December 11, 2011

"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." I John 4:8-10

There are some things you never get tired of.

You never get tired of Christmas and you never get tired of hearing people say, "I love you."

Personally, I never get tired of butter pecan ice cream, but I probably could at some point.

If Christmas and expressions of love are two things you always look forward to, there is a reason. Those two experiences are inextricably connected.

Christmas means so much because love means so much. Love is what Christmas is all about. Love is why Christmas happened. Love is how Christmas happened. Christmas is what love looks like! The Bible makes that abundantly clear:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:16-17

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

Every celebration of Christmas is a reminder of God's love. Every thought of Christmas is a reminder of love. No wonder Christmas has such strong emotional implications! Christmas seems to bring out the best in everyone! Even people who are not people of faith, still love Christmas. People who are not ordinarily in a good mood are generally in a good mood at Christmas.

Retailers love what Christmas does for their bottom line, but beyond that, they find that customers are generally are in a better frame of mind.

Everyone loves Christmas because everyone loves being loved! And Christmas is all about being loved - unconditionally and extravagantly! Christmas brought love down to our level and lifts us up to a supernatural level of love!

You've got to love it!

December 10, 2011

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:8-11

Christmas means so many things to so many people in so many different ways. Some are very happy and some are very painful. All are very meaningful.

But this morning I want to focus on two things Christmas offers that everyone should welcome because they are in short supply - "good news" and "great joy".

In a culture that has been negatively shaped by the 24/365 cable news cycle, bad news constantly assaults our consciousness. Even as one who is a "news junkie" I would get overwhelmed by the bad news were I not firmly ground in the "good news". So, in a very real and powerful way, Christmas is the antidote for CNN, MSNBC, HNN, and even FOX cable news outlets.

What is that "good news"?

The "good news" or the "gospel" is that God did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He bridged the moral/spiritual gap that separated a sinful fallen race from a Holy God. Thousands of years of religion could do it. Centuries of recycled philosophies could not do it. Political power and might couldn't do it. Even the prophets, the promised land and the prosperity of God's people couldn't do it.

But God did it and the angels announced it, "Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord." The good news is that God sent us a Savior! We could not save ourselves because we were the problem! We needed to be saved FROM ourselves!

So how could that be accomplished? How could the great moral/spiritual gap that separated God and man be closed when we could not reach up to God? THAT'S THE GOOD NEWS!

God reached down to us! God became like us to provide us a shot at becoming like Him! God's Son emptied Himself of all the privileges and rights of the Godhead, checked out of Heaven and slid from eternity into time! Why would someone do that? UNCONDITIONAL LOVE! THAT'S THE GOOD NEWS!

This unique and miraculous incarnation was the only possible way to reconcile God and man. And only God could pull it off! Come on, only God could think of it! THAT'S THE GOOD NEWS!

So, what about the "Great Joy"?

That is what happens when you receive the "Good News"! That is the result of believing the "Good News" and being reconciled to God! That is what happens when you get so fed up with the bad news of sin that you repent and turn to the "Good News". "Great joy" is the proof that you have received the "Good news"! It is confirmation that into you a Savior has been born!

How is your joy this morning?

December 8, 2011

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:8-11

According to the Herald Angels, (and who wants to argue with them) Christmas is a season of good news and great joy. The good news has not changed, so where is the joy? The story is the same, our need is the same, our God is the same, the work of Christ has been completed and His Spirit is available and active in our world, so why is there so little joy?

Because this is such an important question I have given it some serious thought. It seems to me the best way to answer it is to consider why these shepherds found such joy. Once we understand that we can try tap into their sources of joy.

The first obvious answer is they heard from God.

Well, that makes sense, doesn’t it? God is the Source of joy so hearing from Him brings joy!

You may be thinking, “Sure, Brad, if I could hear from angels I would be joyful, too!”

I’m not saying it couldn’t happen but you have several other more practical options for hearing from God.

Prayer is a primary way to hear from God. The shepherds had angels but we have Jesus interceding for us as we pray and the Holy Spirit inspiring us and instructing us and interpreting for us as we pray!

If joy is missing from your life the first place to look is your prayers? Are you regularly communicating with God through prayer? Are you making your requests known to Him AND are you listen to His?

Bible study is another way of hearing from God. The Bible is the Word of God. Every time you read it you get a fresh word from Him. When you open the Word you activate Jesus, Who is the Word, and you activate the Holy Spirit Who inspired the Word, and you connect with the Father.

“But, Brad, I read the Bible a lot and I don’t hear from God,” you may be thinking.

With all due respect, it is impossible to read God’s Word and not hear from God. By it’s own testimony, God’s Word never returns void. It always has an effect on the reader or the hearer.

If you are reading the Word and finding no joy, ask yourself, “Am I reading it objectively and am I reading it obediently?” By reading it objectively I mean, are you reading with an open-mind ready to hear what God has to say through His Word? Or. Are you reading it with an agenda trying to justify a point of view or validate your own idea? If you don’t read it objectively and open to hearing from God you won’t hear from God. There is no joy in reading God’s Word to support you own bias.

If you are reading His Word with no intention of obeying it, you will not hear from God. Why should He dishonor His own Word by speaking to someone whom He knows won’t obey it.

The second answer is they hoped in God!

You could debate whether these shepherds heard from God because they were hoping in God or, if they were hoping in God because they had heard from Him. Maybe it was both!

Hope is rooted in the good news that God is still in control of this world and is working in this world to establish His Kingdom in you and through you. Hope is grounded in the reality of Christ not circumstances.

But joy is a result of hoping in God! The problems and perils and pain of everyday life will beat the hope out of you in a hurry if you do not have a reason to hope for a better day. The hope that brings joy is a hope borne out of a determination to believe in the goodness of God despite all evidence to the contrary. Hope is a decision to trust in the last Word you have heard from God until you hear a new Word from God. This hope is built on a foundation of God’s Person. It is never wavering in your belief of His holiness, and His goodness, and His power, and His purposes and His promises. Hope deliberating chooses to believe that what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal and defines reality by the invisible not what is seen.

When you go day after day in the same situation facing the same suffering and circumstances, it is easy to lose hope. But you can choose not to lose hope. Hope doggedly holds onto what you have heard from God until you hear from God again!

Hearing from God produces joy and hoping in God preserves joy!

December 7, 2011

“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” Luke 1:26-34

Christmas makes it a little easier to believe the unbelievable.

However, we are looking at the incredible events of Christmas after the fact. It happened and it is recorded history.

Mary was called on to believe something that seemed unbelievable BEFORE it happened. God confronted her with the choice of believing beyond the possible. God was asking her to commit to something that had never happened and believe that it could. The fact that it was announced by an Archangel may have made it a little easier to believe, but it still required a big leap of faith.

No virgin had ever become pregnant before. Not only had she never heard of such a thing, such a thought had never entered her mind. It was a plan so incredible only God could have conceived it yet Mary was asked to believe it. God called her to believe the unbelievable and to disbelieve what she had always known to be true. She had a “Mary moment”.

We had Christmas and we have a Savior because she didn’t fail her “Mary moment”.

How well have you handled your “Mary moments”?

What do you do when God calls you to believe what He is saying rather than what you are seeing?

If you want to honor God you will have “Mary moments”.

If you want to change the world for God you will have “Mary moments”.

If you want to see God move in miraculous ways you will have “Mary moments”.

Mary was faithful in her “Mary moment”! The world has never been the same!

Will you MAN UP in your “Mary moment”? God may only be a few “Mary moments” from rocking your world!

December 6, 2011

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,"  Philippians 2:5-9

Christmas could also have been called Christ-yes.

What do I mean by that?

I mean that Christmas could not have happened without several willing "yeses". Over the next few posts I am going to show you what I mean.

The first "yes" was out of this world! It had to come from Heaven because the first one Who had to say "yes" was Jesus, the Son of God.

Our Scripture text assures us that He did.

When Jesus said, "Yes" to Christmas, He was saying "no" to all the safety, security, and splendor of Heaven.

When Jesus said, "Yes" to Christmas it meant saying "no" to eternity and stepping into the restrictions and limits of time.

When Jesus said, "Yes" to Christmas he also said "no" to the power, the privilege and the paradise of Heaven.

When Jesus said, "Yes" to Christmas in order to come as God's gift to the world, it meant He had to give up everything that was special or advantageous about being equal to God.

When Jesus said, "Yes" to Christmas He was saying "no" to the peace of Heaven and facing the pain of an evil planet filled with wicked people.

Christmas was not an easy "yes" for Jesus. It required saying "no" to some pretty precious privileges. Christmas would be no holiday for Jesus. He would leave all that was holy, and familiar and deserved, to live among sin and strangers and sacrifice.

Christmas was actually Christ-yes. It could not have happened unless several people were willing to "yes" to God and "no" to all that was comfortable or convenient to them. The first among that group was none other than Jesus Christ Himself!

In view of all the hard things that Christ said, "Yes" to for you,  where do you need to say "yes" to Him?

December 5, 2011

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

How would it impact your job if you were never at your best? How far would your worst get you on a regular basis?

What would it do for your relationships if you always showed your worst side?

How would you feel about your worst moments? What if you judged yourself only by your really bad moments? How would that affect your self-esteem?

What would you get for Christmas if Santa made your list based on only your worst days?

Give those some thought and I doubt if your answers will be positive.

As you think about what results from your worst efforts and poorest attitudes in life, let me brighten your day a bit!

There is good news of great joy from the reality of Christmas! As this verse from Romans reminds us, God's response to man's worse was giving His best!

Who does that? Who would give his very best for people who are doing their very worst? Who would send the best they have to redeem those who have already seemingly wrecked their his dream? Who would do that?

Other than God - no one! But God did!

From the moment that Adam exercised his will against God and activated the sinful nature in the human race, God announced His plan to redeem the race. The only way that God could restore a fallen race and rescue it from its worst self was to send His very best!

That is exactly what He did!

Did we request it? No, we were clueless.

Did we deserve it? Not even close.

Did we need it? Absolutely! It was our only hope.

Why would He do it? Ah, that's the good news of Christmas!

It is called unconditional love! It is called grace! It is free - but it is not cheap. It cost God His best for a people at their worst!

Joy, to the world, the Lord has come!

December 4, 2011

“The Perfect Baby Gift”

Really Bad Baby Gifts:

1) A Cactus

2) English Leather Cologne And After Shave Combo

3) A Reversible Electric Power Drill

4) A 1000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle

5) A Pit Bull

6) A Craftsman Tool Kit

7) Velcro Sheets

8) A Sonic Toothbrush

9) A Bowling Ball

10) Soap On A Rope

Now, let me tell you about the best baby gift ever! The most perfect baby gift ever was A PERFECT BABY!

This perfect Gift was motivated by a perfect love!

God, the Perfect Father sent the Perfect Baby Gift – HIS SON, JESUS!

God GAVE His Baby In Order to SAVE Your Baby!

That is the exciting news of Christmas! That is the “good news of great joy” announced by the Angels to the shepherds on that first Christmas!

It is why Christmas is such a favorite Holiday – because it celebrates that glorious truth that never grows old – God sent His Baby so that your baby can someday go to see Him!

This is especially significant in light of what we have done this morning – dedicating your babies back to the God Who gave His Baby!

Here is how it is announced in the Bible:

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9:6-7

“But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:20-21

“But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:30-35

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1-4, 14

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,  “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:8-14

The reason I still excited about Christmas after all these years is because of the PERFECT BABY GIFT that God gave you and me – the gift of a Savior!

WHAT DEFINES A PERFECT BABY GIFT?

Who Gave the Gift?

The more significant the giver of the gift then the more significant the gift will be. When the giver is precious to you the gift they give will be as well!

The Perfect Baby gift was given by God - the Giver of all good gifts.

How Much Did It Cost?

While you never know exactly how much a person pays for a gift because they take the prince tag off and it would be very tacky to ask, but most people know a costly gift from a less expensive one. When someone who could afford to purchase an expensive gift gives a cheap gift, it can bother you.

God's Perfect Baby gift caused Him everything! He is the most expensive gift every given!

The Thought Behind The Gift

When a gift is so special or unique it shows a good deal of thoughtfulness, that makes it extra special as opposed to someone who knew you were expecting a boy and gives you a pink dress.

God thought of us before we were ever created - that's why we were created. And, while we were still sinners the Bible says that God sent His Son to die for you and me.

How Long Will The Gift Last!

A good gift will not be too small to wear or so poorly constructed that it falls apart, but will be the right size and the best quality.

This Perfect Baby gift not only lasts forever but will allow you and I to last forever.

How Appropriate To The Need?

A good baby gift will meet a need that will make life easier for the mother and the newborn.

“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23

“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Romans 6:23

"If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. But since our greatest need was forgiveness, God sent us a Savior."

CHRISTMAS MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE BECAUSE WE NEEDED A SAVIOR AND GOD GAVE HIS CHILD TO SAVE YOUR CHILD – AND YOU!

Can you imagine how much God loves YOU to send His Son?! HE LOVES YOU AS MUCH AS HE LOVES HIS SON!

Here is what it looks like – watch!

http://youtu.be/GhkpxpjHIRg

Christmas means God sent the PERFECT BABY GIFT – He Gave His Child To Save Your Child!

A Gift Like That Should Be Received Gladly! How Could You Refuse It?

What other plan do you have for your salvation?