More, More, More!

Did you ever notice when some children open Christmas presents they hardly get it opened and really look at it before they are moving on to the next present and the next until they are finally all opened and paper trash looms in the room? However, a week later they don't even know where their Christmas toys are and even if they do they have no interest in them.

We try to teach our children to be thankful and satisfied with what they have. We don't want them to be greedy, yet we are like children in many ways. Think of how excited we are when we get a new home, new appliance, new furniture, swimming pool, boat, car, clothes, etc. For a while we notice and take care of these things, then they become routine - old hat and we are looking for some other thing to bring us pleasure. Often it is the desires of the flesh - eating, sports, sex, etc.

The Apostle John knew this about people. That is why he wrote in 1 John 2: 15, 16, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - is not of the Father but is of the world."

Things do not bring us lasting pleasure. Only God in Christ can bring us lasting pleasure that satisfies keeps us from wanting more. The deeper we grow in our understanding of Him, the more we shall be satisfied. Jesus has taught us that we are to love the LORD with all our heart, soul and mind and love our neighbors as ourselves. We are to love the LORD and people not things.

If you struggle with love for the world and it's pleasures, confess it to the Lord and He will forgive you (1 John 1:9). Praise be to Him for His continued forgiveness.

As Christmas draws nearer let us focus on what is important. God has given us all we need in Christ. All that we have in this world He has given to us and should be received with much thanksgiving. If we are truly thankful the worldly pleasures become less satisfying to us and we will not be saying "more, more, more."

P.S. We are traveling this week to Georgia and Virginia to spend Christmas with our children. I will not be posting until January 4, 2010. "May the Lord strengthen you in the inner man through His spirit and that you would know the love of Christ and be filled with all the fullness of God. May the knowledge of His presence be with you this Christmas season.

A very Merry Christmas to you and your family.

The Word of Life Manifested To Us

Sounds like the Christmas Story. It is!

In 1 John: 1 the Apostle John speaks as a witness to what he has heard, seen and touched. Of course, that being Jesus Christ. John bears testimony concerning the Word of life. Verse 2 tells us "the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us." He speaks of the fellowship we have with each other and our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. He writes these things so that our joy may be full.

He continues in verses 5 through 10 to say that God is light and if we walk in the light we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. Even though Christ has saved us from our sin we know that sin still exists in the world and in fact still exists in us. We have been forgiven once and for all yet our sin is not completely gone (v. 8). John is telling us to be on our guard. He continues with the good news that we have our advocate, Jesus Christ to forgive and cleanse us (v.9)

I believe we can see the meaning of Christmas in this chapter. Christ who is the Light and the Life came in the flesh to save His people from their sin.

Joy to the Word! The Lord is come.

Do You Talk To Yourself?

Okay, admit it. When you're alone you do talk to yourself sometime. I find when I am alone in the house doing the routine things that don't require much thought I sometimes talk to myself. Living in the age of cell phones, it is quite normal to see people in their cars talking even when they are by themselves. Before cell phones I would always hope if someone saw my lips moving perhaps they would think I was praying.

In Psalm 1: 2 the psalmist speaks of the man who delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on His law day and night. I turned that into a prayer. I asked the Lord to cause me to delight in His law and meditate on it day and night. Is it practical to meditate on God's law day and night? My bible gave a little note in the center that said another way of understanding the word meditate is "ponders by talking to himself." I laughed at first because I thought of those times I ponder and talk to myself. Webster says meditate is to "reflect on or ponder over" but doesn't say anything about talking to yourself. I think it is possible to meditate on God's law day and night. I know we have responsibilities that require other thoughts but I do believe that there is a sense in which we can always have a general awareness of His word.

As I have shared many times scripture memorization is very important to me and my spiritual health. Therefore, I encourage others to memorize scripture. Having His word in your heart and mind daily is the thing that enables us to meditate on it. Then when we are driving, exercising or doing mundane things around the house we can meditate on God's law. I use scripture as prayer sometimes. Many times I use scripture to talk to myself so that I hear the right things rather than listening to myself where I will hear the wrong things.

Life and schedules are very demanding. It is easy to get through a day without spending any time at all in the word. I know it is hard to find time to pick up your bible, sit down and spend time with the Lord. That is why I am so focused on memorization because you can take it with you. The key word in verse 2 is "delight." If we really delighted in His word we would spend more time with it.

It doesn't matter how you meditate on God's word - reflect, ponder or even talk to yourself. The important thing is that we delight in it and meditate on it day and night. The psalmist says "Blessed is the man..."

I Have Seen Your Salvation!

Our pastor's sermon yesterday was taken from Luke 2. As it spoke to my heart I thought I would pass on some of those thoughts.

He began with a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Lutheran pastor executed in Nazi Germany.

"We have been shielded from the awful nature of Christmas and no longer feel afraid at the coming near of God Almighty. We have selected from the Christmas story only the pleasant bits, forgetting the awesome nature of an event in which the God of the universe, its Creator and Sustainer, draws near to this little planet, and now speaks to us. The coming of God is not only a message of joy, but also fearful news for anyone who has a conscience. It is only by facing up to the fearfulness of the event that we can begin to understand the incomparable blessing. And while He judges us, He loves us, He purifies us, He saves us, and He comes to us with gifts of grace and love."

In Luke 2: 25 we see the man Simeon whom we are told was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel. He came by the Spirit into the temple and took the Child Jesus into his arms and looked into His face. Simeon said "For my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel."

It is good to try to grasp the human side of this baby so we can fully understand He became flesh to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we cannot do this without grasping His deity. While He was a baby, cried tears (in spite of a popular Christmas song that says "no crying He makes") and had the same needs any new born has we must understand this baby had a special plan and purpose for His life. That plan was to bring salvation and redemption to a fallen world.

We need to see the Child Jesus through the eyes of Simeon. As he held the baby in his arms he saw the Lord's salvation. This baby came to bring us hope, to show us the Father, to bring division among those who would believe and would not believe, to bring us the words of life and most of all to die for our sin. He came to be our salvation.

As we continue our celebration this Christmas and enjoy all the warm, happy things that surround our celebration of Jesus' birth, let us not forget the awesome nature of this event in which the God of the universe draws near to us and speaks to us. Let us face the fearfulness of this event so that we can understand the incomparable blessing of His coming.

In God We Trust

What is the first thing that comes into your mind when you see the words "In God We Trust?" I immediately think of the words printed on our currency. Even on the newest coins this statement is still being engraved. How interesting! A country that has taken prayer out of schools, banned manger scenes in front of some public buildings and refuses to recognize Christmas as a celebrated holiday has "In God We Trust" on it's coins.

In Psalm 56 David was praying for relief from those who were oppressing him. In verse 4 he says "In God (I will praise His word), In the Lord (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

Here in America we face the dangers of those who would oppress us. Events of September 11, 2001 changed our lives and our comfort zones. As a nation we must remember our roots are grounded in the God of the scriptures. We are very blessed in this country and there are many people who still believe in the statement "In God we Trust." Let us pray (without ceasing) for our country and those authorities that govern decisions that would deny God. In the meantime we must take heart in the fact that God is for us -not as an American nation but those who are His people. There will come a day when only the righteous will inherit the earth. The wicked will be cut off and we will finally be with the Lord to worship and praise Him without opposition.

Even David was looking forward to the heritage of the righteous and the calamity of the wicked. "For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, but those cursed by Him shall be cut off (Psalm 37: 22). "In God We Trust."

Talker or Listener?

Recently I was talking to someone or more accurately listening to someone who I confess was really beginning to irritate me. When you are with someone like this your eyes begin to glaze over and you begin to look for any possible way to get out of the conversation as graciously as possible. Unfortunately, I realized this is the way with many people. Webster says a conversation is an"oral exchange of sentiments, observations, opinions, or ideas." The key word here is exchange.

I happen to be a people person. My husband says I can talk to someone for five minutes and find out more about them than he would after many conversations with them. I don't know why I am like that but I am. I ask a lot of questions and am truly interested in learning about you. My son teases me and has told me I'd make a good reporter because I am nosy. I would like to think it is because I do have a genuine concern for people.

Philippians 2: 4 says "Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others."

Even though I like to ask questions, I also like to talk to someone who is showing an interest in me. I am sure many of you feel the same way.

Here is where I am going to get nosy. How about you? Truly stop and evaluate your behavior when you are in a social setting. Do you dominate the conversation talking about your work, spouse, kids and anything of interest to you? When someone speaks to you do you just go into non-stop verbiage or do you see the person and have a genuine interest in their interests? Notice this verse in Philippians doesn't say we are not to look out for our interests. It says "not only" our interests. We should first and foremost look out for the interest of others. In verse 3 of this passage we see we are to each esteem others better than ourselves.

The road that leads to joy is one where we are following the Lord in His ways. He has given us His word to teach us how to live before Him and others. If we are so wrapped up in ourselves chances are there will be little or no joy. Joy comes as we live for Christ and others even to include the simple conversation.

Their Good Example

Paul's letter to the Thessalonian church was to encourage them in their newfound faith. Acts 17 gives us the account of Paul preaching at Thessalonica. Some came to faith but the Jews who were not persuaded attacked many of the believers and brought persecution on them. Paul knows that these people came to faith in the midst of difficult times and persecution.

In chapter 1 of I Thessalonians we see Paul giving thanks for their faith. He tells them that he remembers without ceasing their work of faith, labor of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. They received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit. They became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. The word of the Lord sounded forth through them in every place. They had a good reputation in terms of their faith and commitment to Christ in the middle of trials. Paul was longing to see them again. He had such a heart for these people and wanted to know that they were still holding up in the faith in difficult times. Paul sent Timothy to check on them. He was encouraged because Timothy returned with good news of their faith and love and that they, too, had good memories of Paul, Silas and Timothy and desired greatly to see him again.

Many of us have not been persecuted because of our faith but we have had difficult trials that could weaken our faith. I have experienced first hand and know others whose testimony dims after long periods of tough times. How would those people who have been instrumental in your coming to faith in Christ see you today? Even if you have always known the Lord because of being raised in a Christian home there have probably been people who have been instrumental in your growth in Christ. How would those people see you today? Would they rejoice in seeing your continued faith as Paul did over seeing the continued faith of the Thessalonians? Would they still see your work of faith, labor of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father?

What a joy it would be for those who have taught us be able to say with Paul "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For you are our glory and joy" (I Thessalonians 2: 19, 20).

Long Life and Riches

If you could have two wishes what would they be? Many people would say "I would like to live a long life and have plenty of money." It sounds quite hedonistic. However, Solomon, the writer of Proverbs in chapter 3 speaks about having length of days and riches. The Proverbs seem confusing at times because they make declarations that we often do not experience in our day to day lives. Before we question the writer of Proverbs, we should seriously look at the conditions the writer gives us to experience these day to day things that seem so far from us.

The verses I will be speaking from are Proverbs 3: 13-18. It starts off with the heart of the matter. "Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding." Proverbs 9: 10 says "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." You see, before we can even think about having long life and riches there is a condition. That condition is first and foremost seeking the wisdom of God. That is what the writer of Proverbs drives home to us constantly.

It is not wrong to want long life and riches. It is how we spend our life and our riches. There is a correlation in these promises. Get wisdom - have long life and riches. I understand that many who seek wisdom and understanding never experience long life and riches but what they do experience is a peace and fulfillment in the Lord that is far better than life and riches. Others never experience long life and riches because they have never understood what it means to fear the Lord. That is the beginning of wisdom.

It all comes back to an intimate relationship with our heavenly Father through Jesus Christ. It is to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6: 33). It is hiding His word in our hearts (Psalm 119: 11). It is keeping His commandments and walking in His ways (Deuteronomy 8: 6). It is acknowledging Him in all our ways (Proverbs 3: 6).

None of us can do this perfectly which is why God gave us Christ to bridge the gap between us and a Holy and perfect God. He is able and He is the one who causes us to seek His ways.

Solomon finishes by telling us " Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her."

Jesus Is Here

When my grandson was just a little over two years old we were sitting together in the backseat of our car going to dinner. At one point I said to him "I'm so glad you are sitting back here with me so I wouldn't be all alone." He quickly said "Momma, you're not alone. Jesus is here." It was a great and quick reminder that we are never alone. It was even more precious to see this truth coming from him.

As the Christmas season draws near we begin to hear over and over again the Christmas story - our Holy God becoming flesh to save His people from their sins. In Matthew 1: 23 we are told "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."

About 8 years ago this truth had significant impact on my life and even more so during the Christmas holidays. I had been a Christian for many years but somehow was finding the Christmas celebration stale. I had become numb to the Christmas hymns and stories and struggled to be excited about this celebration. God in His wonderful mercy impacted me with the truth of His presence with us in the person of Jesus Christ.

This past Sunday the assistant pastor of the church we visited spoke on Matthew 1: 18-25. His main message was "God with us." He reminded us of God's presence with us in everything. You go to the doctor and receive bad news - God is with you, you receive news of the death of a family member - God is with you, your marriage is falling apart - God is with you, you're struggling with parenting - God is with you, you lose your job - God is with you. In all of these difficult situations the thing to cling to is God's presence with us. God became flesh to redeem us, save us from our sins and help us live in a fallen world. He did not just wind things up and let it run. He is here! He loves us! He will never leave you nor forsake you.

As the Christmas holidays come upon us and all the celebration that comes with it, it is my prayer for all of us that we would remember the truth of what the name Immanuel means - "God with us."