Pastor Don's Blog

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14) 

Bah!  Humbug!

Of course, you recognize those “grump lines” … and their famous author, Ebenezer Scrooge.  Old Scrooge couldn’t stand the merriment.  For his sour old nature, the bottom line was profit, money, dollar$!

I’ve been called “Scrooge,” too.  Oh, not to my face and not in so many words.  Let me explain.

I, too, enjoy the Christmas “season.”  I’m a grandpa and I delight in the simple expectancy of little children, their joys, their delights.  And I enjoy silent, still nights, ground covered in snow at minus 40 degrees when the silence is extra silent and the snow crunches beneath your feet.

But I tire of the schizophrenic season of Christmas currently celebrated by too many Christians.  On the one hand, we celebrate Jesus, born of a virgin, laid in a feeding trough in a small village in Israel.  We celebrate, along with the angels, the shepherds, and the magi the announcement of a King.  We rejoice with Isaiah at the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace … now tiny and wrapped in swaddling clothes.

But we also tend to preach a kind of peace not intended that first Christmas.  We “believe in” a quiet, snow-filled, silent night with kids in their pajamas and hot cocoa in hand.  We want to believe, if even for one brief night, that all the world is at rest and peace.

Not so.  Friends of mine just buried their twenty-two year old daughter last Sunday.  A dear family within our care will lay to rest their beloved husband, father and grandfather before they celebrate Christmas.  Do the homeless enjoy the “warmth” of Christmas?  How about the millions of orphans around the world?  December 25 brings no change, no warmth, no one to want them.

Do nations stop threatening one another?  Do thieves stop stealing toys from children?  Will Congress … no, I’m not going there.  Have you even heard of the over 600 dead and thousands homeless in the Philippines from a tropical storm a few days ago?

Now, do you see the “Scrooge” nature in me?  I read in the Gospel that Jesus stepped into this world because it was broken, because it needed a Savior, because sin has its powerful grip on humankind, and because the prince of this world is desperately at work.

You see, if the world is that chocolate-filled, snow-covered, happy-happy place we pretend at Christmas, we wouldn’t need a Savior.  But we need him more than ever.  And he offers himself again to us, to this world.

Okay, so what can I / we do?  First, just take a simple attitude check.  Do I have any compassion for the broken that Jesus cares about?  He sees them as lost sheep without a shepherd.  Do I?

Second, is my treasure where my heart is … or is my heart where my treasure is?  Do I invest throughout the year in opportunities to care for those in need … sponsoring a child, giving during times of disaster, helping those in need?

Finally, perhaps I could just take some time by myself or with my family at Christmas to at least acknowledge those who are broken or broken-hearted.  We could pray for them, recognizing Jesus’ attention to them and foster compassion.

So enjoy the fire, cocoa in hand, and (hopefully) the falling snow outside.  Thank God for his wonderful gifts and Gift.  And thank him for his compassion on us all, at Christmas and always.

Permalink

“ … you shall call his name Jesus, …” (Matthew 1:21)

“ … they shall call his name Immanuel.” (Matthew 1:23) 

Matthew’s birth narrative assigns two names to Bethlehem’s latest new-born, “Jesus” and “Immanuel”.  A first name and a middle name?  A given name and a ‘nick-name’?  A proper name and a name added for parental use when the little fellow was in trouble?

“Jesus” was a Hebrew name meaning “salvation”, the New Testament equivalent of the Old Testament Joshua or Yeshua.  In Jesus’ case, it described his earthly mission for he came not to liberate Israel from Rome but to liberate every human being from slavery and imprisonment to sin, a far worse taskmaster than Rome.

“Immanuel” was also a Hebrew term meaning “God with us.”  “Immanuel” is found in only three places in the Scriptures, first in Isaiah 7:14 in which the virgin conception of Jesus is forecast.  In Isaiah 8:8, God promises punishment upon his people Israel for their lack of faith.  The dreaded Assyrians would sweep down upon Israel like a flood “and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.”  The third occurrence is in Matthew 1:23, the historic fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14.

The flood-punishment scene in Isaiah 8, however, takes a significant turn.  Though foreigners would invade Israel, neither their words (threats) nor their actions would stand “because God is with us,” because the land is God’s land and the people are God’s people.  Verses 8 and 10 end the same way: “immanu-El”.

I cherish the name “Jesus” for I have personally received God’s gracious gift of forgiveness of my sins through Jesus.  He is my sin-bearer, my savior, my Yeshua.

I cherish the name “Immanuel” for God is with me, with his people.  David described that presence differently.  “Where can I go from your Spirit?  Or where shall I flee from your presence?  If I ascend to heaven, YOU!  If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, YOU!  If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.” (Psalm 139:7-10)

To those who do not know God through Jesus, this every-where, always-there presence of God is frightening, as in the ancient verses of “The Hound of Heaven.”  To the child of God, there is no better feeling or place to be but in his VERY PRESENCE!

God is transcendent … out there, supreme, sovereign, independent, holy, infinite, immutable.  At Bethlehem, God became immanent … near, personal, human, sympathetic, here.  But God is both, out there and right here, transcendent and immanent, holy and wholly without sin, yet the sin-bearer of many.

Only one response is adequate, worthy, or necessary: “We/I have come to worship him!”

Permalink

President Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Day proclamation (in part): 

 It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

God’s Thanksgiving proclamation (in part): 

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever!

Psalm 107:1

Paul’s Thanksgiving proclamation (in part): 

Give thanks in all circumstances;

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

The End (in part):

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,

who is and who was,

for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.”

Revelation 11:17

Permalink

Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God.

Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. (Heb 13:7 ESV) 

A couple of weeks ago, we ran into an old friend and his wife while visiting my mother at the Care Centre where both his parents and my mother are residents.

Our hugs then turned to conversation as we reminisced about influential people who had changed our lives.  Many of them were now gone; some were residents, along with our parents, in this very Care Centre.

Most were from our small Bible church in that same town.  Their influence ranged from pastors to teachers to family friends to employers to those who simply prayed for us (and we took up a lot of prayer time, I’m sure!)

The writer of Hebrews urged us to remember our leaders.  “Leaders” in this verse may refer specifically to someone in a specific capacity of leadership as an Elder, pastor, shepherd, etc.  But it may also refer to someone of significant spiritual influence.  So a proper rendering of this verse may be, “Remember those who influenced you in your faith.”

By inviting us to consider the outcome of their way of life, the writer recommends a life-long process.  In other words, we don’t just become enamored with the latest Christian speaker that “wows” us.  We observe a life, a whole life, the outcome of their chosen path of life.  And, when that outcome is considered worthy, we imitate their faith and not their life.

Next week is Thanksgiving.  I can think of no better time than this to list those influencers of our life of faith.  Go ahead.  Do it.  Pick up your pen.  Start a file.  Begin now.  Let the tears flow if necessary.  What a tribute!

Being thankful for all the “stuff” that surrounds us … can wait.  Begin with the people without which you would not be able to begin at all.

“Thank you, Father, for Dad, for Mom, for Pastor Jim, for Lowell, for Rosi, for Dr. Burkholder, for Dr. Grounds, for Bryan, for …”

Permalink

“I have stored up your Word in my heart,

that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11)

If you’ve read your Bible recently, you’re probably biblical … right?  If I memorize a Bible verse, chapter or book, isn’t that being biblical?  Are you, am I, biblical?  Just what does it mean to be biblical?

First of all, you might have wondered why I capitalized Bible above, but not biblical.  Well, Bible is a noun, a proper name referring to the Word of God.  It should always be capitalized.  Biblical, on the other hand, is an adjective and does not require capitalization (unless at the beginning of this sentence!).

Or you might speak of biblical names, discuss the topic of biblical theology, or enroll in a course entitled Biblical Theology.

But I’m really more interested in whether you are or I am genuinely biblical.  Does reading the Bible make me biblical?  Not necessarily.  Does obedience to the commands of the Bible make me biblical?  Well, yes and no.  I may be doing biblical things, obeying biblical commands, or even following the Bible in necessary steps of action.

For instance, I may read the Scriptures every morning.  Am I being biblical?  Perhaps.  Reading the Scriptures every morning certainly follows a biblical pattern.

Here’s what I’m getting at.  I may be getting into the Bible, but am I allowing the Bible to get into me?  That’s being biblical.

I may read the Bible every morning, whole chapters, whole books!  I may “hide God’s Word in my heart”, i.e. memorize.  But I am not biblical in the truest sense unless what God says in his Word invades my thought life and my actions.

I may follow the biblical instruction to feed the hungry or care for the orphan but go away filled with pride at my own station in life.  Then I’m not being biblical.

I may follow the biblical instruction to worship with fellow believers (“don’t forsake getting together as some do” – Hebr. 10:25), but deliberately shun a fellow believer.  Then I’m not being biblical.

I may follow biblical instructions to the letter of the law in resolving a dispute, but still harbor hatred (alright, dislike) towards that person.  Then I’m not being biblical.

I may attend church with my slaves, singing the old gospel hymns right there beside them, but beat them and abuse them back home, demonstrated again and again in American (church) history.  Then I’m not being biblical.

In fact, I may even preach the Word, Sunday after Sunday, faithfully expositing and expounding that Word.  But if I’m not obeying that Word or letting it guide my attitudes and actions, I am not being biblical.

The Bible is more than a book full of instructions.  As the revealed will of God, it contains more than instruction on what to do in this or that situation.  It addresses the attitudes we demonstrate and the motives we harbor deep down inside where no one sees (see Colossians 3:5, 12-13).

And that ultimately defines whether I am being genuinely biblical in the truest sense of the Word.

Permalink