It is December 26... the day after Christmas. The day after giving. The day after 'the birth of Jesus.' The day after joy, peace, love, and goodwill toward men. The day after family warmth. The day after Santa Claus. After weeks and months of anticipation, preparation, and celebration the holiday comes to an abrupt halt. Think about it. For the last 30 days, you heard about Santa probably dozens of times a day in songs, conversations, and decorations. But this may be the only time you think about Santa Claus until November or December 2016. Just as magically as he showed up on Christmas Eve, he disappears on December 26. He becomes no part of our life... except for keeping track of our misdeeds. This is natural. Santa Claus is a character of fantasy, even if he is based on an actual doer of good deeds. So the fact that he becomes insignificant 24 hours after he is most significant is to be expected. It actually helps the myth. But God help us if we put Christ away with the same ease with which we put away our Christmas tree. May we never lose Christ like we lose our toys toys over the course of the winter. Oh that family is as important on January 25th as it is on December 25th. May our joy, peace, love, and goodwill grow stronger into the Spring of 2016. Let us not be less giving next summer than we were on that special day in December. I fear that we have mixed the myth with the truth for so long, we easily set aside the truth with the myth. But Jesus is the reason for every season. He didn't stay in the manger all year, every year. Just as He grew as a man, He should also grow in our hearts and habits. A friend this morning posted that there was just enough snow to give his community a white Christmas, but now it is gone as quickly as it came. Is that how we want our Jesus? Enough to give us a feeling of peace on earth, but not enough to enforce that peace in our daily life? The apostle Paul wrote to the early Christians about the importance of growing in the truth of the Gospel, and not simply recognizing them as a tradition. I pray that [the Father] may grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power in the inner man through His Spirit, and that the Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know the Messiah’s love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us-- to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:16-21) Family, giving, peace, joy, love, and celebration are all good parts of Christmas. Santa? Not so much. He is a distraction, and tends to minimize the greatest story ever told. Put away the decorations. Throw away the trash. Move on to the new year. But do not put away Christ. He does not fade, but continues to bring every blessing that accompanies transformation. Carry Christ in you to the next season of holy celebration. [Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.] Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry. Some people are very difficult to buy for. They have everything... or they are mega-content and have everything they want. Or if they are mega-rich like Bill Gates, they can acquire everything they would want. What do you give someone who has everything? As I've pondered that, I think I have come to an answer. You can give them a better version of you. I don't care what they already have or are able to buy... they do not have nor can they purchase a better version of you. You can give everyone something that no one else can give them. What does that look like? Well, I couldn't find it on Amazon, but I dug a little deeper, and for me it looks something like this... 1 - I can give more love and obedience to God. This is where it starts. The better my relationship with Him, the better husband, father, son, brother, friend I will be to others. No one can love or obey God for me. But I can offer more of myself to Him. This is the absolute best thing I can give to everyone. The best gift I can give to you is giving myself to God. 2 - I can be more loving, giving, sensitive, humble, supportive, honest, compassionate, sacrificial, faithful, merciful, patient, kind, and gracious to those around me. It isn't enough for me to love Christ more. If I am not more Christ-like to the people around me, my dedication to Christ is worth nothing. This offering of a better self begins with my family, extends to friends, and ultimately should impact strangers. 3 - I can give Jesus. It is one thing to commit myself to the One who gave everything for me. It is great to give a better me to those around me. But it is another thing to offer Jesus Christ to those who do not know Him. My life is designed to bring glory to God. It is wonderful to live a life that reflects Jesus. But if I don't actually express in words the greatest gift ever, I have robbed others of that gift. So, if I were to ask you what you want for Christmas, you'd probably tell me, "Nothing... I'm good." But I can still give you the greatest gift that I can give you. I can give myself to God, give myself to you, and give Jesus to you. That is the perfect gift to give to someone who has everything else they want. Here is how the apostle Paul put it... Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1-2) We are to present ourselves first to God. That is a present. In that giving, we become who we are supposed to be in the lives of those around us. Then when we give Jesus to people, it all makes more sense. On this Christmas day, I give myself to God, myself to you, and with that, I offer you Jesus. I encourage you to give these same gifts to the people in your life. [Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.] Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry. It has become popular to assert your self worth by proclaiming that people like you matter. 2015 became the year when #________LivesMatter became an anthem. #BlackLivesMatter #MuslimLivesMatter etc. Lives do matter. All lives matter. #AllLivesMatter. Jesus is God's gift to the world. God looked down on the lost planet and said, "Those lives matter!" Jesus came for everyone. How about we hashtag God's Christmas message... #HumanLivesMatter #LostLivesMatter #HolyLivesMatter #RedLivesMatter #YellowLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter #WhiteLivesMatter #FemaleLivesMatter #MaleLivesMatter #HomosexualLivesMatter #HeterosexualLivesMatter #ConfusedLivesMatter #UnbornLivesMatter #TaxCollectorLivesMatter #PriestLivesMatter #ChildMolesterLivesMatter #SerialKillerLivesMatter #DemonPossessedLivesMatter #BatteredWomenLivesMatter #AbusedHusbandLivesMatter #MolestedChildrenLivesMatter #GossipingLivesMatter #EnslavedLivesMatter #FreeLivesMatter #PoorLivesMatter #RichLivesMatter #HinduLivesMatter #HumbleLivesMatter #PridefulLivesMatter #JewishLivesMatter #GentileLivesMatter #FaithfulLivesMatter #WaywardLivesMatter #LonelyLivesMatter #JiltedLivesMatter #AbandonedLivesMatter #OrphanLivesMatter #SingleDadLivesMatter #SingleMomLivesMatter #SingleLivesMatter #MarriedLivesMatter #YourLifeMatters #MyLifeMatters #EveryLifeMatters To Jesus... every life mattered... except His own. Here is what He told one man who was seeking the truth... For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God. This, then, is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed. But anyone who lives by the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God. (John 3:16-21) It is Christmas Eve. We are all lives in a dark world looking for the light of hope and eternal life. Know this... Jesus came to Earth because #EternalLifeMatters . You can experience it today... and forever. [Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.] Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry. One of the most profound aspects of the Incarnation, or "God becoming human", is the fact that He set aside the glory, position, power, wealth, and privilege of Heaven to partake of the weariness, humiliation, weakness, and poverty of earth. Jesus went from being the King of the universe, to being homeless. But He didn't come to crush these elements we find difficult and distasteful. The things we despise about the human existence were exactly what He embraced in His experience. We live in a world where there is a broader understanding in culture that we should work to destroy these rough elements. The secular humanists, and even well-meaning Christians say things like, "We should abolish poverty." The notion that we can or should make everyone rich is not the Gospel. Jesus did not come to eradicate poverty... He became poor. He didn't come to solve the problem of being poor. He became poor. His mission was not to make our life comfortable or more bearable. He came to give us life... abundant life, even in the middle of our struggle. There were plenty of poor people when Jesus arrived. There were plenty of poor people when He ascended back into Heaven after 33 years of earthly life and ministry. Jesus was not a glorified Robin Hood. He wasn't here to bring economic salvation to people. In fact, I don't know of anyone whose financial lot was improved by Christ. You will not find Jesus attacking people simply for being rich. He did not promote jealousy or envy between economic classes. Here is one story about poverty from the ministry of Christ... While Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon, a man who had a serious skin disease, a woman approached Him with an alabaster jar of very expensive fragrant oil. She poured it on His head as He was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw it, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This might have been sold for a great deal and given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a noble thing for Me. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me. By pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she has prepared Me for burial. I assure you: Wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.” (Matthew 26:6-13) Does that sound like a socialist to you? Does it sound like an economic Messiah? Can you imagine the heat Jesus would take from 'progressive Christians' if He tweeted, "You will always have the poor with you" today? Jesus knew that wealth would not save anyone. He knew that wealth could be as big an impediment to spiritual growth as poverty. These elements do not make or break a saint. Jesus had seen the most beautiful angel surrounded by the riches of glory turn into a prideful, selfish, enemy of God. Ages prior to Christ leaving Heaven and becoming poor on purpose, Lucifer had also left the riches of Heaven. You see, riches do not make it easier to be a believer. Poverty is not the enemy of man's soul. Jesus did not come to crush poverty, but to refocus our vision toward the things that matter. If we transferred all of the wealth of the top 10% of the richest people to the poorest person on the planet, it would not come close to reflecting the economic sacrifice of our Savior in becoming man. So maybe we can see Christ's focus when we read the apostle Paul's words, "Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross. For this reason God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth— and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:5-11) Jesus didn't come to tranform our bank account. He came to transform us. He blessed the poor. He preached the Gospel to the poor. He became poor, so we may become rich in the things of God... because poverty does not keep anyone from Heaven, but sin does. Today, when the opportunity arises to sacrificially bless someone financially, do it. But never try to meet their spiritual need with money. [Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.] Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry. Yesterday I wrote about what it was like to receive a gift you really didn't want or have any use for. As a kid, receiving a case of various types of vitamins was not my idea of a holly jolly Christmas. Over the years, I would use that experience as an illustration in messages about how perfect God's gift is to us. During one sermon I talked about this very idea, that God knows what we need and what we want. He always gives the perfect gift. I talked about how we sometimes missed the mark in our giving... "Like, you wouldn't give me certain things, because they just wouldn't make sense as a gift to me. You wouldn't walk up to me and give me say... pot holders for Christmas. I don't want pot holders. I wouldn't use pot holders. They just wouldn't make any sense, so they would not be a good gift." It just so happened that this was the Sunday before Christmas. As we were going around giving out cards to people in the church, we received a card and small package from one of our dear friends. My wife opened the package and lo and behold, crocheted pot holders. I just stood there, mortified. The lady stood there smiling at me. Yep. Less than 30 minutes after talking about how pot holders would not be a good gift for me, I received some handmade pot holders. You see, sometimes it isn't about what you think you want, or what you think you should get. It is about being a humble and grateful recipient. The apostle Paul tells us that Jesus said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ (Acts 20:35) The blessing is in the giving.. not the receiving. In a real sense, who cares what you get? If a gift is given in love and thoughtfulness, why would I despise it? Who cares if it is 'useful'? The fact that someone thought enough of me to do something nice is a rare and valuable thing in itself. In a world that is in many ways more careless and thoughtless than ever, the mere fact that someone cares enough to give me something they made is quite powerful. The blessing is in the giving... even for me... that someone else gave to me is a blessing. This holiday, you will likely get some things you don't want or desire. But if that thing comes from someone who cared enough about you to put forth the giving effort, receive it graciously, and treasure it. And give, not just out of compulsion... but out of true love and generosity. When 'giving' is seen as the gift, receiving becomes a spiritual act instead of a greedy one. For God loved the world in this way:[j] He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) [Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.] Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry. |
AuthorMy name is David, and I want to know God more, and help other people find Him. Archives
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