Rethinking Christmas - Part I

This year I have sought to rethink or recover Christmas. I have faced a great deal of opposition in my attempt but I believe it is something that must be done. Every Christian is called to discern whether the things that they do is founded in scripture rather than merely following the influences of the world. In my search for the true way in which to celebrate Christmas many traditions have been called into question. It is not that I want to be a grinch (which I have been called) nor am I trying to do away with many of the good and beneficial things that are involved with Christmas. My aim is to celebrate Christmas in the best possible that brings glory to God alone in the most biblical way. In our society the existence of pluralism has caused most to think that if something is not inherently evil then it must be good and okay to partake of but the problem is that God gave us a best and when we are not constantly seeking after His best then we are not only hurting our selves (and missing out) but we are sinning against God by rejecting what He has given us to do. Now that I have given my explanation of what I am attempting to do here is my first issue:

SANTA - SOVEREIGN SAINT OR SACRILEGIOUS SYMBOL?

"You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5 "You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments."
- Exodus 20:4-6 (NASB)

The Bible says that we are to have no other gods besides the one true God. We are not to crave an idol, worship nature, or make up a god that fits to our liking. Since the Fall of Adam and Eve mankind has time after time been guilty of breaking this commandment and I believe the guilt continues. The modern day deception of the story or believing in Santa Claus falls into this category. I know that many will read this and begin to burn with indignation, wanting to verbally tear me apart and I understand. How could someone question the telling of children about Santa? It is not that hard when we look at scripture and the true reason (meaning) of Christmas. From the birth of Jesus Christ people have celebrated Christmas by praising God for sending the Savior into the world as payment for our sins. That is the historical and biblical reason for Christmas, no matter what cultural or spiritual background you are from. But for most around the world Christ has faded from our focus with Santa stepping into the spotlight. Children are raised being told that Santa is going to come to their home and bring them gifts. At the same time, those raised in Christian homes are taught that God is real, that He is the Creator, Sustainer, and that He sent Christ to be born of a virgin for forgiveness of sins. For that I am thankful but how is a child supposed to process this determining fairy tale from eternal truth. Sadly a child is not. With our cultures influence through media, children are receiving more messages about Santa and consumerism attempting to trump the belief in God and Christ. If we look at what we teach children about Santa we can see that we have created a god out of him. Like the the songs says, "he knows when you are sleeping/awake, when you've been bad/good so be good for goodness sake." Just in those little phrases we have made Santa into an omniscient and moral being. Then if you look at all the stories that revolve around Santa we find that he controls time and matter making him out to be sovereign and omnipotent. The only thing that he lacks, it seems, in comparison is omnipresence but as fast as Santa visits the world he comes close. Is Santa sovereign or is God the ruler of all things? I know you are probably thinking what is wrong with this guy and his deal with Santa? (Did he not get what he asked for?) It is nothing like that. I think that first and foremost the manipulation of an innocent child's mind is wrong and a lie that we will be held accountable for to God. (And no I am not a Puritan but the Bible says "But I tell you that every careless word that people speak , they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. 37 "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." - Matt. 12:36-37 NASB) This is especially dangerous in our pluralistic culture where every belief has been leveled out to be equally true. When we teach a child about God and Christ while at the same time we are telling them about Santa we are setting them up for unbelief. Eventually they are going to find out that Santa is a lie, either from you or a punk friend but when they do what do you think will happen to their belief in God? Of course it will be questioned. Well if my parents, in whom I trust have taught me about God and Santa and now Santa has turned out to be a lie what about God? That is a great tragedy that many kids, teenagers and adults are dealing with as I write. Giving gifts and surprising kids is good but when we shadow those things with a lie Christmas is lost and we are only celebrating the consumerism of our culture. So what if you are a parent that has already followed after the influence of the world - you can still do what is best! Confess to your children, tell them that you lied and that you were wrong and begin to explain and celebrate the true reason of Christmas. What a wonderful teaching moment for a parent to have with their children. It is a great lesson of repentance and a change of life that God desires from all of us. Remember parents, you will be held responsible for how you raise/train your children before God. Next if you are a parent and have not began the Santa story with your children yet, stay strong in your faith and stay close to the word of God. It is our only foundation on which to stand. And do not be condemning toward those that do Santa but help them one on one (not in front of the kids) to understand that God had something better planned for us than deception. Then for those that have been raised to believe in Santa as a child and now understand the true mean and reason for celebration - do not be bitter toward your parents. Forgive them and love them trying to show the truths of God's word through your actions. Many times we love to find truth and jump to condemn anyone else who does not see/understand it but we must be patient, as God is with us, as to bring them to understand God's best (His truth).

Just in closing I want to tell you a true story to bring this home:
A little girl had been disobedient to her mother. The mom came to her and told her that she had been doing wrong and the girl sadly turned her head to the side and began to mumble. Her mother thought that she was praying and saying that she was sorry for being bad. Well she was praying and she was apologizing for being bad but she was praying not to God but to Santa Claus because she did not want him to not come to her house.

That story among many others is just a small reason why the lie of Santa is so awful. God gave us the best, His Son, Jesus Christ born of a virgin as our gift for salvation. That is why we celebrate Christmas and the ultimate gift giver - God. Please think about theses things and search God's word for the truth.

Conquered by Christ

This was posted at Desiring God yesterday:

The only statement Timothy McVeigh left behind when he was executed in Indiana, June 11, 2001, was a handwritten copy of the 19th century poem “Invictus” by William Henley.

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Henley’s life (1849-1903) almost exactly parallels that of Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) who said that the modern world had rendered God irrelevant so that we could legitimately say, “God is dead.” Corresponding to God’s demise was the rise in Nietzsche’s thinking of the “Übermensch.” This was the air that Henley breathed.

Would that Nietzsche, who went insane the last 12 years of his life—and Timothy McVeigh, who claimed the rule of his soul till he lost it—had both seen the beauty of being ruled by Christ. It is fitting that a virtually unknown poet of the early 20th century, Dorothea Day, should write the counterpoint to Henley’s poem. “Invictus” means “unconquerable”. Dorothea Day’s poem is called “Conquered.”

Out of the light that dazzles me,

Bright as the sun from pole to pole,

I thank the God I know to be,

For Christ - the Conqueror of my soul.

Since His the sway of circumstance,

I would not wince nor cry aloud.

Under the rule which men call chance,

My head, with joy, is humbly bowed.

Beyond this place of sin and tears,

That Life with Him and His the Aid,

That, spite the menace of the years,

Keeps, and will keep me unafraid.

I have no fear though straight the gate:

He cleared from punishment the scroll.

Christ is the Master of my fate!

Christ is the Captain of my soul!

Which will be true of you?

Blessed Birthday - Regretful Reality!

Within a few hours my 27th birthday will be here. I have no problem with the idea of getting older so the numbers do not bother me. I am thankful to God for the chance to serve Him while on this earth and for another year to do so. I am not looking for gifts or "Happy Birthdays" from all whom I see, but I seek something of much greater and lasting value. Sadly I do not think that I will receive this gift this year. The title is Blessed Birthday but a Regretful Reality for me. I am not trying to be pessimistic but it is edifying to take a look at your own life to see what God sees and not just what you want to see. What I want for my birthday is for God to be able to say "Well done, good and faithful servant." Those words would be an unimaginable pleasure to hear but I fear that God would have other words for me - maybe questions: How much have you loved My Word? How many of My people have you served and loved? Who have you told of the gift (salvation) that I made for you? Is there less of you and more of Me showing in your life than last year? What kind of steward have you been of the resources and talents that I have given you? Where is your treasure - in Me or in the fading flowers of the field? I could go on but I think that you get the picture. Do not get me wrong, I am extremely thankful for the blessings and grace that God has given me to live this past year but I regretfully admit that I have not pleased God in the way in which He deserves. Do not pity me in this confession but use this as a plumb line for your own life. How would you be able to answer the questions of God? We must seek to die to ourselves daily and to glorify Him in all things. It is a life long process but complacency always seeks to hinder our progress. Self examination by the Word of God is one of our greatest weapons against it. "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?" (2 Cor 13:5 -NASB)

Living Magnifyingly!

1 Sing to the LORD a new song;
Sing to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Sing to the LORD, bless His name;
Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. 3 Tell of His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. 4 For great is the LORD and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols ,
But the LORD made the heavens. 6 Splendor and majesty are before Him,
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. 8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory of His name;
Bring an offering and come into His courts. 9 Worship the LORD in holy attire;
Tremble before Him, all the earth. 10 Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns;
Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved;
He will judge the peoples with equity ."

- Psalms 96:1-10 (NASB)

Before I begin I must give credit where credit is due: I must thank and acknowledge John Piper as the originator of this illustration. It is a wondrous picture of the differences of how many of us reveal God to the world and how it ought to be done.

When we think of the word magnify, our minds tend toward the use of a microscope. In using, we place a tiny specimen underneath the eye of the microscope to bring it to the point of human comprehension. It is so small originally that the human mind cannot conceive of its attributes. For many of us (especially unknowingly - though not an excuse) this is how we portray God to the world. Our lives are tuned a microscopes because our view of and love for God is so small. So when the world looks through us (our lives) they see a small God not worthy of glory and praise. No wonder the world thinks followers of Christ are stupid and merely filling an emotional void. But there is another way in which we can magnify. The telescope accomplishes this purpose. When we aim a telescope at an unfathomably sized object in space, the object seen through the scope is seen in a comprehensible way. We are able to view gigantic planets and stars bigger than anyone could imagine and further away than technology can take us. This is how the Christian's life ought to be. Our lives should be as telescopes to the beauty and power of the God of the Bible whom no human mind can completely grasp. That is why we are to be telescopes - so that the lost world can see the God who created all things and is sustaining all things by His ultimate strength. When we act as though there is no hope the world sees God as small but when we live hoping in the wondrous promises of the Faithful Lord in all circumstances we reveal how truly amazing and worthy of all honor and praise God truly is. So I ask you: Is your life a microscope or a telescope revealing God to a lost world?

Why Is It Good News?

Paul declared to the Athenians:


"The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist , as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His children.' "Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead."
- Acts 17:24-31 (NASB)

What a beautiful presentation of the gospel! For ages past the word "gospel" has been portrayed as meaning "good news," and I agree with this definition. My problem lies in the way in which we have offered this "good news" to the lost. For so long we have sought to make the "good news" more desirable by adding to the message of the "gospel." We have attempted remove the wrath of God, that abides upon every unbeliever (Romans 2:1-11), from the "good news" and replaced it with the question of "don't you want to go to heaven, or don't you want to be happy or have joy and peace?" Where is the "good news" when there is no bad news. How can a person rejoice and embrace the "good news" if they had no idea that there was something bad awaiting them? The "good news" would not be good at all but merely strange or silly talk. Look at Paul's message: First, it begins by establishing who God is - the Creator of all things, the Sustainer of all things, the Sovereign over all things and Supreme God over all things. Secondly, Paul admonishes the Athenians to repent, but he does not stop there. He goes on to explain why - they must repent because God will judge all people everywhere according to righteousness through Jesus Christ. Then Paul finishes by establishing who Christ is and what took place. How dare Paul tell them that God is going to judge them. Would not that make them turn away from the "good news?" The fact that Jesus Christ died on the cross for us so that we could go to heaven would not be "good news" if we did not understand that the wrath of God was storing up against us because of our sin. That is key to the "gospel." It is not "good news" to a person that does not know that there is a problem. The problem is their sin, which is first and foremost against God. Once this is presented, which can be done through the presentation of the Law of God (Ten Commandments - Gal. 3:24) then the "gospel" of Christ's life, death and resurrection for our salvation to remove the wrath of God from us, will be such glorious news that they will cling to it as the most precious treasure (Matt. 13:44-46). That is the biblical way to present the "good news" and the only true way. Search the Word, see how Christ did it, and begin loving others enough that you deliver to them the true "gospel" of salvation.

Learning From A Horse

The other day I watched as a horse stuck its head and neck through a barbed wire fence to reach a patch of grass growing on the opposite side. The distance between the layers were not very far apart and I could not help but wonder how much pain the horse was putting itself in just for a small bit of grass. As I began to think about this, I realized that the very thing I was wondering about the horse, in an abstract way, applied to myself. How much pain do I put myself in just to satisfy a desire to sin. God has given me green pastures with flowing streams (His grace, love, and wisdom) to live in and a protective fence (His commandments) not to keep me in but to protect me from that which is on the outside. Yet there are many times when I find myself sticking my head through the barbed wire fence, causing great pain, just to feed on the sins of the world. Why do I do this? The only answer that I can think of is this; I do not know/understand all that God is and all that He has for me in this life and the life to come, so I look beyond the pasture of God's treasure to the distraction and imitations that the world offers. Just as a horse harms itself to reach the grass outside the fence because it does not realize all its master has provided, so do I cause much pain to myself, others and especially God when I am not satisfied in Him alone. What sin/desire/lust are you sticking your head through the fence for? It is not worth the pain and anguish that comes with its fulfillment! Seek to know and understand God and all that He offers and you will find all that you could ever want.

1 The Lord is my shepherd,

I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside quiet waters.

3 He restores my soul;

He guides me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I fear no evil, for You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You have anointed my head with oil;

My cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23 (NASB)

Have You Ever Wondered...

1 Peter 3:15 says, "But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you..." What a compelling verse! It makes us strive to be diligent in studying the Bible to make sure we know the right thing to say when we are asked. BUT, have you ever wondered why people do not regularly ask us to give a defense for the hope that is in us? I have many times. Just the other day I was listening to John Piper, the pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church and founder of the Desiring God Ministry. The message was "Don't Waste Your Life". Piper asks "Has anybody asks you recently for a reason for the hope that is in you? Do you know why they haven't? Because it looks like you hope in the same things that the world is hoping in!" That's why! Where is your hope? Is it in the things of this world (money, success, material possessions, friends, family, looks, intelligence, etc.)? If our lives appear to be rested on the things of this word and not God in Christ and the work that He did and is doing in and through you then the world has no reason to ask.

So think about it! Does your life reveal that there is a supernatural hope living within you or are you just like everybody else? Yes, you may be a fairly moral person who goes to church, helps others, and the like but so do may other people that are destined for hell (Mormons, Buddhists, Muslims and many others that are without Christ). So what sets you apart? Are you living a life so radically sold out for Christ that everything you do is pointing to a hope that only can come through Him? It is not too late! Christ is worthy of all that we have and all that we are, so start giving Him your all right NOW!