Month: December 2009

Waiting for Jesus to Show Up | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

~ brandon ~ Leave a comment

We shouldn’t scold ourselves for this. There’s no point in shaming ourselves because we don’t love God. To begin with, you can’t make yourself love someone or some activity. You either love or you don’t.

via Waiting for Jesus to Show Up | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction.

A great article on loving God.  Especially at Christmas we need to remember that love is not forced, it is a gift.  At the same time, we need to call our lovelessness what it is:  sin.

God commands us to love Him (Deuteronomy 6:5).  Though I cannot make myself love Him, yet I must repent of not loving Him.  This, I believe, is the first step to learning to love God:  recognizing my lack of love as sin.  Having done this, I can turn to Him who is Love, find forgiveness and His love begins growing within.

An Advent Story

~ brandon ~ Leave a comment

In 1983, a movie premiered that soon became a Christmas classic across America.  A Christmas Story tells the tale of Ralphie, a young boy who wants nothing more than a Red Ryder© b-b gun for Christmas.  The movie unfolds as Ralphie tries to convince his mother, a teacher and even Santa Claus that this is the ideal present for him.  At each turn Ralphie’s request is rejected, with the same admonishment, “You’ll shoot your eye out.”  Despite these set backs, Ralphie never gives up hope that Christmas morning will deliver him the object of his desire.

So it is on Christmas that Ralphie flies down the stairs, tossing aside wrapped presents left and right.  He digs into the pile of gifts looking for a box that might contain his coveted rifle.  After opening everything else, Ralphie finally discovers the long, rectangular box that contains the Red Ryder© rifle.

I don’t enjoy this movie because of the fine acting, cinematography or script.  What I enjoy most about it is the connection nearly every child has with Christmas.  Most of us, at some point, looked forward to Christmas with that same longing.  Many of us can remember a Christmas where we wanted one gift more than anything else, we can identify with Ralphie’s quest to receive that gift.  That expectation, the hope and the joy provide us with glimpses of Advent.

Advent is a time to remember the hope-filled expectation of the Messiah’s coming.  For generations the Israelites waited, longing for the Messiah.  They faced set backs—enslavement, oppression and defeat—yet they maintained their hope that one day Messiah would come.  When he came, he would usher in the time of a New Covenant, when all of God’s promises would be fulfilled.  He would save them from sin, condemnation and slavery.

While Christmas is not about trees, gifts and such, childlike anticipation and joy recall the anticipation and joy of Christ’s first Advent.  In a few weeks we will again celebrate the greatest gift ever given.  May you capture the anticipation and hope of Advent as you prepare for Christmas morning.

Christmas Island

~ brandon ~ Leave a comment

As I listen to this classic American Christmas song, I wondered if that’s just not about the best way to celebrate the birth of Christ.

In Matthew 11:28, 29, Jesus offers peace and rest to those who will follow Him.  Yet, when it comes to celebrating His birth, peace and rest are two qualities often missing from the celebration.  Between decorating, cooking, baking, parties, shopping, wrapping, worshipping and all the other Christmas Season must-do events, we often become haggard, tired and frustrated.  Some of us even breath a sigh of relief when Christmas is over, because the most-stressful time of the year is gone.

But, should it be this way?  Would Christ want us greeting His arrival with stress and busyness or with quiet contemplation or with restful peace?  I  believe that allowing Christmas to become stressful completely misses the point of who Christ is, and what He wants for us.

So let me invite you to evaluate the next two weeks and deep six anything that’s going to keep you from experiencing Christ’s rest this Christmas.

Why was Jesus born in Bethlehem?

~ brandon ~ Leave a comment

Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem follows the promises made through the Prophets. In Micah 5:2 the Lord promised, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” That promised ruler, a baby with ancient origins, is Jesus.
Another important aspect of Bethlehem is Jesus’ lineage. According to Matthew, Jesus’ earthly father is a descendant of King David. The Lord promised David, “your house and your kingdom shall endure for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever.” Because Bethlehem is David’s home, and because Christ is the promised King, who will rule forever, it is fitting He should be born in Bethlehem, the city of David.
In order for this prophecy to be fulfilled, Joseph and Mary needed to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem. The census ordered by Caesar required Joseph to travel to his ancestral home of Bethlehem. Through this census, the prophecy of Christ’s birth in Bethlehem was fulfilled.
Jesus’ birthplace connects Him with David, the greatest of Israel’s kings and fulfills the promise that the Savior would be born in Bethlehem. Far from an accident or coincidence, God shows His hand in the birthplace of the Christ.

A Very Merry Christmas

~ brandon ~ Leave a comment

A benefit to parents living in Orlando is regular trips to Disney World.  So, after spending Thanksgiving in Orlando, my wife and I carted our three children off to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom.  With much anticipation our brood nearly came undone as we crossed the Seven-Seas Lagoon on a Ferry bound for fun and frivolity.

My wife had planned this evening for months.  She was as tightly wound as any of the children, and her head overflowed with great expectations of wonderful family memories.  Then an interesting thing occurred.  To a person, we were disappointed.  The event completely failed to live up to our hopes and dreams.  As we left the park, some hours later, we left feeling like we’d been robbed.

What a wonderful illustration to prepare us for Christmas.

Each one of us longs for joy, peace, hope and satisfaction.  We desire to be filled up and completed, so that we long for nothing.  And we try to find those qualities in so many places.  Gifts, food, family, celebration and fond memories are just some ways we seek to satisfy our souls at Christmas.  Yet, in each case we are left wanting.  Every celebration ends, every gift wears out and even memories fade.  We are left still needing something that can satisfy, someone who can delivery joy, peace and hope.

At Christmas we celebrate the only One who can deliver.  In Christ all the promises of God are answered.  In Christ we are satisfied.  As I left Orlando, I made it my prayer that I would seek my satisfaction only in Christ, and that I might find it there.  This advent, may Christ be your satisfaction too.

Your Sin Will Find You Out

~ brandon ~ Leave a comment

Tiger Woods TV Ads Disappear After Reports of Affairs Update2 – Bloomberg.com.

I’m a bit late to the ball on this one, but Tiger’s travails provide an excellent illustration of a key Christian concept. Your sin will find you out (Numbers 32.23).

Tiger lacks integrity.  He presented one public persona while he was really a different person.  In his apology he even stated,

he let his family down with “transgressions” and hasn’t been true to his “family values.”

Now he is paying the consequences of his actions.  Lost contracts, ruined reputation, etc.  This should be a warning to those who believe they can hide their sin.  Sure, we can hide it for a time, but eventually our sins are known.  Perhaps we’d do well to consider the consequences of our secret sins, if they were to become public.  Then, maybe, we’d find repentance and grace to heal us.

Providence

~ brandon ~ 1 Comment

Our congregation has been trying to build a new building for 10 years.  Through various fits and starts we came to possess 10 acres of land (which moved 3 times), we designed a functional building, found a builder who could build it, raised almost 50% of the cash necessary, grew a budget to pay the mortgage and started construction.  The beginning of construction meant we had to decide what to do with our present building.  We decided to sell.

Selling it, of course, seemed much harder than it sounds.  The building is 105 years old, brick and about 3600 square feet.  It has only four rooms, a sanctuary (about ½ of the overall space), a small office, a large kitchen and a fellowship area.  And the building is landlocked—streets on two sides, homes on two sides—with no room for adding on.  Our bank would not venture a guess as to what it was worth, realtors told us they had no idea what to list it for, who would buy it or how long it would take.  Oh, an all of this while the local housing market is in the tank.  So, we put up a couple of signs and agreed on an asking price.

Within a week we received a call.  Another congregation in our area had been looking for a building for years.  They tried to build, but couldn’t afford it.  They tried to buy and ran into roadblocks.  Now they wanted to come and look at our building.  So, we welcomed them to have a look around.  Then I went on vacation.

While I was away this other congregation made an offer, below our asking price but still above what most of us thought the building was worth.  A meeting was met, and in the end we received exactly what we wanted for the building and they received exactly what they wanted—a building.  This whole event is what we call ‘Providence.’

God provided for us more cash as we complete our building.  This comes during a time when most churches are seeing declining offerings.  God provided this congregation with a new home.  After years of searching they’ve finally found a place to call their own.

What amazes me most is how big the providence of God is.  It is not merely big enough to guide our building process.  It is so big that our building process is God’s way of providing for the needs of two churches:  larger space for us and new space for them.  In one stroke God met the needs of two separate congregations.

God is good, all the time.

Modern-Day Lepers | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

~ brandon ~ Leave a comment

Modern-Day Lepers | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction.

“I have heard it said that sex offenders are modern-day lepers,” he said. “That is probably pretty accurate. And we know that Jesus didn’t shun lepers. He loved them and healed them. He expects us to do the same.”

Seriously?  Sex offenders = lepers?  I don’t think so.  Read the whole thing.