Christmas is upon us once again. This is a most exciting and wonderful time of year. I find it fascinating that right in the middle of the most commercially charged time of year, where consumption reigns as king, God has placed a loud and clear reminder of what Christmas is all about: the coming of Jesus! At what other time of year will you hear people singing about the birth of the Messiah? When will our neighbors be more open to us sharing the gospel?

We have all sorts of Christmas pointers that surround us during the next four weeks…

·      Music

·      Decorations

·      Special Church Services

·      Movies

·      Parades

A concentrated focus on Christ during this time is not automatic, we must prepare ourselves personally, our family, and our community to sit up and take notice of the God-intended meaning of Christmas. Just how do we prepare? We need to begin through spending intimate time with God in the Bible and in prayer. Luke 2, Matthew 1-2, Isaiah 9 and Jeremiah 23 are good places to mediate on the birth of Jesus. After you’ve gotten yourself there, get your family to these Scriptures. Read them together, talk about them, and pray.

These are also great passages to memorize so we can pull them up at any time. With that in mind I am issuing another memory challenge: memorize the following verses during the Christmas season…

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. (Isaiah 9:2)

⁴In him (Jesus) was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

⁸The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

¹²…To all who receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:4-5, 8, 12)

Begin today and memorize one each week. By the time Christmas rolls around we will have them hidden in our lives and maybe God will open up a door for us to share the true meaning of Christmas through these simple but profound verses.

Every year we have a golden opportunity from God to point others to the Savior. It is during this time of year when people are more open to the gospel than any other, and point we must.

Grace & Peace,

Often when we are suffering, going through a trial, facing depression, being persecuted, etc. we react according to our circumstances. We don’t necessarily think biblical thoughts and direct the course of our life according to wisdom. We offer up all kinds of excuses for this type of wrong thinking: “I’m human.” “I deserve this moment of self-pity.” “I’m a victim of my circumstances.” And the list goes on. These excuses are really a direct hit against God.

What I believe we need is to refocus our attention on what God’s Word says about God’s purposes behind the testing. Let’s look at one that I hope will help us all…

²Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, ³for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. ⁴And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4 ESV)

James doesn’t explain the cause of trials, he explains their purpose – perseverance that leads to maturity.

We don’t need to know the cause of our suffering as much as we need to know that there is a purpose behind it. This is where we discover hope in our pain. When we come to realize that God has a grand design to grow us spiritually through the pain we are experiencing then we have reached a pivotal point in our journey.

I’m not saying we can’t ask questions. But the tone of our questions will determine the condition of our hearts. If we react in an argumentative, bitter tone then we are shaking our fist at God and accusing Him of not being good. However, if we ask in a humble tone then we are opening our hearts up to God. Open hearts learn while clenched fists languish.

As we face trials, and certainly we will, let’s be confident that God has a sovereign plan for the trials. We then can find joy even in the pain.

Grace & Peace,

We are coming into Thanksgiving week. One of the quintessential attributes of a believer is to be grateful, and this doesn’t apply to just one day or one week out of the year. Thankfulness should permeate our lives everyday, all year long. We can always see the bad in people and events, but what marks the difference for someone who has a genuine faith is to be thankful no matter what. I was thinking this week that I would like to share a short primer on giving thanks to help and encourage each of us.

We can give thanks in every situation because we see our lives under the control of a loving God.

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

We can take great comfort in the fact the God is God and we’re not. We can confidently face anything that comes our way knowing God has His hand all over it. He is not going to turn His back on us or forget about us. He is God and can handle everything all at once for us.

We can give thanks in trials because we look beyond the circumstance to the purpose. Suffering doesn’t just happen to Christians haphazardly; God has a purpose behind each and every event in our lives. God custom designs trials to produce, grow and perfect our faith.

…We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance. (Romans 5:3; cf. James 1:2-4)

Giving thanks guards our hearts against our enemy.

⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication WITH THANKSGIVING let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will GUARD your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

Satan is not that concerned with a complaining, non-praying Christian; he is quite satisfied to leave us alone if that is how we’re going to live. However, a believer who is praying will be attacked. Praying with thanksgiving guards our hearts against the onslaughts of the evil one.

I hope everyday is a day of thanksgiving for you. Even when life is severe you can give thanks, but especially when life is good we should be shouting thanksgiving from the top of our lungs. For what are your thankful?

Grace & Peace,

“Thank you” doesn’t even seem to touch the surface about how I feel toward everyone who helped this past weekend for Homecoming. From those who helped plan, to set up and tear down, those who decorated and built, Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes, the Kitchen Crew, everyone who cooked, baked, mixed and fixed food, the “parking guys”, and those who purchased the chicken and ham! We all owe so much to you for helping make this year’s Homecoming such a successful event. Thank you, every sacrifice of obedience is greatly appreciated.

Something I have grown to realize and appreciate about doing ministry is that it cannot be a one-person show. Long ago somebody said to me (don’t know who), “Many hands make light work.” I can’t imagine giving one person the responsibility to get Homecoming ready. The diversity of the people involved is exciting to see. For example, I didn’t relish the idea of getting up Saturday to go to 4000 Parris Bridge Road and set up tables and chairs. I knew it would be a lot of heavy work. But, as the morning progressed people saw where they fit in and pretty soon we had a slick running machine. And then, to our delightful surprise the Kitchen Crew had ham biscuits for lunch – AWESOME! Yeah, food will do that for me.

To say the least Calvary Church is a pretty neat place to serve. I am grateful for those who are able to put their hand to the plow and get the job done. I am thankful for the many people who stay behind the scenes, not seeking praise, but simply wanting God to be honored through their service.

One more thing I want to add…another “thank you” goes out to those who took the youth to the Hearts on Fire Conference in Gatlinburg, TN on Friday and Saturday. Everything I’ve heard has been great. As a former youth pastor I know how memorable those times can become to the youth. Again, your obedient sacrifice will pay off in the end. Parents and college students, you are a blessing to all of us.

Grace & Peace,