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.