Thoughts on Church on this Christmas Eve

Most of my blog messages are written well in advance of their posting date. Today’s is no exception. I am writing weeks before this is scheduled but I know it will post on Christmas Eve. It might not seem “christmasy” to you but I think it very much feels like the true meaning of Christmas…..

Over the past few weeks, four of my friends have watched one of their loved ones complete their earthly race. The circumstances of each departure were all different - one was a young child, one was an octogenarian, and the other two were closer to my age. Two were dramatically unexpected and two were sad but not shocking. While the circumstances were varied, the thing that was consistent is the subject of this message.

In each case, in the midst of pain and grief and sorrow, I saw THE CHURCH in action.

THE CHURCH. The BRIDE of CHRIST. The PEOPLE of GOD. came alongside by friends in each of these situations. They prayed and cried and fed and grieved and served and did all the things that needed to be done. Not just for a day but for weeks. Each of these situations were different circles of friends but they each one functioned the same. Because each circle was the BODY of Christ. Each different group somehow knew what was needed and they met those needs. With hearts to ease the burdens, to share the grief, to support and love and minister.

In the midst of brokenness and pain…there was beauty. Each of the times. Beauty delivered by THE CHURCH.

What does that have to do with Christmas?

Everything.

Because this is what Jesus came to earth and died for. To create and establish and grow His BRIDE. And when one member of the Body is hurting, it is a glorious sight to see the other parts surround the wound and pour out love. It is beautiful.

I am so thankful to be part of THE CHURCH. The Church universal….and the local church. I love being part of it and participating in the beautiful fleshing out of Christ’s plan for us. Christmas is when we celebrate the gift of Jesus coming to earth. But while we celebrate, let’s remember what He came to redeem us, to give Himself up for us, and to make us holy, blameless, and His Beautiful Bride. As we minister to one another, we see Ephesians 4:15,16 in real life: we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

I love THE CHURCH universal as well as the local Church. Even though it gets messy sometimes ( we are all still human on this side of Eternity, after all!) and yes, there are failures and disappointments and mistakes. But it’s also beautiful. The different parts working together. The fitting together under the head of Christ. The growth and the building of in love. I get to see it all the time. I get to be part of it. I am so thankful.

I hope you love the church too. I hope you are part of it and that you participate in this fitting together. If you’ve been hurt or disappointed, I am sorry. Church hurt is hard. But, this Christmas, for the sake of what Jesus came for, give it another chance.

It really can be a beautiful and glorious thing. Merry Christmas.

Heart surgery

It has been my experience that God will gently and graciously repeat Himself when something in my heart needs attention. Not that He speaks in an audible voice (although He can do that, too!) but rather I will notice sort of a theme in devotionals I read or sermons I hear or conversations I have with friends. When the same verse “pops up” several times over a few days, I have learned to give it my attention. It usually means the lover of my soul has a message for me.

Such it was recently with Psalm 86:11. Teach me Your way, Lord; I will walk in Your Truth. Unite my heart to fear Your name. Today that verse was repeated in a devotional I read for what seems like the umpteenth time. So I opened my Bible to Psalm 86 and asked God what He wanted me to hear.

Here’s what I see:

First, context. In reading the entire Psalm, verse 11 appears to be dropped in the midst of expressions of praise and pleadings for answered prayer. It’s as though those heart-cries opened his eyes to the reality of his need: for God to teach him, help him, and fix him.

Working backwards in verse 11, the psalmist realizes that the goal is to fear His name. That doesn’t mean to be afraid of God - rather it is an awareness that God is holy…and we are not. It is a recognition that our greatest need and the greatest possible blessing is to know that this awareness effects right living. Having the proper view of God changes how we live.

So that’s the goal. But the psalmist realizes he faces an obstacle to reaching that goal: his own heart. Specifically, a divided heart. That’s why he uses the phrase “unite my heart”. The one God kept bringing to my attention. This is not a longing to be in unity with other believers (although that is certainly a good thing!). No, this is an awareness that the biggest problem we will ever face is not a set of challenging circumstances, other people, or even spiritual warfare. The biggest problem we have to face is much closer: our own heart. For believers, the problem is not so much that our heart is wretched but rather that our heart is divided.

Divided into parts that war against each other. The conflict between our new self and our old nature. Flesh vs spirit. Longings that are in opposition to one another. Like wanting to be fit but also wanting to eat the cookies I just baked for someone else. Longing for the willingness to die to myself yet also craving the comfort of relaxation. Having the desire to open my heart to everyone but still smarting from recent hurts that sprout a sense of self-protectiveness. Wanting for God to receive all the glory and yet longing to be thought valuable and significant myself. Striving towards obedience in the area of forgiveness but still tempted to nurse a grudge against those who hurt the ones I love. And on and on. A divided heart. One that needs to be united. United to fear His Name.

So what are we to do?

I think the answer is in that chapter, in that one verse even. First, as we realize that our heart needs uniting, we cry out to the only one Who can remedy it. God alone can cure the divided heart. Thus, we ask Him to do what only He can do so that we will fear His name and arrange our lives accordingly.

What else are we to do?
The first part of the verse instructs us:

Plead with God not only to unite our heart but first to teach us His way. The Hebrew word for “teach” there means not only provide instruction but especially to “lay the foundation”. We need more than mere knowledge - we need for God to build wisdom into us, to lay the groundwork for our lives, to actually be the rock on which our lives are built. Yes, Lord, teach us Your way!

As we look to Him to unite our heart, to build us on the Rock, we see a great truth in the middle phrase. I will walk in Your truth. At first glance, it seems like a simple declaration of how I intend to live: walking with integrity and obedience. But a deeper dive reveals much more. Much much more. The word “truth” carries with it the meaning of steadfast faithfulness. THAT is what I walk in. The truth that God is ever faithful. Even though I am not! He is steadfast to provide what I need. Which means I don’t have to fight for my own comfort or satisfaction or significance. He will provide that. I am free to forgive and risk being wounded again, free to entrust those I love to the One who loves them more because I can be secure in HIS faithfulness, HIS trustworthiness. I can walk in that - goodness gracious, I can RUN in that!

Lord Jesus, I cry out to You to unite my heart! I acknowledge the divisions that are there and I cast myself on Your goodness, Your power, Your faithfulness to heal them. To build into me the character of Christ, the sure and strong foundation of Your Word. Oh, my Savior, how I long to fear Your name and praise you forever! Thank you for teaching me with persistence <3 Oh, how I love Jesus!

One woman's gift...

John 12. The woman with the alabaster jar.

Each of the Gospels records a similar story. A woman with a jar of expensive perfume. Lavishing it on Jesus. Rebuked by those around her. The accounts in Matthew, Mark and John are of the same incident but the event that Luke relays is of a different woman, different point in Christ’s ministry, different response from the crowd.

But both convey to us an act of immense love and profound worship.

Let’s look at both events and see what we can see..

One woman (the one in Luke 7:36-50) is a “sinner”, likely a prostitute. The encounter takes place early in Jesus’s ministry and is at the home of a Pharisee. She is silently condemned by the religious leader as being unworthy to perform such an act. He thought his condemnation was private, but Jesus knew! And Jesus rebuked him for a lack of love and praised the woman for her lavish display.

The other three Gospels all tell of Mary, the sister of Lazarus, who also anointed Jesus with “costly perfume of pure nard”. She was rebuked by the disciples (primarily Judas) who condemned her as wasteful. They thought the perfume should have been sold and used to care for the poor. Jesus, however, commends her greatly - her use of nard was evidence of her faith because nard was an ointment used when preparing a body for burial. Mary knew that Jesus was headed to the cross…and why…and Jesus gives her high praise for “getting it”. Even His disciples didn’t demonstrate this level of belief!

The watching world saw one woman as worthless. The other woman as wasteful. But Jesus. Jesus declared both actions as worship.

What can you glean from this? I’d love to hear from you as you process these two acts of love.

A little more thanksgiving.....

If you know me at all, you know I am a Bulldog through and through. My blood runs red and black and (sad to admit…) the quality of my day can be determined by the performance of a bunch of college age fellas on 100 yards of grass. Additionally, I think Kirby Smart is brilliant. Great strategist (onside kick, anyone???), composed interviewee, and tremendous motivator. I am a huge fan of his! But I’ve never considered him a theologian.

Until a recent interview.

Prior to the UGA-Texas game (HOW BOUT THEM DAWGS!!!!), Kirby was on a sports talk show and he was asked how he handled the nerves (his and the team’s) facing such a big game.

Without missing a beat, Kirby said GRATITUDE. He went on to say that when you are grateful for what you have, it alleviates the anxiety. While he was speaking in terms of the opportunity the Dawgs have to be on the big stage, the principle holds true for all of life. Gratitude supplants anxiety, worry, fear.

I don’t know where Kirby gets his truth (but I do know a couple of Godly men who pour into him so maybe he knows where this principle of gratitude originates) but the Apostle Paul taught us this long before football was even a sport. Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6,7. Gratitude. Thanksgiving. Bringing peace. Defeating anxiety.

A thankful heart gains victory over a whole bunch of assailants. Criticalness, fear, worry, apathy, selfishness, pride to name a few. If you have some stuff in your heart that is less than fulfilling, try practicing gratitude. A seemingly simple exercise of writing down three things EVERY DAY that you are grateful for delivers great returns.

Thank you for reading :) And GO DAWGS

Thanksgiving and Praise

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
    and his courts with praise!
    Give thanks to him; bless his name!


Psalm 100:4 is one verse of one of the most famous psalms - it is one that lifts our hearts in praise of our great God.  Especially suitable for this, the season of thanksgiving.


Note that there is a distinction here between thanksgiving and praise.  I don't think it's just semantics - it seems that "thanksgiving" is gratitude for what God has done while "praise" is worship for Who He is.   We are exhorted throughout Scripture to do both but notice the difference in effect...."thanksgiving" admits us into His gates....but "praise" brings us closer - entrance into the courts of His presence.


Praising God for Who He is turns our attention away from ourselves and what we need/want and focuses our hearts on Him.   The next verse describes some of His attributes :
For the Lord is good;
    his steadfast love endures forever,    and his faithfulness to all generations.


God is good.
This Hebrew adjective means "good, pleasant, beautiful, excellent, delightful, lovely, fruitful, joyful, cheerful, kind, correct, right, virtuous".  Wow - that's a lot packed into "good"!


He loves us relentlessly and unwaveringly.  And forever.
Being able to know His love in the face of changing times and my own unreliable heart is great comfort.  And confidence.


He is trustworthy.  From eternity past to eternity future.
He is certain, dependable, and sure.  Indeed He is worthy of all my trust.


In this season of giving thanks for all He has done for us, let us draw even nearer to His Throne with praise - an acknowledgement of Who He Is.


Hallelujah Amen!