applies to those who are covered by the grace of Jesus Christ:

Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. (Galatians 3:19)

Take note that it says "until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come". That seed is Jesus Christ. The Law was given because of man's sin. God needed a way to reveal sin to man so he would understand his condition. He gave them a temporary system of sacrifices to cover them as they realized their condition, because he knew that man could not live this law. When Jesus came, he fulfilled the law and replaced the system of sacrifices with his one sacrifice on the Cross. No sacrifice can save us but the one Jesus Christ did for us. Does that mean the law is now sinful? Not at all:

Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. (vv. 21-22)

If any law could have saved us it would have been this law but we are too imperfect for this law; sin is too powerful in us. The only thing that can break our marriage to sin is the most ultimate, powerful sacrifice of Jesus. The power of what was done on the cross cannot even be fully understood this side of eternity, but we can see the effects of it.

Those who turn to Jesus are changed forever. The power of sin over them is broken. For the first time in their lives they have the ability to breathe, move about, make decisions and to respond to God. That is the freedom we have been given back through Jesus Christ. He breaks all sin that keeps us in bondage; violence, drunkenness, drugs, sex, pornography, thievery, lying, selfishness, and the list goes on. All these things we were enslaved to and they have kept us from God. The law showed us how far we had fallen short of God's glory, that we are not worthy to look on his face. But Jesus changed all of that so that we are washed clean, freed from those chains and now have the ability to look on God's face any time we want. We are his people, redeemed from our filth and adopted as his children.

This is the context in which we need to live our lives. This is the context that tells us our days are no longer miserable but are opportunities of God's grace. Each day is destined to be a day of victory. Each day is a day of revealing more of God's grace and love. Each day is a day closer to eternity. Each day is the potential of declaring more of God's glory to the world. This is our life and it is wonderful to live it in Jesus.

Are You Promoting The Truth Or A Bunch Of Confusion?

It is not easy being an ignorant follower of Jesus Christ these days. By ignorant I mean those who do not read and study the Word for themselves but instead take their knowledge from others. It may be from the pastor on Sunday morning or from little snippets off of the Internet or even just nice sounding sayings people share on their blog. Their knowledge is more "hearsay" based and is both damaging and dangerous.

As I browse through blogs and read articles on the Internet I am seeing a lot of humanism and other teachings mixed in with biblical teaching. I am also seeing people focusing on minor arguments concerning Christianity. I see in discussions a number of Christians with a little bit of knowledge attacking other people with a little bit of knowledge, both digging in their heals about minor things while losing the big picture of God's plan. There is no love in these discussions as they beat each other up and rob God of his glory. It is good then to consider what Paul had to say to his friend Timothy who was more like a son to him.

Paul had to return to Macedonia but he left Timothy responsible for the huge ministry in the region of Ephesus and he left him there with a purpose:

As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. (1 Timothy 1:3-4)

Timothy's purpose was to keep the gospel teaching pure and true, to confront any of the false teaching that was welling up from people with little knowledge. Paul was concerned because he saw how easily it was for people to turn to things that were new, exciting and nice to listen to:

Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith. (v. 4)

There it was; anything that promoted self-work over faith is a danger to the truth of the gospel. Anything that convinced people that man was capable of saving himself, by sacrifice or good living is a danger to the truth of salvation by faith. Anything that promotes the human spirit to overcome, that good lies in all of us, that we can find truth the more we look within ourselves, that the answer lies with us, comes in direct opposition to the gospel that says the answer is found in Jesus who did it all for us.

The reason Paul gave this command to Timothy is because the work of God needs to advance. The command was given for Timothy not to destroy people but instead to see them becoming mature in Jesus:

The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (v. 5) 

As I have said before, love is the beginning and the end of it. Every day should be spent in the pursuit of discovering the depth of God's love and seeing it put into action in our own lives. But love does not come from a heart bent on selfishness or evil intent. Love cannot come from a heart that is plagued by a guilty conscience. We cannot put this love into affect in our lives if we do not believe it's source is pure and holy. The only way that the love of Christ can permeate our heart and overflow into others is if we accept the gospel as true and follow Jesus according to what he has taught us. Anything else will taint this love with our own failings and in the end will fail.

Paul reminds Timothy of the challenge he faces:

Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm. (vv. 6-7)

Paul is saying that people have left the importance of a pure heart, a good conscience, a sincere faith which allows for the flow of God's love. They have left these things in pursuit of lesser things, things that appear to be important, disputable matters. Often we find these people wanting to be teachers of others. They think they know without knowing and so many people fall into the trap and leave what is important.

We need to check ourselves all the time and make ourselves accountable to our pastors and elders. We need to look at what we are promoting; is it what matters? Are we promoting a pure heart, encouraging people to stop being distracted, to cut out things that take away from Christ, to keep their eyes fixed on him? Are we promoting repentance and forgiveness, good relationships between believers and neighbours, considering other people more important than self, a life of servanthood? Are we promoting Jesus Christ, who he is, what he has done, that he is the only way, that he is our everything, that he is our saviour and that we must trust him in all matters? If these are the things we are concentrating on, promoting and teaching then all other teachings will fall away and we will see his love well up in those we teach.

Some of you may think that you are not a teacher and this does not apply to you but let me point something out to you. If you have a blog where you quote scripture, reblog nice sounding sayings, share artwork with sayings or pass on little stories then you are involved in teaching or the promotion of someone's teaching. Be careful. Before you reblog something check it against the Word of God. Before you agree with someone that God is love so there can't be a hell, check it out in God's Word. Before you fall victim to fine sounding arguments and start teaching it to others, check it out against the Word of God. If you are not sure talk to your pastor or one of the elders. That's what they are there for. I encourage you my friends, know the Word of God and stick to the fundamentals: a pure heart, a good conscience, sincere faith which allows God's love to flow from us to others.

Radical Christianity - Is There Any Other Kind?

There seems to be a real disconnect in this age of mass marketing Christianity as to what it means to "follow" Jesus Christ. Following Jesus is not a convenient thing. At times it is not even a pleasant thing but it is always a joyful thing that is marked by daily surrender. Unfortunately people do not understand this because much of our spiritual understanding is now mixed with the spiritual understanding of the world. We are so full of humanism now that we find ourselves agreeing when people quote "We are the masters of our own destiny".  The only sense that this can be true for anyone is that Jesus has given us a choice of our destiny but we are masters of nothing.

The prophet Jeremiah very simply confessed to God:

"I know , O Lord, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps." (Jeremiah 10:23)

If believers could understand this to be truth there would be a lot less anxiety, fear and worry in existence. Jesus spoke the only reality that we should understand as followers, the only option there is for us:

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Matthew 16:24)

"In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:33)

"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?" (Luke 9:24-25)

I hear people talk about radical living and radical Christianity. Is there any other kind? If these quotes aren't clear enough then try this:

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. >>>>> FOR YOU DIED <<<<< and your life is not hidden in Christ." (Colossians 3:1-3)

The emphasis there is mine. But get what follows next:

"When Christ, >>>>> WHO IS YOUR LIFE <<<<< appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3:4)

You can't be a follower of Jesus if he is only part of your life. Jesus has to be your life. He has to be the reason for you breathing, thinking, talking and doing. He has to be the very essence of life to you. We have to be able to say with Paul:

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)

"I no longer live." Say that a few times and let the reality of it sink to the depth of you consciousness. There is no part time Christian or partial Christian or "I go to church" Christian. It is either all or nothing. And it isn't a sentiment. It is a radical change, a new birth, a death to self. That means everything we do must have purpose in Jesus, directed by Jesus. We do not get to control our life. We don't get to decide. It is as Jeremiah said: "A man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps."

What does this mean for you? A lot. But the exact details are only discovered as we live a daily surrendered life. We do a lot of things in our life every day that are still focused on us. It is habit. We have to ask the Spirit's help in breaking those habits. Our life is not our own, it belongs to Jesus and we must be living for his purpose. Examine your day and see what you do for your own gratification, what has nothing to do with Jesus whatsoever, how you are wasting this life you are suppose to be living in and through Jesus. Remember, you have been crucified with Jesus and the only life you have is the one Christ lives in you. To this world, the only Christian life there is is a radical one. Remember, you no longer live, it is Christ who lives in you.

Sorry, I Thought You Said You Trust God

Sometimes we don't have to say very much about God's Word, it speaks for itself:

Cursed is the one who trusts in man, 
   who depends on flesh for his strength    and whose heart turns away from the LORD. (Jeremiah 17:5)

It is the ongoing message of the Scriptures; trust in man and you are doomed to misery and failure. Often we make plans or have ideas that we think will please the Lord but they come from our own wisdom. We even declare God's Word thinking it means one thing in our flesh but when we are tested in it we discover that either it wasn't what we thought or that we weren't really living it in the first place. How can a man say that he "loves Jesus and will follow him even to death" one day and the very next day be lost in despair and fear over something to do with the flesh? Either God is God or he isn't. Either he is in charge or he isn't. Either we are believers or we are not.

Who are we trusting, God or man? God or ourselves? God or our bank account? God or our employment? The Word is not gentle with those who say they trust God but trust man instead, who turn from the Lord and lose themselves in the despair of the flesh:

He will be like a bush in the wastelands; 
   he will not see prosperity when it comes. 
He will dwell in the parched places of the desert,    in a salt land where no one lives. (Jeremiah 17:6) 

That is not God's choice for us but instead the result of our poor choices, to rely on our flesh. However, it is a completely different situation for those who do trust God, even when it looks like death is what is waiting for us. Maybe it's not that drastic. Maybe it is only a broken heart or lost employment but those things can feel like death. Yet look at what the Word says is the result for those who choose to trust:

But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,    whose confidence is in him. (Jeremiah 17:7)

He calls us blessed. And for good reason. Realize what is promised to those who trust:

He will be like a tree planted by the water 
   that sends out its roots by the stream. 
It does not fear when heat comes; 
   its leaves are always green. 
It has no worries in a year of drought    and never fails to bear fruit. (Jeremiah 17:8)

Do you see that? The man who trusts in the Lord, who continues as he must, who continues in his place of witness, who allows joy to be his attitude, will never fail to bear fruit. Our roots will always be in Jesus Christ who will sustain us in all kinds of circumstances. We will not fear the heat, we will be kept green, full of life and we will have no worries in the time of drought, during difficult circumstances.

It comes down to choice. In our times of crisis our "knee jerk" reaction tells us a lot about our character, the condition of our heart. To come back after a blow is good but to stand up under it with joy is far better. To return after running away shows good character but to not run away in the first place shows mature character. To trust at all times is a sign of maturity, a sign of mature love. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him!

To Live Is Christ, To Die Is Gain

I realize I have been harping on the same subject now for a number of days but it is an important subject. It is so important that when we start living its reality much of our perspective is changed. Eternity is real and we will be part of it. The resurrection is real, Jesus defeated death and the resurrection of those asleep in Christ is set. We will not be going into his glory as we are, we have to be changed. When we realize that what we are heading for, the things of this world start to become pretty dull and boring; our problems begin to look pretty small.. As we gain an eternal perspective our priorities in this place begin to change and they must because they are really messed up right now.

Let's start with the fact that what we are right now cannot inherit eternity. First our hearts must be completely reborn. We are not talking about a renovation job, I mean a complete refit. The old is cast aside and the new is installed. Jesus referred to it as a second birth. Then our minds must also be renewed. This can only happen with a new heart. So everything is being redeemed, brought into alignment with God. The slavery to sin is broken as our sin nature is overcome by the power and forgiveness of God. It is still around but it does not have the control over us as it once did. It no longer dictates to us. However, there is still a major stumbling block.

Our heart and mind are made new but they are still housed in this weak flesh that we have. It is why Jesus said that our spirit is willing but our flesh is weak. It is why apostle Paul spoke of disciplining the body, keeping it in check, making it answerable to our spirit. The Scriptures teach that in submission to the spirit our bodies can be used to glorify Jesus Christ. Paul describes them as jars of clay:

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (2 Corinthians 4:7)

Clay jars were cheap and disposable. When you look at how fragile our life is, how easily it is ended and how these bodies are discarded, and the fact we are made from the dust of the earth, clay jars is a fitting term. But they will not be coming with us into eternity. They serve a purpose now but just as our hearts and minds have been transformed so will be our bodies. They have to be:

For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” (1 Corinthians 15:53-54)

When Jesus was resurrected he appeared in his resurrected state to well over five hundred people. He entered locked rooms, ate with people, walked with them, spoke with them, they touched him yet he appeared different to them. Mary did not recognize him until he spoke her name. The two disciples on their way to Emmaus did not recognize him until he did something they were very familiar with. These clay jars of ours will be replaced by the imperishable and immortal.

Always keep in mind that Jesus came not only as the sacrifice for our sin but as the seed to what we will be. He showed us how to live a life in this body under the power of the Holy Spirit. What he did we can do too and what he was we are by the Holy Spirit. He was also the fore runner, the first born, the one who blazed the trail for us. He went ahead of us and destroyed the power of death. The cross meant forgiveness in this place but the empty grave means eternity with God. Jesus made it all possible. Although we serve here with all that we are, our focus, our longing needs to be eternity. If that is where our focus is we will do everything in this place that we can to bring God glory. Heaven is where we are to store our treasure and that is what makes life here tolerable. In all that you face and do today remember that Jesus has given us greater victory than we can presently grasp and also remember this scripture to keep it all in perspective:

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. (2 Corinthians 4:17)

What Is The Greatest Benefit Of Knowing Jesus?

What would you say is the most important thing about our relationship with Jesus Christ? What is the greatest benefit of knowing Jesus? Most of us would answer with "our salvation" which is most definitely a major benefit but such an answer reveals how self-centered we are. I'll be honest with you, it is how I would answer the question but as I pondered 1 Corinthians 14 this morning the Spirit shifted my perspective.

Paul was bringing correction to the Corinthians concerning their attitude with spiritual gifts. The Corinthians were a wonderfully gifted congregation but they lacked a great deal of spiritual maturity and it showed in where they were putting their priority in spiritual gifts. We have been given all kinds of gifts, each having a different purpose. The gift of prophecy (in this case meaning the anointed preaching of God's Word) is of the greatest benefit to everyone. The gift of tongues (a heavenly language used by our spirit to express things beyond words) is a private gift given for our own edification. The Corinthians, being as self-centered as they were, were using this private gift in place of the preaching. They chose self-edification over the edification of others. Paul wrote to them:

I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue. (1 Corinthians 14:18-19)

This can be compared to many different things we do in the Body of Christ today. The greatest task we have been given is the task of witnessing for Jesus. This is far more important than any personal need we may have but in the Church we continue to make the mistake of turning out selfish children; people who are constantly focused on themselves. You may hear them leave the worship service with such words:

"Something was off today. I didn't feel anything."
"They seemed too loud today."
"The poor pastor must not have gotten a good night's rest, he wasn't very good today."

It's all about what they felt, received or perceived. Consider for a moment what your focus is when you join in the gathering on Sunday. Is it to receive something or to give something? Do you come to be ministered to or to minister? We have allowed ourselves to become consumers and contribute very little to the Body. We have either never grasped or have forgotten what Jesus was saying when he said that we have to die to gain. We totally miss the point when Scripture says that we die and are buried and then we rise alive in Jesus. Most people do not even understand the symbolism of baptism. For most it seems like just a quick dunk in the pool not realizing they are stating that they have died to everything that is self and now the only way they function is through Jesus.

Salvation is a benefit of being in Jesus but the greatest benefit isn't even about us, it is about the salvation of lost souls. We are saved, that's great, but now the real work is what Jesus wants to do through us for others. He wants to work through us to benefit other people. We act as if he is our own little personal God for us to keep all to ourselves. Paul was so desperate for others to know Jesus that he stated we would gladly give up his own salvation if it would mean that they would be saved.

For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel. (Romans 9:3-4)

Now there was a man who understood that the old was gone and the new had come. Here was a man who understood the love of Jesus Christ and what his sacrifice for us on the cross actually meant. Here was a man who understood what Jesus meant when he told us to love each other as he loved us. As he loved us. As he loved us. As he loved us. Get it?

Jesus never sought anything for himself. His life was a life of service as he set for us an example of how to live a life by the Spirit of God. We, on the other hand, make a mockery of this by serving Jesus part-time, according to our availability and our desires. Our service is always measured against our needs. If we are too sick we don't serve. If we are too hungry we don't serve. If we are too tired, too heart broken, too depressed, too distracted, too busy, really too anything we don't serve. God is always about us, what we want, what we need, what we desire. It is about our agenda, our time table, our plans. Our prayers are often filled with ourselves or those who are close to us who affect us. If we are honest and really examine the matter and hold ourselves up to Jesus and men such as Paul we can see how twisted and distorted we have made it.

For us, the greatest benefit to following Jesus is our own salvation but that's because we are so self-centered. The greatest benefit should be that we are equipped, anointed and called for the salvation of others. That is our purpose, our focus, our mission regardless of what other gifts and talents we have. In our prayer closets God has equipped us for our edification with him but outside of that closet it is always about others.

But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.

This New Year Keep Smiling

As we face yet another new year we also face a lot of uncertainty. Young people often only consider their immediate environment failing to understand that the local is often a victim of the global. As we get older we take more notice of what is going on in the world and how fragile everything seems. The economy is not great and appears ready to tank at any hint of a crisis. The Arab states continue to be a powder keg, with the relationship between Israel and Iran always on the front burner. We add to that the uncertainty of the new leader in North Korea and we have have a lot of unstable regions in the world. Then we have the various famines, crop failures, wacky weather, the rising cost of food and we realize that nothing is certain for 2012. Well, at least if you are not a follower of Jesus Christ it is not certain.

That's the thing for Christians to keep in mind, we don't belong to this place or receive our peace from it. Whether you are concerned about things in your school, community or the global situation there is no reason for us to feel any fear or trepidation about our future. In fact that should be the hall mark of any Christian, the peace we have in any and all situations. Ours should be a path of certainty as we realize that joy is ours in everything. The psalmist wrote:

But may the righteous be glad
and rejoice before God;
may they be happy and joyful. (Psalm 69:3)

Look at the vocabulary here: be glad, rejoice, be happy, be joyful. Why? Because of who our God is, because of his promises, because of what he has done in the past and because of what he promises for the future. It should be enough for us to consider the eternity Jesus has prepared for us to see joy poring out of us. This is to God's glory. Forget about the health benefits of a cheerful and thankful heart that the doctors talk about, it is enough that we bring glory to God through these things. Too many of us have witnessed the ill effects of a mean tempered person who claims Jesus as lord. I really don't think they would know Jesus to trip over him. In Proverbs we read:

A happy heart makes the face cheerful. (Proverbs 15:13)

How can we ignore the great theme of all the writers of the New Testament:

Be joyful always. (1 Thess. 5:16)

Joy is ours because Jesus Christ is ours and that is all that matters to us. If we trust him then we have joy but if we do not trust him we do not possess his peace which allows for joy. Most of the time what troubles us are things we have no control over so it is always best to trust the one who has control over everything.

I am not one who sticks my head in the sand, I do not ignore problems hoping they go away, but neither do I allow those problems to so block my vision that I can no longer see Jesus. Our Father is in the rescuing business and he loves to look after his children. I am very aware of what is going on in the world but I am more aware of what is going on in my relationship with God. I have a purpose and a function in the Kingdom and despite what it looks like in the world I will be faith to my duties. I know I have a duty to reveal God's glory in every situation. I refuse to rob him of this glory by failing to be joyful in my relationship with Jesus. It gives me great joy that, despite the changing times in the world, our God never changes. I leave you with this blessing:

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)

Keep smiling!

"Love Never Fails." Are You Kidding Me?

There are three words in the Bible that overwhelm me and yet assure me every time I ponder them. Three words that are incredibly powerful and earth shaking. Three words that cause us to shake our head and mumble "It isn't true". Three words we have misunderstood and refused to come to grips with:

"Love never fails." (1 Corinthians 13:8)

How do we deal with this? How can we say that love never fails? How many times has your heart been broken? How many times have you been stabbed in the back by a friend? How many times have you failed to be there for someone? How many times have you allowed vengeance and hatred to overwhelm love? Love never fails? I don't think so.

You don't think it to be true? Then let's start with Paul's definition of love. In fact, we will only consider the last part of this definition:

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

When I read that I think about the countless times I have failed to love my family, friends, and even strangers. Just that one, "always protects", or even "always trusts" causes me to see what an utter failure I have been in the love department. But then again that is the problem; love didn't fail, I failed to love.

If we examine our failures I think we will see clearly that in every case we failed to love the person we failed. Say that out loud with me "Love didn't fail, I failed to love". Let it sink in for a moment. All the troubles, hardships, heartaches, division and separation we have experienced in our life is due to the fact that there was a lack of love involved. Perhaps you wish to argue the point. Well consider that love is not these things:

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. (1 Corinthians 13:5)

How much of our failure has been caused by self-seeking, even if that means we were seeking to be loved? Love is not a game and it isn't a fuzzy feeling; it is a very serious commitment where we are engaged to pour ourselves out into another person's life. Love is a constant giving, emptying of self but the great thing is that the source of this love is Jesus Christ. The more we give the more he pours back into us. We can't out give God. But understand that love is a conscious decision to speak certain words and take certain actions that flow from this river of love in us.

If you decide to get mad at someone and yell at them, understand you have chosen not to love. If you decide to punish someone by withdrawing your kindness, you have chosen not to love. It you walk away from a friendship out of frustration, you have decided not to love. If you decide to allow differences to build a wall between you and another person, you have chosen not to love. If you decide to shut someone out of your life because of the pain they have caused you, you have chosen not to love.

In all these and many more cases love has not failed, we have. It is when  we decide to apply love to every situation and every person that real power begins to flow. The power of forgiveness and reconciliation is mountain moving stuff. The power to bring healing to a broken heart and to build unity among God's people is incredible. What a beautiful thing love is when we apply it. Love never fails.

Just a foot note: We need to always keep in mind that this is the entire point in our relationship with Jesus Christ. Love is the underlying theme throughout the Word of God. The whole point of Jesus is love, "For God so loved the World that he gave ...". Jesus' final command was for us to love as he loved us. Even Paul launched into his definition of love with these words, "And know I will show you the most excellent way". Love is not optional and we must spend our life discovering the depth of it and applying it to everyone we know and meet.

What Is Christmas To You?

If I asked you the question "What does Christmas mean to you?", I would probably get a mountain of responses from my readers. Each family has developed their own family traditions around the celebration of Jesus' birth. Images of decorated trees, home made short bread, colourfully wrapped presents, family, eggnog, a glowing fireplace are just a few of the things that spring to mind. But not everyone understands or celebrates Christmas for it's actual purpose. Times have been changing for a while now but a growing divide is becoming more apparent that forces us to make a decision on where we stand when it comes to Christmas.

Increasingly we are seeing Christmas dropped and Holidays being used. Stores now force their employees to greet customers with Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. Schools dropped Christmas concerts a long time ago for Holiday Concerts and now Winter Celebrations. One school in Ottawa has even changed the date to February in an attempt to be more inclusive. One mayor in the Montreal area made the decision not to do any decorations because it might offend the minority. So it is moving in a direction not only to remove Jesus from the celebration but to get rid of the celebration altogether. But then again Santa replaced Jesus a long time ago, and the Church even helped with this. In fact churches are going a step further in killing Christmas this year.

Many churches are cancelling their worship services because the 25thy falls on a Sunday. Some are putting a service on the 24th, others have developed CD's so families can celebrate at home but whatever mechanism they have put in place, they have replaced Jesus with the family. We all agree that the family is key in our society but family is not more important than Jesus Christ. The date is not what is important because we all know Jesus was not born on December 25th, but what is important is that we are celebrating, as God's people, the giving of the greatest gift ever received. It is a witness to the nations, a day to glorify our God, a day to set aside our self interest and to celebrate in corporate worship this incredible event. However, some churches are instead putting the emphasis on the family.

I will be honest here, I am glad for both of these things, the growing divide in our society and the growing divide in the Church. We are now being forced to make some clear decisions. For far too long too many people have claimed to be Christian but have never had to live differently from the world. There was always a wink and a nudge under the covers of where people really stood and in the Church we have had a lot of watered down doctrine happening. Now we begin to see more clearly and are able to make a distinct decision as to where we stand. We can now make Christmas about Jesus; not the family, not presents, not food but Jesus.

It is about time we get the real message about Christmas out there. It is not about Peace On Earth or even about a baby in a manger. We may choose to remember the circumstances of Jesus' insertion into time but the real Christmas message is this:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. (John 3:16-18)

The message is not that Jesus was born in a manger but the reason he came in the first place. The world needs to hear the clear message that a Light was given to us so that we could see clearly and make a decision. This is what the Church should be celebrating and testifying to, not being self-absorbed in the worship of family:

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God. (John 3:19-21)

These are the words of the one whose birthday we celebrate on the 25th. This was his purpose and the reason we celebrate. We will not be able to convince everyone to celebrate for this same reason but we who say we are followers of Jesus should be able to keep it straight in our heads and hearts. It is when the Church begins to fail to understand this that we know that the end is truly in sight. The world may not understand the purpose of the celebration but let's make sure we do.