Merry Christmas!

May the presence of the Lord Jesus fill your Christmas.
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”) Matthew 1:23. — with Charlyn Thomasson.

SEASONAL LIVING

In many ways life is a series of seasons strung together.  You find yourself in one season and then it comes to an end, and then you find yourself in another.  The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3:1, There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.

Last Monday I had my annual checkup with my oncologist.  The report on my health was good.  And I’m certainly thankful to the Lord for His grace and mercy.  But something else happened which affected me emotionally.  My oncologist told me he was going to retire and this was the last time I would see him.  My first response was “No, you can’t do that.”  Though I said it half-jokingly that’s how I really felt.  And in the short time that we had left after he told me, I couldn’t get all the words together to express my gratefulness to him.  Time was up.  I’m planning on writing a letter to him to express my heartfelt thanks.  But at the end of my appointment with Dr. Marks last Monday, our season together ended.

It has been a twenty-seven year association as doctor and patient.  Ultimately God is the One Who extended my life and I give Him all the glory.  But I also acknowledge that He worked through my doctor to give me life.  On the medical end of it Dr. Marks saved my life.  I had been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease stage three out of four.  I was given a fifty percent chance of living.  My life had just been flipped over into rough seas in a horrific storm and I didn’t know if I would survive.  A tremendous strain was suddenly placed on my wife.  The upheaval in our way of living threw a “normal” home life of raising two children, a two year old and a three month old, into an upsetting routine of every two weeks Mommy and Daddy taking them to a baby sitter to spend a couple of days so Daddy could go to the doctor and then come home sick (my chemo nurse in good humor would say she had to make me sick to make me well). 

After seven surgeries/procedures, a year of chemo therapy, chest x-rays, CAT scans, PET scans, and numerous visits with Dr. Marks for twenty-seven years, last Monday he said, “Good bye and stay well.”  To be open with you I feel a sense of loss.  The connection was severed.  The season ended.  And though it ended with a victory, I still feel some grief.  I will miss him.  And though at times he was very clinical and straightforward with me, I am very thankful for him and his care.  So I feel a sense of grief, but I also feel a sense of joy.  I have much to be thankful for and I rejoice in what God has done and what He has done through my oncologist.  I have learned much.  I’ve been able to share my belief in Christ with him.  I’ve learned to trust God more.

Such are the seasons of life.  They come and they go.  And many times grief and loss are associated with the going of them and sometimes with the coming of them. 

But a season is more than just a span of time.  It carries with it “opportunity”.  Opportunity is the intrinsic value of a season.   Live life, then, with a due sense of responsibility, not as men who do not know the meaning and purpose of life but as those who do. Make the best use of your time, despite all the difficulties of these days. Don’t be vague but firmly grasp what you know to be the will of God (Ephesians 5:15-17 Ph.).

Even in your difficult seasons, opportunity is waiting.  Dig it out and use, and use it wisely according to God’s purpose.  This is your chance.  The season will pass and with it the opportunity.  Don’t waste it.  Because God is all-wise and all-knowing and ultimately in control of all, meaning and purpose can be found in even the difficult seasons of life, and that gives rise to wise use of the opportunities which come with them.

THE MOUNTAIN TOPS OF CHRISTMAS

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned … For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end (Isaiah 9:2, 6-7).

What great news for all believers in Christ!  A Light has dawned.  The darkness is pushed back.  Salvation has come.  There is a glorious future.  Isaiah’s prophecy tells us of the birth of Christ and His everlasting government of peace.  It would seem that these events are closely joined in time.

I went to college in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.  I recall many times standing at an overlook and gazing at the mountain tops which appeared in rows, one behind the other.  I didn’t see the valleys or the space between them.  All I saw were the mountain tops that appeared to be close to one another.

This is how the Old Testament prophets saw many of their prophecies.  They saw the mountain top events all at once but not the space between them.  That’s why Isaiah said that Jesus was born and in the same sentence that He would be the ruler.  At first glance it would appear that the Child would grow up and as an adult set up His unending government and He would be called the Mighty God – all in a matter of a few years.  But those are just the mountain tops.  Space and time exist between them. 

One mountain top event has occurred – the birth of Jesus, God in the flesh.  And we celebrate His first appearance on earth with Christmas.  He has since given His life as a sacrifice for our sins, physically risen from the dead in a glorified body, and ascended back to Heaven with the promise of His return.

Another mountain top is looming – Jesus’ return.  Only His next appearance will not be as a child, but as the Righteous Ruler of all, Who will settle the score and set up His government forever. 

Christmas reminds us of the past and the future – the past when Jesus came the first time and the future when He comes again.  We live between those two mountain top events.  And we’re on our way to the second.  Your journey in the valley between will determine how prepared you are when one day you find yourself face to face with that second mountain top event. 

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord (Ephesians 5:8-10).

Live daily in the joyful light of Christ’s salvation knowing that you have an eternal salvation on that next mountain top.

THANKSGIVING – A RESPONSE TO GOD’S GRACE

      Thanksgiving is our response to God’s grace.  Through the prophet Hosea in the Old Testament God reminds the people of Israel of His grace to them:  “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.  But the more they were called, the more they went away from me.  They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images.  It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them.  I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love.  To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them” (Hosea 11:1-4).

      The application to all believers in the Lord God is that He loves His people as His children.  He calls them, even though they tend to be disobedient and go the other way away from Him.  He teaches them.  He carries them.  He heals them.  He leads them with bonds of love.  He bends down to feed them.

      Take the time this Thanksgiving to respond to His grace to you. Thank Him for loving you as His child.  Thank Him for calling you to a purpose in life.  Thank Him for what He’s teaching you.  Thank Him for carrying you.  Thank Him for healing you.  Thank Him for leading you.  Thank Him for feeding you.

      With an attitude of thanksgiving listen to His calling and go in His direction.  Learn from what He teaches you.  Rest in His embrace.  As God matures and heals you, live it.  Stay enthralled with His love for you and follow His lead.  With humility and thankfulness be fed from God’s gracious hand.  Let His Word nourish you and satisfy you.  This is how we respond to God’s grace with thanksgiving.

SELFLESS SERVING

This being Veteran’s Day, what comes to my mind is selfless serving and the sacrifice many have made for our country and its freedoms that we still enjoy.  I thank God for our veterans and their families who have sacrificed much.

Jesus certainly made the ultimate sacrifice for us all.  By His sacrifice we have the opportunity to be free from eternal punishment for our wrongs, to be freed from the pain of our emotional wounds, and to be free to obey and trust Him with our lives.

The Apostle Paul highlights the significance of selfless serving.  In his second letter to the Corinthians Paul points out how others are promoting themselves as great apostles of God.  They come across with a superior attitude, as if they are closer to God, have more to offer than Paul, and claim their God-ordained status is the same as Paul’s.  Paul reveals their motives, that they are really all about serving themselves, not God.

Paul says, “I don’t consider myself inferior in any way to these “super apostles” who teach such things.   I may be unskilled as a speaker, but I’m not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every possible way” (2 Corinthians 11:5-6 NLT).  Paul explains that his motive is all about serving the Lord.  Instead of elevating himself he elevates Christ.  Instead of advancing himself he advances Christ.  And he does it all without feeling inferior to those who get all the notoriety for their super status.

Our society pushes us to try to become superstars.  But we must question our motives.  Why do we do what we do?  Why do we pursue what we pursue?  God wants us to promote the cross of Christ, not ourselves, and without feeling inferior to what we see and hear others doing.  Don’t buy in to what the world says is superior and what’s inferior.  They’ve got it backwards.  Instead buy in to what God says is superior and what’s inferior.  He says what’s superior is to serve sacrificially.  God will reward your serving.  And God’s rewards and compensation are far better than the world’s. 

Jesus said,  “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant … the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:26, 28).

OUR CULTURE’S CREED

The following poem by Steve Turner captures the perspective of our culture today.

Creed

We believe in Marxfreudanddarwin.

We believe everything is OK
as long as you don't hurt anyone,
to the best of your definition of hurt,
and to the best of your knowledge.

We believe in sex before during
and after marriage.
We believe in the therapy of sin.
We believe that adultery is fun.
We believe that sodomy's OK
We believe that taboos are taboo.

We believe that everything's getting better
despite evidence to the contrary.
The evidence must be investigated.
You can prove anything with evidence.

We believe there's something in horoscopes,
UFO's and bent spoons;
Jesus was a good man just like Buddha
Mohammed and ourselves.
He was a good moral teacher although we think
his good morals were bad.

We believe that all religions are basically the same,
at least the one that we read was.
They all believe in love and goodness.
They only differ on matters of
creation sin heaven hell God and salvation.

We believe that after death comes The Nothing
because when you ask the dead what happens
they say Nothing.
If death is not the end, if the dead have lied,
then it's compulsory heaven for all
excepting perhaps Hitler, Stalin and Genghis Khan.

We believe in Masters and Johnson.
What's selected is average.
What's average is normal.
What's normal is good.

We believe in total disarmament.
We believe there are direct links between
warfare and bloodshed.
Americans should beat their guns into tractors
and the Russians would be sure to follow.

We believe that man is essentially good.
It's only his behavior that lets him down.
This is the fault of society.
Society is the fault of conditions.
Conditions are the fault of society.

We believe that each man must find the truth
that is right for him.
Reality will adapt accordingly.
The universe will readjust. History will alter.
We believe that there is no absolute truth
excepting the truth that there is no absolute truth.

We believe in the rejection of creeds. 

By Steve Turner

My thoughts:

The secularist view of the world is a world without God.  On the one hand we have the secularist  view, the world’s perspective of life, and on the other hand we have God’s view of life.  The two views are separate and cannot be combined because they oppose one another. 

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him (John 1:9-10).

We are enlightened, not by the world, for the world doesn’t give us true light.  We are enlightened by Christ Who came from outside the world into our world.  He enlightens us to the truth. 

This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure (John 3:19-20 Mes).

Jesus said, “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness” (John 12:46).

The secularist’s view of the world is a world without God.  God’s view of the world is a world without truth.  God’s view of the world is a world that is in the dark, without light.  But God loved the world so much that He has sent Truth and Light into it in the form of His Son Jesus Christ.  If we are to know reality we must know Jesus.  If we are to be enlightened we must believe in Him.  If we are to know truth we must believe what He says.

The tragedy of the world’s view is described by Jesus in Matthew 6:23:  “If the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is”! (Matthew 6:23 NLT).

The joy of God’s view is in Who Jesus is.  He said in John 14:6:  “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

The world’s view of life and God’s view of life are in direct contradiction to one another.  Never confuse the two.

YOUR SERVING MATTERS

Jesus said, “The greatest among you must be a servant.  But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Matthew 23:11-12 NLT).  My thanks to all who served at Clay Community Church’s Fall Festival this past Saturday.  Excellently done!  Jesus says you’re great! 

Everyone who humbly serves for His Kingdom’s sake – Jesus says is great.  He says you will be rewarded and receive great honor.  Count on it.  God keeps His Word.  Though in the “here and now” you know something of His reward for serving, in the future there will be a big “pay day” for you.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers (Galatians 6:9-10).