Redeeming Santa

Growing up I remember many cold December evenings when the Jackson family would pile into the van and sing Christmas songs while driving around aimlessly looking for Christmas displays. One of those songs that became very familiar to me was Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. Do you remember how it goes? You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout. I'm telling you why, Santa Claus is coming to town. He's making a list, Checking it twice; Gonna find out who's naughty or nice. Santa Claus is coming to town. He sees you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good. So be good for goodness sake!
I know that among Christian households there are various opinions on whether we should or should not teach our kids the legend of Santa Claus. I appreciate and respect the decision of many who choose not to speak of Santa because of their noble desire to preserve the true meaning of Christmas, which is Christ’s birth. With that said, I am writing this article mainly to those who choose to make Santa a part of their Christmas tradition.

Without doubt, Santa is not God, but then again, neither is a human father, an earthly king or a lion named Aslan, yet all of these can be used to help illustrate to our children the greatness of God in ways they can understand. I want to challenge you this Christmas to redeem the fictional legend of Santa Claus. The typical two-pronged theology of Santa says,

1. Santa is looking over you all the time ~ He sees you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake.
2. Santa gives gifts according to your goodness ~ Santa Claus is coming to town. He's making a list, Checking it twice; Gonna find out who's naughty or nice. Santa Claus is coming to town.

Sadly, this theology of Santa is also the world’s theology of God. Children often connect the mythical Santa to a real God by thinking, “God is watching, and He will reward me if my niceness outweighs my naughtiness.” I want to challenge you this year to redeem this fictional character of Santa so that he may mirror and teach your kids the character and love of the one true and living God. To do this, you cannot tell your children that “Santa gives gifts according to their goodness” but rather that “Santa gives gifts despite their naughtiness.”
If you think through this traditional Santa theology, it is actually very contradictory. We are told that Santa gives “gifts” to those that earn them by being nice, yet a “gift,” by definition, cannot be earned. You see, an earned “gift” is not a gift at all, but rather it is a reward. But because you are too naughty, God cannot give you a reward, because you have not earned it. Because of our sin God has to give you a gift, The Christmas Gift, and it comes in the form of a baby, His very own Son, Jesus Christ.

Rom 4:4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due…Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Enjoy your gift from God and have a very Merry Christmas

Dual Identity

My Own Worst Enemy is one of TV’s newest action thrillers. On its website, NBC explains that the show “explores the duality of a man who is literally pitted against himself” and asks the question, “Who can you trust when you can’t trust yourself?” In the show, Christian Slater plays a man with dual identities, Henry and Edward. “Henry is a middle-class efficiency expert living a humdrum life in the suburbs with his wife, their two kids, a dog, and a minivan. Edward is an operative who speaks 13 languages, runs a four-minute mile, and is trained to kill… Henry and Edward are polar opposites who share only one thing in common - the same body.”
While I have never actually seen the show, I have to admit that I can identify with the character because I too have a dual identity (No, I am not a secret agent on my days off…or at least that is what I want you to think). Then again, I am not the only one that has a dual identity; you do too, as well as everyone in your family, at your office and on your street. All people have the identity of being an image bearer of God, but all people also have the identity of being fallen, it is a dual identity which shares only one thing in common – the same body. Francis Schaffer described your dual identity as a glorious ruin.
First, you are glorious, because “God created man in His own image.” (Gen 1:27) Unlike the animals you have a unique spiritual component that is woven into the very fabric of your soul. This component allows you, and all men, to contemplate God, to make moral decisions, to exercise dominion over the earth and, most importantly, to have a relationship with Christ if you trust in Him.
Secondly, you are ruins, because your sin has corrupted every aspect of your life. It has corrupted your righteousness, your mind, your motives, your will, your tongue, your relationships with others and your relationship to God (Rom3:10-18). To put it simply, the affects of sin in your life are pervasive and they ruin your perfect glory as an image bearer of God.
Like Henry, as a person with dual identities, you are literally pitted against yourself. There is a war waging inside of you, a battle between the two identities for your thoughts, your actions and your heart. Such inner turmoil leaves us with this question, “Who can you trust when you can’t trust yourself?” The answer is simple, trust in Jesus, who is the perfect image of the invisible God and who wants to re-create you into His perfect image for all eternity.

UNASHAMED

When I was growing up, I was ashamed of many trivial matters, like when I wore generic shoes to school, or when my family used coupons to go out to eat, or when my mom wanted to give me a hug in front of my friends, or when my dad would wear knee high socks with his shorts.
That was what I was ashamed of then, but now I’m ashamed of much more serious matters, such as sin. Paul describes sin as “the things of which you are now ashamed.” (Rom 6:21) Personally, I’m ashamed of how I often fear man more than I fear God. I’m ashamed of the countless times every day I put my own needs ahead of others. I’m ashamed of the way I don’t serve my wife and kids as I should. I’m ashamed of how lazy I can be. I’m ashamed of how I seek first the kingdom of Dan instead of the Kingdome of God. And of course, I’m ashamed of the things I don’t want to share with you, because I’m ashamed of them.
The amazing thing about the Gospel is that it triumphs over shame. In a way, the Gospel takes us back to the Garden of Eden, before there was sin, in which Adam and Eve “were both naked, and they felt no shame.” (Gen 2:25) It was true that they were naked physically before each other and felt no shame, but what is more amazing is that they were naked spiritually before God and they felt no shame. God knew everything they had ever thought, said or did and yet they had no shame, because they were sinless.
Three times in the book of Romans, we are told that “everyone who believes in (Christ) will not be put to shame.” (Rom 10:11) Paul is reminding us that on the Day of Judgment, we will stand before God, completely spiritually naked. Nothing we have ever thought, said or done will be hidden from His knowledge and yet those who “believe in Christ will not be put to shame” because through Jesus sacrifice on the cross, your sins have been transferred to Christ. What is more, Jesus righteousness has been transferred to you. For those who believe, on that Day, God will look at you and He will see Jesus. He will look at you as if you had never, ever, ever, ever sinned and you will be unashamed.

Fighting Temptation

What temptation do you face on a daily basis? Laziness? Bitterness? Selfishness? Covetousness? Follishness? Faithlessness? Heartlessness? Deceitfulness? Greed? Gluttony? Gossip? Hatred? Rebellion? Sexual immorality? Judgmentalism? Lust? Pride? Or all of the above?
James 1:13-15 affirms a reality that we are all too familiar with, which is that in this life, you will face temptation and there is no way of completely escaping it. Even Jesus faced temptations from Satan when he was led out into the dessert by the Spirit (Mat 4:1-11). James goes on to explain that being tempted is not a sin, but fulfilling temptation does give birth to sin and sin to death. So the question I want to ask is this, “How can a weak and sinful man like me fight temptation?”
A great example of this occurs in Genesis 39, where Joseph is a servant to a high ranking political leader (Potiphar) in the most powerful country in the world, Egypt. Blessed by the LORD, Joseph becomes extremely successful and his master puts him in charge of all he has. Then, like a bad soap opera, the Potiphar’s wife gets a crush on Joseph and begins to seduce him. On many occasions she tries to lure Joseph into bed with her, and even though he is far from family and friends, time and again he fights temptation and refuses her invitation. You may wonder, “Where does a single, lonely, sinful man like Joseph get the strength to successfully fight temptation? I wish I had Joseph’s same strength.”
The source of Joseph’s strength is woven throughout Genesis 39 when it is mentioned not once, nor twice, nor thrice, but four times that Joseph’s success over temptation comes from God Himself. In 39:2,3,21 and 23 the same phrase is repeated, “The LORD was with Joseph.” Upon first discovering this, I wondered why God repeats Himself so many times, and then I realized, “God’s presence must be important, not just that, it must be life altering important as we fight temptation.” Here is the good news, if you trust Jesus death on the cross as a payment for your sins, you don’t merely get forgiveness from God, you get God! The all mighty, ever lasting and all powerful God is with you, whether you feel Him there or not! So in the midst of temptation, like Joseph you must acknowledge God’s presence, depend on His strength and ask yourself, “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” God is with you right now and forevermore, remember it, proclaim it and enjoy Him forever.

Freedom

On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Second Continental Congress of the United States. It stated that the thirteen colonies of North America were now “Free and independent States” and “all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved.” After demanding freedom from the King’s “absolute Tyranny over these States,” the Declaration goes on to give over twenty-five indictments against the King, exposing his use of power to wickedly oppress and control the Americans for his own personal gain. In light of our history, it is right for us to take this 4^th of July to give honor to our forefathers, who boldly took a stand, so that we might have freedom to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” in this life.

Similar to our nation’s history, we have each been held under the wicked oppression of an evil dictator; his name is Satan. He uses his power to extend his own kingdom at our expense. But the good news is that Jesus has given freedom to those who belong to Him, and allowed our connection with the evil one to be “totally dissolved.” In John 8:36, Jesus Himself says, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” The scriptures elaborate on this point by explaining that we have freedom from the penalty of sin, which is eternal separation from God, and we have freedom from the control of sin, which is slavery. Secondly, we have freedom to an eternal form of “life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.” We have the freedom of a spiritual “life” instead of death, we have the freedom of “liberty” to pursue righteousness instead of sin, and we have freedom for “the pursuit of happiness” which is one in the same as the pursuit of God.

Interestingly enough, on July 4^th, 1776, the Declaration was only signed by one man, the other 55 delegates didn’t start adding their signatures till almost a month later. This extremely brave man was John Hancock, who boldly declared with his famous signature, “No more tyranny! I demand Freedom!” At the cross, the one man, Jesus Christ, makes the same declaration for you and for me so that we might live a life of total freedom before a Holy God.

If you trust in Christ, did you know that you are free? Or have you mistaken Christianity for a burdensome treadmill of performance. You have been freed to worship, freed to serve, freed to obey and freed to fall more in love with the awesome and Holy God. If you do not know Christ, let today be your Independence Day: trust in the cross of Christ as your Declaration of Independence from Satan, and experience the freedom of knowing Christ.

Gal 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

3 Money Principles

What does the Gospel have to do with how we handle our money? Everything! Believers are told that because we have been bought with the precious blood of Jesus, we are not our own and therefore everything we are and everything we have (including our money) is not ours, but rather it belongs to our new master, Jesus. Do you believe this? If so, here are three money principles to help you steward Jesus’ money, which He has entrusted to you.

Earn Money Honestly: (Eph. 4:28: Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands.) ~ Money can be earned dishonestly in a variety of ways, the most obvious being through corrupt activities such as stealing or profiting from immoral practices. More subtle and common ways include selling products with partial truths, rounding up time cards, using the company credit card for personal business, ducking out of work early, or surfing the internet and playing games while on the employer’s time.

Give Money Generously: (2Cor. 9:6-7: Whoever sows generously will also reap generously. (7) Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.) ~ Many times we mistakenly try to make financial generosity a dollar amount or a percentage. Contrarily, God demonstrates to us that generosity is an issue of the heart. In other words, it is not necessarily about how much money you give, but with what heart you give it. Sadly, many people in our community cannot give cheerfully because they are weighed down by the expenses of unwise living decisions. They have exhausted their funds by choosing to buy the nicest house(s), or the coolest car(s), or the biggest toy(s) that their finances can allow. Therefore, cheerful giving begins with a transformed heart that makes informed decisions.

Enjoy Money Powerfully: (Ecc. 5:19: Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them…this is the gift of God.) ~ How would you respond to someone who said, “God has given us the power to enjoy money!” I must confess that even though I am convinced it is good to enjoy God’s creation, (which He has given to us to steward), I often struggle to believe that it is also good to enjoy God’s money, (which He has also given to us to steward). Ecc. 5:19 instructs us that the secret to enjoying God’s money is in relying on God’s power to know that ‘wealth and possessions’ are not a god, but a gift from God.

1Tim. 6:17-19: As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. (18) They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, (19) thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

Pray Bigger

If we were honest, most of us would confess that our prayer life is not much more than updating God on the daily health and travel report. We tell Him who is sick, who is traveling and we pray for their physical safety. I believe that these should not be our greatest prayer concerns. In fact, I would argue that if these are your greatest requests before God, you have a misunderstood and shallow understanding of His miraculous Kingdom

There is a wonderful example of this in Mark 2 when some men bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus. Unable to get into the packed house, the desperate men climb on to the roof, open it up and then lower their buddy in front of Christ. I can imagine the electricity in the air as everyone silently waited to see if Jesus would miraculously heal this man’s physical body. What happens next may surprise you, it certainly surprised the crowed. Jesus didn’t give the man power to walk, but rather turns to him and said, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Jesus gave this man what he most needed instead of what he most wanted. The crowed was disappointed, no one cheered, no one was amazed and no one praised God, rather they replied with skepticism and accusations. In order to silence the critics, Jesus confirmed God’s forgiveness by telling the man, “get up, take your mat and go home.” Mark then tells us that the paralyzed man, “got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God.” What is wrong with this picture? The crowed wanted, cheered for, was amazed at and praised God for the lesser miracle. They merely wanted the man to walk. In contrast, Jesus wanted the greater miracle, which was to forgive this man’s sins.

In my life I have experienced many of God’s extraordinary miracles and provisions, so many so that I couldn’t even start to list them. Yet as I reflect back on them, I truly believe that they all pale in comparison to the single greatest miracle I have experienced, which is the forgiveness of my sins through the blood of Jesus Christ. I am further amazed at the ongoing miraculous work of God as He continues to be faithful to forgive this stubborn, proud and arrogant saint, while all the while continuing His unceasing dedication to conform me into the image of Christ. What a patient, loving and miraculous God we have.

I want to encourage you to stop praying in the shallow end. Why would you merely ask God to give a person travel safety or good health if they are dead to God? By God’s grace, I pray that once again you will find urgency in praying for the impossible (Mk 10:27). Start praying for your neighbors, your family members, your co-workers, your friends and your enemies. Pray that they would receive the miraculous work of the cross and experience the forgiveness of sins from an almighty, loving and holy God. Finally, do not become complacent to the miraculous in your own life just because it is assured in your heart and commonplace among your friends. If God has given you the grace to place your trust in Jesus Christ, then He has pardoned your sin, freeing you from it’s bondage and penalty. Live afresh in the strength and joy of our Savior, who miraculously says to you, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

How Bad is it? ... Really?

Last night Tricia and I watched a “Christian” movie. One of the major themes was that even though some people in the world are evil, people are basically good. Sadly, I have allowed myself to be brainwashed with a surplus of Christian material that tells me that sin is not that big of an issue, that I’m basically good and capable of doing good apart from God. We see such teaching in the vast majority of Christian resources for children, which merely encourage kids towards moralism, (i.e. be nice to your brother, share with friends, obey your parents etc.) The residue of this belief can also be seen in Christian worship music in which we tell God all we are going to do for Him. Even one of today’s most influential pastors, Rob Bell, explains in a video that God believes in us so much that He puts the fate of the church in our hands when Jesus says to the disciples, “Go and make disciples of all the nations,” (Matt 28:19.) (Read v18, 20 to see his error)

What is wrong with this picture? It is untrue. In the biblical narrative, other than Jesus, God does not use moral and capable people, but rather sinful failures. Among our heroes of the faith are Noah the drunkard, Abraham the liar, Moses the murderer, David the adulterer, Peter the denier and Paul the genocider. These descriptions typically are not given in children’s Bibles. However, the real Bibles tell us that we are sinful from conception, (Psalm 51:5), apart from God we are only evil all the time, (Gen 6:5), and if we claim to have no sin we make God out to be a liar, (1John 1:10.) Do you make God out to be a liar? There are indicators of such an arrogant heart, which I know from personal experience.

v Vagueness ~ You confess, “I am a sinner,” but don’t really believe it, you cannot describe particular sins to God, to yourself or to others.

v Apathy ~ You are indifferent towards a Savior because your sin is not that bad.

v Unforgiveness ~ You expect everyone to be perfect and understanding like you.

v Unconfession ~ You are not consistently asking your spouse or kids or parents to forgive you, because you are unaware of how you have ever sinned against them.

v Minimize ~ In prayer, (by yourself or with others), your list of confessions is much shorter than your lists of requests and praises.

v Consolidate ~ You unite all your sins into one particular sin that you struggle with. Therefore, when you conquer that sin on a particular day you deceive yourself into thinking you have conquered all your sins.

I want to share something with you because I love you and because you will not hear this from any place other than from God’s Word. No matter what the Christian movies, Christian music, Christian Children’s Bibles and Christian preachers tell you, your “sin problem” is much worse than you could ever possibly imagine. Both your sins of commission, (doing what is prohibited by God), and omission, (not doing what is commanded by God,) are abhorrent to your heavenly Father. Furthermore, your sins of commission and omission are found not only in what you do, but also in what you say and even in what you think. Such an understanding should lead us to cry out, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God- Through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom 7:24-25.)

Your deepest need is not to act better, but to be forgiven. Do co-workers, neighbors, friends and family perceive you merely as a good person, (like the Pharisees), or as a forgiven person who is broken by your sin and amazed by the unconditional love of God? You can’t fake this, it must be genuine. Hang out around those who see their own sins, pray diligently that God would show you more of your sins, confess your sins to others, (so they might share in your repentance,) and then confess your sins to God.

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins”

Confronting the Bondage of Consumerism

According to the American Banker’s Association, the average family today carries $8,000 in credit card debt. While you may or may not personally carry any debt, such a number exposes the culture of American consumerism in which we live and are influenced by. Unfortunately, this consumer mentality overflows into our marriages, friendships and churches. We view these relationships merely as a means of pleasing ourselves, and when they fail to satisfy, they become disposable, or at least unworthy of our effort. We approach them with the mentality of, “What’s in it for me,” rather than, “What can I give.”

I want to look specifically at how our consumer-driven hearts affect our Sunday mornings experience at New Hope. One of the ugliest fruits of consumerism I see in my own heart is an attitude which is more concerned whether or not the service is pleasing to me, rather than whether or not the service is pleasing to God. While such an attitude is extremely destructive, and indeed an occasion for repentance, I want to focus more on the consumerism that is evident before and after the service.

With one question, I want to briefly examine the fifteen minutes of your life directly after the benediction this past Sunday and see if we can identify any signs of consumerism that you may need to repent of and change. The question is simply this: “Who were you scanning the church for?” There are obviously many answers, but most likely, we would say our friends, or our family, or someone we needed to do business with, or the pastor, or maybe we just jetted for the door so we wouldn’t have to talk to anyone. Why do we all flee to our “comfort zones?” Because we are trained to be consumers and thus we are trained to fulfill our own desires above others’ needs.

I want to encourage you to change your vision before and after church by seeking out those that are new, those that are emotionally and spiritually needy, those that maybe you feel awkward around, those that have been here for three years but you still forget their name. Somebody, please seek out that guy standing by the hangers waiting for his wife to finish her conversation so he can leave. Step out of your “comfort zone,” stick your hand out to them, get to know them, invite them over to your house for a meal and love them as a person who is so precious to God that He would sacrifice His only Son.

Some times we try to excuse ourselves from reaching out to others: “I’m shy;” “I’m an introvert;” “I’m new here;” “I’m the one that should be pursued;” “I’m….;” And while all these things may be true of you, Romans 15:7 commands all of us, “Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” Did you know that Jesus Christ left the ultimate “comfort zone” to pursue you? He traded the worship of angels to be spit on by men because He so passionately loves you and wants to welcome you into His family. Therefore we are commanded to glorify God by doing the same and by welcoming others into this family of Jesus Christ at New Hope.

I had a friend visit New Hope a few weeks back and I asked him, “Did anyone say, ‘Hi’ to you?” He responded very gently, “Only if I was in their way.” I am convinced we should never cease to be a church plant. What I mean is each of us should always feel the responsibility to reach out and to welcome others in order to build up Christ’s church. I’m also convinced that if we were obedient to Romans 15:7, we could eliminate the need for assigned greeters, because all of us would receive visitors “for the glory of God”. And finally, I’m convinced that we must be counter-cultural because we have been freed from the bondage of consumerism by a God who has provided for all our needs. He has done this by first reaching out to us with the most amazing display of love the world has ever seen, the Cross of Jesus Christ.