Tonight we sat in church and celebrated with hundreds a Christmas Eve service. There was good music and message and the proverbial ending replete with candles lit and singing Silent Night. Then we went home. I thought about how easy it is to be joyful when no one is shooting at you and the most treacherous aspect of the holidays is negotiating icy-snowy roads. How different it is for my friends in India, Kenya and Nigeria who have experienced the sudden upheaval of violence, barely escaping the hate of those who despise Christians.
Is it important to understand that in celebrating the birth of Jesus we must remember the cost it entailed and the warning that preceded it by the prophet Jeremiah? "A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she refused to be consoled, because they were no more" (Mat. 2:18).
Meditation
Matthew 2:16-Then Herod, when he saw that he had been outwitted by the wise men, flew into a rage. He gave orders to massacre all the male children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, in keeping with the time he had learned from the wise men.
Bible scholars estimate at least twenty babies were slaughtered in and around Bethlehem by the edict of a cruel ruler bent on ensuring no king would grow up and challenge his throne. Why did God allow this carnage to happen? How do you think the mothers and fathers of those murdered children felt? Suppose any of those parents were still alive when Jesus came south from Galilee to minister. If they figured out the timing and disputed His messiahship how could they look at Him and not feel anger that His life meant their innocent son's death! Do you suppose they might have yelled "crucify," with heartfelt anger?
Is it possible that we have an incomplete picture of Jesus' arrival on earth? We readily make mangers but who constructs a memorial? Who sings songs of lament for babies unfairly eliminated and their inconsolable mothers? Who gets the context of divine birth?
Okay, I'm probably making you uncomfortable because this is not what you want to read on Christmas day. But bear with me, okay? God won't create Gardens of Eden within a planet of evil. The gift of Jesus came with a price tag. Babies had to die because an evil ruler lived. God saw it coming and sent Joseph, Mary and Jesus to Egypt so His Son would live. Does that mean God didn't love those families that lost their babies? You don't think He heard the severe wailing in Bethlehem? You don't think it grieved Him deeply-as does all sin that wreaks garbage and pain?
Whenever holiness confronts contamination there is a cost and pain. Noble Abel died at the hands of Cain. Lying Ananias fell dead before an offended Holy Spirit. Angels gave a joyful tribute. Mothers sang a Ramah dirge. Sorrow is fleeing Bethlehem in the middle of the night knowing that many of your new acquaintances will suffer unbearably. Sorrow is the growing specter of a cross foreshadowed by a feeding trough. Sorrow is inside the love that propels the Almighty to cover the sins of His children with the blood of His Son. And sorrow is an important part of the Nativity painting. It is the cost, not the scenery that makes Christmas special. It is the price of following Christ that many around the world understand while suffering, that should fuel our joy that the Lord Jesus bought our escape from a hopeless fate to a redeemed future. When we sing Joy to the World, let's remember what powerful good news had to overcome. Something to think about . . . in reveration.
Inspiration
The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of men, and His compulsion is our liberation.-C.S. Lewis in Surprised By Joy
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
HUMANISM
If ever there was a need for prayer, it will be for a man named Obama. He inherits a nation at war with a stressed out economy. He will pilot a land divided in opinion in the midst of a world looking for a messiah. He will render senior leadership in a most complicated government with junior experience and little room for failure. He will face a press that is woeful in gathering all the facts and enemies that would love to see this nation destroyed. He will need wisdom from above in a culture that increasingly follows an ethical theory and practice "that emphasizes reason, scientific inquiry, and human fulfillment in the natural world and often rejects the importance of belief in God."*
Meditation
Ephesians 6:7-Render service with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that whatever good each one does, slave or free, he will receive this back from the Lord.
Revelation 4:11-Our Lord and God, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because You have created all things, and because of Your will they exist and were created.
Scripture brings immense truth to ponder. Whenever we champion (stake our lives on) humanism we plummet down Folly Hill. Eventually, every king of a manmade mountain tumbles. If we render service to people as our highest value, look what happens:
· We serve for our own betterment (self-centeredness).
· We serve to avoid unfavorable treatment (self-preservation).
· We serve for attention (pride).
Each of these at best buys us better life that eventually ends in death. There is no exception.
The boat of humanism always breaks apart on the reef of sin. We find ourselves in competition because our hierarchy of humanistic causes differs from one human, group, tribe, or race to the next. The only solution to this mess is to serve God. When we put Him first it results in our betterment, our preservation and our satisfaction, for He blesses us and His blessing and favor is eternal. He is supposed to always be first because He is our Creator! By His will we exist and He is worthy of all kudos.
We must be careful about championing causes or political parties. Slowly, the cause displaces the Causer. Subtly, we find ourselves wrapped around platforms and our need to be right replaces obedience to the Holy Spirit. We judge others and lose our perspective because we are serving the wrong master. Likewise, we must avoid putting all our hope in people. No man can save the world except God's Man. The temptation to find a messiah to free us from all our woes is as misguided as asking a television to raise our children.
If God is not first, we are worse for the wear and the glory we gain is not worth the blessing we lose. Should we be passionate? Should we work hard for those in whom we believe? Yes-but in balance! Our track record as people is terminally weak-consider the first bad choice-when God took second place to a piece of fruit. These are great days to pray to God for Obama. Keep the order straight and the results will bear divine signature.
*(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/humanism)
Inspiration
If I am only devoted to the cause of humanity, I will soon be exhausted and come to the point where my love will falter, but if I love Jesus Christ I will serve humanity, though men and women treat me like a doormat.-Oswald Chambers in The Place of Help
Meditation
Ephesians 6:7-Render service with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that whatever good each one does, slave or free, he will receive this back from the Lord.
Revelation 4:11-Our Lord and God, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because You have created all things, and because of Your will they exist and were created.
Scripture brings immense truth to ponder. Whenever we champion (stake our lives on) humanism we plummet down Folly Hill. Eventually, every king of a manmade mountain tumbles. If we render service to people as our highest value, look what happens:
· We serve for our own betterment (self-centeredness).
· We serve to avoid unfavorable treatment (self-preservation).
· We serve for attention (pride).
Each of these at best buys us better life that eventually ends in death. There is no exception.
The boat of humanism always breaks apart on the reef of sin. We find ourselves in competition because our hierarchy of humanistic causes differs from one human, group, tribe, or race to the next. The only solution to this mess is to serve God. When we put Him first it results in our betterment, our preservation and our satisfaction, for He blesses us and His blessing and favor is eternal. He is supposed to always be first because He is our Creator! By His will we exist and He is worthy of all kudos.
We must be careful about championing causes or political parties. Slowly, the cause displaces the Causer. Subtly, we find ourselves wrapped around platforms and our need to be right replaces obedience to the Holy Spirit. We judge others and lose our perspective because we are serving the wrong master. Likewise, we must avoid putting all our hope in people. No man can save the world except God's Man. The temptation to find a messiah to free us from all our woes is as misguided as asking a television to raise our children.
If God is not first, we are worse for the wear and the glory we gain is not worth the blessing we lose. Should we be passionate? Should we work hard for those in whom we believe? Yes-but in balance! Our track record as people is terminally weak-consider the first bad choice-when God took second place to a piece of fruit. These are great days to pray to God for Obama. Keep the order straight and the results will bear divine signature.
*(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/humanism)
Inspiration
If I am only devoted to the cause of humanity, I will soon be exhausted and come to the point where my love will falter, but if I love Jesus Christ I will serve humanity, though men and women treat me like a doormat.-Oswald Chambers in The Place of Help
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