Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Beloved!

Perhaps some of you read my greeting and thought, “Good grief, Pastor. Today is December 30, not December 25. Christmas is over!” Well, I wish to challenge that presumption on a few fronts in this space.

On a personal note, this is the first Christmas in a number of years that we have been blessed to see my mother, all of my siblings, and their children all together under one roof. In fact, I think the last time we were all together to celebrate the Christmas holidays was in 2002, the Christmas before my dad graduated to glory in February 2003. then, as now, we came together between Christmas Day and the new year. Unlike that last cramped and rushed gathering at my parents’ home in Indiana, this year my brother and sisters and their respective crews have brought Mom to our house for a few days. So, for me, Christmas celebrations have been happily extended this year beyond December 25. I say then on this Sunday, December 30, “Merry Christmas, beloved!”

Now, consider something of a historical – liturgical – traditional approach. Do you recall the holiday song “The Twelve Days of Christmas”? I must confess, this was never my favorite Christmas song, not even on my top ten list. I could not fathom what to make of the repetitive recitations of strange gifts. Aside from my total lack of comprehension about how these presents could convey affection to our true love, I was never sure what the twelve days of Christmas actually are.

Most people assume they refer to the twelve days before Christmas Day. Actually, however, the twelve days of Christmas begin with the night of Christmas and conclude the evening of January 5. The twelve days extend up to the dawn of the church’s celebration of Epiphany on January 6. Epiphany, by the way, commemorates the coming of the magi to present gifts to the Christ child. I will spare you some of the fascinating history I discovered about how our ancestors made merry for twelve days after Christmas Day. What interested me most was that these twelve days were traditionally and liturgically days filled with feasts and rejoicing and merriment – features of American Christmases that we have managed to squeeze into one day.

I say, let’s get back to celebrating our Lord’s first Advent for more than one day. Let’s redeem the time. Let’s extend our season twelve more days. Perhaps there is more to Christmas than we tend to think. What if, …

· On the first day of Christmas, we find ways to rejoice that “the Lord our God is one”?

· On the second day of Christmas, we contemplate the contributions of the two Adams or the testimonies of the Old and New Testaments?

· On the third day of Christmas, we meditate on and praised the majesty of our Three-in-One God or celebrate the three-fold virtues often found in Paul’s greetings – faith, hope, and love?

· On the fourth day of Christmas, we heed the witness of the four evangelists – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John?

· On the fifth day of Christmas, we trace God’s covenant love through the first five books of the Bible?

· On the sixth day of Christmas, we marvel in the power of a God Who created all that is out of nothing in six days?

· On the seventh day of Christmas, we thank God for the seven gifts of the Spirit and we commit to employ our special gifts in the healthy growth of His church and the advance of His kingdom?

· On the eighth day of Christmas, we reflect on the eight characteristics of kingdom citizens as Christ lists them in the Beatitudes from His Sermon on the Mount?

· On the ninth day of Christmas, we avail ourselves to the nine-faceted fruit of the Spirit in our lives?

· On the tenth day of Christmas, we measure ourselves against the standard of the Ten Commandments and thank God again and again for the One Who keeps them all for us?

· On the eleventh day of Christmas, we remember the eleven faithful disciples and their legacy of witness?

· On the twelfth day of Christmas, we ponder the twelve points of doctrine highlighted in the Apostles’ Creed?

(DISCLAIMER: For what it may be worth, I do not espouse the recently popular myth that the song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" was originally written as some sort of surreptitious code for persecuted Catholic believers. that story simply has too many holes in it. Still, I obviously find the notion of using the twelve days and their gifts in the song useful as a starting place for reflection.)

So, hear me friends as again on December 30 I declare, “Merry Christmas, beloved!”

One more thought. Will we celebrate Christmas in heaven? What if part of our joy in Heaven is actually the perpetual celebration of Christmas – a thought not entirely far-fetched? Remember, Christmas is essentially our remembrance and observance of Jesus Christ’s first Advent. Christmas reminds us that God is with us! We lay hold of “good news of great joy” with the fervent hope that we can be with Him in glory and eternity. We can believe this to begin with because Christ has come! For these very reasons, I advocate the singing of “Joy to the World” in July!

Today, as God leads, we will answer the question from His Word, “How should we live between Advents? Because of Christmas and in the expectation of His Second Coming, how should we live?” I would that you and I might get in the practice of saying every December 30 – and January 1 through the next December 30 – “Merry Christmas, beloved!” To borrow from St. Francis of Assisi: “Preach the Gospel [“Merry Christmas!”] at all times and when necessary use words.”

To the ends of the earth until the end of time!

Pastor Rob

God Rest Ye Merry

I have been singing and whistling and humming Christmas hymns for weeks. As I do so, I like to think on the words to these carols. Some of the texts are packed with peculiar and profound clarity and theology. For instance, can we find any more powerful a declaration of the Gospel than this line?

Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing!

Sometimes, we sing without care and miss the wondrous beauty and worship a hymn writer inspires by their craft, especially, it seems, when we sing Christmas carols. We miss the original meaning of the text or fail to grasp the significance punctuation may intend. Take, for example, the carol, “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,” and note the placement of the comma.

God rest ye merry, gentlemen. Let nothing you dismay,
Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day;
To save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray.

Though first published in Britain in 1833 in a collection of carols compiled by William Sandys, the lyrics are actually from the 15^th century. This familiar Christmas carol became widely known in America in the late 1800s – so much so, that one A.H. Bullen would say in 1885 that this was “the most popular of Christmas carols.” In fact, this carol is the carol of Charles Dickens’classic novel, A Christmas Carol, written in 1843. Old Ebenezer Scrooge would have saved himself a night of hauntings had he heeded the caroling of one unfortunate lad at his stoop. For good reason, this carol is still quite popular today, and I would hope with this article to make it more popular with you this Christmas.

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
Adjustments made in culture and language over the centuries have led many of us to miss the import and impact of this great carol. We typically fail to recognize the comma between “merry” and “gentlemen” in the first line. Therefore, we mistakenly assume this is some glad song about some cheerful chaps at Christmas. This is far more than a song about “merry gentlemen.” This is a call for gentlemen to be merry, a call to courageous and manly godliness.

We only get this when we understand that the word "merry" originally meant strong or valiant. Think of Robin Hood and his “Merry Men” – Little John, Will Scarlett, Friar Tuck, and company. These were not merely happy rascals, but men noted for their bravery. These were manly men. To be “merry” meant to be noble, gallant, fearless, valiant, heroic.

In addition, the line beckons God Himself to “rest ye.” The word “rest” meant to make. Therefore, we should understand the first line actually to mean, “God make you heroic, gentlemen.”

Let Nothing You Dismay
This explains the second line, “Let nothing you dismay.” What have we to fear? If God be for us, if He emboldens us and makes us merry or courageous, what does it matter who or what may oppose us? Hooray! and Hallelujah! Though all people through every age, including 15^th-century commoners in Britain and 21^st-century families in America, most certainly encounter trials and disappointments and threats, we can be strongly encouraged and declare with Paul:

Who can separate us from the love of Christ?
Can affliction or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? …
No, in all these things we are more than victorious through Him Who loved us! (Romans 8:35-37)

Remember Christ Our Savior
Was Born on Christmas Day
This Good News makes us strong in the face of the terrible turmoil and tribulation, be that trouble personal or national. So, the anonymous singer calls us to “Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day.” Keep and bear this glorious and gracious Truth in mind, and we will find ourselves made “merry” and thereby impervious to the dismay these shadowlands would have us embrace. Immanuel, God with us! “Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing!”

To Save Us All from Satan’s Power
when We Were Gone Astray
How exactly does remembering “Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day” evoke such hope? I believe the very essence of the Gospel is in this opening verse. Note, then, how the verse continues: “To save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray.” Isaiah reminds us: “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6). Because of our stupid sheep-like proclivity to wander, to go astray, and to sin – often, repeatedly, and foolishly – we have made ourselves subject to Satan, and we must reap the consequences. But, thanks be to God, Jesus Christ came to deliver us from Satan's power – that dominance that pulls us continually in the wrong direction and would have us utterly destroyed. “Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day to save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray!”

Remember, beloved, and rejoice!

O Tidings of Comfort and Joy, Comfort and Joy!
O Tidings of Comfort and Joy!

Merry Christmas, beloved!

To the ends of the earth until the end of time!

Pastor Rob

Delight in Our Kids like God Does Us

She giggled – nearly laughed aloud. I looked up from my laptop and over at the table across the way and spied a grinning mother watching her exuberant young daughter with obvious affection and joy. I followed her gaze to the little pixie bouncing and flopping and rolling with glee on the trampoline floor. I could not suppress a smile myself.

I turned my attention to the large square mat on which Joshua lined up with 18 other Tae Kwon Do disciples. I searched and located my son, a be-spectacled warrior and the brightest young prodigy on the floor. He still beams with bliss when he spars. Practicing kicks above your head, one after the other on rapid succession – well, it takes my breath away just watching! Joshua, however, almost seems to find his breath as he jumps and spins and kicks, as if he were made for this.

What is it about children, our own children, when we see them caught up in the delight of play or even strenuous exercise that thrills us so? I think it must be more than pride, something more substantial than seeing them as “a chip off the old block.” I wonder if in our children, specifically in the pride and pleasure we derive from watching them try and triumph, we might gain some grasp of the Father-heart of God.

When our kiddos volunteer to tell me what they think is really cool, in other words, what they think would be a cool Christmas present for them, my first impulse is to want to find out what in the world they are talking about! Honestly, I am anything but in-the-know when it comes to stuff like Webkinz^® or PSP or NDS! Still, generally, I want to know what they want and try to find a way to get that for them if such gifts align with what we, their parents, deem most helpful for their pursuit of God’s best in their lives. Sometimes, I think some of the things they ask for are silly, but some of their wishes stun me by the maturity of taste and affection they suggest resides in our kids’ hearts. I wonder, what does Father make of the requests I make to Him? Do the things I ask God to do or give reflect a heart bound fast to this world or to His ways, His works, and His will?

When I watch my children open their Christmas gifts, I embrace a confident satisfaction that we have selected for them the perfect gift, that present that fits them best and that ideally expresses our love for each child in their personal love language. I also wonder, though, if they will appreciate the gift and all it represents. How does my appreciation for and application of the gifts God gives me touch His heart?

When they come to me or to Donna to discuss what gift they might give their brother or sister, I am thrilled that they have learned to love one another in the same way their parents love them. Moreover, I am often amazed by their insights into their siblings wants and needs. When I read the words our kids write about and to one another in their blogs or community messages on the Internet, my heart stands up and melts at the same time. I love how they love one another, how they are such friends to one another. Somehow, I feel like they honor me by their fondness and care for each other. What does Father make of my treatment of other people – my brothers and sisters in Christ and my cousins in Adam? How well do I know my brother or my neighbor? How well do I serve them?

When I hear my children writing and singing hymns of worship together, I revel as much in their affection for Jesus Christ as I do in the splendid development of their talents and blending of their voices. What does the nature and frequency and fervency of my contribution to worship with one or two, or a small group, or a congregation of fellow believers say about my devotion and gratitude to Christ our King? How does Father receive my worship?

When all our children come home to celebrate Christmas together under one roof, I get a sense of equilibrium as if everything is just about right with the world again. Somehow, the house seems warmer, more complete, and all the furniture more perfectly arranged when Lauryn, Bethany, Jonathan, Joshua, and Caitlyn are all home laughing and singing together or even sleeping. The house comes alive and becomes that for which it was originally constructed, namely, our home. When does our connectedness as members of First Baptist Church, South Lyon, transform the steepled building addressed 60820 Marjorie Ann Street into a church? When and where and how does this house become a home – a home to the Lord Holy Spirit where Jesus Christ is honored and the Father glorified?

When I see any of our brood settling for less than their potential, I want to lift their chins and direct their eyes to higher aims. I also want to provide for them every resource available to me to help them reach ridiculous goals for God’s glory. How many provisions have I missed or misappropriated when God intended them to inspire and enable me to attempt the heroic for His honor? How has Father been able to keep from throwing up His hands in disgust at the mediocrity I all-too-often embrace? How is it He continues to persuade and push me beyond what I see? He must see something I do not, and He sees it in me (and you). Shouldn’t that be enough to inspire us all?

As much as in me is, when my children try something new, I cheer for them. When they fall, falter, or even fail, I hurt for them and implore them to get up and try again. When they are hurt by what other kids say or do, after I squelch a desire to punch the offending kid in the snot-locker, I seek to assure my child of their worth in my eyes and God’s and to help them understand why people hurt people and how we might break the cycle with blessing and prayer. O, Lifter of my head, do you not also like a father cheer me on, raise me up, defend me, and train me through trials?

When I see one of my children reading their Bible or a devotional while they eat their breakfast or I discover their Bible on their nightstand, I breathe silent but exuberant prayers of thankfulness that they seem to be reading the signs we have planted beside the life road. They are following the bread crumbs Donna and I have left to the path of wise choices. Do I ever consider what my Bible reading and study mean to the Author of this sublime love letter?

When they come into the room, I want to rush on them and hug them. In fact, I often do, even though I know my displays of affection sometimes embarrass them a bit. When they get near me, I want to touch them, stroke or mess with their hair, tickle them, or pat them on the back. When they sit next to me, my arms instinctively go around their shoulders. Is God not very much like the father of the prodigal in Luke 15, a dad who strains his eyes daily for the first hint of his wayward son’s return at which he runs – yes! God runs! – and falls upon him with hugs and kisses and party pronouncements? Does Father not yearn to touch us?

Admittedly, I cannot honestly suppose that every parent feels precisely what I feel. I am surely anything but exemplary, and I definitely fail frequently as a father. Moreover, I do not intend to compare my paternal practices to God’s Fatherhood. My point is that I often catch the most profound insights into God’s heart when I least expect them, when my own heart is seized and squeezed by one or more of our tribe of five. If ever I write any books, one will surely be How My Kids Raised a Godly Dad.

My children tell their mom and dad “I love you” in a thousand different ways every day, most of them without ever speaking directly to us. Be assured, however, we are certainly watching and listening. Donna and I are vigilant, eager to champion our children, to prod and promote and provoke them on to higher planes and vistas, and to lavish our love upon them. We delight in our kids.

In a similar way, but surely a way much more dignified by divinity, God delights in us. I believe God is waiting – watching and listening to His children. He longs for every son of Adam and daughter of Eve to know how very much He loves them and to dream the dreams He has for each one. For every joint-heir with Christ, for each of His redeemed prodigals, Father watches and seizes every opportunity not only to direct our feet to the homeward path, but to bring home along with us as many siblings as we can.

What does Father feel when He watches you and me? Do we ever give Him cause to grin and giggle and laugh out loud?

Merry Christmas, beloved!

To the ends of the earth until the end of time!

Pastor Rob

Good News of Great Joy!

Have you heard any good news lately? If you are a Tigers fan, Christmas came early this year, so to speak. With the announcement this week of a blockbuster trade that brings two more proven young all-stars to the Detroit ballclub, local baseball enthusiasts have penciled in a lineup for manager Jim Leyland that they hope will carry the team into the 2008 World Series. That’s good news, especially for a sports town in the throes of promising football seasons evaporating. (The Lions will not win 10 games, and this year’s Wolverines may never live down Appalachian State).

Consider the impact good news has upon us. When we get good news, we become more hopeful and joyful. We are stirred from our slumber – enlivened and energized. We are enthusiastic to tell others our good news and to dream with our friends and family about the possibilities this good news may yield.

But what is this news about baseball compared to the bad news all around us? What power does this report have to see us through and beyond the tragedies we encounter? Does the acquisition of Cabrera and Willis really make a difference in the grand scheme of life – or at least that subsistence we commonly settle for and refer to as life?

When confronted by the daily barrage of bad news, hope and happiness begin to fade away. Our spirits get heavy and we begin to trudge about each day, from point A to point B, listless, lifeless, as if we were sleepwalking. We keep to ourselves, become cocooned, insulated and isolated, and lonely. We learn to stop dreaming.

What sort of headlines would it take to stir our sleeping spirits to life again? Wouldn’t it be grand to read headlines like these: “Business Booming Again,” “New Home Sales Skyrocket,” or “Mission Accomplished: Every Soldier Returns Home Safe and Successful.” Instead, I noted headlines this week like these: “Holidays Are Here, But Times Are Tight,” “Special Report: Detroit Foreclosures,” and “Testing Toys for Toxins.”

Here’s a 2000-year-old headline that simply keeps getting better and better: “Good News of Great Joy for All People!”

But the angel said to them, “Don't be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: ¹¹ today a Savior, Who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David. ¹² This will be the sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped snugly in cloth and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors!” (Luke 2:10-14)

Skeptics and cynics may shrug their shoulders and ask, “Really? What’s so good about that? How does that make a difference today?” They remind me of the one melancholy verse by Longfellow:

Then in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said.
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
of ‘peace on earth, good will to men.’”

Consider with me these reasons why the angelic message is still today such good news. These are but a few reasons. I trimmed the list from 14 to these 5 for the sake of space!

A Savior is born. We can be free from sin and death to walk in newness of life!
He is Messiah (Christ). We have a Mediator, an Advocate in Heaven, Who connects us with Father!
He is Lord. He is in control. He is all-knowing, all-sufficient, and all powerful!
He is for all people. Jesus Christ is for you!
God favors us. He created us for His pleasure and our joy. He has made a way for us to experience His love!

So what should be the product of this good news?

Joy! Great joy! Angels and shepherds and magi all understood the meaning of the message and rejoiced!
Investigation. The shepherds went to see if what they heard was true (vv 15-16).
Energetic Witness. After verifying the headlines from Heaven, they told everybody they met about Him (v 17)!
Worship while you work. They returned to their places as changed men and praised God even at work (v 20)!
Contemplation. Mary took all this in and reflected on its significance, probably for years (v 19). How else do you suppose Dr. Luke would have received and so powerfully reported this news many decades later in such a way as to be so cherished for more than two millennia now?

Beloved, Jesus’ Advent is truly sensational news! His birth means God loves us, He keeps His promise to rescue us, He pays the price to redeem us, and He will return to bring us Home. So, Longfellow would follow up his sad “reality check” with a victorious reminder:

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep;
God is not dead, nor doth He sleep!
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
with peace on earth, good will to men.

Joy to the world, my friends! The Lord is come! Merry Christmas!

To the ends of the earth until the end of time!

Pastor Rob

Lessons from Bethlehem

Can we get past the holly and lights and even the carols for a moment to find something of God’s part in our Christmas celebrations? Please understand, I enjoy, even revel in so much of the peripheral expressions of Christ’s Advent in our holiday traditions – the songs and music, the movies and TV specials, the decorations, the gifts, the foods. However, I am wondering this year what Heaven thinks of Christmas. Or better, what does the King of Heaven really intend for us to get about His Incarnation? What does Jesus want for Christmas?

Last week I suggested three things I want to remember this Christmas. I wrote about making a call to remember a priority this Christmas and listed a few things we should remember this year:

1. Remember why Jesus was born, what His Advent and Incarnation mean for us, indeed, for all peoples.

2. Remember to prepare, to be ready for Jesus’ Second Advent.

3. Remember to make the most of every opportunity this Christmas to help every person you meet know why He came and how to be ready when He returns.

REMEMBER – We may remember, for instance, as we celebrate Advent this morning with the lighting of the Hope candle, the prophecies fulfilled by Jesus’ birth. We may recall Micah’s prophecy that Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.

Bethlehem Ephrathah [“the fruitful”], you are small among the clans of Judah; One will come from you to be ruler over Israel for Me. His origin is from antiquity, from eternity (Micah 5:2).

The religious leaders in Jerusalem remembered, when a troubled King Herod demanded of them, that God had revealed through Micah that Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2). Frankly, their understanding of the significance of Messiah’s birthplace probably exceeded our appreciation today simply because of their ethno-religiosity (they were Jews). Hundreds of years of waiting, however, appears to have reduced even their remembrances of this prophecy little more than one of a litany of checkpoints on the list of messianic credentials. They knew where, but were not there themselves.

The average person in Israel also remembered that the prophet had identified the site of Messiah’s birth. We find the crowds wondering out loud about Jesus’ identity. Apparently, the people were not as familiar with the peculiarities of Jesus’ birth as Luke’s research made him. They thought Jesus was from Galilee, and they knew Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (John 7:40-43).

Religious leaders and common people both remembered the basic idea – Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. They seemed to miss, however, something rich and wondrous just below the facts of the prophecy. Precious gems lingered untouched in the soil they had not plowed.

In the same way, we should do more than remember the facts of our Savior’s birth. Merely reminiscing in a warm and fuzzy, holiday sort of way, all too easily lures us to a shallow understanding of why Jesus was born and why He is coming again and why people must be prepared. We should investigate.

INVESTIGATE – The general question is “Where? Where will Messiah be born?” Good question – as far as it goes. The better question is “Why? Why would Messiah be born, and of all places, why in Bethlehem?” This is a better question because it takes us deeper, nearer to the heart of God and His intentions. Isn’t that where we want Christmas to take us?

A little bit of investigation could unearth priceless treasures just below the surface. Consider these jewels, for example:

1. God did not choose Bethlehem because it was a great town, but precisely because this village was small. Bethlehem did nothing to impress Heaven’s selection committee. Father did not chose Bethlehem to highlight anything special about that geographical locale but to manifest His own glory and to illustrate a wonderful, hope-filled truth for us. God uses little things to show His bigness (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:27-31). His intent is that we declare with angelic hosts, “Glory to God in the highest!” Someone observed, “We get joy! He gets glory!” Amen!

2. God chose Bethlehem to demonstrate His commitment to keep His promise. He promised David that Messiah would come from his royal lineage and establish an eternal throne. Moreover, God reminded Israel of this promise through Micah when the nation was suffering and then brought it to pass when they were under the boot of Rome. God’s promises are reliable, even and especially in trying times, because God is Who He says He is, and He can do what He says He’ll do.

3. This reminds me that Messiah will come again – and I am persuaded Jesus will return soon. Investigate Micah 5 and we see that when Messiah returns He will protect His flock, including we sheep from foreign folds (John 10:16-17), secure our peace, and “extend His greatness to the ends of the earth!” (Micah 5:4).

O, joy! Joy to the world! He comes and calls to Himself unworthy worldlings through whom He displays His glory! How great our joy! He keeps His promises. Jesus Christ is the “Yes!” to each one (2 Corinthians 1:20). Joy! Joy to the world! Our Lord is come … and is coming again!

Remember, beloved, the hope Christmas brings. Investigate and discover the wealth of His Word. Rejoice and worship!

To the ends of the earth until the end of time!

Pastor Rob

Remember

Ah … Black Friday, Blitz Friday, or, as I prefer to call it, the day after Thanksgiving Day. I sit in my study at home, safe from the hordes of savage shoppers who laid early-morning siege on Wal-Mart, Kohl’s, Target, and other retailers. I smile and sigh a contented sigh with a deep sense of satisfaction and appreciation for all the Lord has done and continues to do in my life.

Yesterday, Thanksgiving Day, was a splendid day with family. We laughed, we ate, we worked together, we watched parades and football games, and we remembered.

We remembered family. We remembered holidays past. We remembered to thank God for His grace and mercy and love. We remembered the sweet potato casserole!

Remembering is an important part of the human experience. Think of all the remembering we must do in a typical day. Here’s a short list of things to remember that I should routinely execute every weekday morning:

I need to remember to set the alarm the night before – and get to bed at a decent hour.

I need to remember to keep first things first and start the day with Bible study and prayer.

I need to remember to hug my wife and thank her for staying with me.

I need to remember to kiss the kids and pray with them before they leave for school.

I need to remember to help the kids remember to take their lunch and homework.

I need to remember to make sure the dogs have food and fresh water.

I need to remember to make coffee for my father-in-law.

I need to remember where I left the car keys.

I need to remember to grab my billfold.

I need to remember to make and take my lunch.

To be sure, there are many more tasks I should remember every day. This is only a list of things to remember to do before I leave my driveway! And they do not include various details peculiar to certain days of the week (such as take the trash out on Monday or call my mom at least once a week) or those assigned to me by Donna for any particular day (pay a certain bill, go by the grocery store, etc.).

I have discovered, however, that when I fail to remember any one of the items on my short list, my day invariably suffers varying degrees of chaos. We never appreciate fully the profound value of remembering until we forget a thing.

When I forget to set the alarm – and to get to bed early the night before – my failure to remember puts me behind for the entire day. When I do not remember to start with Bible study and prayer, I feel weak and disoriented and disheveled all day long. When I fail to hug my wife and kids, I feel regret. When I do not remember where I left the keys, I get impatient and frustrated. When I forget my billfold and my lunch, I feel … hungry!

The sad truth is, on any given morning I am likely to have forgotten, or intentionally failed to remember more than one of these simple keys to a successful launch of the new day. In fact, incredible as it may seem, some days I have missed every single one of these objectives. On such days, it is at least a minor miracle I make it past 10 in the morning without a total meltdown!

As I sit here and mull over the benefits of remembering well, or the consequences of remembering poorly, I think of other things to remember. I want to remember anniversaries and birthdays – before those days arrive. I want to remember the little things that make Donna grin or encourage our children to grow. I want to remember to notice God’s hand in my life and thank Him every day. I want to remember to smile and to share the joy of knowing Jesus Christ with every person I meet. I want to remember well and meaningfully this new Christmas season.

Did you know that some form of the word “remember” is found in over 220 verses in Scripture? At least 80 of those references use the verb as an imperative or command. I believe Father wants us to remember because what we remember has a powerful influence upon what we do. The Bible says what we think within ourselves is a reliable forecaster of what we do (Proverbs 23:7). Jesus declares, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). So, God calls us to remember – remember Who He is, remember what He has done and can do, remember who He says we are, remember what we can do in Christ, and remember what His Word can do in us.

For my part, as a husband, father, and pastor, I want to make this call to remember a priority this Christmas. Here are a few things we should remember this year:

1. Remember why Jesus was born, what His Advent and Incarnation mean for us, indeed, for all peoples.

2. Remember to prepare, to be ready for Jesus’ Second Advent.

3. Remember to make the most of every opportunity this Christmas to help every person you meet know why He came and how to be ready when He returns.

To the ends of the earth until the end of time!

Pastor Rob

A Severe Grace: Of Football, Fractures, & Fleas

I have heard it said by a number of people whom I respect and admire that they regard Thanksgiving Day to be the most Christian of holidays. Certainly, the virtuous practice of giving thanks is a fundamental feature of authentic faith. Even a hasty inventory of Bible verses convinces me that a hallmark of holy living is an attitude of gratitude. Consider these few:

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise (Psalm 100:4).

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever (Psalm 107:1; 118:1).

Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God (Philippians 4:6).

First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, (1 Timothy 2:1).

In anticipation of these November messages on Sundays and Wednesdays, I have been meditating on a particular verse of Scripture for several weeks now. With reference to his own call to ministry and the consequences that ministry brought upon him and delivered to the nations, Paul writes:

For all this is because of you, so that grace, extended through more and more people, may cause thanksgiving to overflow to God's glory (2 Corinthians 4:15).

I am drawn by a flow, a direction, a process God seems to have prescribed for our lives. Paul observes this course. He declares that the treasure of the Gospel has captured him and is transmitted to others in the form of grace. That grace then produces gratitude, which culminates in glory to God. So, the pattern is grace – gratitude – glory.

Gratitude is perhaps the most fitting response to grace. When believers are properly grateful to God, our thanksgiving, or as I have come to prefer, our thanks-living, becomes a witness to other people by which they become receptive to God’s grace in their lives. This transference of grace and gratitude abounds and redounds to the glory of God! Our thanks-living exalts and magnifies the Lord (Psalm 69:30).

Surely, we believers and followers of Jesus Christ should be of all people most thankful, and continuously so. We should be grateful because we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies (Ephesians 1:3 ff – O, please make time to read and meditate upon verses 3-14 as often as possible the next several days!). I want us to be careful today, however, to catch the implications the little word “every” suggests for our gratitude. Here is cause for us to distinguish between nostalgic commemorations of an American holiday and daily celebrations of God’s grace-gifts in our lives. God’s Word – “Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18) – mandates this distinction and might be characterized in these two quirky lines from an anonymous poem I found recently:

I’m thankful for peas and pies.
I’m not thankful for fleas and flies.

Can I be thankful even if my football team loses the big game? I know the biggest issues in life do not revolve around the Ohio State – Michigan rivalry. I also know, though, how unwelcome final scores tend to hinder my readiness to magnify God with my thanks-living.

Can I be thankful when I find myself limited by physical liabilities? In 1967, Joni Erickson broke her neck when she dove headfirst into shallow water. The accident left her paralyzed. It also paved the way for a remarkable ministry launched in 1979, and an extraordinary testimony. I read an eyewitness report that on at least one occasion she raised her arms as high as she can in her braces and exclaimed, “This is the prison where God set me free!”

Can I even imagine ever being thankful for fleas?! As recorded in her autobiographical book, The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom related how she learned to give thanks in all things. She and her sister, Betsy, were imprisoned during WWII at the Ravensbrook Camp. Their barracks were seriously overcrowded and flea-infested. One morning, after they had read together 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Betsy said, “Corrie, we’ve got to give thanks for this barracks and even for these fleas."

"No way am I going to thank God for fleas!" Corrie retorted. Betsy insisted, however, and they did indeed begin to thank God for the fleas.

The sisters began to notice that the guards seemed not frequent their barracks. The girls took courage, then, and began to lead the women in prayer and Bible study. Their barracks became a sanctuary. How had God graced them with this favor, even in a Nazi death camp? Simply put, the guards avoided their barracks because of the severe infestation of fleas!

What grace might the Lord desire to bring to bear in our lives so that we will be grateful and He will be glorified? Can we learn to give and live thanks even in the midst of cancer, unemployment, internment, war, or family pain? Can we learn to be thankful for peas and pies as well as fleas and flies? May we be a people who make God known by living and “giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20).

To the ends of the earth until the end of time!

Pastor Rob

Thanks-living Telescopes

The psalmist wrote this praise song:

²⁹ But I am afflicted and in pain; may Your salvation, O God, set me securely on high.
³⁰ I will praise the name of God with song and magnify Him with thanksgiving.
³¹ And it will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs.
³² The humble have seen it and are glad; you who seek God, let your heart revive!
³³ For the Lord hears the needy and does not despise His who are prisoners (Psalm 69:29–33, NASB).

Surely, a tell-tale trait of any true born-again believer is a passion to "praise the name of God with song and magnify Him with thanksgiving!"

I have spent the better part of the day – indeed, the best part of this week has most assuredly been the past six hours – reading sermons about thanksgiving. My meager little cup is running over right now with joy and worship. I am indebted to Spurgeon, Piper, Pritchard, and others for the spotlights they have shone on God’s Word and God’s works in my life. Their cues have prompted me to raise my voice in jubilant song to the Author of my salvation, the King of glory and grace! Hallelujah! Thank You, Lord Jesus!

As I write this article, I wish it were Sunday already so that we might together remember and rejoice and reckon our lives to have been best lived when we are immersed in thanksgiving. Of course, you are most likely reading this on Sunday as we prepare to celebrate in worship together. So, my prayer as I write and as you read is that these few paragraphs may serve to inspire us to "praise the name of God with song and magnify Him with thanksgiving." Take a moment right now to reflect with me on three thoughts about thanksgiving from Psalm 69:29-33.

1. Notice that the songwriter confesses a condition we do not naturally acquaint with thankfulness or gratitude.

In verse 29, the psalmist declares, "I am afflicted and in pain." In fact, much of this psalm is actually a prayer, a near frantic plea for rescue. His own foolishness and guilty acts (verse 5) have made him vulnerable to the attack of his enemies and accusers. The potential impact his failures could have on other believers burdens him (verse 6). Moreover, he yearns to worship the Lord, to honor Him, and to defend God’s honor (verse 9). Yet even from the pit in which he finds himself, he sings.

Why? How? Though he is needy and a prisoner, he is still Yahweh’s Own possession (verse 33)! He knows it is not who we are or what we are or what we’ve done that matters most, but Whose we are. Our identity in Christ – not as perfect people but as undeserving sinners purchased by His blood – should be our focus. As God’s possession, we are not defined by our circumstances but by our relationship to God and the glorious consequences of His purposes and power in the lives of the people who put their hope in Him! Actually, this shifts our concentration from off ourselves onto the One Who deserves our attention and allegiance – the Lord Jesus Christ.

2. When with our lips and our lives we "praise the name of God with song and magnify Him with thanksgiving," other people can find hope and gladness and even recovery.

Verse 32 describes the impression and influence the Lord intends to make with our lives lived in this twisted world upon the lives of every other person who comes to the end of themselves and realizes they are in prison and in need. Perhaps this is why our crowns are not distributed to us until we get home (even then, we cast them at the feet of the Lamb!). Our medals and badges and awards for successfully passing through this world as if we were untouched and unsullied by its mud and muck, these do not impress people, nor do they attract them to our Savior. On the other hand, when we "magnify Him with thanksgiving" even as we grieve the death of loved ones or struggle to keep our families together; if we labor in the same trenches as our neighbors do, only with joy and confidence of our ultimate rescue; then we are more likely to encourage the people watching our lives to look to Someone bigger than themselves and find life.

3. Therefore, our singing – more than our successes or our sacrifices – pleases Father.

God, our Creator and Redeemer, is more pleased when we sing His praises and "magnify Him with thanksgiving" than when we perform religious rituals (verse 31). Consider that word, "magnify." John Piper suggests two different ways we might "magnify" something. A microscope or magnifying glass makes something appear greater than it is. But a telescope takes something that may seem small or insignificant and helps us see it as great as it really is.

So, here the psalmist does not mean: "I will make a small God look bigger than He is." That’s ridiculous! No, he means to say: "I will make a big God begin to look as big as He really is." Beloved, we are not called to be microscopes. We are made to be telescopes! – to reveal what an awesome God is our God, the Creator-King of the universe and our Redeemer!

"O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His name together" (Psalm 34:3). Let’s raise the rafters with our songs of praise this morning! Let’s raise the dead hopes of our FRANs (Friends, Relatives, Associates, and Neighbors) as we "magnify Him with thanksgiving." Let’s make this a season of thanksgiving a springboard to get about the glorious task of thanks-living!

To the ends of the earth until the end of time!

Pastor Rob

To Arms!

By any standard of measure, our first ever “Trunk or Treat” was a tremendous success this week. Kudos to our KidzTown Council and all our volunteers! I estimate we gave candy to 125-150 children from our neighborhood. Many of their parents thanked us and inquired about our church. In the long run, this simple ministry has provided us additional prospects, helped us break through the perception of churchiness that sometimes hinders our witness, and helped us dream outside the box about new ways to love our neighbors. That said, however, I must remind you: “We are at war!”

Were you to read those words apart from actually knowing me, or with no conversational context for such a statement, you might begin to form an incorrect and incomplete idea about me. You might think me to be some sort of alarmist, for instance, or warmonger. Perhaps you would assume I simply exaggerate for emphasis. Maybe, you theorize, I have some cultural or social axe to grind. You could even imagine me to be upset or pouting because some election did not go my way. And your presumptions about me, the messenger, would most assuredly influence your receptivity and response to my message: “We are at war!”

So, for those of you who are reading this and do not actually know me all that well, allow me to describe myself very briefly and to provide some context for my assertion. I love to laugh and sing and eat and play and be around other people who share a contagious “joie de vivre” – literally, a joy of living. I am a reader, an information junkie, and a student on a perpetual quest for conversation that informs, inspires, and incites me to become a better person, a better partner, a better parent, and a better pastor.

I am 46 years old – old enough to have been around the block a time or two and also to know I have much, much more to learn, old enough to begin to appreciate all that I have been given and to own my obligation to give back. I am very happily married – a happiness in no small part directly related to my growing awareness of how rare and precious a lady is my wife and how common and unworthy a steward am I to have wed so far over my head. I am the father of five wonderful children – each one a treasure and an assignment from heaven, each one for whom I would quickly lay down my life, and for whom I am learning I must just as readily purpose to live my life to the fullest. I am a pastor, a shepherd, a brother among family whom I love and I am charged to protect and feed and lead. Most importantly, I am born again, a child of God, a joint-heir with Jesus Christ, an image-bearer redeemed by His blood and filled with His Spirit to manifest the Truth about Him!

What does this have to do with war? Much, but simply this for now: I do not want war. I want peace and gentleness. My hopes are for safety, security, prosperity, and quiet living for myself, my family, my church, and my community. So, when I say: “We are at war,” it is not because I wish it so, but rather because by wishing, I am not able to make it not so. Moreover, peace is not achieved by appeasement but by resolute engagement against the threats to peace. Ask our Lord Jesus Christ Who found no other way to set men free that does not lead through a cross and a grave to a promise and a triumphant return.

“We are indeed at war!” This war, however is more than a clash of cultures or worldviews or generations. This war is cosmic and pervasive. It is the epic confrontation between Heaven and Hell over the souls of men and the integrity of God Himself.

By now you may be completely lost as to my meaning and wonder: “Where is he going with this, anyway?” In order to help you understand the war of which I speak and our role in this struggle, let me introduce the occasion that prompted this call to arms. The incident speaks to the vile nature and subtlety of our enemy, the precious and vulnerable souls at stake, and the response we, the people of God, must consider and implement. The following warning shot flew across my bow this week.

On December 7, a new movie will be released entitled “The Golden Compass,” based on the first book in a trilogy by author Philip Pulman. I remember seeing a trailer for this movie and thinking I might like to take my kids to see it. That is not my opinion now. My chief concern with what I am learning about “The Golden Compass” is two-fold:

1. The author is cited numerous times as being a self-avowed atheist (no problem yet – a man can believe what he wants … until the judgment) intent upon discrediting Christianity and countering the impact of the likes of CS Lewis (okay – now my cackles are going up).

2. My most serious concern is the shameful way these lies are being marketed to children! If the books are even remotely similar to the descriptions I have read from reliable, mature, credible sources, then the marketing of their content to children is nothing less than heartless targeting of the innocents! Unlike movies like “The DaVinci Code” or “The Last Temptation of Christ,” which targeted the faith of adults, this movie sets up an assault on children.

I have much more to learn and to say on this. For now, I want to enlist you to pray with me for the children, for wisdom, and for courage. Also, arm yourselves with information this week.

To the ends of the earth until the end of time!

Pastor Rob

Are We Done Yet?

I thought we were finished! Finally, we could sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labor. After weeks of exhausting effort and the discomfort of trying something I do not feel especially well suited to do, I imagined the arrival and installation of our new kitchen appliances would quite nicely serve as an excellent finishing touch, like a perfectly placed cherry on the top of a banana split. I anticipated applause, affection, and adoration to come in waves from my family every time they walked across the new floor to get the milk from the new refrigerator, to pop a fresh bag of popcorn in the new microwave, to retrieve fresh cookies from the new oven, or to load dishes in the new dishwasher.

What was I thinking? Perhaps, by some fantastic estimation untouched by reality, a parent might justifiably expect one in five of their children may actually be glad for a new dishwasher. I should have known better. Such wild delusions of whimsy should have set off some sort of internal alarms in my mind. But, alas, I was unprepared for the real thief.

My fantasy began to be dismissed, blown away as one might wave off second-hand smoke, while the deliveryman showed me work I had not planned on that must be done before the appliances could be properly installed. My heart sank. Somewhere from deep inside my mind, a little boy was stomping the ground, waving his fist to the heavens, and whining, “It’s not fair! I thought I was done with all this! Not fair! Not fair! Not fair!”

I spoke today with a pastor friend of mine, a brother whom I hold in very high regard. He called to report where he had been the past year. We had not enjoyed any fellowship for twelve months. One year ago almost to the day, he had been riding high. In fact, we last spoke he radiated confidence and peace. He was fairly well busting out all over with joy and gratitude for where God had brought him and what God was doing in his life and ministry. He looked and sounded like a man who had just won a great race.

My friend is the founding pastor of the church he serves, and with constancy in his personal life and devotion in his ministry, he had laid a solid foundation upon which Lord Jesus Christ has been building His church. He overflowed with praise and thanksgiving when he told me last year that the church he pastors was about to baptize nearly 50 people in one service. Then, however, he went home from our meetings and found 6-8 months of turmoil that so troubled him that he nearly resigned.

In his voice, I could hear the same disappointment I felt about my kitchen, only his reason was more principled and his grief much more intense. He and the leaders of the church had worked hard and long. They had served faithfully, attained significant indicators of success, and had come to anticipate additional, perhaps even exponential growth as their momentum carried them on like a flywheel. Unexpectedly, however, they found themselves in a malaise, a kind of congregational depression. Within six months, this godly pastor assumed he was the problem. He reasoned that apparently he had taken the church has far as they could go without a change in leadership. He very nearly walked away.

Then they found sin in the camp. In the course of our phone conversation, this pastor related how they discovered a particular sin had crept into their church and begun to suck away life. As they applied themselves to deal with the core issue and the related breakdowns and losses that followed, the church seemed to be losing steam and families.

In a real sense, we are never truly finished here. So long as we breathe the air of these shadowlands, we have more to do with this life. We have not arrived – and never will in this life. While we live in the land of second chance, we are ever in the process of arriving. We will enter the joy of our Master’s rest when we get Home.

The enemy would have us settle. He would mislead us to substitute a poor facsimile of rest and reward here for that which Father holds for the faithful who do well, who finish well. Our foe would lead us to believe we deserve a break; we have worked hard, achieved some measure of success, and should now relax. Of course, the enemy would then have us fruitless, vulnerable, and unprepared to seize the opportunities God presents daily.

What did my pastor friend do? They faced the facts and applied biblical truth to their situation. They lost a number of families as well. At the end of the year, though, the church had actually continued to grow. Moreover, they had become more firmly rooted in the Word and in love. The pain produced new, unexpected advances in their pursuit of the kingdom. My brother also gained valuable insights that refreshed him personally and better armed him for ministry in Christ’s name.

What should we do when we realize we have more work to do? Face the facts. Adjust our aim for higher ends. Put one foot in front of the other and get back in the fray. Purpose to finish and to finish well.

I will finish my kitchen. By God’s grace and my wife’s patience, I will aim even to finish it well. I can endure today’s disappointments and unforeseen toil with the knowledge that God is not finished with me yet either.

To the ends of the earth until the end of time!
Pastor Rob