Christmas Gifts

The relationship of Christmas with gift-giving may be bemoaned by many, but the connection is a biblical one. I am not referring to the crazed run through the mall in late December or the White Elephant gift exchange at the office party, but the concept of generously and freely giving gifts because God gave us his Son to redeem us; this is the association that cannot and should not be avoided. The Bible says that our love for each other, and thus our love for God can be measured, at least in part, by our generosity and the willingness with which we give tangible gifts to one another (see 1 John 3:16-17). Being the targets of God’s love necessarily implants a desire to be the kind of person who meets the needs of others. Knowing what it is to be loved by God is an experience that the Bible says should drive us to give as freely as we have received. A redeemed heart will find increasing satisfaction in reaching out, even at great personal cost, to enrich and enhance the lives of others through the giving of time, talent and resources. So while the world may be giving gifts for all the wrong reasons (and complaining about it a good part of the time) we can piggy-back on this “gift-giving season” and give to help, benefit and encourage as a reflection of Christ and for the glory of God.

Christmas Plan

Christmas was required in God’s plan because the righteous life he requires was not attained by Adam or any of his fallen descendants. God, prompted by grace, chose to fulfill the holy human standard himself. The incarnate Deity chose to live the life we should have lived – the perfect childhood, the spotless teenage years and the righteous adult life. Had we been able to present to the Father the righteous life he requires so that we could perfectly enjoy his presence and his presents, God would not have needed to become a man and live among us. But we couldn’t, so he did. Were it only our sins that needed a payment, Christ could have arrived on the day of his crucifixion. But our deficiencies were more than our acts of transgression (doing the things we shouldn’t do), our problems included the “falling short of his glory” (failing to do the things we should do). It is with gratitude that we celebrate his advent as an infant, because we know that as our sins were atoned for on the cross, so it was that all our human deficits began to be rectified by one perfectly-lived life starting that very night in Bethlehem.

-- Pastor Mike

Christmas

There are several modern-day Gnostics who, in the name of Christ, seek to dissuade us from celebrating the birth of Jesus each December. They go to great lengths to enlighten us regarding the pagan associations of the winter solstice, the worship of Druid gods, and idolatry related to evergreen trees. They chide us, saying we are somehow playing into Satan’s insidious scheme by honoring the birth of Christ with our Christmas traditions. Don’t believe it. This old “guilt-by-association” argument condemning our celebrations of Christ must be examined from a biblical perspective (See Romans 14:1-6; 1 Corinthians 5:9-10; 1 Corinthians 8:4-6; 1 Corinthians 10:25-30). To condemn our Christ-honoring praise for the incarnation each December because of some ancient pagan associations is as ludicrous as disallowing Sunday worship because “Sunday” was initially designated for the worship of “Sol” the Sun god. Historically Christians have rightly redeemed certain days, words and places for the worship of Jesus Christ. As Paul wrote when facing the critics in Corinth, “Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it’” (1 Corinthians 10:25-26). So let us utilize all we can to bring glory, honor and praise to God for the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

-- Pastor Mike

Thanksgiving

Because we live in a world that isn’t great at saying “thank you,” we tend to think that gratitude is an extra-credit Christian virtue. Like our temptation to send a “thank you” note in response to someone’s “thank you” note, we might secretly believe that God should be grateful for our thanksgiving. The Bible, of course, reveals a different perspective. Jesus showed us that gratitude is the minimum expectation of those who are enriched by God’s gifts. When ten lepers are healed of their malady Christ doesn’t praise the one who returns to say “thank you,” he disappointedly asks, “Where are the other nine?” (Luke 17:17). The Bible tells us that it is “fitting” and appropriate for his people to praise God (Psalm 147:1). Certainly we, of all people, should recognize the “gracious hand of God that is upon us” (Ezra 8:18). We should habitually respond with heartfelt thanksgiving, not just on special days and special occasions, but everyday and in every circumstance (1 Thessalonians 5:18). May God enable us to always fulfill our fundamental duty to express our joyful thanksgiving to our gracious and generous Redeemer!

--Pastor Mike

Faith

Faith in Christ as we walk through this life can easily be mistaken for optimism. Don’t misunderstand, faith is not some worldly pie-in-the-sky glee. It is instead, a thoughtful confidence that our God is in charge of everything in our lives and his sovereign purpose for us will prevail. The words of Romans 8:28 (“God works all things together for good”) are not a license to live recklessly, but a reminder that the twists in the road “for those who love him” are adjustments that God has ordained to take us where he intends. We can be confident that God not only “called us according to his purpose” but he is actively using a variety of means to accomplish it. Where does that leave us? Looking pretty optimistic! We love him, he directs our lives and we entrust the outcome to him. So shun the temptation to fret or complain, and keep trusting our King!

Doubt

When we experience uncertainty, doubt or insecurities that the world is sure to bring, let us be sure that the cause is never our equivocation about God’s faithfulness. Let us always remember that God is true to his word. With Peter, let us affirm that even if God seems slow about keeping his promises, it is only an illusion because as it has always been so it will always be that God never forgets what he says and never fails to deliver on his promise (2 Peter 3:9). To that, add the fact that nothing ever surprises our sovereign God. He knows the end from the beginning and nothing is too small to escape his notice. If God our omniscient God has revealed it in his perfect word we can be confident that he is sure to follow through.

--Pastor Mike

Boldness

When we think of what it means to be a godly person, several virtues are likely to come to mind. Unfortunately, we often fail to include the key biblical ingredient the Bible calls “boldness.” In our “kinder, gentler” version of Christianity we are tempted to think “timidity” is what God esteems. Nothing could be further from the truth! In the pages of Scripture God is continually prompting his heroes to “be strong and very courageous” (Joshua 1:7). When his people are bashful they are chided (2 Timothy 1:7-8). God’s values couldn’t be clearer: “the righteous are as bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1). Let’s see the fear of man for what it is and be counted with those who care more about what Christ thinks (Proverbs 29:5; Galatians 1:10). May we always stand up for truth and be quick to commend those who boldly do the same.

--Pastor Mike