The Wonder of Jesus

It is hard to believe that tomorrow is Christmas. For many, the next two days will be filled with gifts, food, family, friends, and joy. For some there will be busyness and hurrying to relatives homes and making sure all the last minute things are taken care of. And there will be the danger that we forget about Jesus in the midst of it all. We run the risk of forgetting about Christ at Christmas.
In the first chapter of Matthew we read of how an angel came to Joseph in a dream announcing that a child had been supernaturally conceived in Mary. Matthew reminds us that this was done in fulfillment of a prophecy given over 700 years before this time when Isaiah wrote, "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). The name Immanuel means "God with us." That is why Jesus came: to be God with us. To be God in human flesh.
The Apostle John would  later write that Jesus "became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). Jesus has always been all God, but a little over 2,000 years ago Jesus became all man. Jesus was all God and at the same time all man: 100% God and 100% man with two distinct natures in one person in a way that is beyond our  comprehension.
And Jesus becoming man and taking on humanity was necessary for Him to "save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). Jesus came to save His people by dying on the cross in their place and for their sins. Jesus had to become a man to do this because it took someone that was fully human to be man's substitute. If He was to die for man, He had to be a man. But it also took one that was fully God to bear the full weight of God's wrath against sin. Salvation could not have been accomplished unless man paid what was owing to God for sin. But the debt was so great that while man owed it, only God could pay it. So the one that would "save His people from their sins" had to be both man and God.
This Christmas don't get lost in the busyness of the season. Get lost in the wonder of the salvation that Jesus came to provide. Get lost in the greatness of our Savior who took on human flesh so that He could save His people from their sins.

Absolute Commitment

A while back I ran across a little book about Jesus in the nursery at church that caught my eye. You know the kind of book: vibrant pictures with a few sentences on each page using short, easy to understand words. A typical children's book. On the cover of the book was a picture of Jesus with a wide smile, perfect teeth, groomed hair, and an appearance that said, "I just want to be your friend."
Make no mistake, I think that it is great for kids to be taught from an early age the love that Jesus has for them and His desire to be warm and welcoming and friendly. The problem is that we grow up and still have this view of Jesus exclusively. In other words, we cannot imagine Jesus saying or demanding anything over and above just wanting to be our pal.
While I believe that Jesus was indeed the most joyous man who ever lived, since He had no sin and enjoyed perfect communion with God, He is also the man of sorrows (Isaiah 53:3) who came to speak out against sin and to deal decisively with it once and for all (Hebrews 9:11-12). And the smiling, easy-going, happy-go-lucky Jesus is also the Jesus who calls His followers to absolute and unconditional commitment to Him.
In Luke 9:23-24 Jesus said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it." To deny one's self is to live as if we no longer exist. And to take up one's cross is not just to deny self; it is to die to self.
In Luke 14:33 Jesus said, "Any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple." Jesus is emphatic that all has to be given up to follow Him. This does not mean that a person has to take a vow of poverty in order to be a Christian or that they have to sell all of their possessions and give the proceeds to Christian causes. But it does mean that nothing is to get in the way of our radical following of Him. It means that we dare not allow our hands to be full of things that must be given up for Christ.
I am eternally grateful for the smiling Jesus who's arms are open wide to receive sinners and who calls them friends (John 15:15). I am constantly amazed at the grace of God shown to me in Jesus as He receives me not based upon my works or my goodness, but based upon His death (1 Peter 3:18). Yet I am continually confronted and challenged with Jesus' call to absolute commitment to Him, the One who has always been absolutely committed to me.

If I Only Had Three Years Left...

For several months now my wife Gayle and I have been asking ourselves a question. What we hope will be a life-changing question. A question that rightly answered will cause us to radically reprioritize our lives. The question is this: If we had only three years left on this earth what would we do? What would change in our lives? What would become more important? What would be a bigger priority?
We have been asking this question not because we have a terminal illness that we know of or because of any other external reason (including the Mayan calendar!). We have sought to ask and answer this question because we do not want to waste the life and the salvation that God has so graciously given to us. We realize that life is like a vapor (James 4:14) and therefore we must live with planned urgency.
So let me share with you ten of my personal answers to the question: If I had only three years left on this earth what would I do?
I would:
1) Strive as the chief aim of all I do to draw closer to Jesus
2) Apply Scripture to every area of my life
3) Pray with greater intimacy and do more listening to and for the voice of God
4) Spend more real, purposeful, intimate time with my family
5) Do more to reach people with the Gospel, especially the unreached peoples of the world
6) Pray more fervently for the lost
7) Be more generous and give more radically
8) Love the Body of Christ deeper
9) Think much more about heaven and the life to come
10) Live with and in the freedom of why I was created and why I was saved: to glorify God

What about you? If you had only three years left on this earth what would you do?

(I elaborated upon these ten answers in my sermon "If..." that can be viewed at www.nrfellowship.org/Video.html)

Jesus - Our Treasure and Joy

Unfortunately, when many think of Christianity they picture grumpy old men in three piece suits sitting around with scowls on their faces as they talk about the long list of things they don't do because they are Christians. Now there is certainly nothing wrong with older men, three piece suits, or the truth that the Bible commands Christians to abstain from certain activities. There is, however, something decidedly wrong with joyless Christianity. Of all the people in the world, whose who follow Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior should be the possessors of great joy.
Sadly this is not always the case. Often Christians plod through life just trying to "get by" and make it through another day. Life seems overwhelming and the thought of joy in the midst of a hurried life that seems chaotic at best and depressing at worst seems unimaginable.
The problem is that many are looking for joy in all the wrong places. Some seek joy through their career and advancement up the corporate ladder. Others look for joy in material possessions and the accumulation of things. While some search for joy in relationships or titles or power or influence or...you get the picture. The point is that the human heart longs for joy and will not rest until it is found.
It may shock some that the Bible actually commands us to seek joy. Psalm 32:11 says, "Be glad in the LORD and rejoice; Shout for joy, all you upright in heart!" The theme of joy is seen in Psalm 37:4 which instructs us to "Delight yourself also in the LORD." Jesus told His followers to rejoice that their names are written in heaven (Luke 10:19-20) and to "leap for joy" as they await their heavenly future with Him (Luke 6:22-23). The Apostle Paul in his joy-saturated letter to the Philippians commands Christians to "Rejoice in the Lord always" (4:4).
But joy for the Christian is not simply joy for joy's sake. Nor is it a joy that comes from our circumstances or the things that we possess. Rather, ours is a joy that is found in Jesus Christ. The fountain and the source of the Christian's joy must be Jesus Christ and what He accomplished for us in His life, death, and resurrection.
At this point you may be wondering how the pursuit of joy can coincide with some of the demands Jesus made in the Gospels. Jesus said, "If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me" (Luke 9:23). Later Jesus said, "Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:33). How can self-denial, cross-carrying, and the forsaking of all things coexist with the pursuit of joy? These truths are reconciled as we realize that it is in our giving of all for the sake of Jesus that our joy is realized. The removal of these counterfeit joys from our lives frees us to focus upon the only thing in the universe that brings true and lasting joy: Jesus Christ.
This truth is driven home by Jesus in a one verse parable about the Kingdom of Heaven. In Matthew 13:44 Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven (knowing Jesus Christ) to a treasure buried in a field. A man found the treasure, hid the treasure again, and then sold all that he had to buy the field so that he might possess the treasure. But what motivates the man to sell all his possessions and buy the field in order to get the treasure? Jesus says his motivation was joy. Because true joy was not found in all that he possessed; true joy was found in the treasure.
When compared with the treasure everything else he possessed seemed to have no value at all (Philippians 3:7-10). Jesus' point is that knowing Him is more valuable and more precious than anything else. As our treasure, He is the source of our joy.
So the next time you think about Christianity, dispel the notion of the scowl and the three piece. Instead, think about the treasure in the field and the joy that moves us to give all to obtain it. Think about Jesus "who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross" that we might find our joy in Him (Hebrews 12:2).

The Fool Has Said...

For centuries mankind has been trying to deny the existence of God. While God has declared His existence to all mankind through general means such as creation (Psalm 19:1-2; Romans 1:19-20), the human conscience (Romans 2:14-15), and His loving care of all mankind (Acts 14:16-17) and has revealed Himself through the special means of His Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and His Son (Hebrews 1:1-2), mankind still chooses to suppress and distort this truth about God (Romans 1:21).
One such attempt to deny God was made last year in the weeks leading up to Christmas. The American Humanist Association launched a $40,000 holiday ad campaign in Washington D.C. by putting the message, "Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness sake" on the sides of city buses. A spokesman for the group stated in an interview that, "We are trying to reach our audience, and sometimes in order to reach an audience, everybody has to hear you. Our reason for doing it during the holidays is there are an awful lot of agnostics, atheists, and other types of non-theists who feel a little alone during the holidays because of its association with traditional religion."
The D.C. ad campaign came on the heels of a similar anti-God barrage in England. The British Humanist Association ran ads on London buses declaring, "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life." This ad campaign in the U.K. goes to show that foolishness knows no geographical boundaries (Psalm 14:1; 53:1).
But as I read and considered the content (or lack thereof!) of the ads and the comments of their propagators, I was immediately struck with the absurdity of their argument. Simply wishing God away or denying His existence does not change the fact that He does exist. I may not believe in gravity, but one step off the Perrine Bridge sans parachute and I will be quickly convinced, at least for a second or two, of the truth of the force of gravity. Month after month I can choose to deny my accountability to the bank for my mortgage, or even go so far as to deny the very existence of the bank itself. But the bank will be quite quick to remind me of their existence and the consequences of my denial when they begin foreclosure proceedings. Why believe in a God? Because the overwhelming evidence leads us to the existence of a God who has made Himself known. God exists and He is far from silent about His existence.
The message, "Just be good for goodness sake" is not good news at all, because as hard as we may try, we cannot be good enough. The message of the Bible and the Gospel is not "clean up your act and try harder and be good for goodness sakes." The Good News of the Bible is that Jesus came because I cannot be good. He embarked on a divine rescue-mission where He would deliver sinners from the penalty of their sins through His death (1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Timothy 1:15).
And while many "agnostics, atheists, and other types of non-theists" feel alone during the holidays, they only feel such because they have rejected God. The message of the Bible is that we are not alone: the God of this universe cares for us. The message of Christmas that makes them feel "a little alone during the holidays because of its association with traditional religion" is the one that proves to them that God loves them enough to send His Son to save them (John 3:16; Romans 5:8).
Is anyone really willing to rest their life on the shifting sand assertion of "there's probably no God"? Besides that, if there is no God then I have lost all capacity to "stop worrying and enjoy your life." The problem is that if there is no God then all I can do is worry. If there is no God then I have been cut off from the only thing in the universe that brings true joy to my life and is able to satisfy the deepest longings of my heart (Psalm 73:25; Isaiah 43:7). If there is no God then life ceases to make sense and nothing really matters at all.
Jesus came because I cannot be good. Jesus came because I do feel alone. Jesus came because I need hope for this life and hope for the life to come. He came for "agnostics, atheists, and other types of non-theists" and for just run-of-the-mill sinners like you and me. There is a God. And this God so loved the world that he gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him would not perish, but have eternal life. Now that's a great message for an ad campaign (Acts 1:8)!

Praising God for His Servants

I praise God for a man named Carl Hodges. Carl was in his late fifties when I really got to know him. He was on medical retirement from his job due to a terribly bad heart. I met him when Gayle and I became Christians and got involved in our local church.
I was excited about the things of the Lord and eager to serve in any way that I could. I worked night shift at the time so I had my days free so Carl invited me to join him as he ministered around the community. He drove an aqua-blue Ford Pinto that had a top speed of about 45 miles-per-hour and I would meet him at the church and off we would go. I, the 23 year-old new Christian, and he, the seasoned servant of the Lord. We went to nursing homes, the homes of those that were too ill or too elderly to go to church, and other places around our community seeking to minister to the people there. We would teach them Sunday School lessons or pray with them or just be there to encourage them in the Lord. The first time that I ever taught the Bible was in an elderly woman's living room under the direction of Carl.
Carl went to be with the Lord Jesus about 10 years or so ago now. When he died he had very little materially to speak of. He did not leave behind great wealth or great acheivements in the eyes of the world. But God used this simple and humble man to greatly impact my life. He taught me with his actions what it really meant to be a servant of others and to love the Lord Jesus in such a way that it allows that love to spill over into other people's lives. He taught me that the work of God that goes on behind the scenes in nursing homes and in the living rooms of shut-ins is important to the heart of God. And he taught me that God can use anyone that is willing to be used by Him. I praise God for Carl Hodges and hope that I can be more like this simple servant who had a heart for God and a heart for others.

What Do You See?

My study is located in a room that we built in the garage of our home. When we built it we put in a window so that there would be some natural light and so that I would be less likely to remember that I am sitting in my garage. The table that I work at faces that window and I can look out of it at the homes that line West Avenue J in Jerome where we live. It is a nice and fairly quiet neighborhood with a lot of kids and a prevailing sense of normalcy about it.
On occasion as I look out the window of my study I think about what it would be like if instead of looking out upon West Avenue J in Jerome, Idaho I was looking out upon a village in southern Senegal where we minister. What would be different? What things would remain the same?
If I were in Senegal instead of looking out and seeing neatly lined houses with vinyl siding I would see houses made of mud with thatch or tin roofs. If I were looking out onto a village in Senegal the grass covered yards of West Avenue J would give way to sand and dust in the dry season and mud and standing water during the rainy season. The cars that go up and down my street would be replaced by people on foot, a bicycle or an ox or donkey pulled cart, and on rare occasions a possible car. The skin color of the people would change along with their clothing, but the smiles and laughter and joy of the children would still be there. If my street were in Senegal everyone who lived on it would surely all know each other and we would great each other every time that we passed. There would be a greater sense of community among us and less of an individualized existence where we live in isolation from those around us. Indeed, if as I write this I were looking out upon a Senegalese village things would be much different.
While there are many differences, there are some similarities as well. Whether overlooking a village in Senegal or the homes on West Avenue J one things remains the same: the people there need to hear the message of Jesus. And my responsibility, just like yours if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, is to have a part in taking that message to them. Whether it is crossing a culture or crossing the street we are surrounded by people that have no hope apart from the message of the Gospel. What do you see when you look out your window and how can God use you to touch the lives of the people that are there?