THE BLOG
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- Anxiety 2
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Giving God our Best
Pastor Chuck Swindoll made the following observation about our culture: “Mediocrity is fast becoming the by-word of our times. Every imaginable excuse is now used to make it acceptable, hopefully preferred.” Those words were penned in 1987 and are as relevant today as they have ever been.
What has happened to our commitment to excellence? Is the status quo now the new acceptable standard? Is the small stuff nothing really to sweat about? Are we now willing to swim with the current and float downstream? Is it okay to just get by with a half-hearted commitment?
Christmas Messaging
According to a legend, Satan and his demons were having a Christmas party. As the demonic guests were departing, one grinned and said to Satan, “Merry Christmas, your majesty.” At that, Satan replied with a growl, “Yes, keep it merry. If they ever get serious about it, we’ll all be in trouble.”
The word “merry” is not necessarily antithetical to being serious about the real message of Christmas.
Transcendent Joy
I read an article this week by Pastor Al Gooderham in Doncaster, England. In it he said “Every Christmas party, every overindulgence, every gift, every exorbitant preparation is a sign of a desperate search for joy. It is a sign of longing for significance and a desire to bring joy to others or to find joy for themselves where they can because life is in short supply of it.”
Christmas has always been a season of joy whether it’s captured in the lights, decorations, gatherings, gifts, food, drinks, parties, or songs. We often hear the words, “Merry Christmas,” or “Happy Holidays,” along with all the songs “'tis the season to be jolly,” “have yourself a merry little Christmas,” or “joy to the world,” among many others.
Christmas Perspective Matters
How many times have you heard someone say, “You can’t see the forest for the trees”?
It’s an oft-quoted saying intended to persuade someone to not let a situation grip them or blind them or captivate them (as an individual tree of life) in such a way that the bigger picture or better perspective is totally missed (the forest of life).
We all find ourselves missing the forest sometimes and losing our perspective on what matters, what’s best, and what’s ultimate. This can happen at Christmas.
Here are a few examples:
Vertical Thanksgiving
I remember reading a story about Charles Hadden Spurgeon who recounts visiting a widow who had virtually nothing but bread and water for her meal. She lifted her hands to heaven in praise and proclaimed, “What? All of this and Jesus too!”
What an overwhelming sense of gratitude to God this widow displayed, and it makes my grumbling about gas prices sound absolutely petty and embarrassing.
Former pastor A.W. Tozer famously said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” So true. So our gratitude toward God rises or falls based upon the rightness or wrongness of our view and heart toward Him.
God's Fashion Design
It is an understatement to say our culture is fashion-conscious and fashion-driven. It’s mind-boggling how much money is spent every year by fashion designers and clothiers to determine and produce the next wave of style. It is the general expectation that you will get on the fashion train and make the right statement about yourself and the image you want to project.
PBPGINFWMY
I was fourteen years old in 1973 when I attended my first Basic Youth Conflicts seminar in the Seattle Key Arena with about 20,000 other people. The seminar was led by Bill Gothard, a clean-cut, mild-mannered, soft-spoken graduate of Wheaton College who was able to command the attention of middle-schoolers to Seniors. He had strong convictions and addressed all kinds of topics with a combination of Scripture, some psychology, and common sense. At that time in my life, it gave me a lot to think about as a younger believer even if there was some justifiable criticism regarding a few aspects of the teaching.
My point in sharing this story is to note one of the most memorable things that came out of this seminar for me. It was a clever idea about designing a lapel pin that everyone was given to wear.
One Way!
I just read the stunning and disappointing findings of a survey Probe Ministries conducted in 2021 on religious beliefs and attitudes toward cultural behaviors. They polled 3,106 Americans ages 18 to 55 from all religious groups, including 717 respondents who identified as born-again Christians.
Here’s one of the numbers that jolted me: 70% of born-again Christians disagree with the biblical position that Jesus is the only way to God, yet 60% of them claim they shared their faith with someone else at least annually with the intent of converting them.
