Checking it Twice:

Getting ready for Sunday's message--encouraging a saner, more Christian approach to Christmas--I have seen some astounding statistics.

• A couple of billion people have never heard about Jesus Christ in any way that remotely could lead to salvation.
• Many people in the world live on less than $1/day.
• The average American adult--even though Holiday spending is down more than 50% since 2001--will spend 14 months worth of these folk's income on Christmas ($417 in 2009).
• The median annual giving for an American Christian is about $200--half what the average American consumer spends on Christmas--just over half a percent of after-tax income.
• The average person in the world owns 5 possessions.
  

Yet the statistic that over the years seems to have gained the most interest has to do with the chances of a White Christmas this year. In my area it is about a 17% chance of having at least 1 inch of snow for the holiday.
Clearly an examination of our Yule-priorities are in order.


It's STTA.

Somethings Shouldn't Be Said:

Many of us desperately long for political dialogue where the participants would simply say what they mean. Unfortunately, what we are getting more of--too much of--way too much of--are participants who say everything they think. It doesn't take long. I'm not really surprised at that. James spoke of the uncontrolled tongue two millennia ago (James 3:1-12). What seems different to me--and bothers me a lot--is that this lack of discretion, ad-hominem on steroids, mouth-rage, or whatever you call it is looked on by many as an acceptable, even desirable, way of arguing. My concern is increased by the fact that these outbursts are related not to who will win the world series, but who will set the course of our nation's future.
Good rhetoric often involves a smack-up-side-the-head--the equivalent of the 2x4 in the old joke about getting the mule's attention. The problem I see is so often there is nothing in the way of actual intelligent discourse to go along with the verbal shock-&-awe. We call someone an "idiot" not because we have evidence to show their lack of intellect, but to intimidate any who might disagree. "Perhaps if I defend X, others will think I am an idiot as well." When the words in play have to do with what is called the "world's oldest profession" or what is technically the name for a female dog, the effect, and the damage, are even greater.
If I tell these mouthpieces-desperately-in-need-of-control (Psalm 141:3) to be quiet, they will probably just call me a "bigot," "fascist," "First-Amendment-basher," or maybe even a "Fundamentalist." I figure so much blood is rushing to their tongue that they can't hear, so I make my appeal to the rest of us. Don't listen! With remote, subscriptions, and voting machine, lets say we expect more.

It's STTA.

Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer & She's Not Alone:

Three sources of information are coming together in my thinking in an unusual way--some of you would say, "weird!"
I noticed some time ago when Jesus came to Martha and Mary's house (Luke 10:38-42), that Martha was "distracted," and "bothered." Both of those are passives. She was being acted on by forces outside of herself. As a result we see her action, "all her preparations," and she "worried." Mary on the other hand, "has chosen the good part."
I was reading this morning about choices that American consumers have made in regard to Christmas shopping. BIGresearch put it this way: ". . . the economy will affect [shopper's] holiday plans," consumers are "adjusting," and even, "the economy is forcing" Americans to travel less. Those quotes came from a year ago. I see no reason to think there will be significant change this year. Like Martha, many Americans, as they begin their Christmas preparations are reacting--to that extent, they aren't choosing.
Finally, the lyrics to a well loved Christmas song brought it all together. "Grandma got over by a reindeer." (I'll let you do your own websearch for that one.) I'm afraid Granny isn't the only one who is a Christmas casualty. Just notice how often statements about Christmas preparations begin with the words, "I have to."
Sunday we'll look into this some more at CBC.
I hope yours will be a Mary Christmas.

It's STTA.

The Marketers Are After Our Christmas Money:

OK, the shopping areas in my little community don't quite look like the picture above, but I just received an email indicating that they are after my Christmas-shopping dollars. I hope my neighbors are able to keep more of our money at home, but this isn't a "Shop-at-home" ad.Really, I'm hoping that God's people will evaluate the whole Christmas = spending a great deal of money + investing enormous amounts of time, yielding dividends that seldom last beyond December 26. This Sunday I'll be doing what has become an annual tradition here at CBC. In the past we have asked "Will Yours Be A Mary or Martha Christmas?" based on the way the two sisters entertained the Lord in Luke 10:38-42. Instead of longing for a "White Christmas" (the chances of that happening here in the Alleghany Highlands are less than 1 in 5) I have encouraged folk to be "Dreaming of a Sane Christmas." This Sunday we'll consider Doing Christmas Without It Doing Us In. If you are close enough, I'd love for you to join us. I'll try to get an audio file posted so you can listen to it if you are unable. At any rate, I hope you will do Christmas God's way, so doing it the world's way won't do you in. It's STTA.

The firing of Juan Williams has stirred up a lot of outrage on the news shows; maybe some of it is even genuine. A guy works for both a liberal leaning radio network, and a conservative TV news organization. Is it surprising that one would fire him for something he said on the other? I'm surprised he was able to pull off the stretch for as long as he did.
Bottom-line: Williams said something to which one of his bosses objected. We live in a world in which groups and individuals increasingly enforce speech-codes, written or unwritten, with whatever sanctions are available. In the workplace people may find themselves in a situation like Williams--say the wrong thing, and lose your job. High school students may find themselves on the outside of the social circle looking in. Some college students have been hindered in their academic progress. One of the mores of our culture is no one should have their feelings hurt; speech should be policed accordingly.
One of the groups whose speech is being scrutinized is one to which I belong. Some of the central doctrines of Biblical Christianity are seen to be offensive--no, they really are offensive. Look at 1 Corinthians 1:23. "So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense." (1 Corinthians 1:23, NLT) We claim that the Bible is a book which categorically gives truth about God, and therefore words that need to be applied to all people. We believe that Jesus Christ is not just one among many, but the only Savior. I could go on, but one of the realities of life in Twenty-First Century America is that speech is policed. There may be a price to be paid. That is nothing new. In the First Century Roman Empire it often cost Christians their lives.
I'll let others sort out whether the journalist should have lost his job or not (In case you are worried, be at ease, Williams will likely find a way to get by on his new two million a year contract.), but I see what happened to him as an indicator of what is likely to happen more often.
As God's people let's stand tall for His truth.

It's STTA.

Ironic:

Life is full of irony--so abundant that I often, like a fish oblivious to the water in which it dwells, fail to recognize it.

At CBC we are working on a series about labor, Taking Jesus to Work, on Sunday evenings. This Sunday morning we'll work through one of the many narratives in the Bible that talk about what we can never accomplish no matter how hard we work.
The deliverance that God brought through Gideon in Judges 6 and 7 had nothing to do with pitcher-
holding skill or finesse with a torch. One of the clear tensions of scripture is that it promotes work, but also clearly teaches that what we need most must be accepted as a gift because we can never earn it.
That is part of the goodness of the Good News. We are driven to the end of our capability, then having arrived at the point where we see that we are helpless, God's limitless grace appears. Part of what God's grace does is enable us to serve Him with works never before possible.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." (Ephesians 2:8-10, NASB95)

It's STTA.

Making a Difference--We Were Made For It:

Sometimes when I look at the products in stores, the stuff I bring home, and the closed factories around the country, I wonder if we make anything anymore. But that is politics and economics--or some kind of "ics," so I'll leave that to someone more qualified.

I do notice in Genesis 1:28 that God created people to subdue the rest of creation. Even before the entrance of sin man had a job to do. He was to take care of and work the garden (Genesis 2:15). I figure that patch of ground must have been something to behold. Without wrongly exploiting the earth, Adam and Eve brought the dirt and vegetation under their control to make it a work of living art. I think I sense a bit of their pleasure when I work a piece of wood and make it into something useful and/or beautiful.

Nearly at the other end of the Bible, though, 1 John 2:15-16 says that we shouldn't love the world. God made us to be over the world, to follow the creative lead of our creator, to leave our imprint on this world in a positive way. Too often, though, we live under the world's dominion--controlled by our longing for its products.

Are you making a difference in the world, or are you letting it control you?

It's STTA.

Bye Mrs. Cleaver,

June Cleaver just died. Well, really she didn't. The fact is she, Ward, Wally, or the Beaver never existed. They were just characters in a TV program. Barbara Billingsley, the actress who played the well groomed, always together housewife/mom just died at age 94.

The Beaver and I are the same age. I used to like to watch his adventures--still do, if I catch a rerun. It is popular to criticize the Cleavers as representing something that never was, and to the extent it was, shouldn't have been. OK, I can't remember my mom wearing high-heels unless she was going to church or another dressy occasion. Maybe no one is as unflappable as Mrs. C appeared. Still, I think little Beavers today would be a whole lot better off if more of them moms more like June.

There was never any doubt that she loved her boys, or their dad.
She made sure that their home was a haven.
She was nice to Eddie--because she was nice to everyone, but she saw through his smooth talk and didn't trust him any farther than she could through Lumpy--didn't she insist on calling him Clarence?
Later on when there was Beaver movie, it made sense for him to find refuge with mom. She was as dependable as a happy ending at the end of the thirty-minute show.
The Cleavers of Mayfield never really existed, but entirely in the realm of reality are these words from the Apostle Paul:
". .. encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored." (Titus 2:4-5, NASB95)
It's STTA

Nothing is done until its done, and the real result of our life will not be clear until we stand before the Lord; still I was encouraged by a preliminary evaluation I received yesterday.

It was my privilege, yesterday, to team up with Joshua, as, together, we pointed out the indisputable logic and moral-mandate for fearing and serving the God of the Bible. Joshua 24 includes that powerful statement, uttered by the patriarch, that one often reads on plaques in Christian homes--"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." I didn't know it at the time, but about when I was finishing up the message here in Covington, my two sons, in Louisiana and Texas, were beginning sermons, sharing the word of God with folk in their places. My younger son is a pastor, but does not preach on a weekly basis. Yesterday he spoke at Two Rivers Bible Church. My older son spends his days, or in his case nights, helping to prepare Sunday dinner, rather than Sunday sermons--he manages a poultry plant--but yesterday he filled the pulpit at Lighthouse Baptist Church.
Last evening I spoke with my eldest grandchild. It was encouraging and convicting to hear him share his passion to live for the Lord at school and everywhere. He is a drummer. He spoke of the honor of playing music for Jesus.
We aren't done yet, but with more confidence than before, I can quote Joshua, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

It's STTA.

We need more of this kind of struggle:

Al Mohler, whose online commentaries helps me think more clearly, forces conservative evangelicals like me to ask whether we care about people as well as truth. You can read his entire article about Tyler Clementi's tragic death, here, but here are a few lines that brought me up short.

What if Tyler Clementi had been in your church? Would he have heard biblical
truth presented in a context of humble truth-telling and gospel urgency, or
would he have heard irresponsible slander, sarcastic jabs, and moralistic
self-congratulation? . . .
The teenage years are hard enough to navigate.
Most boys do not struggle with homosexuality, but there is not a teenage boy
alive who does not struggle with sexual confusion. There is no deacon, preacher,
or pew-sitter who went through male adolescence unscathed and without sin. There
is not a human being who reaches school age who would not be humiliated by a
well-placed webcam. And yet these boys - along with girls facing similar
struggles - imagine themselves to be alone in their confusion and helpless in
their anguish.
Was there no one to step between Tyler Clementi and that
bridge? . . . Was there no one to put into perspective the fact that people who
did not love him had taken advantage of him, but that the many who did love him
would love him no less?

We Evangelicals need to remember that the Fred Phelpses of the world are out there waving vulgar signs and shouting at news cameras. Thanks to Mohler for using his considerable clout to let others know that there are those who care. We are struggling, too (intended in no way to belittle the kind of struggle in which Clementi was engaged.). We hold to truth that we can't simply throw over the rail, and we love people that we can't allow to jump off the bridge.

It's STTA.

Worry #5

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus asks a question with a completely obvious answer. ". . . who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?"
I am engaged in a number of activities that I hope will enable me to enjoy my grandkids for a longer time-I ride a bike, wearing a helmet, take meds for my high cholesterol, watch my weight, use my seat-belts, and look both ways before I cross the street. Sometimes I worry about those things. Worrying doesn't help. Doing the right thing does.

I can't begin to tell you how many times I have counseled people, who are consumed with anxiety, to begin doing the Biblically correct activity to address their concern.

Let's look at an example. In this case God Himself is the counselor:

When Cain entered the office his countenance was clearly fallen.
Lord: "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?"
Cain: (No answer, no doubt accompanied by more sullenness.)
Lord: "If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it." (Genesis 4:1-7)
The counsel the Lord gave to the worried son of Adam and Eve is all built around the word "do." Stop doing what is wrong. Start doing what is right. A recent STTA identified two actions that are always appropriate-trust the Lord, Pray. Depending on what it is that is inducing anxiety in our lives there are probably other actions we need to take. Counseling is not magic. A simplistic description of good counseling is: Helping the person in need to find out what he/she needs to do and then helping them do it.

Don't worry. Instead, trust God, pray, obey.


It's STTA.