Who Will Find the Nativity

Every year at Christmas, Millions of people, from all walks of life, sing ”O Come, All Ye Faithful.” In unison, they collectively beckon the joyful and triumphant to vicariously visit the God in the manger. During this festive advent, representatives from most political parties and practically every vocation will visit a model of Christ’s Nativity. If you were to ask someone to describe the invitation to the original Nativity, you might hear words such as: glorious, spectacular, wonderous, or beautiful. As mesmerizing as the angels must have been, let’s not forget the selectively few invited to that First Christmas. 

Excluding Mary and Joseph’s obvious roles, the Christmas caste was an interestingly short list.

Unlike the Wise men, who may have been there or may have come later, Shepherds did not decipher signs or scriptures before searching heaven and earth for Jesus. Shepherds received a divine invitation. 

Shepherds were  given a heavenly assignment.

Their mission was planned out. God had declared ”you will find”.

Not you might, not you can. You will. When they found Him was determined, where they found Him was determined. Most importantly, was the understanding of who it was they'd found. Christ, The Lord.  Emmanuel, God with us, the King of Kings and Lord of lords, but He is also the Alpha and Omega. He who is, who was , and who is to come.

In His infinite wisdom, planning throughout eternity past, God chose shepherds from one nation of peculiar people as the singular profession invited to birth of His only son.

 He didn’t choose doctors to heal or attend to them. Neither did he bring  lawyers to help them understand or keep the rules.  God didn’t enlist guards to protect them. He didn't get an interior decorator to . He didn't hire performers to entertain or dynamic speakers to preach. He didn't invite cool cowboys, He only invited humble shepherds.

 Here in the west, many have confused the metaphorical shepherds of the Bible with metaphorical cowboys. The differences aren't subtle. Shepherds lead the flock, and the sheep follow. 

Cowboys drive the cattle. They choose a direction for an exciting adventure and head off into the sunset. Occasionally, a stampede happens but a cowboy stays safe in the rear. The chaos leaves a carcass or dozen in the desert, but the drive goes on. At the end of a hard day, Cowboys bed down for the night . 

 Shepherds are called, not only to feed the sheep, but to watch their sheep. Though the night brings prowling lions, shepherds guard the flock.  Sheep, as it turns out, are easily scattered and lost. Christ says, ”Shepherds will leave the ninety-nine to find a stray one. A Good Shepherd will do it even at the cost of his life.” Then He died on a cross to prove it. Shepherding is a dirty, humiliating job society saw as demeaning.

 It isn't an obscured, eternal, celestial viewpoint God chooses from. In the most precious moment of history, when the most gracious, wisest, and powerful King this world has ever known, was born, God was orchestrating more than choirs of angles. He has purpose. He gives purpose. He knows exactly who He calls.

 Shepherds did not randomly stumble into the presence of God, on that first Christmas. Neither can we randomly find ourselves there today. God must call us, and we must answer.

At the manger, God, as He often does still, brought those society had discarded to come into His presence to worship Him. 

1st Corinthians 1

28 He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast in His presence.

Despised unto humility, who better than shepherds to announce the birth of the Lamb of God? 

2000 years later, despised shepherds are called to carry a message. That message echoes from the Nativity, where the virgin wrapped her newborn in swaddling clothes. Free from the inherited stain of man’s sin, Christ, from the manger, doesn't simply initiate the first Christmas. From this miraculous birth, God certifies the work He is to do at the Cross and validates a defeated grave. Here He qualifies the sacrifice that will redeem believers from a deserved firey torment for the eons of eternity. From here begins the consecrated life lived to lead souls to heaven. 

As the sun sets, the cowboys ride, the herds will leave. When the lights taken down, the Nativity set is boxed away for another year, a new song will be playing in the background. The flock will face the temptation to temporarily stifle the marvelous awe found in the truth of the manger's mission, but there will always be a Shepherd, who will face bears in the night, even the grave itself, to carry the news of what began that night in Bethlehem.

May Love and Joy come to you, in knowing The Good News.

Merry Christmas,

Clint

Suffering: Hope's Romances

Pick up a book written by some modern evangelical pastors and we will find the romanticized version of evangelism. Story after story of  lost souls coming to faith through their conversations and interactions. Of which some, I’m sure are true and unarguably a treasured source of hopeful reassurance. Most of us cherish those moments of much needed inspiration. What we won’t find between, in, or on the majority of those pages is broken heartedness, frustration, and helpless concern any person of faith feels for those who are lost or strayed from the faith. Especially for, but not limited to, those we are closest to.

It’s not the sorta exciting world changing glamour that sells books ...or anything else for that matter. It’s just an emotional reality known, all too well, by those who believe and share the gospel. We just can’t nonchalantly take the “you win some, you lose some “ stance when it’s the eternity of those you know best on the line. No matter where our doctrinal beliefs fall in the theological perspective, it simply just isn’t up to us. Suddenly, this glorious knowledge of the free setting truth make is us realize we are in unshackled chains without the ability to free another soul.

We mourn for those we love who are still chained. Though Christ has empowered us through His  death and resurrection, when we are close to those who are squandering grace, we can feel spiritually paralyzed. If God planted our Hope within us, then spiritual paralysis is Hope’s great fertilizer. Organic fertilizer. In other words, it feels like crap dumped on us to make us grow.

Proverbs 13:12 says

Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.

Understanding who we are and who God is, is the key to hope in this life and for the next one. Nothing of this world can destroy our hope if we don't find it here or keep it here. 

Hebrews 10:23Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised God keeps His promises.

Do we know all of those wonderful commitments He has sworn to Himself on behalf for us?

To maintain hope requires a connecting focus on God's word. 

Psalm 119. 114 Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word

Most of us Christians avoid disappointment and emotional suffering as if it were the plague, but the Bible teaches us to rejoice in suffering. 

Romans 5:3 but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.

Suffering, is when God frustrates the attacks of the enemy, for His glory, to grow us into something more powerful and beautiful than we were before it attacked.

If we are to share the gospel, we must overcome the fear of disappointment. In short, you must have hope.

Psalm 42:11

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

 If I were to define Hope, it would be: practicing the emotional goal setting to intentionally think differently now about circumstances, in order to keep from being blinded to the potentially positive outcome of those circumstances in the future.

To hope, you must have more than just a need for it.

You must have faith to go with it.

The well known biblical definition for faith found in Hebrews 11:1 confirms:

...faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 

Sometimes, when we've bared our soul, prayed our hearts out, made our concerns known,  hoping is the only thing we can do. When all we can do is hope, it becomes a catalyst for testing our faith. These verses bare, not only a reminder, to not lose hope, they teach us God is the God of Hope.

Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

When we were not connected to the creator, we were not connected to the source of this life and had no hope for another.  But God’s grace gave us Hope. Sometimes, most times, the best thing to do for ourselves and those who doubt is Hope. Hope in God. He is a good God. He is merciful. 

If you'd like someone to pray for you or someone you know who needs hope, feel free to contact me.

Psalm31:24

Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.

 

Let the Way Wow You.

Some honest people will bluntly tell you a church ( not The Church ) operates as a business. In many aspects, they must. 

While marketing a venue is inevitable, sermons mirroring varietal sale techniques should cause us to examine more than mere merchandise. You can't buy or sell a relationship with Christ as if it were a weekly special at your favorite store.

Jesus is the same yesterday and today, God has no limitations and no room for improvement. Consequently, we can serve Him, but never help Him. Even if we could give Him all of ourselves, we can never add anything to Him. 

Yet, if you listen closely to the sensationalized sermons, you're bound to hear voices sounding oddly similar to infomercial salespersons declare,

”But wait, there's more!” If you act now, we will throw in a WWJD bracelet absolutely free.

Constantly entertained and instantly gratified we like the Gospel with a side of wow!

Palatable conjecture is easier to deliver than hard truths. Thereby, setting the trend for popular pastors to unveil an exciting new perspective every week. It doesn't have to be doctrinally sound. Never mind if it's biblically inaccurate. So long as it makes an audience gasp with surprise or promotes prosperity, happy thoughts, and book sales, we will buy it. 

There's nothing wrong, per se, with excitement or positive thoughts in sermons. Slogans and catch phrases are not necessarily harmful . Selling books is not intrinsically evil. The volume level or light intensity does not communicate anything other than audience preference. When bold definitive statements are made that unintentionally entice conjecture, unworthy of the All-knowing, All-powerful God we serve, we got problems.

 Why isn't the Way Wow enough? 

The privilege to Worship God, who created everything, who lived, suffered, and died to save us in spirit and truth, should be more than adequate. Why isn't the clear commandments of His Word enough of a challenge for us? The Sword of the Spirit cannot be dulled by the sharpening of man’s senses. Dynamic platitudes aren't equal to simple truths of His Word.

The the inerrancy of God’s Word is as sure as man’s inability to become worthy of opening it. Knowing the impossibility for flawed creatures to handle God’s perfect Word perfectly, means eating the meat and spitting out the bones of most sermons. It is essential to verify the teaching. The wow factor must stand up to the way factor. The teaching must be biblically sound. 

Learning to ignore the tones and the nuisances of our imperfections is key for “iron to sharpen iron”. The pulpit, rightfully so, is the most scrutinized place on the planet. Sometimes, you feel as if you are underneath a microscope being dissected by the blind. To stand in the pulpit is to invite criticism, both constructive and destructive, to a mysterious, yet necessary task. 

AW Tozer wrote these words,

”What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us...For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like.”

Don't take Tozer’s word for it.

What we allow ourselves to be taught matters to God. 

Colossians 2:8

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.

In hopes of catching a glimpse of God's supernatural power, two thousand years ago people used to follow Jesus waiting for a miracle. Two thousand years later, while focusing on dynamic teachers, we often forget salvation and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the most supernatural event we can experience. Look out the window or a mirror to see evidence of God's power.

When the rivers of living waters pour from the broken vessels the Almighty has called to carry the Gospel, His people should be refreshed, empowered, and ignited.

We shouldn't allow the conceptual ideas or energy of our favorite preachers or teachers cause us to focus on the mysteries rather than our thankful obedience to our Redeemer. The Way, The Truth, and the Life does the saving. The truth sets you free to live the life. Let the Way wow you. 

5 Biblical Responses To Bullying

I don't do subtitle. I hate it when there’s a problem and the preferred solution is to pretend there isn’t one . I’ll sacrifice pleasantries most any time to get to the point.

 Bullying is a REAL problem. No, it’s not a new problem or a bigger problem. It’s just a different world with new minds with a new problem that complicates the old Bullying problem.

I know, cause I’ve been on both sides of this. I am ashamed of been on either side because  it means I believed lies and told them. I offer my apologies.

On this subject, I’ve read and listened to everyone from teachers to psychologists chiming in. Meanwhile, crickets are chirping louder than those who should teach the righteousness to cry out to the Lord. Pastors should attack this as any other sin.

(I am committed to teaching a biblical response and practical application of God’s word on this subject for healing, survival, and redemption. While this post is written primarily to a mature audience, It can be modified to impact teens.  Contact me, if I can help you or your organization)

I remember saying, “sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me” , before I knew Proverbs 18:21 says that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” We all have misunderstood and misused this power.

Words can hurt. Words can kill.

At the risk of sounding like the Water Boy or Forest Gump, My mama says, “never point out a problem without offering some sort of a solution.”

While I cannot,  here’s 5 things in God’s word that does.

1.Teach your kids and yourself of the intrinsic worth of all people. Every person we have ever met, including the one in the mirror, was fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of the one who made them. Though we have all corrupted that image, we mustn’t forget who owns everyone. We must not have the audacity to have contempt for His work. SEE

  PSALM 139 :13-15    GENESIS 1:27

2 Never forget God sees differently than people.

1 Samuel 16:7

....For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

Before us may be a farmer, a poet, a musician, a warrior, or even a king. Perhaps, even all of these rolled up into one. It might be that guy, or it could be you. Only God knows... for now. 

3 Be careful what you think and  say. 

Jesus said, what comes out of a man defiles him and we will give an account for every word. We can’t make your fire burn hotter by peeing someone else’s coals. Never try to make yourself feel better by tearing down the spirits of another.

Proverbs 15

26The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD: but the words of the pure are pleasant words.

4 Be different. Not just different, but make a difference. Change your mind.

Romans 12:2

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

 Its a rare, beautiful thing in this world to reach across the aisle to those who need love. Especially, when it comes from those who you have rejected or those who have rejected you . No matter what part in this mess we’ve played , learn to love like Jesus. Remember Christ called out for to the Father for the forgiveness of those who crucified him. Because He was perfect, He responded perfectly to bullying.

5 Change

Over and over the Bible says change. 

Ephesians 4

22to put off your old self,f which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

In general people don’t like change. Most southern people, like myself, ain’t going down that road of change peacefully. Even if it means we lose touch with reality, so long as we don’t make waves, we can live at peace. All we have to do is pretend the world is the same place it used to be.

One problem with that philosophy for Christians is following our savior requires us to embrace the truth. And the truth is, this world is radically different from the world that us parents grew up in.  It’s not a brave new world. Though it’s a different world, it is the some old lost and dying one. Only this age has a new problem. It doesn’t fear the creator nearly as much as it used to. Therefore, it isn't wise and it doesn't love like it used to.

Christ has always instructed us to change, not just ourselves but change the lives for others. Christians should lead in combatting the evils that come with bullying.

 Most people might agree on what the problems are, but spend so much time debating solutions, nothing gets done. Let’s change that.