MERRY CHRISTMAS

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, Philippians 2:6-9

What a gracious, loving Savior we have. May Jesus be exalted in your Christmas celebration. We hope and pray you have a joyful and blessed Christmas.

          David and Charlyn

TIS THE SEASON FOR WISDOM

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:1-2 (NLT)

To have been able to find Jesus, to even know about Him and being from a far country, and to be sensitive to the Lord God’s leadership – the wise men must have been very learned and well-read men. They were wise.

God says we should be wise. He wants us to learn and grow. He tells us to add to our learning and be instructed. He says that revering Him is the gateway to knowledge of true knowledge. “Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance, … The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:5, 7.

What are you reading this holiday season that will make you wiser? I know it’s a busy time of the year, but if we’re going to keep our perspective and balance we need to take the time to nurture our souls. It’s wise to become knowledgeable of God’s ways and to follow them.

HEALTHY CONSCIENCE

The Apostle Paul served God with a clear conscience. He said in his letter to Timothy, “I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience”, 2 Timothy 1:3. The conscience is a powerful part of each one of us. According to Romans 2:15 (NLT) our conscience speaks to us, They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right. Our conscience is one of the ways God directs our words and actions.

If the conscience is stifled, resisted, or denied, not only will sin increase but emotional health will be sacrificed. Spiritual and emotional health diminish. The world’s ways which are expressed in very influential ways through our current culture push many people to go against their consciences. A self-focused attitude is loudly proclaimed, and would seem to drown out the voice of conscience.

However if the voice of conscience is muzzled enough, it can become deaf, blind, and speechless to truth. We become deluded. Not only do we become sick individuals – spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and relationally – our society becomes sick as well. Or should I say our society IS sick and unhealthy. It’s in desperate need of truth.

Jesus said, "…know the truth, and the truth will set you free", John 8:32. The truth is what sets us free from our delusional selves. The truth is what frees up our conscience so that we can become healthy.

So what’s the key to knowing the truth? In verse 31 Jesus begins by saying “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, …” John 8:31. The key is to live as a disciple of Jesus, a follower of Him and His teaching. It means to believe in Him such that you learn how to live from Him. You learn life from Him. You actually get life from Him. That is the way to truth which sets our consciences free from self-deceit, from delusional thinking, from emotional pain, and from oppressive on-going guilt.

Guess who has been given the responsibility to express the truth? It’s been given to the church. Whether our society realizes it or not, it needs the church. It’s the agent through which Jesus makes more disciples.

As disciples of Jesus, we must serve Him with a clear conscience. Here are some of the ways a clear conscience can make you healthy and strong:

A clear conscience:

• makes you courageous to tell others about the difference Jesus has made in your life (Acts 23:1)

• leads to right conduct toward the world and toward other believers in Christ (2 Cor. 1:12)

• is necessary in order to love others (1 Tim. 1:5)

• is needed to fight the good fight of spiritual warfare (1 Tim. 1:19)

• is needed to serve in the church (1 Tim. 3:9)

• produces a pure character (1 Peter 3:16)

• is provided by the Lord (1 Peter 3:21)

• makes you competent and certain (Heb. 13:18)

A clear conscience must be worked at continually. Paul said in Acts 24:16, “I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.” Make it a priority to have and maintain a clear conscience. It is a powerful part of who you are and who you become.

DEAD AND ALIVE

Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it. You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires. Colossians 2:18-23 (NLT).

We must learn to differentiate between what is of God and what is of man. What is of human origin and what is of Godly origin? Someone may say to you that you must trust God a certain way or live your Christian life a certain way or follow an experience they had or have a certain kind of experience with God. I’m not saying there is no merit in those things, but we should question the source. The danger is for anyone of us to make ourselves feel pious, godly, and “in touch with God – you can’t touch me,” by the actions we take or the words we speak. The question we must always ask is whether we do these things for ourselves or for Christ. Do we do these things because they make us feel good or feel spiritual? Or do we do these things to give praise and glory God?

Devotion, self-denial, and discipline are all necessary to follow Jesus. But they are not the answer to conquering the old flesh, the old you. The answer is in accepting the fact that the old you has died with Christ. You are a “new you” now. And the new you is capable of sincere selfless devotion, self-denial, and discipline in the strength of Christ because He now lives in you and through you.

Colossians 3:3-4, 10 (Ph) says, As far as this world is concerned, you are already dead, and your true life is a hidden one in Christ. One day, Christ, the secret center of our lives, will show himself openly, and you will all share in that magnificent denouement. … You have finished with the old man and all he did and have begun life as the new man, who is out to learn what he ought to be, according to the plan of God.

It’s time now to learn all about who you are as the “new person” in Christ. Learn what God’s plan is for you. Learn the truth and live it. You are new! You are alive! You are connected to Christ and His power forever! Live your new life with your new freedom in the new power you have from Christ living through you. This is your life now.

PERSEVERANCE AND PIT BULLS

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” 1 Cor. 9:24-25.

Last week our son Andrew ran the City of Oaks Marathon in Raleigh, NC. Charlyn and I had the great opportunity to be there and watch him and cheer him on. It was an enriching time. As I think back on his race and the preparation he put into it, I think of some things that would encourage us in our spiritual race of faith in Christ.

Living and growing in the Christian life is a long distance race. The Bible says, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, Heb. 12:1. The journey of faith is a marathon not a sprint. When people think of a marathon, most simply think that a person runs for several miles and that’s a really cool thing. But a lot goes into the preparation and a lot happens during the race. After all it’s over twenty six miles. To run that far is a huge feat in itself.

We’re all in the race of faith. Paul points to the finish line for us when he says, “I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace”. Acts 20:24.

When I think of Andrew completing his marathon I think of several things that apply to each of us in our “life-long race of faith”:

One is self-discipline. To rise early in the mornings, even when it was dark and cold, and run twelve or eighteen or twenty miles – takes self-discipline. To be faithful to the Lord and to what He says to do requires self-discipline. To follow Jesus as a disciple takes discipline. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 2 Tim. 1:7

Setting our minds on what we are going to do is essential too. Andrew made the decision to run the marathon months before the event itself. He set his mind to it and trained for it. Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Col. 3:1-2. Set your mind on the interests of the Lord and you’ll run a worthy race.

Stay in the race even when you’re attacked by the enemy. Early one dark morning as Andrew was running his eighteen mile training run, he was attacked and bitten in the back of the leg by a pit bull. He fell down and began kicking. The dog ran away. Andrew got up and kept running for another eight miles before he felt the pain, and then decided to go back and tend to the wound. I’m thankful to say he required no stitches, only a tetanus shot, and the dog was not rabid. The next morning Andrew was out running again. We will be attacked and even knocked down at times, and momentarily hindered, but we must get up and get back to running the race. Just because you’re knocked off your feet at a point in time doesn’t mean you’re finished. The race is still in front of you. Run it! …finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given…

Hydration is a must when running a long distance. Andrew took advantage of the water stations along the way. He, like the others, paused and quickly gulped down cups of water. Jesus said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life”. Rev. 21:6. Unless we pause regularly along the course of faith to drink of the life-giving water from Jesus, we will lose energy, stumble and fall, and bring unnecessary pain and problems to ourselves.

Encouragement from others injects strength into our weary spirits. We are dependent on the cheering from others to “keep going, don’t stop, you can do it, take the hill,…” Andrew was greatly motivated by someone he didn’t know who ran up along side him and said, “Be strong brother. There’s a hill up ahead.” Paul emphasizes the significance of encouragement when he speaks of Titus – “In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you.” 2 Cor. 7:13. Get around people who are encouraging and be refreshed.

There’s a saying among marathoners – “The real race is the last six miles. That’s when the race really begins.” The first twenty are hard, but the last six are grueling. It becomes a matter of pure endurance. And there is nothing wrong with gritty endurance. It’s everything right. The Bible tells us over and over to endure and persevere. It’s a component of faith. Jesus said, “The one who endures to the end will be saved”. Matt. 24:13.

So be strong brothers and sisters. Hills are up ahead. And by God’s grace and our gritty endurance we will cross those hills and then we’ll cross the last one. And as we come over that last hill we will see the finish line in the distance and we’ll run with renewed vigor because we know the arms of Jesus are opened wide and waiting for us on the other side.

A SANCTUARY

When do we experience God’s protection, provision, power, and the joy of His presence in our lives? When we make Him our “sanctuary.” When we choose to live with God as our protection, provision, power, and ever present Counselor, we live with Him and in Him as our sanctuary, the “Holy Place.” In Psalm 16:11 we’re reminded of the emotional lift God’s presence has in our lives, “In Your presence is fullness of joy.”

Though the first application of Isaiah 8:9-14a refers to the enemy nations of Israel, the secondary application can be applied to our personal lives. Here we find some necessary steps on how to have God as our sanctuary:

1. When is God everything you need? When you are broken and shattered.
Verse 9 begins, “Raise the war cry, you nations, and be shattered! …be shattered! … be shattered!” The word “shattered” in the NIV is used three times in verse 9. It drives the point home that our arrogance must be shattered. When our self-will is broken, when we’re broken and hurt because of our sin, when we’re bowed before the Lord and our pride is broken – that’s when God becomes our sanctuary.

2. When is God everything you need? When you listen to God’s Word and put it into action in your life.
Verse 9 goes on to say, “Listen, all you distant lands. …” When we “do” what God says in the Scriptures, when we apply it to our lives – that’s when God becomes our sanctuary.

3. When is God everything you need? When you follow His plan for your life.
Verse 10 says, “Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us.” God’s purpose prevails. Discover His plan and go with it. And don’t get ahead of Him. Let Him lead – that’s when God becomes our sanctuary.

4. When is God everything you need? When you respect God as holy in your everyday thinking, talking, relating, and actions.
Verses 12-14a tell us, “… do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread. He will be a holy place;” The Lord is not just a good Friend and Forgiver and Lover of our souls; He is Holy God Who is to be respected and reckoned with. And in so doing we find that He becomes our “holy place”, our “sanctuary” where we are protected, provided for, empowered, and refreshed with His constant presence.

WHERE’S THE WISDOM?

… I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2:2b-3 (NLT)

Jesus said,

Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. John 17:3

Our goal is to grow in the true knowledge of Christ. A complete confidence in Christ results in spiritual growth. I believe I speak for most of us when I say that we need more confidence in Christ, more understanding, and more wisdom and knowledge.

Where’s the wisdom? To grow in your relationship with Christ is wisdom. That’s where knowledge is. “All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” are hidden in Him. Those treasures of wisdom and knowledge are there waiting to be unlocked as you grow in knowing your Savior and Lord.

The increase of wisdom from the Lord in your life is proportionate to the consistency and depth of your relationship with Him.

We need His wisdom in so many areas of our lives: personal life, marriage, family, career, finances, ministry, and relationships in general. You have a choice to grow in wisdom or not. How much do you desire the wisdom of Christ? I see a great need in my life for His wisdom.

Increase your time with Christ and your wisdom will increase.