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[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]December 9, 2013[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]There is a poison that sours lives and relationships, and it seems to spread easily at this time of year. Busyness. We fill our lives with schedules and events and cards and calls and shopping and cooking and … We live in a constant state of busyness, which leads to anxiety, which leads to a frantic search for control, which leads to more busyness – the cycle spirals to exhaustion and depression.

Yet Jesus is Immanuel (“God with us”), and his presence gives us peace. In Philippians 4:7, Paul writes,

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4 begins with Paul encouraging his readers to “stand firm” in the Lord. “In the Lord” refers to the relationship that we have with God because of what Christ has done in taking our sin and giving us his righteousness. Paul then pleads for two coworkers to be at peace with each other. He recognizes the challenges of life, but he reminds them of God’s presence, which should move them to prayer and thanksgiving.

As God’s people bring to him all that makes them anxious (e.g., difficult relationships, overwhelming circumstances, etc.), the peace of God guards (i.e., protects, preserves from harm) your heart and mind.

The spiral of “crazy busy” is countered with the peace of the presence of Christ. In Christmas, God the Son took on human nature. He became one of us so that he could always be with us. As we live with a mind set on that reality, we give our busyness to him, and his peace pierces through our whirlwind. The strength of his peaceful presence enables us to respond to irritating people and overwhelming circumstances in a way that “surpasses all understanding.” peace is personified, and it protects us from the poison of being “crazy busy.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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December 2, 2013

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]What do you hope to get for Christmas?

That question (or something like it) is asked frequently at this time of year. Christmas is a season of hope, but often our hope is centered only on the “stuff” of Christmas. The excitement and joy getting what you hoped for is often intense, but unfortunately also short-lived. The “blessing” lasts for only a moment. As a child, and later as a parent, I remember the emotional letdown when the gifts are opened and the fervor of the morning has passed.

God’s purpose in Christmas is so much more.

In Titus 2:13, Paul writes about a “blessed hope.” This is a hope that goes beyond mundane wish fulfillment that we see at this time of year. Instead, it is the goal to which God is bringing his people. God’s desire is to restore his creation to a pure state that will never end. Desires will be purified and completely fulfilled; pain will be gone; disappointment will vanish; there will be no letdown.

That hope is tied to “the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” In this text, Paul refers to the Second Coming of Christ. Yet, the glory of the Second Advent is based on the veiled glory of the First Advent when the Son of God was born in a manger. Christ came in humility to be the ransom required for redemption. But, humility is only part of the picture of Christ; he must also come in glory. When he comes in glory, the restoration will be complete. Our blessed hope will be realized

As you prepare for Christmas, let the hope you feel in the season lead you to rest in the hope God secures in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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November 25, 2013

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“I wanna be a billionaire…Buy all of the thing I never had…
I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine smiling next to Oprah and the Queen.”
(“Billionaire,” Travie McCoy with Bruno Mars, 2009)

The song continues by saying if I had a billion dollars, everyday would be like Christmas. I would take care of a bunch of babies, give away a few Mercedes, grant somebody their last wish, and do a better job than FEMA did in rebuilding where Katrina hit. “Not a single tummy around me would know what hunger was.”

The message of the song resonates with many (including me). If I just had the money, I would use it to do so much good. I would show the world what generosity is all about.

But the issue of generosity is not about an amount of money; it’s all about an inclination of the heart. Jesus speaks of the generosity of God:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (Matthew 5:43-45 ESV)

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, I have an immeasurable capacity to love; yet, I am prone to measure my generosity. I am not generous with patience. I am not generous with my time. I operate by an unspoken system by which I determine if someone deserves my effort and attention.

I am so far from the character of God.

His generosity is poured on the evil and the good. His generosity has been poured out on me, but I continually live in selfishness and fail to display his nature to others. I have resources to share with my “neighbor” and my “enemy,” but I keep them to myself. My imagination drifts to having a billion dollars, but I need to be more diligent in keeping in step with the Spirit, who will use me to dole out the immeasurable riches of Christ.

As you look at life today, think on the riches you have in Christ, and the generous nature of God by which those riches are yours. Take what you do possess and live as a child of your Father in heaven who “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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November 18, 2013

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]In preparing the house for the move to Atlanta, Susan was working hard to keep everything clean and “show ready.” As a loving husband, I wanted to do what I could to help. After I finished brushing my teeth and shaving, I thought I would quickly rinse out the sink. I had a measure of satisfaction knowing that I was helping my wife.

After breakfast, I finished getting ready by putting on my contacts lenses. After the first lens was in and I looked into the sink, I saw specks around the sink. After the second lens, I looked more closely and realized that my cleaning job was woefully inadequate.

Our lives are speckled by the remnants of our sin nature. We vainly try to “clean up,” but our problem is partly due to our blindness. Living in a fallen world dulls our ability to understand true holiness and righteousness. Only the Holy Spirit has the clear vision to see the “specks” of sin that tarnish the image of Christ the Spirit is developing in us. Daily, we must submit to the One who purifies us from all sin (1 John 1:7).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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November 11, 2013

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Recently I met a great man.

A fellow pastor set up the meeting. I was to have lunch with a very successful businessman who had a passion for teaching God’s people about generosity. I thought to myself, “Here’s the answer to my prayers for our financial struggles. This man could show generosity by writing one check, and we could finish the year in the black.”

On the morning of the meeting, I woke up gripped in anxiety. What if I really mess up? What if I say or do something that really bothers him, and he regrets meeting with me? My success or failure seems to be riding on this one meeting. This is like a mini assessment center, and my worth is at stake.

Then it hit me – who is God? Deuteronomy 10 gives a helpful description:

“Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it (v. 14). For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe” (v. 17).

Every morning I addressed One in prayer who is so much greater than the man I would meet for lunch – a man, who was unknown to me until just a few days before.

What was my problem?

The command to Israel was just as necessary for me: “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn” (v. 16). The very core of my being was covered such that I was insensitive to the greatness of God. I was stubbornly seeking the “greatness” of the world, ignoring the greatness of the God who rules above the power of the world. That God is not impressed by those things that so easily impress me. His love and care are based on the influence of one man – the God-man Jesus, by whose merit I stand before God fully complete.

So what do I do? Do I skip the meeting, and tell this businessman I have no need of him?

No. I simply need to put this man in his proper place. God has blessed him, and maybe God will use him to bless me. Then again, maybe I won’t impress this man, and he will never consider me again. Either way, my calling is the same as that of God’s people on the threshold of the Promised Land: “You shall fear the LORD your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear. He is your praise. He is your God …” (vv. 20-21). He has done great things for me. Holy is his name.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]