Stars of Christmas--Joseph

We don't know much about the man who was chosen to raise the Son of God. Scripture is silent for a reason, because regardless of their crucial roles, this was not about Mary and Joseph. 

Joseph appears to have understood that. From the start, he gracefully embraced the role God had for him. In a culture where virtue was highly valued, he chose to marry a woman who was pregnant with a child that was not his. He chose to raise a son he did not create, and face gossip, scorn, and criticism from those who knew them. He accepted God’s plan to be the protector and provider for Jesus, even though he would not see the end of the story from this side of heaven. He chose to allow his reputation to be tarnished, his character defamed, and his future altered in order to obey God’s higher call. He had to trust that his reward would come from God. 

Obedience to God is often costly. Faith is obeying God even when we don’t understand our part in His story. Are you willing to take allow your life to be altered in order to obey God? 

What might total obedience cost you?

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Stars of Christmas--Mary

Some have called her a liar, others have called her a goddess. 

Some have denied she existed, while others have treated her as a queen. 

So what's the truth about Mary, the mother of Jesus, 

               and what does God want us to learn from her life?

 

By historical accounts, Mary was very young, 13 or 14 years old, when the angel appeared to her. She already had a solid faith in the Lord God of Israel and expected, along with everyone else, that the Messiah would come soon. Mary was only a fallible human like us. What set her apart was her attitude of submission to God and her willingness to cooperate with whatever God chose for her.

Every young girl in Israel hoped she might be chosen to bear the Messiah, but the way God’s plan unfolded was nothing like anyone had expected. Instead of instant stardom and honor, God’s plan for Mary required sacrifice, pain, and rejection. Mary knew that she would have to let go of her own dreams in order to fulfill God’s purpose for her. Her response to the angel Gabriel models for us the obedience God desires when he speaks to us: "Truly I am the Lord's servant. Let everything you have said happen to me"(Luke 1:38).  God chose Mary not because she was perfect, but because he knew her heart. She was “highly favored” by God because she wanted to please Him no matter what it cost her personally. That attitude of surrender was the reason God could trust her with His most precious gift.

Can God trust you? When He calls your name, what is your response? Do you resist? Make excuses? Or blatantly disobey? We have a choice. We can cling to our own plans, or we can answer as Mary did: “I am Your servant. Let it be as you have said.” When we respond as Mary did, God can then do great things through our lives.

Motivation

Why do you do what you do?

If you are a Christian, are you invested in eternally significant lifework? Do you serve God regularly, and if so, why? Some Christians  recognize they have a duty to serve God, so they force themselves to perform Christian-type activities. Some ignore service altogether. Some have a genuine passion for people and feel satisfied in helping them. But others carry lifelong  guilt that they should've and didn't.

Maybe this illustration will give you another motivation to consider:

My dad was a farmer. He was always working in his slow, purposeful way. I can still see his long-legged strides as he went about his constant work with patient enjoyment. As a child, I loved skipping next to him, chattering as I hung on his hand or a belt loop, ready to do whatever he was doing. He would send me on errands--"Run get me that bucket" or "Fill up this feed trough." He taught me to be still and let the cattle come to me. He showed me how to give tender care to the sickest ones and isolate the ones that caused trouble. I had no real love for the cattle or any true understanding of the importance of the work.  I only knew that this was important to my father and he wanted me to help him. I enjoyed it because I wanted to be with him, doing what he was doing. If that relationship had not been healthy, the work would have been drudgery. My motivation was the desire to be with my dad. He would praise me and tell me how much help I was, and I was young enough to believe him.

He's been gone more than 15 years, but my life motivation hasn't changed. My Heavenly Father moves through this world with a steady stride, accomplishing what He has purposed to do. I chatter alongside Him, hanging onto his belt loop with no real understanding of the significance of the work. Sometimes He says, "Run get that one" or "Sit still and let them come to you." He shows me how to give tender care to the sickest ones and what to do about the ones that cause trouble. And because they matter to Him, they matter to me.

It is not the love of the work or even love for people that motivates me to serve God. It's not even that I grasp the significance of what He asks me to do. I just want to be with my Father. If that relationship is not healthy, no amount of work will bring real satisfaction. But when it is, then I want to be where He is, doing what He's doing. I want to see His smile when He tells me He's proud of me. Jesus summed it up at age 12 when he said, " I must be about my father's business." He wasn't happy doing anything else. Neither am I. I hope that's the right motivation, because it's the only one I have.
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Endure It Until

How blessed is the man who endures temptation! 

When he has passed the test, 

he will receive the victor's crown of life 

that God has promised 

to those who keep on loving him. James 1:12

What does it look like to "endure temptation?" When we think of temptation, we imagine that we are to run from it and it no longer bothers us. We picture a man glancing at a Playboy magazine on the newsstand and turning away. But this verse seems to imply something else.

In order to endure temptation, there must be a relentless desire to act in a way that does not please God. We don't have to endure something that ends in three minutes. A fleeting temptation to sin does not have to be endured, but rejected. Then it's gone. So what kind of temptations must be endured rather than definitively rejected?

The kinds of temptations described in James 1:12 involve our hearts' desires on the deepest level. You cannot escape your heart. You can close your eyes, you can control your hands, you can decide where your feet go. But you cannot do much about the longings of your heart.

I think this verse was written for people such as those with same-sex attraction. Their heart longs for something which God has forbidden, yet the longings don't go away simply because they want them to. A woman caught in a dead marriage may fall in love with another man, but she is not free to pursue that relationship the way she wants to if she desires to honor God more. She may daily surrender her acts and choices to the lordship of Jesus, but her heart still yearns for connection with a man who meets those needs in a way her husband never did. A man saved from alcoholism may fight the urge to drink for the rest of his earthly life. Every day is a battle with himself as he gives in to God's desire for him rather than the longing of his heart. But it doesn't go away. He must endure it.

Is there a temptation in your heart that you must endure? You see no feasible way to escape it except endurance. You can control your choices and your actions, but your heart may still yearn for something or someone that is forbidden. I think that is the kind of endurance James speaks of. God wants to encourage us that He sees when we endure. He is pleased when we continue to wrestle against our heart's deepest longings without giving in. He promises great reward for all of eternity when we choose to be faithful now.

Stay strong. God does not judge you because of the temptation. He understands and He is cheering for your continued endurance. 

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A Thorny Topic

Much has been said and written about Paul's "thorn in the flesh" (2 Corinthians 12:7). We use the phrase like an idiom to describe every problem that annoys us, from in-laws to athlete's foot. But is that what Paul meant?

To determine whether or not our life issue is truly a thorn in the flesh, we have to look at the verse in context. Paul had just described an amazing time when he was "caught up into the third heaven and heard inexpressible words which a man is not permitted to speak." Jesus had revealed Himself to Paul, taught him spiritual truths, and given him an experience that would change him and the rest of history.

Then Paul writes, "Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me-- to keep me from exalting myself!" 

There are several crucial elements about his thorn in the flesh that don't apply to most of our issues. First of all, it was there for a specific reason. He had just encountered God in a way few had and lived to tell about it. Imagine the temptation to pride! Even if you don't want the pride, it will invade your private moments anyway. So God in His mercy granted Paul a weakness that would continually remind him that he was frail flesh, not the fourth person of the Trinity. It was given to him "because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations" and "to keep me from exalting myself."

Secondly, this "thorn" was a messenger from Satan. A messenger carries a message. God allowed Satan to deliver a continuous message to Paul through his own weakness. What message would keep him from exalting himself? His omission of the exact nature of the weakness is intentional. It may have been a physical abnormality, an overwhelming temptation, or inadequacy in a job God had given him. He may have had a speech impediment that made preaching arduous. Or poor eyesight may have made writing difficult. But we do know the message from Satan had to be something like this: "You are so weak. You are one step away from blowing it. No matter what God is doing through you, you know who you are. You are nothing. You struggle just like everybody else. Why would God choose you?"

And as difficult as that message must have been to hear, Paul knew he needed it to stay humble. We all need messages like that when God is doing great things through us. Our flesh longs to exalt itself. But if we truly desire God's best in our lives, we will embrace the "thorn" He gives us.

We are candidates for a "thorn in the flesh" when:

• We have surrendered everything to God and desire to be used by Him for His plans.
• We are filled with the Holy Spirit and choose every day to walk in His Spirit
• God has revealed Himself to us in tangible, earth-shaking ways and we are changed by it
• God has chosen us for a specific purpose to bring others into His kingdom
• God has blessed our ministry and others notice it
• We have a tendency toward pride

When those factors are present, God is merciful to us. He allows similar thorns in our flesh to keep us from exalting ourselves. The same Paul who wrote about his thorn also wrote, "...God chose the foolish things to confound the wise...that no flesh should glory in His presence." (1 Corinthians 1:29) His chief aim was the glory of God, even when struggling under the weight of personal weakness. The comfort God gave him has comforted thousands of others who struggle with thorns: "My grace is sufficient for you."

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Homosexual Cowardice

SIGH!


So, more Christian leaders have grown spines of mush in the face of the out-of-control homosexual agenda. I was so disappointed to read of more mega-church pastors taking a "non-stance" on what God clearly takes a strong stand against.

The repeated excuses all sound something like this: "Jesus didn't say anything about homosexuality, so we won't either. We want to focus on love, love, love..."

Well, isn't that nice. If Jesus had only focused on love, love, love, He would never have been crucified. He never softened His Father's law or His Father's truth, even when it killed Him. So why do His modern followers think they have the right to do less?

Jesus never spoke of necromancy or bestiality either, because His Father had already spoken. In Jewish culture, open homosexuals were to be stoned, so there were no parades flaunting their perversions. There was no question in anyone's mind what God thought about it. No need to ask.

There is still no question in God's mind about it. So why are we asking?
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All -around Guy

 

Have you ever considered that the rich young ruler, spoken of in Mark 10:17-22,  would probably be voted chairman of the deacons in most evangelical churches today? 

His self-defined "relationship with God" would be accepted at face value and applauded by most church leaders. He would be head of the finance committee, a youth sponsor, and considered an all-around pillar of the religious community. He could discuss theology with anyone, and talk about Jesus with warmth and affection. Many would look up to him as the epitome of both worldly and spiritual success...

But he was not born again. And only Jesus had the courage and love to tell him so. Who is telling his protégés today?