The Star or R-A-T-S

“If spiritual things become a drag and the message of Christmas is dull you can be sure the problem is not in the message but in your loss of awe and wonder at the message.” Dag Hammerskjold 

One pastor of a small church was directing the children’s program on the Sunday night before Christmas. He was especially excited about the final scene of the production in which four children would give recitations using letters that they held up: S-T-A-R which stood for Shepherds, Trees, Angels, and Redeemer. The scene opened with “Silent Night” playing softly in the background as the children filed onstage holding the posters. The narrator solemnly spoke into the microphone, saying, “And now, four of our children are going to tell you how they feel about Christmas.” On that cue, the youngsters turned over their cards, which should have spelled the word STAR. Unfortunately, they had lined up backward, and instead, the letters said…RATS! 

  Sadly, isn’t that the way that many people feel about Christmas? High prices, snarled traffic, rushed trips, long check-out lines, extra chores, more debt, blown diets, countless Christmas parties, and cold weather. Many just want to get it all over with. Yet, if we fall into that thinking we lose the power of that first Christmas – we lose wonder!

  It’s said that “familiarity breeds contempt. More often “familiarity breeds indifference.” The more familiar we become with something the less fascination we have. The newness fades and we lose the wonder.

  That happens with us at Christmas. We’ve heard the nativity account so many times that the wonder of what happened 2,000 years ago begins to dim. We no longer marvel. We’re no longer amazed. The old story has become just an old story. Yet if we stop and truly contemplate that first Christmas, we’ll find that we’re once again filled with awe and wonder.

  God became one of us. Joan Osborne had a hit song, “One of us.” It asked what if God was one of us.   

What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make His way home.

That’s one of the wonders of Christmas, the Incarnation. God did become one of us. The Creator of the universe stepped into space and time and became one of us. The eternal Son of God didn’t merely add flesh to His deity, He is not just God in a body. God became flesh, human flesh. He became a creature. He didn’t give up anything, He added humanity. It’s why His disciples saw His glory. They saw grace and truth incarnate.

  What does God look like? Since God is invisible He can’t be seen. In Jesus, though the invisible God became visible.

  What does grace look like? What does truth look like? Because they’re abstract concepts, they’re unseeable. But in Jesus, grace and truth became visible, in His person, His words, and His works.

  At His birth, the shepherds and Magi desired to see Him. Throughout His life, the poor, the vile, the rejected, the disenfranchised, and the oppressed were attracted to Him. Sinners flocked to Him. And today, frightened, ashamed, hurting and guilty people still long to see Him. God’s Son is our hope. He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

  Christmas is the commemoration of the moment when Jesus, the eternal Son of God, was born into this world to be our Savior. He didn’t come for a visit. He made His dwelling on this earth. This world is now His home. After the cross, when the work of redemption was complete, according to the Apostle John, “I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God’” (Revelation 21:3). That’s wonder!

  That first Christmas was filled with wonder. Zacharias wondered how he and his elderly wife could give birth to the forerunner of the Messiah (Luke 1:18). Mary wondered how it would be possible for a virgin to give birth to a baby (Luke 1:34). Joseph wondered why he and Mary were chosen to be the parents of the Messiah (Matthew 1:18–25). The shepherds wondered about the angels that appeared to them and what their message meant (Luke 2:13–15). Those in Bethlehem wondered about the story that the shepherds were spreading through the village (Luke 2:17–18). Mary wondered about everything that was happening at the birth of her son (Luke 2:19). Simeon wondered at the blessing of being able, before he died, to see the child-Messiah (Luke 2:25-32). Mary and Joseph “marveled” at the words prophesied by Simeon about their baby (Luke 2:33–35). Those in the temple wondered about the words of Anna, who spoke of the redemption to come through this child (Luke 2:36–38). The Magi wondered about the newborn King for whom they brought gifts (Matthew 2:1–12). Joseph wondered about his dream warning him to take his young family and flee to Egypt (Matthew 2:13–15).

  Those are the moments of wonder recorded in Scripture. Think of how many more moments of wonder there must have been among those who were witnesses to the first Christmas. It was overwhelming wonder!

  Wonder was the message of one of the great hymns of the 20^th century called “The Wonder of It All.” 

There’s the wonder of sunset at evening,

the wonder as sunrise I see;

But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul

is the wonder that God loves me.

  That’s the greatest wonder of Christmas – God loves us! It’s why He gave the first Christmas gift. Have you accepted God’s gift? “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” A wonderful God, His wonderful love, and a wonderful gift! Wonder!

 Can we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

 

Where's the Manger?

“Jesus took His place in a manger 

so that we might have a Home in heaven.” Greg Laurie

 Can you imagine New Year’s Eve without horns, party hats, champagne or clocks counting down to midnight? What if for the 4^th of July you couldn’t find anything red, white and blue and there were no American flags anywhere, plus no parades, cookouts, picnics or fireworks?

  Yet if you venture into most stores around Christmas, you’ll have difficulty finding a nativity scene. Mangers are as hard to find as a snowball in July. Christmas decorations might include Santa, elves, snowmen, lights, gnomes…even baby Yoda, but it’s rare to find a nativity scene or manger. While they’re rare in stores, they’ve often been banned from public places like parks, malls, schools or government buildings only to be replaced by images of snowmen, candy canes, and reindeer.

  The irony of all of this is lost on a pluralistic culture where Christmas is just another holiday. It’s like celebrating someone’s birthday and completely ignoring the one whose birthday is actually being celebrated.    

  Luis Palau tells of a wealthy European family that decided to have their newborn baby baptized in their enormous mansion. Many people were invited. It was an elegant and elaborate affair. They took off their coats and laid them on the bed in a designated room. Soon the time came for the main purpose of their gathering but then no one could find the baby! To the horror of all they finally found the baby who was now buried under the pile of coats, jackets and furs, nearly smothered to death.

  In essence, in western civilization, we’ve buried Baby Jesus under our other trappings of a Christmas celebration. Why has that happened? The manger represents what we humans are not and what we don’t want to be. The manger represents…

  God in His helplessness. We don’t like to be helpless and we avoid those who we consider helpless. The nativity account in Luke 2 says that His mother “wrapped him in swaddling cloths” (vs. 7). Back then newborns were wrapped in strips of cloth to protect them from the harsh elements. Mothers would wrap the arms and legs separately and then wrap the torso until the baby looked a bit like an Egyptian mummy. It severely restricted the child’s movements. But in a world with little medical care where babies routinely died before their first birthday, it was a way to provide a crude kind of protection. At His birth, Jesus was as helpless as any other baby.

  Decades later an adult Jesus stood before the Jewish authorities, bound and guarded like a common criminal. When falsely accused, He didn’t respond. When reviled, He refused to answer. He stood before His accusers with his hands bound, awaiting a verdict that would end His life. It’s not a coincidence that He entered the world as He left it, bound and helpless.

  God in His humility. How would you respond if someone served your dinner in a dog’s food bowl? The word manger means a feeding trough. Even in that feeding trough, our Savior was already bearing the only cross a baby can bear—extreme poverty along with the contempt and indifference of mankind. In the words of Francis of Assisi, “For our sakes He was born a stranger in an open stable; He lived without a place of His own wherein to lay His head, subsisting by the charity of good people; and He died naked on a cross in the close embrace of holy poverty.”

  This newborn lying forgotten in an exposed stable, resting in a feeding trough is God’s appointed “sign” to us. It’s the Incarnation. God came into this world in the most unlikely way. It’s what Philippians 2:7 means when it says Jesus “made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” Nothing about Baby Jesus appeared supernatural. There were no halos, visible angels or choirs singing.

  If we’d been there and had no other information, we’d have concluded that this was just another baby born to a poor young couple down on their luck. Nothing about His outward circumstances pointed to God. Looking at the baby this way, no one would think that He only came for the rich or powerful. No one would suggest that He used His heavenly power to make an easy or grand entry into the world. Jesus came not for an elite few. He came to be the Savior of all the world.

  God in His humanity. “A baby.” That’s all the original Greek says. The word means “an infant” or “newborn.” It’s an ordinary word used to describe the birth of a child. It reminds us that Christ came into the world just as we all do. Even though we often speak of the virgin birth, it should be remembered that the real miracle occurred at the moment of His conception nine months earlier. Jesus’ physical birth was completely normal—or as normal as it could be given the unique circumstances.

  To say that Christ was born as a baby brings us face-to-face with the truth of the Incarnation. Although Jesus was fully and truly God from all eternity, the Second Person of the Godhead took on humanity when He was conceived in Mary’s womb. He wasn’t half-God and half-man, He was fully God and fully man. He never ceased to be God, though He temporarily laid aside the glory of His deity. In some way mysterious to us, Jesus was the God-Man, two natures joining together in His one Person.

  That’s the central truth of Christianity. God entered human history in order to provide for our salvation. What we could not do, He did for us through His Son. Everything else flows from this truth. If Jesus had not been born, He could never have died for our sins and would not have risen from the dead. He had to become like us in order to be able to save us. There was no other way.

  Yet, it’s because Jesus was helpless, humble, and human that this world doesn’t want to be reminded of mangers. The necessity of His manger means that we couldn’t fix it. We couldn’t save ourselves. We must be rescued.

  Our world’s greatest need isn’t a new government program or more education or better housing. It’s not even affordable healthcare.

  2,000 years ago the angels announced our greatest need,  “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

  What we desperately need is a Savior! Thankfully, Jesus came to be our Savior. And while you may not find a nativity scene, you can’t hide Jesus. He’s already come to earth. My friend, have you let Him into your life?

Can we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

 

The Gift - God's Love for All

“No one has ever become poor by giving.” Anne Frank

 My nephew, Bryce Pegram, and his wife, Chelsea, recently had a daughter and named her after my Mom, Dorothy, (they’re calling her “Dottie”). I teased Chelsea that Dottie will need to learn shorthand someday. 

  My Mom was the best secret Santa. Maybe it was because she had five children but Mom knew how to keep Christmas under wraps. As a kid, it drove me crazy. Like most kids, I was brimming with curiosity, especially about what I was getting for Christmas. My Mom wrote all of her Christmas lists in shorthand. Your name would be at the top of a list and then there were these notes of what looked like chicken scratch. It was impossible to decipher. 

  When she would run errands, there would be a great search of the house for where she might have hidden my presents. I never did find them. Once a present was under the tree, I’d try to carefully pull back the tape and peek. She was great at wrapping gifts too and I never did succeed.

  So what’s the weirdest Christmas gift that you’ve ever received? I’ve had a few over the years. Jane won’t let me share any personal ones for fear that the guilty party might read my blog. But I’m so thankful that in my 40 years of ministry, no one has even given me praying hands.

  Pastors though do periodically receive some “interesting” Christmas gifts. One friend in the ministry received “Jesus Bandages.” Another was given a large bottle of Tequila. One received a Steak and Shake gift card with $7.33 left on it. But that was surpassed by the pastor who received a gift card to a local restaurant…and there was no money on the card! One received a heavy blanket and a pillow from the local hospital. Another one got a Jesus-head candle! The wick was in the top of his head! My favorite though was the pastor who was given a bobblehead of himself. (I think he probably re-gifted it to his mother-in-law).

  Have you ever stressed over finding the perfect present for someone? It’s sometimes difficult to make that decision. Do I get them something they need or want? Do I give them clothes or money? Will they like it? Will they ever wear it? Will they return it? Will they regift it to someone else? Will I see it in next year’s white elephant gift exchange?

  Today we’re starting a new series, Unwrapping the Gifts of Christmas. It’s about the gifts that God has given us.

  So what is it that you want for Christmas this year? Maybe a better question is, what is it you want from Christmas? Or maybe even better, what do you need from Christmas this year? It’s easy to want things that aren’t the best or even good for us.

  God’s focus isn’t on what we want, it’s on what we need. During this season, let’s prepare ourselves for what God has to offer us this Christmas. God has some wonderful gifts if we’ll open our lives to what He has for us.

  The greatest gift is a growing understanding that we can have of God because He came to us in the form of a baby named Jesus. The Incarnation changed everything about how so many thought of God in the Old Testament. Christmas still changes everything. And God’s Christmas gifts are so different from ours. Think about it…

  God’s Christmas gifts are just what we need. All of us from time to time long for things that our Heavenly Father knows isn’t good for us. Like a parent who limits a child’s candy intake, God sometimes doesn’t give us what we think we need.

  For example, most of us think that we need more money. Most of us, even those who never buy a ticket, have thought longingly about what we’d do with all of that money if we won the lottery. Google lottery winners and you’ll find that many of them wished that they’d never won because it ruined their lives. Some even tried to return the money. Yet, God’s gifts to us are always what we need, even if they’re not perhaps what we want.

  God’s Christmas gifts are just the right size. (Just a hint for any husbands, if you’re buying clothes for your wife, it’s better to err on the side of being a little small). God though always gets us the right size. Wise is the prayer of Agur in Proverbs 30:8-9: “Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny You and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.” God’s gifts are always just right because He knows exactly what will fit our lives.  

  God’s Christmas gifts don’t need a warranty. Other than a car, I rarely ever purchase an extended warranty. God’s gifts never need one. They’re not just timeless, they’re everlasting with eternal benefits.

  One of the problems we all struggle with is that we are far too “this world” in our thinking. We’re like a child obsessed with a Happy Meal toy but missing out on what has true lasting value. One day all the material things that we cherish in this world will be gone…forever. The only thing that we can take with us to heaven is those we’ve led to the Lord. That’s why it’s critical that we share and live out the gospel with our families. All of those things this temporary world tells us are critical will one day be gone. A personal relationship with Jesus Christ lasts forever.

  God’s Christmas gifts never need to be returned. The day after Christmas there will be a long line of shoppers returning gifts that are either broken, the wrong size, or unwanted. Yet, once we’ve accepted God’s gifts to us, we never want to return them – they’re life-changing. They make a difference, not just in this world, but in eternity.

  God’s Christmas gifts are forever. Have you ever noticed when you’re up high, things appear smaller? One nervous airplane passenger finally got up enough courage to glance out the window. He said to the person next to him, “It’s true what they say, people do look like ants from up here.” His seatmate said, “Those are ants…we haven’t taken off yet!”

  Things look a lot different when you’re up high. When you look at our world from outer space, the earth’s surface appears completely smooth. We know there are deep valleys and high mountains, but when you’re back away a few thousand miles, it appears as smooth as a billiard ball. Seeing life from God’s perspective gives His gifts to us true value. Yet, we’ll miss it if we fail to look down at this world from a higher perspective!

  My friend, the best gifts you and I will ever receive are God’s Christmas gifts. They’re life-changing. They’re eternally transforming. As we work through this series, will you choose to let them change you?

Can we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.

 

 

Band of Brothers

 

“True friends are like bright sunflowers that never fade away, 
even over distance and time.”

Have you watched the miniseries, Band of Brothers? Maybe during the holidays binge watch it. It dramatizes the history of Easy Company, a parachute infantry regiment from jump training in the States through participation in major war actions in Europe during World War II. Men from various walks of life, different States, and backgrounds came together to literally be a “band of brothers.” 

  In 1975, I experienced my own “band of brothers.” Last summer as Jane and I drove through Atlanta on our way to vacation in Florida, I had one of those “what might have been moments.”

  I’m the youngest of five children. Many of you know that my Mom was killed in a tragic car accident when I was ten. My Dad, though wealthy and successful, was a prescription drug addict. After my Mom’s death, our family spiraled out of control. My two older brothers were married and out of the house. My Dad was rarely home, hitting the clubs, coming home at all hours…sometimes not coming home at all. Both of my sisters struggled with losing their Mom yet still excelled academically. With no one to check on my schoolwork, I just didn’t do it. Though I was in a private school, though a school counselor sought to encourage me to do better, I was bombing out. It’s what happens if you do the bare minimum.

  I was flunking out. I wasn’t a jock and I wasn’t overly good-looking. But there is one group that will always accept you if you’re not popular, athletic or academic – the drug and alcohol crowd. In fact, I was booted from one school for drugs and in my early teen years became a problem drinker. My yearbook was filled with quips that I ought to join AA. Yet, though I seemed like such a fun party animal, I hated myself and hated life. I was depressed and suicidal.

  Unfortunately, my church youth group didn’t help. Because I attended a different school, I was an outsider and couldn’t break into the clique. Yet my Pastor, David Cummins, and his family kept reaching out to me. His one daughter, Miriam, though I was a trainwreck, kept reaching out to me even after she went off to college, Maranatha, in Watertown, Wisconsin.

  I learned that the college also had a high school and you could live in the dormitory, so I determined I would get away from my Dad and go there. I was a Christian but I was miserable. And Miriam had something that I desperately longed for – peace, peace with God. I got a job and was going to pay my own way. Secretly I applied but my Dad found out and was death on it…until he got remarried that summer. His new wife evidently thought, that if this mess of a kid wants to go away to a boarding school in another part of the country, let’s send him. Though I’d never been away from home, not even for camp and never north of the Mason-Dixon Line, they put me on a plane with a few suitcases and shipped me off.

  It probably wasn’t the best idea but it was life-changing for me and several others who like me attended the Academy from similar broken family backgrounds. They’d stuff a high school kid in a room with college students. I was in a room with five college-age men (yes, we had six in a room). So all of a sudden this 15-year-old kid with a southern drawl is in a room with college-age men from Arizona (Tye Rausch), Colorado (Tom Roark), Michigan (Dave Stein), Indiana (Dave Ponce) and Wisconsin (Bob Melford). I was scared, broken, and lonely. At first, I hated it and was ready to hop on one of the trains that ran behind the dorm and go anywhere.

  But God…though I was a few years younger than these five young men, they befriended me and reached out to me. They would pray with me and for me. They became my mentors and examples. They’d comfort and encourage me when I received cruel notes from my Dad. Those guys were there for me. My heart, which was filled with bitterness and hatred toward my Dad and God for taking my Mom and leaving me with my Dad, was transformed by God’s grace. I began to see that God had a greater purpose in the tragedies of my life. It’s why Joseph is one of my favorite characters in the Bible. His words in Genesis 50:20 have been a North Star for me: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…”

  So why am I telling you all of this? Because one of the men in the quartet singing for us today, Bob Melford, was one of those five men. Bob is a pastor’s son and loves the Lord. He’s one of the most talented individuals I’ve ever met, musically and athletically. Though I was just a snotty-nosed kid, Bob became a great friend and was like an older brother to me. He loves the Lord and wants to use his gifts for Him. In fact, I’m still friends with all five of those men some five decades later.

  One of the reasons that we are “Grace Church” is that we are committed to being a safe place for those with any background issues or struggles. We are not here because we’re okay. At Grace, it’s okay to not be okay. It’s why we encourage you to take the time to get to know those around you. Listen to their stories. Share yours.

  We are not a “churchy-church.” I pray that we never are. On a Sunday you may be sitting next to someone who comes from a fractured home or has struggled with addiction…or still does. Them being at church is big for them. We are truly a “band of brothers and sisters” from various backgrounds and situations, many of them heartbreaking.

  But we are not victims. We’re victors, not because we pulled ourselves up by our own bootstraps. We’re victors because we were rescued by King Jesus and are trophies of His love and grace.

  Yet, there are so many that need to be rescued. At Grace, we’re part of God’s search and rescue team. We’re committed to not being some religious club. It’s not just the fields of the world, it’s next door, in your neighborhood and mine. It’s a broken world. Suicide is an epidemic. Add depression, anxiety, a host of mental health issues, and addictive behaviors and it’s overwhelming. Our world needs hope. It needs Jesus. Our world needs us to be their friend so that we can introduce them to our Friend.

  I was one of “those” kids at one time. My friend, Bob Melford, was part of God’s rescue plan for my life. Together let’s be part of God’s rescue plan in someone else’s life. Let’s be a band of brothers and sisters making a difference in this world and for all eternity!

Can we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

Choosing a Better Gift

“Christmas means ‘giving,’ and the gift without the giver is bare. 

Give of yourselves; give of your substance; give of your heart and mind.”  Gordon B. Hinckley

 Recently, I was surprised to learn that not only does Elon Musk own Tesla and now Twitter but he even sells perfume…and not just any perfume. Elon Musk sells “Burnt Hair Perfume"; it’s advertised as the “essence of repugnant desire.” No, this is not a gag gift or a White Elephant Gift. The perfume is meant to smell like your head is on fire. But if you want to buy a bottle for your one true love, you’ll have to wait until next Christmas. 30,000 bottles, which sold at $100 a pop, were completely sold out. 

  Are you like me? Do you struggle each Christmas to find just the right gifts for those you love? Did you venture out on Black Friday to find this year’s hot gift, hoping that it was still in stock?

  There are some Christmas gifts that everyone needs and you don’t have to shop for them. They’re so basic and so longed for, yet too often overlooked. Here are some “hot gifts” that are always needed.

  Give grace. Christmas tends to bring out our inner Hallmark, yet it’s a sin-filled world where lots of bad stuff happens. To add to that many of us come from broken families or there’s fragmentation in our current one. For many, it’s “The Nightmare before Christmas.” Our parents may be divorced or not getting along. Our children, even adult ones, are divided. Perhaps a loved one died this past year leaving an empty space at the table. Many have been invited to a dysfunctional family situation to “celebrate.” All the gifts in the world won’t put a nice bow on that trainwreck.  

  Yet, the real Christmas is not about what is happening but because of what has happened. That first Christmas was far from perfect. Humanly speaking, it was a disaster. Mary and Joseph are away from home because the government wanted more tax money. Then, Bethlehem was more crowded than a mall on Christmas Eve. The only place where Mary could give birth to her baby was a dirty stable.

  But that happening changed everything. It’s why the angels announced to some poor shepherds that there was “peace on earth” because the Prince of Peace had come. Life on this messed up world would never be the same.

  This year instead of being disappointed because your family looks more like the McCallisters’ from Home Alone fame than Tiny Tim’s, or because of irreconcilable differences the family won’t be together, or because of the economy there are fewer gifts and a smaller meal, remember that’s not what Christmas is about. It’s not about what’s happening. Christmas is about what happened 2,000 years ago when the promised Messiah came.

  Give love. We, humans, tend to give what we’re given. If we don’t receive love, we often don’t give it. We treat others the way we’re treated.

  Yet, if you’ve experienced God’s love, if you’ve trusted Christ as your Savior, then you’ve personally experienced undeserved love. As the hymn goes: “I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene and wonder how He could love me, a sinner condemned, unclean.” Every believer who looks in the mirror has that same question – How could Jesus love me? We know ourselves. We know how unworthy we are. We know how unworthy we are of His sacrifice on the cross for us. But still He came and still He went to the cross. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” As God has given love to us, we are to give love to others…no strings attached.

  We are to love our families. It doesn’t matter if you had the worst father and mother of all time – you’re still to love them. Even if your spouse mistreats you, you’re still to love them. That sibling who’s been cruel and mean to you as long as you can remember…yes, you’re to love them, too.  

  We are to love our spiritual family. It doesn’t matter if someone is Lutheran, Presbyterian, Baptist, Non-Denominational, or Catholic – if they’ve committed their lives to Christ and are trusting Him as the only way to heaven (John 14:6), they’re brothers and sisters in Christ. We are to love them. There is no place for a “holy war” in God’s family. It doesn’t matter if they’re from a different ethnic group or of a different political persuasion. Economically, we may have nothing in common. None of that matters because it’s level ground at the foot of the cross.

  In what was known as the “love feast” in the church at Corinth, there were those from every tribe and nation. Slaves and masters, Jews and Gentiles ate side by side. The Bible says that if we say we love God and don’t love our brother or sister, then we’re liars (1 John 4:20-21). You simply can’t love God and not love your brothers and sisters in Christ.

  We are to love our enemies. We are only asked to do what our Lord did when He prayed, “Father forgive them” from the cross. Over a dozen times the Bible commands us to love our enemies.

  The first fruit of the Spirit is love. God intends for us to be channels of His love even to those who hate us. He never promised it would be easy. He did though promise us grace to obey His command and love them.

  In his book How Small a Whisper, Roger Carswell relates an amazing story of a Christian family's response to tragedy. In May 1987, 39 American seamen were killed in the Persian Gulf when an Iraqi pilot hit their ship, the USS Stark, with a missile. Newspapers carried a picture of the son of one of these seamen, a shy five-year-old boy, John Kiser. He was standing with his hand on his heart as his father's coffin was loaded onto a plane to take him back to the U.S.A.

  His mother said, “I don't have to mourn or wear black, because I know my husband is in heaven. I am happy, because I know he is better off."

  Later on, she and young John sent a letter and an Arabic New Testament to the pilot of the Iraqi plane, addressed to: “The man who attacked the Stark, Dad's ship, in the hope that it will show that even the son and the wife do not hold any grudge and are at the same time praying for the one who took the life of our father.” How is such love possible? It’s from the God of love, the One who sent His Son as the first Christmas gift.

  I wouldn’t buy Burnt Hair perfume, yet we can give gifts that everyone wants and needs. Let’s give grace and let’s give love! It’s because of what has happened that God has called us to do for others what He did for us. 

Can we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

There are no orphans of God

 

“There are no strangers
There are no outcasts

There are no orphans of God

So many fallen, but hallelujah

There are no orphans of God.”  Avalon

 

In twelve months between 2007 and 2008, Christopher Buckley coped with the passing of his father, William F. Buckley, father of the modern conservative movement, and his mother, Patricia Taylor Buckley, one of New York's most glamorous and colorful socialites. Christopher was their only child and their relationship was close and complicated. As he tells the story of their final year together in his book, Losing Mum and Pup, one thought particularly struck me after the loss of both. He shares the heartbreaking and disorienting feeling of becoming a 55-year-old orphan.  By Buckley’s definition, many of us are also “orphans.”
  The holidays bring back the hurt and memory of those losses. Personally, I shake my head at those who flippantly say, “you’ll get over it.” The pain may grow dull, yet it’s still there and always will be. Yet, one of the great soul medicines for the child of God is the simple biblical reality – I am a child of God. If you have been born-again, you have a Heavenly Father that you can never lose and you will never be an orphan in the family of God.
  Old Testament Jews didn’t know God as Father. God as our Father is a wonderful New Testament reality that’s only made possible because God’s Son, Jesus paid our sin debt and we’re now “adopted” into God’s forever family. As we move into the holidays, let’s walk through the rich blessings that believers have now that God is our Father. They’re some of the most encouraging truths in God’s Word.

  He’s not just my Father, He’s Daddy. The word Abba is an Aramaic word that means “Father.” It was a common term that expressed affection, confidence, and trust. Abba signifies the close, intimate relationship of a father and child, as well as the childlike trust that a young child puts in his or her “daddy.” Being an adopted child of God is the source of great hope and security. Our holy and righteous God, who created and sustains all things, who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and ever-present, gives us the privilege of calling Him “Daddy” or Papa.” What an awesome privilege! What amazing grace that God would love us so much!
  In a world of fragmented families, it brings healing. God has designed us so that a child needs a father. Yet in our broken world, many either don’t have one, or their biological one is abusive or absent. Knowing that we have God as our Father and that He will always be there and never mistreat us or walk out on us, brings healing. We are secure in the love of our Abba Father for all of eternity.
  Our Heavenly Father is always available. God never has a packed calendar. He is always there and always available at any and every moment! He’s never too busy or preoccupied. He never gets tired or sleeps. He never even takes a nap. He is constantly watching over us. Our Heavenly Father is accessible at any moment, 24/7, 365 days a year. Prayer is our direct line to God and He never puts us on hold.
  We never have to earn our Heavenly Father’s love. Perhaps you felt that you had to earn a parent’s love and respect by accomplishing great things to make them accept you or be proud of you. Our Heavenly Father is not like that. Romans 5:8 tells us that “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” In other words, even when we were a mess, although we still blow it, though we will never measure up and are oblivious to Him and His love, God the Father sent His Son to die for us. It’s unconditional, sacrificial love. It’s unlike anything we will experience on this earth. God is a Father who chooses to love us and we didn’t do a thing to earn it, but mess up!
  Our Heavenly Father is always approachable. Our Heavenly Father is never in a bad mood. He is never too tired, too busy or too distracted for His children. When you’re in a relationship with His Son, Jesus, you have total access to your Father’s ear, His heart, and focused attention. Hebrews 4:16 says that we can “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” 
  Our Heavenly Father will never write us off or walk out on us. If you are His child, there is not anything that you can do – nothing evil or bad enough – to make Him stop loving you. Since there was nothing you could ever do to earn your Father’s love, there is nothing you can ever do to lose it. As Romans 8:38-39 says, “Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” In other words, no circumstance, seen or unseen power, person, action, or inaction on your part can separate you from God’s love. That’s powerful. It's also a promise that only our Heavenly Father has the power to fulfill.
  Every person on this earth who claims to love you and never leave you will still be separated from you (at least temporarily) through their death or yours. God’s Word promises that even in death there will be no separation from our Father’s love – ever.
  Our Heavenly Father knows everything about us and still chose to love us. We will never surprise our Heavenly Father. He knows things about us that no one else knows. He knows us intimately. To be safe and known intimately is one of our deepest needs. Sometimes we hide who we really are because of fear of rejection or because someone may lose interest in us when they discover who we really are. Yet, the Bible says that our Heavenly Father already knows it all and still loves us and always will!
  In this world, we may be orphans but when we’re part of God’s family, we have a Heavenly Father we can never lose and He will never lose us! 

Can we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

I'm Offended!!

 

“People who wish to be offended 

will always find some occasion for taking offense.”  John Wesley

 It seems every day someone or some group is reported to be offended. Inadvertently someone says something or violates a new cultural faux pas and finds themselves engulfed by an inferno of micro-aggressions. 

  For example, recently I read that the color of park ranger uniforms is considered racist, at least by one group. This will probably be offensive to someone yet I find myself rolling my eyes at such absurdity. Yet, it’s not only the cultural elite who can be thin-skinned. Too often it’s us – Christians, who are needlessly offended. Recently, I found myself rolling my eyes at a well-meaning Christian who got their nose out of joint.

  The World and Everything in It podcast carried a story about poet, Ann Porter, who wasn’t published until very late in life when she was in her eighties. It was a great story of someone in their twilight years that persevered and used their talent and was published. BUT one listener was offended that the story focused on her age and not that Porter was also a wife and mother. They felt motherhood was dissed because the story failed to mention it. This listener e-mailed:

  “I am a stay-at-home mom homeschooling or doing distance ed with my children, I feel even more discouraged when I hear a philosophical statement that implies that this lady poet didn’t find or fulfill her calling until she got her poems published in her 80s. What does that say about what I’m investing my life in?”

  Executive producer, Paul Butler, graciously responded: “We did not intend in any way to suggest that Ann Porter had missed her calling until she was 80 years old. Or that being a poet was somehow more important than being a parent. What we intended to communicate was that even at 80 years old, when our society tends to push our seniors to the margins and silence them, God still had work for her to do.” Butler answered well. I’d have been tempted to not be so gracious. The bottom line is that those who want to be easily offended probably will be.

  My good friend and fellow pastor, Vic Koshir, like most leaders would find himself periodically caught in the crosshairs of offending someone. Vic cynically concluded: “If there is no possible way that anyone could possibly be offended, be assured that someone will be.” And while there are things that are offensive, too many of us in the Church are oversensitive and too easily offended. As believers who have been forgiven so much and shown so much grace, we should be those who are not easily offended.

  The core reason a believer is easily offended is that they don’t truly understand grace. Scripture is so lucid – those who know how much that they have been forgiven, forgive much. It’s difficult to say that you know Jesus as your Savior when you do not forgive and act graciously as He did.  

  The soft spot for most of us, like that offended Mom, is our pride. Most of us have a list of heinous sins. Pride should yet rarely makes our list.

  As we move into the holiday season, bygone family wounds have a way of resurfacing. Many of us will be in close proximity to those who know our often not-so-wonderful history. Tales of adolescent buffoonery often are reshared for the enjoyment of all, except the “victim.” Things will be said that if a coworker or friend said the same, would be overlooked. Yet, because it’s a family member and because there are often other unresolved issues, it becomes a conflict even the United Nations couldn’t fix.

  So how can work to not be easily offended?

  Start with not being offensive. If something doesn’t need to be said or pointed out, it shouldn’t be. The world won’t grind to a halt if the gravy is lumpy or the pumpkin pie is cracked. If things don’t start on time or someone is tardy, it’s not a crisis. And please don’t parent someone else’s child, even if it’s your grandchild. Unless something is going to be broken or someone will be injured, silence is golden. Politics are appetite-killer subjects, even if everyone agrees.

  Allow most of life to be indifferent to you. Someone’s bad mood isn’t about you. Someone’s off-color humor is better ignored. If you’re overlooked or neglected, it isn’t even about you. It’s about them. This way, less in life will offend you and your joy will be much less fleeting too. After all, others are entitled to their opinion. So let them have it cheerfully yet choose to not let them have your opinion.

  Be the grateful, affirming one. Be thankful you were invited. Even if it’s your parent's home, once you’re an adult they don’t owe you anything. Remember that someone took the time and money to make the preparations, so thank them. Notice the seemingly little things like decorations or how the table is set. Someone had to go out and purchase the turkey and make the menu items. It may have been very intimidating for them. They may not feel that they are a proficient cook.

  Determine to be a person of praise and encouragement. Ours is a negative culture that’s quick to point out fault, yet slow to affirm. As believers, we’re to be different. Be the one that everyone is glad is there!

  Be Jesus. A verse that I pray often that God will make true in my life is Philippians 1:21, “For to me to live is Christ…” Yet I must confess that too often, “For to me to live is Scott” is the outcome. Yet, when Jesus rescued me from my sin, He made me His ambassador (2 Corinthians 5:20). I want to represent Him well. I’m dependent on His power and grace to accomplish that. Thankfully it’s readily available to every believer.

  So this season (really all of the year) be Jesus! Be a person of generous grace! Overlook most of what’s not worth being noticed and certainly not worth being offended over. You and I have been forgiven so much and shown so much undeserved grace. Let’s share that grace we’ve been given!

Can we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address

Does anyone really know what time it is?

“Boundaries define us. They define what is me and what is not me. A boundary shows me where I end and someone else begins…Boundaries help us keep the good in and the bad out.”  Henry Cloud

 Years ago one of my favorite music groups, Chicago, had a hit song: Does anybody really know what time it is? Apparently not. Particularly if you’re part of the United States government. That’s because recently the Department of Transportation discovered that the U.S. has no official map marking out where one time zone begins and another ends. Officials are now at work creating a map of the nation’s time zone boundaries. 

  A clear map of time zones is important. Think of how much of our lives are oriented by time. As time zone boundaries are important, so are boundaries in life.

  Many of our problems in life and in our relationships are boundary problems. God knows that we need boundaries. It’s why so much of God’s Word sets clear ones. The most familiar set of commands in the Bible, the Ten Commandments, are God’s boundaries.

  A boundary is a “dividing line.” In geography, a boundary marks the end of one property and the beginning of another. In interpersonal relationships, a boundary is what divides one individual from another, so that each can have separate identities, responsibilities, and privileges. Boundaries create necessary “space” between individuals. Healthy boundaries define expectations and show respect for others.

  Personal boundaries help to limit our sinful and selfish inclination to control or manipulate others. They protect us from those who have little or no self-control and wish to control us. A person with clear, healthy boundaries communicates to others what is and is not permissible, saying, in effect, “This is my line. Please respect it and do not step over it.”

  Boundaries can be used in healthy ways or sinful ways. The way to know which boundaries are godly is to examine your motives. Are you protecting yourself or someone weaker from potential harm, either emotional or physical? If so, you’re setting healthy boundaries. Yet, if you’re maintaining distance because you desire to exclude someone, that’s sinful. Boundaries that maintain cliques or limit ministry opportunities are wrong.

  Boundaries keep us secure.  When we go outside of the boundaries God has established and pursue sinful things of this world, we run the risk of impairing our relationship with God and the consequences that come from doing so. There’s a price if we fail to maintain good boundaries.

  Boundaries keep us strong. Not overextending ourselves, making sure we have time and energy to care for ourselves, and needs like rest, exercise, and proper nutrition, help us maintain our health. It enables us to have the strength to serve the Lord in our own space when we aren’t overstepping and invading the spaces of others or allowing them to invade ours.  

  Boundaries keep us sane. When we overextend, say for example, financially, we will suffer from anxiety and stress. And that’s just one area. There’s a price if we don’t maintain healthy boundaries.

  Too often relationships are contaminated and fraught with frustration because of a lack of boundaries. While the Bible teaches that we’re to be loving and kind, God doesn’t want us to be a doormat. Giving yourself permission and having a sense of personal boundaries are vital for spiritual, mental, emotional and relational health. Healthy boundaries are needed in every area of life. Yet, as enter into the holiday season, let me touch on a few that all of us will need to work through during the next few months.

  We must find and maintain the needed boundaries of marriage. When God created marriage, He set up clear boundaries. Genesis 2:25 says, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” But what father and mother? Adam and Eve were the first couple and didn’t have parents. They were created by God. God though was laying out a boundary for future marriages and homes, one that’s so important it’s repeated three other times in Scripture (Matthew 19:3; Mark 10:7; Ephesians 5:31). Without clear boundaries for a marriage, a couple will suffer from outside contaminants.  

  For example, you can’t go to every party or event that you’re invited to or every family gathering. Sadly, some in-laws use “emotional blackmail” – “But we’ve always done Christmas Eve at our home.” You are now a new family and need to do what is best for your marriage and family, not what gives an overzealous in-law some warm Hallmark Christmas feeling.

  We must respect the needed boundaries of our children. Children need roots and wings. Boundaries are vital in parenting. Setting healthy limits for children protect them, yet unhealthy ones can be controlling and selfish. Boundaries should guide a child to become the individual God created him or her to be. They allow them to develop an identity separate from their parents within the safety of their family. Without a clear identity, people “vanish” into other people or expect them not to have any differences.

  And adult children must be treated as adults or they will continue to act childish. Adults make their own decisions.. work a job, and pay their bills. If they make a decision that has consequences, they need to face the consequences. Sometimes a parent can assist yet not rescue.

  If a parent continually rescues their adult child or enables poor choices, they’re not helping them mature into adulthood. Boundaries teach them to turn to their Heavenly Father who knows their true needs rather than rescuing, overzealous parents.

  These lines are not always clear. It’s why parents need God’s wisdom (James 1:5), yet that needs to be the goal as parents.

  As the U.S. needs clear time zones, each of us needs healthy boundaries. God holds us accountable for our lives. We must learn now to take responsibility for our own life and allow others to live theirs.

  Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. As we see our need for self-control, we’ll take responsibility for our own actions and not encroach on others. We’ll seek the Lord’s help for growth in this vital character trait. Boundaries are an outcome of submitting to God’s will and He will enable us to make godly choices. 

Can we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

Now this is really frightening

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” H. P. Lovecraft

 Recently, something very odd yet noteworthy came out of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Unless you’re a student of world religions, you’re probably not familiar with the name – Patriarch Kirill. As the Pope is the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Patriarch Kirill, is the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. 

  Archbishop Kirill is a very close friend of Vladimir Putin and his close political ally. This relationship has had serious theological ramifications.

  Recently, Patriarch Kirill said: “The church realizes that if somebody, driven by a sense of duty and the need to fulfill their oath, goes to do what their duty calls of them, and if a person dies in the performance of this duty, then they have undoubtedly committed an act equivalent to sacrifice. They will have sacrificed themselves for others and, therefore, we believe that this sacrifice washes away all the sins that a person has committed.”

  Wow! The head of the Russian Church said that. Basically, he promises the total forgiveness of sins for any soldier if the soldier dies on the battlefield in support of Mother Russia. According to Patriarch Kirill, if a soldier dies for Russia, he’s forgiven all of his sins and goes to heaven. It’s not just a frightening promise. It’s a life and absolutely unbiblical!

  We need to be very clear on this. There is no such message of salvation found anywhere in the Bible. It’s not the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, it’s a repudiation of the gospel. It’s actually a perverse form of work’s righteousness, suggesting that these soldiers can earn salvation by the way they die on the battlefield. In other words, dying for Russia is a “good deed” and guarantees heaven for the one who died fighting for Russia.

  Tragically, this isn’t far from what many believe about going to heaven. They believe that you go to heaven because you’re a good person or that you obeyed the Ten Commandments or that you’re moral.

  But is being good a guarantee of heaven? It’s not what the Bible teaches. The Bible clearly says that it’s God’s grace because of Jesus' death and payment for sin on the cross that guarantees entry into heaven. It’s not anything we have done or can do. You can’t “do” anything to merit heaven.

  In spite of the obvious evidence to the contrary, most of us want to believe man is basically good. That’s hauntingly illustrated in the words of Anne Frank that she penned in her diary in 1944: “It's really a wonder I haven't dropped all my ideals because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.” While young Anne wanted to believe people were basically good, she and her family were hiding from the Nazis, who ultimately discovered them, sentencing them to the Death Camps. Being good enough to go to heaven has some major problems.

  Good deeds are arbitrary. First, who determines what the standard of goodness is? Me, you, the Dali Llama, the Pope? Is it the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule, or the Five Pillars of Islam we must adhere to? What’s good enough for God to let us into heaven?

  Then, how many really keep them? In one religious discussion group, someone asked, “What’s good enough to get someone into heaven?" Some responded, "You have to keep the Ten Commandments and follow the Golden Rule." That was followed up by another question, "So how many keep those two things (the Ten Commandments & the Golden Rule)?" The answer: "Even though we don't keep them perfectly, we should all do our best." A third question followed: "Do any of you do your best all the time?"

  No one could respond with anything near a resounding "Yes," so the group lowered the standard again. They felt if you tried to do your best most of the time, you’d make it. But what does most of the time mean? Does it mean 51% or 90%? In the end, they admitted they were unable to determine the level of commitment that was necessary for salvation.   

  Good deeds offer no assurance of salvation. Those who believe being good gets you into heaven live in the realm of “I hope so.” If you talk to someone trusting in their goodness to get them into heaven and ask them, "Are you going to go to heaven?" They’ll nearly always say, "I hope so."

  A standard of good deeds ultimately asks God to approve of evil. Any system which demands less than perfection must allow some evil, and then must also ask God to approve of this evil. But if God allowed imperfect people into heaven, heaven would no longer be perfect. Heaven is a place without any suffering or sin, not just a place where there is minimal suffering and sin (Rev. 21-22). If you had a pitcher of 100% pure water and added just a little bit of poison, would you still want to drink it?

  The Bible teaches the impossibility of being good. Going to Heaven is only possible through Jesus Christ. We’ll never be good enough. It’s why Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

  God in His justice demands payment for our sins and God in His love offers the substitute. Jesus Christ is our substitute. He paid our debt on the cross of Calvary. “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Jesus Christ, God's perfect Son, died and paid the total price for our sins so that we could be forgiven and go to heaven to live for all eternity. It’s what John 3:16 is all about. Salvation is a free gift from God.

  When someone gives you a gift, they paid for it. Your responsibility is to simply accept it. Patriarch Kirill is wrong and so is anyone else who believes “good deeds” can earn heaven. Only trusting that Jesus died for your sins brings God’s forgiveness and the promise of eternal life.

  Wonderfully, this means there is hope for everyone. Anyone can be saved no matter how good or bad they’ve been. Becoming a Christian means trusting in Christ so much that you risk your eternity on what the Bible says and what the Lord Jesus did for you in His life and in His death.

  My friend, are you a Christian? First, you must admit that you’re not a good person. Then, come to Jesus, run to the Cross, and ask Him to be your Lord and Savior? Will you do that? That’s what the Bible says. That’s true forgiveness and it’s how we know that we’re going to heaven.   

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.