Hope!

"The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah." v. 33 "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34

Years of prophecy, followed by years of silence. Can you imagine those 400 years of silence? Waiting? The people of God waited in anticipation of a Savior, and when He came, many didn't even recognize Him. After all, he came to a carpenter and his wife. He came in the middle of the night in a stable. He lay on a bed of straw. He was surrounded by animals, and shepherds. There were no trumpets sounding, or fine linens. It was just a plain, ordinary night. That was the night our Savior chose to enter this world. After 400 years of silence, here's what John says:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made, without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. v.9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. v. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:1-5, 9 and 14

There is something transcendent about the Gospel. It's such a simple story--one which prophets foretold for generations. One which has been passed down through generations in the church. But it's not just a story...it's an account of something that really happened. One ordinary night, the Word became flesh in a stable. The lowliest of places, the King of the world was born.

Read that opening scripture from Jeremiah again. I love that promise from Jeremiah. As a believer and a child of God, I cling to that promise--that His grace is sufficient for me. He will not forget His covenant--the new covenant through Christ. But it wasn't a covenant He made just with Israel. He made that covenant with all (Colossians 1:27). God chose to make known "the glorious mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

That is our message this Advent: Christ = hope.

I have a relative whom I love dearly. He is an atheist. He makes fun of the Church. He has dealt with all kinds of physical problems from birth. He's lived a challenging life. He's skeptical and cynical, and a brainiac who doesn't believe in anything he can't define or understand. Several Christmases ago, we were at his house. He had nativities all over the place. We were sitting at the dinner table, and I was commenting on all of his nativities. I asked him why he had all of the nativities (knowing that he's an atheist). He said, "I just can't help but think there must have been something really special about that night." It's funny--whether this relative realized it or not, even the most proclaimed athiests at some level can't deny Him.

Wise words from a non-believer. That night fulfilled prophesies...the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Our hope. Our deliverer.

People long for hope. People long for purpose. People long for something more meaningful than their finite minds can understand. We have the opportunity this Advent season to share with them the hope in Christ. Share your story. People are hungry, and listening.

Lord, You promise us that where we proclaim Your Word, it will not come back void. I pray right now that you will burden us with the names of people who need to know You. Give us the opportunity and courage to share you with a world that is in such need of Hope. Remember Your children, remember Your promise. We know that Your grace is enough. Allow us to reflect Your light and Your glory this season.

One Pure and Holy Passion

Election season is over. Do you just breathe a sigh of relief? No more political ads. No more evening phone calls from candidate call lists. No more political Facebook statuses.

I can remember not too long ago that I was sitting in my den listening to political pundits spin their candidates' tax plans. Both of them were misrepresenting the facts and figures. I began to talk back to the TV as they presented their side saying, "That doesn't make sense. That can't be true..." things to that effect. I finally hit pause on the TV, grabbed a pen and paper and began scribbling. After several minutes of running figures of both tax plans, I looked back up at the face of the paused pundit and rather agitatedly said, "Did you not learn math as a kid? Do the American people really buy your misrepresentations? Doesn't anyone know how to do simple math anymore?" About that time, I realized that my 11-year-old son was staring up at me from his book. He looked rather bewildered at why I was yelling at the TV about math. I think he thought his Mom had completely lost it. I looked at him and said emphatically, "Ben, this is why you need to learn math!" Okay, so me screaming at the TV probably wasn't the best way to get my son excited about his math homework. But my actions boiled over from this passion inside that had to get to the "truth" behind the "spin".

I've thought in recent days about how passionate I was about that issue, and, quite honestly, it made me a little ashamed. It made me wonder, "Do I show that same kind of passion in pursuing my Lord?" "Am I ever complacent about my walk with God?" "Do I miss opportunities to share the Gospel because my passions are divided?" As I was pondering these questions, I came across lyrics from the song "One Pure and Holy Passion", written by Mark Altrogge:

Give me one pure and holy passion. Give me one magnificent obsession. Give me one glorious ambition for my life: To know and follow hard after You, to grow as Your disciple in the Truth. This world is empty, pale, and poor compared to knowing You, my Lord. Lead me on and I will run after You.

We are blessed to have a Pastor who pursues his one pure and holy passion: Jesus Christ. He is getting ready to lead us on a two-year journey through the Scriptures. Next week, we will begin "The Word of God for the People of God". As we prepare to embark upon this journey together, I am praying that God will continue to cultivate that passion in me. How much more important it is for me to digest the Scriptures and learn Biblical principles than test political pundits and yell at the TV! I can't change politics. But I can help change this world for Christ, one relationship at a time. I have never been more excited about being in the Word as I am today. I can't wait to see all that God has to teach us along our journey through the Word.

"Lord, Lead me on, and I will run after You!"

Jeremiah 15:16
"When Your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear Your name, O LORD God Almighty."

Why do you stand here looking into the sky?

I have been working through the New Testament using Warren Wiersbe’s “Be…” series. Right now, I’m in Acts, using Wiersbe’s accompanying material “Be Dynamic”. I love that word dynamic! That is something that I am not, but have always strived to be. I’m comfortable behind the scenes—but not with being “out there”. But what he’s talking about is not an “in your face” kind of “dynamic”, but rather the motivating kind.

In the first 11 verses of Acts, we read about Jesus’ ascension into Heaven and the promise of His return. We hear the challenge of going into “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth” with the Gospel. But after that, two men dressed in white suddenly appear, and they ask this question of those witnessing Jesus’ ascension: “Why do you stand here looking into the sky?”

That phrase hit me. So often, we as Christians become paralyzed. It’s so easy to get bogged down in all of the junk and not have clear direction, and end up stagnant. Or, it’s easy to be looking at ONLY the eternal, that we’re paralyzed here in the present. I think that’s what the disciples thought. Their Savior and Lord disappeared into the sky…but they knew He was coming back. If I were standing there, I’d probably just want to sit down and wait. But, the two men in white prompted them into action.

Here’s what Wiersbe has to say about this passage in Acts. Leading up to this event:
“Jesus did not rebuke them when they “kept asking” about the future Jewish kingdom. After all, He had opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, so they knew what they were asking. But God has not revealed His timetable to us and it is futile for us to speculate. The important thing is not to be curious about the future, but to be busy in the present, sharing the message of God’s spiritual kingdom.”

Waking up this morning, with a new administration, with uncertainties about the economy and with all of the concerns that each of us has individually, this was a timely thought from Wiersbe. It is not important to be curious about the future, but busy in the here and now.

We have so much work to do, so many relationships to build, so many to share the Gospel with. We should each feel a sense of urgency, and a call to action. Just like the men in white implied…don’t just stand here, get moving! There’s a whole world who needs to know the love of the Savior that we already know and love!

This month is Missions Month in our church. We will hear testimonies and be challenged about spreading the Gospel. After that, in December, we begin an EXCITING ADVENTURE through the scripture – The Word of God for the People of God. Our Pastor has developed a 2 year walk through the scriptures for our church. God has AMAZING things in store for our future. Let’s put our feet to the plow and stay faithful everyday in our service to Him. Remember that you all are the FIRST TOUCHES with people as they come into corporate worship. You are important and you have purpose! It’s going to be a wild ride!