Lessons from Christmas, #1

Not, "Wha'd ya git?" But, what did you learn from Christmas?

A week ago the question on everyone's lips was, "Are you ready for Christmas?" Or, if addressed to a child, "Are you ready for Santa?" Now, the Interrogatory du Jour is, "What did you get for Christmas?" I'm glad for whatever gifts you received, and I felt greatly loved by people's kindness to me, but let me suggest another query,    "What did you learn from Christmas?" Christmas is a powerful statement that we can't make it on our own, down here. Jesus birth was heralded as "Good News." Among Christ's impressive titles and names are Savior, Immanuel--God with us--and Son of God. He took the form of a man, became a servant, and was obedient to death. He was made in all points like us. His entrance was not the fulfillment of a parent's threat, "Don't make me come down there." but rather the warm embrace of a loving father who comes to us when we are in over our head. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him" (John 3:17 NASB). It was "while we were still helpless" that Christ stepped in (Romans 5:6) at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. We didn't send for God.  He came. Now, how will you respond?   It's STTA (Something To Think About).

Been here a while

It's been a while now.

I'm listening to the roosters crow in the early morning light on the day after Christmas.  I can pick and choose what I do today, but I know that soon my schedule will step back into the driver's seat. Some time early in January, when our one year anniversary of living here on Guam will come to pass, I'll likely be too busy to think much about it. So I'm taking time this morning to reflect on that coming marker on my calendar. I'm 67 years old, and  I've lived longer in this lovely little apartment on the campus of Pacific Islands University than any other place I've lived as an adult, except one. That sounds way more impressive if you don't know that Kathy lived in #1 place for more than 42 years. That doesn't leave much time for # 2 & #3. To say we have "put down roots" here would likely be an exaggeration and might belittle those who have invested so much more, though, to carry the image a bit farther, we are comfortable in the planter on the porch. For those four decades when my address was 2106 S. Carpenter Drive . . . (mail sent to that address still gets to us, by the way) I always tried to maintain the spirit of the old song, "This world is not my home. I'm just passing through." Now, in a sense, that homeless for Christ mentality is easier to maintain, but only in a sense. I find in me a kinship with Jonah, who came to regard the plant that shaded him as his in a particular and powerful sense. Usually, I have a pretty clear idea what I'm thinking about when I write "Something to Think About." This morning, not so much. I guess the best I can do, as I consider my anniversary of living in Mangilao Guam, is to share two things to think about, which might seem contradictory, but which I don't think are: Being transplanted is painful, for some more than others, we have a tendency to resist putting down roots--even in the pot on the porch--knowing that the next move is coming. Resist that self-protective urge. Be where you are. Nothing in the world is permanent. Jesus said of Himself, "Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head" (Luke 9:58). Do we think we are better than He? It's STTA (Something To Think About).

Somehow I missed #5

Why did  Christ come? #5

My wife was picking out songs for the Christmas Eve service at our church. She thought of using I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day but decide it is too heavy. It is heavy. It deals with weighty material. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the poem from a depth of grief that, thankfully, few of us ever experience. You can read the whole story here. Here is an excerpt:  On Christmas day, 1863, Longfellow—a 57-year-old widowed father of six children, the oldest of which had been nearly paralyzed as his country fought a war against itself—wrote a poem seeking to capture the dynamic and dissonance in his own heart and the world he observes around him. He heard the Christmas bells that December day and the singing of “peace on earth” (Luke 2:14), but he observed the world of injustice and violence that seemed to mock the truthfulness of this optimistic outlook. The theme of listening recurred throughout the poem, eventually leading to a settledness of confident hope even in the midst of bleak despair. In emotional darkness Longfellow listening to the bells. Instead of loudly and sweetly proclaiming peace, the grip of grief and the terror of war, distorted the ringing into a grotesque dissonance. Instead of the sweet ring of "peace on earth goodwill to men," the sound he heard came, ". . . from each black, accursed mouth, [as] the cannon thundered in the South." He spoke of a continent rent, and households made forlorn. I can feel the father's pain as he says, "[H]ate is strong, [it] mocks the song of peace on earth, good-will to men!” This time of year we are apt to suffer from the Hallmark distortion. Everything is softly lit. Just enough snow is falling. Little drummer boys play with perfect precision and even donkeys and sheep all behave themselves. It make a nice picture, but it's not the world into which Jesus was born, or the world in which we live. You know how cruel Herod seems in Matthew 2? He was all that and more. And this business of moving people around so Rome could collect tax? There are reasons why tax-collectors were hated. I figure "the decree was met with a resigned sigh. In case you haven't noticed, our world hasn't gotten better. Refugee camps are full, children are hungry, wars and terrorism rage on. The face of despair is not hard to find. Not only did Christ come to a world of darkness and pain, He entered fully into that condition. Isaiah tell us that He was a man of sorrows, acquainted wiith grief, and the writer of  Hebrews says, Jesus was made perfect through suffering, partook (became) human flesh, and that He was "tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin." (Isaiah 53:3, Hebrews2:10, 14, & 4:15) As surely as Christ came to a world of First-Century darkness, He continues to plead in our Twenty-first-Century world, where light is still hard to come by. He entered our world of sin, so He take us to His sinless home. That's worth ringing the bells for, and . . . It's STTA (Something To Think About).

He came to make all thingsright: Why Christmas, #6

Why did Jesus come? #6

Sometimes I feel like I'm hanging out under the altar. "I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging. . .?” (Revelation 6:9-10) These martyrs are not alone. Throughout history, down to this present hour, God's people ask,   "How long, O LORD, will I call for help, and You will not hear?  I cry out to You, “Violence!” Yet You do not save.  Why do You make me see iniquity,  And cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me;  Strife exists and contention arises. (Habakkuk 1:2-3) In my life, I've known people who have a keen eye for, and an uncanny feel for equilibrium. If something is just the slightest bit uneven they can detect it. They don't feel right unless their world is plumb and level. I think all of us have a detector like that in our soul. We know when things aren't right, and it makes us ill at ease. Christ came to make all things right. The process hasn't been completed. That last great enemy, death, still struts around this fallen world. But Christ in His death and Resurrection defeated even that enemy. We sing "Joy to the World" at Christmas, and rightly so, but that song is not really about Christ's coming as a babe, but about that time, yet future, when he will come as a king. Make no mistake, though, the victorious coming again has been secured by victory won in humility, that passed through a manger in Bethlehem. Another Christmas carol puts it this way, "Born that man no more may die." Why did Christ come? He came to make all things right. It's STTA (Something To Think About).      Click the image to see the story of redemption The link will take you to chapter 1. You can go from there.

Why Christmas? #4

Why did Jesus come? #4

It is good to look around and see the way Christmas is celebrated in different lands. It is surprising to some of us to realize that for well more than half the world a white Christmas is ridiculous. Here on Guam, there is an event that has been going on for decades,Operation Christmas Drop.  An Air Force specialist told me that participating in this annual event is a highly desired opportunity. Kathy found out about another local Christmas tradition. Some new friends of hers told Kathy that they couldn't go anywhere on Christmas morning because the Baby Jesus might come by. They were probably referring to this practice. Around the world, Saint Nicholas has evolved into a personage very much associated with Christmas. His image has morphed into various shapes that fit the various cultures.  In the USA we are familiar with the image made famous by Clement Moore in his poem. Consider though: In the UK, Father Christmas wears a hooded blue cloak. Father Frost, in Russia and Ukraine, is accompanied by young women, snow maidens, rather than elves. The Dutch Sinterklass rides a white horse instead of a reindeer propelled sleigh. In parts of Germany, it is a female, Christkind, who brings gifts to good children.   Around the world, Christmas, and the various traditions associated with it, have taken on looks and feels that are at home in those places. I'm not saying that we are any more likely to find the truth behind Christmas in those other lands than we are in the jangling of sleigh bells in an American shopping mall, but looking at Christmas around the world does serve to remind us that Christ did not come for just one nation or people. He came to call out a people from every people group. Not only did Jesus come. He sent. The task He began is not completed. As we celebrate Christmas 2017, let's do so in keeping with Christ's mandate to make disciples where ever we are and go. Where ever you are, MERRY CHRISTMAS. It's STTA (Something To Think About).

Why did Christ come? #3

Titus 2:14 corrects two wrong ideas about why Jesus came.
He didn't come just to save us as individuals, though that is wonderful.
And, though Christmas is a holiday, perhaps the biggest holiday of them all, Jesus didn't come to give us leisure. He came to put us to work.
An army of Christ followers from every tribe and nation, banded together, eager to do His work.

"He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds" (Titus2:14, NLT).

As Christmas approaches,
It's STTA (Something To Think About). 

Waiting for Christmas, #2

Why did Jesus come? #2

An old song--I suppose it is a Christmas song--says, "Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown when Thou camest to earth for me." It is a powerful reminder that when you start in the glories of heaven, it's only possible to go down from there. Why? Why would God the Son make such an incredible journey? In a story that youngsters are fond of, Jesus tells us why. Everyone wondered why Jesus would spend time with the likes of Zacchaeaus. He was a tax-collector, a much despised profession in First Century Israel. Zacchaeus was a short man, but he had a big desire to see Jesus as He passed through Jericho, so the despised little man climbed a tree to get a better view. That's when it got interesting. When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today” (Luke 19:5) What? Some people said Jesus was a Rabbi. Many considered Him sent from God. Why would He go to the home of this tax collector? "[T]he Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost” (v. 10), was the answer Jesus gave. That title "Son of Man," is not, as many think, a reference to Jesus humility, but is a title of great glory. Not only did Christ come to earth, He came to seek out people at their worst and remedy their lost condition. Zacchaeus may be shorter than me, and a better climber, but in our hearts we are not all that different. "All have sinned and come short of God's glory" (Romans 3:23). Find out more about Jesus coming here. As you wait for Christmas, It's STTA (Something To Think About).

Why did Christ come?

Why did Jesus come? #1

Even people who don't believe anything about the Christmas story know why the holiday is being celebrated. They may not believe any of it, but they know what is behind it. Up to a point. Actually, I think even many of us who have faith in Christ fail to realize the full import of the coming of Christ. On  this week before Christmas, let's explore this a bit. While Christmas is a wonderful holiday, Jesus Christ didn't come just so we would have a day to celebrate. No, there is no molecule in the universe and no milli-second in history--past, present, and future that is not touched by the marvelous truth that the "Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). The words associated with the purpose of the great event behind Christmas are words of change. He came to save, He is the Redeemer. He accomplishes the will of His Father. He overcomes. In the end, nothing will be unaffected by the event the angel proclaimed. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The  Savior--the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!" (Luke 2:10–11, NLT)   Let's just leave it there for the moment. Unless your view of Christ's coming to earth is big enough to see that He brought change that reaches from the farthest reaches of the cosmos, to the inner recesses of your heart, then you don't really know why Christmas is worth celebrating. As you wait for Christmas, It's STTA (Something To Think About).

"I'm Planting a Tree."

Planting trees Building lives

"What'ya doing, Bob?" I could see something going on from my apartment I'd walked by a time or two and saw a rectangular hole being dug. By the time I got around to asking, a second hole had been started. For all intents and purposes, the hole looked like a shallow grave for a very short, wide person. Bob told me, though. "We're planting trees."  Here on the campus at Pacific Islands University, indeed all over Guam, the rhino beetles are killing the palm trees. Bob and his buddy are planting new ones, next to some old ones. When the bugs win, and they generally do, the new ones will be big enough to take the place of the dead ones. The Spanish say, "A man plants an olive tree for his grandchildren." coconut palms grow faster than olive trees, but the commitment is the same. Digging a hole to plant a tree is no easy matter, here on Guam. Bob used a jack-hammer to break up the coral. He's hauling in dead vegetation to enrich the soil. It'll be five to ten years before those palms impressively sway in the trade winds. I told Bob, "I like your style." Can I guarantee that ten years from now this school will be alive and well? No, I can't, but I can say for sure that it won't be if we don't have that tree-planting spirit. Do I know what my life will be like in a month, a year, a decade? Absolutely not. I can be sure, however, that if I don't dig deep so my life can anchor on the rock, it won't survive.   [W]hen someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house right on the ground, without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”  (Luke 6:47–49, NLT) Start digging. Do something that will last. It's STTA (Something To Think About).

Hanukkah

In John 10 we read, At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon" (John 10:22-23). Obviously, there was no Christmas celebration, yet. So we can be sure that Jesus was not out, involved in that great American, winter exercise, looking at the Christmas lights. It is probable, however, that Jesus was viewing the lights. Could it be that this was reason for his stroll through Solomon's portico in the Temple complex? He was and is human. He would appreciate the artistry of well-placed lights, just like the rest of us. The Feast of Dedication is known by a couple of other names, one you are sure to recognize. Craig Keener comments on this feast, "[T]he eight-day celebration of lights in the temple was beautiful." In fact it is sometimes called the Festival of Lights. Most of us know it as Hanukkah, the celebration that Jews are celebrating as I write. (Keener, C. S. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary: New Testament (Jn 10:22). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)     It is a simple children's presentation, but you can get the basics behind the celebration here.  A few years ago, in part because I was having difficulty coming up with a new idea for a Christmas series of messages, I preached a series on Hanukkah. The events commemorated are a story of bravery and dedication. Making a day's worth of oil last more than a week is the kind of thing that our great God does. To make this very personal, right now I find myself in a ministry where I'm looking to God to stretch, multiply, or in some other way step-in to make meager resources go well beyond what one would normally expect. Those of us involved in this venture are called on to deliver heroically. I think as the Lord looked at those lights in the Temple, His appreciation was for more than the aesthetics of the display. I think He took pleasure in knowing that on the very spot where He walked a group of warriors decided that they would not stand for the place dedicated to the worship of the one true God being desecrated. Some of those men gave their lives, so the temple could be cleansed. There was no doubt in the Lord's mind where He was headed. He would soon give His life. Christ "gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds" (Titus 2:14, emphasis added) "[D]o you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, emphasis added).    I won't be celebrating Hanukkah, but I will be remembering the courage and dedication of those who fought that the worship of God might be pure. I'll remember my God's ability to do the impossible. I want my life to show that I am dedicated to my Lord, and I want my life to shine as a light in this dark world. It's STTA (Something To Think About).

Jesus, The Supreme Example

He Humbled Himself . . .

In his Theology text, Millard Erickson gives a simple diagram of the humiliation and exaltation of Jesus. I recently created my version of it for some sermon notes. This resume of Jesus is powerfully presented in Philippians 2:1-11, where we are told that the kind of self-giving attitude that we see in Christ's incarnation should be ours (v. 5). Among the amazing truths found in this passage is one that always leaves me shaking my head in amazement. When I look at the side of the diagram that depicts God the Son's humiliation I see that He is the one who initiates the actions. He didn't regard the privileges of Deity as something to be selfishly held to. He emptied Himself. He humbled Himself. He obeyed. Yet on the other side of the diagram, He is the one Who is acted upon. God (the Father by implication) exalted Him. God gave Him a name above every name. At the crisis moment of His humiliation, we don't see Jesus strutting around like an over-confident, spoiled child who knows that it will work out. No, He prays, "If it is possible, let this cup be taken away from me" (Matthew 26:39). "Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed" (John 17:5). He trusts.There isasenses--out there beyond my ability to grasp--in which the situation was out of control for the Son of God, but He did what He tells us to do, "Seek first the Kingdom of God . . ." (Matthew 6:33). So, the God of the universe prays. He prays a prayer, not unlike one that will be offered by millions of children today. "Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord, my soul to keep." There is more to this Christmas story than we know or understand. STTA (Something To Think About).

The Hits Keep on Coming

Another one . . .

(Those of you who follow the news will recognize that either I'm late, or I sat on this for a couple of days. It is the latter. I realize that this is sensitive. I hope it isn't needlessly offensive.) I received a text message today. It shared the news that Garrison Keillor was the latest famous guy to be accused and summarily fired over allegations of sexual misconduct. I'm not even going to try to count. Suffice to say that in recent months some of the biggest names in entertainment, the news world, and politics have fallen. Others, against whom convincing accusations have been made, have thus far avoided the ax, but for how long? The current climate is clearly more open to hearing the accuser than at any time in the recent past. We can rejoice over that. Too often, and for too long the same power that was used to abuse those who were not in positions of power, was wielded to keep those victims from bringing the abuse perpetrated on them to light. For what it's worth it's not a new problem. On the other hand: Was it during the Clarence Thomas hearings, when Anita Thomas accused the, now, Supreme Court Justice of sexual harassment, that this statement first became popular, "It's not the strength of the evidence, it's seriousness of the accusation"? Have we entered a time in which no male in any kind of public position could successfully defend himself against a serious accusation? I don't know. It seems that the mood of the public is such that one need not even try. I have no way of knowing whether Garrison Keillor deserved to be fired or not. His comment is telling, though, "I’m 75 and don’t have any interest in arguing about this.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/29/business/media/garrison-keillor-fired.html) Some would say that it doesn't matter if some innocent guy gets clobbered. It's about time for the shoe to be on the other foot. For too long those in positions of power have taken advantage of those who had little, if any, recourse. It's only right that power be given to those who follow in the train of those who were powerless. I imagine that there is a new breed of public relations specialist--experts at crafting statements that carefully skirt around matters of guilt or innocence, instead making sure that their clients are the first to condemn the actions of accused colleagues, whether accusations are real or imagined, because it is the seriousness of the accusation that matters. If anyone has Solomon's email address, I would appreciate them forwarding it to me. Until I hear from the sage, though, let me point out some flaws in the current system, and offer a couple of suggestions that might move us in the right direction. We absolutely should empower those who are treated wrongly, sexually, and in other ways, to be able to come forward and tell their story to the right people. Our Lord has a long history of sticking up for the weak. When the abused are throttled into silence the abuse and sin is compounded. Yet, we dare not act as if every accusation is gospel truth. The Bible gives a high standard for receiving an accusation (1 Timothy 5:19). Though scripture champions the cause of the underdog, it cautions against perverting justice to even the score (Exodus 23:2-3). Today's campaign against sexual abuse is taking place more in the newsroom and around the water-cooler than in the courtroom. Popular opinion is not a good standard of guilt and innocence. Just look at some of the fashions of the past, and examine the roster of those who have been elected to be public. The majority can be wrong. Our goal should not be to make up for past wrongs to others, by what we decide about entirely different people today. Rather our response should be to repent of past wrongs and commit ourselves to seek justice in the present--it's not about evening the score, it's about doing what is right. There is more, much more, to be said, but perhaps, for now, this is  . . . STTA (Something To Think About).    Jim Denison is a capable commenter on societal trends. His comments on the current series of revelations concerning powerful men who abused women are worth reading. Kevin Bauder raises some important thoughts about accusations, their importance, their limitations, and how to evaluate them.

Wonder

Wonder

I admit, I'm not capable of offering an artistically credible review of the movie. I just know that when Kathy and I saw the movie Wonder, it made me question how I treat those who are different than me, and at the end it made me want to cry and cheer at the same time. It's been a while since I've been moved the way the rather simple story stirred my soul. Go see the movie. I don't think you will regret it. STTA (Something To Think About).