Twas the day after Christmas...

Twas the day after Christmas and all through the land, many creatures were stirring, some happy, some sad. Jon got that Wii he was wanting, but Anne stares at the neckless in disbelief, she thought for sure she'd get the "ring." Lines are already forming at customer service as gifts are returned, tempers are flaring, parking lots overflowing, the after Christmas sales are in full swing, but in a few days it will all be over and a new year will dawn.

Now I realize that Jesus Christ was not actually born on December 25th, probably not even in December at all, but since the church has chosen to celebrate His birth on December 25, shouldn't we focus more on Him and His mission during this season. I was listening to a favorite podcast this AM, one that was done a week or so back, and I loved it, it spoke to my heart, right up until the advertisement for sermon series, music projects, books, etc. that would make a perfect gift for my loved ones, or even as a way to reward myself this Christmas. My heart was pricked.

Jesus came to be the gift of God to a world in total need of a savior. During His teaching time with His disciples He laid out the mission He was on earth for. He came to seek and save the lost, to be sight to the blind, health for the sick, food for the hungry, clothing for the naked, and the blood covering for those stained with sin. He did not come to the religious, to exchange accolades, to simply offer new insights into the theological conversations of the scholars, or to further the course of the religious establishment of the day. Jesus came to make, to be, the ultimate sacrifice. It is His coming that we claim to celebrate on December 25th. I wonder how He feels about the way we in the American church have chosen to to celebrate Him? I wonder if our "generosity" to our families and friends, our focus on the "perfect gift," etc. moves Him. I do love my family, and I do hope to live generously toward them. How skewed it has become hit me though, when my wife and I had to search for a gift idea, because aunt Mary already has everything a human being needs and wants. After all if there is something she wants, she goes out and buys it. I started thinking about how abundantly blessed most of we Americans are, especially compared with many in the impoverished parts of our world. I noticed, really looked into the face of the homeless man I had passed on the street several times this "holiday season." I wonder would it warm Jesus' heart more if we were to opt to spend time with our family and friends, and invest our "gift giving money" into some area of the mission of Jesus. Would my December 25th be more honoring to Jesus if I reached out to the homeless in my city, to the hungry across town and around the world. I wonder if Jesus would be more pleased if I sacrificed for those in need, instead of exchanging gifts with others who have as much as I have. I wonder...

Monday Morning Coaches and Armchair Quarterbacks

All across the USA on this December Monday a weekly rite is taking place. Around office coolers, in factory break-rooms, around lunch tables in school cafeterias, and in bars filled with smoke, men and women, young and old, are going over yesterdays NFL games.  Monday morning coaching and armchair quarterbacking their favorite teams. Manning should have seen this, should never have thrown that pass, Johnson should have cut sooner, Smith should have stepped out of bounds instead of trying for that couple of extra yards.  Coach should have called a timeout sooner.  You have heard and probably participated in at least one such Monday conversation. And boy how much sense what we say makes. How many games would have turned out differently had the coaches and players only had the benefit of our sage advice... yesterday. But we didn't give it yesterday, and they can't do anything about it today.  Yesterday, we did not know what we know today, so we did not have the skill, knowledge, or setting to give the advice. Hindsight they say is 20/20.  Foresight, on the other hand is often clouded at best, and a shot in the dark sometimes.  That is why they pay the coaches and players to coach and play on Sunday's. That is why nobody pays us for our advice regarding Sunday's games on Monday.

Life is a lot like football in this regard. Many people have much advice for us after the fact. If only you had chosen differently when looking for your spouse. If only you had never taken that first drink, or smoked that first little white killer. You really should have done this instead of that. You know, you have heard and probably participated in many such conversations yourself.  

I am so glad that God has given us His playbook (the Bible), and a wonderful staff of coaches (His Holy Spirit, Mentors, Pastors, etc.) to help us when it counts, during the game, not just after the fact!  If we will learn to follow His "game plan" and obediently listen to His coaching staff, our lives will be so much better. As a matter of fact, our victory is assured! It may not be an easy win, it may involve bloody conflict, and difficult challenges to overcome, but with Christ we will overcome.  We may even lose a few battles along the way, but ultimately we win. 

So what about all those Monday morning coaches and armchair quarterbacks that show up after the dust has settled to tell us what we should have done? Let them talk, they will anyway, but pay them no mind.  Their 20/20 hindsight does nothing to change the outcome of what has already happened, and honestly, does very little to prepare you for your next set of obstacles. So, let them sit around the tables, stand by their water coolers, or sit on their barstools and critique you. Yet understand the utter lack of value in what they say. Stay focused on the playbook, and keep listening to your coaches. After all they will be there before, during, and after.

Jesus did not come to preach the gospel...

On my way back to the office from eating lunch I listened to Len Sweet's "Napkin Scribbles" podcast. In the five minutes he spoke he said something that really fired up my brain.  "Jesus did not come to the earth to preach the gospel, but so that we might have a gospel to preach." Immediately I thought of Jesus reading the OT prophet as recorded in Luke 4:18.   A passage that clearly says, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed me to preach the gospel..."   Maybe Len Sweet was wrong... But then I got back to the office with my mind blazing, and looked up the passage.  Beginning at verse 16 we see Jesus arriving at the synagogue, being handed the scriptures, and then standing up to read.  He did indeed read the passage from the OT prophet Isaiah. Then He closed the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. The passage says the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him. Having their attention, He then proclaimed, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." What did, and does He mean by this statement?  I believe Jesus means that He had come to be all that the gospel proclaimed the promised Messiah would be.  He came not just to talk about Messiah, or even to simply proclaim Messiah, but to do what Messiah was supposed to do, to fulfill the promises about Messiah, to "be" the Messiah.  That Messiah (Jesus) has come is the gospel, the good news believers receive and proclaim.   

Is "Let's keep Christ in Christmas" enough?

Candie and I were driving to one of the two Christmas banquets we had this weekend when she spotted a large billboard sponsored by Mike Carwash that read "Let's Keep Christ in Christmas." I am thankful for the thought behind it and for Mike's investing the money to rent the billboard space and give that simple reminder. I am not complaining at all about that.  But as soon as she read the billboard I thought, "That is so five years ago, now we need to concentrate on keeping Christmas in the 'holiday's'."  What a day in which we live, what a culture in which we live. It is sad.  

I am a fairly generous person, my wife has the spiritual gift of giving.  She is gifted in generosity. The Salvation Army bell ringers are part of the Christmas landscape, but I admit I rarely drop money into the red kettles. Candie, on the other hand finds it almost impossible to pass up any opportunity to give... That changed with a recent trip to Hobby Lobby.  Candie and I saw the SA bell ringer as we pulled into the parking lot. We heard the ringing of the bell as we stepped out of the car and began walking toward the store entrance. I fully anticipated that either going in or coming out of the store,  Candie would look at me and ask if I had any cash on me, so she could drop it in the red kettle.  Then the Salvation Army Red Kettle Attendant spoke to the couple walking just ahead of us, she said, "Happy Holidays".   I heard Candie groan, then speak first to the SA lady saying, "Merry Christmas".  Surely with this clear signal that we would not be offended by a Christmas greeting, the lady representing the Salvation Army would wish us a Merry Christmas in return, but no.  Again she said only "Happy Holidays".  

We talked about it as we walked through the isles of the store. How heartbreaking it is that a representative of an organization supposedly Christian, with a name like "Salvation Army", refused to even say the word Christmas in greeting us and asking for a donation to carry on it's "Christian" work.

I hope we as followers of Jesus do not become so afraid that we might offend, that we refuse to even speak the Name that is above every Name.  May we speak with our deeds first, and with our words as well, the glorious, matchless Name of Jesus.  I am not suggesting that we be purposefully offensive, or even careless in our representation of Jesus, but that we not be afraid to truly present Him in our deeds and words.    

Merry Christmas everyone!

 

Making connections in a disconnected world.

I have a great friend who through a weird set of circumstances (all totally legal mind you), ended up with a new Blackberry Curve that he could only use for three weeks and then had to change networks. He called and offered the old/new Blackberry to me. I am thrilled with my new phone. But anyway, I was having a bit of difficulty getting the email set up so I ended up at the at&t store... for 45 minutes yesterday.  While the tech worked on my new toy, I mean tool, I wondered around the store looking at all the myriad types of phones. The thought struck me of how many ways we now have available to make connections with people. I am not an old man, but I remember growing up when "the phone" was the big black thing on Granny's side table. It had a dial with holes, and would actually ring (as in bell, not chirp, or play part of your favorite song) when someone called. Other than that "electronic device", you connected with people face to face; looking them in the eyes, smiling, and offering a firm handshake. AT&T has approximately 30 different type phones (at least in the store I waited somewhat patiently in yesterday). The Blackberry I have allows text messages, instant messages, Facebook, MySpace, email, internet, and of course phone service. I also own a MacBook Pro with ichat, email, IM, internet, etc. My point is that the tools available to make connections are far more plentiful and way more advanced than ever before. Yet the bad news is there is a greater sense of disconnect now than many would care to admit. There are those who create characters (avatars) and live out a fantasy "second life", while pulling away from the real people with whom they could relate.  I have witnessed teens sitting in the same room, sometimes sitting side by side texting each other rather than actually talking.  Many people live desperate lives of lonely isolation, numbing the pain with a prescription or a beer.  Others hide in the business of living, aching for someone to genuinely connect with.  The bars are full, the facilities that treat depression have long waiting lists, suicide is on the rise for almost every age group, divorce is devastating thousands of homes each day, and the pace and pressures of life seem to keep increasing.

How do we as followers of Jesus Christ, who left heaven and sacrificed His everything to connect with humanity, tackle this paradoxical situation. How do we make authentic connections with people in such a disconnect world? I would love to hear some ideas...

Black Friday

It is barely past 7:00 AM and I just returned from dropping off my son Evan at the football locker room. (They are headed to Lucas Oil Stadium for practice in the dome for tomorrow's state 5A championship game.) On the way to the school I noticed the Target parking lot. Still dark, before 7:00 AM and there were cars parked out to the street.  Mind you this is a time of economic crisis, a near depression, the dow is down, foreign markets are down, everything is down. Well, all the stuff that is supposed to be up is down, and the stuff that needs to be down is up; such as unemployment. A credit crisis is threatening the housing market. People are losing their homes.  The big three of the auto industry are about to fold. And yet in the predawn hours of this Black Friday we Americans are rushing to the stores, fighting the crowds, filling our carts, and loading up our credit cards. Maybe I am just hung over from to much turkey and pumpkin pie, but does this not seem ridiculous to anyone else?  Do we not get it? Has our insatiable desire for material possessions stolen our brains? The advertising agencies have convinced us that we need, no, absolutely must have more stuff. Our clothes, though in perfectly wearable condition, are hopelessly out of style... we simply must have a new wardrobe. Our electronic gadgetry is antiquated, at almost a year and a half old it is amazing it works at all, we must have the latest and greatest. And don't forget our toys, we deserve, cannot live without, our toys. When one considers the standard of living in most of the rest of the world, and then sees the gluttonous materialism of America, it is no wonder many in the world hate us. It is also no wonder that our economy is spiraling out of control. We must realize that stuff, no matter how new and improved, can never bring true and sustained satisfaction. We must return to the truth that satisfaction can only be found in a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ. The Scriptures say "godliness with contentment is great gain." God help us not to bankrupt ourselves searching for the satisfaction we crave in the materialistic stuff they advertise. 

Living on mission... in ones home.

Yesterday I wrote about your life being your mission, and wherever you are being your mission field. I want to follow that up by exploring it a bit deeper.  Focusing in on being a reflection of Jesus at home.  We often try hard to "let our little light shine" while out in the public eye. Admittedly we do not even always try out there. But, we far to often view home as a place to "let it all hang out" to just relax and be ourselves. Now our homes should be a safe place, a place where we can relax. Our families should know us better, more intimately than our co-workers, or a stranger in the market. But digging in to the call of Jesus to live our lives on mission, being His body, how much more should we try to let Him shine through us at home.  Relaxing should not mean that we relax our convictions, and become careless in our holiness. Just because we are with our family should not mean that we use less care in how we speak to and interact with them. Paul urges us men to treat our wives with great respect and honor using the example of how Christ loved the church as our standard. I wonder if our wives see Jesus accurately when they are with us?  Knowing also that our children learn more by watching how we live then by simply listening to what we say, I wonder if our children are getting to know Jesus by spending time with us?

Your life is your mission, wherever you are is your mission field.

In reading the Great Commission we so often have the idea of a specific place, or a specific mission. We view the mission field as a place, a location: Africa, South America, China, etc. We view mission as a specific task to be completed: door to door, evangelism breakthrough, street witnessing, revival services, homeless outreach, church in the park, etc.  I do not deny that Africa, South America, China... or the USA for that matter are indeed mission fields. Nor do I deny the need, or importance of specific outreach, evangelism, or missions events or programs.  But as I read the New Testament I get the sense that we are missing the larger point of the Great Commission when we allow it to become only about specific places and specific tasks or events.  It seems to me that the overarching call of Jesus was to view our entire life as our mission, and wherever we are as our mission field. Whether we are doing a church outreach or shopping, going on a missions trip or showing up at work, we should be ever attentive to the opportunities around us. Opportunities to reflect Jesus, to "be" His body - embodying His presence wherever we are.  Our mission is not just a trip we take, an event we work, but is literally our life as we live it. Our life is our mission, wherever we are is our missions field.