A God Who Speaks Our Language

I don’t know if C.S. Lewis originated the concept, but he at least popularized the idea that Christianity isn’t a religion, but a relationship.

His reasoning was that religion is what humanity does in order to please God, and Christianity espouses that we can’t do anything to earn favor with God. As Paul wrote: “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy . . .” (Titus 3:5).

Humanity has done some strange things in order to please God over the years, and some terrible things, too.

James Michener’s “Hawaii,” published in 1959, has been called a “hit piece” on Christianity and Christian missionaries. The charge is that the missionaries corrupted the native Hawaiian culture. What Michener downplays is that some Hawaiians were sacrificing their infants to the fire god, Oro, when the Christian missionaries found them. The Hawaiians did this in order to earn the favor of their god.

Paul himself was very religious when he took up the cause of persecuting the church. He was a Pharisee which meant he’d been through pretty rigorous training for God’s work. But he met Christ on the road to Damascus and found something that had been missing in his life. He found new faith and a new life purpose in partnership with Christ.

It’s always been striking to me that Dr. Luke specified in Acts 26 that Jesus spoke to Paul in Aramaic on this occasion. Aramaic is not pure Hebrew, but a conversational version of it. Mel Gibson chose to use Aramaic in his film, “The Passion of the Christ.” Most of the biblical films I’ve seen have God or Christ speaking British English, which is different from American English. The only exception is Johnny Cash’s 1973 film about the life of Christ called “Gospel Road” in which the actors spoke Southern English!

I think the point is that God speaks our language, no matter what it is. American Gideons have published the Bible in some 100 languages. God speaks to everyone through his word, and he has also called pastors and missionaries to preach the gospel in the language of all people throughout the earth. So, the God of the Bible finds a way to communicate his love to everyone.

In a unique way, God summons us to himself. We come to him for forgiveness and salvation, find ourselves “in him” in relationship and one day will be with him in eternity. The Christian faith is from top to bottom a relationship with the risen Christ. We celebrate his gift of fellowship with us not based on our goodness but on his initiative. He’s a seeking God.

Mephibosheth and Me

Christian author Max Lucado popularized the Old Testament character Mephibosheth for our generation. Mephibosheth was King Saul’s grandson and apparently the last of Saul’s lineage when David became king. David could’ve sought revenge and had him killed, but instead decided to show kindness to Mephibosheth since he was the son of David’s friend Jonathan.

I’m sure Mephibosheth dreaded his audience with the king, but was surprised at David’s announcement. The king said he would restore Saul’s property to Mephibosheth, adopt him as his ward and provide a place at the king’s table for him forever (2 Samuel 9:6-9).

Lucado insisted Mephibosheth is us. He was crippled from a fall he suffered as a child, just as we’re crippled by our fall since we’ve all fallen short of God’s plan (Romans 3:23). And through no merit on our part, a king has invited us into his family and to dine at this table. What a beautiful picture of salvation!

I think this is also a story of forgiveness. The Old Testament has many bloody stories of revenge, and David would’ve been within his rights to abolish any threat to his kingdom. But instead he put old difficulties with Saul behind and moved on in renewed relationship.

Nobody said forgiveness was easy, but it’s commanded of us by our heavenly father. Every time we pray The Lord’s Prayer we’re reminded to forgive others.

I met David Azbell two years ago at a political items collectors’ show in Plains, Ga. David was press liaison for former Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace. While cataloguing items for the state archives, David found a copy of a letter Wallace wrote in 1995 to Arthur Bremer, who at the time was an inmate at the Maryland Correctional Institution-Hagerstown. David discovered only the governor’s secretary who typed it knew about the letter, and that it wasn’t for public reading.

Following is the text of the letter:

Dear Arthur:

Your shooting me in 1972 has caused me a lot of discomfort and pain. I am a born-again Christian. I love you. I have asked our Heavenly Father to touch your heart, and I hope that you will ask Him for forgiveness of your sin so you can go to Heaven like I am going Heaven.

I hope that we can get to know each other better. We have heard of each other a long time.

Please seek our Heavenly Father because I love you, and I am going to Heaven, and I want you to be going, too.

Sincerely,

George C. Wallace

P.S. Please let Jesus Christ become your Personal Savior.

If Gov. Wallace could forgive the man who shot him, the offenses I struggle with seem so trivial.

The Greatest of These Is Love

Karen Carpenter was the preeminent voice of the 70s. Along with her brother Richard she sold 160 million record albums. Karen sang love songs. “We’ve Only Just Begun” has been used at countless weddings over the years since she introduced it to the world.

But in his book, “Little Girl Blue,” Randy L. Schmidt revealed that Karen Carpenter searched for love and never seemed to find it. Another of her songs is autobiographic: “I'll say goodbye to love / no one ever cared if I should live or die / time and time again the chance for love has passed me by / and all I know of love is how to live without it / I just can't seem to find it.”

Carpenter died on Feb. 4, 1983 at age 32. Hers is a story of supreme sadness.

The 1980 movie, “Urban Cowboy,” featured the song, "Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places." This is a good summary of our world.

In our search for love, we need to start at right place, and the Bible says, “God is love.”

The Greeks had more verbs than we do. We use the single verb “love” when we say, “I love my wife,” “I love my cat” or “I love yogurt.” The Greeks had “philos” for brotherly love and “eros” for passionate love. But they also had “agape” used exclusively in the New Testament to describe the love of God. 

The Apostle Paul wrote that God demonstrated the depth of his “agape” by sending Christ to die for us, and now God has placed his “agape” in our hearts (Romans 5:12, 5). So the progression is that God, who is love, showed his love for us and now has placed his love in our hearts. And it is this love that demonstrates to the world that we are Christians according to Jesus (John 13:35).

1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 describes God’s love in the heart of Christians. Paul insisted that love doesn’t focus on itself, love values others, love is kind to others, love is not angry with others and love doesn’t seek revenge.

Christian art has used three symbols for the three abiding principles Paul wrote about. Faith is represented by the cross, hope by the anchor and love by the heart. All are important. Without faith, we couldn’t become Christians since salvation mandates we have faith in God’s work through Christ. Hope gives us the will to endure when things are tough. But Paul concluded that the greatest of these is love. God’s agape in our hearts roots out the things that shouldn’t be there and molds us into the image of Christ who is our greatest example.

On Birthdays

I was the new pastor at the church, and a deacon took me to meet a senior saint. She greeted us at the door and said, "I've been wanting to meet the new preacher, and my, you're just a boy!"

I shared that story with the congregation and later at her funeral when I reminisced about the first time I met her. But, it's been a long time since anyone's mistaken me for a boy!

There are a number of lists that make it to Facebook from time-to-time about the advantages of getting older. One is there are no more lessons to be learned the hard way, and another is in a hostage situation, you're among the first to be released!

Another advantage is that other aging baby boomers appreciate the illustrations I use in preaching.

Last Sunday I commented about the time we collected furniture for a family whose apartment burned, and how someone decided the collection point for the furniture should be the parsonage yard! I told our folks our house looked like Sanford and Son. The seniors remembered this program that featured a junk yard in Fred Sanford's front yard, but the younger people had a blank stare in their eyes. On another occasion I told about the prophet Amos, the Southern farmer who went to the North to preach in the city, and likened him to "The Beverly Hillbillies." Again it was an effective illustration for the old.

But there are a number of more serious advantages to growing older. One is wisdom. We seniors gained wisdom from making foolish decisions as young people. Seniors can be a source of knowledge and guidance to the young. The position of elder was important to ancient Israel and to the new-founded church in the New Testament. The recent Christian movie, "The War Room," featured a senior saint who taught a younger lady how to be a good spouse.

Another advantage is that seniors have learned the primacy of family. Many of us look back with some regret we were so busy climbing the corporate ladder that family time so often took a back seat. And the time we now spend with our grandchildren and the way we overlook the messes they make sometimes reminds us how short we were with our own children when they made messes. We can apologize to our adult children, and we can exhort them to cherish the moments with their small children at home.

And seniors can echo the triumphant testimony of King David about the faithfulness of the Lord: "I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread" (Psalm 37:25).

On Self-Image

I wouldn't call it a "God thing" as our church kids say sometimes, but rather a coincidence. I picked up a book on the life of Karen Carpenter when I took my grandson to the library a week ago and began to read it last Saturday. I saw that her untimely death was on February 4, 1983--34 years to the day I opened the book. Hers was the voice of a generation. At times it was described as a voice with a smile, and at other times a voice dripping with sorrow. Her short and tragic life was filled with pathos, and her music remains a favorite of my generation.

Carpenter became the poster child for eating disorders. We didn't know as much about anorexia and bulimia in those days, but we've made some progress in this area, though it's estimated some five million Americans yet suffer from this disorder.

Filmmakers produced a documentary called "Thin" in 2006. The film follows several months in the lives of young women with eating disorders after they checked in to a Florida clinic.

In one scene the counselor affixed butcher paper to the wall and asked a patient to draw her image. Then she asked the patient to back up to the wall where the counselor traced her image inside the previous image. The two images were dramatic. The real image fit neatly inside the projected image. In other words, the anorexic patient saw herself as overweight and unattractive, though she clearly was not.

We talk about self-image a lot in the church, and we often find ourselves betwixt two polarities.

On the one hand the Bible is quite clear that we're all sinners and have fallen short of God's plan (Romans 3:23). We follow the example of our first parents in Eden and willfully step aside from the will of God. St. Augustine once remarked that "every man is the Adam of his own soul." He meant that we have Adam in us and have a propensity to make bad choices as he did.

Our Presbyterian friends include a time of confession in every worship service. I think we ought to follow their example and be given opportunity to reflect on our sinfulness and on God's mercy every time we worship.

On the other hand, the Bible tells us that we're "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14). Unlike the animals we're made in God's image and we're people of value for whom Christ died. So we are worth a great deal to our Creator.

Finding the proper self-image as Christians is often a challenge. Somewhere between these two polarities lies a golden mean that makes for a balanced spiritual life.

Body Life

The late Ray Stedman was in Birmingham several years ago and I had opportunity to speak to him a few minutes.

Stedman wrote "Body Life" in 1972, and he told me he was surprised this little book had been translated and distributed all over the world. In it Stedman related how he tried to administer a church uniquely--he led spiritual gift discovery and asked church members to use their gifts in ministry. Often our tact is entirely different. We decide what ministries we need, or our denomination decides for us, and then we go about persuading Christians to populate them. Inevitably we generate unhappy campers.

The biblical doctrine of spiritual gifts is refreshing and liberating. It declares every believer is a vital part of the body of Christ, the church, and has a function to perform. This doctrine does away with church being a spectator sport in which the majority do little or nothing. Someone likened the church to a football game: 22 men on the field desperately in need of rest, and 22,000 in the arena desperately in need of exercise!

Part of our misunderstanding is based on the "heretical comma" in Ephesians 4:12. There Paul wrote about the work of the pastor in apparently three respects. The comma after "saints" makes the verse seem to divide naturally into these three functions: the pastor is to mature the saints, do the work of ministry and build up the body of Christ, the church. But the punctuation was added by the translators since New Testament Greek had no punctuation. Here it does a disservice. When the comma is removed after "saints," it's clear that Paul exhorted pastors to mature the saints so they--the saints--can do the work of ministry. Then the body of Christ, the church, will be strengthened.

We perpetuate this misperception when we call the pastor "the minister," as though there is only one. Some churches have addressed this in their newsletters or websites by writing under the heading, "ministers," the phrase "all members," and then listing as "equipping ministers" the pastor, music minister and others.

Wise pastors see their role as teaching gift discovery, and encouraging Christians to step out in faith and use their gifts in service.

Motivational speaker and pastor John Maxwell often teaches pastors this concept in his seminars. He insists one simple thing pastors might do is take laypeople with them when they do ministry, giving laypeople opportunity to see it done and perhaps realize they can do it, too. Then the pastor steps aside and actually gives church members opportunity to try (or fly!) on their own.

The doctrine of spiritual giftedness could start a revolution in modern-day churches.

A More Excellent Way

He was deacon chairman in the church when I became the pastor. I was young and impressionable, and he made an impression on me. I still quote Horace, though he's been in heaven for many years, when I jokingly refer to the Sunday worship guide as the "bullington" as he did. Horace had a sense of humor, but everyone knew he loved the Lord and his church.

One day his wife Ruth told me the season of the year we were in at the time--summer--was particularly hard for Horace. I asked her what she meant, and she reminded me it was nominating season in the church, and Horace often found himself on the nominating committee. Then I understood.

Baptist churches begin their new church year in September or October, so the middle-to-late summer is the time we busy ourselves trying to staff organizations for the new year. And it can be a frustrating time. Some treat their volunteerism like a prison sentence: "Preacher, I've served my time," they say. What they mean is something else is now more important than this job. Then we try to "guilt trip" them into working one more year.

Nevertheless, I often lament that we do God's work in this way--putting square pegs in round holes--as the church is often accused of doing. There ought to be a better way.

The Apostle Paul insisted in 1 Corinthians 12 that God has given a "charismaton" to every Christian (v. 4). The word is based on the Greek word for grace, and it's translated "spiritual gift." Sometimes we equate the charismata with the tongue-speaking gift, but Paul labeled all gifts "charismaton." Thus all Christians are charismatic since all have spiritual gifts for service to the body of Christ, the church.

And it's in this context that Paul used two familiar analogies. He imagined a civil war in the body when the ear decided it wasn't as important as the eye, so it stopped working. And in the same way, the foot grew weary of playing second fiddle to the hand and decided to stop working (vs. 15-17). His point is that every member of the body is important and without every part in operation the body is impaired. And this is true in the spiritual body, the church.

The better way to operate might be to help people discover their gifts and to encourage them to obediently use those gifts in ministries. After all, serving the Lord is not only a privilege, but it's also designed to bring fulfillment and joy.

The better question might be, "How we can effectively use your spiritual gift in the advancement of God's work through our church?"

Set A Guard Over My Mouth

It's fun to watch a baby grow. They begin to pull on the furniture and stand up, to smile when they recognize a parent or sibling, and to say words for the first time while we good-naturedly argue over what we thought they said! The ability to communicate is one of God's best gifts, but the older I get the more I see the harm done by words. And followers of Christ aren't immune from causing harm.

Sometimes we say things we shouldn't and violate the privacy of others by calling it prayer concern.

I remember a lady who used to probe me in prayer meetings with questions like, "Now who is this?" and "What kind of surgery is it?"

Really it's not our prerogative to go into minutia like this. I've tried discreetly to call for prayer without going into details, all the while assuring attendees that God is aware of the need to a greater degree than us, and has promised to give grace to those in need and to those who care enough to humbly pray for them. The apostle James wrote, "But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: 'God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble'" (James 4:6).

I knew a pastor who sponsored a gossip chain years before we had e-mail chains. One of his ministries was to write letters of encouragement to those he met in itinerant ministry. His handwriting was distinctive and he wrote in beautiful language. But I got a letter from him once that was photocopied, so obviously he'd sent it to at least one other person. The letter explained in detail the charges leveled against one of our brothers who'd stumbled in ministry and been embarrassed in the media. I thought this gossipy letter very inappropriate no matter the status of the writer.

Another way we gossip today is through social media. Now I suppose it's harmless, though cruel, when someone takes a picture of the steak they're about to eat in the restaurant and posts it for the rest of us to see! But sometimes believers in Christ share feelings and emotions in public that would best be shared over coffee with a trusted friend. It's true all believers struggle at times, and this is why we need a close group of friends such as a prayer group or Sunday School class. Those in spiritual turmoil should be wary of putting these matters out in public where those with no faith can read and perhaps misunderstand.

The psalmist's prayer is good one: "Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips" (Psalm 141:3).

Things Beyond Our Control

"Everybody talks about the weather but nobody does anything about it" is attributed to Mark Twain. I thought about this on Sunday after so many churches cancelled services due to icy road conditions in our area. I'd much rather have delivered the sermon I labored on last week, but I suppose it will keep another week. I may even have some better insight after thinking about it a few more days.

The weather is one thing beyond the control of us mere mortals. And there are others.

One is the false assumptions people make.  

I was a hotel desk clerk many years ago when a traveler began to scream at me: "I have a confirmation number! It's right here." He never did understand that his confirmation was for the following night and we were currently full. He insisted on calling the manager at home who instructed me to release one of the rooms we had reserved for a later traveler who had the correct date on his confirmation.

We all struggle with false assumptions when we leap to conclusions that aren't correct. I've learned I can't control another's false assumptions, but I can control my own.

And it’s beyond my control to force a student to succeed. Every semester I see young people who begin well and then lose interest in their studies. I try to cajole them and to encourage them but it boils down to personal motivation. This is why I’ve found adult returning students are often the best students. They’re motivated, knowing this may be their last chance to get an education, and most likely they’re paying tuition themselves!

A pastor friend worried quite a bit about the declining Sunday night worship attendance in his church. He tried to shame his members and tried a number of other innovations to no avail. Finally he came to terms with this being something outside his control. He began to quote Yogi Berra: "If they ain't comin', you can't stop 'em."

And I'm burdened about people who have such potential for God's kingdom, but who live beneath their privilege. I see so many with energy and gifts and insights, but who don't seem to value their spiritual lives. But I have no control over this. Following Christ is a decision one must make for himself or herself. No one can ever be bullied or nagged into the fold.

Jesus met a person like this. "You are not far from the kingdom of God," he said (Mark12:34). We don't know whether this young man ever found his way to the kingdom.

Can anything be sadder than coming so close, yet falling short in the quest for spiritual significance?

The What If's Of Life

We'll soon hear about the new president's "first 100 days." Writer Thurston Clarke published a history in 2013 not of the president’s first 100 days, but of his last 100 days. The president is John Kennedy and the book documents what JFK was doing day-by-day before the tragedy of Dallas.

Clarke pulled together narratives from many sources and many cities.

The reader feels a sense of dread as the days tick by and Nov. 22 approaches.

An intriguing aspect of this book is the initiatives Kennedy began that he wasn’t able to complete.

He ordered the removal of 1000 American advisors from Vietnam by December, making clear he saw the war as unwinnable and planning to remove all U.S. troops before the war escalated. He also made secret overtures to Fidel Castro in Cuba, promising better relations if Castro would cease exporting soldiers to other Latin American nations.

JFK intended to seek an opening to China as well, many years before President Nixon’s historic trip. Kennedy pushed a tax cut bill that he believed would promote greater prosperity in the nation. He also took new interest in the plight of Soviet Jews and promised to do what he could to help them gain greater freedom.

And on a more personal note, the death of their newborn son, Patrick, brought the Kennedys to a new closeness in their marriage.

We can only imagine the “what if’s” had not the assassination taken place in November.

I’m convinced many of us are tormented with “what if’s” in our lives. “What if I’d gone to the doctor sooner?” or “What if I’d not driven that route that day?” or “What if I’d been morally stronger?”

Alas, the “what if’s” plague us, but there’s nothing we can do to alter the course of the past. No one of us, no matter how strong, is strong enough to pull back the hands of a clock.

This is why St. Paul’s word in Philippians 3 has always been one of my favorite texts in the season of New Year. “Forgetting those things which are before, I press toward the mark of the high calling of Christ,” he wrote (Phil. 3: 13-14).

We do learn from the past, to be sure, but Paul’s word is to forget the failings that discourage us and to infuse our lives with a new and greater purpose. The message of the Christian gospel is that there need not be any “has-beens” in God’s kingdom.

He is a God of mercy who specializes in restoring his wayward people from their failures and dashed hopes.

And he promises to be our partner in building a meaningful life of service to God and others.

On Making Peace

Someone had an interesting post on Facebook asking for sad personal stories in three words. A few responders used levity with "Donald Trump won" and "President Hillary Clinton." But other responders were gravely serious: "Nobody likes me," "children are hungry," "you have cancer" and "husband in heaven."

Our world is filled with turmoil and the holiday season accentuates the unrest so many people know.

How strange the words of the prophet Isaiah fall on our ears: the Messiah will be the prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6).

The Peace Pledge Union in the UK states we've had 250 wars since the end of World War II resulting in 50 million casualties. Our world will know "wars and rumors of wars" until God inaugurates the millennium.

But the Christ of Christmas promises peace in our hearts. He does this in two ways. First, he pays our sin debt and removes our estrangement from God. The apostle Paul wrote, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). And second, he gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said the Holy Spirit would be and do something that Christ in the flesh couldn't do: he would be "with" us and "in" us forever (John 15:17). It is the Holy Spirit who gives inner peace in a world of turmoil.

After we receive the gift of peace, we're exhorted to give ourselves to the noble task of peace-making. As St. Francis wrote so long ago, "Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace."

It was the greatest gamble of the Carter presidency when the president invited Menachem Begin of Israel and Anwar Sadat of Egypt to Camp David in 1977. The peace summit was fraught with difficulty and the president already had a statement prepared announcing the dissolution of peace talks had that been necessary. And on day 11, Sadat was packing to leave when Carter persuaded him to stay longer. The Camp David Peace Accords were reached on day 13.

The men returned to a joint session of Congress where President Carter quoted the prince of peace: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God" (Matthew 5:9).

President Sadat visited a new American president four years later, then took time to travel to Plains, Ga. to visit his old friend Jimmy Carter. The natives still remember "Sadat Day" on Aug. 9, 1981. Eight weeks later President Sadat was assassinated in Egypt by terrorists who disagreed with the Camp David Accords. He was only 62. But Sadat left behind a legacy of peace.

We are never so much like Christ as when we become peace-makers.

Christmas: Time of God's Open House

The prison warden circulated a note to inmates asking for suggestions on the kind of party they'd recommend for his 25th anniversary. The prisoners all had the same idea: open house!

 Christmas is the season when many people have “open house” parties. But “open house” is misnamed, isn’t it? When you plan an open house, do you invite everyone? I rather doubt it. We must be exclusive, for there isn’t enough food, or space or time to invite everyone. Some folks by necessity get left out

This is the way much of life is. Travel on an airplane is exclusive: one must purchase a ticket, come to the airport at the appointed hour and pass through security. College enrollment is exclusive: one must score well on the ACT or GRE, be accepted and pay tuition. Marriage is exclusive: one must find a willing mate, take a blood test, buy a license and locate an officiate. 

And sadly, some organizations are exclusive. Only certain kinds of people are welcomed. We build walls separating us from others and erect signs reading “Members Only” or “No Trespassing.”   

However, on the first Christmas in Bethlehem, the Creator God sponsored a non-exclusive open house. The invitation went out to everybody. Note the message given the shepherds: “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to ALL people” (Luke 2:10, emphasis added).

It's significant that these shepherds received an angelic invitation. They were unclean men, both physically and religiously. Their work precluded matters of social decorum and religious ritual. The Old Testament law specified they would be unwelcome in the temple, and they probably were unwelcome at an inn. But they found welcome with a Nazarene family in a stable.

On the other side of the social spectrum were the wise men whose invitation was sealed with a star. They were intelligent, revered and probably wealthy. They, too, found a warm welcome at Bethlehem’s stable--not because of their bank account, but because they humbled themselves before the newborn king.

There were no walls, no barriers and no “members only” signs at the manger.

Later Jesus himself said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Here I am! I stand as the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me” (Matthew 11:28, Revelation 3:20).

To a world of exclusion where petty men build walls of restriction, the message of Christmas comes: salvation is available to all people. God is throwing a party, and everybody’s welcomed.

The Season of Giving

Educators are warned about taking gifts from students, but I did get an interesting e-mail this week from a student, coincidentally just a few days before her final exam in speech class. She wrote, "I am planning on making some holiday treats for my teachers and wanted to know if you were allergic to anything or prefer something without chocolate."

I responded, "I am allergic to aspirin, so don't use that. And chocolate is a gift from God."

Gifts are a significant part of the Christmas season. I remember last year standing and talking with the convenience store clerk near our house. She told me another customer had been by and gave her $100 as a tip. I stood there rather sheepishly wondering if she wanted the same from me! But we do normally think of people at Christmas we might not think of at other times, such as the mail carrier or hairdresser or the like.

Giving is a significant part of the original and biblical Christmas. Even the smallest child can recite John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son . . ."

We were born into the world in order to live and hopefully make a contribution. Jesus was born to teach us about God and show us how to live, to be sure, but he was also born to die. John said in the Revelation that he "was slain from the foundation of the world" (13:8). This means that in eternity past God the father understood what he must do to effect our salvation, and the awesome price required.

The shadow of the cross was over Jesus even in Bethlehem. The baby was wrapped in swaddling clothes, very similar to the grave clothes used in that day to bury the dead. Surely the magi had another use in mind, but one of the common uses of myrrh was to embalm the dead.

The artist Holman Hunt is perhaps best known for his painting of Jesus holding a lantern and knocking on a door. But he painted another scene in 1873. The lad Jesus was wearied from working in Joseph's carpenter shop, and he went to the door to stretch his muscles. The setting sun facing him cast a shadow of a cross on the wall behind him. Mary in the background saw the image and froze in terror, recalling the prophecy shared with her about her son's future.

When we consider the depth of God's love for us at Christmastime, it makes any sacrifice in serving him on our part seem so trivial. As Isaac Watts wrote, "Love so amazing, so divine, demands my life, my soul, my all."

Christmas . . . Again?

The Christmas season has returned, and for those of us in the church, we'll hear the same stories all over again. We've heard them since we were children and most of us know the stories by heart. Pity your poor pastor who must find something new to say though he's been preaching these same stories for 20 years!

But there's nothing wrong with familiar words.

Someone proposed a list of the five sweetest phrases in the English language:

 1. Sleep 'til noon.

2. Here's that $20 I owe you.

3. Paid in full.

4. All is forgiven.

5. I love you.

We've heard these before, but we never tire of hearing them again!

One of my seminary profs, Dr. Henley Barnett, took issue with the phrase, "back to the Bible." He insisted the Bible wasn't behind us. It's way out in front of us, he said, and we've not caught up with it yet. I think he was correct.

The familiar stories of Christmas yet speak to our need to press on in Christian maturity.

The angel told Mary that though she'd never been with a man, she would bear God's child. The Holy Spirit would accomplish this. So Mary gave her body to the Holy Spirit. Paul insisted that we must do this, too, since our bodies belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:19). Every Christian needs to grow in personal holiness.

The angel told Joseph that he mustn't break off with Mary, but remain and be a father to Jesus. Joseph determined to face the disbelief and scorn of his countrymen and fulfill this role. He was committed to God despite opposition. Modern believers can profit from his example.

The angels told the shepherds about Jesus. Though they were of a lower caste than the general citizenry, the shepherds came boldly to worship Jesus. They demonstrate that all us sinners can come to Jesus despite the categories society arbitrates, and that no one should look down on others in God's kingdom.

And the educated and wealthy wise men came to worship Jesus, giving him costly gifts. So we must give our gifts to him for it more blessed to give than to receive. The church receives the gifts of her members and uses them to honor God.

A few years ago a Christian university president resigned amid charges of financial malfeasance. These charges included private jets, lavish vacations, cars and clothes. But for every abuse of God's money there are 10,000 stories of churches using God's money to teach the Bible, support missionaries and help people in need.

 Are we there yet? Not hardly! The familiar stories of Christmas yet summon us forward in obedience to Christ.

Do-It-Yourself Religion

I always put a good coat of wax on our cars before winter sets in, and the SUV we traded for in August was next in line. But, I reasoned, the SUV is larger than my vehicle that I'd already done and waxing would take longer and be harder to do. I toyed with the idea of hiring this done and visited the webpage of a nearby auto detail store. When I saw a paste wax job was $150, I decided differently. As a former colleague once told me, "I’m the cheapest labor there is!"

So, the job is done and the vehicle's ready for winter. And I enjoyed seeing it sparkle in the sunlight today. That's about all I get out of this deal since it's the wife's car. As I often tell people I get it when it's dirty or needs gas.

A lot of folks are do-it-yourself-ers these days with the cost of labor so high. But in the spiritual realm we can't think we'll save money, time or effort in getting right with God.

John Wesley tried. He was raised in a decidedly Christian home. His mother, Suzanna, was truly a saint who taught her children to love God. Wesley attended Oxford where he and a few friends were so methodical in spiritual practice that they earned the name "Methodists." Wesley was ordained a deacon which was a precursor to service as a priest in the Church of England. Then he went to the American colony of Georgia to preach to the Native Americans. But nowhere along the way did Wesley feel he knew God. He returned to England believing he'd failed in his calling.

"I went to America to convert the Indians," he said, "but O my God, who will convert me?"

It was only when he went to a Bible study in Aldersgate that he felt his "heart strangely warmed" as the teacher expounded Paul's letter to the Romans. "I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death," he said.

Wesley found what people of faith have known throughout spiritual history. We're right with God when we trust him to do his work in our lives--work we can't do on our own.

As Paul wrote to the Ephesians, "God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it" (Ephesians 2: 8-9, NLT).

I Was In Prison

I traveled to a Tennessee prison last weekend to visit a cousin. My sister engineered our trip, and we picked up our cousin's brother en route and had a nice day, despite the major purpose of our excursion. I learned that other family members had been reluctant to go through the process of approval and to visit.

I remembered once hearing a radio host fielding a call from a lady who'd distanced herself from relatives who had a family member in jail.

"I don't want to be around them and I don't want my children around them," she said.

Surprisingly the host agreed.

"This inmate made a bad choice and you have to shield yourself from the family," she said. "I agree with you."

I was flabbergasted at this exchange, and honestly felt the host was out-of-line.

I was a regular Bible teacher at Bibb County Correctional Facility in Brent for a number of years when a long-time friend was named chaplain. I met Bob Hall in Brent; he was director of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary's Birmingham extension. Bob recommended me to the North Georgia extension that sponsors a program in the Phillips Prison in Buford, Ga., and I've taught two classes there in recent years.  

All of that to say that most of the men I meet in prison are remorseful. They've missed so much in life that can never be replaced.  One inmate told me he was incarcerated when his son was 10, and his son had recently come to visit him on the boy's 18th birthday. Stanley was in tears when he said his foolishness made his son grow up without a father.

We mustn't forget that Jesus said, "I was in prison and you came to visit me" (Matthew 25:36). It's striking that for believers, serving those in prison is serving Christ.

My cousin is hopeful his release date will be in December. He's also anxious about what he'll do, where he'll live and how others will relate to him.

One mark of Christian grace is not only showing kindness to people in prison, but also showing kindness to former inmates. Jesus taught us to welcome those who messed up. In the story of the Prodigal Son the father received the disobedient son with joy, while the elder brother received him with disdain. I think we'd want to be more like the Father than the brother.

Some inmates will live with state-imposed restrictions the rest of their lives. Churches must respect these restrictions and sometimes put safeguards in place depending on the offense, but other than this, every church ought to be a place where prodigals can come and worship and feel safe.

God's Plans Are Good

It was a day of remembrance last week when I was invited to Marion Presbyterian Church to preside at Sam Colburn's funeral.

Sam was among the finest Christian men I've ever known and I was sad to learn of his malignancy. I'd planned to visit with him this month but his cancer was pronounced and moved more quickly than we'd thought.

It was Sam who invited me to speak at his church in 1998 when I became a faculty member at Judson College. He introduced himself to me at the new faculty reception and told me his pastor at Marion Presbyterian had left a few weeks before.

"Can you come Sunday and speak for us?" he asked.

I was surprised and reminded him I was a Baptist.

"That doesn't matter," he said. "We're all God's children."

So I accepted his invitation and spent nearly four years as what we'd call today an "undocumented" Presbyterian, or "stated supply" in Presbyterian-speak.

I remembered to the congregation last week how patient the church was with me. One Sunday I asked the worshippers to stand and greet one another--something we commonly do in Baptist churches. After services a sweet lady schooled me a bit. "Dr. Brooks," she said, "we're Presbyterians and we don't do that." I guess I made the folks nervous and they thought I was bringing out snakes next!

But the fine folks in Marion continued to support me as I labored among them.

Sam and Jack Snow were elders and I got to spend two hours every month with them. They prayed for me, for one another and for the church. The men took turns leading a Bible study and I grew as a Christian being in the presence of these special men.

After the church called a "real" Presbyterian I was invited to speak at Pine Flat Baptist Church in the Marion suburb of Suttle. I remember negotiating with the deacons about a little travel expense for the 13 mile trip, telling them I had walked to Marion Presbyterian.

"Michael," Roger Fuller said, "you can walk to Suttle. You just have to start earlier!"

We stayed at Pine Flat for 12 years before our move to Birmingham. At our farewell luncheon, the late Jean Watters said, "Michael, you spent 12 years here?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said.

"If you spend 12 years at the new place, you'll be about done!"

David wrote, "He fills my life with good things" (Psalm 103:5, NLT). God was good to Donna and me in our years in Perry County to give us two wonderful congregations who enriched our lives. He is, indeed, a God whose plans are good, and who specializes in serendipity.

We Must Pray For Our Leaders

It was in 1992 that I attended a Christian Citizenship Conference in our nation's capital. We had a prayer breakfast one morning superintended by the late Richard Halverson, at the time the chaplain of the U.S. Senate. The chaplain had invited two Southern Baptist senators to speak that morning: Trent Lott of Mississippi and Al Gore of Tennessee.

We couldn't have known at the time that Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas would tap Sen. Gore as his vice-presidential running mate later that year.

Chaplain Halverson read from Paul's first letter to Timothy: "I exhort therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men; for kings and for all that are in authority . . ." (1Tim. 2:1-2).

Halverson said he was most often a guest in various churches on Sundays and rarely heard a prayer offered for the nation's leaders.

"One of the gravest failures of our American churches is our failure to obey the scripture and pray for our leaders," he said. "We sin against God when we don't pray for our president and other elected officials."

I took his word to heart and began to follow his counsel.

It's interesting that the leader when Paul wrote was Nero, one of the vilest men to ever rule Rome. Nero murdered his mother and is believed to have murdered two wives. He blamed Christians when Rome burned and he sponsored the first widespread persecution of the church. It is believed both Paul and Peter died at the hands of Nero.

Yet, Paul said to pray for Nero.

Some seniors helped me years ago when the Gulf War was beginning. At a fellowship lunch I asked them how they prayed during World War II. They said they prayed for their husbands and sons, to be sure, and for the war to end soon.

"What about Hitler?" I asked.

"Yes, we prayed for him that God would change his heart and stop his murderous intentions," they replied.

No matter who our leaders are, and whether they have our political support or not, we're exhorted to pray for them. We ask God's protection, wisdom and humbling grace.

I think Paul would expand his thoughts if he were writing today. He was a Roman citizen, but he had no right to vote. The Caesar was selected by family patronage and the army; then he chose other officials. But American Christians are entitled citizens who enjoy the most basic of civil rights--the right to vote.

Praying is forbidden in many places, but it's not forbidden in the polling place! Americans can and should be wrapped in the spirit of prayer whenever we go to vote.

On Walden Pond

It was in 2011 that the college sent me to a conference in Boston. On a free afternoon I rented a car and drove to Lexington and Concord--the birthplace of the American Revolution where shots were fired heard around the world. I'd not intended to go, but I saw a sign declaring Walden Pond at the next exit so I changed course. Philosopher Henry David Thoreau went to Walden in 1845 and spent two years pondering the meaning of life. Thoreau's cabin is gone, but the site remains a major tourist attraction.

Thoreau's most well-known words are, "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation, and go to the grave with the song still in them."

People today yet look for the song, but many look on dead-end streets.

According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, one in 12 American adults has a serious alcohol problem. When you add drugs to the mix it brings the affected to one in 10. Alcohol and drugs promise an escape, but they've never solved anyone's problems. Most often they make problems worse.

A lady came to our church and asked me to pray for her son. She said she didn't know where he was at the time. "He's addicted and he stole from us, so we're practicing tough love," she said.

One of my boyhood heroes was Roy Rogers. He and his wife, Dale Evans, tragically lost three children. One was Sandy, whom they adopted after he was abused as a child. Sandy went to military school and loved it. He enrolled in the U.S. Army and was awarded the rank of private first class while in Germany. His buddies invited him out to celebrate and encouraged him "to drink like a man." Sandy drank himself into a coma and died early the next day.

Alcohol and drugs make promises they can't keep.

In contrast, Jesus said, "The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come that they might have life and have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).

A preacher named Harry Monroe spoke at the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago and said, "God can save any man in Chicago." Mel Trotter came forward and said, "That's not true. He can't save me. I'm no good." Trotter was plagued with guilt after the death of his two-year-old and because of his drinking and gambling. But God saved Trotter that night. Trotter then gave his life to the work of similar rescue missions. Though he died in 1940, the Mel Trotter Ministries in his native Michigan still ministers to people on the street and promises, "God can save anyone in Grand Rapids."

Mel Trotter found his song.

On Praising God

A former Nashville studio musician spoke to a group of church leaders in our city recently. He told us a little about his time in "Music City" and how decisions are made about what music to produce and sell. He said other than Bill Gaither's Homecoming music, the industry is producing only the so-called "praise and worship" music now. This music focuses on the majesty of God and is normally addressed to God the father or another member of the holy trinity.

I say "so-called" praise and worship since the church has been praising God for 2000 years. Praise and worship is nothing new. What we have now is the praise of God in a modern package. Praise is important. Praise to God is a significant part of worship. The Bible is clear that "we enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise" (Psalm 100:4).

But it's true that we don't enter the gate and stay there! As we mature and grow we appropriate more of God's plan for our lives and seek to obey him in our world.

A pastor mentor told me years ago that a service of Christian worship should begin with a hymn of praise to God the father, and then move to other themes such as salvation, devotion, commitment and service. I've always held up this model as the best in my worship planning.

Jesus told a story about two brothers whose father asked them to work in the field. One brother agreed, but didn't go. The second brother said "no," but then relented and went to work. Jesus asked which of the two obeyed their father. We know it was the initially-reluctant worker who went to the field who was obedient (Matthew 21: 28-31). This son is the model for Christian conduct in a world of need. We enter God's presence through praise, but then he commands us to get to work! There's much to be done in God's kingdom.

Robert Schuller before his death explained one reason he built a glass cathedral for worship. He said he wanted worshippers to look outside and see the world and realize they had a mission. "The church has hidden behind stained glass for too long," he insisted.

Other churches underscore the same thought with signs posted in their parking lot: "You're entering the mission field." Church members see these signs when they drive away from the worship place and understand everyone has a personal summons to serve.

Praise and worship isn't a substitute for service. But praise goes hand-in-glove with service. In fact, we may praise God best while we serve others in our world, exalting the name of the one who sent us.