Watch for Signs of Complacency 

When I heard that a couple of my family members were looking for gift suggestions for me for Christmas, I let it be known that I could use two or three new pairs of jeans. In recent months, I had noticed that all of my current jeans were beginning to show significant signs of wearing out. However, those indicators didn’t show up where I would have expected. When I was younger, the signs that I needed to replace my old pair of jeans usually began with small holes in the knees from actively playing outdoors or from playing with toys on the floor of our house. And unlike today, those rips weren’t considered fashionable. But the holes I noticed showing up in my jeans today are in a different location. They can be found in the seat of the pants. As much as I might like to try to blame this on the fact that “they don’t make things like they used to”, I suppose it says something about which part of those pants get the most use these days. I guess I do more sitting than I did back when I was younger.

 Although I do still try to stay active by walking, doing yardwork, and even getting on a pickle ball court occasionally, I also do quite a bit of sitting – whether working at a computer or kicked back in my recliner relaxing, reading, or watching TV. I don’t expect to be joining in any neighborhood ballgames or to be crawling on the floor playing with toys too often, although I do some of that with my grandkids. However, my worn jeans serve as a reminder to me to make sure that I don’t become too inactive as I grow older.

As we get ready to head into a new year, let’s guard against complacency and lethargy, not just in life in general, but especially in connection with our relationship with the Lord and doing what He has called us to do. It may not show up by holes in the seat of our pants, but what would be some signs that we may not be as active as we once were in walking with God and in serving Him?  

It might manifest itself in some gaps in our church attendance. We don’t show up as regularly and faithfully as we once did. Granted, as we get older, health issues can play a part in such absences. However, let’s make sure that our desire to gather with other believers to worship the Lord and support one another has not waned. When possible, we seek to fulfill the scriptural admonition not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Hebrews 10:25).

Evidence of complacency could also show up in our personal times of Bible reading and prayer. The first of the year is a good time to recommit ourselves to having a daily devotional time with the Lord, preferably in the mornings to get our day started off right and to get us focused on what is most important. Make a plan to read your Bible every day. Spend some time in prayer. Maybe some of us need to wear holes in the knees of our pants not by playing but by kneeling and praying more often.

What about our service to the Lord? Are we still finding ways to be a help, blessing, and witness to other people? Or are we focused totally on ourselves and our needs? Let’s not grow complacent in fulfilling our mission to share the good news about Jesus, to make disciples, and to love others.

Let’s allow the Lord to show us any holes in the seat of our pants today. And let’s dedicate ourselves to being more active in following Him.

 

It Is Not About Saving Christmas 

Last weekend I saw that a certain older Christmas movie was being aired on a TV channel that specializes in such programming. Since it was one we had regularly watched with our children when they were young, I decided to tune in for the sake of a little nostalgia. It is titled The Night They Saved Christmas. I am aware of at least a couple of other movies with similar titles about saving Christmas. Actually, when you think about it, that is a common theme among many holiday flicks. They involve stories about Christmas being threatened by evil characters, bad weather, or various other circumstances. Will Santa be able to deliver his gifts? Will the family be able to get together as usual? Inevitably someone comes along who heroically solves the dilemma and saves the day.

While that theme can make for some interesting stories, the truth is that Christmas doesn’t need saving. I suppose it might need rescuing at times from secularism and commercialism, but the reality of Christmas will come regardless of who or what may try to take it away. It is with us always, not just during this season of the year. No matter what our world may do to the celebration, no matter how our situations may change or our traditions be altered, the truth remains that Christ was born in Bethlehem.

In the midst of all these stories about saving Christmas, the true story is about how Christmas saved us. We are not the rescuers. We are the ones who needed to be rescued. We are not the heroes who saved the day. Our hero is Jesus. He is the one and only Savior. Christmas is about His loving, sacrificial, and heroic actions to come into this world to save us from our sins.

Granted, the act of being born or of the Son of God taking on human flesh is not what remedied our hopeless situation of being lost sinners facing the condemnation of a holy God. However, it was the first step toward our deliverance. It was the beginning of our Savior’s mission. The angels made it clear that this was the reason for Jesus’ miraculous entrance into our world. One of them told Joseph to name Him Jesus because “He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). And when the angel announced His birth to the shepherds, they proclaimed, “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). The One being born was above all else a Savior.

His saving mission wouldn’t be fulfilled until many years later. It would come after a wonderful, sinless life in which He would teach inspiring truths, do great miracles, and help many people. It would come through going to a cross and dying as the sacrifice for our sins. It would culminate in a glorious resurrection. But it had to start in a manger in Bethlehem. He had to be born in order to give His life for us. He had to live in a fleshly body in order to die.

 Yes, there is an aspect of “saving” in the Christmas story. However, let’s keep it straight. No red-nosed reindeer or any other character is the one who does the saving. And it is certainly not us. It is Jesus and only Jesus. While we might seek to save Christmas by making sure presents are given, traditions are upheld, and families are together, the best way we can celebrate is to make sure we have let Jesus save us – and then to let others know that He can save them too. Let Jesus be your Christmas hero. That is why He came – to save us from our sins.

 

The Perfect Christmas Story 

Are you familiar with the term “mashup”? It refers to when something is created by blending elements from multiple sources. It is used in reference to songs but also in stories, TV shows, and even costumes – such as one of Yoda dressed up as Batman’s crime-fighting sidekick Robin. I did a little mashup with my Christmas decorations this year. I took the abominable snow monster from our Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer collection and placed it in the middle of our Bedford Falls village from the movie It’s a Wonderful Life. I even thought of a possible storyline for the scene. The monster terrorizes this quiet little town, but George Bailey saves the day when he wishes that the invader had never been born. On second thought, would the monster disappear or would it simply be that no one would recognize who it was? Mashups can get complicated.

I tried to think of some mashups related to the biblical account of Jesus’ birth. How about if the Grinch tried to steal the gifts the wise men brought to Jesus? Or what about if those Magi were guided by Rudolph and his shiny nose rather than the star over Bethlehem? What if the angel who brought the news to Mary about her conception was the bumbling, loveable Clarence? You might be able to create some interesting storylines from combining such narratives, but none of them could be better, more amazing, or more relevant than the one true story itself.

We may not intentionally add to the biblical account for entertainment purposes, but there are plenty of non-biblical elements and stories surrounding the Christmas season that can get blended in with the real meaning of the season. We can get focused on those other aspects of the holiday and lose sight of the primary cause for our celebration. We can enjoy the decorations, the food, the family gatherings, the songs, and our favorite Christmas movies. However, if we aren’t careful, we can end up like Charlie Brown – going through the motions of the season but confused about the meaning of it all. We need a Linus to come along and remind us of the simple, yet profound, story of the birth of Jesus. The truth needs no mashups in order to liven it up or to make it fit today’s world. It is wonderful just the way it is.

So let’s be sure in the midst of all our other activities and all the other storylines of the season that we stay focused on the real, unadulterated Christmas story. Every member of the human race was guilty of having sinned against a holy God, our Creator. We were facing the consequences of that fallen condition, including separation from God, and the certainties of death and hell. Nevertheless, this same God loved us so much that He made a way for us to be restored to a right relationship with Him. The great, invisible, infinite Spirit Himself, lowered Himself to take on flesh and blood and become like us. He was born into this world through a virgin girl’s miraculous conception. He came to be our Savior. He did it by living a sinless life, then allowing Himself to suffer and die as the unblemished sacrifice for our sins. He took our place and took our punishment on Himself. And then He was resurrected as proof that He truly was the Son of God. So through faith in Him, we can be delivered from sin, become children of God, and receive an eternal home in heaven.

Mashups can be fun and interesting, but nothing is better than the true story of Christmas about a loving God, a miracle birth, and the arrival of our Savior. Glory to God in the highest!

 

Be Thankful for the Christmas Season 

After recently reading several books that focused on deep biblical doctrine and theology, I decided that I should look for something lighter for my next read. I ended up pulling out my copies of the series of writings known as The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. It had been quite a few years since I had last read these enjoyable tales with their engaging analogies in relation to Christianity. In a short time, I have already completed six of the seven small volumes.

At one point in these stories, it pictures a world that is under the curse of an evil force. That place is described as a world in which it is always winter but without any Christmas. Even apart from the theological implications of such a circumstance, many of us would consider it to be unpleasant to live in such world. We are thankful for a Christmas season that gives us an occasion to celebrate in the midst of the harshness of wintertime. It is nice to see the holiday decorations brightening up what would otherwise be a rather drab landscape with its bare gardens and leafless trees. It is uplifting to view the holiday lights in the midst of the increased darkness of winter. Christmas fills this season with a hope and joy that would otherwise be missing. Even for those who may ignore the true meaning of the occasion, Christmas is a welcome respite to the cold months of winter.

However, for those who recognize the deeper significance of this holiday, there is even more reason to be grateful for its existence. It is more than simply a break from the winter doldrums. It is a recognition of the gift of God’s Son that brought light and life into our world. It is a celebration of God’s great love as He provided the means for our deliverance from the sin and evil that had imprisoned our hearts in its cold, harsh environment. It reminds us of the reasons we have to possess joy and hope in a world in which evil and suffering still exert a heavy influence.  

Imagine if we did live in a world where evil prevailed and Jesus had not been born to be our Savior. What if there wasn’t a Christmas? Without the coming of God’s Son in the flesh, there would then have been no miracle-working Jesus, none of His teachings for us to live by, and no sinless example for us to seek to follow. But most of all, there would have been no cross and no empty tomb – no sacrifice made for our sins and no glorious resurrection to verify it all. We would all be wandering aimlessly in the frozen tundra of our sins with no hope of anything ever changing. We would be forever bound in our winter prison.

Sometimes we may be tempted to view the Christmas season in a negative way due to the busy activities, the heavy traffic, the expense of shopping for gifts, the preparations to host gatherings, or even for theological reasons having to do with pagan practices and the likelihood that this wasn’t actually the time of year when Jesus was born. However, let’s not lose sight of the basic truth for which we should be thankful. Jesus was born. And it is an event worth celebrating because it is the beginning of everything else Jesus would do to provide for our salvation. Without the manger, there would no cross. Jesus had to be born in order to fulfill His mission.

So let’s be thankful for the Christmas season. Let’s be grateful that it doesn’t always have to be winter in our hearts. The Savior has come to bring us light and life.   

 

Be Someone Who Builds Up Others 

When some of our younger grandchildren were at our house recently, at one point they pulled out a bag of building blocks to play with. As several of them constructed towers, trains, and robots, our youngest grandchild had a different idea. As a toddler, he wasn’t very good at putting the blocks together. So his enjoyment came in constantly destroying what the others were trying to build. When he wasn’t being restrained from carrying out his mission, everyone had to be on guard to protect their projects from his clutches. One of the more humorous sights on that occasion was to see the toddler chasing one of his cousins throughout the house as that youngster was desperately holding onto his building project to keep it from getting torn apart.

Do we tend to be people who build up or those who tear down? There is an appropriate place and time for both activities. In that familiar passage in the Bible that talks about there being a time and season for everything, it affirms that there is “a time to break down, and a time to build up” (Ecclesiastes 3:3). Sometimes bad, inappropriate, or simply outdated things need to be torn down. In some cases they need to be removed in order to build something better. And we may find ourselves in positions of authority in which we need to be the ones to expose such matters and to offer correction in relation to such things in people’s lives which need to be removed. However, too many people have appointed themselves to be the ones who tear down. Some of them even seem to take as much pleasure in doing so as our young grandson did in dismantling the creations of his siblings and cousin. In many situations, the tearing down is better left in the hands of God. He is better able to judge not only the behavior of people, but their spirit and motives. Generally, we should leave the convicting of sin and carrying out of judgment to Him, while we can be there to help pick up the pieces and assist with the rebuilding.

The Bible advocates more for the act of building up as being our main concern and mission as followers of Jesus, especially when it comes to our relationship with fellow believers. Some translations use a form of the word “edify” to convey that truth. “Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you are also doing” (I Thessalonians 5:11). “Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification” (Romans 15:2). We need to be concerned about and actively seeking to edify or build up others.

Even those in leadership, those who may need to correct and rebuke at times, ought to keep edification in mind as the main goal. “And He gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12). Even when the Apostle Paul was disciplining a church, he saw the ultimate aim being to build up, not to destroy. “Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the authority which the Lord has given me for edification and not for destruction” (II Corinthians 13:10).

Let’s not be those people who are best known for tearing down others. Let’s not be the ones people dread to see heading their way or entering their church doors because they are known more for their harsh judgmentalism and their tendency to cause division rather than for their love and unity. Let’s be the encouragers and the builders who are helping others grow in their faith.

 

Our Gratitude Should Not Be Seasonal 

My yard is covered under a blanket of leaves and pine straw calling out to me to get busy with my rake and leaf blower. It isn’t my favorite job to do, but I know that it always comes around this time of year. It is one of those seasonal tasks, the downside of having enjoyed all the beautiful colors of the autumn foliage in recent days. It is the season for other activities, too. It is time for many of us to thaw out the turkeys, preparing them for Thanksgiving dinner. It is the season for family gatherings, for starting to dig out the Christmas decorations, and for the heart of the football season.

It is also the season for gratitude. I have Facebook friends who follow the practice of posting an item for which they are thankful each day during the month of November. This is the time when we especially consider our blessings God has given us. Some of us will even take turns as we sit around a table filled with food choosing one of the many blessings in our lives to single out with a word of thanks. I am glad we have a season in which thanksgiving is given attention, in spite of it sometimes unfortunately getting minimized by the anticipation of and preparations for Christmas.

Nevertheless, while we take time to give our thanks, let’s not allow ourselves to become guilty of relegating it to merely a seasonal activity. Some things are confined to a certain time of year. I am thankful that I don’t have to rake falling leaves all year long, but only in the autumn months. I enjoy eating turkey on Thanksgiving Day, although I wouldn’t mind having it a little more often throughout the rest of the year. I am glad for special occasions when scattered families can come together to see one another. Many people enjoy the excitement of the football games this time of year. We enjoy seasonal things.

However, some things shouldn’t simply be considered seasonal. And the giving of thanks is one of those. While it is good to give special emphasis to our blessings this month, those same blessings are present throughout the year. It is good to acknowledge God as the giver of all good gifts as we sit around a Thanksgiving table. Yet that same God is active in our lives every day – on a frigid Monday morning in January, on a warm spring day, and while we are vacationing in the midst of summertime. God is there. And those blessings we count at Thanksgiving are there as well. The people we love. The provisions for us and our families. The health to be about our activities. The roof over our heads. The food on our tables. The peace of God in the hearts of those who have trusted Jesus as their Savior. The sure hope of a future life in heaven. It is all still there. “His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

If God’s blessings aren’t seasonal, neither should be our gratitude. He is worthy of our thanksgiving throughout the year. Yes, let’s emphasize it in the month of November. However, let’s not neglect it the other eleven months. Let’s cultivate a more consistent spirit of gratitude in our hearts and minds. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (I Thessalonians 5:16-18). Just as God wants our rejoicing and praying to be constant, He desires that our giving of thanks be an ongoing activity in our lives no matter when or what our circumstances are. Therefore let’s seek to make every season a time for gratitude.

 

Seek More than Just a Little Jesus 

During a recent road trip to preach at a church in another state, I stopped to fill up my vehicle with gas. While I was pumping the fuel, a lady walked by me, then turned around and spoke. She asked if she could give me a little Jesus today. In her outstretched hand was a tiny figurine created with all those features we commonly associate with the physical appearance of Jesus. I remembered seeing those small depictions of the Savior being promoted as a way to either begin conversations with people about spiritual matters or simply to leave one setting somewhere as a reminder to people of the presence of Jesus. I appreciated this woman’s boldness and effort to reach out to a stranger. I thanked her for the offer, but told her that I already knew Jesus and had Him in my heart, so maybe she could pass it along to someone else.

As I thought about that encounter later, another aspect of it came to mind. It had to do with the question she asked concerning “a little Jesus”. I understand and appreciate what she meant by that, but it also reminded me of something we need to be careful of concerning our relationship with the Lord. We all need Jesus in our lives. However, some people only want a little bit of Jesus in their lives. They want only enough of Him to get them into heaven. They want only enough of Jesus to have a measure of peace with God, but not enough to significantly alter their lives. They want just enough of Jesus that they can claim to be a Christian yet continue to live the way they want to live. They want Jesus to be in their life to some extent, but not be the One in control of their lives. They still want to call the shots themselves.

Jesus doesn’t intend for us to have only a little of Him. We need to have Him in His fullness. He is not content to simply be a guest in the home of our heart. He calls us to yield ourselves to Him as the Master of the house. He is not satisfied with being one of the various parts of our life that we value – alongside of our families, our careers, our sports teams, and other significant interests. He rightfully demands to be our one and only God. He is to be our top priority. We are not just to make Him and His kingdom one of the things we seek after, but we are to seek Him first, above all else.

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, you get no sense of believers only possessing a small part of Jesus. Paul’s prayer was for Jesus’ followers to “be filled with all the fullness of God” (3:19). A little later he states that part of God’s purpose for us is to attain “to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (4:13). Paul also affirms that Jesus didn’t send His Holy Spirit into the world so that we could just get a taste of Him. No, we are told to “be filled with the Spirit” (5:18). 

If we are settling for having only a little of Jesus in our lives, we are missing out on the blessings of His fullness and we are failing to fulfill God’s purpose for us. It could even be an indication that we may not truly have Him in our lives at all. Some of us need to quit focusing on how little of Jesus we can possess while still being acceptable to God, and instead become intent on pursuing more of Him and everything He wants to do in our lives.