Pure and Faultless

Although I'm not a big fan of New Year's resolutions, I do think it's a good idea to evaluate where you've been and where you're heading at the start of a new year. As God's men, we should take time to seriously consider our spiritual walk and James 1 provides a few areas to challenge ourselves.

In verse 22, the Bible says: Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. For us plain and simple guys, this one's clear---take what you read and hear in God's Word and apply it to your life. God promises blessing in our obedience to His Word (v.25). Just do it!

Verse 26 tells us: If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. We need to remember that just a few ill-timed words can damage or destroy our personal testimony.

Finally, in verse 27: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. We can waste a lot of time trying to score spiritual brownie-points and put on appearances for others, but our omniscient Heavenly Father makes it clear---help others in need, stop living by the world's standard and start living by God's standard.

God With Us

Just as an angel appeared to Mary to tell her about her role in bringing the greatest Christmas gift into the world, her husband Joseph also had an angel speak to him. The angel of the Lord told him that his bride-to-be would be conceived by the Holy Spirit to fulfill prophesy and their child would be named Jesus (the Lord saves) and called Immanuel (God with us) (Matthew 1:23).

What makes Jesus Christ the greatest Christmas gift of all is that He truly is God with us. Jesus, who was with God the Father from the beginning of time (John 1:1-2), came to earth so that mankind could truly see who God is. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth....No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known. (John 1:14, 18)

When we examine Jesus' life and His earthly ministry, we get a vivid human picture of the holiness of God. What Jesus taught and what he did are tied inseparably to who he is--fully human and fully God. Through Christ, God made himself visibly and tangibly known--the perfect expression of himself in human form. In Him, we see a Heavenly Father who loves, rejoices, cries, comforts, confronts, helps, heals and forgives. Jesus is the name above all names--the eternal Creator, the One who sustains all things and the source of eternal life for all who call upon His name.

Enjoying the Greatest Christmas Gift

One of the things that I love most about Christmas is the pure joy and excitement my soon-to-be six-year-old daughter Amanda shows when she sees her gifts under the tree and begins opening them. For us parents, the stress and aggravation of fighting crowds and waiting in line to buy gifts can easily diminish our joy and excitement.

To see pure joy and excitement in receiving a gift, we need look no further than the very first and greatest Christmas gift. The angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds and announced the birth of Jesus: Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:11). Then a host of angels appeared praising God (v.13) prompting the shepherds to joyfully hurry off and see this treasured gift and tell everyone that they had seen the Messiah (v. 15-18). A gift that John the Baptist proclaimed was the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29)

Jesus is the greatest gift--a gift from God the Father to give us eternal life. He is truly a gift because He is given freely out of God's love for us. He is given to us even though we don't deserve Him and He is given to us without a thought of what we can give in return. Jesus is the perfect gift--everlasting, always with us, without flaw or imperfection and always loving us and sustaining us. Jesus is the gift for everyone as Luke 2:11 reminds us that He is a Savior born unto each of us. Jesus is unlike any other gift in that we can share Him with others and still keep Him ourselves.

Let us remember to enjoy the greatest gift ever and have a Merry Christmas!

Lessons From Jesus' Mother

The age-old expression "Mother knows best" comes from the realization that our moms possess much wisdom and insight that is lovingly passed on to their children. Consider then the lessons we can learn from Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, in Luke 1.

1) God uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things. There were limitless ways God could have chosen to bring the promised Messiah into the world. Mary was a young, poor woman with no special talents or abilities. Yet, God chose her to give birth to His Son to forgive the sins of mankind (v. 26-37).

2) God understands our limited human perspective. As the angel Gabriel explained to Mary that she was to give birth to the Son of God and that He would rule and reign forever (v. 31-33), she had her doubts (v. 34). Yet, the angel confirmed that nothing is impossible for God (v. 37).

3) Obedience to God requires sacrifice and perseverance. What God asked of Mary brought great difficulty into her life---the scorn of being an unwed mother, near loss of her fiance' and watching her son be rejected and murdered. Yet all of this was part of God's plan to bring about our salvation. Sometimes, we too must suffer hardship and wait patiently for God to finish working His plan---allowing His power to sustain us (v. 35).

4) God finds favor in us based on our trust in Him. God favored Mary based on nothing that she had accomplished (v. 28, 30). In explaining that she was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Mary risked being an outcast and labeled crazy. Instead, her response to God's request was: "I am the Lord's servant...May it be to me as you have said. (v. 38)"

Our True Identity

Of the many things we can think about during the Christmas season, one that should bring joy to all believers is who we are--our true identity--because of Jesus Christ. In the midst of lights and decorations, shopping madness and get-togethers with friends and family; it is easy to forget the greatest gift of all. Here's a list of presents that blows away any Christmas wish list our kids can come up with--all because of a personal relationship with our Savior:

We are no longer guilty of sin (Romans 3:24). We are free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2). We are acceptable, righteous and holy (1 Corinthians 1:2, 30). We are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are united with all other believers (Galatians 3:28). We are covered with God's love, adopted as His children and forgiven (Ephesians 1:4-7). We have a permanent, unbreakable bond with the Creator of the Universe (Ephesians 1:13). We are God's work of art (Ephesians 2:10, 13). We can come with freedom and confidence into God's presence (Ephesians 3:12). We are members of Christ's body--the church (Ephesians 5:29-30) and we will have eternal glory (2 Timothy 2:10).

All of this is ours, thanks to the One who was promised in Isaiah 9:6---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.

A Trustworthy Saying

In his letters to Timothy, Paul poured out a tremendous amount of spiritual wisdom and guidance. He knew the pressures his young disciple would be facing in leading new churches and new believers who were facing many of the same struggles that we face today. Throughout the letters, there are several core fundamental truths that Paul prefaced with the words: "Here is a trustworthy saying..."

In 1 Timothy 3:1 Paul writes, Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. ---stressing the value and importance of leadership. In 1 Timothy 4:9-10 he continues, "This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe." ---reminding that our hope is based on Christ and Christ alone. Then in his second letter to Timothy, Paul writes, "Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself (2 Timothy 2:11-13) ---reminders that to deny Christ is to accept eternal death, that as believers we have an identity with Christ and assurance of eternal life and that our faithfulness will be rewarded by the One who is always faithful to us.

All of these trustworthy sayings should permeate our lives and our thoughts and none more so than the first one that Paul shared with Timothy: "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst (1 Timothy 1:15)."

A Certain Outcome of Victory

Imagine for a moment that you are a member of a football team competing for the championship. During your preparation for the big game, you discover that no matter what your opponent can accomplish, no matter what trick plays or formidable ability they possess, you have absolute assurance that your team was going to win.

Now add to that the knowledge that your team's victory has absolutely nothing to do with how well you play or what your individual accomplishment would be. All that was required from you was faith in the ultimate victory and a desire to give your best effort during the game. How confident and secure would you be knowing that, no matter what, victory was certain?

As God's men, this is exactly the game we are in--right now. In spite of what our opponent does or how much difficulty and misery he throws our way, he is defeated. No matter how poorly we play, no matter how many times we fumble and fail--we will emerge victorious. At times, Satan appears to be winning the game but his ultimate defeat came at the cross. Through the shed blood of Jesus Christ alone--and not by our own efforts--we have victory over death and complete assurance of eternal life.

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Choose Whom You Will Serve

Joshua 24:15 contains a very powerful statement that many of us as servant leaders have rightly declared: But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. But notice what the beginning of this verse says--But if serving the Lord seems undesirable for you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.

Joshua declared these words as he gathered the leaders of all of the tribes of Israel shortly before his death. He had reminded them of all their forefathers had been through--slavery in Egypt, delivery to The Promised Land, battles with their enemies (Joshua 24:1-13)---and how God had remained faithful to the covenant He made with them. Joshua knew the nation had it's weak spots and had a tendency to forget their blessings and ignore God's commands. He knew how difficult is was to keep a Kingdom focus living in a world where ungodly influence surrounded them. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Joshua's challenge has just as much significance today as it did thousands of years ago. It's just as easy for us today to turn away in quiet rebellion and follow our own gods and live life our own way. Or we can show the strength of our commitment to the Lord. Either way, we have a choice to make. Will it be God, our own limited selves or an imperfect substitute? To whom will you serve?

Impress or Influence

As men, we constantly evaluate in our minds who we are, what we've accomplished and what we want to be known for. We often refer to this as our legacy. When we're gone, what will people remember most about us?

As we think about the things that drive and motivate us through life, consider a very powerful thought by Rick Warren in his book, The Purpose-Driven Life: "At some point in your life, you must decide whether you want to impress people or influence people."

There are many ways (most of them flawed) to try and impress people, but it takes a real commitment to purpose and authenticity to influence people. It requires us to get close to people and allow them to see who we really are and when we do that people will see our flaws. Our Christian walk and personal testimony is not about perfection but it is all about credibility. We build credibility not by pretending to be perfect, but by being honest.

In building credibility, remember what Jesus said in Matthew 5:16---"let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." We influence others when we show humility, patience, grace, forgiveness, faithfulness and love. We can only point others to Christ when we can show them how much we need Him and depend on Him.