Luke 2:16 "And they made haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger."
So it's December 3rd and we are now fully immersed in the Christmas season. I'm watching my calendar fill up quickly and already I'm feeling like the season will fly by before I can sit down and enjoy it. It's the season to hurry and make haste, but too often the haste is for the wrong reason. I think my tendency is to do Christmas stuff but miss Christmas.
On the very first Christmas the shepherds hurried and made haste like we do now, but they made haste for the right reason. They had been told of the birth of our glorious Savior and dropped everything and made haste to Bethlehem where the sought after and found Jesus. You will never miss the true joy of Christmas if you follow the example of the shepherds, and make haste to seek after the Lord.
It is still early enough in the season to set the right priorities. Make sure to set aside enough time to rejoice in, and glorify our wonderful King.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Fatih and Gratitude
Colossians 2:7 "rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving."
We are not naturally a thankful people. In fact our natural bent toward pride and being self-centered, makes us pretty cranky and ungrateful.
Notice in the above verse the connection between faith and thanksgiving. When one gives their life over to Jesus, and begins to live a life of faith and dependence upon Him, a supernatural change takes place, and one of the great fruits of that change is a heart of thanksgiving.
The more one is rooted, built up, and established in Christ, the more abounding in thanksgiving they will be. Thanksgiving is not a forced behavior, it is a heart felt gratitude, coming from a changed life and perspective because of Jesus.
The key for us this Thanksgiving is not to dwell on forcing thankfulness, but instead to focus on a solid loving relationship with Jesus, and as we do, we will abound with thanksgiving every day.
We are not naturally a thankful people. In fact our natural bent toward pride and being self-centered, makes us pretty cranky and ungrateful.
Notice in the above verse the connection between faith and thanksgiving. When one gives their life over to Jesus, and begins to live a life of faith and dependence upon Him, a supernatural change takes place, and one of the great fruits of that change is a heart of thanksgiving.
The more one is rooted, built up, and established in Christ, the more abounding in thanksgiving they will be. Thanksgiving is not a forced behavior, it is a heart felt gratitude, coming from a changed life and perspective because of Jesus.
The key for us this Thanksgiving is not to dwell on forcing thankfulness, but instead to focus on a solid loving relationship with Jesus, and as we do, we will abound with thanksgiving every day.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Election Day
"Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding." Daniel 2:20-21
Election day if finally here! No more ads, no more polls, no more debates, no more parsing every sentence from the candidates, and no one knows who will win today! Not matter which candidate you might be pulling for it has been a roller coaster ride the last couple of months. We have been bombarded by conservative and liberal pundits spewing out trends and numbers trying to predict the election outcome. And finally today it will be answered....we hope.
Though we don't know the results of the election yet, I have already set in my mind what I will do tomorrow. No matter who wins I will get up for my early morning run. While on my run I will praise the One and only King of kings and Lord of lords, who is seated upon His eternal throne, sovereign and powerful.
Isn't is wonderful that our hope does not rest in the outcome of elections or the government of man. Our hope is in our Lord Jesus, and all of history is moving toward, and lining up for His glorious return. Let's all find peace knowing that however the election turns out, it will fit perfectly in the sovereign plans of our gracious God.
Election day if finally here! No more ads, no more polls, no more debates, no more parsing every sentence from the candidates, and no one knows who will win today! Not matter which candidate you might be pulling for it has been a roller coaster ride the last couple of months. We have been bombarded by conservative and liberal pundits spewing out trends and numbers trying to predict the election outcome. And finally today it will be answered....we hope.
Though we don't know the results of the election yet, I have already set in my mind what I will do tomorrow. No matter who wins I will get up for my early morning run. While on my run I will praise the One and only King of kings and Lord of lords, who is seated upon His eternal throne, sovereign and powerful.
Isn't is wonderful that our hope does not rest in the outcome of elections or the government of man. Our hope is in our Lord Jesus, and all of history is moving toward, and lining up for His glorious return. Let's all find peace knowing that however the election turns out, it will fit perfectly in the sovereign plans of our gracious God.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Celebrating Evil?
"And this is the condemnation, that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." John 3:19
As a kid I enjoyed Halloween, not for the costume dressing up part, but for the candy part. My friends and I would sprint from house to house to get as much candy as we could. I can still picture the pile of candy on the kitchen table that I would joyfully sort through.
I have always known that the holiday was about ghosts and witches and vampires, but never really focused on the evil. Even after becoming a Christian I didn't think on the dark side of Halloween, I just sort of ignored it. As parents we would usually take our kids out to dinner and a movie and let the day just pass by.
As the days we live in have gotten darker I have had a harder time with Halloween. I guess it still doesn't bother me if you carve a pumpkin or dress up the kids and get candy. My struggle comes with the idea of celebrating evil or making light of darkness, as if it were cute. There is nothing worth celebrating in real evil, and nothing cute about true darkness. Our Jesus died to destroy evil, He was crucified to rid us of darkness, and we should never ever take that lightly.
So have fun carve a pumpkin and get some candy, but as you do that, stop and remember the great sacrifice of our God. Let this day be a day of remembrance of the hope we have in Jesus, for because of His cross the day will soon come when evil and darkness will be banished forever!
As a kid I enjoyed Halloween, not for the costume dressing up part, but for the candy part. My friends and I would sprint from house to house to get as much candy as we could. I can still picture the pile of candy on the kitchen table that I would joyfully sort through.
I have always known that the holiday was about ghosts and witches and vampires, but never really focused on the evil. Even after becoming a Christian I didn't think on the dark side of Halloween, I just sort of ignored it. As parents we would usually take our kids out to dinner and a movie and let the day just pass by.
As the days we live in have gotten darker I have had a harder time with Halloween. I guess it still doesn't bother me if you carve a pumpkin or dress up the kids and get candy. My struggle comes with the idea of celebrating evil or making light of darkness, as if it were cute. There is nothing worth celebrating in real evil, and nothing cute about true darkness. Our Jesus died to destroy evil, He was crucified to rid us of darkness, and we should never ever take that lightly.
So have fun carve a pumpkin and get some candy, but as you do that, stop and remember the great sacrifice of our God. Let this day be a day of remembrance of the hope we have in Jesus, for because of His cross the day will soon come when evil and darkness will be banished forever!
Monday, October 29, 2012
True Power
"Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one, like a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, like a flood of mighty waters overflowing, who will bring them down to the earth with His hand." Isaiah 28:2
I heard a television commentator describing the importance of our upcoming election. He said that the candidates were battling to see who would hold the most powerful office in the world. He wasn't making a huge exaggeration, we all understand that the President of the United States is a powerful position.
Amazingly a week before this historic election, our east coast, including Washington D.C., is bracing to be pounded by hurricane Sandy. This huge storm being nicknamed Franken-storm, is 700 miles wide and packing powerful winds and rain. The biggest fear seems to be the storm surge which is predicted to be 8 to 10 feet.
Think about it, at a time when our nation is fixed upon the election of a man who will hold tremendous power, we are all being reminded of true power, and who holds that power. I don't think the timing of Franken-storm is an accident, I believe the Lord is once again reminding us to get our focus off of man and back on Him.
Let's remember to be praying for those who will be affected by this powerful storm. And let us also be praying that the church and our nation will repent, awaken, and turn to our God, who holds all power.
I heard a television commentator describing the importance of our upcoming election. He said that the candidates were battling to see who would hold the most powerful office in the world. He wasn't making a huge exaggeration, we all understand that the President of the United States is a powerful position.
Amazingly a week before this historic election, our east coast, including Washington D.C., is bracing to be pounded by hurricane Sandy. This huge storm being nicknamed Franken-storm, is 700 miles wide and packing powerful winds and rain. The biggest fear seems to be the storm surge which is predicted to be 8 to 10 feet.
Think about it, at a time when our nation is fixed upon the election of a man who will hold tremendous power, we are all being reminded of true power, and who holds that power. I don't think the timing of Franken-storm is an accident, I believe the Lord is once again reminding us to get our focus off of man and back on Him.
Let's remember to be praying for those who will be affected by this powerful storm. And let us also be praying that the church and our nation will repent, awaken, and turn to our God, who holds all power.
Monday, September 17, 2012
The First
Revelation 22:13 "I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the last."
Every once in a while it's good to stop and ponder "deep" things, I call it wow thinking. It's a good thing to wonder about the vastness of our God, who is too great to ever fully comprehend, and as we do consider Him and how boundless He is, we are brought to a place of humility and worship.
I've on a number of occasions short-circuited my brain trying to grasp that God is eternal. My mind can only think back so far and then it shorts out wanting to have a beginning. And then I can only think forward so far and my mind wants to have and end. Because our minds are finite we can't fully fathom having no beginning or end and thus the short-circuit. We all have our limits when it comes to the finite trying to understand the infinite.
We can really only scratch the surface when it comes to discovering the vastness of our infinite Jesus. How many seminary classes would it take just to get a little understanding of Jesus as: "the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last"?
Revelation 22:13 is a deep deep verse, and while we may not understand all the it conveys about Jesus, the simple powerful truth comes through loud and clear.....everything is all about Jesus! He is first, preeminent, above all, first in the Word, first in redemption, first in our salvation and sanctification, first as King and Lord over all.
Though we can never fully comprehend Jesus, I'm not saying we shouldn't stop and learn and wonder at the vastness of our Savior, in fact we ought to make it our aim to study Him until that day we see Him. But the most important thing for us is not that we come to and intellectual understanding of what it means that Jesus is the First, but that we personally make Him First.
Is your life all about Jesus? Have you made Him first in your heart, and thoughts and affections? Have you made Him Lord above your plans and dreams? Is He preeminent in your Life? Now those are deep questions that require wow thinking. May we all consider who Jesus is and give Him His rightful place in our lives.
Every once in a while it's good to stop and ponder "deep" things, I call it wow thinking. It's a good thing to wonder about the vastness of our God, who is too great to ever fully comprehend, and as we do consider Him and how boundless He is, we are brought to a place of humility and worship.
I've on a number of occasions short-circuited my brain trying to grasp that God is eternal. My mind can only think back so far and then it shorts out wanting to have a beginning. And then I can only think forward so far and my mind wants to have and end. Because our minds are finite we can't fully fathom having no beginning or end and thus the short-circuit. We all have our limits when it comes to the finite trying to understand the infinite.
We can really only scratch the surface when it comes to discovering the vastness of our infinite Jesus. How many seminary classes would it take just to get a little understanding of Jesus as: "the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last"?
Revelation 22:13 is a deep deep verse, and while we may not understand all the it conveys about Jesus, the simple powerful truth comes through loud and clear.....everything is all about Jesus! He is first, preeminent, above all, first in the Word, first in redemption, first in our salvation and sanctification, first as King and Lord over all.
Though we can never fully comprehend Jesus, I'm not saying we shouldn't stop and learn and wonder at the vastness of our Savior, in fact we ought to make it our aim to study Him until that day we see Him. But the most important thing for us is not that we come to and intellectual understanding of what it means that Jesus is the First, but that we personally make Him First.
Is your life all about Jesus? Have you made Him first in your heart, and thoughts and affections? Have you made Him Lord above your plans and dreams? Is He preeminent in your Life? Now those are deep questions that require wow thinking. May we all consider who Jesus is and give Him His rightful place in our lives.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Are You Awake?
"Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light." Ephesians 5:15
We have come again to another 9/11 anniversary, and it's hard to grasp that it has been 11 years since that fateful day. Though I understand that it is important to remember, I still find it hard to see the pictures and watch the news programs recalling that day. I'm sure we all share the same dull ache that 11 years hasn't erased.
Do you remember how 9/11 awakened the church for a short season? Church attendance was up, Bibles were being worn out, prayer meetings were packed, and many hearts were stirred and waiting upon the Lord. It was as if an alarm clock went off and the church was awakened and was sincerely seeking the Lord. Sadly, it didn't take long for us to hit the snooze button and go back into a slumber.
It seems to be in our nature to have short spiritual attention spans, we have quick spurts of being "on fire", and brief seasons of spiritual discipline, then we are lulled or distracted and wane in our walks.
The day calls for us to be wide awake, these are not days to be caught snoozing. We are to arise and be alert and ready, we need to be consistent and steady in our relationship with the Lord.
We should not need a 9/11 type event to wake us up, the alarm is still blaring! We should be bright eyed as we consider the Lord's soon return. Do you feel like nodding off? Give ear to the cry of the Spirit, "awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead."
We have come again to another 9/11 anniversary, and it's hard to grasp that it has been 11 years since that fateful day. Though I understand that it is important to remember, I still find it hard to see the pictures and watch the news programs recalling that day. I'm sure we all share the same dull ache that 11 years hasn't erased.
Do you remember how 9/11 awakened the church for a short season? Church attendance was up, Bibles were being worn out, prayer meetings were packed, and many hearts were stirred and waiting upon the Lord. It was as if an alarm clock went off and the church was awakened and was sincerely seeking the Lord. Sadly, it didn't take long for us to hit the snooze button and go back into a slumber.
It seems to be in our nature to have short spiritual attention spans, we have quick spurts of being "on fire", and brief seasons of spiritual discipline, then we are lulled or distracted and wane in our walks.
The day calls for us to be wide awake, these are not days to be caught snoozing. We are to arise and be alert and ready, we need to be consistent and steady in our relationship with the Lord.
We should not need a 9/11 type event to wake us up, the alarm is still blaring! We should be bright eyed as we consider the Lord's soon return. Do you feel like nodding off? Give ear to the cry of the Spirit, "awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead."
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