The most profound influence on my thinking about Christmas in recent years has been what Jesus said in John 14:9 (cf. John 6:46):

Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!

That is an astounding truth that should permeate every fiber of our thought and action. I just can’t get over the truth that Jesus fully explains the Father to us. In a day when we are trying hard to explain God to the world and are looking for every nugget to pull out of the Bible to show what God is like, Jesus has said it all. To “see” Jesus is to “see” the Father, now just what does it mean to “see”? Glad this is on your mind.

Does seeing mean observing with the eye and perceiving with the senses? I believe it definitely can imply that, but I also believe it goes further than that. Seeing is equivalent to knowing. Let me explain…Jesus fully describes who God is because He is God. He tells the story of God, and those who believe in Him come to know Him through that faith experience. The ones who remain ignorant of God plainly don’t know the Son…they have not “seen” Jesus.

We must also keep in our thoughts that all of this affects what we do everyday; it changes our behavior. A faith that does not change behavior is not a faith worth having. God is not satisfied with stagnant children; He wants our relationship with Him to be dynamic. It is not change for the sake of change, but change because of the intimate and awesome relationship we have with our heavenly Father. Remember, He is the one who took the initiative by sending His Son before we sought Him. That is why we have a weekly celebration of Christmas…a time of worshiping God because He is such a great and wonderful gift-giving God.

Grace & Peace,
Scott

By now the turkey has been picked clean to the bone. We’ve all had the leftovers…warmed up turkey dinner in a plastic container that will just keep eating a bigger hole in the ozone, turkey sandwiches, turkey mash, turkey casserole, turkey soup, turkey tetrazzini, turkey stir fry, etc. I hope you had as great a week as I have…church, family, friends, shopping at the Yellow Mall, movies, and looking for my “next-size up jeans.” This is a fabulous time of year for me personally, something I look forward to even more than my birthday. It has an allure to me and I fixate my mind on all the possibilities that these few days of Thanksgiving will present to me. I only have about 360 more days until next year…can’t wait!

The older I get the more my “thankfulness” takes on a deeper and more meaningful dimension. I used to be thankful just for the break from school, food, or a couple of days off. Now I don’t go to school, I can’t eat the way I used to, and I basically dictate the days I take off for the holiday. What I am truly thankful for now is the grace that God gives to me in everyday moments…the grace of life, love, family, friendship, worship, encouragement, unity, forgiveness, eternity, and so much more. I am now seeing everything and everyday as a gift of God’s immeasurable grace. I am experiencing these everyday moments as something that I truly have not earned or even deserved.

I am learning everyday that since I was saved by amazing grace that is how I need to live, by God’s amazing grace. Paul said it well,

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him. (Colossians 2:6)

The way we got in is the way we stay in! That is a lesson I am growing in daily. This is not just something I want to learn for myself, it something I want my family to grow in and something I want Calvary to learn well as a church. We never stop learning and growing in the amazing, marvelous grace of God.

Grace & Peace,
Scott

It is at the cross where we are restored; God did a marvelous thing for lost humanity at Calvary. In giving His Son He gave us a chance at getting things right with Him. Jesus, in giving His life, paid the price it would take for this restoration with our Father. This is wonderful grace…marvelous grace…amazing grace! But once we become a child of God what happens when we mess things up? After all no one is perfect, right? Glad these things are on your mind because they’re on mine as well.

People are looking to be restored and I believe we have a part to play in that restoration process. Paul instructs us in Galatians,

Brethren, even if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, let you too be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)

The word Paul uses for restoration is a surgical term. The word means “to set a broken bone.” Now, I’ve never broken a bone before but in the nine years I worked with teenagers I had plenty of opportunity to see broken bones and they are painful, but “fixable.” This is how I see the Christian life. When we sin (“overtaken in any trespass”) it is painful to God, us and those around us, but every relationship can be put back into place (“restored”) just like a broken bone. It is the obligation of fellow believers (you and me) to surgically help people to rebuild their relationships. This will involve many actions on our part which include prayer, counseling, Bible study, and just being a good friend. It is when the church refuses to do these things that believers become discouraged and give up trying to be “restored.”

Casualties lie all around us evidenced by believers who are spiritually cripple because the church refused to get involved in their lives. I also realize this is a two-way street. Some of the cripples are that way because they refused the biblical correction offered, and that is a whole other tragedy.

So, are you scrubbed up and ready for surgery?

Happy Thanksgiving,
Scott