ADVENT 12 - Just What I Wanted?

(Originally Posted December 12, 2018)

Sometimes there is a big gap between what the Christmas the commercials promise and the Christmas we experience. Despite the music and festivities, this can be a difficult season for many. Some folks experience “Christmas blues,” finding the holidays to be a time when they’re particularly vulnerable to depression. And then there’s the “Christmas hangover,” (not the one caused by too much eggnog) it’s the one that hits after the presents are opened, the stockings are empty, the meal is over, and we find ourselves thinking, “Is that it?” We can find it all very anti-climactic.

The Christmas blues and the Christmas hangover come together when expectations meet reality. We build up anticipation to a level that can’t possibly be met. We have plenty of help building these expectations. Social media, TV commercials and department stores paint the picture that our loneliness will be turned into joy when the gifts we want so badly ultimately satisfy us.

The problem is that we can’t possibly meet these unrealistic expectations. Sometimes instead of families coming together and bonding, they just come together and argue. There are times you get everything on your list and still you feel empty. Maybe this season is lonely because you have lost a loved one.

If we can feel this as believers, imagine what it’s like for someone who has yet find the real meaning of Christmas. Beneath plastic smiles and obligatory “cheer,” these can be dark, difficult times for those who have yet to meet the Savior, the one whom the season is about.

The thing we need to remember is that many people are searching for what Christians already have. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 3:23-24 that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. 

We give gifts to not only commemorate the gifts brought to baby Jesus, but they also remind us of the gift of God’s Son to save us from our sins. Mild He lays His glory by; born that men no more may die! Let that be the carol you hold on to this Christmas. We have been given the gift of eternal life and ultimate peace.

ADVENT 11 - Turn on the Light

True confession: I’m afraid of the dark. My overactive imagination invents all kinds of hairy, vicious, stinging phantoms ready to attack me in the night. Perhaps that stems from my childhood when to be asked to retrieve an item from the dryer in our unfinished basement meant tiptoeing into a labyrinth of darkness, a place where no daylight ever shined. The only switched light source came from a dim stairway bulb, and the laundry area was waaay back in a corner. Experience taught me how to navigate this dungeon: Pray, run, hop to grab the first pull chain - LIGHT! Breathe… pray, run, run, run past my brother’s darkroom, lunge, and hop to grab the second pull chain. Phew! Retrieve the item and reverse the process, which was never half as bad leaving the darkness behind while walking into light. 

 

Zechariah knew something about the transformative power of light. On the 8th day of his son John’s life, he regained his speech and burst into a prophetic song, a mash-up of prophecies from Isaiah, Malachi, Psalms and Proverbs.

                                    “...And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;

    for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

to give knowledge of salvation to his people

    in the forgiveness of their sins,

because of the tender mercy of our God,

    whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high

to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

    to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Luke 1:76-79

 

What a picture of God’s heart! It is by God’s tender mercy that He sends His Light into the world, so that those living in darkness no longer need to fear. Ever since the Babylonian exile, the people of Judah had been waiting for God’s presence to return to Jerusalem. Though back in their homeland, they were still in darkness. Zechariah sees the coming of Messiah as an answer to the years of longing for God’s presence among them again. If those who knew God were in the dark, how much more so were the nations who surrounded them living in darkness, “without hope and without God in the world”? (Eph.2:12)

 

Enter: Jesus, the Son, the radiance of God’s glory (Heb.1:3), who illuminates the world with the knowledge of God and His ways, leading us to repentance and offering forgiveness. We don’t need to fear the night, or dark scary basements. The Living Word is a lamp to our stumbling feet that guides us into paths of peace. Real wholeness andshalom. We just need to turn on the Light. Phew!

ADVENT 10 - Pa Rum Pum Pum Pum

(Originally Posted December 9, 2020)

Generally speaking, I’m a bit of a Christmas music Scrooge. If it wasn’t for Halloween and the Monster Mash holding back the tide, I fear we would be inundated with the same five Christmas carols from Labor Day through New Year’s. Don’t get me wrong I love celebrating the birth of Christ. Unfortunately, everywhere you go you hear slightly different versions of those same 30 songs they wrote in the 1950s about Santa and chestnuts.

One song that was the focus of my ire until recently was “Little Drummer Boy.” I admit I didn’t like it because I misunderstood it. My assessment was of a kid that showing up to the manger and thinking, “what do babies like? Drum solos!” and then he wails away. However, if I had bothered to read the lyrics, I would have seen a much deeper and relatable story.

The Drummer Boy arrives at the same time as the Wise Men and saw the lavish gifts they offered. They brought luxurious things like frankincense and myrrh and actual gold. The Drummer Boy felt low because he didn’t have anything fancy like that, nothing fit to give a king. But he had his time and his talents, so he gave our newborn king the most important gift of all: his best.

As followers of Christ this is all we are called to give. There will be people who have more, more time, more money, more talents, but our focus need only be on what we have and how we use it. As we cheerfully give of our time and talents, however vast or meager they maybe, we become a beacon to the world shining a light and directing glory towards God.

In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus tells us, 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

People will notice how we use what we have. Even if all you have is a drum solo the king will smile at you because he knows you have given your best.

ADVENT 9 - I Don’t Like That Answer

(Originally Posted December 5, 2018)

How many times have you wanted something and just knew that it was yours? You can see it. You can picture that thing as being a part of your life. You think, “God wants me to have the desires of my heart.” And I really really want it, so God obviously wants me to have it. Then you find out that no, that thing, that job, that person, that house is NOT yours.

Writer Lewis Carroll, once said, “I have had prayers answered—most strangely so sometimes—but I think our Heavenly Father's loving-kindness has been even more evident in what He has refused me.” Hearing “no” doesn’t sit well with us. Think about being a kid and being told no. When you’re young you only see the prevention side, “no” is a barrier. As we mature however, “no” can become a gateway to better living. “No, do not touch that electrical outlet.” “No, don’t touch that hot stove.” “No, may not play in the middle of the street,” etc. Too often, we see only the prevention and not the protection.

At the end of King David’s life, he expresses a desire to build a house for the Lord. “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent” (2 Sam. 7:2; 1 Chron. 17:1). A passion arises in David to construct a temple for God—not for David’s renown but for the worship, honor, and glory of the almighty God. It’s a good desire, and the prophet Nathan even confirms his aspirations, saying, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you” (2 Sam. 7:3; 1 Chron. 17:2). 

David desired the good thing of constructing the Lord’s temple, but God had a better plan. God promises David that even though David would not build the temple he would raise up his offspring, Solomon, who would usher in a reign of peace and prosperity in God’s kingdom. 

When our friends receive a “no” we like to throw out the old saying, “When God closes a door, he opens a window.” What if he just wants you to be content in the room you are in?

How do you persist in seasons like this? Pray to be content in the room of quiet faithfulness. Pray to be okay with not knowing everything the future holds. Pray to be okay when you hear no, understanding that His deliverance of you is secure forever by the life of Christ. He might have said “no” to you in one thing, but we can rest in the eternal “yes” of Christ. And that’s the most important yes, we need. God doesn’t always open a window after He closes the door, but we can still praise him in the hallway.

ADVENT 8 - Rushing

(Originally Posted December 8, 2021)

We have a lot of traditions around this time of year. Some change and some remain steadfast. Our favorite Christmas songs come and go and favorite Christmas meals might change, but there is one tradition that has stood the test of time from the very beginning: traveling during the holidays. Mary and Joseph did it then, and we do it now. Whether you’re just going across town, across the country, or across the world, there is an excitement mixed with angst that comes with traveling during this time of year.

The traffic is bad, the airport is crowded, or you’re riding a donkey while you are “great with child” it all gets in the way of your ultimate goal of being at your destination. Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem to take care of some business. They didn’t know that while they were there, they would bring the greatest gift of all time into the world, much less that they would do it in someone’s shed.

Luke 2:4-8

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

This time of year, it is easy to get so focused on where we want to go that we forget to recognize where we are. Are the decorations perfect? Is my Christmas card perfect? Did I buy all the right gifts? Jesus, who lived a life of love and humility, began in the most humble of circumstances: wrapped in rags and laying in a feeding trough. He didn’t need to be born in a palace to grow up and change the world.

Don’t reach the end of December only having a credit card bill to remind you of what happened. Don’t run to have the perfect holiday. Run to be closer to Jesus. Run to be more like Jesus.

ADVENT 7 - Matthew 1:6 - And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah…

(Originally Posted December 11, 2019)

A hilarious suggestion popped up on my news feed the other day: extending the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The rationale was that there needed to be more than one month between family get togethers.

We can probably all relate to that sentiment, at least for a couple of weeks following one of these events. Of course, the hope is that over time the bad memories will fade and only the good ones will remain. Most of the time we forget about the fights and the political discussions (disagreements) and who did what to whom and we end up remembering that, when it comes right down to it, we really do love these crazy people we call family.

Over a long period of time, we tend to scrub our history of negativity even further. I recently went down a family-tree rabbit hole on ancestry.com. The old boat manifests and birth certificates that the software could find didn’t really give me much info other than that a former-relative existed; I had to fill in the rest of the details myself. With each new connection the program found, I imagined that the person lived a life filled with adventure and intrigue, faithfulness, and righteousness. It probably wasn’t true, but I certainly didn’t want to consider that I might have a few bad seeds in my family tree.

Matthew does just the opposite when he is recording Jesus’ family tree. He makes a special effort to include the bad seeds. This remark about David is case-in-point: in case anyone had forgotten, David’s son Solomon was born to Uriah’s wife. How did that happen? Well, long story short (Matthew is reminding us) David abused his power and impregnated another man’s wife before killing that man to cover it up. Yeah, that’s what Jesus’ ancestors were like.

Matthew is so intentional to include details like this because he wants us to know that these are the types of people that Jesus comes from and comes to, but I think there is another reason as well: he wants us to think about how even the people who screw up the most are still used by God for his redemptive purposes. David, despite all his flaws, was the King “after God’s own heart.” Solomon, the offspring of that otherwise hugely embarrassing error, becomes the son of the promise.

Yes, our families are probably messed up, and so are we. Matthew reminds us that Jesus’ family was not much different, and if they can be used for God’s redemptive purposes, then so can ours. Maybe that’s the reminder we need before we do it all over again and get together with them in just a couple of weeks. And that is really good news.

ADVENT 6 - Finding Shiloh

(Originally Posted December 4, 2019)

Genesis 49:10 (KJV) The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the unexpected, largely because that’s the title of this coming weeks sermon (teaser). I’ve also been thinking a lot about the word Shiloh, largely because that’s the name of the dog our family recently acquired. (I promised myself I wasn’t going to be one of those people who was always talking about their dog, but I digress.)

When the Israelites moved into the land of Canaan, God told them to put the tabernacle in the city of Shiloh. Excavations of the site in Israel have revealed that it was heavily fortified prior to the time of the Israelites, but by the time they got there the walls had crumbled and it was a relatively nondescript location. Shiloh has been translated in a lot of different ways, but basically it means a place of peace or tranquility (Think “Pleasantville”).  It may have seemed like a strange location for the very dwelling of God, but it wasn’t the city that gave the dwelling significance, it was the other way around: Shiloh meant something because it was the place of the Lord’s presence.

The other time Shiloh is mentioned is as a proper name. Jacob is giving his final blessings to his sons and the word Shiloh is used in his blessing to his son, Judah. Don’t get me started on the irony here: the dog we got for Judah was named Shiloh before we got her (providence?). A scepter is the mark of royalty; what Jacob is saying is that the royal line will not pass from the line of Judah until Shiloh appears. In most of our English bibles it is translated as something like “to the one to whom it belongs”. The point is that long before the monarchy in Israel, when David (from the tribe of Judah) would be crowned king, Jacob prophesied to his sons that there would be a Shiloh.

That Shiloh, the Messiah, was also quite nondescript. He wasn’t much to look at. Isaiah’s prophecies essentially tell us that he won’t be much to write home about. It was the fact that Jesus was the place where God dwelt among his people that gave him significance. And so, it is the thing that gives us significance.

We can either choose to think of ourselves as relatively nondescript, maybe not that special, or not that important. Maybe more of us should take that humble attitude. Yet when we remember that we are now the temple of God, that we are now the place where God dwells, we are given a significance far beyond what our humanity might suggest

I might even say that it is indeed unexpected.

ADVENT 5 - Christmas is Coming

(Originally posted December 1, 2021)

What’s your favorite Christmas movie? Is it something wholesome and heartwarming? Do you have one that is so loved it’s become tradition to gather the family so you can all watch it together? More than any other holiday, Christmas has become the one surrounded with the most ritual and tradition. From the movies you watch, to how and when you start putting up decorations, to when the music you listen to becomes exclusively Christmas themed, it feels like a switch gets flipped and we want the world to be a little more wholesome and hopeful.

That’s why, I think, we all have a favorite Christmas movie. Sure, they all have that moment where Christmas is almost ruined, but something happens to save the day—the lights work, the meal is edible, people make it home just in time—and everyone lives happily ever after. Seeing things tied up in a neat little bow takes us out of the chaos that is Christmas in real life.

In real life you must resist the urge to “bless” out the person who cut you off in the parking lot. The turkey can be dry. You have to promise someone their gift is on the way because it got lost in shipping, (and sometimes it “got lost in shipping” because we just ran out of time). I want to encourage you to slow down this season and let go of creating the perfect Norman Rockwell style Christmas.

Christmas isn’t about getting that perfect family photo. Christmas is the time we set aside each year to remember the birth of our savior and the hope we have as sinners. Luke 1:26-33 starts the story like this,

26 …the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” …“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Like Mary, we can be surprised by Christmas, it came out of nowhere and became the most important event of her life. Don’t let the distractions of the holiday season pull you away from the reason that we celebrate.

Remember hope!

ADVENT 4 - Waiting

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word, I hope,” Psalm 130:5.

This past summer, my family went to Legoland. It was a beautiful day, and despite some temper tantrums, we had a great time. The source of much of the angst was a little thing we call waiting. More precisely, waiting in line. The rides were so close, yet so far away. We could see the cars spinning and hear the screams of delight from the riders, but we only ever moved a few feet at a time. For young children, this is sheer torture.

It’s torture for adults too.

My wife was constantly checking the park app, determining the optimal wait times for each ride. When we entered the park as it opened, we made a beeline for the largest attraction. As I walked, holding my daughter’s hand, she looked up at me and said, “Daddy, you’re going too fast for me.” Fast forward a couple hours and we told our son to lie that he was one year older so that he could get on the shorter line.

The lesson was clear: waiting is for suckers; avoid it at all costs. Most of us hate waiting. Whether it’s sitting in traffic, waiting a whole 48 hours for our prime delivery, or anticipating the latest iPhone release. We are constantly in a hurry, desiring immediate resolution and gratification. 

This is one of the most challenging things about Advent; it’s about waiting. It’s a season of anticipation. We await nothing short of the full and total redemption of the world. This is a thing we can imagine, but not grasp. We see it in part, but not fully. 

And we need it desperately.

“Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord” the Psalmist states (130:1). “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word, I hope…O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities,” (Psalm 130:3-5,7-8).

Waiting is a recognition of our powerlessness to save ourselves and of God’s majestic redemption. As you wait, rest in the hope of Christ’s victory.

ADVENT 3 - Jay Ruins Holiday Favorites - Part 3

(Originally Posted December 13, 2017)

For my final devotional in this series, I will examine a movie that I can watch hundreds of times each season. In National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Clark Griswold wants nothing more than the perfect Christmas. He puts forth immense effort to get every detail right: the biggest tree, the brightest lights, and the happiest of holidays. What we witness is the unraveling of all his best laid plans. The tree is too big and ends up burning, when the lights finally work they are so bright it puts strain on the neighborhood power grid, the turkey is dry, unexpected guests come, there is fighting, and nothing seems to work the way Clark envisioned.

For me, I am reminded of this colloquial saying, “Do you want to make God laugh? Tell Him your plans.” While this is not the soundest theological proverb, it highlights something. Nothing you do will make God love you more. You and I are incapable of earning our own righteousness. We cannot earn our way into heaven no matter how much effort we put out. We may put on a great display with our outward actions or with our “perfect” family life, but we are just projecting. We display our best selves on social media so others can compare their real lives to our highlight reel. The reality is that none of that matters.

When we celebrate Christmas, we are celebrating our complete reliance on a baby. God, who is perfect and holy, set aside his power and position when He became flesh and dwelt among us. God came into our world as a helpless baby. Jesus relied on Mary and Joseph for food and shelter. God wanted to redeem his people and restore the relationship so much that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom. 5:8) We did not earn the right to be redeemed. As believers, Christ’s death on the cross covers all our sins past, present, and future. He will never love you more (or less) than He does right now. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. (Rom. 8:35)

Clark Griswold can be your reminder this Christmas that we can never measure up to God’s standard. For this reason, Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem. Reflecting on that can give you the happiest of holidays this year and every year.

ADVENT 2 - Jay Ruins Christmas Favorites – Part 2

(Originally Posted December 6, 2017)

“Hello, I’m calling from Paris. I have a son who is home alone.” Many of us know where this is from, the Christmas classic Home Alone. The tale of Kevin McAllister, how he was left behind and threatened by two burglars, is one of my favorites. As a matter of fact, this year is the first Christmas season that my kids have seen Home Alone, and they are obsessed. I mean, what’s not to like? An eight-year-old left to do whatever he wants outsmarts two grown-ups. Definitely a kid favorite.

What I have come to appreciate more about this holiday classic are the deeper themes. I realize that I can read too deeply into things—hear me out. Kevin McAllister is a smart-mouthed, disrespectful child who is despised by his siblings and dances on his parents’ last nerves. He gets in a fight at dinner and is told to go to his room for the night which is in the attic.

Realizing what he actually deserved, Kevin tries to make amends at the last minute and is told, “I’m sorry, it’s too late.” Kevin’s mother explains that because he has made so much trouble, he now has to go to bed. Kevin’s response is that he wishes to never see them again. The next morning, the family forgets about Kevin only to realize what has happened in a plane flying over the Atlantic. Kevin’s mother becomes relentless in her efforts to get back to her son for Christmas.

For me, this paints a picture of the Gospel. We are Kevin McAllister. We are born smart-mouthed, disrespectful kids who will always choose our own way over God’s. While we were God’s enemy, he gave up everything to come back for us. Kevin did NOT earn his mother’s grace but because of her deep love she walks through the front door and embraces her son.

When I think about the love God has for all of us, even through our abject failure, it is incredibly powerful and humbling. Christmas is when we celebrate the culmination of years of promise and eternal reconciliation with our Father. In John 15:9 Jesus says, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.” Let the story of Kevin McAllister remind you of the undeserving grace and love of your heavenly Father this Christmas season.

ADVENT 1 - Jay Ruins Christmas Favorites – Part 1

(Originally Posted November 29, 2017)

We have finally entered that time of year when I can fully embrace a fanatical part of my being. I am a huge fan of Christmas. And not just because of the birth of our savior. I enjoy the colors, the smells, the togetherness of friends and family and, of course, Christmas movies. One of the most popular of these films is It’s a Wonderful Life. For those of you who have not seen this film, stop reading and go watch it—then you may

George Bailey is the focus of It’s a Wonderful Life. He is an “everyman,” hard-working and selfless. However, through the difficult decisions in his life, he has become burned out and empty. George starts to believe that his family would be better off if he were dead. He is about to jump off a bridge when Clarence, his guardian angel, steps in.

While there are a number of theological issues with this movie, there is a glimpse of the Gospel here. Obviously, we do not read anywhere in the Bible of angels having to earn their wings. George, when he wants to go back to his old life actually “prays” to Clarence the angel which is also not biblical. And perhaps the biggest issue I have is that we are to believe that because of George’s great self-worth, the world is so much better off with him in it.

What I take away from It’s a Wonderful Life is that I can’t save myself. Our worth comes from our identity in Christ. While you might say George Bailey exemplifies Christ in his selflessness, we see that he eventually runs out of good will. George Bailey, like you and me, is worthless and incapable of saving himself. When the Holy Spirit reveals to us that we are made righteous by Christ only then do we understand our worth. 

Christmas is a reminder to us that God reached down to us and lived among His creation. He was born a baby in a manger and became the only way for us to re-enter the divine community that Jeremy spoke about on Sunday. God loved us so much that while we sabotaged our utopia through the actions of Adam and Eve, he sent His son. 

I will close with a line from a favorite Christmas carol, “long lay the world in sin and error pining ‘till He appeared, and the soul felt its worth …” Remember John 3:16 this Christmas, God loved you so much that he sent that baby in the manger.

No Thanks?

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Like any of the big holidays, it means people are coming together to celebrate. Celebrate family. Celebrate friends. Celebrate the best moments of the year. And for some, to quietly remember the low points. Holidays and big gatherings often bring out big complex feelings. You go into the day expecting hope and joy and then something hits you. That one person whose entire personality seems to be arguing about politics says something incendiary. The person who’s a little too invested sees their team lose and they’re grumpy all day. You notice the chair that someone special sat in last year is now empty.

Wherever your stress grows out of, I hope you can keep your focus on feelings of thankfulness. Psalm 106 reminds us, “Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord, or declare all his praise?” Who could ever list all the things that we have to be thankful for.

However, all that unending praise feels easily pushed aside when we encounter the reality of loss. Yes, you have so much to be thankful for this and every year. Yes, there are things that have happened this year that can cause you deep sadness. And yes, you can feel these both at the same time. We are complex people with complex minds, and if you need it, I want to give you permission to feel your feelings this year.

Feel thankful for all the blessing you have in your life. Take in the peace of a quiet moment wherever you can find it. Laugh and celebrate the joy of being around your loved ones. And those less-than-fun emotions? Experience them too. The sorrow you feel at the loss of a loved one is just an indication of how important they were, and the impact they had on your life. Your sorrow is deep because your love was deep, and we can feel thankful even through the pain.

Whatever thanksgiving brings up for you, I hope it is something you can celebrate. God loves you beyond what we could record if all the trees were pens and the oceans ink!

Pathways

Psalm 25:4-5

Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
    teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are the God of my salvation

    for you I wait all the day long.

As modern people in modern America, it is rare for us to willingly ask for guidance or correction the way David is in this Psalm. We are encouraged to put our heads down and do whatever we think is best, forget about who else might be affected along the way. There’s a strange disconnect because we logically know that asking for help is the best way to learn how to do something that we don’t know how to do. Unfortunately, asking someone for help would show our soft underbelly of vulnerability and that we weren’t born with intrinsic knowledge of everything!

Thankfully, we have the internet! Where strangers, in blog posts and YouTube videos, can teach us things we feel like we should already know, and we’re never required to reveal our shortcomings to the people around us. I’m here to tell you that this is no way to live, and further no one ever asked you to do this to yourself.

For our purposes here, let’s look at our spiritual lives. Growth rarely comes when we hide ourselves away. Instead of keeping our heads down we need to look up and ask God to lead us. The God of our salvation is deeply invested in your life and wellbeing, and for some reason this is amazingly easy for us to forget.

Instead of barreling through life just doing our best, what if we sought out the paths God laid before us? This will take investment in prayer, time in the word, and maybe, just maybe, asking someone a little further down the path of faith for help. We may have times that we feel lonely but none of us were called to walk this path of faith alone.

It’s okay to ask for help.

Carey On

At 12:01am on November 1st I was on a train and heard Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” playing from someone’s Bluetooth speaker. When her friend asked her what she was doing she yelled, “IT’S OFFICIALLY CHRISTMAS TIME NOW!” Since 1994 this song has become unavoidable. It’s had such staying power that it reached number 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in 2019 (that’s 25 years after its initial release!). Regardless of how you feel about Christmas music in general, if you go out in public at some point in the next 46 days, you’re going to hear it.

Ready or not, Christmas is right around the corner. And it can take a bit of effort to get into the Christmas spirit. I don’t intend to add stress to your life, but for many the first sentence of this paragraph caused the slightest bit of tightness in your chest. Yes, you may feel the pressure of tradition and decorating and perfect gifts and trying to make sure everything is wonderfully joyous. However, having the perfect tree is not what we celebrate at this time of year.

This might feel early for a Christmas related devotional, but my hope is that we can enter the run up to this season with the right perspective. Maybe we can cut off some of the stress before it has a chance to show up. John reminds us of what we celebrate in John 1.

John 1:9-13 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

All I want for Christmas is for you to celebrate the important stuff. Jesus wasn’t born so your house could be impeccably decorated. He came to bring us joy and hope everlasting.

De-Bait

North Dakota, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, Ohio. In the past month I have received text messages (and calls I didn’t answer) from people wanting Diana to send money to candidates in each of these states. And if I didn’t send it to them, then the other team would win, and the world would be doomed. A few things you should know: 1) Of the seven states listed I’ve only lived in three of them. 2) When I was about 18 years old, I borrowed my mom’s new cell phone, never gave it back, and I’ve had the same number ever since. 3) My mom’s name is NOT Diana. I despise election season.

This year’s elections, like every other election I can remember, is being touted as the most important election ever. While I do think it is important for you to get out there and vote, or mail in your ballot two weeks ago, I have yet to find a candidate or political party that is special enough to ruin relationships over. And it’s a cruel joke that elections always hit right before the big family gathering holidays.

However, as followers of Christ we can choose peacemaking. We can refuse the bait when someone tries to start and argument. You can say, “it’s okay that we disagree, your political opinions will not change the love I have for you as a person.”

Paul says it this way in Romans 5:1-5: Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

I pray that you are a follower of Christ first. I pray that you know that you are justified by the faith you have, not the person you voted for. We can be patient. We can be long-suffering. We can be peacemakers.

Gonna Be My Friend

The most important rule of being in or near a mosh pit (people pushing and shoving for fun to music): if someone falls, you help them up. You don’t wait, you don’t expect someone else to take care of it, you don’t ignore it because they brought it on themselves. If you are close and able you instantly reach out your hand. This sounds eerily like what we as the church are called to do.

Paul in Philippians 2:1-5 says it this way, “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to their own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus…”

As Christians we know we are secure and stable in Christ, and from that platform we can reach out and help people who have stumbled. We must resist being so single minded that our goals and ambitions take priority over helping the people around us. Undeniably, helping people can be hard, and it might even cost us something.

Twice I’ve earned double black eyes in the process of helping someone who had fallen. We got their feet under them and as they stood up the top of their head went right against the bridge of my nose. Sure, it hurt in the moment, but I would do it again because no one deserves to be left on the floor.

Now I know, most of the people reading this will never find themselves in a mosh pit, and I honestly don’t recommend ever seeking one out. However, you can always find someone who could use your help if you keep your eyes open.

Let each of us look also to the interests of others. If someone falls down, help them up!

Gabba Gabba

I have a pastor friend who recently attended his second ever punk show. He didn’t grow up listening to that type of music and for the first one he was in the seated balcony. He had never heard of the bands, but someone had an extra ticket, so he said yes.

Punk shows are very different from the pop/country/worship concerts he had been to in the past. Before he went, he was nervously texting me questions. What do I do if I end up in a mosh pit? Move, no one stays in a pit unless they want to be there. Is everyone going to think I’m a nerd if I wear earplugs? No, there is no street cred to be earned with tinnitus. I ended our conversation telling him, worst case scenario, stand in the back and people watch.

The day after, I reached out because I was incredibly interested to hear about his experience. And like I knew he would, he had a great time! The bands were fun, the venue was cool, but the thing that struck him the most was the experience of community that was on display. It’s a lesson the Church could learn a lot from.

As he put it, “in the best way possible, no one cares. Everyone starts with being happy that you are here.” If people can find such a strong sense of belonging just through liking the same thing, how much better can Christians do when it’s our God given responsibility to help people see that they belong, that they are welcome?

When you see someone new on a Sunday morning are you stoked or hesitant? Paul in Romans 15:5-7 says this, “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”

We never know the path someone’s life took that brought them to God. However, we can still be excited! Find someone and let them know that you’re glad they showed up. We can help people grow in their faith just by being welcomed as you were welcomed by God when you first came to faith. Let’s be aggressively welcoming.

Next week, mosh pits!

D Fence

Have you ever seen something beautiful and awe inspiring, and later when you’re trying to describe it to someone who wasn’t there at the time you just feel at a loss for words? It was deep and meaningful. It made you feel something in the depths of your soul. And after trying to convey that after the fact you throw your hands up in exasperation and say, “I guess you had to be there.”

I think this is a trap we fall into sometimes when people ask us about our faith. In 1 Peter 3:14-16 it says, “14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”

As you go about trying to live the Christian life, there should be hints other people see that clue them into the fact that you’re living for something bigger. Maybe they see it in the way you treat people. Maybe they see it in the choices you make when you have the opportunity to be selfish or self-serving. Wherever it pops up, the people around you take notice of the ways you don’t just fall into the easy path.

Phrases like “prepared to make a defense” make us nervous—like we need to have doctoral dissertations on the tips of our tongues. We want to throw up our hands and say, “I guess you had to be there.” When people just want to hear your story, and how your faith has made an impact on your life.

We are called to live differently. So, live in hope, live in peace, live in a way that makes people ask questions.

Hot Takes

James 3  2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what they say, they are a perfect person, able also to bridle their whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!

Has your tongue ever started a forest fire? Hurt someone by saying something you didn’t really mean? Or worse, saying something you did mean in the most hurtful way possible. It’s amazing how something so relatively small can get us into so much trouble. We are complex people with thoughts, plans, and opinions. And if everyone just agreed that your way is the best way, or that your opinion was the only correct opinion then the world would be such a better place.

Unfortunately, we all make mistakes. Sometimes you are going to have a bad—maybe soften it to an uninformed—opinion. It is in these times we disagree that it is so important to have as our focus, being people of grace and peace. Blessed are the peace makers because most of us choose fighting. We fight because our need to be right outweighs our willingness to listen. 

This week, like every week, you’re probably going to hear someone talking like they’re trying to set the forest ablaze. When you do, make a choice. You do not need to add fuel to their fire. You do not need to show them up by starting a bigger fire of your own. Yes, we are called to confront injustice and lies, but we need to find a way to do it in love.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Even someone else’s bad opinion.